Performance Miner^™ Getting the Most Out Of Your Business & Life A free monthly newsletter about running your business and enjoying life along the way. Click here to view past copies.

Copyright 2005 Sharon Youngblood. All rights reserved.

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Performance Miner^™ is in three sections this month:

In this issue:

1. Building Relationships With Colleagues & Clients
2. Life Business™

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1. Building Relationships With Colleagues & Clients

In my high school yearbook, entries either read to a great girl or are expressions of disbelief about my quest to find out the truth in life. That is, people either barely knew me or were puzzled by my intensity.

One of the biggest challenges for many of us is learning to relate to other people authentically and create the often-illusive bridge to relationship. When we get away from the posturing and image building, many people are introverted, shy or just unsure of how to connect to others.

I know some of you can connect with anybody. Whether connection and relationship building is easy or difficult for you, I’d like it if you would send emails and let me know the techniques you’ve discovered to connect. Relationships – where the people you are around are glad to see you coming, want and like to do business with you and would actually help you if you hit a rough spot.

Here are a few of the tips I have discovered along the winding path:

1. Be who you are without worrying whether people like you. There are wide ranges of personalities that are acceptable. The important thing is to be congruent or put another way, authentic.

2. In order to connect with anyone, it is necessary to observe their uniqueness and value it.

3. When you show up to serve your clients and colleagues rather than to get the business or get what you want, the quality of your relationship improves. Not that you are a doormat - far from it. The goal is to neither dominate nor be subservient but rather to collaborate with others to achieve a common goal.

I’ve recently had some sessions with clients that were peak experiences – solid accomplishments shared with human beings that I respect, admire and connect with. The more the relationships deepen, the more fun we all have, and the more successful we all become.

It doesn’t matter if you are on the golf course, at the rubber chicken banquet or having lunch with a client or colleague, the opportunity to be authentic, to notice the other person and to value them is always there. For fun and profit, connecting as a respectful worker amongst workers is one of life’s experiences you don’t want to miss.

2. Life Business™ Tips
Nothing drains energy faster than not standing up for yourself. Sometimes it just is not wise, i.e., when you have little or no power. However most of the time we have much more power than we realize. If authentically standing in your own truth is tough, try small steps at first. Just saying what you want is a start. You may not always get it but one thing is sure – if you never ask, you never get. My colleague Deb Turner of ChoiceWorks has a good technique. She says, I request that you do (whatever). Are you willing to do that? A simple and non-threatening but very effective way of asking for what you want to see happen. Little hinges swing big doors – start small and watch your energy start building.

See Youngblood:

Due to summer days, Sharon will not be speaking publicly (much) until the fall of 2005. Watch for the fall schedule in August. This is it for the summer:

• Orlando, Florida
• San Francisco, California
• San Jose, California
• Dallas, Texas

Contact say@youngbloodconsulting.com for details.

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If you would like to read Youngblood’s Best Practices Column, go to www.azbiz.com – enter Best Practices in the Articles Search Box. Click here for additional free articles. New articles added often.

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Performance Miner^™ is an electronic newsletter discussing making the most of your work and life. Contact us for further information: say@youngbloodconsulting.com.

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