The New Leaf™
The Official Newsletter of Authentic Promotion™
Volume 5, No. 42, October 21, 2003
U.S. Library of Congress ISSN: 1530-311X
Molly Gordon, Master Certified Coach
Please forward this issue without cutting. That's how we grow!
In This Issue
Fast Focus: Come Alive
Simple Gifts: Know Your Heart
Open for Business: Set the Context for Success
Readers Write: Elevator Speech E-book Delivers Answers
Coaching: Two Openings in November
The Bedside Table: Next Generation Business Books
Shameless Plug: Early Light Music
Quick Links: Resources
Small Print: Copyright | Getting on and Off the List
Privacy Statement | Contact Info
Fast Focus
Come Alive
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs - ask yourself what makes you
come alive, and then go do it. Because what the world needs is people
who have come alive." Harold Thurman Whitman
What makes you come alive? What is it that you can't help doing that
adds value to the world around you? Is there a spark that you nurture
in secret? How might you coax this spark into a steady glow ? How can
you share that glow with someone else this week?
Please send your thoughts and questions to
letters@mollygordon.com . Please do not reply to this newsletter
as your message will be lost in cyber-limbo.
Simple Gifts
Know Your Heart
Every week I offer a useful resource to readers, and every week
hundreds of you request the related autoresponder. Far and away the
most popular of these "simple gifts" is my guide to discernment. Based
on a time honored spiritual practice, you can use this guide to listen
to the promptings of your heart and to follow the guidance of Spirit.
Get your copy by sending a blank email to discernment@mollygordon.com
with "simple gifts" in the subject line.
Open for Business
Open for Business: Set the Context for Success
[This is a substantial revision of an earlier article, Be A Context
Master, which appeared in the January 7, 2002, issue.]
Do you ever wonder how some people seem to have an easier time of
business than you do? It may be that these people are natural context
masters, or perhaps they have learned, like you can, to set the
context for a successful business.
Context is that which influences the meaning or interpretation of
actions and events. My friend and colleague, Charlie Badenhop
(www.seishindo.org), uses the following example to illustrate the
principle of context:
Imagine that you just led your team to victory in a soccer tournament.
In the exuberant celebration that follows, your teammates dowse you
with a pail of cold water. To what do you attribute their action? How
does this affect your relationship with them? What happens next?
In comparison, imagine that you step out of your office dressed for
work. A complete stranger dashes up and pours a pail of cold water on
you. How do you react? What assumptions do you make about the person
who dowsed you? What kind of relationship develops? What happens next?
How does your reaction differ from the previous example with the
change in context?
Everything that happens to you in life and at work happens in context.
In business, context affects your vision, motivation, ambition, and
follow through. It also affects how others perceive and respond to
your offer. Context determines your interpretation of what is
happening in the present and also shapes what happens next.
Some aspects of context are beyond your control, but few aspects are
beyond your influence. Whether by working with your own moods and
beliefs or with the external setting in which your work takes place,
you have a virtually unlimited set of options for setting a context
that will tend to shape positive outcomes. By paying attention to the
options and learning to use them, you can become a master of context.
Masters of context pay attention to circumstances that they can
influence so that what takes place in those circumstances can be
experienced in a positive light and so that what happens next is
likely to generate a win for all involved. Masters of context create a
distinct mood around their product and services. Masters of context
are aware of and responsible for the beliefs they hold about
themselves and about their customers and network. Masters of context
are rigorous about not only the technical accuracy of their messages
but also their intention and tone.
Here's an example of how context mastery can influence the outcome of
a common business situation. Andrew is an architect. Working with his
coach, he has identified his niche and his ideal client. He has also
decided to request a retainer at the beginning of projects. When a new
client (who meets Andrew's criteria in every way) gave the go ahead
for an exciting project, Andrew sent them his standard agreement and a
letter outlining the scope of the project and requesting a $7,500
retainer.
A week after sending the agreement, Andrew had not heard back from the
client. He started telling himself that the client probably did not
want to pay the retainer and/or was having second thoughts about
hiring Andrew. He began to imagine that the client was offended and
that they no longer wanted to hire him. Notice that Andrew has no
evidence for these assumptions apart from his personal history with
money, his fears, and the mood of anxiety and insufficiency that
exists as a sort of backdrop for Andrew's business dealings.
Fortunately, Andrew talked the situation over with his coach. Together
they looked at the context Andrew was setting (for the most part
unawares) for this agreement. Andrew noticed how negative assumptions
and beliefs were shaping his understanding of things. Then they looked
at what was likely to happen next if Andrew allowed this context to
operate unchanged. Andrew saw that his next step, a phone call to the
client, would be fraught with silent fear and frustration, sending a
message that could undermine the relationship.
Andrew's coach invited him to try on some alternative beliefs and
attitudes about what might be going on with the client and to see how
they changed the context and how that, in turn, would affect his next
step. Here are some of the alternative assumptions they played. Notice
how a shift in assumption changes the context and how that affects the
nature of the relationship and the logical next steps.
-- The client may have any number of reasons for not having responded
yet, reasons that have nothing to do with the retainer. These could
include having intervening matters to deal with, needing to consult
with other parties, or simply operating in a different time frame than
Andrew expected. Andrew could call and inquire with simple curiosity
whether or not the agreement had been received, whether the client had
had time to review it, and whether there were any questions.
-- What Andrew, who is just starting out in business, sees as a large
sum of money and therefore crucial to his cash flow, may appear to his
new client as a rather small sum, a sum that the client does not
realize has such an impact on Andrew's business. Understanding that
different people have very different ways of looking at money, Andrew
can now ask about the retainer without sending an unconscious message
that questions his client's integrity. He can be more specific about
the timing of payments that will be necessary for him to do his best
work. He can work with the client to find mutually agreeable and
convenient ways to schedule payments.
-- The client may indeed be having second thoughts, and may be in need
of Andrew's professional perspective to evaluate changing
circumstances or emerging concerns. By calling and asking in a mood of
genuine interest and asking if he can be of help, he can not only move
the project closer to reality but also establish himself as a true
partner, a reliable and valued resource for his new client.
It's easy to find places to practice context mastery: just look for
situations in which you feel irritated, resentful, or fearful. These
background emotions are alerting you to the opportunity to create a
more positive and fruitful context for success. Experiment, observe,
and adjust your actions until your context aligns with the results you
want.
Don't miss a single issue. For tips on ensuring delivery, send a
blank email to delivery@mollygordon.com .
Readers Write
Elevator Speech E-book Delivers Answers
Dear Molly,
I just wanted to tell you how great a resource your newsletter has
been -- especially today's issue that I've just received and read.
I'm a coaching student with CoachU and last night, I was really
feeling down in the dumps because I've been wrestling with both
figuring out my niche given who I am, and related to that, crafting
my elevator speech. I reached a point last night where I was about
ready to throw in the towel and say,"I give up!"
But when I clicked on your newsletter today and read both the
Naming Your Niche story and also the link to Jeff Mayer's e-book
on how to write an elevator speech, I felt as feel a huge stone
had been lifted from my chest because I was finally getting some
good answers to what I've been struggling with for so long.
Thanks again for such a great newsletter!
Warmly,
Lee Westell
Imagine Life Coaching
http://radio.weblogs.com/0129300/
Coaching
Two Openings in November
I have room for two new clients beginning in November. If you have a
strong sense of purpose, a powerful appetite for learning, and the
desire to connect your heart's desire with measurable results in the
outside world, let's talk. To reserve time for an interview in the
first week of November, contact debbie@mollygordon.com . Do NOT reply
to this newsletter or email/phone me directly as I am out of the
office 10/24 through 11/2 and Debbie will be handling all
appointments.
Prior to your appointment, please review my coaching FAQ at
http://www.mollygordon.com/coaching/coachfaq.html .
If you'd like a copy of my coach referral list, which contains
profiles of experienced coaches in a variety of niches, email
referrals@mollygordon.com with "coaches" in the subject line.
The Bedside Table
Next Generation Business Books
I call these two books "next generation" books because they build
on yet go beyond the scope of previous work by such masters as Stephen
Covey.
The Power Of Full Engagement by Tony Schwartz and Jim Loehr updates
Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by shifting from Covey's
more or less linear approach to best practices to a more organic and
holistic way of building improved performance and increased capacity
on core values by identifying barriers to growth and effectiveness and
designing tailored rituals or practices for creating change. Highly
recommended.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0743226747/mollygordonperso
Similarly, Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by
David Allen incorporates the best practices of previous time and paper
management models but takes them to a new level by acknowledging that
we need different sorts of systems at different phases of development
both in terms of our own development and the life cycle of projects.
At last, a book about being organized that transcends rigid solutions
yet offers practical tools and techniques. It's earned a spot on my
permanent bookshelf.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0142000280/
Searching for a book or CD or other product on Amazon?
When you use these links to Amazon search engines you
support The New Leaf. Please visit and bookmark them today.
US: http://www.mollygordon.com/searchbook.html
UK: http://www.mollygordon.com/eurobook.html
Shameless Plug
Early Light Music
Sunlight through cedars. Birdsong. A cool, cheek-kissing breeze.
Peace. This is what the music of Werner John, proprietor of Early
Light Music brings into my office. I've written often of the
importance of the context we set for our lives and work. Werner's
music is a subtle but powerful means of setting context that supports
ease, resilience, and the quiet confidence that all is well. Check out
Werner's CDs and his gorgeous handmade flutes at
http://www.woodflutes.com .
Quick Links
Resources and Happy Distractions
Linda Wotring sends this happy distraction, a short animation
at The Alliance for the New Humanity site:
http://www.anhglobal.org/wombat.html
Thank you for supporting The New Leaf by purchasing the products
and services recommended below. I personally test every product I
recommend, and every merchant will refund your investment if you are
not satisfied. If they don’t make it right, I will.
===>Make Sales Without Selling: Kendall SummerHawk's
three-tape series, "What to Say if You Hate to Sell," shows exactly
how to have a respectful, authentic, thoughtful conversation with
prospects, a conversation that results in people asking if they can
hire you (how would you like that!?). http://www.cartville.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=38272
Small Print
Copyright | Getting On and Off the List
Unless otherwise attributed, all material is written and
edited by Molly Gordon, MCC.Copyright (c) Shaboom Inc. (r) 2003.
All rights reserved. www.mollygordon.com
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