SOPY Podcast Interview Resources
Paula M. Kramer’s Broken Ceilings
3 life tragedies slowed me down, so I’ve been breaking age ceilings.
Age 50: International Professional Speaker
Age 70: International Bestselling Author, 1st time
Age 72: International Podcast Audience Favorite
Paula’s Opposite Role Street Cred
One teenage summer, I worked with my father on a construction site. He had signed a contract with a subdivision develop to wash windows and clean bathrooms and kitchens in all of the new houses. He washed the windows, I cleaned the kitchens and bathrooms.
I was the only female on the site. I was always near my father. I never worked with other men on the site. I did talk to other men on the site. When we were on the site, I felt separated from the rest of the world.
I am now grateful for the experience. I am comfortable in mostly male or all male situations.
In grad school, I met Kate. She had street cred because she earned a Water Science degree when the natural resources field was mostly male.
Together, we did an independent study grad school project interviewing men and women in opposite roles.
Opposite role street cred is available in different ways:
Classes
Hobbies
Sports
Choose what interests you and what you enjoy.
Cross Gender Study
Kate and I did our study in 1992. Reading through this list shows how role expectations have changed. I designed my SOPY strategy to change expectations more quickly than the decades it took for these changes.
Female bank vice president in training and development
Male bank teller
Female bank vice president in loans
Male waiter
Female doctor
Male nurse
Male detective who investigated sexual assaults
Female district attorney
Female science professor
Male elementary education major
Female university administrator
All interviewees reported speaking according to the situation, not according to gender.
Other people had difficulty accepting their opposite roles.
Ignoring them
Discounting them
Stereotyping them
Judging them
Situations
Stereotypes are the building blocks of glass and concrete ceilings.
Stereotypes can be about people or roles.
Most people have no idea how many possible stereotypes they face every time they walk out their door.
People Stereotype Situations
Talk about stereotypes everyone faces using my 5 blog posts listing more than 1000 stereotypes. The link below includes links to the other 4 blog posts.
Make talking about stereotypes fun by revealing the opposite groups of people who share the same stereotypes.
Stereotypes Behind Bad & Ugly Gossip: Workplaces
I went through all 5 blog posts listing possible stereotypes about me. I found more than 100.
Knowing the stereotypes you face gives you the ability to think about ways to break those stereotypes.
Role Stereotype Situations
Work roles are stereotyped as male. Characteristics:
Assertiveness Independence
Action Results
Task Vision
Family roles are stereotyped as female. Characteristics:
Feelings Relationships
Workplace Ceilings For Sensitive Men
Sensitive men face the same glass ceilings women face.
During a podcast interview, Lauren Neal revealed how sensitive men are stereotyped in the workplace.
“far too young to have the visibility that you get”
“people just wanted to knock him down”
“well-dressed”
“likes to listen and understand and caring and all of that”
A Woman in a Man’s World podcast hosted by Lauren Paton
The Power of Stories in a Man’s World
June 20, 2024
Near the end of the interview
Sensitive Men: It’s Your Glass Ceiling Too
Andrew O’Connell
Harvard Business Review
September 20, 2010
Role Stereotypes Hurt Men
Vince Russo, WWF Storyteller
Vince McMahon, WWF Founder
World Wrestling Federation, now World Wrestling Entertainment
“Vince McMahon was starting another show, Smackdown, and he had pushed me creatively beyond my limits. I had 3 small kids. I wasn’t seeing them at all. I honestly believe I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. He just expected Ed and I to write another show, never offered any more money.
And, bro, it’s like I was building such a close, tight bond relationship with Vince that I started asking myself the question, “Does this guy care about me or am I the cash cow that’s writing this show?
I was so burnt out that I broke down and I cried in Vince’s office, okay.
…I went right to my office and called my WCW connection.”
The Rock
“He made the decision, what’s best for him and his family, and he went after an opportunity…”
Who Killed WCW?
“New Blood”
VICE
S1E3
*****24/7 Overwork Cultures
- “What’s Really Holding Women Back?”
Robin J. Ely
Irene Padavic
Harvard Business Review Magazine
March-April 2020
Other People
3 Groups Of People
Against You People
Inviting loyalty from against you people is probably a waste of time.
“…not to lose sleep or spend too much time or energy on initiatives or people where it’s clear they won’t give up what we need.”
Valued at Work: Shining a Light on Bias to Engage, Enable and Retain Women in Stem
Lauren Neal
2023, page 23.
Instead, invite loyalty from bystanders by speaking positively about against you people.
*****Nonprofit Working With Schools
A nonprofit working with schools hired me for a part time position to do presentations to students. I worked only a couple of weeks before my boss suddenly fired me. She told 3 lies about me, trying to prevent me from getting unemployment insurance. She became an against you person in my life.
An unemployment investigator called to hear my side of the story. She believed me, so I received unemployment payments. I sent a letter to bystanders in the situation, the nonprofit national headquarters. I made only positive statements about the boss who fired me. My positive statements proved she was lying without using these words:
lie
liar
lying
You can read my positives statements in the file below. Use them as an example for inviting bystanders when against you people treat you badly.
Positivity Toward Against You People
Waiting For An Invite People
Lauren Neal reports how a woman in stem figured out how to move up.
Identify decision makers
Build relationship with decision makers so you know waht they want and need
Nurture and maintain the relationships
Valued at Work: Shining a Light on Bias to Engage, Enable and Retain Women in Stem
Lauren Neal
2023, page 145.
*****Inviting People By Overcoming Friction
Choosing loyalty is easier when any friction to action is eased.
The Human Element: Overcoming the Resistance That Awaits New Ideas
Loren Nordgren
David Schonthal
3 Categories of Social Relationships
David Robson cites research showing 3 categories of social relationships:
Supportive (helpful)
Aversive (hurtful)
Ambivalent (helpful & hurtful)
Frenemy is the popular word for an ambivalent relationship with a friend.
These are my additions for 2 other ambivalent relationship categories:
Renemy (relative)
Conemy (coworker)
When you understand DISC behavior styles and Spranger guiding values, you have the ability to improve ambivalent relationships. Knowing a renemy’s, frenemy’s, or conemy’s behavior style and guiding value combination gives you the best knowledge for protecting yourself from their tendencies to be hurtful.
I learned about these 3 types of social relationships on November 12, 2024.
I will create new strategies for graduates of Career Advancement Up / Career Backlash Down.
These strategies will help you reduce the hurtful times and encourage the helpful times.
David Robson writes that you should make sure you’re not acting as a frenemy yourself, helpful some of the time, but hurtful at other times.
The Laws of Connection: The Scientific Secrets of Building a Strong Social Network
David Robson
2024, pages 24-27.
Central Network
You need multiple quality contacts from different groups of people so you are connected with people who are in multiple networks themselves.
Random networking provides connections with people who have:
Different experiences
Different goals
These random connections expand “knowledge and contacts in career-enhancing ways.”
Research: Men and Women Need Different Kinds of Networks to Succeed
Brian Uzzi
Harvard Business Review
February 25, 2019
*****Genius Cultures
If you randomly network well, your central network could become a genius network. More detailed summaries are coming so you understand how opportunity observant genius cultures are.
Outsiders came to Athens, Greece and Hangzhou, China.
Merchants from Florence, Italy traveled to different countries.
In Edinburgh, Scotland, rich and poor shared the same living spaces, the same social spaces, and sometimes, the same bottle of wine.
Scotsman David Hare founded a university and a medical school in Calcutta, India.
Vienna, Austria had residents from other countries when Franz Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Ludwig van Beethoven moved there.
In the time of Sigmund Freud. Viennese residents from different countries visited coffeehouse for conversations and free newspapers with news from around the world.
Open minded people with a passion for tinkering on other people’s ideas move to Silicon Valley. Their use weak ties (casual connections) to improve their tinkering and make deals. They are loyal to other valley tinkers who want to improve the world.
The Geography of Genius: Lessons from the World’s Most Creative Places
Eric Weiner
“50 years on, Mark Granovetter’s ‘The Strength of Weak Ties’ is stronger than ever”
StanfordReport
July 24, 2023
Opportunity oblivious people suffer from NIH Syndrome. Any industry / field / profession can demonstrate the 2 symptoms of NIH.
Information Circle
Corporations
Inner circle connections provide information from direct experience:
Attitudes about women as leaders
Job searches
Interviews
Negotiation
Research: Men and Women Need Different Kinds of Networks to Succeed
Brian Uzzi
Harvard Business Review
February 25, 2019
These findings applies to any group facing cultural and political hurdles.
Uzzi uses ‘inner circle.” Since the circle is based on information, I use “information circle.”
Extra advice for interviewing, but keep the situation in mind. Apply the YOU part of SOPY after you are hired.
“Why ‘Just Be Yourself’ Is The Worst Job Interview Advice Ever”
Pamela Skillings
Forbes Coaches Council
October 22, 2024
Small Businesses
Small businesses need information circles as well. Suppliers could provide insights to the successes of similar businesses.
Dig Your Well Before You’re Thirsty: The Only Networking Book You’ll Ever Need
Harvey McKay, page 208.
Small businesses could refer clients to similar business closer to the clients.
Strategies For Inviting Loyalty
Business Category
Chris Mara
Additional Connection
Find a rookie — perhaps a protege — who can enrich your career.
Dream Teams & Spectacular Success
A 30 year old white surgeon and a 19 year old Black teenage male, approached by a deaf pediatric cardiologist.
Dr. Alfred Blalock
Vivien Thomas
Dr. Helen Taussig
The Blalock-Taussig-Thomas Shunt
A college professor and a grad student
Chan Kim
Renee Mauborgne
Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant
A protégé mentoring you
“How to Choose the Right Protégé”
Sylvia Ann Hewlett
Harvard Business Review
November 12, 2013
You
3 Behavior Transforming Steps
PME (Physical / Mental / Emotional)
Repeat as opportunities arise.
Sincerity invites trust.
Insincerity invites backlash.
Coming in January 2025
Group Q&A coaching sessions for each of the 9 PME steps.
Sign up only for the sessions that interest you.
Random Networking Opportunity
Physical
Present yourself as familiar, approachable and part of the team.
“The Power of Proximity”
@changemaker
Medium
February 5, 202
1. Proximity Opportunities In General
Make yourself familiar by positioning yourself in an area that people come to or pass by regularly.
Visit the water cooler.
Sit in a chair near a doorway.
Make frequent visits to a food table at an event.
Vanessa Van Edwards recommends putting a small amount of food on your plate,
walking away to eat it, then returning to the food table for another small amount
of food. Repeat until you are full. Each trip to the food table will mean mingling
with a new set of people.
Stand near an information table at a conference.
Volunteer for group activities, including building houses with Habitat for Humanity.
Give small waves to people after you see them for the third time.
90 Exciting Ways to Make Friends in Your New City
Vanessa Van Edwards
Favorite way to meet new people
Vanessa Van Edwards
February 15, 2022
Favorite tips on how to meet people
Vanessa Van Edwards
July 5, 2024
How To Make New Friends?
Vanessa Van Edwards
August 30, 2024
Proximity Opportunities For Entrepreneurs & Blue Collar Workers
“I’m talking what I think a lot of people make the mistake of is they join twenty different groups and then they don’t attend or they go as one attendee amongst a hundred people or a thousand people to some event. I don’t think that’s a great strategy. What I think you should do is actually focus on a handful of organizations and then deepen your involvement with that organization, so maybe you join the board, or maybe you organize an event for them or maybe you organize a training or you speak or something like that.
Doing those sorts of things even if you’re in a blue collar job by first identifying what your goals are whether it’s getting more clients or customers or whether it’s working your way up the ladder it starts with that and then identifying the people, the events, and the organizations that you can involve yourself with and then starting to do that. You could also test it over time so that you could take twelve months and say, “I’m going to spend twelve months deepening my involvement in these two to three groups and then see if it works.” If it doesn’t work then you try something else at the end of the next year.”
Art of Manliness Podcast #92
Networking Without “Networking” With John Corcoran
Proximity Opportunities In Politics
President Lyndon Johnson began his career as a congressional aide. He lived in a rooming house with other aides. He took frequent showers so he could “run into” other aides who were taking showers. He ran for president of the aides “Little Congress” and won.
Dig Your Well Before You’re Thirsty: The Only Networking Book You’ll Ever Need
Harvey McKay, page 249-250.
Politic reported that Johnson won a “surprise” victory as “speaker” of the Little Congress because of…
“his adroit tactical move: soliciting elevator operators and the like to join the group.”
Lyndon Johnson invited familiar working class people to actively participate with him in politics.
Johnson made the group larger with weekly meetings featuring “debates on pending legislation,” high-profile lecturers, and social outings. Little Congress was bipartisan as well as socially and professionally mixed.
“Hill staff founds ‘Little Congress’ : Dec. 19, 1919”
Andrew Glass
Politico
December 19, 2016
Voters elected Lyndon Johnson to the Senate, to the vice presidency, and to the presidency.
~~~~~~~~~~
Decades ago, I attended a public summer event. A man walked up to me with his hand outstretched. I didn’t recognize him and he didn’t identify himself, so I didn’t shake his hand. He walked away embarrassed. Later, I saw a photograph of him. He was a political candidate for the party I support. I recognized his name. If he had introduced himself to me, I would have shaken his hand.
Political candidates need ways to mingle with voters without embarrassing themselves. Candidate Meet & Greets probably attract mostly supporters. Lyndon Johnson kept going back to the shower location to meet more and more aides. Candidates would create more familiarity for themselves by going to a variety of voter locations.
Instead of attending public events, political candidates could volunteer for group activities during public events:
Taking money or tickets at the entrance
Serving food
Cleaning up tables
Etc.
Nonevent group activities include:
Roadside cleanup
Beach cleanup
Fall yard cleanup for the elderly and disabled
Building Habitat for Humanity houses
It’s normal for people working together to introduce themselves to each other. The candidate becomes familiar to the people they are working with. During the event, some of the other volunteers could introduce the candidate to event participants, increasing familiarity.
After the event / activity, other volunteers could talk about the experience of working with the candidate. Familiarity for the candidate could spread to people who did not attend the event or participate in the activity.
Volunteering gives you proximity opportunities while synchronizing similarities. See below under the Mental section of PME.
“US voters largely uninfluenced by meet-and-greet campaign stops, study finds”
Alan Yuhas
The Guardian
August 19, 2016
Proximity Opportunities In Sports
When Scott Oliver Hall decided to go into wrestling, he moved to Tampa, Florida because it was the home of Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF). He joined every gym in town to put himself in wrestler territory. His strategy worked, and he met wrestler Keith Sullivan.
Nitro: The Incredible Rise And Inevitable Collapse of Ted Turner’s WCW
Guy Evans
2018, page 95.
2. Body Language
Be approachable, then attentive.
Independent Study Partner Kate
Example #1
Be approachable. After Kate and I finished our grad study on men and women in opposite roles, we presented our findings to a conference. I spoke first, then Kate spoke. I was still in pain from my misdiagnosed childhood spinal injury, so I couldn’t just stand. Instead, I sat on the edge of a desk. But I kept my body straight and my posture professional.
When Kate presented, she leaned against a blackboard, crossed her ankles, and sang “um”:
“uuuuuuuuuuuuum.”
After the conference, we received the feedback from participants. I remember only one:
“Kate seemed to be intelligent.”
Kate and I had presented the same information, but that participant saw her as approachable. I have focused on approachable body language ever since. These photographs show how to be approachable.
Independent Study Partner Kate
Example #2
Kate learned to relax and accept what might come.
“I was in an interview once for a position. By the time we got to a point in the interview where it was more open ended and back/forth, I consciously sat back in my chair. I think I even put my arm or hand in the chair back next to me. From that point, I felt very confident. The sitting back and moving my my arm is profoundly stuck in my head. The very physicality of the moment is a muscle memory for me.”
Kate got the job offer.
If the link above doesn’t work, copy and paste this:
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Art historian and dog
Florence, Italy’s genius culture was art. While in Florence, The Geography of Genius author Eric Weiner wanted to interview an art historian. He passed on “somber men and women striking serious art-is-no-laughing matter poses” in front of a”sober Florentine landmark.” He chose an art historian holding a dog “with the red-tiled roof and shiny gold spire of the Duomo barely visible in the distance.”
Page 99.
Aaron Stark
“I was almost a school shooter”
TEDxBoulder
Aaron Stark
“How Being human saved my life”
TEDxBoulder
Aaron Stark
“The Only Way Out Is Through”
APB Speakers
Keith Richards
“Keith brings the air of raggedness, which we’d be lost without.”
Ron Wood
2003 Rolling Stone Magazine interview
Cited in The Geography of Genius: Lessons from the World’s Most Creative Places
Eric Weiner
2016, page 193.
Attentiveness In Politics
After winning his first election to Congress, Wisconsin Representative Ron Kind stayed in office for 26 years by remaining attentive to voters. I listened to a number of his conference calls with voters. He came on the phone right away. Voter after voter took their turns, explaining a difficulty to Ron. Ron responded by saying what his office could do and naming the staffer who would contact the voter. The difficulties these voters faced proved they were mostly working class.
3. Clique Cancel
If you are in a minority, cancel the tendency to sit or stand together. Being a clique in a larger group makes you separate from the larger group.
Spread out among the majority to present yourself as part of the team. This is easier to do after you make yourself familiar through proximity opportunities.
Mental
Present yourself as trustworthy, knowledgeable, and similar.
1. In Ears / Out Mouths
The book Valued at Work: Shining a Light on Bias to Engage, Enable, and Retain Women in Stem by Lauren Neal reveals what women (and other people facing cultural and political hurdles) need to hear in workplaces:
Recognition
Feedback
Advocacy
Speak what you want to hear:
Give recognition
Give respectful feedback
Advocate for other people’s needs, even in small ways
~~~~~~~~~~
Give Feedback
Give advice only when people ask for advice or after you ask for permission first.
“How to give effective feedback”
Employee Development
Culture Amp
March 6, 2024
Ask For Advice
Asking for feedback can increase scrutiny and heighten reactance (resistance).
Asking for advice presents you as working with the other person.
“Why People Resist New Ideas—and How to Innovate Anyway”
The Insightful Leader Live
May 20, 2021
The very last statements from Loren Nordgren at the end of the video.
The Human Element: Overcoming the Resistance That Awaits New Ideas
Loren Nordgren
David Schonthal
2. Situation Language
Use the vocabulary of the situation.
Dr. Harvey Schiller was the new President of Turner Sports (including WCW) for the Turner Broadcasting Company. Schiller had no experience with wrestling.
Eric Bischoff was executive producer for WCW (World Championship Wrestling).
Schiller visited Bischoff in his office and asked,
“What’s the most important thing for me to know?”
Bischoff responded:
“It’s very simple. If you can’t ‘talk’, you can’t wrestle.”
Since he couldn’t talk, Schiller left wrestling decision to Bischofff.
Nitro: The Incredible Rise and Inevitable Collapse of Ted Turner’s WCW
Guy Evans, page 54.
Situation Language In Politics
Arizona Democrat Ruben Gallego won the Senate seat with words Republican voters wanted to hear about border security. He “advocated for more border patrol agents and physical structures in high-impact regions…”
“How Ruben Gallego Defeated Election Denier Kari Lake in Arizona’s Senate Race”
Abby Vesoulis
Tim Murphy
Mother Jones
November 12, 2024
3. Synchronizing Similarities
Make yourself similar to the people who make promotions.
People promote people who are similar. If you’re not similar in gender, race, ethnic identity, age, etc., then you need to synchronize whatever similarities you can identify.
Workplace Issues
Start conversations about with a positive purpose.
What you learned from difficulties with past managers
Children
If you see photographs of children, say something about your own children. An interest in continuing the conversation could lead to synchronizing similarities.
Pets
Pet photographs could be the basis of more conversations with purpose, as in training issues, health issues, veterinary choices.
I once heard a cashier ask a customer if her Golden Retriever had health problems. None of them had because the patron got her dogs from a breeder in Arizona who breeds Golden Retrievers for police departments.
Hobbies
This topic could come up io a social space — water cooler, break room, etc.
*****A Sense Of Shared Reality Through Conversation
David Robson cites research that found best way to demonstrate similarity is to synchronize (my term) similar inner states through “a sense of shared reality.”
The Laws of Connection: The Scientific Secrets of Building a Strong Social Network
David Robson
2024, pages 31-34.
Quote on page 34.
The first conversation below shows how I synchronized a sense of shared reality with one sentence.
The second conversation below shows how that synchronized similarity changed the relationship.
A Score For Smiles
July 1, 2023
In line at a small grocery store, I noticed a magazine cover with the face of Jackie Kennedy and a story about her secret life. Jackie Kennedy died in 1994.
The older female cashier rarely smiled at me, but I referred to the magazine cover and said it was written for people our age.
Older Female Cashier smiled AND chuckled then said,
“I noticed that. I wondered if they had a slow week.”
Got her to smile! SCORE!
~~~~~~~~~~
A Floor Mat Not Doing Its Job
July 15, 2023
I walked into the grocery store where the unsmiling cashier finally smiled with me over a magazine cover. She watched me walk in and walk onto a floor mat.
“You nearly tripped on that mat. It has one job to do and it has trouble doing it. All it has to do
is stay flat on the floor, but it won’t.”
Laughing, I suggested training.
Formerly Unsmiling Cashier went from not smiling with me to smiling with me to joking with me!
DOUBLE SCORE!
Read the blog post below for more benefits of chit chat.
Chit Chatting For Career Conversations
Grocery Stores
*****Sense Of Shared Reality Through Activity
See the recommendations for Proximity Opportunities above.
*****Sense Of Shared Reality Through Political Activity
Donald Trump’s rallies created a sense of shared reality while satisfying physical, mental, and emotional needs all at one time.
Synchronizing Similarities In Politics
During the 2024 campaign, Donald Trump went to a closed McDonald’s where he put on an apron, worked as a fry attendant, and handed out food.
“McDonald’s didn’t give Trump permission to serve fries. It didn’t need to”
Jordan Valinksy
CNN
October 23, 2024
Millions of Americans have eaten at McDonald’s, worked at McDonald’s, or done both.
~~~~~~~~~~
Donald Trump also synchronized similarities by taking a ride in a garbage truck. Millions of Americans are blue collar workers They saw Trump in their world.
“Trump Climbs Into A Garbage Truck In Wisconsin”
NPR News Now
~~~~~~~~~~
Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez won her election for Congress in a rural, red district of Washington State by making herself similar to Republican working class voters. Those voters felt dismissed by the Democratic Party, and Gluesenkamp Perez made herself similar by standing with them against that dismissive attitude.
When Glusenkamp Perez feels Democratic Party desires go against her community’s interests, she votes for her community, not for the Democratic Party. She wants the Democratic Party to support candidates who can synchronize similarities with their communities — “parents of young kids, people in rural communities, people in the trades…”
“A Red-District Conqueror Wants Fellow Democrats to Look in the Mirror”
Annie Karni
The New York Times
November 8, 2024
Emotional
Present yourself as sincere, supportive, and networking beneficial.
1. Gratitude Gifts
Say thank yous for anything that benefits you, even small actions.
Giving gratitude invites connection and support from bystanders. You must be sincere for bystanders to believe your gratitude.
“The benefits of witnessing gratitude”
Mandy O’Neill
Workties
No Date
2. Congratulating Cheers
Celebrate other people’s successes, even small successes.
I’m an election official. When people vote for the first time, I cheer and clap. My election officials colleagues cheer and clap as well.
3. Positivity Promotions
Draw positive attention to people whose work fits with your work.
It could take time for benefits to appear, but Unimagined Success #76 reveals how one small act to promote someone else could lead to major international attention for you.
Positivity promotions synchronize similarities.
I do what everyone else does —
I promote people who are similar to me.
Promoting someone whose work fits with your work means
synchronizing a similarity.
Benefits From Taking Both Courses
Career Advancement Up / Career Backlash Down
(Loyalty Up / Stereotypes Down)
Collaboration Up / Toxic Gossip Down
(Rewards Up / Losses Down)
Together, my courses teach strategies for encouraging collaboration and inviting loyalty in both stereotype situations.
They give you the ability to prove you have the leadership characteristics assigned to men in role stereotype situations.
Assertiveness
Taking positive control in situations
Listen for good, bad, and ugly gossip. Good gossip reveals whom you can trust. Bad and ugly gossip likely reveal a refusal to collaborate. Ugly gossip could be hiding sabotage.
Taking positive control in relationships
Opening a slammed door
Action
Taking positive control in situations
Recognizing behavior styles and guiding values, means knowing whom to go to and how to approach them to increase collaboration
Task
Point out the behavior style and guiding value strengths of other people and suggest or delegate tasks accordingly. People will feel more motivation to do tasks they’re good at.
Independence
Tell people what your behavior style and guiding value strengths are and volunteer to use them in appropriate situations.
Results
Increasing profit and decreasing losses are important to any business.
Get the information you need from people with direct experience.
People with direct experience are often at a different level in an organization or business.
People with direct experience can be potential customers / clients.
Reverse Innovation: Create Far From Home, Win Everywhere
Vijay Govindarajan and Chris Trimble
Profits Up
Task Knowledge From Direct Experience
The late Wisconsin billionaire Ken Hendricks was in roofing. Before he bought any company, he would talk to the warehouse workers because they had direct experience with tasks. He asked them what they would do to fix the company.
“I guarantee if you fixed what they tell you, 95 percent of the time that would be a successful business. These guys hit it on the head all the time. But management never asks them.”
Be the management / owner who asks the “what would you do to fix” question.
“How To Buy A Business”
Inc. Magazine Staff
Inc. Magazine
December 1, 2006
Losses Down
People Knowledge From Direct Experience
Management ignored my information, even though I had direct experience with customers.
Incivility Up / Business Death By 1000 Cuts: Mail Order
VISIONARY LEADERSHIP SKILLS
Graduates of both courses get a bonus —
membership in SOPY Strategy SuperStars.
A central network of quality people
for random networking
with the ability to create genius focus groups.
First, pick an issue related to your business.
Second, use my easy strategy to invite SuperStar members who are interested in the same issue.
Third, use my comfortable strategy for finding SuperStar members who are interested in that issue and invite them to join your genius focus group.
Fourth, work with your genius focus group to identify trends with that issue.
Fifth, work with your genius focus group to identify solutions / improvements for that issue.
Everyone in your genius focus group can then use the findings in their own workplaces to create more success for themselves by demonstrating their visionary leadership skills.
Document your findings so all of you have proof that your genius focus group is the source of the identified trends and solutions.
© Paula M. Kramer, 2024
All rights reserved.
Updated December 19, 2024.
