Brittany Mathis was diagnosed with the small ping-pong ball sized tumour in December but can’t afford surgery to remove it because she doesn’t have health insurance to cover the cost of the operation. Already since her tumour was diagnosed, her medical bills have been piling up. The kind-hearted boss is selling his business to help his teenage waitress receive potentially life-saving brain tumour surgery.

Other members of the Mathis family work at the restaurant and De Beyer said he felt a moral obligation to help them out. “Here’s a family, they really work hard they have had a lot of stuff go against them in the past and they are not holding their hand out. They didn’t even ask anybody for help,” he said.

Brittany Mathis works as a hostess, server, and helps out in other ways at the restaurant. She has brain cancer in the form of a ping-pong ball sized tumour in her brain. Mathis learned that she had the tumour after a neurosurgeon examined her and conducted an MRI and CAT Scan.

Brittany had entered the hospital after complaining of headaches, poor vision, and dizziness. Brittany’s tumour is on the left side of her skull, which has led to a rash on the side of her face.

Her father John, reportedly died from a brain aneurysm caused by a tumour in 2000.

Brittany’s mum Barbara Mathis, who also works at the Kaiserhof restaurant with her older sister Kay, is desperate for any help she can get to save her daughter.

The teenager described the offer as an “amazing blessing” adding she “never thought anybody would do that”.

This story is a timely reminder of the true value of wealth creation in business and the difference we can make to the lives we touch through financial success. I am sure that the owner of the Kaiserhof, Michael De Beyer, will reap the reward of his act of kindness in many different ways, not the least of which is the worldwide attention that has been focused on his decision to sell and the potential buyers it may bring as a result. Both he and his young employee and her family who also work for Michael, will all hopefully share in the positive outcomes as a result.

Here’s the story in full.

Until next time… Let’s seek to understand more and judge less. Have a wonderful week and a prosperous New Year. – Brian

Precision Profiling – What Makes You Tick? Through ‘Motivational Fingerprinting’ we uncover what you do, how you do it and why you do it, and most importantly, the hidden patterns that lead to your success, and that of your staff.

Until next time… Let’s seek to understand more and judge less. Have a wonderful week and a safe New Year celebration. – Brian

Precision Profiling – What Makes You Tick? Through ‘Motivational Fingerprinting’ we uncover what you do, how you do it and why you do it, and most importantly, the hidden patterns that lead to your success, and that of your staff.

This happened to a global resource company client of mine a couple of years ago. They had advertised for a senior engineer to fulfil the role of Project Manager for all of their major feasibility studies that were in the pipeline. The person they had shortlisted had all of the right experience and qualifications, and had recently been employed in a role at another company that involved major project oversight. Prior to that, this candidate had a succession of business development type roles which relied on his engineering experience and training. According to my client he seemed like the right person for the job. Certainly he seemed to ‘tick all the right boxes,’ but there was something that didn’t quite seem to gel in their due diligence and so they asked me for my assessment. It concerned the fact that the two reference checks they had undertaken were throwing up anomalies that they could not reconcile and they wanted to know why. Here is what I discovered…

After profiling the candidate which included both quantitative on-line testing as well as a two hour discussion and qualitative assessment of his language patterns, I was able to confidently report to my client that neither of the previous employers were lying, and that both were correct in their personal assessment of the candidate’s performance. It depended less on whether he had the competency to undertake the role and more on his motivational preferences as to how he was motivated to use the skills he had and process his model of the world. His ‘motivational fingerprint’ if you will. Here is what I said…

    … “For the Project Oversight role where project leadership involves conceptual analysis and strategy, detailed risk assessment, systemic thinking followed by a properly structured plan of action taking into account all of the competing factors, the candidate has the experience and training but his ‘motivational fingerprint’ does not support him working in this way.”

Across the board he had rated motivational patterns like Concept and Structure; Reflection and Patience (i.e. Thinking before Acting); Focus on Information and Systems; Problem Solving (Risk Mitigation); Evolution (i.e. Gradual Change and Development); and Depth Orientation as quite low in his preferences. His language patterns in the discussion we had, reinforced this assessment of mine. Note: This is not to say that he was not trained nor competent in these disciplines. It is just that it was not his preferred way of working or using his skills.

    … “For the Business Development role where leadership involves the ability to seek out new development opportunities; make quick decisions; initiate action; and drive a team towards a long term goal, the candidate exhibits all of the action-oriented patterns one would expect to see as part of his motivational make-up, both in his quantitative assessment and in my qualitative assessment of our discussion.”

Across the board he had rated highly the following motivational patterns which indicated a strong preference for speed and action:- Focus on Activity; Initiation; Use (i.e. Jumping into Action); Convinced Automatically; Convinced by Doing (as opposed to Reading; Seeing or Listening); Difference (i.e. a preference for Rapid and Discontinuous change) and Goal Orientation.

Once I had shared my assessment with my client, it quickly became obvious to them why the manager who had employed the candidate in a Project Oversight role rated his performance so poorly and why the manager who had employed him in a Business Development role would hire him again tomorrow if the opportunity presented itself.

Both were telling the truth in the context of the role the candidate had performed for them previously, just as much as two people looking at a car accident from different perspectives and vantage points will describe the same scene differently, even though the reality of the crash was identical.

So the decision that was presented to my client quickly became a no-brainer as a result. The only question that needed to be addressed was whether the role for which they were hiring him was more of a Project Oversight role or a Business Development role, even though the candidate was equally skilled for both.

Given that the role at the resource company was a closer motivational fit to the one the candidate had reportedly underperformed in, the observation was made that this candidate might not be the right person for that role. Another more suitable candidate was subsequently chosen. This was not only the right decision for the employer but also in the best interests of the candidate regardless of his personal wishes.

Placing a ‘square peg in a round hole’ is not only a potential risk for the employer but also potentially highly stressful for the employee involved. As employees we should always aim to work towards our preferences and strengths that we develop as a result of those preferences, otherwise we will only invite feelings of boredom or inadequacy within ourselves.

Here is the challenge for employers however:–

All too often I observe that organisations only select or promote based on very limited criteria….

1. Competency – can they do the job?
2. Previous Experience – has someone else said they can do the job?
3. Gut Feeling – do we think they can do the job?
4. Rapport – do we like them enough to want them to do the job?
5. Performance over Time – after 3-6 months of trial and error, will we discover if they can do the job?

The missing ingredients in all of this which are crucial to the final decision are the Attitudes and Motivations of the Individual. i.e. Are they the right fit/best fit for the role? These measures are the most important and effective predictors of job performance, and employers ignore this fact at their peril.

As a result of ground-breaking research and development in psychometric testing over the past ten years, it is now possible to predict with a certain degree of confidence, how an executive will be most likely motivated to perform, behave and communicate in his/her specific work environment. This means that you can now unlock the motivational code for improving engagement, effectiveness and performance in the workforce from the highest to the most basic levels of employment. Not only can we now measure what motivates someone at work, but also to what degree and by how much these drivers motivate them, compared to the rest of the standard population.

The knowledge that a company gleans from these insights is a proven recipe for more incisive and effective candidate selection or promotion, and for more targeted information into successful ‘on-boarding’ or personal career development. This assists immeasurably in ensuring that an organisation’s external candidate/ internal succession selection processes are conducted at world’s best practice levels.

What are your thoughts on this? I’d love to read them.

Drop me an email to brian@precisionprofiling.com.au if you would like to discuss further how to select the right people for your roles and how to leverage that knowledge for the benefit of them and your organisation.

Until then… Let’s seek to understand more and judge less. Have a great week – Brian

Precision Profiling – What Makes You Tick? Through ‘Motivational Fingerprinting’ we uncover what you do, how you do it and why you do it, and most importantly, the hidden patterns that lead to your success, and that of your team.

Buckle up folks, the campaign has begun.  Five weeks of claim and counter-claim; five weeks of promises, promises, promises… or should I say… core promises; non-core promises; generalised promises; promises that say a lot but mean very little; promises to undo; promises to stitch up; motherhood statements; quick grabs of meaningless platitudes and so the list goes on. Call me a cynic, but as a student of language and behaviour, this next five weeks is sure to give me heaps of material to share with you. To start the ball rolling, here’s some of what you can be sure to see and hear…

1.    The Hot Dog Drama. In Australia we all love an underdog… the one who gets a vote of sympathy because of their underdog status. No one likes the cock-a-hoops, even if they are the obvious front runner. It’s in our nature to want to knock them off their perch. So expect to hear the words… “It’s a tough battle.” “We don’t take the Australian voters for granted.” “We don’t underestimate the enormity of the task ahead of us.”  Translation:  “Please treat us as the humble underdog because we want your support not your contempt.”

2.    Poll-y-tics.  Polls, polls, polls. Need I say more? We will be beaten around our collective heads with polls about this and polls about that… every day, every week, every subject big and small. There will be ‘push polling,’ blind polling, news polling, party polling, independent polling, leadership polling and ‘who’s in front today?’ polling until we are all feeling a little ‘poll-axed.’  And what will our aspiring leaders and their ilk be saying? You guessed it… “The only poll that counts is the one on election day.”  Translation: (If ahead) “We will try not to look smug, but inside we’re doing cartwheels.” (If behind) “Oh s—t, what announcement can we make today that will hijack the headlines.”

3.    Taking de Bait.  Aah the debate about the debate.  This is the opposite to the underdog claim. The real debate here will be over who has the ‘hairiest chest,’ meaning who’s the brave-heart and who’s the coward? Expect to hear the constant refrain of “He’s afraid to debate me,” and “I’ll debate him anytime and anywhere – just name the time and place,” or “He’s not playing fair – I will only debate on these terms.”  Translation: “If we have to have a debate, let’s make sure we sound good and look like we are across all subjects even if we don’t make much sense, and for heaven’s sake – we need to win the worm.” (For non-Australians – it’s the live feedback mechanism during the debate at the bottom of our TV screens tracking perceived credibility from a selected audience.)

4.    Press the Flesh.  Babies beware. You are about to be picked up, forehead kissed, cuddled, and generally manhandled in all sorts of ways by all sorts of strangers if you and Mum or Dad are anywhere near a roving polly within two feet of a camera crew. There is nowhere to hide if you are in the front row and within their line of sight in any shopping centre, supermarket, mall or strip shop, where a polly just happens to be touring with cameras and minders in tow. Your best defence is a well aimed burst of pee on said baby-handler. Second choice – scream for all you’re worth.  This attempt to hijack you for thirty seconds shows the assembled throng that the polly is a man/woman of the people, especially for those of our future generations. Translation: “Hopefully this photo-op will show my human qualities. It doesn’t make much sense to me. Thankfully I only have to do it once every three-four years.“

5.    Hard Heads and Flouro Fashion.  Yes there will be lots of visits to factory sites and building sites and any other sites that need the donning of the ubiquitous hard hat and a flouro vest. It shows the punters out there that we get behind our workforce, the backbone of our nation, and that this election is all about jobs, jobs, jobs. (When haven’t we heard that one?) This fashion statement is best accessorised by an open neck business-casual shirt with sleeves rolled up if male, and nothing too formal if female. Translation: “Another photo-op that shows me to be a man/woman of the people – this time, not the battling families and their young children, but the average worker doing it tough.“

6.    Family Ties. Oh yes, time to trot out the happy snaps of the family if they have one to show off. Preferably one of said candidate and the spouse and two and a half smiling kids posing in a specially crafted studio shot. If he/she happens to be part of a blended family, or some other iteration of the modern day family unit, the image they have to show is that they are an average family man/woman who identifies with all of their constituents. Place the pics on their local printed letter box drop material where appropriate. And if one happens to be the leader of the party, assemble them behind oneself on stage at the BCL (Big Campaign Launch). Translation: “Hide any hint of family dysfunction and accentuate the positives.”

7.    Noddies in Toyland.  Aah the Noddies are back on the scene. You know the ones. There’s normally between one to three of them standing behind the leader as he/she makes the big policy announcement, often outdoors. They will look appropriately serious, show deference to the leader making the announcement and they will nod in all the right places. They will definitely be barred from smiling (this is serious work), waving or mouthing ‘Hello Mum’ directly to the cameras. Their weight of numbers is designed to demonstrate gravitas and support. Translation: “It’s my turn to play Noddy. I hope the wind doesn’t mess up my hair. Where is a hard hat when you need one?”

8.    The Price of Fish. Or milk or bread or a glass of beer. (Only one glass mind you – after all, beer is alcohol.) The price of a packet of fags used to be part of that list too, but smoking has become politically incorrect nowadays so they don’t want to be seen to be too aware of that basic daily cost… besides, they will continue to tax it to the hilt if they get elected/re-elected. These questions will invariably be asked, and the answers will invariably be prepared by the minders for the candidates and their leaders to roll off their tongues in the appropriate forums. This is  another of those times where the media tries to catch out the candidate and the candidate attempts to prove that they live in the real world and are not quarantined ‘far from the madding crowd’ up there is Canberra when they dream up their latest attack on our daily essentials. Translation: “I never buy milk or bread or anything else at the local supermarket for that matter. I eat at the parliament caf when we’re in session, and the rest of the time it’s fast food on the run. And my preference is a glass of chardy not beer.”

9.    The Cheerleader’s BCL. Where would we be without the Big Campaign Launch? You know the one. The hall is filled to overflowing. The assembled faithful are packed to the rafters (no hecklers allowed). The catchy slogan is resplendent up on stage next to the party logo. A venerated warm-up guy or gal whips the crowd into a frenzy, and in walks the leader, arms raised to a standing ovation of prolonged and resounding applause. And then there’s the speech to the party faithful, meant for the nation at large. No Martin Luther King “I have a Dream” soul-stirrers here. Just more of the same that we saw last election-time. “We’re the saviours. The other lot can’t be trusted. The future may be a bit rocky, but with us you can be sure the bumps will be softer and fewer.”  Translation: “Say not much in a very meaningful way, and be sure to stick to the message crafted by my speech writers.”

10.    Let me be Perfectly Honest. This is a grab bag for all of the answers they will give that bear no relation to the question being asked. These answers will take many forms, but you can be sure you are about to be hit with an evasive answer, when they begin with… “Let me be perfectly clear/honest,” (or) “What I can say is…”  (or) “Let me answer it this way…” (or) “What I would like to say is…” (or) “When I say that, let me say this…” (or) “That’s a very good question…” (or) “The other side didn’t/wouldn’t/couldn’t/won’t…” (or) ignore the question completely and then ramble on about the message they want to give so that the questioner forgets what it was they were asking in the first place. If it is a formal TV interview they will often end with “Good to be with you (Name).” Translation: “Don’t answer the question, unless it’s the one I want to answer. Stay on message at all times. Avoid yes or no answers or any definitive statement which might be used against me later. If I can slip in our campaign slogan and dump on the other lot as part of my answer I will.”

Phew, there is so much more for us to track with this crazy game of electioneering, but these ten thought starters should help to tune up your b-s antennae. There is one thing you can be sure of though. Whenever we witness any of these examples above, it’s time to observe the fluff and ignore the stuff. Call me a cynic if you wish. Happy hunting!

I would love to read your thoughts and comments here as we enter a prolonged period of meaningless language games. Drop me an email to brian@precisionprofiling.com.au if you would like to discuss further how to share your message in a far more meaningful way.

Until then… Let’s seek to understand more and judge less. Have a great week – Brian

Precision Profiling – What Makes You Tick? Through ‘Motivational Fingerprinting’ we uncover what you do, how you do it and why you do it, and most importantly, the hidden patterns that lead to your success, and that of your team.

It seems like every day we read of more and more people being let go from their current employment or losing their contract, when only a week earlier their immediate future seemed secure.

Regardless of what our political leaders say about the current situation, I think no one can deny that our general confidence about the economic climate today and years to come has taken a battering. In my experience of working on behalf of companies to assist their people who have been confronted with the reality of moving on, here’s some of what I share with them.

I never gloss over the fact that this can be a very painful time for them, but as they come to understand during this process, while externally driven change is outside of their control, how they choose to view this transition is not. I can think of no better example of this principle than what nature teaches us about the elements critical to metamorphosis, and how transition can lead to transformation if we believe in that possibility and allow it to unfold.

The Story of the Butterfly
A man had kept the cocoon of a butterfly for a long time, when one day he noticed with excitement that the little insect was beginning to come out. The cocoon looked very strange, as it had a very narrow opening and it was hard to imagine how a beautiful butterfly was going to force itself out of it.

With great anticipation the man watched the butterfly slowly struggling to get out of the cocoon. He then became very impatient with the whole process and convinced himself that the butterfly was not going to be able to push itself out. So the butterfly wouldn’t have to go through all of that pain, the man decided to help it out of its cocoon. He picked up a pair of scissors and snipped open the cocoon.

Immediately, and with perfect ease, out crawled the butterfly… dragging a huge swollen body and little shriveled wings!

The man waited eagerly to see the marvellous process of the wings expanding but the poor butterfly never did develop its wings. It stayed crawling painfully through life instead of flying through the air on its beautiful wings as nature had intended. What the man didn’t know was that the great labour and difficulty a butterfly has in passing through such a narrow opening in its cocoon, is nature’s way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings. This prepares the butterfly for flight once it achieves its freedom from the cocoon. Freedom and flight can only come after a struggle.

How many times have we wished and hoped that we can take the easy way out of a situation or our struggles? How many times have we allowed our past failures and painful experiences or current difficulties to stop us from forging ahead? Pain, disappointment and trials are what strengthen us. Our current restraints don’t define who we are. It is often by making a conscious decision to learn from our experiences, that we can truly move forward.

Drop me an email to brian@precisionprofiling.com.au if you would like some help with your personal career transition, or if you would like to support your staff as a result of decisions you are being forced to make regarding their employment future.

Until then… Let’s seek to understand more and judge less. Have a great week – Brian

Precision Profiling – What Makes You Tick? Through ‘Motivational Fingerprinting’ we uncover what you do, how you do it and why you do it, and most importantly, the hidden patterns that lead to your success, and that of your team.

This was the question that Mastin Kipp, blogger to over 600,000 people daily on his site www.TheDailyLove.com asked of himself and all of his followers recently. It is of particular significance to me this week because a very dear friend and colleague of mine is going through one of those moments as I write. I thought I would pose this question to my friend and to every one of you and in so doing, remind you of the quote attributed to famed author, J.K. Rowling, whom we all know had quite a long relationship with life’s dark clouds before the silver linings finally shone through. As J.K.  said… “Rock Bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.” Who hasn’t had a time in their life when every seed that was sown seemed to fall on arid ground? I know I have…

He goes on to say that he believes that having a logical point of view can be extremely limiting and if we truly understood this, we wouldn’t be quite so quick to apply meaning to the events of our lives. i.e. Just because we feel good or bad doesn’t mean what’s happening is good or bad.

His explanation of the conflict that ‘good vs bad’ can produce in us is thought provoking. Mastin explains it this way… “When I was doing drugs and drinking alcohol, in the moment I felt good, but nevertheless I was unaware of the long term effects of my actions, and when I’m working out in the gym it may hurt like hell, but there is a massive long term reward for me.” He goes on to share his thoughts on the counter-intuitive nature of things and that what’s bad might actually be good and what’s good might actually be bad, and that we need opposites to learn, to grow and to evolve, and maybe the worst things in our lives, seen from a new perspective, might actually be our greatest gift.

The late Viktor Frankl, MD, PhD, is a celebrated neurologist, psychiatrist and author of many books on existentialism  including his world renowned, best selling book ‘Man’s Search for Meaning.’ In this seminal book Frankl, a holocaust survivor, chronicles his experiences as a concentration camp inmate which led him to discover the importance of finding meaning in all forms of existence, even the most sordid ones, and thus, a reason to continue living.

One of the most poignant and yet inspirational movies I can remember, also touches on this subject of making meaning out of the worst imaginable circumstances. It is an Italian film subtitled ‘Life is Beautiful’ directed by and starring Roberto Benigni. It is based on his father’s experience as a concentration camp survivor. It covers the experience of a Jewish Italian book shop owner who must employ his fertile imagination to shield his young son from the horrors of internment in a Nazi concentration camp during one of mankind’s darkest periods in history. The 1997 film was a critical and popular success, winning Benigni the Oscar for Best Actor as well as the Academy Award for Best Original Dramatic Score and Best Foreign Language Film. I highly recommend it to you and guarantee that even though it is a subtitled film, the emotional impact of its message will not escape you.

Given that it is most probably hard wired into all of us to make meaning of every event in our life, what are the choices we make as a result? Although we hear the comment at least once a week, if not daily in business… ‘that was a good result…that was a bad result,’ the reality is there is no such thing as a good or bad result, just a result. We put the meaning of good and bad upon it. A better way of describing a ‘bad’ result might be to say… ‘That result is not bringing me closer to my goal, so what am I learning and what do I need to do instead… adjust my actions or reassess my goal?’ And a better way of describing a ‘good’ result might be to say… ‘That result is leading me closer to my goal, so what can I learn from that and what can I do more of as a result?’

But back to the topic of dark clouds and silver linings. I say to myself; my very dear friend; and to all of you reading this blog who may have or will experience utter despair or personal doubt some time in your life… Life is Precious and so are You, and the meaning you discover about this time in your life may be the most profound lesson you ever learn about yourself and the difference you were destined to make.

So look beyond those clouds and see the infinite possibility that exists within your Universe, and celebrate life with all of the mysteries it bestows upon you. As the co-creator of your life, keep the faith and forge ahead in whatever direction your heart is pointing to right now… and trust that the meaning will find you.

Drop me an email to brian@precisionprofiling.com.au if you would like to know more about how together, we can help you find the deeper meaning in your life.

Until then… Let’s seek to understand more and judge less.  Have a great week – Brian

Precision Profiling – What Makes You Tick?  Through ‘Motivational Fingerprinting’ we uncover what you do, how you do it and why you do it, and most importantly, the hidden patterns that lead to your success, and that of your team.

This weekend our papers were filled with the story about a 13 yo girl yelling a racist slur at one of our footy champions playing in the stadium in front of her and many thousands of fans. The champion took offense, pointed out the transgressor to security and she was evicted from the ground in front of her shocked and embarrassed parent. There are many ways to view this episode and many points of view depending on what particular attitude you happen to have on the subject of racial slurs. I don’t intend to add my commentary to the rights and wrongs of what was said and done but what I would like to do is share an important lesson we learn from this incident about perceptions and the ‘framing’ we place around situations at work.

To set the scene here are some known facts about the incident. The footballer was genuinely hurt by the comment and although what was said wasn’t filled with vicious or vulgar obscenities, the words used were perceived to be derogatory based on his race and heritage and therefore unacceptable. The footballer felt hurt because it triggered a reminder in him of all of the racial vilification and bullying he had received as a boy at school and growing up in his teenage years both on and off the football park. The fact that he is a champion footballer who has won the game’s highest individual and team honours over the years is irrelevant because when he gave a media conference after the game he was speaking for all players on the field and people in society who still face the taunts and barbs of those ignorant few who take delight in attacking one’s race, religion, gender, sexual preference or some other perceived ‘difference’ which have no bearing on a person’s character or ability.

I applaud his decision to draw a line in the sand and speak up. And in his own words, we discover that what upset him most was the fact that the person shouting out the racist slur was only 13 years old, and therefore potentially a product of her own environment and not aware of the damage she might be causing. He was dignified in the aftermath by saying that he hoped she would not be vilified for her own ignorant comments but educated on the damage that a thoughtless or vindictive comment can cause for those against who it’s aimed. In doing that, he raised the bar further in the debate on racial vilification. More on that later.

From the young girl’s point of view, we discover that she intended no genuine disrespect and that what she said was a ‘spur of the moment’ thing that blew up out of her frustration that her footy team was getting soundly beaten and the object of her denigration was one of the chief architects in her team’s demise. Upon further investigation we discover that she was totally unaware that what she was saying had racial overtones to it. She was embarrassed and extremely apologetic and subsequently rang the footballer to apologize in person, which he graciously accepted.

Taking the matter further, immediately after the game the governing body (the Australian Football League) and the CEO of the opposing team both spoke out strongly about this behaviour being totally unacceptable either by players or fans under any context, but both stopped short of wanting to reprimand or punish the young transgressor any further, in agreement with the wishes of the vilified footballer.

So, all in all, what could have turned from an unacceptable incident into an ugly witch-hunt by the respective sport authority has ended well in my opinion. There is a strong message that racial slurs do not have a place in our modern society and it gave the opportunity for the sport to educate and inform young people on how they handle the issue of racial vilification… which is to neither sweep it under the carpet, but nor to turn the molehill into a mountain of abuse for the young, uneducated transgressor.

It is indeed a pity that in its eagerness to chase this story, the media has placed the young girl and her mother fairly and squarely in the public eye – something that a young, naive and impressionable girl of 13 should not be subjected to.

So what do we learn about this unfortunate episode that we can apply to the workplace?

I believe the answer is in the concept of ‘framing.’  It is timely that I talk about it today, because just last week my young son Sam came home with a project from school where he had to take three photographs of everyday objects from different vantage points (above, eye level and below, for instance), and then describe in his project how he had ‘framed up’ the photos he took and the different perspectives it gave to the objects being photographed depending on how he framed them.

Framing is a useful concept in our use of language, because it has such a huge impact on perceptions and understanding and motivation of ourselves and others. At the most impactful level, it can help to prevent serious conflict through a process of ‘chunking up’ to another logical level of thinking.

Here’s what I mean by that. If you are talking to me about car tyres, I can remain talking with you on that level or I can shift our focus to the next logical level in that subject matter which is cars. We can remain stuck at that level of conversation, or you might lift our thinking up another cog into talking about road transportation (cars, motorbikes, buses and trucks). We can even go further by talking at a level of all transportation on land, sea and air. Another example would be lifting the logical levels of discussion topic from banana to fruit to food to sustenance (food and water).

What we effectively do here is lift our thinking and talking to another level and at the next level there is a greater opportunity to gain agreement due to the bigger picture being considered. This is excellent for when people are in conflict over a particular issue, because by lifting their level of focus to the next logical level we are helping them to get above the problem and look down on the competing issues as differing but complementary parts of a much bigger whole or game. It is also very useful to apply this process of thinking and communicating when people at work are bogged down in the detail and can’t seem to get out of the mire of their confusion. Conversely when people are too vague and ‘fluffy’ about a subject we can go in the opposite direction and ‘chunk down’ to the component parts of the issue.

So let’s go back to the issue of the racial vilification example above and see the various ‘frames’ that could have been applied to the same content.

Level 1: The racial slur is given and the people who witness the event all laugh it off as being humorous at the expense of a champion footballer. If he takes personal offense it may help to ‘put him off his game’ so in the eyes of the opposing team’s fans, this is acceptable behaviour and this is how it would be framed as a result…. (To the footballer), “Get over it pal and don’t be so sensitive. It’s a tough world out there and there are bigger things to worry about, especially given your status and your own comfortable circumstances.” (As we know, this frame was prevalent on the football field a generation ago. Times have since changed for the better.)

Level 2: The racial slur is given and the reaction that it triggers in the champion footballer is one of hurt and indignation. The transgressor is roundly criticised in turn by the footballer, the authorities and the media as being ignorant and unfeeling and he or she is publicly humiliated and officially reprimanded or punished in some way. The transgressor has now joined the ranks of the victimised along with the champion footballer, and this is how the event might be framed… “The footballer is rightly hurt for this racial slur and the ‘lowlife’ that did it deserves all of our contempt and disgust.”  (Unfortunately the media continues to propagate that frame by continuing to shine their spotlight on the girl in question, rather than the issue. It is a pity that they have not followed the wise advice of the football code authority and the vilified footballer.)

Level 3: The racial slur is given and the reaction that is triggered is what we witnessed this weekend. The champion footballer is genuinely hurt; the transgressor is genuinely surprised and embarrassed at the effect her comments caused; and it is an opportunity for the football code to send a clear message to players and fans alike that this is unacceptable behaviour. Furthermore it now presents the opportunity to educate this young person and her peers about the emotional harm that can be caused by such thoughtless and inappropriate comments, and this is how it might be framed as a result… “What the transgressor said was unacceptable under any circumstances, and we have an opportunity here to publicly acknowledge the hurt that it caused and then to rise above the incident and teach all people of her age and older about showing respect for their fellow human beings and their abilities regardless of their perceived differences to us.”

There we have it. Three different frames of the same incident, each of which lead to a different meaning depending on the frame or the ‘reframe’ we give the incident. Hopefully some day in the not too distant future, the only frame that will be needed around such incidents will be ‘no frame’ because racial, religious, gender and sexual preference vilification will have been stamped out.

Where in your workplace have you been presented with the opportunity to ‘reframe’ an event or situation and so change the meaning that is drawn for all of those involved?

If you have any examples I’d love to hear about them from you. Just email me c/- brian@precisionprofiling.com.au and share your example with me.

Until next time, let’s seek to understand more and judge less.  – Brian

Precision Profiling – What Makes You Tick? Through ‘Motivational Fingerprinting’ we help you and your staff to uncover why you do what you do and most importantly, which patterns can lead to your success, and which ones might be holding you back.

Just today I was reading a post from Linda J. Ferguson PhD (http://www.lindajferguson.com) on the subject of showing empathy at the very deepest level in our work. The only catch is… you might never know when that opportunity to connect at such a deep level with another human being might appear. Often that opportunity may offer itself to you when you least expect it. Will you be ready for it when that happens? Or will you let the moment pass unnoticed? Will reason get in the way of empathy, or will empathy allow you to connect with someone at a time when it is most significant to them?

Here’s what Linda Ferguson has to say on the subject … “Regardless of whether you have a low skilled or high paying job, your job can provide an opportunity to live with purpose and share your gifts. Your life purpose may unfold at one particular place at one particular time to support someone in need.

I once met a woman who was a flight attendant in the early 2000’s.  One night after her flight had landed and all the crew finished cleaning the cabin, she was the last to leave except for the flight captain.  He was finishing his paperwork in the cockpit.  She stopped to say goodnight to him before going to the hotel for her overnight layover.

He called her into the cockpit saying he needed to talk.  She didn’t have anything better to do that night, so she sat down to listen.  As the captain unloaded a whole life’s worth of regrets and reflections, she thought perhaps he was going through a divorce or some major life shift.  She sensed he had some urgency to ‘get his life right’ or figure out his life in some significant way.  After an hour and a half of talking, the captain thanked her for listening.  She said she was glad to listen and hoped it helped him. 

She then left to go to her hotel.  That night was Mon. Sept. 10th, 2001. She worked for American Airlines.

The next morning she turned on the TV as she was getting dressed for work.  To her horror she saw the burning World Trade Centre in New York.  She sat down in disbelief.  Then the flight number came up showing the plane that had hit the building.  It was the same plane that the captain piloted.

Her shock turned to deep sadness as she watched the rest of the morning.  She told me that later that week she felt a deep gladness she had been able to help the pilot the night before his death.  She felt in some way he had found greater inner peace.  He apparently had some intuition that he needed to get his life sorted out that night.

You never know when taking a little extra time to help a co-worker will make all the difference.  You never know when you share your gifts, what impact it will have on someone.

So regardless of the type of work you do, when you take the time to listen, be attentive, or be supportive, you may offer that one thing that your customer or colleague needs to know or hear…”

In the words of Abraham Lincoln…“Always prepare yourself.  You never know when you’ll be called to do great things.”

Now what Linda says touches on a very deep philosophical question about being ready to step up when called. There is an excellent book written about this titled “The Five People You Meet in Heaven” by Mitch Albom (author of international best seller ‘Tuesdays with Morrie’).

What Mitch writes about is the concept that maybe Heaven isn’t a lush Garden of Eden, but maybe it is just a place where your earthly life is recounted to you through the eyes of just five people whose lives you touched in a very special way before they too had passed on. Those people may be close loved ones or they may even be strangers you meet along the way while on your life’s journey. Strangers you don’t even recall meeting, but for some unknown reason one small act of kindness from you made a deep and lasting impact on their lives in a way that you never knew in your lifetime. It may even have been at a point in their life that was pivotal for them in a deeply significant way in almost a ‘Sliding Doors/ Parallel Universe’ type of scenario. And then as they meet with you again in the hereafter and recount their story to you and the way that your chance meeting with them changed the course of their life in a deeply significant and uplifting way, everything floods back to you as you realise your own life had meaning in ways you never had thought possible when you were alive.

During your own lifetime, you may even have pondered the following questions… “Does my life have meaning?”… or… “What is the meaning of my life?”

And now finally after your life has been lived, you discover that it did, but in not the way that you thought.

In sharing these stories with you I do not wish to imply that reason should not share equal place with empathy in the work we do as we live out our lives. Reason has a huge role to play in keeping us safe from harm individually and to ensuring that the decisions we make give proper balance to our personal quests of accomplishment and achievement. And reason helps to inspire the human race to greatness in its endeavours.

But given that my area of specialty is language and its influence in its many forms, it forces me to reconsider the description of ourselves as ‘The Human Race.’ Without us even realising it, there is another subtle meaning that we might be missing here when we describe ourselves in such terms.

Maybe it is now time to question more deeply the description we give ourselves as participants on Earth. Should we continue to describe ourselves as The Human Race? What about the alternative – Humankind?

And those two descriptions are different in even more subtle ways. i.e. We do not describe ourselves as ‘Human Race’ but ‘The Human Race’ as if through by some trick of its linguistic form it is perceived as somehow being separate to us by adding the ‘The’ to the phrase. And yet the alternative description, is just plain “Humankind” when talking about our species collectively, in other words – you and me.

Now, if for one minute when you read this latest post of mine, you think that Brian Clark, executive coach, profiler and corporate consultant has finally lost his marbles and joined the ranks of the mountaintop dwellers sitting cross legged and out of touch with the ‘real world’… I want to challenge you right here and now to ask yourself… “What actually is the ‘real’ world?” Surely the real world for you and me and all of us for that matter, is the one we make through the lives we choose to lead and the way we do our work? In doing that we make our own reality, and a huge part of that reality is the people we meet along the way.

So maybe the next action you take at work, or the next person you meet on that journey, or the next colleague you seek to understand at a deeper level, is actually your chance to give meaning to your life. It was for the flight attendant talking to the captain of the ill-fated American Airlines flight the night before 9/11. She could just as easily have chosen to ignore the opportunity to respond to someone needing an ear at that moment because she was eager in her ‘race’ to get away from work and chill out at the hotel layover nearby. But she didn’t, and maybe because of her one act of empathy –one act of ‘human-kindness’ if you will – that captain will be one of those five people whom this flight attendant will meet when she gets to Heaven.

Please think about it. And think too about how you can make a difference tomorrow at your place of work, and with the people whose lives you touch.

As always I look forward to your comments above, and I am happy to respond to you directly should you wish to email me at brian@precisionprofiling.com.au … and if you know of friends and colleagues whom you believe would appreciate thinking about the questions I have raised in this post, please take action and share this with them now. I feel we need to be having these conversations. I hope you do too.

In the meantime, let’s seek to understand more and judge less. – Brian

Precision Profiling – What Makes You Tick? Through ‘Motivational Fingerprinting’ we help you and your staff to uncover why you do what you do and most importantly, which patterns can lead to your success, and which ones might be holding you back.

Photo Credit – World Trade Centre Attack – Carmen Taylor, AP

You don’t want to be the next Genghis Khan as a leader but now is the time to stop the rot and turn things around. So how do you turn around an under-performing team, especially if it has a direct impact on your  income generation? First you must find the underlying causes, otherwise your attempts at halting the malaise may be misguided.

So you have a workplace culture you’re proud of. As the saying goes, “Happy people mean a productive workplace.” Yours is not just happy, it has evolved from happy to warm and fuzzy. You are recognised as an employer of choice with brand values in the community that others covet. But something isn’t quite right. You are not achieving the results you expect and deserve, given your high level of positive customer advocacy. So what do you do?

I’ll let you in on a secret. I have seen it before and while there are no quick fixes, with carefully planned, deliberate action you can turn it around.

And while falling sales is one of the obvious symptoms of performance malaise, it is not the only indicator because it is also possible to measure and predict from a cultural point of view, what are the underlying factors impacting on your people. Some time ago I undertook a study of the motivating drivers that were underpinning the thinking of a group of business development executives working with high nett worth clients. First we conducted qualitative questioning with the top performers of the group as well as their managers, followed by quantitative testing.

Given this team was part of a wider culture that was revered for its people-centric policies and practices, there were no surprises when it was discovered that three of the major driving patterns of motivation for every one of the individuals of the team were “Focus on People” (mentoring and developing others), “Group Environment” (social interaction and involvement), and “Shared Responsibility” (team decision making and accountability).

But here is where it got interesting. What we also uncovered during our profiling of the individuals of the team and their leaders, was that none of the performance-related unconscious motivational drivers you would expect to see in a sales-driven culture were among the top quartile of each executive’s patterns. In fact, even more concerning was the fact that performance-related patterns of motivation, such as “Achievement” (personal desire to be recognised for one’s achievements), “Goal Orientation” (focused on setting and achieving goals or targets), and “Focus on Money” (keeping score financially), were all rated by every member of the team and their leaders as low or very low on their motivational radars.

Here was a ‘red flag’ that deserved the immediate attention of the organisation’s leaders because these were strong lead indicators of potential under-performance issues spread right across the team of business development executives. The downward direction on the sales graph merely confirmed what these indicators were telling us, but now we had evidence as to ‘why.’

And herein lies the problem. How often do business leaders see the downward trends on their sales graphs and react immediately to the symptoms and not the causes? Like clutching at the proverbial straws, they try things like re-structuring, replacing the leaders or blaming poor economic times when often the answers lie with a more systemic approach. All of the quick fixes may or may not achieve the result you are looking for, but if the issue is not attacked from a more systemic point of view then the results will be short lived and often the wrong people are burned in the process while others manage to slip under the radar.

A more systemic approach requires you to look more deeply into what are the driving motivators behind the actions and behaviours of your people to see if these are aligned to your objectives and if not, address the underlying motivators rather than the lack of results. Put simply – address the causes not the symptoms. That is why we measure the inputs (the motivation) that drive the outputs (the behaviour) for organisations.

This may not be the quick fix you are wanting to hear, but rest assured it is far more likely to be the sure fix, because it deals with people and how they are motivated to perform both as individuals and as a group rather than treating them as if they are machines with simple on-off buttons.

First you need to address whether your culture has attracted this level and scope of under-performance or whether the under-performers have influenced the culture – i.e. which came first – ‘the chicken or the egg.’ Regardless of which it is that is driving under-performance, the strategies and actions you take will need to take these factors into account.

In my next blog I will address the strategies and actions that you need to put in place in order to turn an under-performing team culture around.

Here is a list of the issues that I will be addressing:–

• Leadership from the Top
• Creating an Urgency for Change
• Re-Aligning the Focus
• Setting the Scene – Training and Education
• Ongoing Support Development – Mentoring, Coaching and Managing
• Performance Measurement – Appropriate and Accurate KPIs
• Reward and Recognition – Team and Individual
• Performance Management
• Capability – Individual and Organisational

I think you can see from the above list that solving the problem of team under-performance and achieving lasting and sustainable change for the better does not come with a quick fix approach.

What are your own thoughts and experiences regarding team under-performance? I would love to hear what you think on the subject.

If you would like to talk with me further on how to turn around performance malaise, email me at  brian@precisionprofiling.com.au . A quick conversation  might be all it takes to point you in a more effective and sustainable direction.

Until next time… Let’s seek to understand more and judge less.  Have a great week – Brian

Precision Profiling – What Makes You Tick?  Through ‘Motivational Fingerprinting’ we uncover what you do, how you do it and why you do it, and most importantly, the hidden patterns that lead to your success, and that of your staff.

Until next time… Let’s seek to understand more and judge less.   Have a wonderful week and a safe New Year celebration. – Brian

Precision Profiling – What Makes You Tick?  Through ‘Motivational Fingerprinting’ we uncover what you do, how you do it and why you do it, and most importantly, the hidden patterns that lead to your success, and that of your staff.