Concentric

Welcome to Episode 14 of Concentric.

Jason Croft and Gary De Rodriguez dig in today around the aspect of using data to not only find that right candidate for a specific job at your company but for those folks who are in those roles now, taking them through some assessments that will help you determine if this person is in their best role.  And if not figure out how to train that person or find that perfect role for them based on their strengths.

There are so many different assessments out there that almost everyone in the business world is familiar with, but the one that Gary's talking about here in this episode is unique in not only how it assesses that individual, but also how it evaluates numerous jobs in terms of who you should be looking for, for that role.

But then a whole separate layer to it is a training aspect.  For instance, a manager can make that assessment of an employee and determine that the role they are in requires certain traits or behaviors the employee doesn't have.  But they're so close?  This assessment identifies what they need to develop to really thrive in this role and then sets up the training to go along with this.

So not only does that "level up" that employee who goes through that training, but now the company and that manager have data to measure against, and the employee knows what they're shooting for.

I know we dig into the "humanness" of us all on this show, so it may seem counterintuitive to think we're concentrating on the numbers and data to assess somebody, but it's really the data of digging into who they really are, which then allows us to build up their great "humanness" in that role and help them, help the company, and really improve the entire company culture.

Make sure you reach out to Gary to have a conversation about implementing this assessment in your company.

Welcome to Episode 13 of Concentric.

Today, Gary and I dig into the aspect of truly understanding another person, whether that's someone you're in a relationship with just someone you're kind of in conflict with and you're trying to come to that resolution.

The better you can understand them, the better that you'll be able to communicate your "side" and the better you're going to be able to develop what your "side" should be, in terms of what's really going on.

And there are several levels to this.  This is a big, broad topic in terms of conflict resolution and having those critical conversations, as Gary calls them.  We dig deep into this specific aspect of those critical conversations around understanding.

Gary of course has immense training and years of experience in deciphering certain physical characteristics, body posture, and all of those things that help him diagnose really quickly what's going on with someone.

But we all have that understanding.  We all know, even if we can't quite put words to it, what someone is feeling or when something's a little "off".  That sense will allow us to dig deeper with that person if we'll just have that intention.

And we take those few moments to think to ourselves, "Okay, let me stop the chatter going on in my brain for a little bit and truly take in what this other person is communicating both in words, body language, and energy."

So we explore the importance of this topic and then really get into some tactical how-tos to help us all when we're in that situation.

Today we're talking about reality as a construct. 

Now, the context that we're talking about that today has to do, of course, with relationships and interacting with other folks, but very quickly gets into conflict resolution.  And then taking a step into not just the understanding of, "Okay, I'm in control of this situation," or "I may not be interpreting the situation correctly."  It certainly takes a belief switch to get there for some of us.

But more importantly, and maybe more difficultly, is when you're in the moment and something's going horribly wrong in your perspective, and it's causing an emotional trigger, whether that's with somebody else, or just something happening, to be able to stop at that moment and ask yourself, "Why am I reacting so negatively in this situation?"  

One of the first indicators in the moment for when we should ask this is when your response seems like an overreaction.  As Gary points out, we may have things coming at us that we can't control, but we can control our response to them to construct our world. Our reality.

So I hope that gives you some context around what we're talking about here with reality as a construct.  Gary does an amazing job digging in and really giving us all some incredible, useful tools for moving forward in our life.

Welcome to Episode 11 of Concentric! 

Today, Gary and Jason talk about developing your vision and the importance of that in order to lead and influence others. 

You know, even for ourselves, we need a clear vision of where we're going and why we're doing something to really accomplish any kind of goal in life.  And when it comes time to get folks on board that you need help from, you're 100 times more likely to influence them if you have that clearly defined vision. 

And we sense that in others.  We've seen those people who just believe so strongly in what they're doing, that we almost don't even hear the word, that they're saying to us.  But we're on board.  

And we've witnessed the opposite as well:  the folks who are saying all the right things, but you're just not buying it.  You don't know what it is, but something is off.  Sometimes that feeling comes when someone is dishonest and they're trying to trick you into something.  But often it's the fact that they're not confident in what they're telling you. 

So, having the skills to not only develop a vision and follow through with it but to communicate that vision is very important. 

So that's what we really dig into today:  developing those skills of defining that vision in order to influence others.  All right, let's jump in.

Welcome to Ep10 of Concentric.

Today we're talking about two of my favorite subjects:  business and people, and more specifically the relationship between the two.  Balancing the business/people dynamic is great and messy and hard and wonderful.

More and more, business leaders and the public at large are recognizing personal development and how it relates to business.  There have been some people, though, who go out there and say, "Invest in personal development and you'll be successful tomorrow!  That's all you need."

There are some other folks who are like, "That's all trash and nonsense.  Focus on the business fundamentals. That's how you grow a business."

In reality, those are extremes and if any strong division occurs, it's from each "side" thinking the other side is that cut and dried.

What we dig into today is the messy middle.   Of course, you don't just go read Think and Grow Rich and that's all you need to know to have a successful business.  But at the same time, even though it's possible to grow and succeed in business:  sell a widget and make a bunch of money with no focus on yourself - how are you in the process?  Is there a level of fulfillment that you miss out on?  And do you grow faster, develop a better team, or are you more successful in business when you focus on some of those aspects of personal development?

Gary and I certainly feel like the answer is yes.  Everything that you do, business included, is just better when you consistently grow and improve as a person and learn how to relate to somebody, whether you're selling them something or you're managing a team.

If you are practicing self-leadership and developing those skills, it's just going to go smoother. It's going to be better. Everyone's going to enjoy the process more. So that's what we get into today.

So many insights. I think you're gonna love it.

Let's jump in.

Welcome to Ep9 of Concentric.

We really dive in on this concept of self-leadership quite a bit on this show already.  Because it's so foundational to everything else that we teach and really just what we believe in this world.  It's so important to take control over your own experience in life, rather than leaving it up to the rest of the world to dictate how you're going to feel or how you're going to operate. 

And maybe it sounds simple.  But it's actually tough when we do get triggered by things out in the world, and we react to that triggering event, rather than stopping and going, "Okay, why am I so upset about this?" 

Gary dives into how important our mental and emotional states are to just being consistent and congruent and showing up in life, how we want to show up, and certainly when it comes to leading others.  We can't possibly do that without leading ourselves first. 

So this is an amazing foundational episode in which Gary gives us insights on how to do this because it's very difficult to course correct when you are being triggered by something, especially in the moment.  It takes the foundational work beforehand so that in the moment you can call upon that decision that you've made, or insights that you've gained, in order to not have that same emotional response. 

Make sure you check out the full episode and share it with someone you think needs to hear it!

Have you heard this crazy idea that improving yourself improves over 97.861% of all relationships in your life?

In Ep8 of Concentric, Gary De Rodriguez and I are talking about the real power of personal development - making yourself better as you go through this life.

Gary gives us some real insight into not just how to do it, but how to think about it as you go through this process.

People often look at self-improvement and personal development in terms of "Let me get this handled, and then I'm good". But it's really this ongoing process (and I promise that I don't mean that in an overwhelming "things never get better" way).

Quite the opposite.

It's a constant improvement.  It's not like you gain some of these skills and then you're instantly a phenomenal speaker,  all your relationships are perfect, or you make a million dollars the next week.

And sure, nobody would say that that's what they're expecting. But there's a little part that does feel like "Let me solve this one thing. And then I'm off to the races."

And what actually happens is you get to that next level a little faster. You encounter the challenges that come into your life (or challenging people) and you react differently.  You handle them differently, which makes your life different.

Those are the insights that we get into today. And how to approach this endeavor not to get it all figured out but to get on the right path and move in the right direction.  And then as you get these distinctions for your life, they build on each other.

Welcome to Ep7 of Concentric.

This is our third in a three-part series around values. If you haven't watched episodes five and six, basically, you need to go do that.  It will really give you some context around what we're talking about here.

In Ep5, we dug into the importance of values, and in Ep6, Gary took me through the process of figuring out what my top five values are.

In Ep7 here, we get into really answering the questions, "Great, I have these.  What now? What do I do with this information around what my top values are?  Both at a broad level and also just day-to-day - how do I use the disinformation that I have now to improve my relationships, improve my quality of life, improve how I feel about myself?"

So, this is super valuable and a lot of fun. You know, as I mentioned in Ep5, we did this series on values early on in the show because it's so critical.

Welcome to Ep6 of Concentric, this is our second in a three-part series around values. If you haven't checked out Ep5, I encourage you to do so.  It really sets the stage and gives you context around what we're talking about here:  the incredibly important aspect of identifying your values

In this episode, I dig in and go through this process.  I did it several years ago. But as we talked about in episode five, your values often evolve and change either dramatically or subtly as you enter different stages of life and you have new experiences.

It was really eye-opening to go through this process again with Gary, even with how difficult it can be.  And you'll see why it can be so difficult.  I'm forced to ask myself some of the tough questions.

But on the other side of this process, it's so valuable, so insightful to have this information.  To realize, "Oh, that's why I'm frustrated here. I don't get along with this person here. Or I do get along with this person because they're aligning with my values, or I'm frustrated here because I'm fighting my own values."

 So in this episode, we dig deep and give you some insight into how you can do the exact same thing.

Today starts our three-part series on Values.

We wanted to get into these early on because discovering your values and really identifying those top five values specifically ... it's foundational to everything you're going to do in life.  Certainly in your relationships, in how you interact with anyone in life, but especially how you interact with yourself.

And when you find those uncomfortable moments in life, or when you feel that overwhelming frustration, again ... especially with yourself, a lot of times you're living outside of those values and counter to what you truly value in life.

And if you haven't taken that time to identify what those are, how are you ever going to win? How are you going to get past those frustrations?

I did this process for the first time several years ago with Gary.  A very uncomfortable process to go through!  I joke about that because it's tough. It's asking a lot of the hard questions, but it's phenomenal on the other side.

Going through that process creates so many "aha" moments.  And it's so worthwhile.

So, in this first episode of the series, we dig into why it's critical that you figure these values out and why specifically it's your top five values, and what that means.

In Episode Six, we get into me going through that process and really getting a picture for you to see, "Okay, how can I whittle these down?"  Here are all the options that I could have.  But how do I identify mine and then pit the values against each other, essentially, to see which ones come out on top, identifying which ones are really core to you at this stage in your life?

And then in Episode Seven, we get into "Great, I've identified these.  Now what?  What's life like now? How do I use these insights to move forward and to improve my relationships?"