EigenGraphs

Most companies fail in their network marketing businesses because of their lack of effective delegation. Delegation is not just telling your employee to answer a call or to fill out some paperwork for you. Delegation does not mean that you give an employee an easy task; rather, it is about assigning challenging jobs.

The reason why most companies find it hard to delegate these types of tasks is due to lack of confidence in their employees. Delegation is very important for a business to prosper. Effective delegation allows you to trim down your tasks so that you can concentrate on the major areas of your business. You should have proper networks where you can delegate your tasks.

There are some things that you should consider in delegating jobs to your network. The first thing that you should consider is to decide what responsibilities to delegate. To delegate some task, you should remember that the principle of delegation is meant to encourage initiative to get the job done and for your marketing network to be effective in the operation of the business even without your presence. The rule of delegating these tasks is for you to have more time to focus on the things that can help your business grow.

Next is for you to decide to whom you should delegate a certain job. You should choose the person with the capacity to do your job even though you are not there to supervise. You should study your employees well in order to know the capacity of each. You should not give the task to the person who is less qualified. If you do, such a choice can decrease the status of your business.

Another thing that you should do is to have proper communication with the person in whom you entrust your business, and talk about the things that should be done and what output you expect. Explain exactly what works and what should be done and what resources are available to attain that output. After this, you should have proper review of their status from time to time. Remember that it is your business that they handle, so you have the right to know the progress of what they are undertaking.

With proper and effective delegation, you can have more time to focus on the things that need your attention. The important thing that you should remember is to choose the person well in whom you will entrust your business. Proper communication with them will help you to avoid future misunderstandings and ensure that their tasks are performed to the best of their ability.

Clive Green is a writer with expertise in the fields of self-improvement, real estate and finance. Look here for some good http://www.networkmarketingsite.com“>MLM information.

Discover The Coach Within You

One of the three basic roles of leadership is the coach or
mentor. The best boss is often the best coach. (See:
http://tlc-leadership.com/the_three_faces_of_leadership) In
sports the coach is very conscious of his role but in the
business world most coaching is unconscious or even accidental.

Just as many a dad learned to coach by jumping in with his son’s
baseball or hockey team or his daughter’s basketball team most
manager / coaches learned the art through a baptism of fire. In
recent years most sports organizations have begun to require
some form of certification for coaches but even though there are
several national and international organizations of business
coaches, there is still no universal standard, even for
professionals. The amateurs, encompassing almost every executive
in the world, for the most part don’t even realize what they are
doing.

I have known executives who were great coaches who looked at me
a little oddly when I told them so, but with a little
introspection most come to realize that coaching is really what
they do. Coaching is simply the process of helping someone to
become more of the best he or she can be.

Most executives can improve their coaching skills with just a
little effort and guidance from a professional. I’m often amazed
at the performance increase that happens through focus alone,
and focus with analysis, and constructive feedback from someone
who knows what to look for — well, have you ever gone to a golf
pro, with a wicked slice that turned out to be simple to cure? I
did, after years of playing out of the adjacent fairway most of
the time!

Like many things in the business coaching is often learned on
the job. I have learned a great deal about coaching from reading
dozens of books on the subject but I also learned a lot from
working for someone who was a great coach and mentor and I still
learn every day from the experience of coaching. You will find
that, if you jump in with both feet, you will discover the coach
within — and enjoy it!

So simply recognizing that you are a coach and applying a little
of what you know from sports will make a big difference in your
performance — and in the performance of your people — but a
little “one on one” with your own coach might be a huge help.
Until you get that opportunity, I sincerely hope that some of
the tips in this articles will get you started in the right
direction.

Coaching A Team

Just as in sports there is a huge difference in the approach to
coaching an individual, such as a golfer or tennis player and
coaching a group or team as in baseball or hockey, so too is
there a difference in the business world. Coaching a true team
in business can be a rather complex business, often its even
difficult to determine when a group really is a team and when it
is not. For the purpose of this discussion I am going to assume
we are talking about a true team and trust the pieces to fall
into place automatically. (Or perhaps with a little coaching?)
(See www.tlc-leadership.com/teams_magic_and_mystery )

For a team to be effective, it should be aware that it is a team
(most of the time) and all members should be committed to team
objectives. Just as a ball player can receive major attention as
a base stealer, an individual may stand out on a manufacturing
team, but efforts must be seen to contribute to team goals and
every one should recognize that every team member is necessary.
(Whenever we can get along without someone, we should!)

At the risk of pointing out the obvious (experience suggests
that the obvious often isn’t) every team member should be aware
of the team’s goals, objectives, and deadlines as well as of his
or her role and what the team expects from him or her, and what
support resources are available. I am surprised at how often I
find that shop floor people and even supervisors have no idea of
the goals of their team, department or branch and no idea of how
performance is being measured.

The coach must always recognize the contribution of the
superstar but smaller contributions should also receive
recognition and praise and the coach should encourage the
superstar to acknowledge the efforts of those who support him as
well. It isn’t necessary to rave about great performance, it can
be quiet and subtle but in many cases it should be public while
keeping in mind the need to avoid embarrassing anyone. A good
standard is to always criticize in private and often praise in
public.

Leadership From The Top Floor To The Shop Floor

Another thing I often find is that managers are totally unaware
of the extent to which they are emulated by their subordinates.
I heard a story about a clerk in a retail store who was called
up in front of the store manager after being rude to a customer.
When asked for an explanation he shrugged and said, “Well …
that’s how my bosses speak to me…” When people are treated
with dignity and respect, they tend to treat others the same
way, and when they are treated as though they are too stupid to
understand basic concepts they do the same with others — and
often take the attitude home.

I have seen concrete examples of companies where I could spend
an hour on the shop floor and form a very good idea of what the
CEO was like and how he dealt with his senior people.

COACHING A TASK FORCE

A Task Force is a Team That Recommends Things. It differs from
other teams in several ways. First, and perhaps most
importantly, a Task Force usually does not have the power or
final say so in implementing action. Rather the team examines
all possibilities, evaluates the pro’s and cons from an unbiased
perspective, and presents a report to a decision maker or
decision making group with recommendations for action or no
action.

A Task Force can be set up to look at one issue only or as an
ongoing project to focus on specific objectives. For example a
Task Force could be set up to determine the future of a specific
branch operation in which it might recommend, closure of the
branch, sale of the branch, re-equiping the branch, changing the
focus of the branch or even of maintaining the status quo. Once
it’s recommendations have been made — perhaps to the board of
directors — the Task Force is disbanded.

In another case a Task Force Could be set up to examine Health
and Safety issues in a manufacturing facility in which case
pertinent issues and concerns would be examined and evaluated,
recommendations could be made on an on going basis for several
months to establish broad guidelines and set up a policy and
procedure manual and the Task Force could remain in existence on
an ad hoc basis for several additional months and then be
replaced by a Health and Safety Committee (a different kind of
team) to oversee developments.

I worked with a Cost Improvement Process Team (CIP) which was a
Task Force Made up of a dozen non management people with a
mandate to examine all areas of the company’s operation with an
aim to cutting costs and improving operational effectiveness. As
is typical of this type of team, none of the members had ever
worked before in a team environment where individual effort was
largely unrecognized and success or failure was measured on
results of the group as a whole. The need for cooperation,
individual input, volunteering for assignments, sharing of
credit and backing up both other members and the group as a
whole, was paramount to success. The team met for 90 minutes
each week and after six months of coaching had achieved a level
of togetherness to make me proud and were well able to carry on
on their own. The changes recommended in policy, procedures and
methods that were accepted and implemented measured savings in
the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Almost any sort of team environment is at odds with the way most
of us have been conditioned to think and to work. Normally we
are only too well aware that our potential for promotion and
even our job security is dependent solely on our own efforts and
ability. The idea of subordinating our efforts and ability to
the overall needs of a group or a team is quite foreign — even
intimidating — and it is only with a great deal of
understanding and assurance that this can be effectively brought
about.

Perhaps the highest level of task force is a senior management
team brought together for long term strategic planning. In this
case the “Management Team” is sometimes supplemented with
representatives from key customers, suppliers, accountants and
legal advisors. Often, people at this level are even more
reluctant than others to forget about personal and departmental
objectives in favor of the best interests of the organization as
a whole but if recommendations to a board of directors are to
have any value at all, this must be the case. When the Task
Force is introduced to the process and walked through the
procedure by a coach, objectivity becomes much more readily
attainable.

Introspection - Getting Started

One of the greatest obstacles to progress can often be our
awareness of past failures. If we tried something a couple of
years ago and fell flat on our faces (and especially if we were
ridiculed or derided as a result) we tend to be reluctant to
rock the boat again. When we believe that history will repeat
itself, we become paralyzed by fear.

Mentoring managers through a process that I sometimes refer to
as “directed introspection” in order to expose attitudes and
prejudices can often produce startling results. Knowing where we
are starting from does not in and of itself guarantee that we
will arrive at our desired destination (on time and within
budget) but not knowing weights the odds heavily against us. I
believe that if we want to go somewhere we must first know who
we are and where we are. When we know the starting point,
personally and professionally, in regard to ourselves, our
people and our company we are more likely to have a clear
picture of where we want to go, how to get there and what must
change.

I believe that as many people as possible in an organization
should be involved in the process of creating statements of
Vision, Mission, Purpose, Values, and Goals. When people have
had a hand in the creation, buy in to do what ever is necessary
to get results is almost automatic. When these guiding
principles are understood by everyone from the “Ivory Tower” all
the way to the Shop Floor everyone knows where we are going, why
we are going there and what we have to do to get there. They
also know the down side of not going there and of not
participating in the process. Is not the search for heaven made
more intense by the awareness of hell? In addition, when
everyone understands his or her WIIFM, (What’s In It For Me)
getting results is like picking low hanging fruit.

Vision must be followed by a plan

Strategic planning can be an arduous (but exhilarating) process.
Often a three day retreat with an outside facilitator is the
only way to get the concentrated focus, the brainstorming,
necessary to initiate the process. We must examine all aspects
or the organization, physical and human resources, management
skills and needs, culture, attitudes, market place, industry,
supplier relations, customer relations, government regulations,
labour agreements, etc., etc. We have to remember that Rome was
not built in a day. If we are looking for instant gratification
we will surely be disappointed.

When we have suspended our doubts and fears, set aside our
memories of past failure, forgotten our prejudices, examined our
strengths and planned to enhance them, seen in our minds eye the
potential within ourselves and our organization, created a
vision in which we believe, we will become advocates for our
organization and evangelists for the realization of that vision.

Once we are over the initial hurdle we will be driven by the
power of our vision for the future. A clearly articulated vision
coupled to a specific plan of action for its attainment
(including target dates for each step), and a firm commitment to
that action, is an unstoppable combination. YES, it will require
perseverance, dedication and hard work; and YES, it will be
extremely satisfying!

Effecting organizational and personal change is never a cake
walk but learning the basics of how to set goals and create
plans with specific, time sensitive action steps for their
achievement can be learned in only a few hours. When coupled to
powerful statements of Vision, Mission, Purpose, and Values, and
a well-organized coaching, mentoring and measurement process,
the pain is minimal while the results are huge!

This groundbreaking leadership research by has received extensive endorsements and enthusiastic reviews from well-known prominent business, political, and academic leaders who either participated in the study or reviewed the research findings. You will discover the proven success habits and secrets of people who, in spite of difficult or life threatening challenges shaped their own destiny to become successful, effective leaders. The full results of this research will be presented in the upcoming book by Dr. Howard Edward Haller which is titled “Leadership: View from the Shoulders of Giants.”

The nine initial prominent successful leaders who overcame adversity that were interviewed included: Dr. Tony Bonanzino, U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch, Monzer Hourani, U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye, Dr. John Malone, Larry Pino, U.S. Army Major General Sid Shachnow, Dr. Blenda Wilson, and Zig Ziglar.

The data from these nine research participants was materially augmented by seven more successful leaders who overcame adversity interviews including: Jack Canfield, William Draper III, Mark Victor Hansen, J. Terrence Lanni, Angelo Mozilo, Dr. Nido Qubein, and Dr. John Sperling.

Additionally, five internationally known and respected leadership scholars offered their reviews of the leadership research findings including: Dr. Ken Blanchard, Jim Kouzes, Dr. John Kotter, Dr. Paul Stoltz, and Dr. Meg Wheatley.

This is a short biography of one of the principal participants who generously contributed their time and insight for this important research into the phenomenon of how prominent successful leaders overcome adversity and obstacles. This Blenda’s story:

Blenda Wilson grew up in a small New Jersey town in the 1950s. Most people believed that the best Blenda could hope for was a low-paying office job, and that college was unrealistic and beyond her economic reach.

Blenda’s family had experienced racial discrimination. Her mother “was a bright black woman who had graduated from ‘normal school’ in the racially segregated deep south” of America, during the Depression. According to Blenda, her mother was a “very, very intelligent woman, [with a] powerful mind and fortitude.” She said, “My mother moved from Georgia . . . the north didn’t accept normal school [teaching] credentials, and so she became, throughout her working career . . . a white-collar worker, [a] salesperson at Sears, an elevator operator . . . [and] a girls’ supervisor in a juvenile detention home.”

Blenda’s father “went to technical vocational school . . . completed the [electrician] certificate, and in those days, to become an electrician, you had to be apprenticed. He was black and he could never get an apprenticeship, so he could never be an electrician.” He became a laborer instead of an electrician.

Blenda shared that her mother, who had experienced racial discrimination, insisted that her children “didn’t go out of the house dirty and slovenly . . . because she [had] lived in a really segregated south.” Her mother shared “stories where, if they were in town, and a white person was walking down the street, black people stepped off into the curb.” Blenda then described her own experiences with racial, gender and age discrimination.

Despite her membership in the National Honor Society at her high school in Woodbridge, New Jersey, her guidance counselor refused even to talk to her about going to college. Blenda’s comment was, “She was really mean to me. She never, ever gave me any counseling about college; she never invited me to college prep stuff.” Wilson said that on the contrary, “Actually, she told me to ‘take a typing class’ . . . then said, ‘You’re nice looking, and you might be able to become a secretary.’ Now that’s supposed to be a compliment.”

Wilson recalled, “Fortunately, I was riding a bus and heard some women talk about college opportunities, and how they had heard that women’s colleges were providing scholarships for smart black students. I thought, ‘That’d be me.’” Their conversation convinced Blenda that she could find such a college for herself and a way to pay for tuition, books, food, and housing.

Wilson wrote many colleges, seeking more information, applied for admission, and asked for full scholarships. “I got admitted to all of the colleges I applied to, and these were the colleges you know, they were the ’seven sisters.’” She received scholarship offers from several major colleges, but initially they offered only one-year scholarships with a series of renewals.

Blenda commented, “I would just write them [the college] back and say, ‘I’d really love to come, but you have to give me more money!’” She continued, “I was determined to get a full four-year scholarship, to ensure that I could get completely through college, since I knew my parents could not afford to pay for me to go.”

Ultimately, “Cedar Crest guaranteed me four years’ tuition, [a] travel budget, and a job.” She graduated from Cedar Crest College with a major in English and Secondary Education. She went on to earn a Master’s degree in Education from Seton Hall, and then a Ph.D. in Higher Education from Boston College.

Early in her career she experienced gender and age discrimination from African American males, both in the community and within her organization. Though she was more qualified and more educated than her competition, some people were vocal in their opposition to her getting the job as Executive Director of the Middlesex County Economic Opportunity Corporation. Blenda said, “The African American men in the community were pissed off that a woman would get this role. . . . One of the criteria was that they wanted someone with a Master’s degree. I had one. None of the African American men did.”

Blenda said she experienced several kinds of prejudice: “There’s prejudice from men, there’s prejudice from black men, there’s prejudice from white people.”

Wilson said taking a leave from her local high school teaching position to become the Executive Director of the Middlesex County Economic Opportunity Corporation “actually changed my life. I started doing the Head Start program. There was political turmoil. This was all in the ’60s, with the war on poverty, the Office of Economic Opportunity. I was going to change the world.”

Blenda “was youngest Senior Associate Dean in the Graduate School of Education at Harvard,” and once again she encountered age discrimination. Wilson shared that she had “worked with and was tutored by Dr. John Gardner” after leaving Harvard. After she left Harvard she became Chancellor of the University of Michigan. After that she became the President of California State University, Northridge for seven years, from 1992 to 1997, and led the university’s recovery from the Northridge earthquake in January of 1994.

In addition to having served as a Getty Foundation Trustee for over a decade, Dr. Wilson is the President and CEO of the Nellie Mae Educational Foundation in Quincy, Massachusetts. She is also a past chair of the American Association of Higher Education. Dr. Wilson serves as a trustee of the College Board, and she is Deputy Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Dr. Blenda Wilson still takes time out of her busy schedule to mentor and coach select prospective female prospective leaders.

Copyright 2006 © Howard Edward Haller, Ph.D.

About the Author:

Howard Edward Haller, Ph.D. is the Chief Enlightenment Officer of the Coeur d’Alene, Idaho based The Leadership Success Institute. His Doctoral dissertation in Leadership Studies at Gonzaga Univ. included interviews with prominent US leaders in business, politics & education.

The nine initial prominent leaders who overcame adversity included: Dr. Tony Bonanzino, U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch, Monzer Hourani, U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye, Dr. John Malone, Larry Pino, U.S. Army Major General Sid Shachnow, Dr. Blenda Wilson, and Zig Ziglar.

Then seven more leaders, who overcame adversity, were interviewed including: Jack Canfield, William Draper III, Mark Victor Hansen, J. Terrence Lanni, Angelo Mozilo, Dr. Nido Qubein, and Dr. John Sperling.

Five internationally known and respected leadership scholars offered their reviews of the leadership research findings including: Dr. Ken Blanchard, Jim Kouzes, Dr. John Kotter, Dr. Paul Stoltz, and Dr. Meg Wheatley.

http://www.TheLeaderInstitute.com

Is having a balance between “work” and “life” a fantasy?
At a time when many people feel fortunate to still have a
job, are we asking for too much when we want a balanced life?

When was the last time you:

• took a vacation?
• went away for a weekend?
• got away from work early to do something fun?
• worked out?
• spent some time on a favorite hobby or sport?

Achieving balance in your life when your work or business is
exhilarating, enjoyable, or demanding can be a challenge.
When you have a family, they can be your reminders. When you don’t,
then you need other factors to remind you to re-align your life.

Sarah had been working from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for many years
at her employer. After getting married and having children,
various relatives helped with childcare when she returned
to work. When their two kids started school, however, both
sets of grandparents moved away to other states. Her husband
started work at 6:30 a.m., so he left the house by 5:45.
Sarah had to leave by 7:30 to get to work by 8:00, leaving
the kids alone for an hour. Since the children were still so
young, being home alone didn’t work, and going to a neighbor’s
house wasn’t an option.

Even though all of Sarah’s co-workers worked from 8 a.m.
to 5 p.m., Sarah decided to ask if she could start at 9 a.m.,
take a half hour for lunch, and leave at 5:30. Her employer
agreed to accommodate her request. That way, she could leave
the house when the kids left to catch the school bus, and her
husband got home in the afternoon just before the kids arrived.
This worked out very well for their family, and soon her
employer began to pursue other avenues to help make employees’
lives easier.

Achieving a work/life balance is a possibility, and I think
it’s reasonable to request it.

Having a work/life balance is often about adjusting your
work patterns.

If your place of employment has not yet adopted changes
to their policies to help employees achieve a balanced
life (and you notice that co-workers seem to be stressed
out), it may be time to start discussions with human
resources and other management about which types of
changes would be do-able.

Why Help People Achieve Work/Life Balance?

More and more companies are realizing that by making it
easier for employees to live a balanced life, the employees:

• have less stress (they stay focused on work when they’re at work)
• stay healthy (they get sick less often, and call in sick less often)
• stay with the company (there is a higher retention rate)

All of these things are great for employers. I know it’s a
cliché, but it’s true: it’s win-win.

What Types of Practices Do Employers Put in Place?

There are a variety of things that companies do to help their
employees balance their work/life. Some of these include:

Flex time:
Employees choose their start times, lunch hour, and finish
times, and can vary this from day to day. Typically, the
times are within certain parameters (i.e. 6 a.m. = the
earliest start time; 7 p.m. = latest finish of an 8-hour slot).

Comp time:
When employees work overtime, they can take an equal
amount of time off on another day, or spread the time to
more than one day.

Job Sharing:
Instead of one full time employee, a particular job is shared
by two part time employees.

Telecommuting:
The employee works at home, using a computer and phone
to stay connected. Technology has enabled telecommuting
to be easily accomplished for many jobs.

Compressed Working Hours:
This concept allows employees to work their total number
of weekly hours over fewer days. For example, one person
may work a 4-day week, while another may work 9 days over
a 2-week period.

Annualized Hours:
An employee’s total working hours are calculated over a
year instead of a week. They work according to the peaks
and valleys of activity over a year’s time.

What Else Have Some Employers Done?

Some large employers have conveniences available for employees
right in the building. Many have workout facilities. I’ve
heard that SBC in Chicago has a hair salon/barber shop.
Some have a dry cleaning pick up & delivery service. Others
have a concierge service that helps with running errands,
making doctor’s appointments, or finding an electrician or
plumber. I’ve also seen (and used!) a chair massage service
that was brought into a company weekly.

How Do I Know if I Need More Balance in My Life?

Rob Parsons, author of “The Heart of Success”, says that
if any of the following “danger signs” appear in your life,
then it’s time to readjust your work/life balance:

• You work longer hours than anyone else
• You resent colleagues who work fewer hours than you do
• You are often irritable, exhausted, and/or have a headache
• You feel ill when you’re on vacation
• You go out for dinner wearing business clothes
• You feel tense when the car in front of you doesn’t move
  immediately when the light turns green

Have you recognized yourself or your business anywhere in this article?
What are you going to do to make a change?

© 2006 Borgeson Consulting, Inc.



Glory Borgeson is a business coach and consultant, and the president of
Borgeson Consulting, Inc. She works with two groups of people:
small business owners (with 500 employees or less) to help them increase
their Entrepreneurial IQ, which leads to increased profit and
decreased stress; and with executives in the
“honeymoon phase” of a new position (typically the first two years)
to coach them to success. Top athletes have a coach; why not you?

Click here for Borgeson Consulting, Inc.

This article was originally published in The Business Express, Borgeson’s
free monthly ezine. You may subscribe by clicking here:
Ezine

Comments are off for this post

A few weeks ago, a couple of colleagues and I discussed a new business idea. But,
we had trouble expressing how this new business would provide value.

And, out of our discussions came the idea of writing a case study. If you’re not
familiar with them, case studies are histories of business initiatives.

They’re like articles, but they put the reader into the shoes of a person making a
difficult decision. Other professions also use case studies; you’ve probably heard of
medical case studies, for example. Medical students get a set of facts about a
patient, and perhaps some background or context, and then must diagnose the
patient’s condition or disease.

Business case studies have proven popular at many university business schools
(with the profs, at least). In some senses, the case study is the next best thing to
being involved in a real case.

Now, how is this relevant for you? Well, if you have to persuade others to adopt your
point of view, or buy your products, or vote for you, then you might find a case
study useful.

In fact, you may be doing something like that already. Whenever you tell a story
that’s designed to make a certain point, you’re using a form of case study.
During my brief foray into life insurance sales, for example, I learned that emotion
sells policies, and not logic. That’s why people in the business have a raft of stories
about people who did or did not have protection when they died.

The moral, of course, is that you should not only have life insurance, but you should
have the right kind, and in the right amount. Now, if you sold life insurance, you
would quickly find that no one listens when you explain the logic, but they will listen
– and act — if you have your case studies (your anecdotes).

So, having gone through all that, is a case study just a fancy name for an anecdote
or story? Yes, to a certain extent it is.

But, when you think of a case study, think of it as a more elaborate and more
logically constructed story. And, it’s usually a real-life story. To illustrate the idea
further, let’s go through the steps involved in creating one.

Your case study starts by identifying a person and an organization, along with
relevant information that provides context to the issue addressed in the case.

It also introduces the decision or dilemma. In many cases, the writer sets out two or
more possible options. One of those options may be to do nothing, to maintain the
status quo. Another option may demand significant changes, and yet a third option
would require more modest changes. However you set the options, they should offer
distinct choices to the reader. Don’t allow a muddling-through solution that
involves easy compromises.

Now that you’ve set out the choices, provide the basic facts and opinions the reader
will need to make a logical choice. Like the writer of a mystery novel, you need to
provide all the critical information without giving away the solution. And like a
mystery writer, you may introduce a few false trails.

As you develop the case study, keep in mind that you’re trying to convey that the
person or company in the case had to make a difficult decision. And the more the
reader feels that difficulty, the more effective the case.

Finally, provide an outcome if possible. Let the reader know which option the person
or company chose, and how that decision worked out. After all, you’ve been telling a
story, and your audience will want to know how it ended. Ideally, you would not give
the reader access to the outcome until after he or she makes that decision.

In summary, you can make your point more powerfully by creating a case study, a
specially constructed story that puts the reader or listener in the shoes of a decision
maker.

Robert F. Abbott writes and publishes Abbott’s Communication Letter. If you
subscribe, you will receive, at no charge, communication tips that help you lead or
manage more effectively. You can get more information here:
http://www.Communication-Newsletter.com