Face2Face with Success

Inspiring Quotes about Feedback

Photo by Ambro

  "The more feedback you give to people, the better it is, as long as the feedback is objective and not critical." - Brian Tracy

• "Feedback is the breakfast of champions." - Kenneth Blanchard

• "Ask for feedback from people with diverse backgrounds. Each one will tell you one useful thing. If you're at the top of the chain, sometimes people won't give you honest feedback because they're afraid. In this case, disguise yourself, or get feedback from other sources." - Steve Jobs

• "If you don't get feedback from your performers and your audience, you're going to be working in a vacuum." - Peter Maxwell Davies

"Criticism is driven by the frustration and fears of the giver, not from the needs of the recipient. The underlying assumption is that the recipient somehow "should know better" and needs to be set straight. The implied message is that the recipient's intentions are questionable, that there is something wrong with the recipient that the giver of criticism knows how to fix. In criticism, the problem is all in the recipient.

 In contrast, feedback has an air of caring concern, respect, and support. Far from being a sugar cookie, feedback is an honest, clear, adult to adult exchange about specific behaviors and the effects of those behaviors. The assumption is that both parties have positive intentions, that both parties want to be effective and to do what is right for the company and other people. Another assumption is that well-meaning people can have legitimate differences in perception. The person offering the feedback owns the feedback as being his reaction to the behavior of the other person. That is, the giver recognizes the fact that what is being offered is a perception, not absolute fact." - Gary R. Casselman & Timothy C. Daughtry

• "If you want to find out what a writer or a cartoonist really feels, look at his work. That's enough." - Shel Silverstein

• "I'm vulnerable to criticism. Any artist is, because you work alone in your studio and, until recently, critics were the only way you'd get any feedback" - Howard Hodgkin

• "I phoned my grandparents and my grandfather said 'We saw your movie.' 'Which one?' I said. He shouted 'Betty, what was the name of that movie I didn't like?" - Brad Pitt

 

The Joy of a Reassuring Word

Special photo of a flower my daughter picked for me on her way home after school

 

I hope this passage inspires you.

Sometimes the very desire for action leads to the neglect of action. We're so busy searching for the perfect opportunity, the most effective method, the favorable moment, that we not only disqualify ourselves for the mission and miss the joy, but an urgent need is left unanswered.

I have often experienced the pull of an inner voice, urging me to call a friend who is in need. Invariably, I address the urge by checking my watch to see if the time is appropriate, or by mentally re-prioritizing my schedule to accommodate a more convenient arrangement.

Born of genuine concern for my friend, my determination to provide the most propitious response thwarts the entire effort. The perfect moment never arrives: there is never a convenient time.

When my friend most needed simply to hear a reassuring voice, I wasn't available. I was busy rearranging God's schedule. Are you too?

Joy Mackenzie

Reach out to someone special right now, do something you've been putting off. Now is the perfect time.

 

"Be still & know that I am Lord". When the spirit of JEZEBEL comes at you

Photo by Nuchylee

You've had an enjoyable Easter Sunday ... with friends and family like most of us did this past Sunday, and you are geared up for a productive week ahead of you ... starting with a cramped and crazy Monday at the office. That is how my yesterday began.

So, I see an email from this individual whom I'm not particularly keen on reading from titled "Happy Easter". I am planning to delete it at some point without so much as opening it. I get a call from a friend, asking if I had seen it and I said yes and decided, hey for the fun of it, why not read it?! And just like I thought, there weren't any surprises. It had been sent out to an e-group and copied to another lady and I - we are the subjects of the crazy and nonsensical rantings of the sender.

Here's how it read: "Hello Ladies, I hope that all is well with you and yours. I wanted to take this opportunity to have a little fun at the expense of my two frienemies.

Please know that when you let JEALOUSY, ENVY, GREED, UNNECESSARY COMPETITION & BITTERNESS eat you up, you will become MISERABLE. There is really NOTHING any of us can do to stop anybody's gift or breakthroughs from God. Not even going to 'medicine houses' can do anything when God is in control.

"Different strokes for different folks!" The advantages of having an open mind

Photo by digitalart

What does having an open mind mean? I am sure we have all contemplated this at some point - what do I open myself up to, what shouldn't I? ... especially in today's globalized world.

Being open minded simply means not living inside a box - this box being our minds, very much known for holding many folks hostage.

If you can't entertain different thoughts, listen to a different perspective, try different things, and be respectful and appreciative of those who are different, then you just might be closed minded.

A closed mind typically refuses to budge and is resistant to ideas that are different from its experiences and core beliefs.

Being open minded does not mean compromising our values; it simply means being flexible in our approach, while being capable of discarding that which it does not faundamentally agree with; it means being able to respect the opinions of those who have different beliefs, lifestyles and cultures, and not being dismissive of them.

Open mindedness generally leads to growth in the areas of our lives that need to grow, while informing and educating us about others. Information and knowledge acquired is never wasted ... in fact knowledge to me is like the sunlight of the plant of life - with it we blossom, without it, we shrivel.

14 Timeless Life Rules for Living Wisely

Photo by Africa

I loved these rules when I first read them a few weeks ago, simply because of the intrincis value in each of them. Although Charles Sykes wrote them for kids, adults will find some deep lessons from these rules we all didn't learn from school, if we use them to guide us in making wise decisions.

Originally published as Some rules kids won't learn in school By Charles J. Sykes. Printed in San Diego Union Tribune, September 19, 1996.

Unfortunately, there are some things that children should be learning in school, but don't. Not all of them have to do with academics. As a modest back-to-school offering, here are some basic rules that may not have found their way into the standard curriculum.

Sales 101: 5 Techniques Every Successful Sales Person Knows

Every entrepreneur is in the business of moving products or services to consumers, which is why knowledge of how to sell is of utmost importance. Selling is no longer a job assigned to traditional or professional salespeople as we know them. With the evolution of technology and shift in business ownership to non-traditional entrepreneurs, many individuals with little or no formal sales training are faced with the challenge of learning how to convert interested or not so interested prospects into consumers and loyal customers. 

Whether you are selling a product, a service or introducing an opportunity, here are a few tips that are sure to make your selling experience easier and more productive:

• Appeal to the emotional side of consumers. Most buying decisions are made emotionally and then justified by logic. People buy in a ‘spur of the moment’ kind of way and then convince themselves later that they made a wise decision. Have you ever walked into a department store and purchased an outfit you didn’t budget for "just because...." ? Everyday, customers walk into a car dealership, connect with a car maybe because they love the smell of the leather on the inside, they begin to hug it emotionally, and then find themselves writing a check for a vehicle that is way beyond their price range.

Reach for the Stars. How to Harness your Today for a better Tomorrow

Photo by Dawn Hudson

I am so excited to be blogging again. Permit me to start by apologizing for this long sabbatical ... the year started off a little too busy for us, but thank God this first post of 2012 is finally here! For my first blog post of the year, I have been wondering what to write about that would convey to you readers of Face2Face just how much I care about and respect you, and how thankful we are to have you as part of this family.

There's a quote by Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr that has remained stuck in my mind since I read it on Dunia Magazine a couple of months ago: “If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.”