This article is written and owned by Pamela Scott
Clear communication consistently ranks as a priority for
any organization to be successful. We expect clear, concise
communications with our fellow workers.
Instead, we should expect misunderstanding. It happens all
the time.
Consider the following example.
Jim updated the other officers about plans to present an
award to the company owner. “Sue, Jerry and I will meet
with Mr. Bigwig at company headquarters Monday morning and
give him the award then.” Vivian and Peter looked at each
other in amazement. “Why are just you three going? We’ve
all worked for a year to get this project off the ground.
Peter and I deserve to be there, too.” Jim replied, “It
doesn’t take five of us to give the award. Sue, Jerry and I
each have to be there for other reasons. There’s no need
for you and Peter to show up.” Dumbstruck, Vivian said,
“Well, we’ll be there anyway. You just don’t get it, do
you?”
Vivian was right. Jim didn’t get it, but neither did she.
They were each speaking their own separate language. Jim
used logic to rationalize that five people were too many.
He, Sue and Jerry had other reasons for being at company
headquarters. They could do the task.
Vivian, though, wasn’t concerned about the logic. She felt
all five should be included since they had worked together
on the project. She wanted to be sure all contributors were
recognized.
This clash in languages created conflict. Conflict in
today’s world is inevitable, given that each individual has
his or her own values, experiences, insights, perceptions,
and feelings. Otto Kroeger writes in Type Talk at Work:
There are no good or bad approaches to resolving conflicts;
there are only differences. That understanding alone can be
liberating and can unlock previously closed doors to
resolving problems.
With Jim and Vivian, the conflict led to misunderstanding
and some hurt feelings. Such misunderstandings can have
more serious consequences. Consider these effects of
misunderstanding, from Why Didn’t You Say That in the First
Place? by Richard Heyman.
* Misunderstanding wastes time and money by causing
rework—and maybe rework again.
* Misunderstanding consumes valuable time, which can make
projects go over budget.
* Employees who don’t understand their job responsibilities
waste their time and the company’s time.
* Attendees who don’t understand a meeting’s purpose cost
time and money.
* Written documents, such as policy statements or even
e-mails, that are misunderstood cost time and money to fix.
“Knowing what causes most misunderstanding and how to
prevent it will give us new power to do the best job we can
for ourselves and for our organizations,” Heyman writes.
Gaining insight with The CommunicationWheelâ„¢
We can greatly reduce misunderstanding by learning how
individuals communicate. How does a person process
information? Does experience affect how a comment is
interpreted? What mental framework do individuals have?
What communication needs do they have?
One tool that gives us insight into misunderstanding and
communication problems is The CommunicationWheel.Ô It
was developed by Dr. Henry L. Thompson. Dr. Thompson’s
research into people’s communication styles shows that
different personalities have different languages, different
ways of communicating with others.
Visible differences
The beauty of The CommunicationWheel lies in its
simplicity. At the introductory level, the
LanguageWheelÔ depicts the four different languages
that individuals speak: Sensing, iNtuiting, Thinking and
Feeling.
The Sensing (12 o’clock) and iNtuiting (6 o’clock)
languages are directly opposite. The Sensing person can
drive an iNtuiting person out of the room by bombarding him
with details. The iNtuiting person can shut down a Sensing
person by overloading her with possibilities, thinking out
loud, and never getting to the point.
The Thinking (9 o’clock) and Feeling (3 o’clock) languages
also are opposites. The Thinking person’s need for process
and structure can leave the Feeling person feeling hurt.
The Feeling person wants that pat on the back, that “Good
job!” praise that the Thinking person rarely considers.
Individuals usually prefer two of the four, either Sensing
or iNtuiting and either Thinking or Feeling. I, for
instance, prefer iNtuiting and Feeling. For most people,
one of their two preferences is the style they use most
often. I am a raging iNtuitor; I only talk about details
when someone requests them. I drive Sensors nuts; they
drive me nuts.
The following gives more details about the different
languages.
Language Descriptions
Sensing
* Presents information step by step
* Attends to what is said or done
* Wants concrete examples
* Wants practical information
* Gives the bottom line
* Gets right to the point
* Might be abrupt
* Might seem impatient
Intuiting
* Wants the big picture
* Focuses on concepts
* Might ramble
* Might sound aloof
* Absorbs information quickly
* Likes variety, challenge and creativity
* Can be easily distracted
* Dislikes detail
Thinking
* Presents information logically
* Can be analytical & critical
* Covers the point thoroughly
* Clarifies by questioning
* Tends to be blunt
* Wants a lot of detail
* Likes a formal approach
* Wants organization
Feeling
* Comments are taken personally
* Likes to talk to people
* Trusts and accepts people
* Responds to human values
* Tends to be warm and friendly
* Might overreact to feelings
* Does not go directly to the point
* Has difficulty saying no
How can this help?
Let’s go back to the conversation between Jim and Vivian.
Jim is a thinker on the wheel; Vivian is a feeler. Jim
values logic and analysis. He tends to be blunt and
impersonal in conversation. Vivian, on the other hand,
values personal relationships and being needed. She is
sensitive and takes comments personally.
What might have happened if Jim and Vivian had known about
principles presented in The CommunicationWheel? Jim might
have realized that Vivian would expect her and Peter to be
included in the ceremony as recognition of their
contributions. Vivian might have realized that Jim needed a
more logical answer as to why all the officers should go.
Knowledge of the other’s communication style could have
helped reduce misunderstanding.
I use The CommunicationWheel to help people in a work
setting understand their own communication style and that
of others. For example, Sue, the boss, is an iNtuitor who
gives very broad direction such as “take care of this.”
Ralph, a Sensor and the one responsible for “taking care of
this,” needs specific directions from Sue, such as “do such
and such, get feedback from all seven team members and the
director, and get back to me by 9 a.m. tomorrow.” Sue
assumes Ralph understands what she wants done; Ralph gets
very frustrated because he can’t read her mind. Once Sue
and Ralph understand their own styles and needs, they are
each empowered to ask for clarification and work toward
understanding.
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Pam Scott is CEO of Armstrong Scott Inc., the expert in
communication and leadership for the engineering world. Her
passion lies in helping individuals with interpersonal
communications and helping companies with strategic
communications. Go to
http://www.weknowengineers.com/optin/index.htm to get the
FREE report “How to Master the Art of Managing People.”
* * * * * * * * * * * EVENING EDITION * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Home Based Franchises – A Whole World Of Opportunities For Your Own Home Based Franchise Opportunities
This article is written and owned by Dave Talbot
If you’re looking for a way to start a business out of your own house but aren’t sure what you could do to become an entrepreneur, you may want to consider some home based franchise opportunities. These are ways for you to enter into a ready made operation with less risk and more profit potential if you’re interested in working from home. Before you make a decision to jump into this option, you’ll want to learn a little bit more about what’s available for you. However, we should start at the beginning.
What is a Franchise?
Before you can decide if his is how you want to start working from home, you need to understand what a franchise is. Most of us have spent money at a franchise before. If you’ve ever bought a Happy Meal or a Subway Sub then you’ve been to a franchise operation.
Although these are not home based franchise opportunities, they are examples of franchises that have been operating for a long time and doing quite well. They are proof that franchises can be big money makers not just for the head of the company but for the individual owners of the restaurants.
How Does A Franchise Work?
Basically, here’s how a franchise starts. Company A opens its doors in one location. The company has a great service or product, as well as an effective marketing plan, which makes it successful at that location.
Maybe the owners of Company A decide to add a few more locations in their community and those also do well. It’s clear that people in other parts of the country would also be interested in what Company A is selling but they don’t want to be responsible for all of the locations in all parts of the country.
Instead, they make a deal with Person B who is looking for a way to start a business but aren’t sure what to sell.
They create a partnership. Person B agrees to open up a location for Company A. In exchange, Company A supplies the business and marketing plans, as well as the product or service being sold.
Of course, Company A doesn’t do all this for free out of the kindness of their heart. Person A is usually charged some upfront fees for the service (this would vary from company to company) and must give a portion of their profits back to Company A regularly.
Of course, the benefits are clear. Person B is going to get a great deal with a ready-made company that could literally start making profits immediately. Company A gets a stream of income and is able to spread their company around the country easily. It’s a win-win deal for everyone involved.
Working from Home Franchise Options
A work from home franchise is essentially still a business, but one that you can run from your home based office or one that does not require investment in commercial premises.
Although if the venture really takes off, then sometimes renting an office can be an option.
If you’re interested in starting a franchise from your home, you may be surprised at how many different choices are available. Below are a few ideas that are worth considering.
Local Directories and Magazines
These are essentially either a written publication or an on-line directory. Revenue is generated from these types of franchise predominantly from advertising.
It is entirely possible to start your own on-line directory but unless you are prepared to do a significant amount of software configuration it is probably best to purchase a franchise for this so you can concentrate on income generation as opposed to development
Education and Learning Franchises.
Ideal if you are keen on education. With these typically you will be selling online courses for either children or adults or even both. Overheads are low but you will need to be happy contacting cold customers or concentrating on generating referrals.
Training, marketing material and brand name normally form part of this home based franchise opportunity from the likes of ComputerXplorers for example.
Cleaning Franchises.
There is a whole host of home based opportunities in this market across a broad spectrum of industries.
This could range from home and office cleaning opportunities for example Merry Maids. The key here is to realize that you won’t be doing the cleaning but would be developing and winning cleaning contracts and then recruiting employees to fulfil the contracts. Your income is the difference between the contract rate per hour or job and the employee rate.
Automotive Franchises.
Another huge market for the home based entrepreneur is the automotive field. Franchises here will require a certain amount of mobility so would not be suitable for a stay at home mom for example unless they were employing a managerial strategy and outsourcing or recruiting.
Typically automotive franchises could include bumper repair, dent removal, mobile valeting and windscreen replacement to name but a few.
The list of home based franchise opportunities is almost endless and if you are a true entrepreneur there is no reason why you cannot find one that is suitable for almost anyone if you want you own business bad enough
Just make sure you do your research and know what you’re getting involved in before you make the commitment. Then you’re going to be on your way to becoming a successful working from home entrepreneur.
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Franchising still provides the best opportunity for business success worldwide, to find out more about franchise opportunities in the visit http://www.thefranchisebusiness.co.uk
Excellent franchise opportunity, click here
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