English in business

Unit 1
ENGLISH IN BUSINESS
 
THE MORE, THE BETTER?
 
«English is more and morenecessary for international business, but less and less sufficient»(LeonardOrban, EU Commissioner for Multilingualism)
1 Pre-reading task. Discuss the following questionsin groups:
-People have always needed a common language tocommunicate. What language have they used for this purpose in Europe?
-What language have European community had as aninternational one in different periods of history?
-What language do you learn as a second language?How can you apply the knowledge of English in your future life? What are yourambitions?
2 Read the following statement. Do you agree ordisagree? Prepare arguments to support your view. “English is more and morenecessary for international business, but less and less sufficient”
 
PART I
 
3 Read, learn and keep in memory the followingexpressions, try to use them in your own sentences:
-public funding
-tangible return on investment
-to benefit from learning a foreign language
-competition for public funding
-market failure
-insufficient language skills
-the revealing results
-inadequate intercultural skills
-small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
-the total value of smth
-a quantifiable benefit
-to undertake a number of studies
-export markets
4 Read the first part of the text
 
YOUR BENEFITS FROM LEARNING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE
 
a) Whyshould you learn a foreign language? That might seem like a stupid question,particularly coming from a company that publisheslanguage-learning magazines. Surely, the more foreign languages you can speak,the better. Yes, probably. But sometimes simple questions are not as stupid asthey seem.
Of course, it's easy to think ofreasons for learning languages. You can travel more easily, communicate withmore people, and learn about other countries and cultures. Languages can alsohelp you in your current job, or be an advantage if you want a new job.
b)But look again at that last paragraph. It's all about «you, you,you». You benefit privately from learning a foreign language. You benefitin your career, language skills benefit society more generally —for example, by improving internationalunderstanding. And companies benefit from the language skills of theiremployees.
c)Anne Davidson Lund, a director of CILT, the National Centre for Languages inthe UK. says: “figures speak more loudly than words in a climate where languagelearning is not an unquestioned right, where competition for public fundingfor education and training is intense, and where the prize goes to those whocan show a tangible return on investment in terms of their nation'sbank balance. Can we win that prize for languages?"
d) Lundargued that, if the business sector wants to secure more public funding forforeign-language education and training, it must show that language skillsbring a quantifiable benefit to companies. Also, the business sectormust show that there is «market failure»: that is, firms are notcurrently getting all the language skills they need.
CILT has undertaken a number ofstudies to look into these questions. The most important one was the 2007«ELAN» study {Effects on the EuropeanUnion Economy of Shortages of Foreign Language Skills in Enterprise—see box, page 19)for the European Commission. This looked at firms in29 European countries andtried to quantify the value of contracts lost because of insufficient languageskills.
e)The results were revealing. The report found that there was a clear linkbetween language skills and export success. And among a sample of 2,000small- andmedium-sized enterprises (SMEs), 11per cent said that they had lost contracts as aresult of a lack of language skills. (In most countries, ten per cent said theyhad also lost contracts because of inadequate intercultural skills.)Some of these contracts were worth over €1million, with the average being €345,000.The report estimated that the total value of lostbusiness to the EU economy because of poor language skills in SMEs was around €100billion a year.
f)The ELAN report identified four key elements of language management incompanies that were successful in export markets:"…having a language strategy, appointing nativespeakers, recruiting staff with language skills and using translators and interpreters".An SME investing in all of these four elements was found to have anexport-sales proportion 44.5 percent higher than one that does not do so.
5 Read through the first part of the article quicklyonce more. Match each sentence 1-7 to the sentence a-g that should logicallyfollow it.
1 Foreign languages can
2 You benefit privately
3 You can travel more easily, communicate with morepeople and
4 Language skills benefit society more generally by
5 The prize goes to those who can show a
6 If you want to secure more public funding forforeign-language training and educations…
7 Four key elements of language management forsuccess in export markets are:
a)  itmust show that language skills bring a quantifiable benefit to companies
b)  improvinginternational understanding
c)  alanguage strategy, appointing native speakers, recruiting staff with languageskills and using translators and interpreters
d)  alsohelp you in your current job
e) learn about other countries and cultures
f)tangible return on investment in terms of their nation’s bank balance
g)from learning a foreign language
6 Think about the questions to paragraphs A-F whichrequire the answers, presenting the main idea of each paragraph.
PART II
 
1. Read, learn and remember the followingexpressions, try to use them in your own sentences:
-to make recommendations for improving languageskills
-regional and minority languages
-linguistic diversity
-to gain a competitive advantage
-less sufficient
-mother tongue
-to deal with different languages
-the importance of implementing strategies fordeveloping the language skills
-disseminating best practices on language strategies
-targeting the official language
-to master the language of the consumers
-to have access to the behaviour and attitudes ofothers
-to target English as a priority
-to meet companies’ language needs
-challenges facing multinational companies
-to integrate employees into their workforces
2 Read the text
COMPANIES SHOULD INVEST MORE INFOREIGN-LANGUAGE SKILLS
Following the ELAN report, LeonardOrban, the EU Commissioner for Multilingualism, set up the «Business Forumfor Multilingualism» to make recommendations for improving language skillsin EU companies Orban speaks about the role of foreign languages in business.
1) Why is multilingualism soimportant for the EU?
The EU already has 23official languages, more than 60regional and minority languages and hundreds ofother languages spoken by people originally from outside the EU. We now want tomake full use of this linguistic diversity. We want to show that, ratherthan being a burden, it is an asset for the EU —for cultural, educational and professional reasons.Also, EU companies can gain a competitive advantage through foreignlanguage skills. But one of the main ideas from the Business Forum forMultilingualism is that English is not enough. English is more and morenecessary for international business, but less and less sufficient.
2) So, how good are the languageskills of EU citizens?
Weare still a long way from our goal of every citizen learning at least twoforeign languages. Only 28 percent of European citizens are able to speak at least two foreign languages. Andnearly half of European citizens can speak only their mother tongue.
3) What role should companies playhere?
Companies should invest more indeveloping the abilities of their workers to deal with different languages. Ithink especially at the level of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)there is not enough awareness of the importance of languages other thanEnglish and of the importance of implementing strategies for developingtheir employees' language skills. So we have made a number of recommendationsin the report on ways to help firms. Of course, increased financial supportshould be considered — atthe EU level, but also at national, regional and local levels. But we alsopropose a new European internet platform for collecting and disseminatingbest practices on language strategies.
4) But are language skills only thecompanies' responsibility?
No, it's a shared responsibility.The European institutions also have a contribution to make, but so dothe member states through improvements in their education systems. And so doindividuals themselves.
5) Latin is still one of the mostcommon foreign languages taught in educational institutions. Shouldn't thistime and effort be spent more usefully on modern foreign languages?
Our task in the European Commissionis to defend andpromote the linguistic diversity in Europe. Thatmeans targeting mainly the official languages of the EU. So, we lookless at languages like Latin or ancient Greek. But these languages, even thoughthey are no longer tools of communication, can be useful in terms of personaldevelopment. So we are not against these languages. But we would encouragepeople to learn a large variety of European languages. There are so manylanguages — forexample, those of neighbouring countries in the EU, or of non-EU countries —and people should choose whatever languages theywant.
6) When you say people should learntwo foreign languages, do you mean two EU languages?
No, Europeans should also learn thelanguages of non-EU countries. For example, there are more and more Chinesepeople who are learning European languages. But Europeans should also learnMandarin, Russian, Urdu, Japanese and so on. This will help not onlyindividuals but also our companies, and so help the Union to become more competitive.
7) But, surely, learning betterEnglish is still the priority for many EU employees.
Of course, we acknowledge thatEnglish is more or less a lingua franca for communication betweencompanies. And we are talking about the need for good English, because veryoften people speak bad English. But when you are addressing consumers,it is a completely different story. English is not enough. You need to masterthe language of your consumers. For example, it has been shown that many peoplein Germany don't understand advertising slogans that are in English. And we arenot only talking about language skills; we're talking about interculturalskills. Teaching a language doesn't mean just teaching grammar, pronunciationetc. It means teaching a culture, literature and so on. It means having accessto the behaviour and attitudes of others. We need to understand thatothers may think in a different way. These are the sorts of skills that areneeded to do business in other places. So, while English will continue to beimportant, companies should add other languages, and other abilities, in orderto become more competitive.
8) Which, then, are the mostimportant foreign languages for EU workers to learn apart from English?
That's not for us to say. It's upto every company to decide which language skills they need, according totheir activities and plans. For example, some companies may target Mandarin asa priority. Others may target Hindi. We don't want to tell the companies whatto do. We just want to tell them that languages are an important part of theirperformance, and that they should consider this seriously.
9) Don't firms solve their languageneeds pragmatically by, for example, hiring people from other countries whospeak two other languages as well as their native tongue?
Yes, in many cases, companies do meettheir language needs by finding the right people to employ. On the otherhand, as politicians, we have to think about all European citizens and givethem the chance to become more competitive and to find better jobs. It is alsoto the advantage of EU companies if they can find people in their own countrieswith the necessary language skills. And, as we say in our report, one of themain challenges facing multinational companies in the EU —and society more generally —is to integrate employees from differentnationalities and ethnic backgrounds into their workforces. And thismeans that the training of existing employees could be the best option.
3 Match each sentence 1-10 to the sentence a-j thatshould logically follow it.
1 EU companies can gain…
2 Only 28% of European citizens are able
3 Companies should invest more in
4 We propose a new European internet platform for
5 Our task in the European Community is
6 We acknowledge that English is more or less a
7 Teaching a language doesn’t mean
8 While English will continue to be important,
9 It’s up to every company to decide which language
10 One of the main challenges facing multinationalcompanies in EU is
a) collecting and disseminating best practices onlanguage strategies
b) lingua franca for communication between companies
c) a competitive advantage through foreign languageskills
d) integrate employees from different nationalitiesand ethnic backgrounds
e) companies should add other languages and otherabilities in order to become more competitive
f) to speak at least two foreign languages
g) to promote the linguistic diversity
h) skills they need, according to their activitiesand plans
i) just teaching grammar and pronunciation, but alsoa culture, literature and so on
j) developing the abilities of their workers to dealwith different languages
4 Read through the article, part two once more. Tryto summarize in a sentence what each paragraph 1-9 is about
5 Read the questions which are the headings of theparagraphs 1-9. Answer the questions. Don’t look into the text.
! Home assignment: getready to speak about the problems of multilingualism in European community. Formore information use the following sites:
For moreinformation: Companies work betterwith languages — theBusiness Forum for Multilingualism, European Commission: ec.europa.eu/
education/languages/news/newsl669_ en. htm
Effects on the EuropeanUnion Economy of Shortages of Foreign Language Skills in Enterprise (ELAN), EuropeanCommission (2007): www.cilt.org.uk/research/projects/ empioyment/elan. htm
Europeans andLanguages, Eurobarometer Report (2006),European Commission: for Europe, ConferenceReport (2008), BritishCouncil: www. britishcouncil. de/pdf/report08. pdf
ORGANIZATIONS
■British Council: www.britishcouncil.org
■CILT, the NationalCentre for Languages: www.cilt.org.uk EuropeanCommission (Multilingualism): ec.europa.eu/
education/languages/index__ en. Htm

Unit 2
WORK AND LIFE BALANCE
 
1 Many business people are facingthe problem of how to keep a balance between theirbusiness career and private life. Whatpriorities would you set up if dealing with the sameproblem?
2 Read and discuss three parts ofthe article by Vicki Sussens-Messerer«Fitting it all» inwhich she presenfthree different pointson work-life balance ( Spotlight6/2008).
FITTING IT ALL
PENNY FERGUSON, mother of six andowner of leadership-development company Penny Ferguson Limited, in Newbury,England.
Penny Ferguson is sitting in the log-cabinoffice in the garden of her country home in Newbury, in southern England.The 65-year-old British leadership specialist has just spent 20minutes relaxing in an armchair. She arrived backfrom Canada the night before and was up early for a breakfast meeting withclients. She is tired and in a reflective mood. «I have consciouslystarted to take more quality time for me,» she says. "That is a big change because I chose to work prettyhard for the last ten years."
In fact, Ferguson has worked hardher whole life. She has six children, five grandchildren and four terriers, andstarted her company at the age of fifty. At one point, she had six smallchildren, two step-children and nine dogs. «I used to go shoppingwith eight children,» she says. «I had the three eldest pushing theyoungest in the prams and I held the hands of the middle two».
Ferguson had her first child at 21and her last at 29. In the middle, shemarried for the second time. «I laugh about this now, but when it came tothe sixth child, I really didn't know how to fit him into theschedule.» She had an eight-bedroom house, which she says she ran likeclockwork. She had a mother's help, but not all the time. «Iwould get up at 5.30 a.m.,have a bath and change before I did the baby's first feed of the day. I wouldmake the children's beds as their feet touched the floor. I would take themdownstairs and give them breakfast. Then I would drop the boys at theirschool and Lucy at nursery school. In total, I drove 92 miles (146 km) a day on school rounds. Between rounds,I did the washing, ironing, cooking and shopping. The last thing I did,before I fell into bed at night, was to put the washing in the machine.»
But Ferguson doesn't think this isgood time-management. «I fooled myself into believing that beingefficient made me happy. But what was more important — keeping the house perfect or having quality timewith children?» Between her second and third marriages, Ferguson was asingle mother for six years, at one stage holding three jobs.
3 Sort out the statements belowinto TRUE or FALSE:
1 PennyFerguson was married two times.
2Penny has a dog.
3 Pennykeeps her house perfect.
4 Penny'schildren attended schools which were quite a distance from her house/
5 Nobodyhelped Penny with her kids.
6 Pennyhad to do a lot of washing.
7 Pennyis sure that being effective makes a person happy.
8 Tomake money enough, Penny had several jobs.
9 PennyFerguson has never had much time for herself.
10 Pennyhad had six kids by the time she was 30.
CARY COOPER, author and professorof organizational psychology and health at Lancaster University ManagementSchool
Сагу Cooper,professor at Lancaster University Management School, is chaotic. The coauthorof Detox Your Desk, Declutter Your Life and Mind (CapstonePress, ISBN 978-1-84112-787-3) knowshe has an interview at 7 p.m.,but forgot that it was with us. When I phone at the agreed time, he is notthere. But the guru on work-life balance is, surprisingly, always available.His answering machine greets me cheerfully and suppliesseveral ways to find him. When he answers his mobile, he is in his car, stuckin a traffic jam. He promises to be home in 15minutes, which he is.
«I guess I seem ajumble,» says Cooper, an American who lives with his British wife inPoynton, near Manchester. «But I am actually quite organized. I know whatthe big things are that I have to achieve. It's the things in between that I juggle.»But he likes it that way:«I would have huge problems if everything wasplanned for me.»
That's why he gives out histelephone numbers. «I like to be disturbed! I find the interruptionsstimulating. I like it when a journalist calls me. They often ask,»Cooper, what do you think about X?", and I think «Oh, that's fascinating!»Then I jump back into my writing again. I can't write at home; it's tooquiet. But I guess I'm unusual this way."
Yet Cooper gets his work done.Today, for example, aside from his normal university duties, he finishesediting three chapters of a book he is writing on managing stress, he did two liveBBC interviews, and gave an interview for both The Times and TheDaily Express. What's his secret? «I always start the day by prioritizing,and plan the big items well. But I am lucky because I can processinput fast, I write quickly, and I am able to talk off the cuff.
»I don't want work to dominatemy life," says Cooper, adding that his first marriage suffered because hespent too much time at work. «I wasn't there for my two oldest children.So, after I remarried, I decided to work bloody hard so I couldget home early.» Now, when he stops working, he really stops, he says.
4Answer the questions about Cary Cooper's story:
1 Whatnationality is Cary Cooper?
2 Ishe easy to access?
3  Whydid Cooper's first marriage suffer?
4  CanCary Cooper improvise easily when communicating with people?
5  DoesCary like to share his views with other people?
6  Doyou agree that Cary Cooper is the guru on work-life balance?
7 Can Cooper type fast?
8  Isthe family important for Cooper?
9  Whatcan stimulate Cary Cooper?
10Canwe say that Cooper is a well-known person?
TIMOTHY FERRIS, author of The4-Hour Workweek and owner of a dietary-supplement business.
Timothy Ferris claims youcan run a global company and do all your work in four hours a week — if you want to. One way is to outsource mostof your life. Ferris uses service providers for more than just to help run his dietary-supplementbusiness, Brain-QUICKEN. According to his bestseller, The 4-HourWorkweek (Random House, ISBN 978-0-307-35313-9), hehas also outsourced private jobs to an Asian company called «Your Man inIndia». Asha, his contact there, has paid his bills and bought toysfor his son. He once even wrote an e-mail to Ferris's wife when she was angrywith Timothy, who also outsourced our interview request to his book publicist.The author is tango dancing in Buenos Aires — so instead of an interview, the publicist refers usto his book.
«Most of us work like hell tosave for a future dream,» writes the crusader of living-for-now. Hesays an investment banker friend once said that, if he worked an 80-hour weekfor nine years, he could become an MD(managing director) and make up to $10million a year. «Dude, what would you do withthat money?» Ferris asked him. «take a trip to Thailand,» the
banker answered. «Guesswhat?» writes Ferris in his book. «You can do that for less than $3,000!»
Ferris himself takes many «mini-retirements»a year, when he combines a burning interest with a destination. So,for example, when he lived in Rio de Janeiro, he learned Portuguese andBrazilian jujitsu, and while he was in Hong Kong he even acted in a verypopular television series.
Ferris says the concept of workingnine to five is totally arbitrary. «It means we have to planthings to keep us busy all day.» To manage his time, he applies the 80/20«Pareto principle», which says that 80per cent of results flow from only 20per cent of inputs. «I found out that only fiveof 120 wholesalescustomers were ordering regularly and bringing in 95per cent of revenues. Yet I was spending 98per cent of my time chasing the remainder. Allof my problems came from this unproductive majority.» Ferris also takesnote of Parkinson's Law, which says that the more time you have to finish atask, the longer it takes.
It may be too early to say theyoung Ferris has found work-life heaven: his life has been filled with crazy,failed initiatives. But his time-saving ideas are worth noting. One of the toptips in this day of information overkill is never to read anewspaper, but to outsource this task, too. «I ask people what's new, andthe do the job for me,» he says.
5 Complete the sentences below:
1Timothy Ferris runsbusiness.
2Timothy wrote a bestseller "".
3 Timothyis sure that one good way to manage time is toto other people.
4 Timothy'sfriend had a dream
5 Ferrishas a rest from his business
6 Timothydoesn't take the conceptas obligatory for everyone.
7Pareto principle says that
8 Ferrisfound out that onlybrought him 95 percent of revenues.
9fromunproductive majority.
10isnever to read a newspaper.
6 Comment on the word combinationswhich you came across when reading three stories. Go back to the context toexplain and illustrate:
To have a reflective mood,step-children, at one stage, clockwork, to detox, to declutter, to processinput fast, to talk off the cuff, to outsource, dietary-supplement, to combinea burning interest with a destination, the concept of working nine to five,information overkill.
7 The table below contains a listof personal time-management recommendations and tips coming from PennyFerguson, Cary Cooper and Timothy Ferris. Read all three lists, think and say:
Whose list fits you personally thebest?
Which items given in three lists doyou consider of major importance?
Which items would you never includeinto your list of time-management tips?
What is your personaltime-management achievement?
What is your worst time-managementsin?
What five points out of three listsdo you consider the most important and useful?
What five points would you put intoyour personal list of time-management tips?
/>PennyFerguson
 
СагуCooperon their time management
 
Timothy Ferris
My time management
routine: Istart the day by prioritizing. Then I force myself with the things that areimportant and don't allow myself to be distracted. I choose a quiet timein the day to delete unimportant e-mails.
What's on my desk that shouldn't bethere: Sweets. Bits of paper that I have pickedup more than once and then put down again, rather than dealing with them.Private photos that have been there for a month and that I haven't yet sortedout.
Biggest distractions: E-mails.People don't distract me because I am good at politely getting rid of those whodisturb me.
My biggest time-waste: Thinkingabout private things I can't do anything about at work, especially things thathappened in the past and that might happen in the future.
Top time-management tip: Decidewhat is important by asking. If this was never dealt with, would it matter? Wetend to think of ourselves as two people — a work person and a private person. But we shouldintegrate the time-management skills we learn at home at work, and viceversa.
The first thing I do in themorning: Prioritize! I open my e-mails, print outthe ones I need, walk to my secretary's office, where the printer is, collectthem and then order them on my desk Then I use them to write my «things todo » list. Mytime-management sin: Waiting until the last minute to do smaller writingjobs. This is bad time management. But I haven't yet let anyone down. Thebiggest nuisance on my desk: The pile of papers I don't really want tothrow out but don't quite know what to do with. At some stage, I'll go throughthem and throw most of them out. My biggest time-management achievement: I'vestopped trying to change colleagues who are negative. This caused me morestress than anything else. Top time-management tip: Set an exit time everyday. If you know that you have to leave at a certain time, you'll make sure youget the important things done. You won't get everything done, but you have tostop somewhere if you want to have a life outside work.
Focus on doing only those thingsthat bring income: Ask yourself, «IfI had a heart attack and had to work two hours a week, what time-consumingactivities -e-mail, phone calls, conversations, paper work, meetings, dealingwith customers, etc. — wouldI cut out?» Used even once a month this question can keep you san and ontrack. Fold a standard piece of paper three times to make a small to-do list: Neverhave more than two critical items on it.
Decide which items are the mostcritical: Ask yourself, «If this is the onlything I accomplish today, will I be satisfied with my day?» Put apost-it on your computer screen with the question, «Are you inventingthings to do to avoid the important things?» Accomplish more in less time:Leave work at 4 p.m.and take Monday and/or Friday off. This will force you to prioritize and workmore quickly. Use short deadlines to force immediate action and ignoreunimportant things.
Answer e-mails twice a day: Havethe automated message telling people the two times in the day you read yourmessage and refer them to voice mail they need you urgently.

Unit 3
DECISION MAKING
 
1 Wecannot not make decisions. Even when we decide not to decide, this is a decision. Read the questions below, think and answer them:
Have you ever been taught decisionmaking? When, where and for what reason?
What exactly is decision making?
What are the key steps in decisionmaking?
What makes people take baddecisions?
What kind of decision maker areyou?
2Readthe article by Bob Dignen from Business Spotlight (6/2008).Pay specialattentiontoand memorize the vocabulary in bold type.
TAKING THE PLUNGE
International business is a worldof complexity, ambiguity and paradoxes. Decisions are often made on thebasis of limited information, which makes risk management an essential discipline.And instead of the clear top-down decision-making structures ofthe past, organizations now expect individuals and teams to work autonomouslyat all levels. Greater cultural diversity has also widened the range ofdecision-making styles and processes, and increased the potential for conflict.
1Whatis decision making?
Most people would argue thatwe take business decisions to reach personal, team and organizationalgoals and that the art of decision making is simply to choose the rightoption from a range of possibilities. But, inpractice, decision making is more complex.
First, the motivations behind ourdecisions may be less rational and strategic than we think: political loyalties,beliefs, environmental constraints, ethical factors and evenirrational motives may play a significant role.
Second, decisions are not isolatedevents but part of a context of decision making.
2Keysteps in decision making
To understand decision makingbetter, it helps if we break down the process into various steps:
a)Decide to decide. Thefirst step is to recognize that a decision needs to be taken to achieve aparticular goal. This may be easier for some people than for others. Those who lackself-confidence ox fear risk may be indecisive, preferringto wait and see what happens rather thanacting. Others may decide to act too quickly withoutthinking through the consequences, andso may be seen as impetuous.
Cultural issues may also be significant.In some national or organizational cultures, only those in seniorpositions can «decide to decide». In collective cultures,this decision may be a group process, which could require time to get acritical mass to support. This can be frustrating to those froma more individualistic culture, but rushing this process couldlead to decisions that do not have wide acceptance.
b)Collect and evaluate information.Effective decision making requires reliable
information. But you should not collect so much information that you endup confused and paralyzed.Indeed, it will often be impossible to collect all the relevant informationin thenecessarytimeframe. A certain information risk is oftenpresent. It can help to involve others inthe information collection process to get as wide a range of opinions aspossible. This providesnot only better insight, but also potentially greater involvementin the implementationof any decisions.
It isimportant to set clear and relevant criteria to evaluate possibleoptions. If a human-resources manager is to select training providers, price isan easy criterion to look at, but it may not be as relevant as quality criteriasuch as experience with similar companies, the ability to innovate or beingable to deliver training in different languages.
Finally, you should know when notto take a decision. Resist the pressure to decide if you feelthat waiting will allow questions to be clarified or new alternatives toemerge.
c)Decide on an option. Anumber of problem-solving tools can help you to compare theadvantages and disadvantages of different options.On the basis of such tools and a certainamount of gut feeling, you should selectthe option that you think has the greatest probabilityof success.
Things may still stand inyour way. A new turn of events may require you to rethink things.Unexpected resistance from others may necessitate a u-turn. Youyourself may lack the courage to take an unpopular or difficult decision.
Fear of failure oftenprevents people from taking decisions. To make the right decision, you willhave to manage your own fear of failure and risk. Remember thefollowing:
1  Nottaking risks limits opportunities for growth and improvement.
2  Riskis meant to be scary, so don't worry about being afraid.
3  Wefear losing the familiar, so work hard to embrace the new.
4  Neverbe reckless: take calculated risks in a rational state of mind.
5  Accepta learning curve and don't try tosucceed 100 percent immediately.
6  Whenyou jump, jump with 100 percent conviction or you will hurt yourself when you land.
d)Implement the decision. Onceyou have made a decision, the real work starts. It is vital to
motivate yourself and others toaccept the consequences of that decision and to support it with the necessaryactions. If you simply announce decisions but fail to «sell andsupport» them, you risk resistance and failure. Effective decision makers proceedas follows:
-  Theyexplain the reasons and positive intentions behind their actions.
-  Theydescribe the benefits for those affected.
-  Theyhave the mental energy, patience and communication skills tomanage conflict.
e)Evaluate the decision. Youwill never improve your decision-making abilities withoutreflecting onthe decisions you take. Analyze the extent to which key decisionsachieve their goalsand are supported by those around you. If they were unsuccessful, what was thereason? Rememberalso that it is possible to take good decisions that have a bad outcome. Adecision isgood if it is based on a clear goal, logical assessment of the availableinformation and taken withthe full commitment of the decision maker and others involved. If thingsdon't turn out as expected,you can use that experience to improve your future decision-making performance.
3 Decision-makingstyles
Because people think and feeldifferently, it is not surprising that they make decisions in different ways.One interesting way of classifying decision-making styles is that of Rove andBoulgarides. In their work, they emphasize the importance of values, needsand preferences. Their model reveals four main decision-making styles,based on whether people are task-oriented or relationship-oriented and on howmuch cognitive complexity they prefer. The model also looks at themotivations behind decision making. The four types of decision makers are:
a) Directive decision makers. Thesepeople are task-oriented and have a strong need for power, wantingto feel they are in control of others. They also have a low tolerance forambiguity and prefer to keep things pragmatic and simple. They tend totake decisions on the basis of less information, using fewer alternatives. Theyneed to feel that the decision is theirs to make and no one else's.
b)  Analyticdecision makers. These people are alsotask-oriented. They need to achieve things and are highly motivated whendealing with a challenge. They are more tolerant of ambiguity than directivedecision makers, and can tolerate higher information loads. They take time toanalyze in more detail the various possible courses of action.
c)  Conceptualdecision makers. Such individuals alsohave a strong need for achievement. But they are people-oriented and lessanalytical. They are comfortable with high information loads but their datacollection methods may be through talking to people, especiallyexperts. They tend to be more creative than the more analytical decision makersand think about what can produce the best results in the long term.
d)  Behaviouraldecision makers. These individuals havea strong people orientation. They tend to communicate easily, using simpleand understandable messages(with low cognitive complexity). Theyconsult with others, are open to suggestions and happy to compromise. Theyprefer a looser sense of leadership control. «I prefereveryone to „own“ the decisions that are mine».
4 Findingyour way
As we have seen, decision making isa process involving data collection and rigorous analysis. But it isalso a psychological process involving human emotions and personal bias. Thechallenge is to develop your own approach to decision making so that you canmake the most of your strengths and minimize your weaknesses.
When working internationally inteams with different mindsets and priorities, it is essentialthat you can incorporate these diverse perspectives into the decisionmaking process. In this way, you will be able to increase both creativity andthe team's commitment to decisions.
3Answerthe questions:
What makes decision making soimportant today?
What definition of decision makingcan you suggest?
What affects decision making?
What are key steps in decisionmaking?
What is the most essential for eachstep?
4Testyour decision making
Lookat the questions below and note down your options. Then see page…for comments. Decision 1:A normal coin is tossedten times and lands on heads each time. You have $1,000to place on the next choice. Do you chooseheads or tails?
Decision 2:Which is more likely: to be killed by ashark, or by parts falling from an aircraft in flight?
Decision 3:What length would a perfectly regularcube-shaped tank have to be to hold all the blood of five billionpeople?
Decision 4:Think about the consequences of the nuclearaccident at Chernobyl in 1986. Ona scale of 1 (notat all) to 100 (totally),how strong would you support the building of a nuclear reactor close to yourhome?
5 Test your decision making:comments
There are various reasons whypeople make bad decisions. Here are a number of them, which we discuss inrelation to the four decisions that you were asked to make on page.… We use poor criteria. Whenfaced with complex decisions, people often rely on their own experiences. Butthese may not be good criteria. In the first decision, most people intuitivelychoose tails, even though the probability of heads is still 50per cent. In the second question,the correct answer is «falling aircraftparts», but most people answer «shark attack» because of
their experience of watching filmsor television programmes.
We use wrong information. Thethird question is often answered poorly as a result of people
giving false importance to whatthey see as significant data. Many people estimate that the tank
must be several kilometers longbecause of the large number of people. In fact, the answer is
«only» just over 260 meters.
We are not objective. Thefourth question is usually answered on the basis of personal values
and bias, rather than on objectivecriteria («I need more information about the risks»)
6Askyourself.
1What kind of decision maker areyour?
3 Doyou like to be the first to act or are you more cautious?
4 Areyou prepared to take risks or do you delay decisions until you are sure of theoutcome? 5 How would you describe the decision-making culture where youwork/study?
6To what extent do you fit into the culture?
7 Think about your last majordecision at work/university.
— To what extent did you collectthe necessary amount of information? How well did you set the criteria forcreating and comparing options?
-What tools (if any) do you use tohelp you make your decisions? Does fear of failure sometimes stop you frommaking decisions? If so, think about the positive aspects of risk taking.
— Think about an important decisionthat you made recently at work/university. How well did you sell the decisionto those affected by it?
— Think about the last bad decisionyou made. What did you learn from the experience that helped you to take betterdecisions?
EXERCISE: Which type of decisionmaker would say what?
Four types of decision makers are:directive, analytic, conceptual and behavioural.
Look at the comment below. Matcheach of them to one of these decision-making styles. (The
answers are on page.… .)
1«I think our feeling here is thatthe third solution is the most creative and will also produce the best result inthe long term. Is everyone happy with thatsolution?»
2 «Onthe basis of all the data that we have collected, I think it's clear that thethird solution is by far the most logical.»
3 «OK.I think that we have talked things through and have now a clear commitment fromeveryone. Can we agree to implement the third solution and discuss results atthe end of the month?»
4«Implement this approach and reportback at the end of the month on results.» Answers: 1Conceptual; 2 Analytic;3Behavioural; 4 Directive.
SURVIVAL GUIDE: decision making tobring about change
Coaching has established itself asa useful tool to support both individuals and groups when they have to take keydecisions. Co-active coaching works with questions that stimulate insight into assumptionsand principles behind decision making. The following questions, based upona template created by Sharon Drew Morgan(see www.businessballs.com),can help you to begin the process of innovative decision making.
1  Takea look around your working situation. What issues do you see that require adecision for change?
2  Whathas stopped you from deciding until now?
3  Whatwould you need to see/hear/feel in order to take a decision?
4  Whatcriteria are you using to decide what aspects of the situation need to bechanged?
5  Whatneeds to be changed first?
6  Howare you going to handle of opinion in the decision-making process?
7  Whoneeds to support you so that you can take this decision?
8  Howwill you motivate them to support you?
9  Howwill you know whether you have taken the right decision?
10Howwill you be able to make this success sustainable?
THE LANGUAGE OF DECISIONS
Section A
This section provides somesuggestions on phrases and vocabulary that you can use when making decisions.Remember, however, that you should only use the language that you and yourcolleagues feel comfortable with in your specific working context.
1Decidingto decide
What do we need to decide first?
How soon do we need to take adecision
on this?
Are we in a position to take adecision?
2Definingthe decision-making process
How should we decide this? Whoneeds to be consulted? Who should take the final decision?
I think we need to decide on a newlogo.
Could you let me have a decision bynext
Friday?
Well, we can decide when we get theextra
information.
I think we need to discuss.. .
We need to involve….
The person ultimately responsibleis… .
3Collectinginformation
What do we need to know to take adecision? Why can't we take a decision? What information are we waiting for?
4Settingcriteria
What criteria are we going to use?
On what basis will we take ourdecision?
What is important here?
We need information about.. .
We don't have enough informationon...
We are waiting for confirmation of.. .
Our decision should be based on.… I think the decision should be driven byThe deciding factor will be ...
5 Decidingon an option
What do you think we should do?Which option is best for you? What is your decision?
I think we should.. .
In my opinion we should decide to.
My decision is to.. .
6 Implementingthe decision
What do we need to do to implement
this decision?
What do we do now?
Can we agree on an action plan?
We have to...
The next step is to. Yes, I suggestthat
7 Reviewingthe decision
Was it a good decision? Yes and no.On the one hand, we could… .
Did we take the right decision? Yes,we did. So far… .
Would you take this decision again?I think so.
Section ВDecision-making idioms
There are many idioms and idiomaticterms in English about decisions and decision making. Here are some of the mostcommon ones.
A done deal
This expression describes anagreement or decision that has been reached on a specific issue. «We arestill looking at different options, so it's not a done deal yet.»
Jumping on the bandwagon
If someone «jumps on thebandwagon», they decide to join a trend that is already very successful orfashionable.
«So many companies are jumpingon the work-life balance bandwagon at the moment and starting initiatives. ButI don't think they really believe in it.»
Putting your money where your mouthis
People who «put their moneywhere their mouth is» support a decision or opinion, often in somefinancial way, either with an investment or some kind of bet.
«Come on. If you believeEngland will beat Germany in November in Berlin, put your money where yourmouth is and bet me $10.
Playing for time
People who „play fortime“ try to delay a decision in some way:
»He tried to play for time byasking for more information. I think he was hoping we would justgive in and reduce our prices."
Blamestorming
This business buzzword is used todescribe the process of groups trying to find out who was responsible for adecision that produced bad results. The term comes from«brainstorming». «The meeting about the failure of our marketingcampaign turned into a blamestorming session, with nobody takingresponsibility. Everyone just blamed everyone else.»
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Bob Dignen isone of the directors of York Associates (www.york-associates.co.uk) who
specializes in language,communication and intellectual training.
Contact: bob.dianen@york-associates.co.uk
BOOKS
Group Communication, PeterHartley, Routledge, ISBN 970-415-11159-1.
Harvard Business Review on DecisionMaking, Peter Drucker, John Hammond, Ralph
Keeny, Howard Raiffa, AidM.Hayashi, Harvard Business School Press, ISBN 978-57851-557-

Unit 4
 
PERSONAL BRANDING. A BRAND NEW YOU
 
1 Before you read the article, take a few minutes tothink and say what the word ‘brand’means. Give examples of your own.
2 Read the first part of the article.
 
PART I
 
I Companiesinvest an enormous amount of time to develop, promote and sustain their corporatebrands. Think of Coca-Cola, Apple, BMW or McDonalds. Branding is a powerfulway to shape customer perceptions of products or services and toinfluence their buying behaviour. So, if branding works for companies, whycan't it work for you as an individual? Personal branding uses keycorporate principles and practices to enable individuals to manage their imagein the workplace. Before you read on, take a few minutes to think about thefollowing questions. Then compare your answers to the comments in the article.
■ Whydo you need a personal brand?
■ Whatsteps should you follow to create such a brand?
■ Whatchannels can you use to communicate your personal brand?
■ Whatrole does culture play in personal branding?
■ Whydo you need a personal brand?
II On the history of branding
The origin of the term«personal branding» is often traced back to a 1997article, «The Brand Called You», by TomPeters, one of the world's leading business experts box, He said that everyonehas a personal brand, whether they like it or not. Peters defined brandprimarily as what other people think about us —the ideas and associations we stimulate in theirminds by the way we look, sound and behave.
Some aspects of our brand will bepositive, others negative. Yet most of the time, we don't think about managinghow people experience us. Peters believed it was time for individuals to takecontrol of their personal brand in the workplace and to market themselves moreconsciously.
Peters argued that flattercorporate structures were making career development more problematic. Automaticpromotions up the organizational ladder were be coming a thing of the past.Instead, individuals needed to promote themselves by defining and communicatingtheir unique selling proposition (USP).
Some benefits of personal branding
· Greater visibility and opportunities forpromotion
· Better working partnerships inside yourcompany
· Higher salary
· The ability to attract and retainmore customers
· Greater self-confidence
· Clearer focus on what really matters foryou at work
III Creatinga personal brand
It will be easier to create aneffective personal brand if you follow these three key steps:
a) Define your personal brandvision. When was the last time you thought aboutwhat you want to achieve at work over the next three, five or ten years?Ask yourself questions both about specific career objectives (What do Iwant to become? How much do I want to earn?) and about general professionalobjectives (What kind of leader do I want be? What kind of team do I want towork in?). This process enables you to devote the appropriateamount of energy to the right areas and also plan to reach meaningful careergoals.
b) Define your personal brand. Thesecond step is to define a unique and impressive professional brand.Start by creating a short statement of who you are: the values you represent,your key qualities, and what makes you unique. Tom Peters suggests that your uniquenessinclude not only general personality descriptions, but also four key aspects ofworking life: your vision and style as a leader; what makes you special as ateam member; your technical expertise: and your ability to help deliverresults. Think about your own uniqueness by answering the following questions.You will find some useful examples of language to answer these questions, seethe survival guide section.
Leadership vision
· What inspires and motivates you?
· How do you inspire and motivate others?
· Where are you taking people?
Team focus
· What do you see as your greateststrength in team?
· What do your colleagues admire mostabout you?
· What's special about working with you ina team?
Technical ability
· Where are you excellent?
· What are you known for doing better thanothers?
· What is your particular genius?
Pragmatic results
· What have you achieved that you are mostproud of?
· What will you deliver to yourmanagement?
· What unique benefits do you offer thecustomer?
c) Promote your personal brand. Nomatter how good a brand is, it will be of little value if it isn't promotedwell. That is why companies spend millions on advertising to increase the visibilityof their brands. The same is true of personal branding. It is essential to moveon from creating the brand to making sure it is experienced by key stakeholders— that is, the peoplewith whom you work and who have direct or indirect influence over your careerdevelopment.
3 Read the first part of the text quickly once moreand find the words and phrases that match the definitions below:
a) excellent knowledge or skill in your professionalsubject
b) the feature of being very special, unusual
c) the relationships between people in business,organization
d) something important in your job that you hope toachieve
e) the process of creating your special image
f) the state of being more popular
g) the main personal characteristics
(personal branding, greater visibility, workingpartnerships, meaning career goals,
key qualities, uniqueness, technical expertise)
4 Read the second paragraph, discuss the importanceof the enlisted benefits. Which one is the most important in your opinion?Write the list of the benefits of personal branding in the order of importancefrom your point of view.
5 Read the third paragraph and
a) name the three key steps in creating a personalbrand (don’t look into the text)
b) answer the questions from part 1 in close pairs, then in open pairs
c) speak about your uniqueness using four keyaspects of working life from part “d”. You will find some useful examples oflanguage to answer the questions in the survival guide section.
d) speak about the importance to promote yourpersonal brand, use no more than 3 sentences.
6 Write down 10 words and expressions from the firstpart of the text, which you think are the most suitable to speak about personalbranding.
! Home assignment:
1-write down your personal brand vision, using nomore than three sentences,(see the survival guide section)
2-wrte down your own personal brand statement, usingno more than three sentences, use a list of useful personality adjectives fromthe survival guide section.
7 Read the second part of thearticle
 
PART II
 
IY Communicatingyour brand
There are various channels you canuse to promote your unique personal brand in the workplace.
a) The work channel. Effectivepersonal brand promotion is more than telling everyone how wonderful you are.The best way to showcase your talent to others is to find opportunitiesto work with them. Look for new projects where you could play a role. Volunteerinformal support and advice to those who might benefit from your experience.Don't expect opportunities to fall into your lap; you need to look actively.And don't get impatient if benefits don't appear immediately. Allow yourreputation to grow slowly but surely. As a way of getting started, commityourself to one extra task for the coming four weeks that will enhanceyour reputation with a significant decision maker.
b) The people channel. Oneof the best forms of marketing is personal recommendation or "word ofmouth". It is essential to cultivate a strong network of carefully selectedpeople who like and respect you. Such people can act as multipliers for yourbrand in conversations with other decision makers. Some people like to join professionalnetworking sites: others increase the number of strategic lunches theytake part in. Whatever method you use, it is important always to think aboutwhether you are spending the right amount of time with the right people talkingabout the right things. Your aim is to ensure that your«stakeholder network» understands your values and talks about you inthe right way.
c) The emotional channel. Corporatebrands use emotions to connect strongly to customer desires, such as the wishto be successful or attractive. Your personal brand also needs to manageemotions. In their book Beyond Reason: Using Emotions as You Negotiate,Fisher and Shapiro identify four areas of emotion that need to be managed inbusiness contexts. Think about these four areas for your personal brand:
Appreciation.People feel good when they see that they are liked.When people meet you, do they feel liked and appreciated by you?
Affiliation.We usually have more positive feelings towardspeople with whom we have something in common. When people meet you, how clearlydo you communicate that you are similar?
Autonomy.We need to feel a sense of control over our own destiny.Do people feel empowered and autonomous when they are with you, or doyou threaten their independence and expertise?
Status.People need to feel respected. How does yourpersonal brand communicate respect for others? How does talking to you conferstatus on others?
To gain their customers' trust andloyalty, companies try to make the experience of their brand an enjoyable one.Effective personal brands work in the same way. Do people find it enjoyable andrewarding to be around you?
d) The visual channel. Whenpeople see you, they should experience credibility, authority andopenness. For example, when you are making a presentation, an open posturewith strong and controlled gestures normally helps to build your brandbetter than shifting from foot to foot or waving your arms around wildly.Choice of clothing, hairstyle and portables, such as a briefcaseand laptop, also communicate your values. And think also about your writtencommunication, including e-mails, presentation slides and even your handwritingon a flip chart. What do the information load, format and designsay about you?
e) The auditory channel. What dopeople think when they hear you? Are they inspired, or do they have mixedfeelings towards you and your approach to business? Does your voicepersuade with warm and friendly tones, or does it create discomfort with dullintonation or shrill tones? Do people «hear» you smiling on thetelephone? If you don't know what people really think of you when they hearyou, start asking!
Y Theculture question
Creating and communicating apersonal brand is not easy. For example, what should you do if you feel thatthe key people in your professional network don't like your personal brand?What if they respect alternative values and behaviours? Should you changeyourself and risk becoming inauthentic?
There is no easy answer here, butit can help to think about this problem in two parts. If you believe that keystakeholders have the wrong perception of your talents, then you need to workon improving the promotion of your brand. If on the other hand, your brandvalues genuinely offer little to your stakeholders, think about whetheryou can adapt your brand, or whether you need to find another place towork.
Culture can play a key role inbrand communication. Whatever values or information we try to transmit,the receivers of our message will see or hear us and interpret the messageaccording to their own mental model and filters. For example, you may wish topromote a brand that says you are direct and honest, but others may experienceyou as aggressive and pushy. Or, you may want to promote the patienceand empathy of your empowering leadership, only to find that others seeyou as indecisive and lacking direction.
You are likely to have a number ofdiverse audiences for your brand campaign at work. These may includedifferent national cultures, departmental cultures, age and gendercultures, different business relationships (for example, that between acustomer and a supplier) and, of course, the individual personalities of yourcolleagues, managers and business partners. All these audiences will have distinctneeds and perspectives and may experience you in different ways. Effectivepersonal branding requires a clear vision and message but, above all,intelligent promotion to diverse audiences.
YI Alwaysbe selling
Developing and communicating yourpersonal brand is not enough. You also have to "walk the talk".Are you a leader who breeds confidence and trust with analyticalexcellence and good people-management skills? Are you open for feedback and doyou act to improve yourself even when the messages you get are difficult toaccept? If not, your brand may be compromised. Remember that every encounterrepresents an opportunity to sell «Brand You», from first impressionsin casual social encounters and the many e-mails you write each day totaking part in international meetings or presentations. Effective brands are consistentbrands. So make sure that how you look, sound and act at all times sends aconsistent message about who you are and what your unique value is.
8 Read the fourth paragraph of the text quickly andfind the words and phrases that match the definitions below:
a) to present somebody’s abilities or good qualities
b) when people tell each other about it (not read orwrite, only speak)
c) people or companies that are involved in aparticular project, especially if they invest money in it
d) to give somebody the power or authority to dosomething
e) to make people feel that they are respected byyou
f) to have the feeling of trust and belief
1-experience credibility
2-stakeholder network
3-to communicate respect for others
4-to showcase
5-to feel empowered
6-word of mouth
9 Check your memorizing skills. Name five channelswhich you can use to promote your unique personal brand, don’t look into thetext.
10 Read part “c”(paragraph IY) once more and
a) try to explain what the words “appreciation,affiliation, autonomy, status” mean
b) complete the sentences with proper wordsmentioned above
The job of a university teacher brings with it high________ and good income.
His_______ to the most powerful political partygives him high position in the society.
Frenchmen usually show great_______ to women.
Young people would like their parents to give themgreater ________ autonomy in their personal life.
c) answer the questions you can find in the parts c,d, e.
11 Read paragraphs Y and YI quickly. Try tosummarize in a sentence what each part (a-f) is about
12 Find key words and expressions(at least 10)suitable to speak about developing and communicating your personal brand fromparagraphs Y and YI.
13 Match each sentence 1-6 to the sentence( a-f)that should logically follow it, don’t look into the text
1-What should you do
2-It can help you to think
3-Whatever values or information we try to transmit
4-Effective personal branding requires
5-Are you a leader who breeds
6-Every encounter represents an opportunity
a) confidence and trust with analytical excellenceand good people-management skills?
b) if you feel that the key people in yourprofessional network don’t like your brand?
c) to sell your personal “Brand You”
d) about this problem in two parts
e) a clear vision and above all, intelligentpromotion to diverse audiences
f) the receivers of our message will see or hear us
14 Read the survival guide section, get ready toparticipate in the round-table discussion “Creating a personal brand helps toface the challenges of the modern life”.
SURVIVAL GUIDE. PERSONAL BRANDING
Creating your personal brand.Thissection provides some suggestions for phrases and vocabulary that can be usedto communicate your personal brand at work. Remember, however, that you shouldonly use the language and approach that you feelcomfortable with in your specific context.
1. Communicatingyour brand vision and values
Building a personal brand is not achievedby telling everyone how wonderful you are. You need to communicate yourvision and values regularly in business encounters such aspresentations, meetings and social conversation. Here are some key aspects youshould consider:
a) Leadership vision
Communicate your vision of goodleadership, so that your staff can deliver the performance you want.
For me, good leadership means...
This organization's strategy isto...
What inspires me is...
My greatest motivation is...
The future for me is...
b) Teamwork
Communicate your vision of goodteamwork practice.
My approach to teamwork is…
The critical success factoris..
What I always want to see in teamsis…
Teams need to have...
For me, a team is not a team unlessit has
c) Skills
Communicate your own skills as wellas those you admire in others.
Your skills:
· One thing I do know is how to..
· My core competence is...
· Some people say that my particular attributeis to...
Others'skills:
· One quality I admire in people is...
· The key attribute for firms is...
· A core skill for us all today is...
d) Results
Communicate an attitude togoals that is personally focused, but also highlights the importance ofwider goals.
I guarantee that I will deliver...
· My goal is to…
· My view of (customer service) is…
· The secret to getting great resultsis...
· The team has to reach...
· The organization's objective isto...
2. Differentiatingyour brand
Positioning is a critical elementof brand identity. Differentiating clearly between what you see as right andwhat you see as wrong is a simple way of distinguishing your personalbrand from the competition. The following extracts frompresentations are examples of the type of approaches and sentences you coulduse.
Empowerment, not dictatorship: amessage about leadership
«I am not going to stand hereand tell you what to do every time something goes wrong. My leadershipphilosophy is one of empowerment, and not dictatorship. I work with trust, andI work with you, not instead of you.»
Responsibility, not blame: amessage about teamwork
«I don't like the currentatmosphere in the team. There is too much focus on finding the person to blame,rather than taking responsibility for putting things right. Responsibility forme is a value that I expect everyone to live by.»
Analysis before action: a messageabout results
«I don't think we should takea decision without having the data. In my view, you can't get effectiveperformance without sufficient analysis.»
Clarity, not confusion: a messageabout communication
«The messages we are sendingto our staff confuse not just them, they also confuse me. I am a great believerin clear and direct communication. So we need to look again at our communicationto create greater transparency and thus increase motivation.»
Solutions, not problems: a messageabout customer focus
«My approach to this issueis to focus on solutions, not problems. We don't have the time or resources todiscover every problem. And anyway, our customers need solutions…yesterday!»
3. Findingyour strengths and talents
The Gallup Organization'sStrengths-Finder is a talent assessment instrument developed for theinternet. A talent is defined as a «naturally recurring pattern of thought,feeling, or behaviour that can be productively applied.
Knowledge and skills, on the otherhand, can be taught and learned.
The Strengths Finder instrumentlists 34 different»themes" that describe talents. These can provide an excellentstarting point for the creation of your personal brand statement. Among thethemes are those below. Remember that people can be strong in a number ofthemes.
Achiever:People who work hard and enjoy being busy.
■Communication:People who find it easy to put their thoughts into words.
Developer:People who recognize and cultivate the potential and abilities of others.
■Futuristic:People who inspire others with their visions of the future. Harmony: People whodon't enjoy conflict and try to achieve consensus instead.
■Maximizer:People who focus on strengths as a way to stimulate personal and groupexcellence.
■Responsibility:People who are committed to honesty and loyalty.
■Woo:People who love the challenge of meeting new people and making a connection.
■For a full list of the 34themes and their descriptions, see the article«The Gallup Organization's Strengths Finder Instrument» by TonyaFredstrom, Jim Harter and Kenneth Tucker. The article can be found on theCareer Trainer website (www. careertrainer. com).
Personality adjectives
When creating your personalbrand statement (see below), it can be helpful to use adjectives thatdescribe your personality.assertive настирний competitive конкурентноспроможний conscientious сумлінний cooperative спроможний до співробітництва driven цілеспрямований easygoing с легкою вдачею flexible здатний пристосовуватися forceful переконливий imaginative здатний творчо мислити individualistic індивідуалістичний organized організований outgoing товариський patient терплячий resourceful винахідливий self-assured впевнений в собі self-disciplined  самодисциплінований self-sufficient самодостатній solution-oriented
Оріентований
на рішення time-driven:
темпорально
оріентований