Most of the work we do is help lower to senior leadership see their roles, teams, systems and processes through a completely different lens, and with the context of change, in order to evolve. Imagine this happening organisation wide!

Here are some reasons why agile leadership is essential in times of constant change:

1. Flexibility: Agile leaders are able to adapt to changing circumstances and pivot their strategies and approaches as needed. They are comfortable with ambiguity and able to make decisions quickly in response to new information or changing circumstances.

2. Innovation: Agile leaders encourage innovation and experimentation, and are not afraid to try new things. They create a culture of continuous learning and improvement, and are open to feedback and new ideas.

3. Collaboration: Agile leaders understand the importance of collaboration and building strong relationships. They work to build diverse teams with a variety of skills and perspectives, and encourage open communication and knowledge sharing.

4. Customer focus: Agile leaders are focused on delivering value to their customers. They understand that customer needs and preferences are constantly changing, and are able to adjust their strategies and approaches to meet these changing needs.

5. Resilience: Agile leaders are resilient and able to bounce back from setbacks and challenges. They are able to maintain a positive attitude and keep their teams motivated and engaged, even in the face of adversity.

By embracing agile leadership, organizations can become more responsive and adaptable, and better equipped to thrive in today’s fast-paced and constantly changing business environment. This requires a shift in mindset and a willingness to embrace new approaches and ways of working. However, the benefits of agile leadership are clear, including increased innovation, collaboration, and customer focus, as well as greater resilience and adaptability in the face of change.

Get in touch for more information about how we can help. From keynote to long term developmental programs (And everything in between).

The post Adapting to Change: Why Agile Leadership is Essential in Today’s Workplace appeared first on WarrenCass.

In today’s volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous workplace, developing political intelligence is becoming increasingly more important for career/project/leadership success. Political intelligence is the ability to understand and navigate the unwritten rules of an organization, build alliances, manage conflicts, and influence others to achieve personal and organizational goals. People often associate building influence with being underhand, but in reality it simply involves managing things like trust, loyalty and understanding motivation rather than anything more sinister.

Here are some top tips for developing PQ in the workplace:

• Build your network: Building a network of professional relationships is critical for developing political intelligence. Take the time to get to know your colleagues, understand their perspectives and goals, and look for ways to collaborate and help each other. Think about which stakeholders can influence your outcomes.

• Observe and listen: Pay attention to the culture, power dynamics, and communication patterns in your workplace. Observe how others interact and try to understand the underlying motivations and interests.

• Develop emotional intelligence: Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize and manage your own emotions and those of others. This skill is essential for building relationships, resolving conflicts, and influencing others.

• Be strategic: Develop a clear understanding of your own goals and objectives, as well as those of your organization. Look for opportunities to align your interests with the goals of others and build alliances to achieve common objectives.

• Be ethical: It’s important to use political intelligence in an ethical and transparent way. Avoid engaging in manipulative or unethical behaviour, and always act with integrity and honesty.

By developing political intelligence, you can navigate the complex social and power dynamics of your workplace, build strong relationships, and achieve your career goals. Remember that political intelligence is not about being manipulative or deceitful, but rather about understanding the social and political realities of the workplace and using that understanding to negotiate positive outcomes for yourself and your organization, faster and with less resistance.

Let me know via DM if you would like to discuss how this might help your organization. #leadership #success #people #motivation #training #Keynote

The post Political Intelligence in the Workplace appeared first on WarrenCass.

But how do we attract influencers in the first place? Here are a few ideas for you.

The term influencer marketing is a form of marketing widely used by retailers, manufacturers and brands where they focus on specific key individuals as opposed to the market as a whole who they believe to have influence over potential buyers…. This is not what I am talking about here, although it is a fascinating subject. However we as individuals looking to grow our personal influence can learn a few lessons and more importantly…. Apply them.

A great influencer for you is generally one that is relevant to you objectives. For example if you are the ambitious employee it could be senior people within your organization or respected people within your industry.

If you are a local business it could be well connected business leaders in the area, or the business editor in your local newspaper, or the head of your local chamber of commerce of course depending on what you sell.

If you are a consultant it could be someone respected in your industry association etc etc, you get the point.

If you are not sure who your target influencers are then there are a ton of online resources you can use as well as the basic search tools on most social sites. But really if you are not sure who they are, then you might not yet be ready to connect with them. Do your research.

Depending who it is and ultimately what you would like to achieve with the relationship, will dictate the approach you might want to make. But one thing I urge you to do is be clear in advance on what your objective is and how it is also in their interests to connect with you.

So with all of that said I would like to share with you 7 key rules when making an approach to influential people.

Before I start by the way the end goal or perfect outcome you are looking for is to develop a meaningful relationship, not just a photo opportunity. Your barometer is whether you are remembered & respected. 

Rule One – Don’t Ask For Anything

This is rule one for a reason. It is important!

Influential people by their very nature are busy & in demand. They are inundated for requests on their time & attention and the last thing you want to be doing in your first interaction is asking for something. 

I have several friends who are considered famous or wealthy and the one common thing they share is how tired they are of people trying to get money from them or leverage their fame. I know at least one celebrity who has actually become quite lonely as a result of this and is cynical of nearly everyone’s intentions.

A much better reason to want to connect with Influential people is to learn from them. The very fact that they are influential means they are probably highly accomplished and extremely knowledgeable. Their conversation will be rich and their lessons will hopefully inspire you.

Rule Two – Add Value To Them

I have always found that if you approach someone with a genuine desire to help them, their guard will drop and the potential for the relationship will increase. But you mustn’t expect something in return.

I once got the opportunity to meet with Guy Kawasaki with my friend & talented author Sarah Arrow. We spent a decent amount of time interviewing him with a view to reviewing and blogging about his latest book ‘Enchantment’.

Our value add was to raise awareness of his book to our audiences and in return we got to listen to the insights & observations of a great thought leader.

Rule Three – Communicate on Their Level

No one likes a sycophant! As a public speaker I regularly leave the stage to be greeted by members of the audience who want to talk with me and will queue to do so. It is very flattering and I am privileged to be able to share my ideas with them. But they typically fall into 4 categories;

Star Struck – Nice people who are in awe of you, seem to genuinely appreciate you which is great but lack the confidence to speak as your equal.

Sycophantic – A person who praises people to gain their approval. Usually just self serving flatterer!

Insecure & Rude – This person goes out of their way to tell you how good they are and acts way too cool due to their own insecurities.

Self Secure – Typically respectful but also aware of the value they bring and not afraid to share their own experiences. Very much communicates as your equal.

It will not surprise you to know that the self secure are the ones influencers see as on the same level as themselves and the only ones with the potential to become friends.

Rule Four – Have Social Proof

We live in an age of due diligence and you can bet your bottom dollar you are being checked out on a regular basis. I am going to cover social proof in more detail later in the book but in the context of reaching out to influencers…

Evidence of Integrity is important. A well populated LinkedIn profile with plenty of endorsements & testimonials will help and you can help yourself by making it easy to find by being obvious on your website or in your email signature. After all, their professional reputations are on the line.

Rule Five – Introductions Increase Odds

It is very rare a direct approach will work when reaching out to influential people. They often have gate keepers that fiercely protect them from distractions. It is far better to be introduced by someone already trusted.

It can be much easier to build bridging relationships initially and although it might take longer, you will have a better chance of success. 

Two things you can do to make this process easier, firstly make quality introductions yourself, if you know two influencers who are not yet connected but might benefit from knowing each other, introduce them. This way you are adding value as per rule number two.

Secondly make introducing you easy. If asking for an introduction, write the paragraph for the introducer. This helps to contextualise the reason for it and is more likely to be well received & followed up on.

Rule Six – The Magic Of Mentors

To be clear I am not for one instant saying you should approach cold, as a stranger, a person of influence and ask them to be your mentor. That wouldn’t work.

However if you are lucky enough to develop a relationship over time i.e. several conversations, which evolves into a mentor/mentee relationship then this could be a great source of other influential introductions.

This starts with humility… no-one wants to mentor a know it all and be very aware, when a mentor introduces you to someone, you represent their reputation so make them look good!

Rule Seven – Don’t Bullshit

Admit want you don’t know. Really bullshit doesn’t baffle brains and accomplished people have a better bullshit radar than most.

As I have said, we live in an age where everything you say has to be Google proof and can be tested with our pocket oracles aka smart phones.

So don’t try to big up yourself or be too clever. People see through it.

Getting noticed by influential people

Lastly, an easy way to develop relationships with influencers is to become one yourself and get noticed. Here are a few ideas to get noticed.

• Have something to say and say it often. 
• Write a blog, get published & demonstrate expertise. (see Knowledge section)
• Be shareable (And share yourself).
• Niche your knowledge – It is ok to operate in multiple niches but to build real influence is to go deep & narrow.
• Consider public speaking, it’s a fast track to authority and you are more likely to get noticed at industry events. (See knowledge section)

With all of the above, you can get to build relationships with fellow speakers, bloggers & publishers, chances are they have a decent black book of their own.

The post Identifying and Approaching Influencers appeared first on WarrenCass.

“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” ―Winston S. Churchill

Social psychologists call this phenomenon The Law of Reciprocity and it is essentially our deep rooted desire to help those who help us. Often you may reciprocate with a gesture far more generous than their original act of kindness.

Conversely, in response to hostile actions people are often much more nasty and in some cases even brutal. This can if unchecked cause a spiral of negativity which is probably the cause when conflicts escalate due to constant need for retribution from each side.

If the above is true (which it is) then it would surely be advantageous to understand this powerful social law.

This is obviously a law which could be abused if used by someone with bad intentions. As I will discuss later, these people rarely endure when it comes to influence and are found out eventually.

Let us first discuss the right and wrong way to use this law.

First the right way. When trying to establish a new relationship we focus our energies on building rapport and ultimately trust. So to demonstrate you are actually one of life’s good guys there is a number of things you can do like listen, be helpful, smile, be honest, generous & transparent.

This is a common technique use by online marketers who share freely something which has genuine value without asking for anything in return (Except maybe your email address

“We must give more in order to get more. It is the generous giving of ourselves that produces the generous harvest.” ―Orison Swett Marden

By giving away these materials they are demonstrating expertise, showing they understand the pain and are willing to help, and lastly they are showing that they are not only after your money. 

By doing this they have invoked the law of reciprocity. You now perceive them to be trustworthy and generous and will be more inclined to spend with them when they have something to offer. 

When people use the law the wrong way it feels like manipulation, a coercive exploitative tactic which can usually be spotted a mile away let alone the bad after taste should you fall for it.

I remember once walking around London whilst on the phone when suddenly it started to rain. So I took shelter in a department store whilst I finished my call. As I hung up the phone my hand was taken by a beautiful women and I was led to the cosmetics counter and invited to take a seat. I had some time to kill before my next meeting and was curious what would happen next so I went along with it.

She showed me my eyes in a mirror and as I am the wrong side of 40 there are one or two lines starting to appear. The next thing I know she is rubbing nay massaging a cream into my eyes to reduce the wrinkles. In that moment I forgot all my troubles, relaxed and enjoyed the attention. 

When she finished she showed me my eyes again and there was a visible difference which for all I know could have been just about the massage. She then asked if I would like to buy the cream. Something inside me felt obligated to say yes, I didn’t even ask the price. £56 later and I was walking away with the smallest jar of cream which still to this day sits on a shelf in my bathroom unopened.

I might have been upset by this experience, mad at myself for not saying no and seeing through this deliberate ploy to make me buy. But I don’t. Every time I see the jar I am reminded to avoid this well used sales tactic in future.

In the main, when someone uses the law of reciprocity in this way it is obvious, and in the long term it is not good for your brand. It certainly won’t generate you any good will or repeat business but in todays digital age a pressured prospect can make a lot of noise.

So as long as you apply this law with integrity and for the right reasons, it can be a powerful technique for developing relationships.

Oh and by the way, by delivering a service that goes above and beyond the call of duty you can also achieve similar results and the reciprocation is customer loyalty and referrals!

The post The Law Of Reciprocity appeared first on WarrenCass.

But Influence is a broader topic than just those three things, it’s your ability to understand people and effectively communicate. For some it’s personal branding and creating content which positions you as a thought leader. 

The world continues to change at pace and relationships today span the globe. We are no longer restricted to the people we physically meet every day. Success depends on our connections with good, smart, and talented people.

So here are a few ideas for building your influence from the ground up over the coming year to attract more people to you and build your reputation.

Become a Student of People – There are a ton of psychometric tools out there which will help you better understand the behaviours of others, and more importantly yourself. When you take time to understand people and what motivates them, you can tailor your message for maximum impact and deliver in a style they are likely to be most receptive too.

Habituate Networking – Most people don’t prioritise networking at all. It’s an afterthought or borne out of necessity when work dries up. 

Instead start to create small habits, yes it takes a little discipline, but it yields great results. Habituate making new connections, keeping in touch with established connections, creating regular value add content & status updates that provoke engagement, new conversations & new opportunities. 

Demonstrate Expertise – It is not enough to know your stuff; people need to know you know your stuff! Essentially almost all business decisions are based on confidence, and the most effective way to establish confidence is to demonstrate your expertise. 

Think about how you can add value to your network and develop your thought leadership. Creating content through your website or blog, social networks is a good place to start, but also consider developing your authority through public speaking, video or even start you own podcast. 

Focus on Influencers – Credibility by association is the simple premise that we are known by the company we keep. Building relationships with other influencers and highly respected leaders, creates a perception that we too are important. 

Think about who already has great profile in your industry or niche and think about how you can develop a relationship with them.

Build Social Proof – A good reputation opens doors or attracts support, where as a bad one creates obstacles and causes those same doors to slam in your face. A good testimonial is 12 times more likely to be trusted over your own marketing materials, yet most people don’t invite them. 

In an age of due diligence, people are doing their research, so encourage your happiest customers to endorse you.

Share Your Values – One of the most satisfying things you can do in your personal and business life, is to live your values. Better still, we typically attract people to us who share these values with us. 

Think about how you can wear your values on your digital sleeve, weave them into your website copy and tell stories which show them off.

Contribute First – Add value to your network by being a connector, you will generate an enormous amount of good will. The more you understand your network and their wants & needs, the better positioned you are to help it. 

Every time you connect two people, your credibility increases in both of their eyes. 

Contribution also comes in the form of thought leadership by sharing your ideas and educating your audience. 

Wishing you a successful 2019.

Warren Cass is a professional speaker and best-selling author of ‘Influence – How to raise your profile, manage your reputation and get noticed’. He is also the Co-Founder of Achievers International who help people develop their thought leadership. Find out more at www.ThoughtLeadersBlueprint.com.

The post How to Build Influence from the Ground Up appeared first on WarrenCass.

While eating my lunch today I stumbled across this chap’s YouTube video (Michael Palmisano) analysing a John Butler song. You may not know but I am a guitarist myself (Albeit average) and I just happen to own a few John Butler Trio albums too. So I watched.

Here is the video… then I will tell you why I shared it. Watch it all if you want… or watch enough to make my comments below make sense. 

Firstly, notice how Michael (The host) is shining the light on others, and is sharing his knowledge on their content (Demonstrating Expertise – a principle I talk about in my book)… And boy don’t you get a feel for his knowledge as he effortlessly recreates the sounds despite hearing the song for the first time.

KEY POINT – You don’t have to always be the creator of content to demonstrate expertise and give it more meaning.

Secondly, look at how much he enjoys his work, how passionate he gets about his profession and how captivating this is. He really is connected to his PURPOSE and his enthusiasm really drew me in

CHALLENGE – How can you show your passion more in what you do?

Thirdly, at the time of writing this he has over 560,000 views… with the YouTube revenue algorithm he will be earning (Subject to not being de-monetised). You-Tubers also have several other options open to them for generating revenue from their more engaged fans… Patreon for example.

Fourthly, because he is essentially now an influencer, he is more attractive to other brands. In one video a record studio has asked him to review their artist. They are leveraging ‘Credibility by Association’ (Another principle from my book) too and amplifying their content.

It also wouldn’t surprise me if he were sponsored by Paul Reed Smith Guitars (PRS), as he seems to be playing a different one in every video.

Fifthly, Michael sells online guitar courses. This content feeds his business without needing to sell. His audience already has a sense of who he is and what his values are. They know he is someone they can learn from. When you get your marketing right, people have already made the decision to buy from you when they hit your website.

Lastly, I will leave you with this comment I found in the comments section. It spoke to me because I have been this person who wasn’t connected to my work, and felt unfulfilled and uninspired with my business. It is exhausting. Thankfully now I love what I do and am also connected to a real sense of purpose… Helping people connect to theirs, and build a business they love around it.

“This video just made me realise how empty of passion my life is. I don’t want to sound like a drama queen feeling sorry for myself, but really, just the passion this guys eyes as he watches every movement and very sound John Butler does, how quickly he plays by ear, how impressed he is by all the little touches … it’s his life, he can talk endless hours about it, it drives his success and he makes a living on it … and don’t even get me started on the amazing passion and beauty of John Butler himself…. . 

I’m a doctor because I succumbed to pressure from my parents coz they wanted “to have a doctor as a son”, the biggest scam and now i’m unemployed and depressed every single day of my life …. find something you love guys, and stick with it, do it with passion, don’t worry about money, just do what you love and success will follow.”

If you would like to connect to your purpose, re-invent your business and get a clearer sense of your IDENTITY, take a look at the work I do with Warren Knight over at the Thought Leaders Blueprint… especially our Identity Workshop.

Peace

Warren

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A particular favourite of mine are business exhibitions, I just love the energy in the room, people hustling, inspiring speakers, but there is one thing that remains consistent EVERY time I attend…

The majority of the room completely underestimates the opportunity.

From exhibitors to delegates, MOST fail to really grasp the potential benefits of the show, which are numerous. I would like to focus on the networking for this short article.

Networking has become a multi-million pound industry in the last 30 years (multi-billion online) which is not bad considering it wasn’t even a chapter in a marketing book back then. Most of us realise the necessity of a trusted network to get traction in our businesses. But let me ask you this… What does networking mean to you? Many only consider it a tool for lead generation, in my opinion a mistake.

I challenge you to get more from the next show you attend. To think about networking as something much more than lead generation & to go prepared with some thought to your strategy.

For me, my network is an incubator for new ideas, it is critical feedback on the issues I face as an entrepreneur, it is the potential to develop joint ventures & powerful partnerships in this age of collaboration. I challenge you to think hard before you arrive about who your perfect JV partner is? What type of company is an ideal introducer? Then actively look out for them whether browsing the stands, taking part in event features or simply stood in the queue for a coffee.

Sure, serendipity should play its part and you will meet great new unexpected contacts… But in my experience, the best results in life come when you have prepared & do things on and with purpose. Turning up is half the battle as opportunity dances with those already on the dance floor, but you still have to spot it! Spotting opportunities is easier to do if your needs are front of mind.

If you run business events and would like a speaker that can actively facilitate connections then get in touch, I can even de-mystify the psychology of the room, making networking less intimidating for your audience.

In the meantime, if you are in the UK and want to create more opportunity for yourself, here are some exhibitions I recommend.

https://thebusinessnetworkingshow.info

http://www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk

http://www.hashtag-events.co.uk/whats-on/

http://www.greatbritishexpos.co.uk/

You can google for more in your region.

Wishing you every success folks!
Warren

PS – Watch out for my new Effortless Connecting video course.

The post Networking at Business Events appeared first on WarrenCass.

In the UK we detest being sold too, where as selling is a respected profession in other cultures, why is that?

I believe it is becoming increasingly harder to get noticed In business today, traditional marketing channels aren’t working as well as they used to, printed advertising has well and truly declined and society filters the endless marketing messages we are bombarded with on a daily basis. We sky+ and fast forward tv advertising, gate keepers protect us from cold calls and technology removes unwanted email… So how is a small business with limited marketing budget meant to attract new customers?

Networking? Maybe, networking is indeed a powerful route to Market if you do it right. I have built a brilliant network particularly in the last 20 years where I networked with strategy and purpose.

Networking is ideal for professional services but not as effective if you are selling low cost product with low margin. There are always exceptions but networking is a medium to long term strategy to fill your pipeline IMHO.

Guerrilla marketing? Personally I love guerilla marketing, for those that don’t understand, it is unconventional campaigns which are typically interactive and take consumers by surprise. It relies more on imagination rather than marketing budget and can if done right become really viral. I will blog more about this separately.

What about social media? Of course, it’s cheap and has great reach if done properly. So tell me why do some businesses still resist? What are they afraid of? I say it a lot, but most people reading this will think they have a social media strategy because they have profiles on several sites, they may even use them a bit? But generally you are there because you feel you should be, afterall everyone else is, but really you don’t have a clue how to make it work for you and achieve the all important return on investment.

The world of marketing has changed & continues to do so. In fact it has seen an incredible evolution in the last 10 years and most haven’t kept up. So many companies which have been around for many years are closing their doors and why? Because they failed to innovate! They failed to embrace change!

Wake up! Smell the coffee and adapt people! If this resonates with you, get in touch, I will try to help!

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I get asked a lot when speaking about whether people should mix business with their private lives when it comes to online networking. People are concerned that clients may see something which may show them in a negative light. Indeed many run dual pages on sites like Facebook to deal with this.

My take on this is simple; it depends!
There really is no rule that fits all, and whilst I have chosen to completely mix the two environments, it wont be right for everyone.

I believe that for small business owners the lines are becoming more blurred anyway. Many people we meet in a networking context are growing into trusted friends and we may even be socialising.

Facebook is the real concern for most as it is the place where most of us connect with family, friends, neighbours and people we went to school with. For many it is a social site, not business. Somewhere we go to upload family photos, or find out what sort of pirate you are.

My take is this; If you are in a profession where you need to portray a certain image, it maybe a mistake to share those photos of you getting drunk with the girls/lads on that recent hen/stag party.

For example how many of us would feel comfortable knowing our financial investments were in the hands of someone who comes across as a hedonist online? How many of us would like to see our local undertaker pulling a moonie out of a car window? For some, you should consider creating a separate Facebook page just for work.

<a href=”http://www.warrencass.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/10172758_10151984091880881_5737956647548729252_n.jpg”><img class=”wp-image-1578″ src=”http://www.warrencass.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/10172758_10151984091880881_5737956647548729252_n.jpg” alt=”Does mixing business and pleasure effect you reputation?” width=”312″ height=”311″ /></a> Warren Cass in fancy dress… when he wasn’t meant to be!

My Facebook page shows off <a title=”Warren” href=”http://web.archive.org/web/20110114215809/http://www.warrencass.com/about/”>Warren</a> the father, husband, business person and party goer. When asked to connect via Facebook by a client, I simply let them know what to expect before and manage their expectations. If someone doesn’t want to do business with me because of something they see on Facebook then I am not sure it was ever going to be a long-term business relationship anyway? I would never be so stupid as to use it as a platform to express views on politics or religion etc but it does basically capture what I am about.

Sometimes it goes wrong…(Or does it?) Two years ago I was invited to a party organised by <a href=”http://web.archive.org/web/20110114215809/http://www.angelsden.com/” target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow noopener noreferrer”>www.angelsden.com</a> to celebrate their second anniversary. Typically I only scanned the invitation which said “<strong>Wear all white fancy dress</strong>“. So wanting to make an impression I tried on the astronaut, Elvis Presley and Pope outfits and settled on 7ft white rabbit (Well with a name like Warren what do you expect?).

When I arrived at the party I realised the invitation actually said “<strong>All white dress</strong>“. No mention of the word fancy at all! Everyone was in white suits, white dresses, white hats etc and <em>I</em> was the 7ft bunny. Yes slightly embarrassing, but I was the most photographed person in the room LOL…….. and they all ended up on Facebook!

Are you <em>less</em> likely to do business with me because you found this on my Facebook page or more likely because it makes me more human? More approachable? Shows I don’t take myself too seriously? Or would I damage my reputation?

So to conclude, social media isn’t one size fits all. You have to be comfortable with what you share, but I guarantee you this; <strong>the more you share the more people will buy into you!</strong>

Just be appropriate!

I hope you have found this useful and if nothing else I have made you feel better about your own dancing ability!

Take care and please remember to <strong>tweet</strong> or <strong>Like</strong> if you found it useful.

Warren

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