Idioms of the Economy by Paul Cook

As we cartwheel joyfully into the business autumn and let the joys of summer slip gracefully into our warm memories I can’t help but wonder at the latest round of political narrative.  The coalition returned early from summer recess in order to save the world (voted against it) and then moved on to some real encouraging noises about the economy; well they eventually did but first had to discuss the burning question as to whether badgers are responsible.

Really listen to what they (MPs) say and you will discover that you really can’t really listen to what they say!  In Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) parlance they use vague or fuzzy language or the art of ‘Deliberately Vague’.  This is based on research carried out by Milton Erickson, a famous therapist.  The full results known as the ‘Milton Model’, captures the skill and positive use of ambiguities, imbedded commands, implied causation, mind reading, generalisations etc.  You may recognise some of this stuff if you look at your horoscope for the week.  Vague, fuzzy, unclear, but ultimately designed to let you make up your own conclusions and fit it to your own world! In October 1992 at the Conservative Party Conference John Major said ‘’In the name of the present and future we cannot sit this one out’’.  What name?  Which present?  Which future?  Sit what out?

So the vague approach to the description of the economy is strategically on the agenda and described by our leaders in a manner fit for Mystic Meg.  ‘The tide is turning’, ‘growth is again around the corner’, ‘Europe is once more reaching out’, ‘the seeds of recovery’, ‘you will meet a dark stranger’; idioms of economy.  But the reality is your own and owned by you; where are you now? Where do you want to be?  How can you achieve this?  Who can work with you?  The housing market may have achieved growth of 1.34%; this may or may not be useful if you are in the industry of ice cream selling.  The formula you need may be different, but the point is that there is one and you can find it with a little help.

http://www.zestbusinesscoaching.co.uk/team_business_coaching.php

Idioms have been around for hundreds of years and used to apply descriptors for people situations and business.  For example ‘stuck between a rock and a hard place’, ‘barking up the wrong tree’, ‘don’t bite off more than you can chew’ et al.  These now need a 2013 makeover and I am pleased to announce the Zest Business Coaching grand launch of ‘effective idioms for a modern business’ (stay with it)

• A bird in the hand is not better than two in the bush provided the two are strategically placed in your global network
• You can lead a horse to water and make it drink providing you hand the reigns to a qualified sales negotiator
• Drastic times call for embedded business continuity and robust delivery plans
• When in Rome, build rapport
• The bigger they are the more potential there is for building great relationships
• Do count your chickens before they hatch to maximise projected opportunities
• Do look a gift horse in the mouth, remember what happened to sub prime
• Too many cooks spoil the reality that you have plenty of skilled resources

‘The government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: if it moves tax it.  If it keeps moving, regulate it.  If it stops moving subsidise it’.                                     Ronald Regan

Leadership is for Shrimps by Paul Cook

This week marked the start of the Chinese Lunar New Year 2013, the Year of the Snake.  One of the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac, the snake signifies cleverness and tenacity and is associated with the element of fire.  I strongly recommend that in these essential times for leaders it should have been the year of the Mantis shrimp.

I may have to explain further.

Biological reasons as follows.

Do you cut the grass or mow the lawn, eat scones or sconns, visit the cinema to watch a movie or go up the pictures to see a film?  There is of course the possibility that you do none of these things or the higher percentage bet is that you do and describe them differently.  The mathematical possibilities of differing descriptive behaviour are slightly more than the number of atoms in the known universe and that’s a lot because Brian Cox told me.  Through BBC’s edifying ‘Star Gazing’ and ‘The wonders of life’, Professor Brian Cox has recently transported the viewing public into an awareness and photographically dazzling aspect of, well, everything; from the smallest nucleus within an atom core to the furthest most planets in our vast galaxies.  In last week’s episode (Wonders of Life) Professor Cox described eyesight and the Mantis Shrimp.  Said crustacean is a remarkable creature in many ways, one of which is its eyesight; us Homo Sapiens have what is known as binocular vision which means two separate eyes with one view cross referenced to each other to give depth, colour, light, distance and height; all in all quite useful (particularly when mowing the lawn) .  The Mantis shrimp has trinocular vision in each eye which gives a hundredfold perception on our own.  It can see ahead of its competition, anticipate risk at lightning speed, comprehend muti dimensions and ultimately command its environment.  What must that creature really see of the world and how on earth did they find that out?

In business it is fortunate that we only have to build rapport with humans and not spiny, bottom feeding, dangerous predators… I think I may know what some of you may be thinking at this point.  So with our binocular perception of the world it is incredible that we all have completely diverse perceptions of our own universe; this then inevitably leads to unalike experiences, dissimilar ideas, values, beliefs and of course ways, of expressing it all.  How do we understand everyone all the time?

As a highly effective leader in business it is essential to understand as many variants as possible, to have situational perception, to connect, to build rapport, to communicate at all levels, to understand, to have our own trinocular vision.  It then also follows that your successful talented leaders need these skills.

http://www.zestbusinesscoaching.co.uk/leadership_and_development_programmes.php

I did notice that most of the thalassic creatures that came a little too close to the shrimp tended to get eaten by it.  So how would you build rapport with such a highly tuned organism?  Take it to the pictures of course.