Posted by Christopher Kogler – December 15, 2014

Maestro Benjamin Zander – an amazingly approachable human being

My wife, Kate, and I were in Boston, Massachusetts recently visiting our son Sebastian, who’s now attending university there. Sebastian has chosen a path a bit less traveled than others and is a French horn performance major. Although he’s been in Boston just a few months, he was invited to join the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. They’re an amazing group of young people who are privileged to work with an even more amazing conductor, Maestro Benjamin Zander.

Maestro Zander’s career is truly remarkable. He is the conductor of both The Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra; he’s also been a guest conductor around the world. He’s a sought-after public speaker who presented a Keynote address at the World Economic Forum in Davos and has received numerous accolades for his humanitarian work. With his partner, Rosamund Zander, he collaborated on their best-selling book, “The Art of Possibility”.  And, as we discovered, he’s an amazingly approachable human being.

On the Saturday we were visiting, we attended a 4 hour afternoon rehearsal with Maestro Zander and the full Youth Orchestra at the Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology as they prepared for their upcoming concert at Boston’s Symphony Hall.  Sitting there, watching Maestro Zander work with 100 young, talented people, I was amazed at the way he conducted his business.

He worked with each separate section of the orchestra with passion, joy and a level of energy I simply don’t see that often. Each section of the orchestra received individual instruction. He was complimentary when instructing, direct and respectful when critiquing and taught by telling stories. He was able to focus on the details of each section without losing sight of the holistic nature of the group. Finally, in a manner that appeared effortless, he brought everyone together to produce an amazing sound that no one part could produce on its own. Different sections harmonized wonderfully.

What leadership is all about – passion, teaching and storytelling

I realized while watching Maestro Zander that he was modeling the best of what leadership is all about – infusing one’s work with passion, teaching and storytelling; driving the group’s success forward by his own clarity of purpose and enthusiasm for excellence and, he was having fun doing it!

, Zander explains his process and defines success most eloquently. “I had an amazing experience, I was 45 years old, I’d been conducting for 20 years and I suddenly had a realization – the conductor of an orchestra doesn’t make a sound! My picture appears on the front of the CD, but the conductor doesn’t make the sound, he depends for his power on his ability to make other people powerful.”

“And, that changed everything for me. It was totally life changing! People in my orchestra came up to me and said, ‘Ben, what happened?’ That’s what happened; I realized my job was to awaken possibility in other people. And, of course, I wanted to know if I was doing that…and you know how you find out? You look at their eyes. If their eyes are shining, you know you’re doing it. If their eyes are shining, you know you’re doing it!”

“If the eyes are not shining you get to ask a question….and this is the question: ‘Who am I being that my players’ eyes are not shining?’ …and I say, it’s appropriate for us to ask the question.

‘Who are we being as we go back out into the world?’

“And, you know, I have a definition of success. For me, it’s very simple. It’s not about wealth and fame and power, it’s about how many shining eyes I have around me.”

If you haven’t seen , it’s well worth it – fun, insightful and inspiring. Today, more than ever, we need leaders who, as the conductors of their companies, can lead with passion and clarity of purpose as Maestro Zander does.

So let me ask you, how many shining eyes do you see around you?

About Christopher Kogler
Covering the great breadth of the USA, Chris is based on the East Coast and brings his Emmy award winning film and television experience to help leaders find and tell their stories. Contact Chris: chris@narrativeiq.com  tel.: 908. 334. 8263

The post Leadership Conducted With Passion, Teaching And Storytelling appeared first on Narrative IQ.

Posted by Christopher Kogler – December 1, 2014

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing a senior sales manager for a big box retail operation on the West Coast of the US and asked her to share a few of her secrets for success with me. Danielle shared the 3 principal keys she uses to inspire her sales team on a daily basis and how these simple actions make a huge difference in her team’s sales performance.

Key 1 – The Daily Huddle

At the beginning and end of each day she gathers her staff together for what they call The Daily Huddle. Huddles have as few as 10 people and as many as 50 depending on the team’s work schedule. But, each employee is required to attend at least once a day. A Huddle lasts no more than thirty minutes and is usually led by the senior sales manager. Once a week, department heads from different areas of the company are invited to lead the Huddle. One week it might be the Director of Training, the next week it might be the Director of Inventory Services.

Each department head speaks to their area of expertise and engages the sales team in a discussion about how both groups can support each other. These weekly “cross pollination” sessions keep the lines of communication open between the different departments and help employees have a deeper understanding of what’s going on throughout the company. Team members also gain an appreciation of how their sales efforts fit into the bigger picture and the importance of their sales efforts in growing the company.

Key 2 – Daily Inspiration through Stories

Huddles are comprised of 80% inspiration and 20% housekeeping. The structure looks like this. Inspiration > Housekeeping > more Inspiration. Sessions always start with an uplifting story. They’re also used to convey housekeeping information from corporate but this is purposely minimized.

“Last week I was really excited to share with my team that the company just completed installing its 30^th large roof top solar array and we did this in just 5 years!” “It’s one of those things that corporate doesn’t overtly publicize but everyone feels really proud when they learn about it.”

“Imagine what we’re going to accomplish by the time I’m ready to retire!”

“I started working for this company 10 years ago because I believed then, and still believe today, that I’m not just doing a job, I’m making a positive difference in people’s lives.” “There aren’t too many companies that make their employees feel that way,” Danielle said.

Only positive stories and information are shared in the Huddle. A happy, upbeat and inspired sales team increases customer engagement and customer satisfaction. Team members are encouraged to exceed customers’ expectations and, whenever possible, tailor unique solutions for every customer. Inspirational stories help the sales team to accomplish both.

Key 3 – Keep it Simple, Keep It Real

In a recent Huddle, team members were asked to think of something simple they could do that would make a real difference in customers’ lives. Groups of four to five worked on this for about 5 minutes; one team’s answer was simplicity itself: listen.

And the moment they recounted was awesome.

Sebastian, a junior sales associate, recently listened to a customer as she told him how she left her hospital administration job and dropped out of the workforce for 2 years to deal with her daughter’s rare illness. She spent a considerable amount of time fundraising for her daughter’s cause and successfully raised the significant amount of money that was needed to treat her condition. After several years of treatment and her daughter’s disease now under control, Mother wanted to rejoin the workforce but could not find a job in hospital administration or anywhere else. Extremely frustrated and obviously venting, she finally said, “I’m at my wits end!” After attentively listening to her plight, Sebastian simply replied, “Have you ever considered fund raising?”

“It was one of those ah ha! moments,” Sebastian said. “You could see the light bulb going off in her head and she became a different person!” The two of them spent the next 10 minutes brainstorming about all the possibilities she simply hadn’t seen before. During the last 2 years, she had become a very successful fundraiser for her daughter’s cause and with Sebastian’s help suddenly realized she could apply this valuable experience and skill to reentering the workforce.

By simply listening and caring, Sebastian created a customer for life. Often, the most important part we play in a conversation is simply listening. And, it’s good to know that from time to time, by listening to another person’s story, we can make a real difference in their lives.

About Christopher Kogler
Covering the great breadth of the USA, Chris is based on the East Coast and brings his Emmy award winning film and television experience to help leaders find and tell their stories. Contact Chris: chris@narrativeiq.com  tel.: 908. 334. 8263

The post 3 Keys To Igniting Retail Sales By Storytelling And Story Listening appeared first on Narrative IQ.