Michigan Business and Executive Coaching Blog

Journey Toward Personal and Professional Goals – Local Speaking Event

July 15, 2011 By Barry

Barry Demp Speaks at Career Path Network — Tuesday, July 19th at St. Irenaeus

Do you have questions about your job search? Do you feel like you’re going about it the right way? Do you feel like you could do better at planning and managing your time? Come to the Career Path Network event on Tuesday, July 19 to get some of your questions answered and revitalize your job search.

Barry Demp, who has appeared at St. Irenaeus before and presents at many of the area faith-based career groups, will help participants focus on strategies and tactics needed to improve their job search, time management and life style skills. Demp is a Master Certified Coach with over 29 years of sales and business development experience with a Fortune 500 company. In the past 19 years, he has worked with over 1,000 individuals and trained over 60 career coaches. His business and executive coaching services are complemented with life coaching.

Mr. Demp will field questions from the group and focus on breaking patterns in order to open up new worlds of possibility. Come prepared to ask about the most critical priorities and challenges you are facing in your ongoing job search.

This event will be followed by a structured networking session.

How To Register

RSVP to reserve your seat today by going to www.barrydemp.eventbrite.com.

Directions To Location

St. Irenaeus Church on Google

St. Irenaeus Career Path Online

Connect with us by joining our LinkedIn.com Group by searching – “St. Irenaeus Career Path Network”

5 High Impact Book Reading Ideas

April 25, 2011 By Barry

When people visit me in my office they see pictures of my family and pictures of beautiful golf courses on my walls. During their visit they will most likely see a large bookcase filled with many of my favorite books.

As an educator and self professed life-long learner, I believe that books are one of the very best bargains around. Even though a book may only cost you $20.00, the cost of your time to read it may be significantly higher. For example, if your time is worth $100.00+ dollars per hour; then reading a book must be worth thousands of dollars to make it worthwhile.

Here are 5 suggestions to make the most of the current books on your bookshelf, and, the future books you plan to read:

1.    Select books that are aligned with your professional and personal goals. In doing so, you will be feeding your mind great thoughts that will fill you with the knowledge for greater achievement.
2.    Underline or highlight key points that deliver a message that hits the mark with your specific interest or needs. This technique will help you to filter the messages and narrow your focus to specific useful ideas.
3.    Once completed, put the book away for at least a week and then go back over the underlined items and place an * or other symbol next to the top ideas for future follow up.
4.    Review all the * items and then create a list of follow up actions you will take to execute on these ideas. Capturing these valuable ideas without a follow up action plan is worthless.
5.    Insert these new, actionable ideas in your calendar. Make sure to block out sufficient time to complete these priorities.

Please feel free to share with me the book or books that have made the biggest difference in your professional or personal life and what you did to act upon the ideas provide by the author. I can be contacted via email or through the Barry Demp website.

The Trust-O-Meter Assessment

April 7, 2011 By Barry

In our increasingly competitive world, very rarely does and individual professional service provider, coach, or consultant truly have a significant advantage over others. The ability to create trust is often the single biggest factor that differentiates these close competitors to secure a client assignment.

The Trust-O-Meter assessment below that has been adapted from the book The Trusted Advisor will provide some insight into your ability to create trusting relationships and provide areas of development to gain mastery into this important business and personal skill.

Download the Trust-O-Meter Assessment

Rate yourself on a scale of 1=low to 4=high as you evaluate the following statements.

I am consistent and highly dependable.
Serving my clients is my highest priority and I place a lower focus on my self-interest.
I am genuine and my clients feel comfortable around me.
I am more focused on being interested versus interesting.
I seek to understand and then be understood .(S. Covey)
I am an active reflective listener.
I am honorable and keep conversations confidential. I avoid gossiping.
I have a good sense of humor and am fun to work with.
My clients often share personal information with me.
My clients feel safe in discussing difficult issues.
I genuinely care about my clients and it shows.
I see my clients as people, not just a person fulfilling a role.
I seek out opportunities for client contact to provide value added service.
I often gain repeat business and referrals from my current and past clients.
I am willing to generously share my skills and knowledge and take the time earn the trust of others.
I am clear about my values and express them openly as a basis for creating trusting relationships.
I do what I say I will do. My actions match my words.
I exhibit a high degree of emotional intelligence and have been told I have strong interpersonal skills.
I am naturally curious and ask appropriate questions to learn how I can best help my clients.
I am a win-win person and strive to build consensus with others.
I consider myself thoughtful, considerate, sensitive to people’s feelings, and supportive.
I frequently show my sincere appreciation for others.
I believe that focusing on giving others what they want is the source of my own success.
I stay the course even when the going gets tough.
I am fully focused on my client’s agenda without distraction.

The maximum score you can achieve is 100. Consider comparing your answers with a TRUSTED colleague or friend. I hope you enjoy the conversation and will share your insights and thoughts by contacting me at barry@dempcoaching.com.

Winning The Game? Use The Scoreboards

March 16, 2011 By Barry

No matter what sporting event you enjoy, a scoreboard is often used to determine if the contestants are making progress towards their goal and to eventually identify the winner of the contest.

In sales the winning results that we desire are sometimes far in the future. With this in mind, my suggestion is to create an “Action Scoreboard” to demonstrate and measure progress toward your goal. Here is how it works in my business coaching company:

Keeping Score with The “Action Scoreboard”

My goals include securing individual and group coaching assignments, team workshops, speaking engagements, and executive retreats. Since the achievement of these goals is often a multiple-step process, I have broken the objectives down into a listing of some of the fundamental behaviors that I often take to produce these results. Each action item is given a point value and I track the totals on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.

My experience is that there is a high correlation between the level of action being taken and the outcomes that are achieved.

The Point System

One point actions include warm prospect calls, Linked in connections, writing a focused email message to a prospect or center of influence, researching an individual or company, or getting a business card from a prospect for follow up.

Two point actions include attending networking events, hot prospect calls, attending a business seminar, and giving or getting a qualified business referral.

Five point actions include setting a one on one new client discovery session, scheduling a presentation or speech, attending a business trade show, participating on a board of directors, and meeting with a center of influence.

Ten Point actions Actual face to face meetings including meetings over a meal or a cup of coffee with a qualified prospect.

Twenty point actions include securing an engagement. Feel free to add extra points based on the size of engagement.

What a Typical Day May Look Like

6 phone calls to warm prospects= 6 points

4 linked in connections= 4 points

1 discovery meeting with a viable prospect= 10 points

Giving 2 referrals and getting one referral= 6 points

Scheduling a speech on networking for a local business group= 5 points

8 follow-up e-mail messages and 6 follow up phone calls= 14 points

Securing a business coaching assignment with an attorney who wants to make partner and increase their business development success = 20 points

Total= 65 points

My challenge to you is for you to create your own game and point system that will allow you to act your way to better results.

Your Best Future Self

February 25, 2011 By Barry

A favorite exercise that I use in my Personal Excellence Training is for my clients to describe their best future self in the coming year and beyond. They often ask numerous questions for clarification and I end up answering them by saying something like. “What are the qualities and characteristics of the people you most admire?”

Below are some additional questions for your consideration if you too are thinking about your best future self:

Who are the most inspiring leaders you have ever seen or met? What characteristics make or made them so great?
Who do your know that most exemplifies integrity, honor, and compassion? How do they best demonstrate these characteristics?
Who do you know that is an outstanding husband/wife, father, or mother? What makes them stand out in these roles?
Who do your know that is in optimum health? What are their daily routines and habits?
Who do your know that demonstrates, confidence, courage, creativity, and a strong desire to contribute their best to others?
What other values do you most admire in others?

By observing the very best in others and modeling these behaviors and qualities in our own lives, we can all become the best version of ourselves.

Please let me know what characteristics you most admire and your thoughts about this post by contacting me at www.dempcoaching.com.

Challenge 2011: Create and Sustain Your Personal Motivation

January 19, 2011 By Barry

As the end of January nears, the resolutions that were strong only just a few weeks ago begin to wear off for some and habits from the past return. How will you sustain your personal motivation in 2011? Perhaps some of these quotes can offer an interesting perspective and serve as healthy reminders.

“It is better to follow the Voice inside and be at war with the whole world, than to follow the ways of the world and be at war with your deepest self.”

– Michael Pastore

“The only person who is educated is the one who has learned how to learn…and change.”

– Carl Rogers

“Man is what he believes.”

– Anton Chekhov

I welcome the opportunity to learn how you are using tools and information to sustain your goals for 2011 and can be contacted at 248-740-3231 or through my website – Troy Michigan Business and Personal Coach.

Positive Motivation and Momentum To Start 2011

January 10, 2011 By Barry

2011 will offer many opportunities for change and challenges for both personal and professional growth. As these opportunities and challenges enter our lives, it is helpful to maintain a balanced perspective towards the positive outcomes that are developed from creating sustainable change. With this in mind, here are some thoughts to consider:

“The secret of man’s being is not only to live but to have something to live for.”

– Dostoyevsky

“When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bounds: Your mind trancends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction and you find yourself in a new, great and wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive, and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed of yourself to be.”

– Patanjali

“I expect to spend the rest of my life in the future so I want to be reasonably sure what kind of future it’s going to be. That is my reason for planning.”

– C.F. Kettering

“People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.”

– Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

“I don’t know what your destiny will be but one thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to server.”

– Albert Schweitzer

I welcome the opportunity to learn how you are using tools and information to sustain your goals for 2011 and can be contacted at 248-740-3231 or through my website – Michigan Business and Personal Coach.

Motivational Quotes For Your 2011 Preparation

December 30, 2010 By Barry

Motivation will play a big factor as you prepare your personal life and career for the New Year. With this in mind, we encourage you to take a few moments and to read the quotes below and reflect on how you plan to make 2011 your best year yet. The entire team at Barry Demp Coaching wishes you a happy and prosperous 2011.

“Life is not the way it’s supposed to be. It’s the way it is. The way you cope with it is what makes the difference.”
– Virginia Satir

“Human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives.”
– William James

“Everything that happens to you is your teacher. The secret is to learn to sit at the feet of your own life and be taught by it.”
– Polly B. Berends

“In the world that is constantly changing, there is no one subject that will serve you for the foreseeable future, let alone for the rest of your life. The most important skill to acquire now is learning how to learn.”
– John Naisbitt

“Life is a daring adventure or it is nothing.”
– Helen Keller