connections Archives - Dennis E. Gilbert

17
Sep 21
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Smart Connections Are Built To Last

Tags : connections generosity networking social networks

Do you have some good connections? How long have they lasted? Building smart connections ensures better quality and creates lasting relationships.

What are connections for, are they for leaning on when you need them? Are they built for you to help them, or them to help you? Is help part of the equation?

Are connections about back scratching? I’ll scratch yours and then you scratch mine? Is it the good olde boy network?

Today, it often feels like you need a degree in psychology to sell many products or services. You have to understand the marketplace, the people, and use all of the resources at your disposal. It’s not true in every sector, but it is true in many.

It may also be true in social media. Social connections, people you’ve never met. Social proof, do your pictures tell a story and spring others to action? Are you active on social media?

What about that new job you’re thinking about? Does anyone there know you, who would be a good reference or could give you a gleaming recommendation?

Smart Connections

Not all connections are the same. Many, but not all, seek reciprocity.

That isn’t all bad, but is it the true basis of connection?

Many non-profits go on funding drives. They make the ask. They apply a little pressure and you’re forced to consider your options.

Chambers of commerce host events. Drop a business card, shake (or fist-bump) a hand, or refer someone you know. Some of these have even ventured into an online, virtual option. Join us, we’ll chat, and become friends. Now, you’re on the email list.

LinkedIn, is designed mostly for business. People join, create a profile of experiences and credentials, make some connections, and establish a network.

Are any of these activities good? Are they smart?

Yes, and yes. They can also be over-cooked.

The elephant in the room is generosity. The more generous you are the better.

The tables haven’t turned, but people don’t value the feeling of being used.

Be authentic.

Be smart.

Strive to be more generous.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), 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.

29
Jul 21
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Broadcasting Your Message Doesn’t Mean More Hear It

Tags : broadcast connections messaging social media

Broadcasting your message might be one of the first steps in marketing or advertising. Often the concept is to make it louder, larger, or increasing the possibility for more listeners or viewers.

Does this work?

The best answer is probably, sometimes.

There is the law of numbers.

If you are a popular television host you might reach a lot of people. Write a book, show it for 15 seconds on the show and you may have just reached more than one million people. Will some of them buy it?

If you’re popular, probably yes. How many will be conditioned on many factors, but some of them will expect a message consistent with the imagine that they already like.

Will one-half of one percent buy it? Perhaps, yet that is only five thousand copies, out of a million watchers. Still a distance to go for best seller status, at least by most popular calculations.

Large numbers can generate some results.

Is it the secret to successful messaging?

Broadcasting Messages

In grade school and high school, the principal normally gave morning announcements. He or she broadcast it over an intercom system.

Was the entire student body listening? They may have been hearing it and have been disciplined enough to remain quiet, yet I’m sure many were not listening.

Highway or traffic signs matter. Do you always see them or pay attention and obey them? Driving in your local area do you pay attention to the street signs or those on the highway? Do you know what is on them?

Social media potentially reaches millions, does a message you post on Twitter mean everyone will see it? What about a YouTube video, will everyone watch it?

Broadcasting the right message, at the right time, to the right people holds the most power.

The television host sells more books because they’ve built a following, not about the book, but about their television personality or character.

Obtaining Apple, Dell, or HP’s mailing list won’t necessarily allow you to sell millions of clever keychains or copies of your water color painting of your favorite pet.

People listen and care when you build a connection with them. It is often why Super Bowl ads are a big success or a big failure. People connect or they don’t.

Perhaps it is more valuable to consider how to connect people with your message instead of worrying about the size of the broadcast.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), 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.

22
Oct 20
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Workplace Intentions Forge Stronger Connections

Tags : communication connections empathy intentional relationships

What are your workplace intentions? Are you striving to do good work, have effective communication, and foster stronger workplace relationships?

There is almost always some difference between what is said and what is heard.

It may be because we haven’t planned our words wisely, our emotions jumped in the way, or the receiver of the communication misunderstood.

Chances are good that both parties have some responsibility.

It’s true for working with peers, direct reports, and your boss. It is also true when communicating with the customer.

Much of what we hear is based on our expectations. You can recognize a difference in the flow and understanding when someone says, “I wasn’t expecting that.”

Workplace Intentions

Those differences between what one party says and the other party hears are enough to breakdown trust, sour the relationship, and cost the organization money.

An angry customer who feels insulted may leave forever. Their emotion of anger and insult is likely the result of their expectations not being met. Their expectations are often driven by their past experiences or clever advertising, marketing, or sales presentations.

What was the intent?

With co-workers, friends, or customers, your intent compared with their expectations will either forge stronger connections or tear them down.

It may be a good idea to express where you are coming from.

When everyone understands your intentions there is more empathy for communication that feels like a pinch.

Consider the value of recognizing when a salesperson is selling, the boss needs you to shift directions, or your co-worker is giving you some advice. It’s an opportunity to adjust your expectations.

Stronger connections are intentional.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), 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.

12
Jun 20
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Workplace Shift and the Forces of Change

Tags : change connections pivot shift workplace

Change isn’t always about a choice. Chances are great you’ve experienced a workplace shift. How you choose to navigate the forces of change will have something to do with the outcome.

For hundreds of years or more, humans have been expanding their communities.

Communities once invested in rail service to bring desirable change to the people of a town. It formed a connection.

They built pathways, roads, and bridges. If not a bridge, then a raft, a canoe, or a boat. They have successfully linked people through transportation and technology.

Change is always happening around us. Sometimes change is a choice, in other cases the only choice is how you’ll choose to react to change.

Workplace change has both external and internal forces.

Change Forces

Externally we can be forced to change by technology, government regulations, and the conditions of the economy. Even popular values, social needs, and a pandemic.

Inside the walls of the organization change may happen because of leadership directives, workforce demographics, and performance failures.

It doesn’t take much to spark a workplace shift.

Workplace Shift

A choice that everyone has is connected to how he or she will respond to the shift.

When you think of the shift that is happening now in your workplace is there an opportunity to connect? Can you connect the people with the process or establish a more meaningful connection with the customer?

More often than not, when a connection is formed everyone benefits.

Change is an opportunity for enhancing the right connections. It may not make sense by rail, by boat, or by plane, but it still may make sense.

Force can launch a shift, and the opportunity created by the shift can also launch a force.

It seems that opportunity in change is still about choice.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), 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.

31
Mar 20
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Remote Team Connections Still Matter

Tags : communication connections persistence remote work teams teams

Are you staying connected? Remote team connections will matter because not only do they keep everyone up-to-date, they create camaraderie that is irreplaceable.

Human interaction has mattered long before we had sophisticated systems that enable commerce opportunities. Long before quality was measured and before customer service became a thing.

As modern people we rely on the people that serve us.

It may be friendly help at the hardware store to make sure we get the right kind of screws. It may be the pet food supplier who gives us comfort that we’re giving our pet the best. Perhaps it is our medical doctor who pauses long enough to really listen and make us feel that someone understands.

In your workplace, there is often more happening than just the art of the actual work performed. There is the fulfillment of other human needs that may not be what the CEO is directly paying people to accomplish.

Remote Team Connections

People working together accomplish more than what a single standalone person may achieve.

There are different talents and abilities, backgrounds and education, and even motivation and team enthusiasm styles.

This is the root why connections still matter. Sure, there are many other aspects of your connections. However, when things split apart and more and more people are working remotely for the greater good of the organization, those relationships are still going to matter.

People are disrupted, disconnected, and many are afraid.

It is during times like this when reaching out, doing the hard and exhausting work, listening, caring, and demonstrating empathy make a difference.

During a disaster or major disruption connections take center stage.

-DEG

Two important webinars are happening soon. Managing Remote Work Teams and Mastering Work From Home.

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), 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.

20
Mar 20
-

Workforce Connections Are One Way to Navigate

Tags : adversity connections meetings online workforce

Is your office or building shut down? As it stands you still have a great opportunity with workforce connections.

Overcoming adversity is something most workplace professionals are skilled at, whether they realize it or not.

Today you have an opportunity. An opportunity to retreat and withdraw or start a digital conversation.

What if everything was normal?

You may take a great in the vending area or break room. You may drop by someone’s office or work area for a small catch up chat. Many people have impromptu brainstorming sessions. All in the course of a normal day.

What is stopping you today?

Workforce Connections

You can spend it in absolute isolation or you can reach out for a digital connection.

Hold a meeting, schedule a chat, meet online with colleagues. Have your coffee mug in hand, your dog, cat, or your kids in the background.

Everything you do is made up of small steps. Small thoughts, discussions, and work efforts. When they are all put together you have something. Something bigger than just the tiny pieces.

Today is as good of a day as any.

Carry-on.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), 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.

05
Sep 19
-

Trusted Connections In a New Age

Tags : brand connections image reputation trust

Are you apprehensive about taking the call, accepting a friend request from someone you don’t know, or opening an email message from an unknown sender? Trusted connections are more important now than ever before.

In a New Age

Occasionally I will take a call from an unknown, no caller identification, inbound telephone call. It is always a moment of risk and uncertainty.

Absolutely, I won’t know who is calling until there is a form of introduction on the call. I’m often listening for the connecting click, a familiar sound that means I’m being routed to telemarketing agent.

Sometimes as a voice begins speaking, I’m uncertain if it is a real person or a bot.

For pictures or social media, there are apps that apply filters, enhancing lighting, and change our appearance.

We have to be careful of fake products, imitations, and illegally cloned merchandise. Is the Louis Vuitton real, or a very cleverly produced imitation?

Even our food is becoming different. Is the Impossible Burger really possible?

Technology is writing a new script. People call it AI, or perhaps machine learning. Some experts will advise that those are two completely different concepts, yet socially people toss around the words synonymously.

Trusted Connections

Today your brand, your image, and your reputation will matter more than ever before. Trust is becoming more nebulous and at the same time more important.

In the workplace, we often consider the trusted advisor, the political currents around the office, and the latest message about benefits or policy from human resources. Are these trusted connections?

Marketing programs test the limits, shift your thinking, and make you wonder if there is a disclaimer in the fine print. Are these real users, or only a paid actor? We know the answer, but only when we pause to think it through.

If one thing is going to matter more tomorrow, it may begin with trust. The suggestion is that connections and community represent our future.

Who will you trust?

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), 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.

30
Aug 19
-

Building Connections Is More Than a Tactic

Tags : business connections networking professional growth relationships

Are you building connections? Friending someone on Facebook is a connection, yet it is does not ensure a human relationship. Who makes up your network and why?

People Connections

People attend business breakfast meetings, luncheons, and evening mixers. What is their reason or motive? In part, it may be to build relationships.

Why do people come away from the conference or convention feeling motivated and pumped up? It probably has something to do with the connections made or relationships built.

What inspires or motivates people in your workplace? It probably has something to do with the people, the environment, and the culture.

Building Connections

On-line or in-person people are often seeking a community. Communities of like interests, hobbies, or professions. People who have something to give, share, or gain from the interaction. It doesn’t make them fake. It makes them real.

The statement often is, “Everyone is in sales.”

Yes, it is true. We’re all probably selling something. Sometimes, more often than we realize, we are selling ourselves. That doesn’t mean a forced activity, it means building relationships.

Connection is more strategy than it is tactic. The tactical approach may be the literal part of a technological connection. LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, or many others. Friends, followers, and social networks. Your connection count is a tactic.

Think more strategic and less tactically.

In order to connect, you have to find other people. You have to arrive, engage, and take risks. You have to look for the opportunity in misfortune, adverse conditions, and economic challenges. Celebrate wins, good fortune, and growth.

Building connections are part of the strategy for growth.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), 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.

21
Jan 19
-

Making Connections in the Connection Economy

Tags : connection economy connections sales success

Many have labeled our current economic climate as a connection economy. Considering that is a fair label, are you making connections?

So often we are focused on the product, the service, or other tangible aspects of our business. Build the best product. Have the best quality. Deliver the best service.

We do it in our careers too. Get more education. Have the most credentials. Achieve the best title. Make lots of money.

Business or personal, all these things are important. Yet, many businesses and people struggle to close the sale, struggle to get recognized for superior service, or struggle to find a new job or get that all-important promotion.

Questions to Ask

The questions may become:

“In a connection economy what makes growing companies grow?”

“In a connection economy what is important for the new job, career change, or advancement?”

The best answers may be as simple as it seems. Connections.

Many people suggest that society is shifting. Heads down, many stare at a small device held in the palm of their hand. A technology prayer.

Yet, humanity still seeks connections. In-person, or through technology, the social interaction often drives what happens next.

Making Connections

It becomes about who we think of when we need a new employee. It becomes about the brands and products we choose in a sea of possible selections.

The fastest growing companies on the planet are doing more than making things, selling stuff, or delivering exceptional service. Again, all those things matter but what matters in a connection economy is building strong connections.

Make good stuff, deliver great service, be the best you can be.

Be sure to connect.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), 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+

13
Dec 17
-

Customer Experience Connections and Moments

Tags : connections customer experience frustration generosity moments

There are many labels for our current business climate. There is the connection economy, the digital economy, and my personal favorite is a label of, service economy. Regardless of the label, real customer experience connections and moments are more important now than ever.

When we think of connection, we often think of social media experiences. Connecting, friending, and following all wrap meaning around the social media experience. Those are really just faux connections though. Yes, they have some importance, but they aren’t the same as making a real connection.

Recently I was returning home after spending more than seven hours driving on the road. It was dark, cold, and I was hungry.

One of my favorite fixes for this is a carryout pizza. Just minutes away, I made the call to the pizza shop and arrived with precise timing.

Rush of Frustration

As I stepped out of my car, a pizza delivery person rushed around me from the side. He was talking to himself, mumbling something about kid’s behavior and their parents, and discipline. He must have just had a difficult delivery.

Although my day was long and hectic, I was tired, and I was hungry, I somehow felt this was going to be an interesting moment.

He rushed into the pizza shop, threw down his pizza bags, shed a coat, and stepped behind the cash register. I stood opposite him, waiting patiently.

He attempted to login and couldn’t get the code right, he was breathing heavy, and was obviously frustrated.

After a moment or two, he put both his hands out in front of him, palms down, and quickly swooshed his arms to both sides in a movement signifying calmness. He took a deep breath, looked up at me and said, “How are you doing sir?”

I said, “I’m OK, it’s OK.”

He said, “It’s been a crazy night, a crazy, crazy night.”

I said with a patient smile, “It’s all just moments. Just moments, it will be alright.”

His eyes shifted to the side in a moment of thought, then his shoulders dropped, he relaxed, he smiled, and we were, connected.

Customer Experience Connections

Sometimes when we say customer experience what we really mean is forming a connection. It is isn’t a like on Facebook, it isn’t a new follower on Twitter, and our network hasn’t just expanded on LinkedIn.

All of those things may cause a rush of dopamine in a technology-connected society. The purchase of a lottery ticket may do that too. The reality of outcomes sometimes makes us crave more.

A true connection is something different, a little more intense, and lasting.

Sometimes one of the best things to improve the customer experience is generosity. It doesn’t matter how your day is going, it matters more when you hold a door for someone, smile first, or make the moment more human.

These connections are valuable. More importantly, they are often repeated and shared.

– DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), 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.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

Tag Archives: connections

Sep 21

-

Smart Connections

Jul 21

-

Broadcasting Messages

Oct 20

-

Workplace Intentions

Jun 20

-

Change Forces

Workplace Shift

Mar 20

-

Remote Team Connections

Mar 20

-

Workforce Connections

Sep 19

-

In a New Age

Trusted Connections

Aug 19

-

People Connections

Building Connections

Jan 19

-

Questions to Ask

Making Connections

Dec 17

-

Rush of Frustration

Customer Experience Connections

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