Me, Myself, and Mine

Another Patton Associates S-M-A-R-TBriefing™

The Power of Love

by: Gary F. Patton (gfp '42™)

The Beatles were right! "All we need is love!"

That's because love is the most powerful force in the universe ...in your home, your workplace and in your neighbourhood. Recurring research proves it.

For you business people who doubt my linking the words 'love' and 'workplace', here's what one top management guru says on the subject:

“Love in organizations is the most potent source of power we have available.” ~ Margaret Wheatley, U.S. author, consultant & management guru (From: ‘Leadership and the New Science’)

The other names love goes by in a world that is preoccupied by sex and Hollywood's definition of love amplify and explain Ms. Wheatley's position. They are affection, appreciation, compassion, non-judmentalism and similar words.

"A coward is incapable of exhibiting love; it is the prerogative of the brave." ~ Mohandas Gandhi (1869 – 1948) Indian statesman

Like other positive emotional states, love, like its namesakes, improves human performance, including the way the brain processes information.

Love creates more order in the pattern of signals coming from the heart to the brain thus facilitating cortical function. (See Institute of Hearthmath for powerful research on this 'stress-optimizing' issue.)

That's the part of the brain those of us who work were hired to use. It's the same part that we entrepreneurs are wise to optimize if we want to stay in business!

"If you want to hear the truth, listen to your heart because it doesn't know how to lie."
~ Gingerale

Here’s your customer service and people skills S-M-A-R-TTip™: "To love" is a verb ...an active not a passive verb, the synonym for which is "to serve"! And serving others is love made visible!" ~ gfp '42™ When we smooth our heart-brain interaction by feeling love (serving), we feel better and can be our best. We are better equipped to think more clearly because we can see people and situations from a broader, more complete perspective. When we do, we are better problem-solvers and decision-makers. We also are better lovers! "To love" is also a choice. And remember, quality customer service is a moment-to-moment choice. And life is an unending series of choices.

Please comment immediately below. Alternatively, by clicking here, you can e-mail me regarding questions about this article or to be added to my S-M-A-R-TBriefing™ Mailing List.

With my compliments and permission to reproduce, without change, including the following:

© 2010 Gary Patton, PattonAssociates.ca, People Development Coaches

"Specialists in assisting business & professional people to relate and serve better cross-culturally and cross-generationally!"

142-26 Livingston Rd. Toronto ON CAN M1E 4S4 E-Mail: Gary@PattonAssociates.ca

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This article is licensed under a Creative Commons 3.0 License.

Labels: anxiety, appreciation, compassion, creativity, joy, love, non-judmentalism, peace, planning, productivity, Spirituality, stress management, time management

# posted by Gary @ 8:36 a.m. 0 comments

Another Patton Associates S-M-A-R-TBriefing^_™

"Breakthrough Thinking® ...Adding Distinctive Value To Your Business & Life"

by: Gary F. Patton (gfp '42™)

Your Challenge

"Change is constant and inevitable. Improvement and growth are optional!" ~ gfp '42™

Every day, in service centers, offices, factories and homes, people try to solve problems. Yet, more often than not, their "solutions" are inappropriate, or even harmful. Incorrect thinking is usually the reason for failure in any endeavour.

You can cope with change, improve and grow in the new millennium, personally and organizationally, only by adding distinctive value, not just value, to your life and business. You will do so as you successfully solve your problems focusing on your customer whomever that may be in any circumstance.

The Key To Adding Distinctive value

Breakthrough Thinking® (BT) is the key distinctive value-adding process Patton Associates introduces to individuals and teams in working with them on any assignment ...at no additional cost.

BT adds distinctive value to organizations by enabling an individual or team to discover the purpose-oriented, solution-after-next for their challenge ...now and in the future. With appropriate coaching, your leadership team will learn how to use BT on its own to solve future business problems, with minimal or no outside coaching help.

At the same time, individuals also learn how to solve personal problems away from the office ...just as effectively.

How Breakthrough Thinking® Will Help Your Team

BT blends the best of the usual "Chance", "Affective" and "Rational" problem-solving techniques in a natural way. It is easy for you to use for every kind of problem. BT overcomes the inherent shortcomings in each of the traditional problem-solving approaches. It assumes that you have decided not to use the "Do Nothing" approach. BT is:

• simple ...You need no special knowledge or extensive training to use BT. It simply enhances your own creativity.

• practical ...You will increase the likelihood of finding a quality concept or "light bulb" idea, getting that idea accepted and, then, implementing it in less time and at less cost.
• transferable ...You can use BT in all areas of your life to enhance your success.

• proven effective ... BT is practiced worldwide by some of the most successful and innovative organizations. These range from industrial giants, like Mitsubishi, to hospitals, schools, governments and small businesses.

Putting BT's Principles To Work For You

The power of BT is its simplicity. It is a simple, not simplistic, and disciplined, common-sense approach to avoiding the seven basic errors usually made in problem solving.

BT gives you a successful thinking process to use, consistently, in solving your problems. BT focuses on solutions for your future rather than on problems in your past. To put it to work in your organization and life:

1. Recognize that every problem is unique ... This prevents you from applying canned solutions, that may have worked in the past, to new needs and different situations.
2. Focus on purposes ... This prevents you from working on the wrong problem by stripping away non-essentials and addressing both the immediate and practical, larger purposes for the future at the same time.
3. Look for the solution-after-next ... This prevents you from stifling creativity and more effective solutions by working backward from an ideal, target solution for your future, larger purpose.
4. Understand that every problem is part of a larger system ... This prevents you from overlooking complexities that you must embody in implementing your solution by making recommendations that fit the real world while coming closest to your ideal target.
5. Limit data collection up front ... This prevents you from getting bogged down in detail and missing a simple solution because you know too much about your problem.
6. Develop your solution with the people who will use it ... This prevents hostility and results in ownership of the changes by the solution's end-users from the beginning.
7. Adopt a betterment time-line ... This prevents you from losing perspective by planning for a sequence of purpose-directed solutions as a bridge to a better future.

Enhancing Your Team's Creativity

BT is the natural process identified by Gerald Nadler, of the University of Southern California and Shozo Hibino, of Chuyko University, Japan. They spent years researching, applying, and verifying what it is that successful leaders do to come up with truly creative, ground-breaking solutions to their problems. Nadler and Hibino identified the seven, simple, cross-cultural principles that consistently are used by all effective problem solvers. They also have discovered the steps that you can use to increase your success in solving your problems optimally.

BT could result in your using one of the new, business management processes for coping with 21st century change and competition as well as the need to provide superior, customer-delighting service. "Re-engineering", "chaos inducement" or another process could be your BT solution to your problem. But, BT does not start from the assumption that there is only one solution for your unique problem.

Unleashing New Possibilities

Here’s your customer service and people skills S-M-A-R-TTip™: "Consider the exciting possibilities for enhancing your potential and performance with Breakthrough Thinking! ~ gfp '42™ BT is elegant and powerful in its simplicity. Its seven, common sense principles, consistently applied by individuals and work or home teams, have the potential to revolutionize your business or organization and your life. You will communicate better and more powerfully when you do, no matter who or how you serve. Remember, quality customer service is a moment-to-moment choice. And life is an unending series of choices.

Please drop me a line using the link immediately below this paragraph. I'd love to hear what you think and how you feel about the above.

With my compliments and permission to reproduce, without change, including the following:

© Copyright 2000-10 Gary Patton, PattonAssociates.ca, People Development Coaches & Consultants

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons 3.0 License.

Labels: communications, creativity, leadership, planning, problem solving, stress management, time management

# posted by Gary @ 5:29 p.m. 0 comments