MindsetGo iCommunicate Podcast

Saying no is one of the hardest things to do. In this week’s episode of ICommunicate, Joe Lyman joins Mark to discuss when and how to be more assertive to set boundaries, avoid distractions and define levels of urgency.Segment 1: There are so many distractions and people that end up distracting us from our priorities, but sometimes we feel too guilty to turn down somebody who’s asking for our help. What are the benefits to establishing guidelines of communication as a leader? Segment 2:With so many opportunities knocking at our door, it becomes easy to let ourselves get sucked into a wormhole where we end up spending more time focusing on other people rather than taking care of our own needs. Why is it so hard to say no to people? How does our inability to say no impact our health and relationships?Segment 3: Self-reflection may bring to light certain habits and behaviors that we possess that are inadvertently causing us more stress. What habits can we form to improve our relationships with other people? How can we develop new habits that make managing attention and relationships less of a burden on our mental health?Segment 4: As leaders, we have made commitments to our teams, our clients, and our own well-being. How can we balance all of our commitments with incoming tasks?

There are two sides to every story. Understanding where someone else is coming from can have limitless benefits on your relationships and stronger teams. In part two of our empathy series on ICommunicate, Joe Lyman joins Mark to further discuss how to empathize with people that disappoint us as well as how to create a culture that encourages dialogue and vulnerability. Segment 1: Whether it’s a driver cutting us off on a freeway or an employee being late to work, our default reaction is to get annoyed and assume that the world is out to get us. Who deserves our empathy? How can we alter our mindset to better understand what people may be going through? Segment 2:Putting ourselves in somebody else’s shoes is usually much easier said than done, but that doesn’t mean we should give up on trying to understand why people feel the way they do. How can we come to better understand the people who may disappoint us? What strategies can we use to create a culture of empathy and vulnerability?Segment 3: In the heat of the moment, we tend to prioritize venting our frustrations to the person that we’re upset with rather than offering solutions or constructing a dialogue. How can we change this mindset and allow for a culture of dialogue within the workplace?Segment 4: When we start a dialogue on habits and behaviors with another person, we can’t usually expect an instant outcome. What steps can we take to motivate the people we care about? How do we make empathy effortless?

In this week’s episode of ICommunicate, Joe Lyman joins Mark to discuss how to use empathy as a tool for influence and to neutralize negativity. Segment 1: We’ve all been through our fair share of stress and hardships even before covid showed up. How can internal and external factors affect our mental health and how can we grow from our experiences? How can we improve our connection with other human beings even when the going gets tough?Segment 2:When we or someone we know is in a rough patch, connecting with someone and finding solutions to the problem may seem impossible. What can we do as leaders to support other people when they need it? Why is it important that we promote vulnerability, and how does that improve our ability to be empathetic?Segment 3: When a friend is feeling down, we usually feel the desire to try and find solutions even when we are so disconnected from the problem that there’s nothing we can really do. In these situations, how can we offer support? What’s the difference between empathy and compassion and how can we apply them in our day to day lives?Segment 4: When people aren’t meeting our expectations, it may be tempting to react before understanding their side of the story. How can we use empathy to neutralize negativity, and how will that impact our ability to connect with people moving forward?

ICommunicate Radio Show #124: Addition By Distraction by Mark Altman

Committing to a partner, whether in business or some other kind of relationship, often presents itself with the challenge of compromising on wants and needs. How can something as small and recreational as Fantasy Football or something as personal as pre-marriage counseling provide us with strategies on how to seek out and maintain a healthy relationship where all parties benefit? In this week’s episode of ICommunicate, Mark discusses what makes an ideal partnership, how to understand and influence people as well as how to effectively negotiate and compromise.Segment 1: Whether we find ourselves seeking a partner for business or romance, finding that perfect match is ultimately easier said than done. What do we expect out of a partner, and how can we communicate that with them? Segment 2:Negotiation is everywhere, whether it’s something as simple as deciding on where to eat for dinner or more significant like determining a salary for work. How can we learn from our experiences to improve our effectiveness in negotiating? How do we know what a successful negotiation looks like?Segment 3: It’s easy enough to get along with people whose opinions and core values align with ours, but what about everybody else? How can we frame conversations to allow for a win-win compromise? Segment 4: Once we’re comfortable committing to another individual, how do we know for sure that this person is a good partner for us? How do we set and manage expectations so that we can avoid having repeated conversations?

Day in and day out, we’re confronted with internal and external inhibitors that combat our motivation and commitment to our goals. Approaching our concerns and allowing ourselves the opportunity to reflect on who we are and who we want to become can be daunting. In this week’s episode of ICommunicate, Joe Lyman joins Mark to discuss how to set meaningful goals and manage our priorities as well as how to overcome feeling stuck and helpless upon self-reflecting.Segment 1: Far too often, we find ourselves hiding behind the excuse, “I’m too busy.” Is it a matter of fact that we truly have no time in the day, or are we struggling to set objectives and stay committed to them? How do we manage our priorities and set meaningful goals?Segment 2:We’ve all heard the expression, you can’t take care of others until you take care of yourself, but that’s much easier said than done. What kinds of goals should we be setting and how can we shift our habits and behaviors to more effectively reach them? How can we overcome feeling helpless and stuck when our day-to-day lives leave us drained?Segment 3: We’ve been told the benefits of meditation and self-reflection, but coming face-to-face with the obstacles that stand in the way of our goals can be overwhelming. What strategies can we use to ease our approach to the self-reflection process? How can we better understand the inhibitors to our goals and address them?Segment 4: 2020 has been a wild year, to say the least. What we may not realize is that this new normal that we’ve become so familiar with isn’t just going to disappear in an instant -- so what do we do from here on? What do we have to gain from our experiences thus far in 2020 and how can we use what we’ve learned to improve our emotional intelligence?

It’s time to stop treating rapport building like a tedious, uncomfortable step in the sales process. This underappreciated technique can be the determining factor in whether or not you’re able to close the sale. In this week’s episode of ICommunicate, Mark discusses the importance of emotional intelligence during rapport building as well as how to understand and act on the wants, needs, and fears of a potential customer.Segment 1: As salespeople, our worst nightmare more often than not is time. We only have so long to build rapport and sell our product, so it’s essential that we manage our priorities. How essential is rapport building and where can we find the time to incorporate it into our sales process?Segment 2:Surmounting that initial, awkward barrier that often presents itself during rapport building with a new client can be challenging, but not impossible with the right mindset. How do we proactively build rapport without coming off as a typical pushy salesperson? How can we utilize multi-generational intelligence to understand how to interact with members of different generations?Segment 3: The initial conversation with a potential prospect raises the questions: why you and why now? What are the most important pieces we need to retain from a sales call and how can we assess them?Segment 4: Connecting with a customer and empathizing with their situation is undervalued, especially given the impact it has on finding the right fit for them. How can we be memorable and make people feel heard? Why is it important that we empathize with our clients and how does it relate to the bigger picture?

The complications that surround important buying decisions, between managing a budget or potentially making a poor choice, often leave a buyer stressed and in need of guidance. In this week’s episode of ICommunicate, Mark discusses the keys to a seamless buying experience. From how to set and manage expectations, to gaining the trust of a prospect and finally, how to prove reliability through the post-buying phase.Segment 1: Think of your ideal buying experience -- your expectations, wants and needs, or method of purchase. How often do things go as planned? How can we improve the communication between the buyer and seller so that the desires of the customer are heard and validated?Segment 2:As educators and salespeople, meeting the needs and expectations of potential buyers sometimes feels like a guessing game. How can we proactively address concerns and perceptions and establish authority leading into the sale?Segment 3: When a sale isn’t headed in the direction we’d like, far too often we fall back on planting seeds of doubt about other products or even companies for the sake of upselling. How can we differentiate ourselves from other salespeople and gain the trust of a potential buyer? Segment 4: The word “estimate” is in and of itself an enigma to the customer, as it may raise concern about the reliability of the company and product. How can we be dependable and assure our customers of a complaint-free post buying process?

You’ve probably heard of a growth mindset, but what about a reductive mindset. A mindset that focuses on applying new strategies, improvements, and ideas to replace what you are already doing instead of adding to what seems like a never-ending to-do list. In this week’s episode of ICommunicate, Mark discusses how to apply the things you are learning to replace instead of add to your day to day responsibilities.Segment 1: Every day, we’re presented with an overwhelming amount of decisions to make but we have choices. What does it mean to have a reductive mindset and how is it applicable in everyday scenarios? How can we organize priorities and effectively manage our time and attention?Segment 2:We live in a world where worth is so often determined by achievement and growth, but we often expect recognition or instant gratification for our accomplishments. Why is it essential that we focus on personal growth whether or not we receive recognition for it?Segment 3: How can individual goals provide a foundation for team goals? Segment 4: How can we provide a platform for open and honest feedback? How can we ensure that our employees feel integral to the team and heard?

When people aren’t on the same page and expectations aren’t clear, company culture declines, people get frustrated, and progress seemingly halts. In this week’s episode of ICommunicate, Mark discusses how to motivate and inspire teams to work collaboratively and perform effectively.Segment 1: Despite what we may believe as leaders, our expectations for our employees aren’t always as clear as we make them out to be. How can having high expectations as a leader be detrimental to our teams? Segment 2:We may know our teams well enough to understand what motivates and drives them, but what about motivating them to change poor habits?Segment 3: Sometimes we’re the only thing standing in our way from becoming inspirational leaders. Overcoming that mental block and becoming self-aware of the effectiveness of our habits and behaviors is difficult, but possible with the right support. Segment 4: As leaders, we are constantly modeling behaviors for people, whether we like it or not. The whole, “do as I say, not as I do,” philosophy is convenient enough, but what does that say to our teams? How do we effectively demonstrate core values and recognize that they are being reciprocated by our teams?