Category Archives: positive

  • 01
    Feb 18
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positive focus

Positive Focus – Find Ten Reasons Why

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People often suggest that they are going to focus on the positive and that they are committed to a more positive outcome. Do you have a positive focus or are you really a naysayer?

Thoughts and Words

A positive focus starts with what you think. It is confirmed, broadcast, and replicated by what you say.

When you start your day at the office, the plant, or any job site talking about the negativity that surrounds your life, you do not have a positive focus.

When you enter the boardroom, attend the strategic planning session, or participate in the meeting you do not have a positive focus if your only contribution is to recite problems.

Naysayer Syndrome

The naysayer wants company, and so does misery. It seems to me it is much easier to build the fear of failure into the equation and be wrong, than it is to risk bringing the solution. Naysayers believe they win either way. Say it will not work and if you’re wrong it is still alright.

This is the naysayer. Whatever others contribute, the naysayer offers why it is a bad idea, why it won’t work, and why to avoid taking the path.

The best way to have a positive focus may be to do the exact opposite of the naysayer.

Be Different

When the naysayer comes to the table, he or she brings with them all the reasons why not. Therefore, your job is to bring all the reasons why it will.

A positive focus comes from bringing ten reasons why it is worth a try. Even if it has been tried in the past. Everything may be different now. The circumstances and situations are different. They players may be different, the timing is different, and yes, even the presentation may be different.

Positive Focus

Do you have a positive focus? Become the person who brings the reasons why. Be farsighted and encouraging. List why it will work instead of setting up roadblocks with why it won’t.

Nearly anyone can find someone to turn to when they want confirmation of doom and gloom. You are the opposite, you confirm that it just might work.

A positive focus starts with the reasons why.

Try it.

– DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and corporate trainer that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is a five-time author and some of his work includes, #CustServ The Customer Service Culture, and Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

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  • 21
    Apr 17
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positive attitude appreciative strategies

Using Questions to Develop a Positive Attitude

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Every job has its challenges. Each day we might have to get started, face adversity, and be resilient. In the face of challenge and struggle can you develop a positive attitude?

Some people might suggest that attitude is what we think about or how we approach any situation. Attitude is about mind-set.

Questions Change Attitudes

Here are a few questions to consider anytime you need to be more positive:

  1. What brings you to work each day?
  2. What is the purpose behind the task?
  3. Who is the customer?
  4. What does the customer truly need?
  5. What would improve this product or service?
  6. What would be a pleasant surprise for the end user?
  7. What will get others on board?
  8. What is hard that you can make easier?
  9. What habit will evoke positive change?
  10. What makes this contribution special?
  11. What makes this work valuable?
  12. Is this work part of the legacy?
  13. What will make this change stick?
  14. How will others connect with this work?
  15. What will be important tomorrow?

Any question that you can’t answer immediately might be tempting to just skip. However, if it is truly difficult to answer it might mean it’s worth spending more time to understand.

Positive Attitude

Developing a positive attitude typically doesn’t come from stating that you are going to be positive. It comes from understanding what makes your effort worthwhile. Sure being respected and appreciated for a job well done will always make carrying the load easier, but is that all?

Do you understand the value of the work that you do?

Do you have a positive attitude?

Sometimes in life it is not about the questions that should be answered, but more about the answers that should be questioned.

It might change your attitude.

– DEG

Mindset, it conditions everything that happens next. It is why I wrote this book:

pivot Dennis Gilbert CSP

Buy now on Amazon

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

  • 16
    Mar 17
  • -

Build Relationships through Positive Self-Talk

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You want to build stronger business relationships but you’re not always sure if it’s working. It’s common for many business professionals to wonder if they have formed a connection. Do you build relationships or watch opportunities slip away?

build relationships appreciative strategies

Lack of progress towards your goals is often not rooted specifically in your actions. That’s not the root cause. The root cause is that your actions often develop from your mind-set.

Foundation Skills

Negative self-talk is easy to get validated. Pick anything that you think can go wrong and you’ll likely find someone with a matching opinion. Immediately, your negative thoughts are validated.

Relationship building has this same challenge. Many people are fearful that a potential contact won’t have interest.

The fear is that they might not be into what you are into. Perhaps they won’t see the value in building a relationship. Worse yet, you might believe you’ll say something silly that will turn them off entirely.

I’ve heard a few speakers suggest that building business relationships is like dating. Certainly most people can see a few similarities. We might call these, fundamentals. The great thing about fundamentals is that they form the foundation for what happens next.

It’s true, once you have the fundamentals down, and believe in them, the rest will come pretty easy.

Positive Approach

Here are several important pointers:

  1. Positive Self-Talk. If a little voice inside your head is giving you all the reasons why it won’t happen, you have to change that. Sure a little praise from someone else will help, but you can’t count on it. Mostly because if you’re being negative you won’t accept it. Give yourself positive affirmations, endlessly!
  2. Confidence. Find every reason why this will work. Confidence is built from self-efficacy and self-esteem. When you flood your thoughts with positivity about how it will work, why it will work, and picture the positive end result, you’ll leave little room for doubt.
  3. Be interested. Many believe they must sell themselves. They push hard for that. The key really is that you must be more interested in the other party. Less pushy on selling yourself. Ask more questions. Learn about them and their needs. They’ll appreciate you more and the sell will happen naturally.

Build Relationships

If you have any doubts, you’re going to have to get rid of them.

Use positive affirmations in your self-talk. Lots of them, flood your mind with all the reasons why. Leave no room for negativity.

Be positive, be confident, and most importantly be more interested in them!

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and corporate trainer that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is a four-time author and some of his work includes, Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce and Pivot and Accelerate, The Next Move Is Yours! Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

  • 20
    Jan 17
  • 6

Stay Positive If That’s What You Want

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Make no mistake, everyone runs into tough situations from time-to-time. Do you find ways to stay positive? Is that what you really want?

stay positive

In my business the idea of being positive, staying positive, or becoming more positive is a common discussion point. Businesses want their workforce to be motivated and engaged. Some people believe that motivation is entirely intrinsic. Others believe that motivation can be built or developed.

Being positive is probably connected with motivation, at least in some ways. It also might be connected with energy levels, enthusiasm, and persistence.

Two Types

Over time I have discovered that there are at least two types of people who express interest in staying or becoming more positive. There are those who are willing to work towards a more positive direction and there are those who express strong interest but are reluctant to make changes necessary to correct their path.

Recently someone expressed to me that they were struggling, having a tough time, and trying to navigate some difficult situations.

Certainly this person is not alone. Many people feel the same challenge. When I expressed several suggestions for corrective action they really didn’t appear all that interested. This person was more interested in complaining, feeling miserable, and looking for others to join the club.

If you truly want to stay positive, you have to want to get there and then to make it stick.

Positive Environment

Most people can see a correlation to the environment that we live, breathe, and work in, and our mental state. Not necessarily mental health, but our outlook. Are we more positive or are we leaning towards more negativity?

I’m not sure of the latest research by social scientists but many people believe that we are a product of our environment. Likely, whether consciously or not, this is why so many businesses are concerned with levels of positivity.

If you want to stay positive or if you are looking for ways to improve morale and positivity in your workplace you might want to consider starting with a question.

Do you, or the persons involved, want to be more positive and stay positive, or do you want to linger in the world of negativity?

Staying stuck and complaining is likely easier than taking action. Being distracted from the work at hand might be easier than staying focused, and for some, being the victim almost always feels like a good excuse.

Stay Positive

If you really want to stay positive or help others become or stay positive here are a few things to consider.

  • Bumps in the road. We all hit obstacles, hurdles, and setbacks. Some might be work related, some personal, and sometimes we might be dealing with a little of both. Expressing your difficulties with others can help you see things differently, but reliving the ugly memory time and time again does not help your cause.
  • Energy is required. We’ve heard the expression many times, “Get a good night’s sleep.” Your brain needs rest, your body needs rest, and you also need to have good nutrition. Don’t underestimate the challenges presented by a lack of sleep or not eating. Make sure you are eating and sleeping.
  • Learn something. You might be surprised with the number of people I meet who want to have a cocktail or two to relax and unwind, they see a correlation. On the other hand they won’t pick up a book or read anything in any format to learn something new. There are lots of ways to learn something, it doesn’t have to be a book, but you need to make a conscious effort.
  • Look forward. You cannot stay stuck in the past. Everyone has heard this, but only some will navigate out of the pit. Learn from things, yes, absolutely, but you cannot predict every future experience will result in tragedy. Clean the slate, wipe the white board, or think, <File> <New> but do not stay stuck.

Do you want to be more positive, or help others become and stay more positive, or is it more fun to stay stuck?

The choice is yours. Your outcomes will be conditioned on your next move—or not.

– DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and corporate trainer that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is a four-time author and some of his work includes, Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce and Pivot and Accelerate, The Next Move Is Yours! Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

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  • 19
    Jan 17
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Constructive Thinking Makes Your Day

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Many people rise every morning with the intent of having a great day, but some will rise every day with their first thought being about everything that will go wrong. Constructive thinking is part of our emotional intelligence, but it only makes a difference when we use it.

constructive thinking business people

It might help to understand the differences between constructive and destructive thinking. Let’s get the bad stuff out of the way first.

Destructive Thinking

There are many things that might bring on destructive thinking, and unfortunately people sometimes become hooked on such patterns, patterns then become habits, and it’s hard to break free.

When does destructive thinking get life? Here are a few possibilities, when you:

  • are hurried;
  • feel angry or dislike;
  • are embarrassed;
  • have tight deadlines;
  • get unfavorable feedback.

Of course there are many other scenarios that might play out to put you on a path of destructive thinking.

You might not close a sale or opportunity you’ve been working on, you might be uncomfortable with people you work around, or you are highly stressed by multiple and growing demands of your time or attention.

Constructive Thinking

One of the keys for more constructive thinking is to minimize or not allow any room for the destructive stuff, replace destructive with constructive and perhaps most important, make it a habit.

Give yourself some new patterns of thinking. Here are a few opportunities.

  • Being optimistic. Instead of seeing how your worst thought or fear might come true consider what are the good things that might happen next? Look for opportunity in a roadblock and get excited about pursuing things from a different (better) approach.
  • Build a positive prophecy. See the future as happening for you, not to you. See the end result as a positive outcome. Eliminate questionable thinking. Think, “I am strong and I am successful,” instead of “I’ll try hard and I will become better.”
  • Live in today, not yesterday. We learn from mistakes, let downs, and failures, but that doesn’t mean that we have to re-live them. Grow from past experiences but don’t keep reliving negative or unwanted outcomes. See yourself in a better place.

In the heat of the moment we can also take a break, some deep breaths, and discipline ourselves to replace harsh unwanted thoughts with something more constructive. In challenging relationships we might need to establish a plan or a course of action that will allow us to break patterns of negativity.

Additional Considerations

Consider what you talk about, what you share with others. Sometimes people claim they are very positive, but all they speak of is negativity. Certainly everyone might need to vent occasionally but minimize this activity because it only keeps you reliving the unwanted.

Last, but certainly not least, sometimes we might have to consider if there are other explanations for what is happening. Are you misunderstanding the circumstances or situations? Are you assuming too much or too little? If you were in someone else’s shoes would you view this differently?

Constructive thinking might be one of the most powerful things you can do to turn things around.

Go ahead, make your day!

– DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and corporate trainer that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is a four-time author and some of his work includes, Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce and Pivot and Accelerate, The Next Move Is Yours! Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

  • 09
    Jan 17
  • 2

Using Appreciation to Create Positive Energy

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Are you surrounded by positive energy? It’s probably not surprising that organizational cultures that make a conscious effort to increase appreciation are also those with more positive energy.

appreciation appreciative inquiry

Look around long enough and you’ll find varying opinions about the use of appreciation. On one hand you have the people who prefer to manage with an authoritarian approach and on the other hand you have the people who want to be so appreciative that they forfeit any representation of authority, chain of command, or organizational hierarchy.

Should there be a balance? Perhaps, yes, there should be some balance, but many organizations fail to find the happy medium.

Like many people in my profession I’ve heard and witnessed numerous stories about workplace culture gone wrong. I’ve heard the nicknames, the stereotypes, and the banter echo through the halls and at nearly every water cooler or coffee pot meeting conveniently located somewhere near you.

I’m sure that there is plenty I haven’t heard too.

Management team members and peers alike often label those that they identify with negative energy as a person with a bad attitude. Of course it may be true, they do have a bad attitude but can this attitude be corrected or improved? Can you find or create some sense of balance?

From my experiences employees with the worst attitudes are also the employees who feel the most unappreciated. Is the management or organizational leadership to blame? They might be, but even if they aren’t they should be taking the lead to help improve and create more positive energy.

You might want to consider a few triggers for negative energy, here are several:

  • Compensation package. We know that there are many sides to this story, but the brutal truth is that compensation is a critical factor for how people feel about their work.
  • Unclear purpose. Most people will work very hard for a purpose and understanding how their job connects to the organizational mission, vision, and values is often one of the most underestimated factors in workplace motivation.
  • Anger created by fear. Authoritarian approaches thrive (which is not good) on motivating people by suggesting it is a do it or die, my way or the highway, atmosphere. There is nothing positive about scare tactics for motivation.

How can you turn things around?

One of the easiest ways to look at making a difference is to remove, reduce, or otherwise improve the trigger points.

Employees who feel appreciated are more positive. There are many ways to express appreciation and increase positive energy without focusing on pay or compensation. Much of this will require communicating more effectively to express the values and beliefs of the organizational culture that you want to build.

Three of the most critical elements for increasing appreciation are to show more respect, ask for input, and genuinely thank employees for a job well done, extra efforts, and other important contributions.

Make no mistake, leading and motivating workplace teams requires a conscious effort to build the right kind of culture. Today’s socio-economic conditions and generational challenges all create added pressure for organizations who seek to have a more positive and energized culture.

Positive energy develops from appreciation.

Give more.

– DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and corporate trainer that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is a four-time author and some of his work includes, Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce and Pivot and Accelerate, The Next Move Is Yours! Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

  • 08
    Sep 15
  • -

Talk About Good

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What is the worst experience you’ve ever had? What is the best? Often people talk about bad customer service, they talk about mistakes, and they are chronically obsessed with what happens if they fail. The sad but brutal truth about this is that we all experience some bad customer service, we all make mistakes, and we all experience failure.

At meeting

Let’s face it; it is harder to deal with bad customer service when compared with acceptable or fantastic service. It is easier to accept the outcomes when we received a top score, didn’t drop the ball, or surpassed the competition. Those stories feel good, they are easy to deal with, but yet many people only talk about the shortcomings, let downs, and disappointments.

Sometimes you have to wonder, is a focus on the bad preventing you from becoming great?

Try something new, talk about the good.

– DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, corporate trainer, and keynote speaker that specializes in helping businesses accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. Reach him through his website at http://DennisEGilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

  • 09
    Jun 15
  • -

High Road

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What to wear, what to eat, or what will be first on our to-do list? We make choices and decisions every day that impact our lives and in many cases the lives of those around us. Most choices seem like just everyday life, and as a result are commonly taken for granted, ignored, or labeled as uninteresting to others.

Open Road Semi Trucks Travel Curved Highway Oregon Countryside

It isn’t those choices that we make every day that are so visible, apparent, or perhaps interesting to others. It is the choices we make during times of chaos, unexpected setbacks, or failures that are so visible and have everyone watching. You may not be remembered for your choice of shoes, what you ordered at the restaurant, or how you prioritize your to-do list. It is when the chips are down, when the dark cloud is looming, or when suddenly you face a life changing event that all eyes will be on you.

Friends, co-workers, or interactions with other people may not always seem right, fair, or appropriate. They may not be choices you would make or how you would treat someone else, but the choice you make during a difficult time will define who you are. Revenge, strike-outs, or strike-backs in the pursuit of justice may feel like the right road, but with all eyes on you, you want to be sure you choose only one road, the high road.

– DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a keynote speaker, corporate trainer, and consultant that specializes in helping businesses accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. Reach him through his website at http://DennisEGilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

  • 23
    Dec 14
  • -

What You Do

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Perhaps we’ve all heard the idea that it is better to give as compared to receive. I put together a short video as a simple reminder of how our actions, reactions, and attitude have a direct relationship with outcomes.  Watch:

http://youtu.be/44eqP4A27Mo

Wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday season!

– DEG

  • 04
    Nov 14
  • -

What’s Inside?

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What’s inside the mysterious envelope? What’s in the box? What’s behind the shiny paper and colorful bow?

DinnerTablebyJorgeRoyan

It may not be the curiosity that gets to us, it may be the feeling of value based on the presentation. A social media profile without a picture, a book by its cover, and even a picture without a frame. We often judge based on the presentation.

People who are prepared and packaged sell more than those just loosely hanging around, even when selling isn’t their job.

It is when you get dinner with a white cotton table cloth, a bottle of wine with a cork, and jewelry in a velveteen box. The presentation conditions your judgment.

If people are going to judge you, give them a noteworthy hint.

– DEG

Photo Credit: Jorge Royan

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