Faction management

We read in the news of the horrid things that happen when there are factions that are fighting other factions. There are ambushes, surprise attacks, guerrilla warfare, etc. All because a group that feels weak is lashing out to be heard or to hurt others.

We see this in business when a person feels under appreciated. They try to cause conflict, to spread fear or rumors—whatever they can do to feel powerful in that situation.

That's why we are told to provide a safe environment for people to share their opinions, because if not, they'll possibly share them in a negative fashion.

One advantage we have in our businesses is that we can choose to eliminate that faction. That sounds easy but it seldom is. However experience tells me that if we try our best to give everyone a chance to succeed and express themselves, yet there is a faction of discontent, managing them is not the best option. A friendly separation is the best answer for all.

Barry LaBov
LABOV Marketing Communications and Training
www.labov.com

Belief

So that I can protect the innocent, I will share a story and while it may appear to be a bit vague, the story has power to it. (And btw, this is not about me; it is a true story, however.)

There was a young artist who came from a good family. His father worked with him at an early age, but as the boy reached his teens, he was in the school system and went through years of art teachers, some well intentioned, others not. Over a period of four years, the boy went to class daily and over time, his confidence slipped.

One teacher felt he was not that talented; next year's teacher thought he had talent, but not the special magic. His next art teacher was a bitter ex-artist who treated the entire class poorly. Then he had a well-intentioned teacher who at first dismissed him, but later saw something in him. However, due to the teacher's lack of skills, nothing came of it. Throughout the years, various students were held up as having great talent, but never this boy.

This boy reached his college years confused and afraid. He loved being an artist and dreamt of it but simply had no foundation as to whether or not he had what it took. That made him tentative and at times difficult to be around. Then he had his first year of college art. The professor in his class was well, practically infamous for being a jerk.

This professor had a poor reputation as a surly, sarcastic guy who was usually not liked by students and was a source of complaints from parents. But for some reason, this professor saw something special in this boy—maybe it was his attitude or his doggedness or maybe it was his energy. For the entire semester this professor showed his sincere belief in the boy and minor miracles happened. The boy excelled; he became the special artist in the class. Sure, this was only his first year of college, but for the first time, he believed in himself because someone, a stranger (not his friends or parents, because their positive words didn't count), showed belief in him.

I won't share the end of the story because it doesn't matter. The power to this is that believing in someone can make all the difference. And by the way, this professor had a couple other students in that class that he supported, but overall, he was still the jerk that others had called him.

But for that one boy, that professor showed belief. And that was enough to change everything.

Barry LaBov
LABOV Marketing Communications and Training
www.labov.com

Motivation—no label required

I've read a lot about how to motivate. I've heard a lot, too. In general, I've been told that you need to be positive and stress the upside of a person performing or behaving a certain way.

I just walked through an airport and saw a book by Bobby Knight entitled, "The Power of Negative Thinking." No, I am not going to read it. I'm confident it will be a book filled with examples of his extraordinary ego.

But, I have learned that negative motivation is powerful. In some cases, more powerful for certain people or situations than positive reinforcement. I hate the thought that it's true, but it is.

For example, many great performers strive to excel because they are afraid to lose or be looked at as being washed up. Some slackers go to a new job and all of a sudden become aggressive because they now have to perform or they will be fired. Some people see lay-offs at their company and step-up their performance big time.

It probably doesn't matter; motivation is like stress. There's good stress (we landed a new client) and bad stress (my girlfriend broke up with me) but they both result in stress. Motivation, whether from a positive or negative standpoint, if it results in a more focused, engaged performance, is motivation, period.

Barry LaBov
LaBov Marketing Communications and Training
www.labov.com

The Mighty Contrarian

Several years ago, I worked with a client who called himself a "Mighty Contrarian." He openly shared with me that his secret to success was to be the guy who disagreed in every meeting, who was more critical than anyone else and who kept everyone, including his boss, on their toes and on the defensive.

He was a brilliant person and I really enjoyed him, after he let his hair down and shared his secret. I've often wondered what would have happened if he would have just stopped playing contrarian and had just been himself. Would he have been less successful? Maybe...he would not have appeared so powerful and fearless.

But I do think he might have allowed others to perform freely and perhaps create even better ideas, which might have brought him even more success.

Barry LaBov
LaBov Marketing Communications and Training
www.labov.com

Push

Push
when you feel something can be better
when your first idea seems pretty good
when you get push-back

I think there is almost never a situation when pushing to do more, think more, create more and achieve more isn't the right thing to do. If you push too far, you can always go back.

Barry LaBov
LaBov Marketing Communications and Training
www.labov.com