Is Your Business Likeable?1. Is Your Business
Likeable?
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PRESENTS
© 2013 The Mudd Partnership | www.themuddpartnership.com | @muddpartnership | www.fb.com/muddpartnership
2. Did you know that one of the central questions for predicting Organisational &
Business Success is how likeable you, your employees and your company is?
Aleksander Solzhenitsyn believed that being „good & likeable‟ & „not so good &
not so likeable‟ was inherent in us all – everyone has the capacity to be both
„good or bad‟ – & as Dr Samuel Johnson might have said, „The presence of a
Gulag very probably focused the mind wonderfully‟!
Recent research carried out by the Carnegie Institute of Technology shows that
85% of your financial success is due to skills in Human Engineering; your
personality & ability to communicate, negotiate & lead – your personal charisma
perhaps?
Daniel Kahneman a prize winning psychologist has also found that
people, perhaps not unsurprisingly, would rather spend time, listen to and do
business with a person they like and trust, rather than someone they don’t, even if
the likeable person is offering a lower quality product or service at a higher price.
Whilst Robert House back in 1977 raised the importance of Emotional Interaction
as integral to great Leadership.
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3. Today’s Slideshare pulls together several strands that have recently emerged
from our Thought Sharing pieces on Management, Leadership, Organisational &
People Development themes and which The Mudd Partnership believes are all
vital to both creating the conditions for and ensuring the super performance of
Individuals, Teams, Organisations, Boards & Businesses. Everywhere in fact, where
Communication is key and is not just about broadcasting ideas, visions &
policies, but is also very fundamentally about eliciting ideas from others & having
a conversation.
In addition, the traits and characteristics we are now going to identify and
discuss are not in any way unnatural to the human condition. If lacking, or not
naturally prominent, they can be nurtured & supported through Coaching &
other development activities; & we feel that each trait when combined together
forms a greater, more coherent and powerful whole, from which a more likeable
and successful Individual, Business, Leader, Team or Executive Board can
emerge.
Let’s Start ⇒
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4. Being Authentic
We will be blogging specifically about Authentic Leadership very soon, but for
The Mudd Partnership the core of Authenticity is accepting and being who you
really are; There is a saying that goes, “Always be yourself, unless you can be
Batman – Then be Batman” – But what really is Authenticity? It could in part be
Jean Paul Sartre’s notion of „Acting in Good faith‟, but let’s perhaps not get too
existentialist about this! Certainly, living your values, having integrity, recognising
your own vulnerability, acting with humility and being grateful are all key
characteristics, as is being positive and energetic; Being transparent is also a
prerequisite, particularly with being comfortable in today’s on-line world and
being able to share both your public and private self, as there is increasingly less
of an obvious dividing line; next
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5. Being Emotionally Intelligent
Remembering the work of Daniel Goleman & Richard Boyatziz, this is our old
friend and so very, very important – increasingly though there is more and more
discussion emerging around the supporting elements of Moral Intelligence &
Body Intelligence & we’ll look in more detail at these and how important they are
in future Blogs; Emotional Intelligence though is perhaps best defined under the
headings of – Self & Social Awareness, being aware of your own feelings, needs
and requirements & sensitive and responsive to those of others – Self
Management, regulating those feelings in yourself and others, using emotions
that are appropriate to the situation, &, being self-motivated – &
finally, Relationship Management, building relationships and being able to
handle conflict and influence others: It is also important to develop healthy
coping strategies and become aware of your Inner Dialogue; which brings us to
the trait of…
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6. Being Able To Tell A Story
Are you able to speak in images and communicate a vision that others can
smell, touch and feel i.e. really engage with?
People crave simplicity and also they want ideas and propositions they can
relate to; The ability to visualize, distill complex ideas which can be simply and
clearly articulated, to develop a coherent narrative arc, &, be both compelling
and persuasive will all add immeasurably to your own and your Businesses or
Organisations likeability quotient; Storytelling is just as important whether you are
a small business owner or the CEO, Leader of a Council, or Chair of a major
company where you need to sell the vision for the whole Organisation; Telling a
compelling Story is what captivates and engages people with the new product-
line, or service, the business case for restructuring, or the grand new vision &
design for growth, &, motivates them to take part and contribute to its success; In
Change Management, or, Business, Leadership & Organisational
Development, we must not underestimate the power of narrative; which neatly
leads us to the other side of the coin…
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7. Being Able To Listen
There is a great line from Chekov which goes, „Everybody‟s talking but nobody‟s
listening”, whilst Harvard’s Ronald Heifetz & Marty Linsky talk about listening for
the, “Song beneath the words”; Listening and being able to pick up on both
verbal and non verbal clues is the cornerstone of any successful relationship and
great businesses, excellent leaders, &, super performing individuals and
organisations listen to what their
customers, prospects, colleagues, competitors, investors, share & stakeholders
have to say – & the very best Listen More! A very good book to read on this
is, „Pitch Perfect‟ by John Leach & John Moon which looks in some detail at
Functional Mastery, Customer Connectivity & Momentum; next
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8. Being A Black Swan
Super Performing Individuals, Businesses & Organisations are agile, humble and
willing, which sets them apart and enables them to respond in a fast-
paced, quick-to-change world; In other Blogs/Slides we have looked at
developing Resilience & becoming Anti-Fragile, which means that you and your
business or organization thrives where change is a constant and you not only
endure the “Slings & Arrows of Outrageous Fortune”, but benefit from the
challenges and shocks of random events; & finally
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9. Being Passionate
Not withstanding the inherent tension in any enterprise to be pragmatic, don’t
forget the Passion! Do you Love what you do & do what you Love? Bring passion
into the workplace and you can create remarkable advantages; Passion is
contagious & it can bind and unify, whilst the stronger it becomes the greater the
potential for growth and performance above and beyond the norm; So actively
look for ways to increase passion across everything you do and are responsible
for by for instance looking for opportunities to think outside the box, to innovate &
to surprise and delight!
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Questions?
© 2013 The Mudd Partnership | www.themuddpartnership.com | @muddpartnership | www.fb.com/muddpartnership