Whether you are trying to come up with a new product or service, a new process or idea, you’ve got to let go of what is, forget about what was – and believe in what can be.

Innovation starts with reaching out and reaching in. It’s taking a leap. Feeling free to fly on nothing more than a wing and a prayer. And playing your heart out.

Musicians get this.

That’s where improvising comes from.

When I think about improvising, Miles Davis comes to mind.

At the tail end of the 1950’s, he had just created several Grammy winning, platinum albums in a row.

Miles, and the extraordinarily talented musicians he surrounded himself with, had taken bebop to heightened and accelerated speeds.

The question was, “How much faster could he possibly go?”

Could he break the sound barrier?

At the time, there was a pervasive awareness that something big was about to happen.

What would he do next?

The world leaned in.

And he just stopped.

And went inside.

Then went in a completely different direction.

And changed, inside-out.

Slowing everything way down, he played spare notes, allowing others to fill in the spaces – in an expansive cool style.

Creating his own gravitational pull, he escaped the pull of the past.

On “Kind of Blue,” which is still the best-selling jazz album of all time, Miles created a song called “So What?” out of just two notes.

And the rest became history.

Where does such improvising come from?

It is somewhere between the head and the heart.

As my friend Russ Ferrara, a professional guitarist, told me, “Improvisation is the unique ability to create something new within an agreed-upon set of structural limitations. And then, using that same set of ideas, to make something new with each performance.”

That is how you improvise on a micro-scale.

“But Miles was in a whole other league,” Russ added. “He was improvising on a macro-scale. And, as a result, he changed the entire landscape around him.”

 For me, Russ brings alive the direct connection between innovation, which is one of the most important things needed in business today, and improvisation, which can occur among the most talented musicians.

That ability – to see and express what is going on around us in a whole new way – is particularly vital in these rapidly changing times where five-year business plans have lost all meaning.

It starts with changing our pace.

Not just doing the same thing over and over again, faster and faster.

Sometimes we have to hit the pause button.

Slow way down.

To look at things with a new perspective.

Then, we can start to improvise.

To play off of what is.

To discover what can be.

Sure, we have to start with a plan. That’s the “agreed-upon set of structural limitations” that Russ was talking about.

But to seize an idea whose time has come, we also need to be completely open and flexible – and willing to let go or modify our plan – because of what we sense around us.

Then, to trust.

In ourselves.

And in those we chose to surround our self with.

As we take that huge leap.

by Patrick Sweeney,
Caliper President

Evolutionary psychologists (such as David Buss) have proposed that, to accurately understand personality/behavior, one must consider the problem-solving domain that the situation/context stimulates in the individual. That is, our behavioral patterns are highly reflective of adaptations that have had survival value over time, and so our behavior reflects both ‘species specific’ (patterns developed across many generations) and individual adaptations (patterns developed within the lifetime of the individual) to the environment.

Recent research related to brain plasticity suggests that one’s environment and lifelong learning does have an impact on the physiology of the brain. I would also strongly argue that the very use of a competency-based approach to managing talent in organizations (currently an extremely popular approach in the areas of I/O psychology and human resource management) implies a full embrace of the reality that one must look at the person-environment interaction to make accurate assessment and prediction of individuals’ behavioral tendencies.

In short, I don’t think there are many practitioners or researchers holding onto the idea that personality traits develop and exist completely independent of the environment. However, the fact that behavioral patterns result from a complex interaction between the person and environment does not invalidate the body of research, theory, and practice related to the use of a trait approach in managing talent in organizations.

Personality traits, which are merely behavioral tendencies, represent complex patterns formed as the result of genetics, physiology, and environmental contingencies. The rate at which these behavioral tendencies evolve or change over the course of an individual’s lifetime is much slower than what is implied in this posting.

Techniques designed to improve the identification of environmental variables that trigger maladaptive reactions are undoubtedly extremely beneficial for the treatment of mood or anxiety disorders. However, much like the implication that personality traits are not consistent and easily changed, I am afraid that this post may not effectively communicate how difficult it is to change the behavior and thought patterns related to depressive and anxiety disorders. By implying that there exists such states as the ‘anxious mode’ and the ‘avoidant mode,’ while continuing on by stating ‘that modes come and go,’ the hard work that is required to recover from these debilitating disorders is rather understated.

There is a wealth of data that suggest that accurate assessments of personality traits are very often strong predictors of work performance. By the very nature of how the use of these assessments is validated, we observe just how critical it is to consider behavior in context. The trait approach used in organizations can be thought of as identifying the bundle of personal attributes that come together with the work environment to give rise to strong performance in critical outcome areas. Will person A respond in an social, assertive, and confident manner when the environment calls upon him/her to communicate persuasively? Will person B respond in an accommodating, conscientious, and social manner when the environment calls upon him/her to provide service to others?

Could person A and person B radically change behavior and thought patterns that were formed via genetics, physiology, and years of environmental contingencies? Perhaps with a lot of hard work, but the triggers or ‘modes’ that have been part of the persons behavior, thought patterns, and environment usually have existed with the individual over long periods of time. Behavioral predispositions resulting from these long-term patterns, neural pathways, and genetic tendencies don’t usually just ‘come and go.’

We certainly agree that gaining deeper and clearer insight on how environmental cues (triggers) cause one to react emotionally is a highly valuable tool in both the organizational and clinical setting. However, the use of a trait-based approach to understanding behavior in context and the idea that environmental cues that trigger maladaptive behavior can be identified and possibly altered are not mutually exclusive.

Tom Schoenfelder, Ph.D.

That’s a big concept.

Trying to hear the human depth of someone else’s sound.

To get to that sound, I’ve heard musicians talk about playing from the neck down.

I asked my friend Russ Ferrara, who is a professional guitarist, if he could explain what that means.

“Most of my career has been spent playing what most people would consider ‘serious music’. This is music which is demanding technically, and which is treated with great respect when it is performed. People are silent. They suppress coughs,” he said, smiling, as he is prone to do.

“Still, I find it important to feel the way the music moves, the ebb and flow of the phrases. It is important to feel the way the music reflects the rhythm of our lives – the big and the small moments,” Russ shared.

“That’s what happens when you’re playing from the neck down. It can occur in classical, jazz, rock, hip hop, whatever form the music takes. My job is to get people to hear and feel that.”

On the one hand, he was talking about playing the right notes.

Technically.

And that’s important, certainly.

But that’s just playing from the neck up.

More importantly, he was also talking about playing from the heart.

I asked him if he could demonstrate the difference.

If you like to hear Russ’s demonstration, just watch the video.

Picking up his guitar, he explained that he had a student who was listening to old recordings of J.S. Bach. She was intent on emulating them. But, as she listened, she became very un-inspired.

Russ explained to her that those recordings were made at a time when the guitar was making a transition. It was primarily associated with popular music. And classical guitarists back then were afraid of not being taken seriously. So they got so serious that they played stiffly. They became overly-technical, and, as a result, they lost their feeling for the music.

“Thanks to the passage of time,” Russ said, “I am not bound by those fears. And that has freed me up to only be concerned with the people in front of me. Not the critics. But my audience. All I want is for them to be moved by the music. And to move to it.”

That is such an important insight.

It is meaningful for whatever you are doing.

The real magic occurs when you are playing from the neck down.

Listen to your heart. Trust your intuition.

Feel it. So that others will too.

And play. Like a musician.

by Patrick Sweeney,
Caliper President

You’ve got to break through;

You’ve got to break with the past;

To break out;

You’ve got to break away from what you know;

Break a leg;

But don’t let your spirit get broken;

You have to break eggs to make an omelet;

Sometimes, you’ve got to break into a sweat;

Give me a break, for crying out loud;

Wait! We have some late breaking news;

Traveling at breakneck speed;

We hear the sound of breaking glass;

Not the sound of hearts breaking;

No, no. no!

We should be break dancing;

Not breaking and entering;

Wait, I’m having trouble hearing you;

You’re breaking up;

We cannot be breaking up;

No. No. Say it isn’t so.

We should be together;

It’s time to break out – in song;

And break a record;

Then, we can break away from the crowd;

As the storm begins to break;

But, first, you have to break the chains that bind you;

Then break a rule or two;

Then, when you’re ready to break an old habit that may have gotten you here;

When you’ve reached your breaking point;

You can break that spell;

No need to break down;

Just break a dollar;

But don’t break a promise;

Just break away;

And take a break, if you have to;

You’ve got one foot on the accelerator,

And one on the brakes;

If we don’t break with the past,

We will break apart;

Or come to a complete brake;

We’ll be right back, after a quick break.

Part of what I’m talking about

Is doing something the same old way;

Over and over again;

Because it worked at one time or another.

Breaking away from all that –

And I want you to think about this –

All that stuff

That we need to break away from

Is nothing

But our own perspective;

Something we’ve been leaning on

For way too long.

It’s just something we’ve got to break through;

To get on the other side of;

So we can finally see

Clearly.

(Music by Russell Ferrara; Images and Animation by Chris Coddington)

by Patrick Sweeney, Caliper President

So, what are you practicing now?

My dear friend Russ Ferrara, who I first met in college and with whom I recently created a performance piece, is a trained classical musician.

Part of practicing for him, of course, has always been about maintaining his technical skills. “Running scales from the bottom to the top of the instrument’s range – or that wicked arpeggio that ties your fingers in knots,” as he told me.

“That’s most of what musicians need to practice when we are starting out,” he underscored.

“Early on,” he said, “practice, for musicians, is becoming acquainted with your instrument.”

“But, at this point, after playing professionally for nearly four decades,” he added, laughing, as he does so easily, “I’m pretty well-acquainted with this instrument.”

So now he focuses more on rhythmic challenges, or new concepts, or working on particularly difficult pieces that require enormous dexterity.

The notion of practicing is intriguing to me because I believe it is something that leaders could learn a lot about by listening to musicians.

What are you practicing?

It is not something that most leaders think – or even talk – about. We usually just do – whatever it is we’re doing.

We live more in a world of doing than practicing.

But musicians, regardless of how accomplished, always practice.

That’s interesting to think about.

What would be different if you were practicing?

Would it be communicating your vision?

Implementing your plans?

Measuring progress?

Recognizing success?

Mentoring others?

Honing your intuition?

Staying focused on what is important?

Being more flexible?

Getting more in tune – with yourself?

Connecting more – with others?

Listen. And learn from musicians.

To take your leadership skills to a whole new level, figure out what you are going to start practicing.

Today. Tomorrow. And next week.

by Patrick Sweeney, President of Caliper

That’s an intriguing concept.

When we get married, the couple selects a song that becomes their theme song.

My wife, Donna, and I selected, over 35 years ago, “That’s all.” I can only give you love that lasts forever…That’s all. That’s all.

Years later, whenever we’re at a party where there is a band, we’ll ask if they can play it. And that dance is always special, and brings back all kinds of memories.

And I began thinking that the wedding song we select, in many ways, can say more about us as a newly-wed couple than any of the other decisions we agree upon.

And it got me to wondering why weddings are the only celebrations where we select a particular song.

Why not birthdays?

Or any other celebration?

And what would our own individual song be, if we selected it for ourselves?

Would we have just one song?

Or would it change at different times in our lives?

Would it be fast or slow?

Short or long?

Could you dance to it?

Would it have words?

Would you sing it like the original?

Or create your own version?

Change any words?

Or make up your own song?

I’ve heard it said that there is a tribe on the west coast of Africa where, when a woman believes she wants to have a baby, she will hear a song and start to sing it. And that song becomes the song of that baby. Before the child is born. Then the preparing mother teaches that song to her husband, before they conceive the child. Then when the baby appears, they both teach the song to the baby and the baby carries that song throughout his or her life.

By having your own song, I believe you can get more in tune with yourself.

And, because of that, more in tune with others.

So, try this with me for just a minute.

Close your eyes.

Imagine there is as an old-fashioned juke box – inside of you.

(For those of you who are too young to remember what I’m talking about, here is an image of a juke box.)

Each of us is full of hundreds and hundreds of records.

There are A and B sides.

Some we know by heart.

Some we barely remember.

Some are connected to certain events in our lives.

Some are connected to certain people.

Some are covered in dust. They don’t remember the last time they were played.

They range from the first lullabies we were lulled to sleep by to the last song we heard today.

Inside of you are all the songs you’ve ever heard.

Imagine them on small, plastic, round records.

In rows, upon rows, upon rows.

Maybe in alphabetical order.

Maybe in chronological order.

Maybe in no order whatsoever.

And across all these rows is a metal arm that will reach down and select one of those records….your song.

Now, that arm in your own personal, old-fashioned juke box…is moving across all of your records.

And now it pauses – and that metal arm selects just one song.

There it is. That’s the song you have selected.

Look at the title.

Say it out loud to yourself.

Now let it play.

Hum it.

Sing it.

Why do you believe you might have selected your song?

What does it mean to you?

What was going on in your life you they first heard the song?

Why have you been carrying it with you?

Feel what it is like to tune in to your song.

What if that became your inspiration?

Your theme song?

How would you come across differently?

Do me a favor and carry the song with you for a week.

Hum or sing it to yourself whenever times get out of sort.

Or when things are just going exceptionally well.

See how it fits.

How does it help you think and feel about yourself differently?

About those around you in a new way?

Does it help you make sense of what’s going on?

Does it tie things together in some mysterious way?

Do you want to change anything about your song?

Make it more up-tempo?

Change it into something more hip-hop?

More romantic?

Something you can dance to?

Carry your song with you.

Connect with it.

Know why you love that particular song.

And why it is part of you.

Let it be your short-hand message to yourself about who you are – at your very best.

As you hum or sing your song, the next step is to share it with someone you trust.

Tell them why you carry your song with you.

What it means to you.

Tell them what was going on in your life when you first heard that song.

And why you’ve stayed connected with it.

Then ask them if they’ve ever thought about a song that would be their theme song.

And wonder, with them, what it might be.

Explore with them where your songs connect.

Then, with your song in your back pocket, you will be in a place where you are able to tune into yourself more, shifting your awareness, and transcending your wildest dreams.

At the very least, people are going to be wondering what in the world you are singing about.

Patrick Sweeney, Caliper President

She recently premiered a television series called “And That’s the Truth with Terry Whitaker,” which showcases stories about people digging inside themselves and tapping into their inner truth and authenticity – and I was flattered when she asked me to be a guest on her show.

In that episode, Terry interviewed me about what I’d learned while co-writing the book Succeed on Your Own Terms. One of the things I shared with her was that whenever we were interviewing people in countries where English was not the native language, the phrase “succeed on your own terms” did not translate naturally. People would give a quizzical look. Then I’d say, “It means succeeding by being true to yourself. Or by listening to your inner voice.” And they’d nod, saying that they got it. Succeeding on your own terms is, in fact, being true to yourself. That’s where we discover real meaning, our true purpose, and become our authentic selves.

To watch the full episode and be inspired by some of the amazing people who have succeeded on their own terms, click here www.andthatsthetruthtv.com .

Terry’s show can be seen Tuesdays and Thursdays at 1:00pm on WPHA 38 Philadelphia.

Patrick Sweeney, Caliper President

The conversation was far-reaching, touching upon how the widespread use of the Internet and social media have broken down business barriers, increased customer empowerment and made old ways of selling obsolete.

And questions arose.

As consumers, we now have access to more information, faster—and feel, as a result, that we can make many of our buying decisions without ever talking with a salesperson.

But are we better informed?

We seem to think so. Statistics reveal that in those cases where we eventually do speak with a salesperson, two-thirds of our buying decision is already made.

So the role of a salesperson has obviously changed.

Which leads to the questions: What is it that separates the best salespeople from the rest today? And what do the best salespeople still have today that they’ve always had?

As a result of that conversation with our editor, we decided it was time for a newly-revised version of our ten-year-old book. This new version, which has just come out, focuses on the fundamentals that still apply, highlighting the personality dynamics that Herb uncovered a half-century ago—while also sharing what we’ve learned about the changing world of sales.

What’s the same? And what has changed?

One thing certainly remains the same: To succeed in sales, it is all about trust.

You don’t have to be incredible. But you do have to be credible.

Do I trust you? Do I think you know what you’re talking about? Do you convey expertise? Do I believe in you? Do I feel that you will come through? And follow through?

Trust is something that is either there or it’s not. It’s an either/or.

None of us is even vaguely interested in buying something from someone we don’t trust.

The need for trust remains fundamental.

So, what has changed?

To remain competitive, sales leaders and sales representatives need to have a clear understanding of how the buying habits of their clients are changing, and realize that how they succeeded in the past may have very little to do with how they will succeed tomorrow.

One of the things that is clear is that salespeople who sell transactionally bring somewhere between little and no value. The only thing they bring is the inconvenience of standing in line to pay them. Technology will replace them.

As an approved vendor, you’re nothing special. You’ve just made the list. The company can buy from you. At the end of the day, though, there’s no real difference between you and anybody else. Sales at this level can be as automatic as my purchasing computer talking to your selling computer.

The best salespeople, on the other hand, bring real value—by challenging us, by opening up new possibilities, by bringing insights that would have never occurred to us before.

The future belongs to consultative salespeople who can contribute unexpected and valuable insights to help clients solve – and even identify – problems.

As a trusted partner, your clients view your contributions as a key to their long-term success. I want to underscore that selling consultatively has nothing to do with what you are selling. It is about how you are selling, how you are connecting with your clients. In the book, we tell stories about clients who were selling commodities, such as chemicals and paper, but they succeed by connecting and coming through for their clients consultatively.

You can tell you’ve made it as a consultative salesperson when, around this time of year, your clients invite you to meet with them to discuss next year’s goals. When you are a resource for strategic planning, then you have become consultative.

And if you’re not being invited in, you should be concerned.

The future belongs to those who sell consultatively. To those professionals who are intrigued by working with their clients, with getting them to open up, with challenging them and helping them to solve problems—problems that sometimes they may not have even realized they had.

Not only are the best consultative salespeople solving problems for their clients today, but they are also looking for issues that their clients are not worried about right now that they should be.

The best consultative salespeople get a special invitation. They are invited to look at their client’s organization with new eyes. And that view is truly welcome.

As a sales leader, you must be able to identify the DNA your salespeople need, not just the skill set they may have learned.

Do they have the basic built-in dynamics to change the conversations with your clients? Can they move the relationship from a vendor to a strategic partner—from transactional to consultative?

To stay relevant, you should be racing to hire and develop people with these strengths—before your competitors do.

It’s all about who you surround yourself with.

If you’d like to hear Sean Sweeney, President and Chief Operating Officer for the Philadelphia Insurance Company, and Tom Gartland, President, North America, of Avis Budget Group, discussing how their leadership style and approach is informed by the first job they took in sales, watch our latest webinar here: The New Sales Dynamic: How to Hire and Develop Top Salespeople.

 

Patrick Sweeney, Caliper President

 

 

When people are inspired, it is generally by someone who has defied the odds, overcome adversity and succeeded. Such individuals are rare. Their presence makes people hope for something new inside themselves.

Yet only a small percentage of people who are truly inspirational…Read the full article here.

 

by Patrick Sweeney, Caliper President

I can’t tell you how excited we are that our conference is just eleven days away.

With Dave Power, the Founder of J.D. Power and Associates kicking it off, and Daniel Goleman, the emotional intelligence guru, closing with a talk and seminar on Tuesday, you can’t lose.

Yes, there will be a little bit of Greenberg and Sweeney along with a variety of exceptional business leaders covering a range of relevant topics in the breakout sessions on Monday and Tuesday.

The group will be small enough to allow the full participation of everyone, yet large enough to receive multiple ideas from many top notch people.

So, to help out those of you who really have been living under a rock and haven’t yet registered (or those of you who just haven’t  had a chance), I’m offering you a very special price on the last of the few spots we have available. Look here for pricing, then call Debbie Dlabik at 609-524-1227 for a special deal.

The sessions are scheduled in such a way that I can meet personally with anyone who would like to talk with me. I would enjoy the opportunity to get to know you and share ideas.

I’m looking forward to meeting you at this very exciting program! To learn more about the sessions and presenters, go here.

by Herb Greenberg, Caliper Founder & CEO