while traveling from one city to another.
Please, slow down, and make the
most of every interaction. Obviously, this
might mean that you will have far fewer
interactions, but the goal is to make each
one meaningful in a way that improves
performances and results.
The Three-Part Approach to
Optimizing Every Meaningful
Interaction
Whenever you look at your schedule,
and you see a person’s name or a group’s
name coming up, think through these
three steps.
Part One: Think through the desired
objectives for the interaction, what you will
do during the interaction to improve those
results, and what you will do in terms of
follow-up after the interaction to increase
the chances of achieving the desired results.
Part Two: Actually deliver the value
you planned to deliver at the event.
Part Three: Follow up with the
individual or group after the event.
The “event” could be a phone conver-
sation, a meal together, a meeting with a
group of people, a conference, a visit to
another person’s office, an initial meeting
with a prospect, a check-in with an
employee, an annual review with your boss
or any other interaction with an individual
or group.
The goal is NOT to just have an
interaction, and then move on to the next
item on your calendar.
The goal is to optimize the interaction
– to make it as meaningful as you can. This
requires thinking and effective listening
and communicating while you are with
the other person or the group. It requires
being attentive and intentional. It means
focusing on the other person and on what
is important to the other person. This can’t
be a one-way interaction.
Slow down, and think about what
outcome or impact you want the interaction
to create. Keep that in mind as you talk
with the other person, and keep the other
person’s desired outcome in mind as well.
Never leave an interaction and just
forget about it. Actually follow up with the
person in a meaningful way that relates to
what happened while you were with the
person or the group. Write a letter, send an
email or text, set up the next conversation, or
do something else that will reinforce the value
of the time when you were with the person.
Financing your exciting
As an executive coach, management
consultant, seminar leader and keynote
speaker, Dan Coughlin works with
executives and managers on an individual
and group basis to increase their effec-
tiveness and significance. He teaches
The Any Person Mindset Management
Approach. Visit his free Business
Leadership Idea Center at
www.thecoughlincompany.com.
moments!
“Firestone Financial
understands the Planet
Fitness model.”
– Bryan Rishforth
Shye Tzadok
websales@firestonefinancial.com | 617-641-9227
Subject to normal credit approval process. SBA guaranteed products may also be subject to additional terms, conditions and fees. Testimonial statements of expected
typical results we believe consumers will generally achieve with our product or service. Firestone Financial is an affiliate of Berkshire Bank (Member FDIC).
• Up to $10M in guidance credit lines
• Competitive rates
• Tenant improvement and working
capital financing
• SBA loans from Berkshire Bank,
a preferred SBA lender
This will require you to schedule time
to do some type of meaningful follow-up. If
you pack your schedule with one event after
another day after day, then you will not have
any time to follow up on the interactions
you had earlier in the day or the week or the
previous week. If you don’t do part three in
this three-part process, then you might as
well not do parts one and two.
Everyone is busy. They can forget you
just as easily as you can forget them. Follow
up with them, and keep the meaningful
interaction alive. Do this with prospects,
customers, employees, suppliers and people
outside of your business and industry.
That’s how you can improve your produc-
tivity. G
47