U.S. Army Lt. Col. Christine Harvey is on a mission: Transition into the civilian working world.

I first met Chris Harvey at the 2009 Business Women’s Forum in Hartford, CT. It was hard not to notice her commanding presence and radiant energy. She is what I call a “motivated leader.” We have since networked together quite a bit and I am motivated to help her accomplish her “mission” in whatever way that I can. In my opinion, she is the kind of principled leader that “civilian” businesses need.

Read about about Christine Harvey’s four-point strategy for orchestrating a successful career transition from her military life into the “civilian work world.”

In this humorous video, actor Robert De Niro reminds of the common mistakes that can be made in the sales process. While it’s exciting to make a sale, land a new customer and “do the transaction”, our impatience can be counterproductive to our desired goal.

Watch this short and entertaining video and see if you can identify the common mistakes made in selling. Here’s a few that I noticed:

• using inappropriate humor
• using foul language or talking like a “sailor” (or gangster, in this example)
• insulting the customer’s buying strategy
• pushing too hard – forcing the close
• not reading the customer’s body language
• not controlling your own body language
• raising the volume of your voice
• grabbing things you shouldn’t

I believe that inspiration can be found anywhere, anytime and from anybody. This one was worth sharing with all of you, because I think it contains a bit of creative genius. While attending a Boy Scout court of honor ceremony (where one of my twin boys was being promoted to Tenderfoot class), the Scout Master, Mr. Nick Civitillo (Mr. C to all of his friends), read aloud the following Top 10 List at the end of the ceremony. With his permission, I share it with all of you.

Thank you Nick for the inspiration and for all that you do to help boys grow and become strong leaders and citizens of the world!

Much About Life Can Be Learned from Noah’s Ark

Top 10 Lessons

1. Don’t miss the boat.
2. Remember, we are all in the same boat.
3. Plan ahead. It wasn’t raining when Noah built the Ark,
4. Stay fit. When you’re 600 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big.
5. Don’t listen to critics. Just get on with the job at hand.
6. Build your future on high ground.
7. Use the buddy system.
8. Speed isn’t always an advantage. The snails were on board with the cheetahs.
9. When you’re stressed out, float for a while.
10. Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals.

Please share this inspiration with someone you care about.

The power of non-verbal body language is huge and most of us are unaware of what we “do” when we are face to face with other people.

Becoming more aware of and learning to control your body language will help you to be more successful in securing second interviews, team meetings, peer encounters, selling, networking and more.

Research studies* show that 55% of the meaning of your communication is derived not from what you are saying, but from what you are doing with your body and movements. (source: Professor Albert Mehrabian, UCLA, 1970 study known as The 7%-38%-55% Rule)

“The fact is that body language is more honest than words.” Allan Pease, author of The Definitive Book of Body Language.

A tilt of your head, crossing your arms, pointing your index finger at someone when you are speaking to them, rolling your eyes: these and other physical motions communicate volumes without even opening your mouth. So the question is, are you signaling what you want? Is your non-verbal body language congruent (or aligned with) your spoken message? Is there a conflict with what you say and what you do and if so, which message will be believed?

“When a person’s words and body language are in conflict, women ignore what is said.” Allan Pease, The Definitive Book of Body Language

Does it really make that much difference?

I first become fascinated with non-verbal communication when I Read the rest of this entry »