Life Unsettled

Cognitive dissonance and how it affects business. In this episode, the psycho-babble is reduced to much of the root cause and why there is an easy fix, although most will not ever do it.

A definition is that cognitive dissonance is the mental stress or discomfort experienced by an individual who holds two or more contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values at the same time. It occurs when someone is confronted by new information that conflicts with existing beliefs, ideas, or values. Isn't that something that quickly resembles making decisions too early. That is, a person arrives at a conclusion and then as new information or ideas come to be known, they are weighing the decision already made versus one new data point.

This all quickly sounds like much of the election this year in 2016. I'm not talking politics nor any side. What I am referring to is the large number of people that long ago made up their mind on either side. When new information arrives and asked about it, they don't care. It may conflict with their preconceived ideas, which they will not re-evaluate. Rather, they will defend them to the end.

What concerns me, however, is not politics but your decisions in life an business. Someone who has an inconsistency, dissonance, is uncomfortable, but briefly, as they tend to avoid situations and information that will conflict with their decisions. Yes, even with new information, because it arrives one drop at a time, they push it away!

I point out here that decisions should not be made until it is necessary for exactly the reasons discussed. Why? Let's say you have a list of 37 pros and 25 cons on some topic and assume they are all of equal weight to make it easy. So, right now, you make the decision or belief it should be done or is positive. Well, over time with new information arriving, but one drip at a time, the tally is really 49 pros to 57 cons. You are on the wrong side of the issue. The key is to make decisions when necessary, not to hold opinions for the sake of arriving at conclusions! This goes a long way to avoiding cognitive dissonance.

Cognitive dissonance and how it affects business. In this episode, the psycho-babble is reduced to much of the root cause and why there is an easy fix, although most will not ever do it.

A definition is that cognitive dissonance is the mental stress or discomfort experienced by an individual who holds two or more contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values at the same time. It occurs when someone is confronted by new information that conflicts with existing beliefs, ideas, or values. Isn't that something that quickly resembles making decisions too early. That is, a person arrives at a conclusion and then as new information or ideas come to be known, they are weighing the decision already made versus one new data point.

This all quickly sounds like much of the election this year in 2016. I'm not talking politics nor any side. What I am referring to is the large number of people that long ago made up their mind on either side. When new information arrives and asked about it, they don't care. It may conflict with their preconceived ideas, which they will not re-evaluate. Rather, they will defend them to the end.

What concerns me, however, is not politics but your decisions in life an business. Someone who has an inconsistency, dissonance, is uncomfortable, but briefly, as they tend to avoid situations and information that will conflict with their decisions. Yes, even with new information, because it arrives one drop at a time, they push it away!

I point out here that decisions should not be made until it is necessary for exactly the reasons discussed. Why? Let's say you have a list of 37 pros and 25 cons on some topic and assume they are all of equal weight to make it easy. So, right now, you make the decision or belief it should be done or is positive. Well, over time with new information arriving, but one drip at a time, the tally is really 49 pros to 57 cons. You are on the wrong side of the issue. The key is to make decisions when necessary, not to hold opinions for the sake of arriving at conclusions! This goes a long way to avoiding cognitive dissonance.

Everybody is always wondering how to get a competitive advantage. In this episode, I discuss how to use honesty and integrity as a competitive edge.

An interesting dilemma it’s actually pointed out that almost everyone thinks of themselves as honest. But when I ask how many people do you know that are honest, I usually get an answer like very few. So while everybody thinks of themselves as honest, they generally don’t think other people are. This means that people have differing opinions of what honesty is.

Well, this just means it’s a lot harder to be perceived as honest then you might think. You will not only have to achieve honesty based on your own criteria, but I’m more global criteria as well.

In the episode, I gave several examples of how the perception of honesty can lead to much stronger and bigger and better relationships.

While this seems like a difficult maybe even very hard process be perceived as honest and with high integrity, by its very nature that makes it a huge competitive advantage.

Now, confidence in your honesty can also lead to problems. It is important to combine it with humility.

What this means if you are building trust with customers, workers and other colleagues.  This gives you the ability to become a true confidant to others. I give some examples how this helps me tremendously. I also give a couple of examples of people who said things of me or to me including Lee Iacocca.

Just think of how you feel went somebody makes unrealistic statements of promises to you. I’m always very disappointed when I hear people promising that they can help people get to 6 to 7 figures very quickly. Most of those people, I happen to know are not making very much money themselves.  Now, there are some that are doing quite well. But something like seven figures is an extreme rarity.

So, set your own competitive advantage by not making unrealistic promises and building trust that leads to long-term relationships. I will make you one promise. With most people trying to reach a goal with the quick fix, you may take a little longer but will have a tremendous competitive advantage and longer-term relationships. Check out my new website ThomasOGradyPhD.com and my new book “The Mechanics for Breakthrough Success.”  Let me know what you think. Thank you!

Everybody is always wondering how to get a competitive advantage. In this episode, I discuss how to use honesty and integrity as a competitive edge.

An interesting dilemma it’s actually pointed out that almost everyone thinks of themselves as honest. But when I ask how many people do you know that are honest, I usually get an answer like very few. So while everybody thinks of themselves as honest, they generally don’t think other people are. This means that people have differing opinions of what honesty is.

Well, this just means it’s a lot harder to be perceived as honest then you might think. You will not only have to achieve honesty based on your own criteria, but I’m more global criteria as well.

In the episode, I gave several examples of how the perception of honesty can lead to much stronger and bigger and better relationships.

While this seems like a difficult maybe even very hard process be perceived as honest and with high integrity, by its very nature that makes it a huge competitive advantage.

Now, confidence in your honesty can also lead to problems. It is important to combine it with humility.

What this means if you are building trust with customers, workers and other colleagues.  This gives you the ability to become a true confidant to others. I give some examples how this helps me tremendously. I also give a couple of examples of people who said things of me or to me including Lee Iacocca.

Just think of how you feel went somebody makes unrealistic statements of promises to you. I’m always very disappointed when I hear people promising that they can help people get to 6 to 7 figures very quickly. Most of those people, I happen to know are not making very much money themselves.  Now, there are some that are doing quite well. But something like seven figures is an extreme rarity.

So, set your own competitive advantage by not making unrealistic promises and building trust that leads to long-term relationships. I will make you one promise. With most people trying to reach a goal with the quick fix, you may take a little longer but will have a tremendous competitive advantage and longer-term relationships. Check out my new website ThomasOGradyPhD.com and my new book “

" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Mechanics for Breakthrough Success.”  Let me know what you think. Thank you!

Teamwork, team building and how ego can adversely affect your efforts.  The biggest mistake I see consistently across companies is that every individual wants to own everything, that is, every idea.

Every person wants to take each idea and show that it’s at least in part theirs or it is theirs.  What is more important success or your ego? Unfortunately, most can’t seem to determine or differentiate between the two.

Now, teamwork or Team building is all about buy-in.  The idea of course, is to get everybody joining forces together to accomplish something.

Take yourself out of the picture

In this episode, I give you a couple of examples of things I did to include everyone except me. That is, I actually intentionally left out myself in order to get tremendous acceptance.

I also give you a very detailed explanation of how the very same system the Japanese use is completely compatible and inside an American company.

So you decide, what do you want profitability or success or the credit for an idea? You follow these examples and ideas you’ll be pleased with the results. By the way, almost everything I have ever seen trying to explain Japanese systems was wrong. They just don’t really understand the Japanese culture.

If someone says they just bought a new car, do you ever hear somebody say, ‘I got a new (mentions the car)’.

Consensus Kills Results

The very concept of consensus is extremely annoying to me! Why? You’ll hear in this episode,” Consensus is the Minimization of Maximum Solutions.”  I am just going to let you think on that one. But the idea is that consensus is a compromise on every facet of a solution amongst all members in the group.

The key to the solution is that you have not let your ego get in the way of progress, success and team building. You have teamwork.

In here, I explain how the head of one company, where I worked, went ballistic because I reached profitability when he said wasn't possible.  He actually felt embarrassed rather than coming out and joining me in a celebration. Now I didn’t even celebrate nor did I even say anything because being quiet was more important to survival. I’m sorry, that is crazy.

I hope you can take some of these ideas and use humility.  Create teamwork through good team building whether it’s in your company or amongst your cohorts.

Pick up my just released book, "The Mechanics for Breakthrough Success" at Amazon, https://LifeUnsettled.com/bts Just implement a few of the ideas and you will be very pleased.

Teamwork, team building and how ego can adversely affect your efforts.  The biggest mistake I see consistently across companies is that every individual wants to own everything, that is, every idea.

Every person wants to take each idea and show that it’s at least in part theirs or it is theirs.  What is more important success or your ego? Unfortunately, most can’t seem to determine or differentiate between the two.

Now, teamwork or Team building is all about buy-in.  The idea of course, is to get everybody joining forces together to accomplish something.

Take yourself out of the picture

In this episode, I give you a couple of examples of things I did to include everyone except me. That is, I actually intentionally left out myself in order to get tremendous acceptance.

I also give you a very detailed explanation of how the very same system the Japanese use is completely compatible and inside an American company.

So you decide, what do you want profitability or success or the credit for an idea? You follow these examples and ideas you’ll be pleased with the results. By the way, almost everything I have ever seen trying to explain Japanese systems was wrong. They just don’t really understand the Japanese culture.

If someone says they just bought a new car, do you ever hear somebody say, ‘I got a new (mentions the car)’.

Consensus Kills Results

The very concept of consensus is extremely annoying to me! Why? You’ll hear in this episode,” Consensus is the Minimization of Maximum Solutions.”  I am just going to let you think on that one. But the idea is that consensus is a compromise on every facet of a solution amongst all members in the group.

The key to the solution is that you have not let your ego get in the way of progress, success and team building. You have teamwork.

In here, I explain how the head of one company, where I worked, went ballistic because I reached profitability when he said wasn't possible.  He actually felt embarrassed rather than coming out and joining me in a celebration. Now I didn’t even celebrate nor did I even say anything because being quiet was more important to survival. I’m sorry, that is crazy.

I hope you can take some of these ideas and use humility.  Create teamwork through good team building whether it’s in your company or amongst your cohorts.

Pick up my just released book, "The Mechanics for Breakthrough Success" at Amazon,

" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://LifeUnsettled.com/bts Just implement a few of the ideas and you will be very pleased.

 

Success in business requires a true comprehensive look at the business both internally and externally. Most businesses fail. The numbers most commonly stated are 80 to 90 percent of businesses fail. So, in this episode, the topic is how to reduce the probability that yours is one of those failures.

By understanding and knowing what might cause failure, you are also aiding both the success and the growth of your company.

When starting a business, you should always have at least the basics of the business plan. This serves several purposes. The most apparent is keeping you on target and focused. However, it also drastically increases your probability of success in business. With limited time, I will cover the various topics that should at least be monitored.

You should have a thorough industry analysis that is continuously look at and updated. An industry analysis includes an understanding of the size of the industry, the technology being used and its future as well as the changes affecting it.

Customer understanding an analysis are of course key to developing the right product and positioning that product to be attractive to the customer. This includes more than just an avatar person, but the comprehensive demographics.

A thorough understanding of competitors as well as potential competitors. Potential competitors really means the ease of entry into the business. Yes, if it’s easy for you to get into the business, it is easy for others to enter as well. That means even if you found a profitable business it may soon be crowded with competition.

Also, there is only so much in a person’s budget. For example, if you are trying to sell the latest antioxidant juice, it is not only other juices that our competitors. You have competitors from other products that reduce people’s antioxidant levels as well as the limits on a person’s willingness to spend on their health. That is, everyone has a budget constraint even if it is a little flexible.

Customer satisfaction, while often quoted, is usually not well understood. It can be so much more comprehensive than just keeping somebody happy that is buying your product. While it is very difficult and much more expensive to get new customers, many businesses forget how important it is to keep existing customers happy and returning.

Probably the most important factor in success in business is good financial planning. Rapid growth can actually kill a business. Yes, one company that I know, grew too fast.Now almost everybody reading this, will gloss over this part as it is and can be one of the most boring. However, 70% of business failures our caused by business financial mismanagement. One example I discuss is a $10 million company that almost went out of business because it was growing rapidly and their success was actually killing them.

Taking a comprehensive look at your business helps you to see the alternatives. You are constantly having in mind the overall long-run goals of the company and the pieces needed for long term success. Too many people focus on the short run and dying in the long run.

This episode was partly motivated at the request of a listener along with the constant drum beat of bad advisors telling people to do things at most times don’t make sense. Please, only take advice from people who have done it. There’s enough information in social media and other websites to differentiate whether somebody really has the background and experience to justify the advice they’re giving. I continuously see people who just want to start a business and the business they start is either business advice or business coaching or life coaching. Starting your business is not hard, but being a success in business is.(See Episode 11)

Success in business requires a true comprehensive look at the business both internally and externally. Most businesses fail. The numbers most commonly stated are 80 to 90 percent of businesses fail. So, in this episode, the topic is how to reduce the probability that yours is one of those failures.

By understanding and knowing what might cause failure, you are also aiding both the success and the growth of your company.

When starting a business, you should always have at least the basics of the business plan. This serves several purposes. The most apparent is keeping you on target and focused. However, it also drastically increases your probability of success in business. With limited time, I will cover the various topics that should at least be monitored.

You should have a thorough industry analysis that is continuously look at and updated. An industry analysis includes an understanding of the size of the industry, the technology being used and its future as well as the changes affecting it.

Customer understanding an analysis are of course key to developing the right product and positioning that product to be attractive to the customer. This includes more than just an avatar person, but the comprehensive demographics.

A thorough understanding of competitors as well as potential competitors. Potential competitors really means the ease of entry into the business. Yes, if it’s easy for you to get into the business, it is easy for others to enter as well. That means even if you found a profitable business it may soon be crowded with competition.

Also, there is only so much in a person’s budget. For example, if you are trying to sell the latest antioxidant juice, it is not only other juices that our competitors. You have competitors from other products that reduce people’s antioxidant levels as well as the limits on a person’s willingness to spend on their health. That is, everyone has a budget constraint even if it is a little flexible.

Customer satisfaction, while often quoted, is usually not well understood. It can be so much more comprehensive than just keeping somebody happy that is buying your product. While it is very difficult and much more expensive to get new customers, many businesses forget how important it is to keep existing customers happy and returning.

Probably the most important factor in success in business is good financial planning. Rapid growth can actually kill a business. Yes, one company that I know, grew too fast.Now almost everybody reading this, will gloss over this part as it is and can be one of the most boring. However, 70% of business failures our caused by business financial mismanagement. One example I discuss is a $10 million company that almost went out of business because it was growing rapidly and their success was actually killing them.

Taking a comprehensive look at your business helps you to see the alternatives. You are constantly having in mind the overall long-run goals of the company and the pieces needed for long term success. Too many people focus on the short run and dying in the long run.

This episode was partly motivated at the request of a listener along with the constant drum beat of bad advisors telling people to do things at most times don’t make sense. Please, only take advice from people who have done it. There’s enough information in social media and other websites to differentiate whether somebody really has the background and experience to justify the advice they’re giving. I continuously see people who just want to start a ...

How do you achieve success and how do you or can you know your limits? This episode was the result of not being able to answer easily a question on a radio interview. That question was,” what was the key trigger or breakthrough in your life?”

My problem with the question really goes back to the title of my book,” The Mechanics for Breakthrough Success.”

Let me explain why this question is absolutely so important. If you have a goal in life, when you are successful you can look back and see what triggered that success. It is important to note that if you are repeatedly succeed to new levels, you will have breakthroughs along each one. It requires motivation, an open mind to new opportunities, a willingness to move outside your comfort zone and to engage in and with new audiences, i.e. new contacts and friends.

Another way to explain this is that most people as they approach their goal they start to slow down as they fill in their success. However, as you’re on your journey to your goal, you going to learn new things and see new opportunities. The difference is explained more fully in the audio episode.  When you see these new opportunities, do you set new goals or do you get off the success train at the stop and enjoy the success you’ve already had.

So, when asked the question, I have several things to list.

When I was in the military and went Russian language school, completing something that I never thought was possible for me. The breakthrough was when a professor sat down with a friend and myself and put it all in perspective.

Another breakthrough came when I was put in charge of Russian analysis.

Another came when I was offered the nominations for three fellowships at Hofstra University.

Another breakthrough came when I learned Japanese better than I ever learned Russian by applying what I learned in the language school.

I was certainly shocked upon being admitted to UC Berkeley for the graduate program in mathematical and statistical economics. It was an even further surprise and breakthrough when a Nobel prize winner, Gerard Debreu, asked and urged me to do a dissertation under him.

There are several others mentioned in the episode and the book, but that is not important. Only what you can glean from the experience and how I learned from it is important.

Now, each of these breakthroughs were very significant and got me to achieve success in new, different and better things. Each one was created by the success of earlier ones. It doesn't matter whether this is personal success or business success as you are building your skill set and opportunities.

As I approached the goal I was pursuing in each case new opportunities I arose. Additionally, not only did each goal give me more confidence but they were many mini goals along the path. So part of the process of achieving success is that success compounds opportunities. The problem largely for most people is that they do not recognize nor desire to work towards new opportunities after achieving what they thought they were going to do. There is more detail in the episode and a Great deal more in my just-released book, ”The Mechanics for Breakthrough Success.”

How do you achieve success and how do you or can you know your limits? This episode was the result of not being able to answer easily a question on a radio interview. That question was,” what was the key trigger or breakthrough in your life?”

My problem with the question really goes back to the title of my book,” The Mechanics for Breakthrough Success.”

Let me explain why this question is absolutely so important. If you have a goal in life, when you are successful you can look back and see what triggered that success. It is important to note that if you are repeatedly succeed to new levels, you will have breakthroughs along each one. It requires motivation, an open mind to new opportunities, a willingness to move outside your comfort zone and to engage in and with new audiences, i.e. new contacts and friends.

Another way to explain this is that most people as they approach their goal they start to slow down as they fill in their success. However, as you’re on your journey to your goal, you going to learn new things and see new opportunities. The difference is explained more fully in the audio episode.  When you see these new opportunities, do you set new goals or do you get off the success train at the stop and enjoy the success you’ve already had.

So, when asked the question, I have several things to list.

* When I was in the military and went Russian language school, completing something that I never thought was possible for me. The breakthrough was when a professor sat down with a friend and myself and put it all in perspective.

* Another breakthrough came when I was put in charge of Russian analysis.

* Another came when I was offered the nominations for three fellowships at Hofstra University.

* Another breakthrough came when I learned Japanese better than I ever learned Russian by applying what I learned in the language school.

* I was certainly shocked upon being admitted to UC Berkeley for the graduate program in mathematical and statistical economics. It was an even further surprise and breakthrough when a Nobel prize winner, Gerard Debreu, asked and urged me to do a dissertation under him.

* There are several others mentioned in the episode and the book, but that is not important. Only what you can glean from the experience and how I learned from it is important.

Now, each of these breakthroughs were very significant and got me to achieve success in new, different and better things. Each one was created by the success of earlier ones. It doesn't matter whether this is personal success or business success as you are building your skill set and opportunities.

As I approached the goal I was pursuing in each case new opportunities I arose. Additionally, not only did each goal give me more confidence but they were many mini goals along the path. So part of the process of achieving success is that success compounds opportunities. The problem largely for most people is that they do not recognize nor desire to work towards new opportunities after achieving what they thought they were going to do. There is more detail in the episode and a Great deal more in my just-released book, ”The Mechanics for Breakthrough Success.”