- Posted by Jennifer Shirkani on March 30, 2010
Being successful in business requires more than just a good education, years of experience and smarts. It also requires insight, social skill and sensibility. To climb the career ladder, someone also must be able to control impulses, read situations and people, influence others, and manage stressful situations: easier said than done.
The EQ Advantage
Researchers call this emotional know-how Emotional Intelligence, or EQ. Emotional Intelligence is a set of skills that include one's ability to recognize their own impulses and moods and the ability to read situations accurately and respond most appropriately depending on the situation or person they are dealing with.
You've probably heard it called "soft skills", "people smarts", "social savvy", or "street smarts". EQ is all of this and more.
The credit goes to Daniel Goleman for popularizing the concept of EQ in his book Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ (1995). In it, he identified five major characteristics of Emotional Intelligence: Self-Awareness, Self-Regulation, Motivation, Empathy and Social Skill.
Our firm uses these five characteristics along with five additional ones and assists organizations in strategically applying them to leadership initiatives: interviewing and selection, succession planning, performance coaching, and learning & development.
Ten Key EQ Skills
Self-Awareness: is how someone understands their own feelings, behaviors, and motivations. This is demonstrated by being in touch with the perception of others, being aware of strengths and weaknesses, someone who has a candor and sense of humor about themselves and a realistic self-confidence.
Self-Control: is the ability for a person to manage their impulses to not say or do inappropriate things even when the urge is strong. It includes the ability to think before acting, considering the negative consequences of impulsive behavior and managing feelings constructively rather than allowing them to dominate and undermine performance.
Social Skill: is the way someone handles themselves in interpersonal interactions. This is demonstrated through reading non-verbal body language, establishing and maintaining effective relationships, and utilizing “strategic socializing” to build a wide network.
Motivation: refers to how someone applies themselves in life. Those with high Motivation are motivated intrinsically and have the ability to persevere toward goals with enthusiasm and determination, even after failure.
Empathy: is being able to read the emotional needs of another and respond to them in a way that is most appropriate. Someone with high Empathy recognizes that they must frame the same message differently depending on the audience.
Stress Tolerance: is the ability to handle various levels of stress coming from multiple sources. Those with high Stress Tolerance can handle high levels of stress without losing productivity or effectiveness.
Flexibility: is the ability to handle changing circumstances and expectations without disruption. Someone with high Flexibility can handle changing conditions and uncertainty while maintaining their productivity.
Influence: is the ability to understand the spoken and unspoken dynamics of a situation and mediate differences of opinion to negotiate desired outcomes. Someone with high Influence is able to read situations and people in order to positively influence others.
Problem Solving: refers to how someone recognizes a problem and can think of several viable solutions that can be implemented to create win-win results. Someone with problem solving can evaluate alternatives and solutions thoughtfully and objectively before making decisions and has multiple contingency plans.
Optimism: is the ability to look at the brighter side of life and to maintain a positive attitude. Optimism is demonstrated by persistence in seeking goals despite obstacles and setbacks, a belief that positive change is possible in themselves and others, someone who sees each problem as an individual occurrence rather than a grand plan against them and who operates from the hope of success rather than the fear of failure.
The qualities of EQ are easily recognized as “street smarts” but what most people don’t realize is that it is a bona-fide characteristic, one that can be recognized, measured and increased.
There is a correlation between high EQ and success in life. EQ is not the measurement of one’s personality, it is not a way to predict one’s career and it is not static. EQ can change over time and it is correlated to maturity: there is typically an increase in one’s EQ over the course of his or her lifetime.
Goleman (Ph.D. and professor at Harvard) when conducting validity and reliability studies found that EQ proved to be twice as important as IQ and technical skills for jobs at all levels. Moreover, EQ can account for the entire advantage in positions of higher responsibility. The best news about EQ is that it can be learned. Unlike IQ, which stays constant after the late teens, EQ is a set of competencies one can develop, much like a technical skill.
Being strong in technical skills creates value for the organization, but at some point, those who lack Emotional Intelligence fail to achieve the results they need to within their departments, from their peers or in themselves. Some will hit a plateau in their career, some will change jobs frequently and some are forced to step down from management responsibility.
Having EQ is contagious, acting as a catalyst to enhance the work experience for everyone. Therefore, developing Emotional Intelligence in one often benefits a whole team. And because EQ is a collection of skills that can be learned, real results can be seen from increased awareness, practice and coaching.
In the past, training on topics like “stress management” and “assertiveness skills” were relegated to a soft skills training program, treated as a luxury and only offered after the training budget paid for technical training or hard skills. In reality, these are critical success factors that should not be dismissed as mere ‘nice-to-haves’. For example, the Hay Group states one study of 44 Fortune-500 companies found that salespeople with high EQ produced twice the revenue of those with average scores. In another study, technical programmers demonstrating the top 10% of Emotional Intelligence competency were developing software three times faster than those with lower competency. What these studies point out, is that Emotional Intelligence is directly related to the bottom line, and is anything but “soft”.
The best way to increase organizational EQ is to include the critical success factors as part of the core competencies that employees need to have. Individuals responsible for interviewing and hiring need to be educated on how to discover EQ skills, and how to measure the competency levels of current employees in order to target training to identify and provide training in opportunities for growth. You may just see your old soft skills training in a whole new light.
To learn more about Penumbra's menu of services for assessing and developing Emotional Intelligence, please visit www.penumbra.com.
To sign up for monthly articles on Emotional Intelligence please visit: http://visitor.constantcontact.com/email.jsp?m=1100409827245
- Posted by Roman Basi on February 10, 2010
Introduction
The rule for large, publically held companies is clear. If you are going to list your stock on a stock exchange, your company must present financial statements that are created in compliance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). These statements are presented to the public and banks to get investors to invest or obtain loans. If your company is a small, privately held company, there is no such rule. All a closely held company is required to do is to prepare tax returns on an annual basis.
The Issue with Tax Returns
The problem with most tax returns is that they are prepared in accordance with the Internal Revenue Code. The goal of these documents is simple, reduce tax liability within the letter of the law. As a consequence, the data presented to the government contains numbers that are formulated to show as low of a profit as possible. Obtaining credit or finding a buyer for your business becomes impossible to achieve when you are using documents prepared with the specific purpose of reducing tax liability.
Conclusion
Privately held business owners are in a unique spot in the financial world. As business owners, they are not employees, so their income is not readily determinable by information from a W-2. Unlike those who own publically traded stocks in companies such as General Electric, Coca-Cola, and Wal-Mart, privately held businesses do not have a ready market and their value to the owner cannot be assessed quickly. While privately held business owners may be credit worthy or their businesses may be attractive to them, showing it is simply not possible without professionally prepared documents such as recasted statements or a valuation prepared by experts to make decisions with the statements.
Please leave a comment to share your thoughts or to ask a question.
For more information on our company and services visit: www.taxplanning.com
- Posted by Lew Migliore on January 19, 2010
Many retail dealers experienced increases in business in 2009 for several reasons. First they are in markets that were not badly affected by the economic downturn. That’s not to say that the slow economy has not affected everyone but where flooring retailers were not tied to the builder market, the bottom didn’t fall out of their business. Many retailers also increased market share by continuing with advertising and marketing programs, some increased it. These dealers out positioned themselves in their markets and took share from competitors. Others businesses increased as a result of competitors going out of business. One retailer I spoke with had seven or eight of his competitors go out of business and now he’s one of the last men standing in his market.
In difficult economic times, a return to the basics of business is always a smart move. No one can afford to relax. We all have to be creative, inventive and persistent; developing new ideas and finding ways to increase business. In fact I’ve seen more opportunity this past year than in all the 39 years I’ve been in the industry and in business. One thing you have to think about is being better every day than you were the day before. Constant and never ending improvement should be a mantra of yours. How can you do that and what should you do? Look at the simple things, a clean store, well lit, with an inviting atmosphere. If you’ve made the effort to draw business to your store make it inviting for the customer to do business with you. Get a woman to evaluate the store; your wife, daughter, or someone you know who knows how to shop should tell you what will make a woman want to be in your store. Why a women? Because that’s who buys the products you sell. If you can appeal to the person who buys your products you’ll immediately be ahead of your competition. Next go over your services – installation, sales, service, delivery, phone skills – and sharpen them up. Every conceivable aspect of your business should be scrutinized to make it the best it can be. You have to deliver service better than the competition and differentiate yourself from them in every way you can. If you do this you’ll realize gains in your business.
Another thing you have to do is show appreciation for your customers by thanking them and letting them know how much you appreciate them shopping with you. A simple thank you note sent to them personally written including a discount coupon for an accessory that goes with whatever they bought such as a cleaning product, a walk off mat, or an offer to bind any scrap carpet they have for rugs as examples. You can also send a discount coupon to a local restaurant that you work out a deal with. Everyone has to eat and a local restaurant will appreciate your idea to help increase their business as well.
Another thing you’ll want to do is attend SURFACES. This year more than ever, if you’re still in business you have to take the opportunity to find out what’s new and different so you can stay ahead of your competition. It’s cheaper than ever to attend with both airfares and hotel rates ridiculously low. Come to the seminars too so you can learn how to increase sales, stay out of trouble and increase profits. You won’t have to wonder how business will be in 2010 because you’ll have done something about making it better. I’ll look forward to seeing you there and talking with you to help you however I can.
- Posted by Tom Shay on January 7, 2010
Making a profit or just surviving through the challenges of the economy; which is more important? It is a difficult question to answer, but even more difficult if you do not know where to find the answer.
Components of the answer can be found on the profit and loss statement while other necessary components are to be found on the balance sheet. The answers you are looking for are on neither. Perhaps the biggest questions you are asking as you are looking into 2010 are, “How much cash will it take to keep my business going each month?” with the second question being, “How much inventory will it take to produce the sales I anticipate?” or “How much inventory can I afford?”
Profit is not cash on hand. Look at the profit and loss statement at the end of the month as well as take a look at the balance in the checking account. There is no relationship between the two numbers. This is because all of your profit could be sitting in inventory that is necessary to have on hand for the next month. It could be your profit is in inventory that is sitting there in your warehouse producing no sales at all.
While profit is important, it is not the key factor in answering the questions about cash and inventory. The new components of sound financial management that should be considered are the anticipated cash on hand for each of the 12 months of 2010 and the amount of inventory at cost that you need, and can afford, to product the sales you are anticipating.
The document that will produce the answers to these two questions is referred to as a projectionary cashflow chart. Each and every business within this industry should have this document that they have created and understand. The document should also be updated each month so that it is always a 12 month projectionary cashflow chart. As the balance sheet and profit and loss statement are created each month, the numbers from these two documents should be compared to what is on the projectionary cashflow chart.
This monthly review is done so that you can see where you have missed your expectation and take the opportunity to adjust future projections to improve the accuracy of the numbers.
The projectionary cashflow chart is going to tell you if there will be enough cash on hand each month to produce the sales you are anticipating. The same is true as the chart will tell you how much inventory will need to be on hand at the end of each month to produce the following month’s sales.
This information is going to tell you about the opportunities before you and if you can afford to take the opportunity. For some businesses it will tell them how to avoid a problem, and for some businesses it will tell the owner if they should simply close the business before they lose any more money.
Share your thoughts and/or ideas by leaving a comment!
- Posted by Dave Stafford on December 17, 2009
Are you feeling lonely out there? Had another tough day? Current business conditions can make us feel out of sorts and apprehensive about what tomorrow may bring, especially after a review of the day’s headlines and the sales you made so far this month. Perhaps you are planning for 2010 right now.
Are you active in the Rotary Club, the Chamber of Commerce, or the local property management association? Maybe you’ve thought about joining some other association of business leaders. A fellow I’ll call Joe attended his first property management association dinner meeting; during the networking mixer, he introduced himself to a nervous attendee who mumbled about “just becoming a member.” Well, they had something in common and ended up sitting at the same table for dinner. Over the evening, Joe found out that he had been sitting with the newly appointed property manager for a large commercial office building. As the attendee related it, “I have my work cut out for me because we are going to completely renovate all 12 floors to attract more upscale tenants; I’m certainly going to need flooring because the first thing we’ll do is get rid of that ugly industrial gray carpet. Send me a note and your brochure and maybe we can do some business.” 
I’d like to tell you that Joe made a sale the next week, but I’d be lying. He did follow up, sold the property manager on his credentials, and became an approved bidder. While Joe didn’t get all of the tenant business, he ended up with an order for over 5,000 yards of carpet; it was profitable business, and the property manager recommended Joe for other work. Joe would not have had this opportunity without the chance meeting at the mixer.
One sure way to help 2010 be a great year is to get involved with others in the industry. I hesitate to say “misery loves company” but it is true that it always seems to help when you can compare notes, thoughts, ideas, and leads with others in the business.
Yes, I’m talking about networking in the flooring industry. Get active in your local floor covering association chapter or a national one like the Floor Covering Contractors Association (FCICA). If you’re lucky, they’re probably an affiliate of the World Floor Covering Association (WFCA), so you’ll have a cost effective way to be a part of that association, too. You will be amazed at what you can learn through educational seminars and getting to know your peers. They have plenty of problems, too, and are usually willing to share stories about how they’ve handled huge challenges.
Over 13 years ago, I happened to hear from an association (FCICA) member about a fledging company that had some new ideas on how to replace old, worn out carpeting in the occupied office environment. It so happened I was trying to sell a large telecom call center new carpet. The stumbling block for the company was that they operated around the clock and could not shut down operations as would have been required with broadloom carpet. “Dave, I’ve got the money in the budget to replace carpet, but acres of systems furniture, and we cannot afford the disruption and loss of productivity that goes with a carpet replacement project.” 
It just seemed like everything fell into place. If I could solve the dilemma of disruption, I could sell the job. I contacted the company, Renovisions, and began a relationship that would last for years promoting “vertical lift installation” and use of carpet tile in lieu of broadloom carpet replacement. I not only sold one but several large telecoms because we could provide a relatively “painless” instead of “painful” way to replace carpet. And the point here is you may just find your next great idea at an association meeting with your peers.
So, I hope you'll think about networking in 2010. Invest some time and money with potential clients and your peer group. It will pay off!