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				September 1 Issue In this issue: COULD THE GOLDEN RULE BE WRONG? by Bill Irby CONSISTENCY by Ron Moore ************************************************* COULD THE GOLDEN RULE BE WRONG? By Bill Irby How would you feel if you found out that a fundamental truth that you've believed since you were a child wasn't exactly true? What would think if you found out that the golden rule, or at least the way the rule was taught to you, is wrong? We all know the golden rule. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Isn't that what we have been told all of our lives? I would suggest that the happiest, most successful, most fulfilled people we know don't follow the golden rule as we've been taught it! Do the happiest and most successful people you know share any common traits? You know the people I'm talking about. People with genuine success and true lifelong relationships. Do they share common traits? I bet they do, although probably not the traits you would expect. What traits do they share? 1) They are very good listeners. Successful people focus on you as you speak. They are truly interested in what you have to say. These successful people treat you in ways that make you feel comfortable and relaxed around them. They always try to understand how you process and absorb information. They give you information in ways that are helpful to you. These folks speak to you in ways that make you feel important and appreciated. 2) They ask you lots and lots of relevant questions! Don't you hate people who are always telling and never asking? Very successful people ask you questions and they actually listen to your answer. They listen twice as much as they talk. 3) They take specific action based on what you have told them. Very successful people prove they listen by treating you and your views with the respect you deserve. We all feel comfortable with people who understand our feelings and how we think. We all want others to know and understand what is important to us. Here is my key rule when working with others: Seek to understand before you seek to be understood. I discovered this truth when I was just beginning my career. I was talking to the owner of a small business about my product. I told him all of the benefits and features my product provided. At the end of my call, the business owner told me he really liked my presentation. He only had one question for me. This question really made me take a look at how I worked with my customers. What was his question? 'What is this product going to do for me'? I realized that based on our conversation so far, I truthfully couldn't answer his question. I hadn't even asked him enough about his business to understand how our product would benefit him specifically. I certainly didn't understand his emotional state or his problems. That moment changed my view of the world. I knew from that moment forward I must first concentrate on understanding the needs and wants of my customer before I would be able to help him understand how my product would benefit him. Since this time I have used an alternative version of the olden rule. This new 'golden rule' has lead me down the path of success and happiness. My golden rule is "do unto others as they would like done unto them." ABOUT THE ATHOUR** Learn how extremely successful salespeople consistently win! Bill Irby has created the ultimate selling guide. "Discover The Secrets Of Extremely Successful Salespeople" Free Details=> http://www.secretsofexceptionalsalespeople.com * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * CONSISTENCY by Ron Moore In the treatment of employees, most human relation departments will tell you that consistency is a necessity. I use to joke with supervisors working with me "if they were going to be unfair or do stupid things to at least be consistent". I explained to them that when a supervisor or manager does things in an uneven fashion in the handling of employees, that the fairness issue developed. So doing something wrong was correctable as long as they done it the same for everyone. Fairness issues to employees become a cancer in any setting. So when doing training for employees, remember that consistency is needed here also. It is easy to pick top performers to go to special classes or select a person who you think has supervisory potential to learn some additional areas or new jobs and skills. Sometimes your efforts to reward these people, effect the perception of fairness by other employees. Many employees can and would do not if given the right motivation and training. One way to avoid the perception trap is to sit down with your employees one on one at least once a year. During these meetings discuss what training you think they need and in area of interest or need they would like to receive training. Learning the interest and the needs of the employees will allow you to provide the right motivation and skills for them and increase employee satisfaction and productivity. Make this a separate meeting from annual reviews. This should be given the appearance of being important. If it is not, please don't do it. It is important to create a training log or file on each employee and work toward meeting the goals that you have set together. It is great to use during employee review periods and during the next year's training meeting. You must be responsible in keeping the records up to date and making sure you provided the training as discussed during the meeting. Training is what makes the difference in a good place to work and a great place to work. Anytime you give employees the opportunity to talk about and make decisions about their future, you have an employee giving you their all. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ron Moore is the President of National Resource & Training Services (www.nrts.org) and the co-founder of the American Training & Seminar Association ( www.AmericanTSA.com). He is a Certified Professional Trainer and a Certified Seminar Leader. He can be contacted at rmoore@AmericanTSA.com.

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