4. Be attuned to body language-your own and the speaker’s. Maintain eye contact. Sit up straight and lean forward. Don’t communicate disinterest or impatience by tapping a pen against the desk. And try to pick up on nonverbal cues that the speaker is transmitting. John Urban, Former CEO, President and Chairman of Pioneer Hi-Bred International looks for “Dissonance.” When there is a disagr

How to Make Money with Voice Mail
The telephone can be a powerful tool for generating leads and selling products and services. Unfortunately most business owners are so ineffective using the telephone their only accomplishments are frustrating prospects and removing them from the sales channel.Voice mail presents another challenge altogether. Some business owners even refuse to leave messages. While this may be an appropriate response in some cases, voice mail can also be a valuable sales tool if you foll

I have spoken to many leaders and the consensus is that listening to the answer is more important than asking the perfect question. Listening intently builds trust between you and the speaker. With that in mind, here are some tips to improve your listening:

1. Don’t let your mind wander. Zen masters can keep their minds completely focused on one thought or conversation, but most of us can not. We might, for instance, latch onto one piece of information that the speaker has said. We grip it tightly and plan our response, rather than simply bookmarking this information and continuing to listen. In doing so, the speaker will see in our eyes that we have tuned out. Trust, confidence, and motivation will spiral downward.

2. Don’t interrupt after asking a question. Leaders often have Type-A personalities, so they want to complete others’ sentences. In all likelihood, they could probably do a better job of relaying the information, but that is not the goal of listening. Out-thinking your subordinates or showing off is not leadership. Patience is. Allow the speaker all the time in the world to provide you with an answer and to ask follow-up questions. Doctors at the renowned Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota pride themselves on spending a lot of time listening to their patients. Many practitioners ask questions and filter out most of what the patient says (listening only for symptoms they believe to be present), paying little mind to the patients’ questions. Those questions can be very revealing especially if the patient is suffering from a rare disorder. Good doctors and good leaders have patience and make better decisions as a result.

3. Don’t ask a question then give an answer to see if you were right. I was in a coaching exercise with a CEO. He summoned his accountant and asked her, “What are our revenue and net profits going to be this year?” Before she could answer, he said, “$5 million and $1 million respectfully.” He clearly wanted to demonstrate that he was aware of the numbers to me and to her. This was about ego and it did nothing to build his leadership within the organization. Each time we do one of our team members’ jobs our leadership power is taken away. What’s her incentive to try to answer his questions in the future? Wasn’t he communicating that her time must not be valuable if she was going to be called into the office just so he could ask and answer his own question? Does she now think he has nothing better to do with his time? Actually, these are not assumptions. This is what I discovered when I spoke with her afterward.

4. Be attuned to body language-your own and the speaker’s. Maintain eye contact. Sit up straight and lean forward. Don’t communicate disinterest or impatience by tapping a pen against the desk. And try to pick up on nonverbal cues that the speaker is transmitting. John Urban, Former CEO, President and Chairman of Pioneer Hi-Bred International looks for “Dissonance.” When there is a disagre

International Marketing
Before you consider entering into the international market, do as much research as you can. It is a whole new world outside the U.S., and it is very easy to make a fatal mistake. The following are just some of the marketing areas that must be considered.The market entry requirements or barriers to entry. Social or religious limitations that may affect your business. For example, the MGM Grand in Las Vegas had to rebuild its multi-million dollar entrance that was a tig

n. In doing so, the speaker will see in our eyes that we have tuned out. Trust, confidence, and motivation will spiral downward.

2. Don’t interrupt after asking a question. Leaders often have Type-A personalities, so they want to complete others’ sentences. In all likelihood, they could probably do a better job of relaying the information, but that is not the goal of listening. Out-thinking your subordinates or showing off is not leadership. Patience is. Allow the speaker all the time in the world to provide you with an answer and to ask follow-up questions. Doctors at the renowned Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota pride themselves on spending a lot of time listening to their patients. Many practitioners ask questions and filter out most of what the patient says (listening only for symptoms they believe to be present), paying little mind to the patients’ questions. Those questions can be very revealing especially if the patient is suffering from a rare disorder. Good doctors and good leaders have patience and make better decisions as a result.

3. Don’t ask a question then give an answer to see if you were right. I was in a coaching exercise with a CEO. He summoned his accountant and asked her, “What are our revenue and net profits going to be this year?” Before she could answer, he said, “$5 million and $1 million respectfully.” He clearly wanted to demonstrate that he was aware of the numbers to me and to her. This was about ego and it did nothing to build his leadership within the organization. Each time we do one of our team members’ jobs our leadership power is taken away. What’s her incentive to try to answer his questions in the future? Wasn’t he communicating that her time must not be valuable if she was going to be called into the office just so he could ask and answer his own question? Does she now think he has nothing better to do with his time? Actually, these are not assumptions. This is what I discovered when I spoke with her afterward.

4. Be attuned to body language-your own and the speaker’s. Maintain eye contact. Sit up straight and lean forward. Don’t communicate disinterest or impatience by tapping a pen against the desk. And try to pick up on nonverbal cues that the speaker is transmitting. John Urban, Former CEO, President and Chairman of Pioneer Hi-Bred International looks for “Dissonance.” When there is a disagr

Who is a Customs Carrier in Russia
1. A customs carrier is defined as a Russian juridical person included in the Register of Customs Carriers. 2. The customs carrier effects haulage of merchandise under customs control in situations and on the terms set forth by Russian Customs Code. 3. A customs carrier has the right to limit the region of its operations by the operating region covered by one (several) customs office (customs offices). 4. The relations between a customs carrier and merchandise d

ned Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota pride themselves on spending a lot of time listening to their patients. Many practitioners ask questions and filter out most of what the patient says (listening only for symptoms they believe to be present), paying little mind to the patients’ questions. Those questions can be very revealing especially if the patient is suffering from a rare disorder. Good doctors and good leaders have patience and make better decisions as a result.

3. Don’t ask a question then give an answer to see if you were right. I was in a coaching exercise with a CEO. He summoned his accountant and asked her, “What are our revenue and net profits going to be this year?” Before she could answer, he said, “$5 million and $1 million respectfully.” He clearly wanted to demonstrate that he was aware of the numbers to me and to her. This was about ego and it did nothing to build his leadership within the organization. Each time we do one of our team members’ jobs our leadership power is taken away. What’s her incentive to try to answer his questions in the future? Wasn’t he communicating that her time must not be valuable if she was going to be called into the office just so he could ask and answer his own question? Does she now think he has nothing better to do with his time? Actually, these are not assumptions. This is what I discovered when I spoke with her afterward.

4. Be attuned to body language-your own and the speaker’s. Maintain eye contact. Sit up straight and lean forward. Don’t communicate disinterest or impatience by tapping a pen against the desk. And try to pick up on nonverbal cues that the speaker is transmitting. John Urban, Former CEO, President and Chairman of Pioneer Hi-Bred International looks for “Dissonance.” When there is a disagr

Time Management Tip: Stop Micro-Managing Employees
If I was a fly on the wall what would I hear your employees say? Would it something like this? “They won't allow me to make even the simplest decisions.” “The red tape here makes it very difficult for me to do my job.” “Management has to sign off on everything; they don't trust me."A big time waster for managers is micro-managing - paying extreme attention to small details and not giving people the authority to do their job. If it is such a time waster why do so many man

O. He summoned his accountant and asked her, “What are our revenue and net profits going to be this year?” Before she could answer, he said, “$5 million and $1 million respectfully.” He clearly wanted to demonstrate that he was aware of the numbers to me and to her. This was about ego and it did nothing to build his leadership within the organization. Each time we do one of our team members’ jobs our leadership power is taken away. What’s her incentive to try to answer his questions in the future? Wasn’t he communicating that her time must not be valuable if she was going to be called into the office just so he could ask and answer his own question? Does she now think he has nothing better to do with his time? Actually, these are not assumptions. This is what I discovered when I spoke with her afterward.

4. Be attuned to body language-your own and the speaker’s. Maintain eye contact. Sit up straight and lean forward. Don’t communicate disinterest or impatience by tapping a pen against the desk. And try to pick up on nonverbal cues that the speaker is transmitting. John Urban, Former CEO, President and Chairman of Pioneer Hi-Bred International looks for “Dissonance.” When there is a disagr

The Power of Franchising
There is probably no better business model that has ever been created in the history of human commerce than the franchising model. The franchising model has been working well for governments, religious organizations, service clubs, brotherhoods and businesses for hundreds of years. The power of franchising is alive and well along with all of its hybrid models or similar type structures. Such as distributorships, multilevel marketing and licensing programs.The power of f

d ask and answer his own question? Does she now think he has nothing better to do with his time? Actually, these are not assumptions. This is what I discovered when I spoke with her afterward.

4. Be attuned to body language-your own and the speaker’s. Maintain eye contact. Sit up straight and lean forward. Don’t communicate disinterest or impatience by tapping a pen against the desk. And try to pick up on nonverbal cues that the speaker is transmitting. John Urban, Former CEO, President and Chairman of Pioneer Hi-Bred International looks for “Dissonance.” When there is a disagreement or a gap between the work that was performed and the work that was expected to be performed, he pays particular attention to body language-failure to make eye contact, lowered or trailing off voices, etc. He then tries to imagine the question the speaker least wants him to ask. Then he asks it.

Interestingly, John finds it easier to listen for dissonance and ask the right questions if the organization’s vision, plan, and goals are clear. It makes sense. After all, if you know what key the symphony is in, it is much easier to detect a wrong note.

If you follow these four tips, you will be a good listener. And you will be pleasantly surprised to find out how prepared you subordinates are for their meeting with you.