The Butterfly Effect

It was 1960 and meteorologist Edward Lorenz was working in his lab. He was entering data into his computer in the hope of modeling weather patterns when he stumbled upon a theory that is known as “The Butterfly Effect.” He was entering wind speed, air pressure and temperature into three separate equations that were linked in a mathematical feedback loop. This equation allowed Lorenz to predict weather patterns.

One day Lorenz was in a bit of a hurry and opted to take a shortcut when entering the data. He rounded the numbers to the nearest one thousandth rather than to the nearest one millionth (for example, .407 instead of .407349). As a scientist, he knew this would change the result; however, he expected only a minor change. Lorenz was astounded to discover that this tiny change made a profound impact on the final resulting weather pattern. This discovery led Lorenz to ponder: Does the flap of a butterfly’s wing in Brazil cause a tornado in Texas? Thus, you have “The Butterfly Effect” theory.

This theory has been applied to all areas of science since Lorenz’s 1960 experiment.

What does it mean for your life?

It means that every decision or action that you make—no matter how small—could potentially dramatically alter the course of your life. My life, as I am sure is the case with yours, is a testimony to “The Butterfly Effect.” When I was 12 years old, I met a friend named Brian in P.E. class. More than two decades later, Brian is still my best friend. At the age of 12, Brian had a thirst for learning and studying (the other 12-year-olds called him a nerd), and he was a fitness fanatic. He still has these qualities, and because of our friendship they rubbed off on me. At the age of 18, I needed a job and he secured me a job where he worked as a telemarketer. My third day on the job, I made a telemarketing call to someone in the seminar business. He thought I was a good telemarketer and offered me a job over the phone.

Did you follow that?

You might read my books or come hear me speak because I was offered a job at the age of 18 from a seminar company. I would have never been offered that job if Brian hadn’t gotten me the telemarketing job, and Brian would never have known me if we hadn’t met at the age of 12 in P.E! I have an insatiable desire for learning that began at age 12 and have developed into a fitness fanatic as well. Most of the major events in my life can be traced back to a conversation in a gym more than two decades ago—that is “The Butterfly Effect.”

ACTION POINTS
- Realize that “The Butterfly Effect” is very real and small decisions or actions can make a huge impact on your life.
- Take responsibility for your decisions, actions and friends—even the tiny decisions—realizing that they can dramatically alter the course of your life.
- Understand the importance of attention to detail. Years before 1986, the smallest flaw was overlooked in a Space Shuttle O-ring. That flaw led to a horrific “Butterfly Effect”—the deaths of seven astronauts years later in January 1986.
- Do not allow “The Butterfly Effect” to paralyze you in inaction. Instead, use it as the spark of motivation to fan the fire of action, realizing that you control your destiny even in the tiniest of ways.

To Your Success,
Ron White

The Art & The Science of Negotiation at Athens Information Technology

Great program, for executives, managers or enterprising individuals who want to improve themselves on negotiation. Nice variety of approaches to the subject, with comprehensive exercises and role plays which covered the range of all types of negotiations. Well structured course which really motivated and challenged the participants while creating value for them.


The Instructor

Dr. Brian Mandell is Senior Lecturer in Public Policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and Director of the Kennedy School’s Negotiation Project. He has taught negotiation, conflict resolution, and scenario planning for fifteen years. He writes about contentious disputes and is completing a book on scenario planning for conflict managers and negotiation practitioners. Dr. Mandell teaches private and public sector professionals in executive education programs. He has trained senior managers from Pfizer, Heinz, Novartis, and Shell. Dr. Mandell has taught negotiation in Greece, Ireland, Mexico, Singapore, Taiwan, and throughout the United States to elected officials, senior public servants, and government ministers.


The Program

The Art and Science of Negotiation is a five-day interactive executive education program that includes the module on Advanced Negotiation Skills. Negotiation is inevitably at the heart of any process. The Art and Science of Negotiation program provides cutting-edge techniques to positively influence the outcome of any negotiation situation.

The course builds cumulatively from simple negotiations to complexity, ie from 2 party single issued toward multiparty, multi issue negotiations that evolve over time. Structured negotiation role playing and simulations are used to isolate and emphasize specific analytic points, essential skills and develop intuition about complex negotiations.


Skills to be upgraded

• Analytical Negotiation Skills on
• Strategy development and deep situation understanding
• Structuring parties’ interest basis
• Recognizing opportunities and barriers for creating and claiming value
• Ranging possible moves
• Interpersonal Skills on
• Trust building and breaking
• Mutual persuasion
• Conceptual Framework to effectively prepare for future negotiations

Groups and Role Playing

The unique approach of using the group as a case provides participants with diverse insights into the dynamics of communication and persuasion. While taking part in these real-time negotiation exercises, you will experience the challenging as well as the rewarding aspects of negotiation.

In class and in smaller group sessions you will discuss how to:

• effectively prepare
• familiarize yourself with complex, dynamic interactions
• practice your powers of persuasion
• experiment with a variety of negotiating tactics and strategies
• unlock individual and group effectiveness
• apply a wide variety of real-world negotiation tools to influence all types of negotiations, from domestic disputes to international problems
  

Benefits

Participants will:

• Achieve specific, timely, critical negotiating techniques to use with colleagues, clients and suppliers
• Become stronger negotiators by learning vital steps to building short term or long term profitable relationships
• Gain repeated exposure to real-world negotiating situations
• Discover the hidden secrets, negotiating gurus successfully master for a well-structured argument
• Boost their negotiation skill set through a hands-on, proven systematic approach, applicable to any type of negotiation

For your success
http://www.ait.edu.gr/

Negotiating Win/Win Deals

You may not realize it, but you are involved in negotiation a good part of every day. Any negotiation--whether it involves settling on the price of a product or service, agreeing to the terms of a job offer, or simply deciding on a bedtime for your children--ends in one of five possible outcomes: (1) lose/lose, in which neither party achieves his goals; (2) lose/win or (3) win/lose, in which one party achieves her goals and the other does not; (4) no outcome, in which neither party wins or loses; and (5) win/win, in which the goals of both parties are met. It’s easy to see that numbers 1 and 4 are less than ideal, as is number 2 if you are the one who loses! But what about the other two outcomes? Isn’t win/lose just as desirable as win/win, as long as you are the winner?


The Win/Lose Outcome

In some negotiations, you will be the winner and the other party will be the loser. At first, it may seem that this is the ideal situation for you. But think about it. If you have ever lost a negotiation, you know that the feeling is not pleasant. A significant problem with a win/lose outcome is that one person walks away with unmet needs--and this person is unlikely to be willing to engage in future negotiations with the other party. Ultimately, this sets up the potential for a lose/lose outcome.

A good example of this situation occurred when I was a salesman in the printing business. I had a client who purchased printing on a regular basis. This person had a reputation for being both a shark and a jerk. Not only would he beat down my price, but he would also be rude and verbally abusive through every step of the job. For him, this may have seemed like a win/lose situation, with me as the loser. After several jobs, however, it became apparent to me that the stress of working with this individual was costing me more time, energy and grief than the jobs were worth. Eventually, I began quoting his jobs at twice the normal markup and refusing to budge on the price, changing the balance in this lopsided relationship. Of course, after a while, the client refused to deal with me, creating a lose/lose outcome.


Achieving a Win/Win Outcome

The best outcome for almost all negotiations is win/win, when both parties walk away with a positive feeling about achieving their goals. But how do you accomplish this ideal situation? There are four keys:

1. Avoid narrowing your negotiation down to one issue. When you focus on just one issue, there can be only one winner. A common example is arguing over the price of something. To avoid creating a win/lose outcome, you can bring other factors into the negotiation, such as delivery fees, timing, quality, supplemental goods and services, and so on.
   


2. Realize that the other party does not have the same needs and wants you do. If you think the other person’s goals are exactly the same as yours (for instance, a "good" price, which may mean different things for the two of you), you will have the attitude that the other party’s gain is your loss. With that attitude, it is virtually impossible to create a win/win outcome.
   


3. Don’t assume you know the other party’s needs. Negotiators often think they know what the other party wants. Salespeople may assume that buyers want to pay the lowest possible price for a product. But many buyers have other needs that may influence their decision to buy. By asking questions, a skilled salesperson may find, for example, that a buyer's biggest concern is not that she pays the lowest price, but that her boss perceives the purchase decision as a good one. This knowledge allows the salesperson more negotiating room.
   


4. Believe point number two in your heart. Most novice negotiators acknowledge that the other party probably does not have the same goals they do, but once the actual negotiation commences, this acknowledgement vanishes from their mind.

Setting Up for Success
Since few negotiations are one-time affairs, it is usually in your best interest to work toward a win/win outcome. When both parties walk away from a negotiation with a good feeling, they will probably be willing to negotiate with each other again. Using all your skills to ensure that you and the other party feel like winners is simply good business!

For you success
Peter Barron Stark & Associates

Quotes for Life

INVOLVEMENT

"He has the right to criticize who has the heart to help." Abraham Lincoln

"A voice is a human gift; it should be cherished and used, to utter fully human speech as possible. Powerlessness and silence go together." Margaret Atwood

"We must dare and dare again, and go on daring." Georges Jacques Danton

"How simple it is to see that all the worry in the world cannot control the future. How simple it is to see that we can only be happy. And that there will never be a time when it is not now." Gerald Jampolsky

JUST DO IT!

"The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it." Norman Schwarzkopf

"Each of us must do massive right thinking, take massive right action and get massive right results, right here, right now." Mark Victor Hansen

"A great deal of talent is lost in the world for want of a little courage... The fact is that to do anything in the world worth doing, we must not stand back shivering and thinking of the cold and danger, but jump in and scramble through as well as we can." Sydney Smith

KINDNESS

"In helping others, we shall help ourselves, for whatever good we give out completes the circle and comes back to us." —Flora Edwards

"There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up." John Andrew

“Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind.” Henry James

"Goodness is a special kind of truth and beauty. It is truth and beauty in human behavior." H.A. Overstreet

To Your Success,
Soft Skills Team

Confidence

Having confidence means you believe in yourself and that you trust your own judgment and resourcefulness. In his many books on self-esteem, Dr. Nathaniel Branden defines self-esteem as the sum of self-confidence and self-respect. For him, self-confidence is knowing that you have the wherewithal to function reasonably well in the world.

You feel competent to make choices, competent to satisfy your needs, to chart the course for your life. Having confidence in specific situations, such as in gaining influence with someone, flows from a general self-confidence about your ability to meet life’s challenges.

A person who exhibits confidence appreciates a sincere compliment and doesn’t brush it off. A confident person is comfortable giving, and receiving, compliments. He’s also able to handle criticism if it comes his way because he basically likes himself and knows that a single negative incident won’t change that.

Confidence in yourself is built up over time. You can fake confidence, and you may need to at first, but real self-confidence comes from a history of small victories and accomplishments that add up to a sense that you can handle yourself well in most every situation. I suggest you take an inventory of the major accomplishments you’ve achieved over the past few years. Then remind yourself of the minor ones, too. What about the computer course you completed? Have you built anything that’s still standing? What about those kids you’re raising? That’s an accomplishment. Don’t be modest. Tell the truth about how hard you worked and what sacrifices you’ve made. If you can’t think of any, then begin by congratulating yourself for living as long as you have. Sheer survival is an accomplishment these days! Seriously, it pays to take the time to know your strengths and appreciate them. What’s unique about you? What skills do you bring to an organization or project that you can count on?

“Confidence is a fundamental trait for flexibility. It’s hard to be flexible when you’re fearful or easily intimidated. Confidence is indispensable if you want to engage someone’s attention.”

To Your Success,
Dr. Tony Alessandra

Love the Opportunity

Somebody said you have to love what you do, but that’s not necessarily true. What is true is that you have to love the opportunity—the opportunity to build life, future, health, success and fortune. Knocking on someone’s door or making that extra call may not be something you love to do, but you love the opportunity of what might be behind that door or call.

For example, a guy says, “I’m digging ditches. Should I love digging ditches?” The answer is, “No, you don’t have to love digging ditches, but if it is your first entry onto the ladder of success, you say, ‘I’m glad somebody gave me the opportunity to dig ditches, and I’m going to do it so well, I won’t be here long.’ ”

You can be inspired by having found something, even though you are making mistakes in the beginning, and even though it is a little distasteful taking on a new discipline that you haven’t learned before. You don’t have to love it; you just have to learn to appreciate where you live, appreciate opportunity and appreciate the person who brought you the good news—the person who found you.

Appreciate the person who believed in you before you believed in yourself. Appreciate the person who said, “Hey, if I can do it, you can do it.”

If you will embrace the disciplines associated with the new opportunity, and you will soon find that your self-confidence will start to grow, that you will go from being a skeptic to being a believer. And soon, when you go from person to person, talking to people, you will find it to be the most thrilling opportunity in the world. Every person you meet—what could it be? Unlimited! Maybe a friend for life. The next person could be an open door to retiring. The next person could be a colleague for years to come. It’s big-time stuff. And sometimes, in the beginning, when we are just getting started, we don’t always see how big it is.

So, before you are tempted to give up or get discouraged, remember, all success is based on long-term commitment, faith, discipline, attitude and a few steppingstones along the way. You might not like the stone you are on right now, but it’s sure to be one of the stones that leads to great opportunities in the future.

To Your Success,
Jim Rohn