September 24, 2003
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

-- Trust me - this is really good.
-- Integrity is #1 Competency According to SPS survey.
-- Employee Selection and Job Benchmarking Workshop - Get Certified October 30 - November 1. Register today and save $500.
-- A powerful new business tool for evaluating core employee skills.
-- Online Personality Screening for as little as $15
-- Reduce no-shows, theft, aggressive behaviors with the Best Pre-Employment Tool for Hourly/Entry-Level Employees
-- Marching to a Different Bucket
-- Take the heat and misery out of employee evaluations.
-- The Perfect Books for Energizing People and Exploring Values

Welcome to this week's issue of The Total View.

What differentiates the optimist from the gullible and the skeptic from the realistic? Results and successful outcomes may help but even the skeptic who wins at shooting craps believes that lightening rarely strikes twice while the optimist believes his bad luck has got to stop sometime. So why do some people fall prey to the optimist while others derive satisfaction from the skeptics? Read more in "Trust Me".

The Total View is written and published each Wednesday by Ira S. Wolfe, founder of Success Performance Solutions. (Yes, Ira writes every article, every week!)

Ira S. Wolfe ©2003 - All Rights Reserved. Reprints and other distribution by permission only.

To learn more about Success Performance Solutions or read back issues of The Total View, visit our website at www.super- solutions.com.

Have a comment? Disagree? Need advice? Visit our Free Discussion Board.

Trust me - this is really good.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What is it that makes the difference between you reading this and believing that today's advice will be really good or thinking "who does this guy think he is. I've never even met him and I don't trust anyone I don't know."

Every day we do and say things that affect how and if other people will trust us. Some things are easy to judge. An individual promises you he will return your call - but never does. You boss promises you that you will get a raise -and you get laid off instead. Management promises you that if you give up a portion of your wages and benefits, they will turn the company around. Instead they sell it right from under you and close the plant. The outcomes of those relationships are fairly obvious.

But other situations are a lot more subtle and if you've ever lost trust (or couldn't gain it in the first place), you'll want to continue reading ---trust me, it will be worth it.

The Truth Hurts

Dynamic situations and rapid change are leaving less time for developing solid relationships. We build teams with people we've never met. We make remote decisions based on information we've never seen. We build networks of people who define trust differently and don't even speak the same languages. Just at a time when we need to trust each other more than ever, the time we have to establish trust is less and less.

Decisions to trust may take days, months or years but the decision even to allow a stranger this opportunity takes just seconds. Many of us act without thinking about how we come across but no other competency is so much impacted by behavioral style as is "Inspiring Integrity and Trust".

You might recall from previous newsletters that our behavioral styles determine how we approach problems, people, pace and procedures. With less time to build rapport and little room for error, anyone that relies on the responses and reactions of other people to make a living must learn to read people quickly. A popular model used to identify behavioral styles is called DISC.

When learning to use DISC to build trust and endorsement with others, it is first important to learn your style. (To receive a free sample report, "Click here"; To order a personalized report at the Introductory price of $29, "Click here".

The next step and very likely an even more important step is for you to learn how to recognize the styles of others. But the most important step and the one that makes or breaks many careers is learning how your style is seen by others.

For example, if your primary style is D, you tend to be direct, a straight-shooter. You say what is on your mind. Others like you might describe you as confident, driven, results-oriented, and ambitious. These are all great trust-building skills.

Unfortunately, approximately one-third of the population might see you as an arrogant, insensitive, combative, tactless, demanding S.O.B. Knowing who these people are and what to do about it is an essential skill for every employee, every manager and every leader.

Every style has its strengths ---and challenges. What is your style---and how do others see you?

To learn more about DISC, read about Energizing People and Exploring Values below.

To order your DISC Behavioral Styles Indicator, click here.

Integrity is #1 Competency According to SPS survey.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And Ethics was #2. What other competencies do employers feel are essential skills for employees today? Read more >>>>

To view the complete results of the SPS Workforce Competence Survey, click here.

Employee Selection and Job Benchmarking Workshop - Get Certified October 30 - November 1. Register today and save $500.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In search of the Holy Grail of employee performance? Then get trained in CriteriaOne - the best job benchmarking and employee assessment workshop.

But don't just take our word for it.

"Light years ahead of the competition" says one CriteriaOne participant.

"A must for anyone interested in lowering turnover and improving productivity."

Here at UGI Utilities, Electric Division we are a believer in the product ( TotalView) as one of the tools useful in finding the right fit when selecting an employee. The TotalView product provides much more information about a potential candidate than you can ever obtain from reviewing a resume or conducting lengthy interviews.

D.L. UGI Utilities, Electric Division

The techniques and information I received through CriterionOne training is economically feasible and is a great fit for our system of operations. Ira, I appreciate your willingness to impart your knowledge to others and to serve as a resource to participants following the workshop. I wish you continued success.

L.A., The Durham (NC) Center

With this background, (and the tools) I can now more effectively assist our staff as they construct their personal development plans.

N.S., Department of Finance Training Administrator