Years back I worked for an executive who avoided the rumor mill and felt, due to his phenomenal (His word, not mine, not any employee’s, not any client’s either) management skills, that he had created an environment that was rumor-free. What he had created was an environment where he was unaware of the rumors circling around him. Like some volatile chemical, you need to tread lightly and carefully when dealing with rumors or they too can blow up in your face. If you ignore them, they might just be the overlooked cause of your demise.

The Myth: If you can ignore rumors, they will simply die on their own

The Reality: If you ignore rumors, they will grow stronger

The most important step in controlling and reducing the impact of a rumor is being connected to the grapevine. If you don’t interact with your surroundings, if you don’t build rapport and trust, you will always be the last to know information or worse, locked out of altogether.

Now here’s the part you really need to pay attention to: I’m not telling you to participate in the rumors, but you need to be in the loop so you are aware of what rumors are out there so you can respond appropriately.

If you don’t stop rumors, slow them down or discredit them, they will continue to snowball. Here are 2 quick tips to deal with rumors:

Address the rumor: The longer a rumor lasts, the more damage it does. The longer you allow it to exist, the worse it will get. Morale will get down. People will blow things out of proportion, make stuff up or extrapolate some obscure unimportant fact into a monster that is totally untrue. They end up scaring themselves and other people. So talk about it. Put out the truth to derail the lie. If you can’t talk about it in detail, at least admit its existence. By airing out the rumor, you deflate its importance.

Try and have face-to-face conversations where questions can be asked and answered. When you can take the time to talk about what’s happening, instead of piece-mealing answers, much of the anxiety can be set aside. Don’t hide behind emails or memos, as they can be misinterpreted without an opportunity for clarification. People always read emails with a negative slant. Misinterpretations of a simple message can set back the entire process.

Learn who is a resource: Water cooler talk can be valuable to you personally. You can identify resources in your company. Does Dave always seem to know what’s going on before it happens? Does he tell you things that somehow always come true? He’s a valuable resource, an information agent you can rely on. Martin, he says a lot of things, too. They always seem to be outrageous and never come to pass. Thanks to all the false information, we now know Martin is an ignorant twit and to take anything he says with a grain of salt.

Rumors can get wildly out of control if we allow them to go unchecked. Knowing whom you can go to in order to get the skinny can be lifesaving. Don’t spend your time rumor-mongering. Instead, identify reliable sources. It also verifies the wannabes who never have the right stuff.

How do you handle rumors?

Learn more about rumors in Chapter 5 of Craig’s book “Half a Glass: The Realist’s Guide“

As I get ready to ramp up for the second season of “Reality Check with Craig Price” I wanted to spotlight a cause that is very close to one of my past guests, Thom Singer.

The 5th Annual Kate Singer Endowment Fundraiser

Thank you for participating in this fundraiser! Small amounts add up, and any amount you give will assist the research for children born with cranio-facial abnormalities. This is the 5th annual fundraiser our family has hosted, and we appreciate your support!!!

Kate is turning ten-years-old and we are celebrating with a fundraiser for Dell Children’s Medical Center. Kate was born with Sagital Synostosis, a condition that caused the bones in her head to fuse together. To correct this situation she underwent surgery to reconstruct her skull. We were fortunate, today Kate is fabulous. She is smart, funny, enjoys school, and brings a smile to all who know her. When she was born there was not a state-of-the-art medical facility for children in Austin, Texas. She was treated by wonderful doctors at Children’s Hospital of San Diego. Since that time a new hospital has opened in Central Texas, and for the past five years we have supported the research efforts of these local doctors with the “Kate Singer Endowment for Cranio-Facial Surgery and Research” (In 2010 we began donating to a similar fund in San Diego). We donate part of the fees Thom earns as a professional speaker, and each year on Kate’s birthday we host this fundraiser. Please join us by making a donation of any size. Thank you, Thom, Sara, Jackie and Kate Singer

Listen to Thom talk publishing but more importantly, donate to this worthy cause.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWkOL_-q8EQ

As I have discussed in my book “Half a Glass: The Realist’s Guide” (In fact I dedicated Chapter 5 to it!) rumors and gossip are going to happen whether you want them to or not. The only decision you can make is if you want to know what’s being shared or be clueless to the information (or misinformation).  While you make think gossip is ugly and useless, science is proving otherwise.

The Myth: Rumors are ugly, horrible things (Only the good ones!).

The Reality: Rumors can be a viable way to know what is happening around you.

And now it seems that gossip can be good for your health and conscience:

Researchers found that when people in the study saw someone acting badly, their heart rates increased. But researchers found that it helped their heart rates when they were able to share what they witnessed with someone else, particularly to warn them of the potential exploitation.

“Spreading information about the person whom they had seen behave badly tended to make people feel better, quieting the frustration that drove their gossip,” study researcher Robb Willer, a social psychologist at UC Berkeley, said in a statement.

In addition, researchers found that people in the study were even willing to sacrifice money in order to let other people know of cheaters who were players in economic trust games — in this case, gossiping was a means of preventing other people from being taken advantage of, said study researcher Matthew Feinberg, who is also a social psychologist at UC Berkeley.

The research is published online in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

You don’t need to pass gossip along but be open to hear what’s happening around you. It builds trust and peace of mind.

Or so I’ve heard…

Buy Craig’s book “Half a Glass: The Realist’s Guide” to read more about how negative issues can be used for positive solutions.

The “Power of Positive Thinking” has been sold and marketed so much it’s been widely accepted as the way people “should” behave, think or act. Sadly, the truth behind the value of negative thoughts and emotions has been driven into the shadows, to be ignored and avoided. Thankfully, more and more people are coming to understand that our negative thoughts partnered with a positive attitude (they are not mutually exclusive) can be a powerful combination for personal and professional success.

I came across Dr. Roger Covin, Ph.D. His article at the Huffington Post showed the qualities of negative thinking:

The problem is that while positive thinking can yield some mental health benefits, an excessive and rigid search for positivity can bring about the opposite effect.

Sticking with the analogy of germs, negative thoughts and emotions (including stress) can be a good thing in moderation — like germs or viruses that stimulate the functioning of the immune system. There are a number of benefits of negativity, and at least some negativity in one’s life from time to time is probably desirable.

First, negative thinking can be adaptive. When problems arise, worry can be a constructive thing if it leads to problem-solving. Anxiety is useful when we are threatened and are in need of safety. (For example, you should feel some anxiety when driving in poor weather.) Sadness is a normal emotion in the context of loss. In fact, it is believed that the symptoms of depression evolved to facilitate the need for rest, protection and self-soothing.[1]

Second, negative life experiences (including negative thoughts and emotions) often play a significant role in maturation and character development. Guilt and shame not only allow us to recognize and correct mistakes we’ve made, but also to become a better person. Repeat experiences with frustration help build tolerance and may ultimately assist in the development of patience.

[1] Allen & Badcock (2003). The social risk hypothesis of depressed mood: Evolutionary, psychosocial, and neurobiological perspectives. Psychological Bulletin, 129, 887-913.

I’ll keep you posted as more and more people spread the word!

Motivation is always a hot topic for speakers, corporate leaders and managers alike. People look for new techniques on how to inspire, engage and otherwise influence employees. But rarely is the most obvious issue discussed: ‘What’s demotivating our people?’

Every person starts out a new job or position bubbling with energy. They’ve got ideas they want to share and goals to accomplish. In fact, if you hear a new hire say “Oh great…I’ve got to go start that horrible new job next week.” Fire them. Then fire the person who hired them, and hope it wasn’t you. Because, with few exceptions, most start out enthused and raring to go!

That enthusiasm doesn’t last forever, after a while (hopefully much later than sooner) people become less motivated. There are a number of reasons for this, perhaps through the complacency of knowing a job down pat, policy implementation, management styles or plain old personality conflicts. This reduction is what we need to focus on. The solution is not finding a short term booster shot that wears off in a few days or in some cases, as soon as the motivational meeting is over!

We need to think about our impact on demotivation and what are the things that cause it?

1. Micromanaging. It’s an obvious demotivator but rarely understood by managers. You hired someone to do a job…so let them do it! Nothing starts pecking away at a desire to work than being lorded over, having someone ‘hover around’ or any other form of obnoxious micromanaging. By showing your employees faith in their judgment and allowing them to utilize their skills in the way they do best -letting them, you know, do what you hired them to do- you’ll go a long way in keeping them motivated.

2. Ignoring feedback. Often corporate leaders and managers say they have an “open door” policy. But do they bring an open mind to that policy? A good manager, CEO or leader in general is open to hearing new ideas, constructive criticism and the occasional warning. Yes, they have the final say and guide the “vision” of the project/company/plan but they also have to be able to get to the information that allows them to guide everyone to the finish line.

If you ask for ideas in an open forum or meeting, do any that oppose your view get acted upon or even considered? If you ignore good ideas that do not share your viewpoint, your team will see that and remember it. They realize that if small ideas are ignored in meetings, there is no way their larger objection or concerns will be addressed in private. Frustration will build and the idea that they’re stuck in a situation without getting out erodes their motivation. You need to be open and flexible, not a black hole where good ideas are absorbed, never to be seen or heard from again.

3. Unrealistic goals. I have a friend who worked in sales. On what seemed like a whim, his manager set some very high, nearly unobtainable goals. The worst part about it was that these goals were pulled out of thin air. They were not market driven, historically related to previous goals or based on any additional information. They were simply arbitrary goals placed on the team because the owner of the company needed a certain amount of revenue in a certain amount of time. Through poor judgment and mismanagement, a burden was placed onto the sales force, causing a ripple effect (or in this case a tsunami) of dread, stress and helplessness on the entire staff. Think they went out motivated?

Just to put the cherry on the top of this little fiasco, he sat the entire sales staff down and played the famous scene with Alec Baldwin from “Glen Gary/Glenn Ross” where Alec’s character goes on to threaten, degrade and offend the sales staff to “motivate” them. It’s no surprise that a few months later that company went out of business. It only really motivated everyone to update their resumes and look for other jobs.

Challenging the staff to achieve, to push a little harder, to reach goals is a major part of success. It builds teams and drives productivity. This works only if they can achieve or at least come close to the goal. Otherwise it just undercuts all they have been collectively working towards. If the goal is not something everyone can at least imagine is possible, the stress involved to reach that goal may be too much.

In order to find out if you are the ‘demotivator’, what we need to ask ourselves is:

“What things am I doing to demotivate?” “Am I listening to help or to placate?” “What policies are causing undue stress?” “Are my expectations and goals realistic, not just to me but to my people”.

We need to really look at ourselves as leaders and managers to recognize things that we do that may have adverse effects on our workers. Often the more we change our style to fit the situation, the less we need to rely on motivational quick fixes and gimmicks.

Although I still think Ice Cream Fridays are a great idea!

One of the biggest thing that really gets my goat (for the record I do not own a goat) is people who insist on believing (and it’s not the believing part, but the insistence on telling other people) that a positive attitude can cure all their ills. It’s just not true.

The condescension of positivity shames people into thinking they must be positive thinkers to get anywhere in the world, overcome their sicknesses and overall, to just be a better person than negative folks.  Yet, positive thinking doesn’t offer any greater strength than any other type of thinking. Certainly not in the health department. I stumbled upon this article in the Daily Mail that spoke about how the American obsession with positive thinking can actually hurt your recovery:

Try to stay positive . . . it’s become a common call to those who are ill as the belief has grown that having a positive attitude will not only help you get through illness, but make you better quicker.

But is it true? In fact, there’s no evidence that teaching yourself to have a positive attitude makes you physically healthier. A recent study of cancer patients in Finland and Sweden found no association between survival rates and whether people were positive or negative in their outlook.

The study, in the American Journal of Epidemiology, looked at 4,600 people with cancer over 30 years, and found that whether they were extrovert or neurotic, their attitude to life had no relationship with how long they survived their illness.

It’s not an isolated finding. An analysis of research by Dr James Coyne, professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, found that there were no good quality studies showing that ‘positive psychology’ had any effect on physical health.

In one of his own large studies, he found that the sense of emotional wellbeing of cancer patients had no effect on how long they lived.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2081407/Why-staying-positive-WONT-speed-recovery.html#ixzz1iQJ5F2yQ

But there’s too much money to be made by writing books on what people WANT to hear vs. the facts. It’s much easier to sell candy than medicine. The reality is getting sick sucks. Having a serious illness can be devastating. Having to pretend that everything is going to be great instead of confronting your true feelings and working through them openly and honestly…that sounds like a true sickness.

Thats right.

From now until the end of 2011, I’m offering anyone who signs up for my newsletter a free PDF version of my book on understanding and utilizing negativity.

Sign up today and get the introduction tomorrow. Then each week the next chapter will be sent directly to your email where you can download the PDF at your convienence.

Use the form on the website or go to http://eepurl.com/hCoK2 and register.

Please share this post and the link to the signup form to anyone you’d like! But act fast (WOW…that sounds Infomercially…sorry) because this offer is only good until Dec. 31st.

Happy Holidays!

Holly Duckworth of Leadership Solutions International joins Craig on the season finale to discuss gratitude. They delve into vital issues like Craig’s monkey-like handwriting, volunteering one’s time, keeping an “Oprah Journal” (yeah…Craig had a hard time with the name too) as well as just figuring out some ways to better express one’s gratitude. It’s an appropriate way to end 2011 for the podcast!

Holly can be found at http://www.hollyduckworth.com (where else?!).

See you in 2012!!

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RealityCheckwithCraigPrice/~3/5-0XQaBF0WE/episode-39-holly-duckworth-gratitude

Alan Cerny (Nordling from Ain’t it Cool News) returns by popular demand to talk about all the great movies coming out this holiday season. Oscar bait is chumming the waters as well as action flicks and kids movies. Throw in some great directors like Scorcese and Spielberg along with superstars Tom Cruise, Robert Downey Jr. and George Clooney and you have Craig and Alan happily talking movies!!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!!

Janine Iannarelli of Par Avion sets Craig straight on buying and selling corporate aircraft. No, Craig isn’t in the market, but after listening to him rant about is lack of faith in the TSA, the rude passengers and overbooked flights, you might want to give him one just to shut him up! Janine explains why you shouldn’t look at corporate jets as luxury items when they really do enhance productivity and why the corporate jet tax is just politics.

Janine’s aviation consultancy can be found at http://www.paravionltd.com

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RealityCheckwithCraigPrice/~3/t9L47fZav-o/episode-37-janine-iannarelli-corporate-aviation