Business Madness

Overview

Overview

Business Madness: Unraveling the Paradox of the People Puzzle   (Power - People - Profits)              © 2006 Larry & Pat Nelson Introduction/Defined (Updated 3/17/06)

Business, like the word madness, has many definitions. In Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary, the definition I like best for madness is, "intensive excitement or enthusiasm". However, as you flip through this book, you might think the other definitions such as stupidity, silliness and senselessness are more appropriate… and at times they might be.

Business takes on many shapes: big or small; profitable or not profitable; service or product; public or private; innovative or classical. You get the picture. In fact, most people have three or so pictures in their mind when they hear the word business. Worldwide, that would be millions of different pictures. One thing for sure, everyone would like to build a successful, sustaining and superior business while avoiding the slippery slope of shoddiness. People, Power and Profits are the focus in Business Madness.

'Entrepreneur' immediately comes to mind when business and madness are mentioned in the same breath. The word entrepreneur conjures up an array of descriptors from embattled to embarrassed, from emancipated to elated. Entrepreneurs represent about 80% of the business in the United States. As you might expect, entrepreneurs often have to play the roles of leader, manager and window washer. To top it off, if they are technically adept, they often get overwhelmed with everyone's computer problems.

The entrepreneur definitions have a strong relationship with both business and madness. My favored definition of madness ("intensive excitement or enthusiasm") explains why some executives are very inspirational leaders while the other definitions shine a light on how some executives have exploited every other meaning of the word such as weird, wacky and witless. My friends in Boulder, Colorado say, "There is a Ying and Yang in everything."

This will come as quite a shock for the company slackers, but executives, managers and leaders have to deal with many issues. Some of these issues are difficult, some dicey and others are downright dopey. There are literally tons of sources of information dealing with those issues. Some of it, and the key word is 'some', can be helpful as long as you, your company or your situation fit into the proper mode or are in the specific situation as outlined in the text or lecture. Unlike the one-size fits all prescriptive, “Business Madness" will put you in the driver’s seat. Unfortunately, some get nervous about their hands being on the steering wheel.

Typically, executives, managers and leaders are offered 10 absolute magic steps for accomplishing the impossible or solving earth-shaking problems. If you follow those proven steps (proven by a company not like yours at all) or buy their product or service, all your troubles and woes will be answered. Your competition will fall to the depths of despair and desperation, your profits will sore and drive your stock prices through the roof and you’ll be the proverbial happy camper… or not.

Often, the 10 steps or Holy Grail are tactical, tangible, tight and more often trivial. Can you imagine following in the footsteps of Michael Dell? Oops, there are many trying to do that today. How about being an understudy of Lee Iacocca and try his heavy-handed management style. He was a successful leader, wrote a good book but was only a man "of the time" for Chrysler, and not an example of a replicable management system. We’ll share some other examples to use and others to avoid in later chapters.

You will have a chance to explore, accept, reject and modify the Business Madness applications to suit your business best. Yes the pages are numbered, but you can start your exploration where you feel it makes the most sense as well as hop around accordingly. Business Madness is also part of an eco system of success that includes an up-to-date Blog.

Well, for all the metrics, markers and methods, there is a Ying to that Yang… or is it a Yang to that Ying? Of course it is important that you take the right steps and in the proper order… or is it? There’s a key in this mix of methods and measures. It’s the soft side of madness that yields extraordinary results… and it often defies accepted logic. If this all bothers you, don’t worry, we’ll have lists of guiding principles and practical tips, too. It’s all about the combination of measurable results and feeling good along the way… all along the way.

There are many issues facing and challenging business, government and academia in these turbulent and changing times. The focus of this book is about Power, People and Profits. The first few chapters in Business Madness are about PEOPLE.  Pat & I feel that:

#1 People are the source of all problems. #2 People are the solution to all problems.

We will be seeking input and ideas from everyone. We will also be inviting people to contribute 1-3 pages to the book. Please comment here or email us at radio@w3w3.com

Chapter 1 - Part 1

Business Madness: Unraveling the Paradox of the People Puzzle (Power - People - Profits)                © 2006 Larry & Pat Nelson          Chapter 1 - Part 1

In Abraham Maslow’s book, “The Farthest Reaches of Human Nature”, he quoted Alfred North Whitehead – “When you get a new model, a new paradigm, a new way of perceiving, new definitions of the old words, words which now mean something else, you have an illumination, an insight. You can see things in a different way.” Hopefully you will gain some insight into what makes others tick…and you, too.

Mastering the Mystery of Motivation

Building a business is not a cakewalk. Although some thought in the late 1990s that if they had an idea, they could raise big bucks and build a successful company. Yes, many raised the money, but few ever built a company, let alone a big and successful one. Venture Capitalists were literally throwing money at people with ideas. There was not a shortage of money, just a shortage of the right people doing the right thing. 

Today, the VCs say there is still a bunch of money to invest in companies (angel investors say the same) but, these beneficiaries must have more than their ducks in a row. The truth is, in order to get the first round of financing let alone the second, third and then on to an IPO, investors want to see a well-oiled machine that is based on the right people doing the right things.

That’s what Business Madness is all about. We will focus on tips, tactics and techniques along with some powerful, proven and people-oriented resources that will hit a homerun and deliver the sustainable results of the winners. We will also focus on the second part which is delivering strategies with superior strength to get you to the championship. The third piece is integrating incredible ideas that will take the company where no one else has ever ventured before.

The pathway to managing people, power and profits is filled with challenges and choices, with champions few and far between. So we recruited three people (very different from each other) who are building a company together. Their names have been changed to protect both the innocent and the guilty. Their products and industry are also fictional, yet everything is based on real-life experiences. Oh, then there’s the legal thing. If any part of Business Madness sounds like a particular person, group of people or a particular company, it’s not them.

Let me introduce you to our three stars. First we have Frances F. who plays the role of the company visionary and somewhat charismatic leader. Next we have Pat P. who heads up the sales and marketing thrust and is a great networker. Finally we have Sam S. who is the chief financial officer and does more than bean counting. They are all one-third owners in the company which is about a year old as we start observing them without getting in their way. Talk about laying the foundation for Business Madness.

At times you might think the team represents the three musketeers on today’s playing field. Other times, you might think they are playing the role of the three stooges. We will get back to our team of three but we need to set the scene a little more with some other key ingredients.

Our Mental Roots, the Source and Driving Force of Our Perspective

So just before we delve into the paradox of the people puzzle, we need to take a quick look at what I called in some earlier work, our Mental Roots. By the way, this is an inward look. Before we can understand others, before we can effectively work with and motivate others, before we can tap into the strength of other people, we have to understand ourselves. Okay, you think you do. You took the Meyers Briggs and some other personality profiles and you have yourself nailed…or not.

First of all, we take our point of view, our perspective for granted. Yet it is the one single element that distinguishes us from all other beings. Our personal perspective is our psychological finger prints per se. Unlike our fingerprints, our perspective serves as our vital force, our decision-making determinant and our view of needs fulfillment. It impacts everything we encounter in our environment, or our perceived environment. It is the fulcrum of all our responses, the actual base of our Mental Roots. As a little sidebar, our Mental Roots are our personalized version of our innate needs. That’s why they are core to most everything in our lives.

Some might say, “So what?” Actually most aren’t even aware there is something like our Mental Roots to even wonder about or why we should pay attention. Bare this in mind, if you don’t take notice, nurture it, direct it, someone else or better yet, a group will. Others won’t ask for permission, but they will tap into our Mental Roots to manage, manipulate and misalign your thoughts, feelings and even your actions and behavior.

Here is a quick example how the manipulators might use your Mental Roots to impact and even direct your actions and behavior. We all have that innate need to feel good about ourselves and have a high level of self esteem. Some might say, getting your ego stroked. To make what could be a long story short, this manipulator sings praises of you at a networking event… ego stroking at its best. Later the manipulator invites you to be part of the inner circle. Accolades continue, you join in and your mind is open to whatever is said.

If this manipulator is really good, your mind is now open to new and additional thoughts that could lead to actions and behavior quite different than you might normally play out. I am not suggesting that those ensuing actions are bad or negative as they could be very good. In this case a very normal and natural sequence occurred. While you have ultimate control of course, the manipulator was in the driver’s seat. Once again, it could be a good thing… or not. I don’t know about your feelings on this, but I prefer knowing what is happening and I definitely want to be in the driver’s seat. If you don’t feel this has ever happened to you, I would call that either bad memory or quite naïve. I have been naïve bunches of times in my life. Okay, sometimes it even feels good.

Our Perspective – More than a Point of View

This is an awesome power that is often overlooked, misunderstood, abused and misused by others as well as self. People tend to think of their perspective as their point of view, more to the point it is a window to every facet Mental Roots. The danger is when their Mental Roots and their perspective is unattended; that’s when they are leaving an unlocked door open to others. That would be similar to leaving your laptop unattended at a coffee house all day long. Spy Sweeper from Webroot is great stuff, but won’t help your exposed and unattended laptop in this situation. Awareness is the first step in preventing this possible abuse and simultaneously allows you to open your door to personal power.

Understand this about our perspectives. Collectively, within our community, our state, our nation, our perspectives choose the leaders of the nation as well as the box-office hits. It is easy to see and understand that our perspective, our point of view, our opinion can be tampered with, manipulated and is often quite predictable. Author Note: We are not going to get into politics. As I have often said about w3w3.com our business talk show, “We do not cover politics, porn or pills.”

A further clarification on the meaning of perspective will put us in the driver’s seat and allow us to be the ultimate driver, even leader. As we all know but don’t necessarily consciously realize, we have a perspective on all things that have an impact on our lives. At times our perspective (others often refer to it as our prejudices) is absolute and distinct, and other times is vague, valueless and seems to vacillate without meaning or cause.

We have a perspective on money, our place in society, health, success, death, taxes, prejudice, views of others, retirement, politics (sorry), and you got it, everything in our lives. Every thought, sense or feeling is evaluated by our perspective. Then the influencers of the media enter. Of course they are not the only group trying to direct and control our perspective. But lest I get off track here, we are better off getting a handle on understanding and controlling our personal perspective…that’s proactive personal power.

All our life experiences have had their hand in shaping our perspective. As an infant and early childhood our parents, immediate family, nannies and other experiences started the shaping of our perspective. As time marches on, the continuing exposure to our parents, relatives and others surrounding us has an impact on the development of our perspective. But alas, others want to get on the bandwagon and help us in that development.

Here’s the short list of those eager developers and manipulators. Don’t misunderstand; many are doing what they think is best for you, but of course that is from their perspective. Every aspect of our educational experience has its role. That’s everything from the teachers, the curriculum, the bullies as well as your friends and not so friends. Entertainment and the media have a greater impact than most parents would like. That includes movies, TV, the Internet, advertisements, mobile phones, Astroturf lobbyists and all the other things that are on the ever changing menu of offerings. It’s going to be fascinating to see (no pun intended) what content the wireless industry will be delivering directly to our yet to be invented mechanisms.

It could all sound scary, but I have confidence in humanity. So where did I get that perspective? Some suggest that I am an idealist and naïve. That could be, but what I do know is that when people understand the power, the source and that they can be in complete control of their perspective, it will all work out. Okay, maybe a little naïve.

Our perspective is often equated to our value system. While they are closely related and seem to have a parallel path, our innate needs are in the mix. Most agree that values are pretty well formed in early childhood with estimates of formation by ages 7 to 11. This might have been true three or so decades ago, the rules and influences have changed dramatically. The media, technology and the value shift of the nation suggests that permanent values are passé.

There are many “things” that get in the way to tapping into our perspective and our internal power. Hopefully a look at and the understanding of the blocks, barriers and barricades preventing the full utilization of our perspective can turn that negative around. Bear in mind, our use of the term perspective seems to be somewhat synonymous with prejudices, attitudes, emotions, and other descriptors defining our thoughts and feelings. Our perspective can give us the power and the passion or give us just the opposite, leading to false bearings and the feeling of hopelessness and helplessness.

Come back next week for Part 2. Comment below or email us at radio@w3w3.com

Chapter 1 - Part 2

Business Madness: Unraveling the Paradox of the People Puzzle (Power - People - Profits)                © 2006 Larry & Pat Nelson          Chapter 1 - Part 2

NOTE: If you haven't read Chapter 1 - Part 1 of "Business Madness" read it first. Check it out on the link in the right-hand column.

Let’s Dig a Little Deeper so We Can Master the Mystery of Motivation

Hopefully you are familiar with Abraham H. Maslow. His 1954 book, "Motivation and Personality" was quite audacious at his time and is now ‘the’ standard for helping understand what makes people tick and why they are motivated to do almost anything. Most everyone who has taken a management class is familiar with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs. If not, you might want to trade Business Madness in for some light reading.

Here’s a little Maslow review. He laid out a hierarchy, his five levels of motivation in an understandable order, often referred to Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs. Firstly, human kind is going to pursue satisfying their physiological needs; air, food, sex, shelter, sleep warmth and water before they go onto satisfying other needs. Not far behind is the urge to take care of their security needs and those needs are a combination of both ‘physical’ concerns; safety, health and pain and ‘psychological’ concerns; illness, five senses and financial security. Financial security dons many hats in the industrial countries.

Actually, for most people in our nation we do not have overwhelming concerns about our physiological and security needs on a day-to-day basis, so the craving to fulfill our love/social needs is most compelling. That is the innate core of our Mental Roots. We have the need to be accepted rather than rejected (a little bit of peer pressure here) and a strong need to belong (even when we say we don’t care). Frequently we are asked to conduct some business workshops based on PrimeFactorAnalysis which revolves around the application of our Mental Roots and personal perspective.

Another important component of our love/social needs is we have a strong natural sense to give, in order to receive (it’s easy see that others can mess with this) in addition to being needed so we can get a payoff (whether it’s physical like money or psychological which could simply be a thanks for helping out). In short, we want to be accepted for who we are and secondly to be able to give of ourselves and get something in return for our effort. Sounds fair, but it can be a challenge.

Then our drive as it ascends the hierarchy turns to self esteem and with all the ego maniacs around, you might think this is first on the list. Status symbols and show-stopping accolades as well as craving to be perceived as important are big here. For many, the driving force is what other people think (even those who say they don’t care, really care). Yes there is a deserving side of self esteem in the mix. That is being happy and proud of ourselves and not being as concerned with the views of others. But it sure is super to get both.

In Maslow’s hierarchy, self actualization is at the top of the heap. Some look at this as the reward for fulfilling the other four needs. Some of us with a mathematical bent (with a hint of a futurist) say self actualization is the some total of the fulfillment of the other four needs plus their future goals. The purists suggest self actualization is becoming as much as you can. In any event, self actualization is an ongoing process and not a destination. Like Thomas Carlyle said, "Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal."

As we take a look at and experience this hierarchy of human needs, we can see we all have various needs, on a moment-to-moment basis, begging for attention to be fulfilled. If we want to eat, odds are we’ll eat. If we are starved for attention because our self esteem needs are not fulfilled, we might have to put that craving on the back burner. It’s important to realize that fulfillment of needs is situational, timelines vary and it gets more complex higher up on the hierarchy.

If it were just needs that motivated us, it would make understanding others a great deal easier. In fact it would help us understand why we do or don’t do some of the things on our plate. Don’t fret, we’re now going to take a look at a dicey issue, out of body programming. The thing that plays around with our need fulfillment is our values. Values can be illusive, idiotic and insensitive. Values can be positive or negative, good or bad and they invite us to become the big judge…for better or for worse.

Defining needs and values is a great deal easier than understanding them. That understanding however can make the difference between getting along with others, persuading them to go along with your way of thinking and a host of other relationship scenarios. That understanding will help yield the results in your life, and you will feel ultimately successful, personally and professionally.

Here’s the difference with what seems like two unlikely partners, needs and values. While we are born with needs, our values are programmed into us. For example, we are born with the need to eat food. However, what we eat, how much and even how we eat is an outcome of values that are learned. I grew up as a young boy in northern Wisconsin. Our diet was quite bland on bland…very little seasoning.

My father worked for "the" telephone company so we moved around. That was back in the days when people worked for one company most of their lives. When we moved to Milwaukee, some new friends took me out to lunch at a Mexican restaurant. Much to my surprise, I had no idea what salsa was. On my first bite, I choked, swallowed it by accident, started sweating with a reddened face and became speechless. My value system as it related to eating was based on bland on bland. Some at this point are ready to be the great judge and explain which way is best.

To bland or not to bland is not the question, that’s a diversion from the discovering and understanding the mystery of motivation.

Needs and Values – Key Differences

Here’s a major difference between needs and values. We will always have the need to eat food. But what we eat is experience and value based, and that can change…values are changeable. Today I love hot spicy foods from all over the world. Here’s the complex part. All the needs defined on Maslow’s hierarchy have a number of learned values impacting their fulfillment and how that is seen and judged by others. We are born with needs and they never really go away or change, however the learned values are malleable to say the least. Here’s a point to remember, our behavior or outward expression of our values is judged by others. Yes that is very superficial.

Do we care? Well before you commit to an answer, let’s take a look at what happens along the way as we develop and adjust our set of values. That’s our job, however there are many who try to manage, manipulate and even manhandle our values development. Our behaviors, be they overt expressions of joy or disappointment as well as the absence or avoidance of any behavior are what other people observe, and voila they now feel they are entitled to make a judgment. Entitled or not, they most often do.

Before we venture any further into this maze of people discoveries, let’s take a look at the process that needs and values go through to the surface. If you reflect on and remember this simple three-stage process, understanding self and others comes much easier.

Stage One:
- Needs are innate and for all practical purposes never change
- Values are programmed into us and can change many times

Stage Two:
- Needs begin to surface in terms of feelings
- Values begin to surface in terms of preferences

Stage Three:
- Needs surface as generic actions
- Values surface as specific behaviors

The following works with our basic or physiological needs, but becomes more complex with needs higher on the hierarchy. Here they are played out in all three stages.

Needs Stages 1 - 3:
Stage One, we have the need to eat food
Stage Two, we begin to feel hungry
Stage Three, we take action and eat

Values Stages 1 - 3:
Stage One, we have expectations about the food we want eat
Stage Two, we have strong preferences about what we want to eat
Stage Three, we eat what we want, given the choice

But that’s not the end of the scenarios. We are complex beings and we never seem to let well enough alone. There’s something in us that knows that others are judging us. So that inner voice says it can help us hide some of our deepest and even dark desires. This is not to suggest that our inner thoughts, values and preferences are bad or negative. People who are interacting with us, personally or professionally, tend to be curious (sometimes downright nosey) about who we really are and how we think. Some just feel it’s none of their business and we’ll cover up any hint of our values and preferences...especially if we feel our privacy is being invaded. That’s when we are possibly creating a chain reaction of trouble and disappointment.

Come back next week for Part 3 of 3. Comment below or email us at radio@w3w3.com

P.S. Last week we received a number of emails and only a couple postings. If you are new at this Blogging thing, you don't need a memebership or special code to comment. Give it a try, we would love to get your feedback.

Chapter 1 - Part 3 of 3

Business Madness: Unraveling the Paradox of the People Puzzle (Power - People - Profits)                © 2006 Larry & Pat Nelson          Chapter 1 - Part 3 of 3

NOTE: If you haven't read Chapter 1 - Part 1 and 2 of "Business Madness" read it first. Check it out on the link in the right-hand column

Protecting Our Preferences - Deepest Desires and Dark Secrets

Let me go back to our deepest desires and dark secrets…not necessarily bad, but possibly embarrassing to us…to maybe a select group of people. I was giving a talk to a huge audience in California, sometime after Nixon left the Whitehouse. If you don’t recall (that’s not meant to be a pun), Nixon carried the electoral vote in California by a landslide. I asked this audience how many of them voted for Nixon. Only three hands went up out of hundreds of people in attendance. Come on, this wasn’t a democratic convention I was talking to, it was a group of business people.

In simple terms, this is what was happening. Hundreds of people in the audience didn’t want others around them to know they had voted for Nixon. The result was they placed a protective shield around their preferences at the time so their actual behavior would not be revealed. Remember, the preferences they were hiding are an example of a Stage Two activity which, in their minds allowed them to behave differently…not show their actual colors by not raising their hands. Some think it also helps prevent others from judging their true behavior now and in the future. This is probably easy to understand for many, yet others would argue that shielding of their true values by behaviors inconsistent with them is not an example of integrity.

That’s really another debate for another time. The point I’m trying to make, you really can’t tell a book by its cover and that is certainly true with people. It seems like a small and obvious point, but without the realization, we are lost at best with people and are subject to becoming a victim. Just when it seemed as that issue was solved, or at least understood, a bigger challenge is revealed.

Our values are not just big lump. There’s an active and ever changing ecosystem of what might look like a gazillion little molecules making up that one lump, or what our entire set of values is. Each value molecule (some might think of it as a nano particle) has its own target of vested interest. That interest or focus ranges from politics (sorry again), food, money, movies, products of all types, technology to the full range of topics we face in our lives. With all these value molecules, it’s easy to understand why some of us look like a walking contradiction of terms. We are complex beings, but we are going to get back to the basics and dig a little deeper.

We talked about the shield masking our preferences and attitudes so our behavior would hide or disguise our true preferences. Well, we complex human beings don’t just stop there. We frequently put another shield directly around our values for any one of a variety of reasons. The reasons for creating this shield around our values also vary. In most cases we are unaware and it’s not as if we have consciously decided we are going to build this wall around our values so we and others cannot see or understand them. There are instances when people will realize they don’t like what they see so they bury them with the expectation that they’ll deal with them later.

That can create a trap of self deception. You’ve heard it before, if you tell a lie long enough, you are apt to begin to believe it. People don’t change values by disguising them. Here’s the point I’m trying to make, people you are interacting with, don’t, number one necessarily know about the shield they have around their values, but number two, they generally realize they are shielding their preferences.

We should move onto another topic, but I want to point out that people have thousands of preferences on a ton of topics. Within one person, you might love, like or loathe anyone of their different attitudes and preferences. It’s not exactly a love-hate relationship, but it can feel that way at times. What you see isn’t necessarily what you will get. You might like and appreciate a person’s behavior relating to one issue and then be upset about something else on another issue.

That’s really where your value system kicks in. When their behavior hits one of your hot spots in a negative way, many of their other appreciated behaviors are displaced with your new and recently developed strong opinions. The masters of business and personal relationships will work on improving the situation and even help mitigate the shield. That’s if they think the person and that relationship is worth the effort and time investment. It could be a new way to win friends and influence others. You can help and facilitate a change in them, however they are in control.

We All Get Our Turn Being the Judge – Possibly an Integrity Issue

Here’s a quick overview of our needs and our values. Our needs are quite straight-forward, but our values are ever changing and in addition are constantly challenged by our changing environment. Don’t forget, we have an endless list of preferences that impact and determine our various behaviors. The major complication is that we often shield our preferences from others and we in turn, will shield our values from ourselves….not always, but at times. To top it off, everyone gets their turn to be the judge as we exhibit our behaviors. That can be very distressing except when we get our turn to put on the judge’s robe…or not.

Speaking of personal responsibility…we were you know. You have control (only you have this control) of your values, preferences and behavior. Yes, we all acknowledge there can be challenges. None-the-less, ask yourself, is your behavior consistent with your values? We will discuss integrity in another chapter, but here is a working definition. Integrity is when your behavior around others is consistent with your values.

Try this in the next 24 hours…this is a Business Madness assignment. Observe yourself in two or more situations. One being nice and comfortable (or just ordinary) and one that might at least be a touch more challenging. In each case, was your behavior consistent with your values? Don’t view this superficially, be tough, frank, and honest as well as being open to how you thought about and dealt with the challenges. Then, give yourself a hug, so we can keep up with the touchy-feely part. Come on, smile.

Next, we are going to tackle a tricky tool that can help you and others overcome some of the chinks in your armor as well as tap into assets which we call your Mental DNA. Many find it interesting after checking out their Mental DNA that they realized many of their shortcomings, but seldom understood their strengths. Without realization of their strengths they didn’t really capitalize on them. Don’t turn on the TV; you’ll love this next chapter, when we explore your Mental DNA.

Get a jump start at exploring Your Mental DNA

Check out this Blog about Mastering Change and visit our Podcasting Directory and check out our website.

Here is our choice of the NUMBER ONE Blog in the Universe (Brad Feld).

Chapter 2 - Part 1 of 2

Business Madness: Unraveling the Paradox of the People Puzzle (Power - People - Profits)                © 2006 Larry & Pat Nelson          Chapter 2 - Part 1 of 2

NOTE: If you haven't read Chapter 1 - of "Business Madness" read it first. Check it out on in the right-hand column.

Their Mental DNA and Why They Don’t Think Like You

As we stated earlier, you can’t tell a book from its cover. Some years ago, it was common to hear the statement,” What you see is what you get.” That was in an era of ignorance, idiocy and maybe just an indeterminate understanding of people. As they say, “Ignorance is bliss.” But I must point out that it’s the type of bliss that could give you a blister when you least expect it. By the way, some think we are still in this era…what do you think?

We are not actually switching gears; we are going to take a look at what I call the 3-Filters. This chapter is focused on our needs and how the 3-Filters literally create what is called our Mental DNA. Why is it important to be aware of this? Application of the 3-Filters Technology can greatly enhance the results with all human interactions. Yes, all human interactions.

Let me give you some additional background to help you develop a framework for using your Mental DNA as well as understanding that of others. Just as a note, utilizing the 3-Filters Technology, will help build more effective teams, improve relationships with loved ones, reduce (maybe eliminate) major communication blunders, sell better, realize your potential…you get the idea. No this isn’t a panacea, but it’s a fantastic tool, that you’ll want to use and share with others.

By the way, we worked on the development of the 3-Filters Technology with over 50,000 people in better than 10 different countries. Because it is based on needs (not values) it is timeless like Maslow’s hierarchy of Human Needs…another reason he is one of my heroes. Remember, I said “based on” needs but values do impact also. Values have their way of trying their hand to influence and impact every “people scenario” in your life. That can be good news…or not.

Fundamentals of Your 3-Filters and a Look at Your Mental DNA

The 3-Filters are generic in the sense that the definitions are the same for all people, of all cultures in all times…regardless of gender, age, ethnicity, background, and the myriad of other issues. The unique blending of your 3-Filters creates your Mental DNA. This is pretty cool and let me warn you, you’ll never look at an ad, brochure, proposal or anything else trying to sell and persuade you the same way ever again. And yes, you’ll change your approach, too.

At this time we are going to take a 30,000 foot view of people (personally and professionally) in general everyday situations. Try to identify which one of these three people you would tend to be like and associate with. Here’s the setup. Each of these three people is making a buying decision. In this example, we will not concern ourselves with the exact item, as we will focus on what is an influential factor in making a buying decision. It’s time we get our three stars and business partners back in our Business Madness scenario.

Frances (F) is our first person. When Frances buys something, it is important that the product or service is the newest thing out, innovative, really leading-edge. Our second person is Pat (P). When Pat is deciding on a purchase, recommendations and referrals are important along with knowing this is what everyone else is buying which makes it a popular choice. Sam (S) is our third person and really doesn’t care what others think or whether it’s the newest thing out, Sam wants proof that it works, that it has a proven product track record and offers solid guarantees.

So let’s look at their sweet spots…did you notice yours? Don’t cop out, choose only one, you’ll get another chance later and unless you are reading Business Madness out loud, no one will ever know. The potential choices are very distinct. Yes there are products and services that can potentially have all three appeals, but I want to make sure they don’t get blurred in your mind; because understanding individual motivators is key…then we can blend and blur them.

There is more to this, but if you remember this example and apply your understanding, you will take a giant step forward in understanding, persuading and motivating people that will give you an insider’s edge. It is easy, but you have to get past your burdensome barriers of belief.

It’s about Future (F), It’s about People (P), It’s about Security (S)

Just like Frances(F), Pat(P) and Sam(S), we all have 3-Filters that process all information headed toward our brain, regardless of our IQ. Whether we are processing information from a one-on-one conversation or if we are in a large audience listening to a keynote address, all the information is processed by our 3-Filters. Of course all audible information whether it’s a song you’re listening to on your portable mp3 player, a TV show, a very angry radio commentator, your teacher, your boss, and your loved ones, in fact everything you might hear, is processed by your 3-Filters.

The same is true with all text trying to wiggle, waggle or worm its way into your brain. Whether you are reading a book, newspaper, magazine, a website or you are peeking at your email or text messages…every piece of information is processed by your 3-Filters. As challenging as it is for the deaf or the blind, they too have to deal with processing this information overload. I’m not sure I understand how they manage it all, but many serve as excellent examples of extraordinary understanding of what is happening and what is really being communicated. A guess on my part is many have a special, innate understanding of their 3-Filters.

Here is a key point. All people, genders, in all nations, of all ethnicities, of all religious beliefs, of all political parties (really sorry about this)…all have 3-Filters. These 3-Filters are named the Future Filter(F), People Filter(P) and the Security Filter(S). In our previous example, Frances (F) was representing a person with a “Future Filter” bias. Pat (P) had a “People Filter” bias and Sam had a “Security Filter” bias. A very important word here is bias. In other words, not to exclusion of the other two Filters.

The Future Filter is focused on and has the most interest in the future, goals, plans, innovation, and doing things quickly. They also represent our great entrepreneurs and risk takers.

The People Filter is focused on and has the most interest in people, communications, partnerships, and they like the committee route. They also represent spenders and trend setters.

The Security Filter is focused on security be it physical or psychological, being supportive, maintaining the status quo and resisting change. They are very frugal and demand guarantees.

That’s just a snapshot, and if you remember those few thoughts of each Filter, the rest will not be complicated. Okay, with that said, we all have…every human being has all 3-Filters. That can be confusing, because that means (at least potentially) that any single person could have a literal argument consciously and subconsciously about a decision. Can you imagine our three business partners in a strategic planning meeting? We’ll get to that in a bit.

Next week, we'll talk about "How Do Our 3-Filters Influence How We Make Decisions?"
Come back next week for Part 2 of 2. Comment below or email us at radio@w3w3.com

P.S. Last week we received a number of emails and only a couple postings. If you are new at this Blogging thing, you don't need a memebership or special code to comment. Give it a try, we would love to get your feedback.

Keep up to date at w3w3.com

Blog on Making Changes

Business Madness Update

Business Madness Book 'n Blog updates and changes are on the way, thanks to our many readers. We received a number of suggestions (and corrections) and we are making the changes now.

It's interesting writing a book. I felt it would be done by now. We have about 185 pages completed, but the last mile so to speak is interesting to say the least.

Keep those emails and comments (mostly emails are coming) coming...they all help.

So this week check out Brad Feld's Blog (it is great).

You Have to Visit MarketBuzz.biz

Last Mile Comments

Business Madness: Unraveling the Paradox of the People Puzzle (Power - People - Profits)                © 2006 Larry & Pat Nelson         

NOTE: Last week we made mention of the "Last Mile" Challenge. Here's a lesson that impacts all businesses - not just telecom.

Pat, my partner, best friend and wife (that's the same person) did some tough editing...ouch.

For over 20 years, I have been researching, developing, and re-defining the material in Business Madness. The concept of the 3-Filters Technology has been used by consultants and trainers in over a dozen countries. We have had well over 50,000 people take the Life Perspective Inventory (LPI) and used those findings in courses I have taught in 8 countries. The topics included Team Building, Mastering Change, Sales and Marketing Skills as well as a host of other Leadership and Entrepreneurial seminars. In more recent years, we have used the 3-Filters to audit and evaluate the effectiveness of websites. If your website is not getting the results you would like, I can tell you it probably is not 3-Filters compliant.

Back to Business Madness and the last mile. As I thought I was winding down and about to complete the Book 'n Blog, Pat started walking me through pages of Business Madness that had numerous 'green' markings. She used green instead of red, because green is the color of our corporate logo at w3w3.com. She crossed out things, used many question marks and offered a number of suggestions for re-writes. Green can still hurt.

Much of the editing boiled back to this point (managers, read this carefully), I know what I was writing about, I know it works, the material was great in seminars, however, a bunch of what I had written, wasn't as clear as it was in a hands-on seminar. So we are in the process of working on it together. It's very exciting and quite an adrenalin rush. We can't wait to finish it.

If nothing else for now, remember these two sentences. They are true in high-tech, low-tech and no-tech situations.
1- People are the cause of all problems.
2- People are the source for all solutions.

Come back next week. Comment below or email us at mailto:radio@w3w3.com

Visit MarketBuzz.biz