The amount of energy in a company that can be devoted to solving problems, creating new products and improving efficiency is found in the quality of the relationships inside the company. If these personal relationships are constrained, the energy to move a company forward is equally constrained.

The best way to improve relationships is to create a safe environment that allows organic changes. AlphaPresence^sm seminars do just this, but there are other experiments that you can try on your own that give you the opportunity to rewire your behavior in a way that improves your professional and personal relationships. (You don't even need to change anyone else!)

Experiment One:

Spend one week without complaining or making negative comments about others.

For some of us, this will be a challenge. Others may already do it naturally. Some may be surprised by how much complaining and negative comments consume their mental energy. If this exercise is a challenge for you, that means this experiment will be the most helpful to you.

When you complain or make negative comments about others, you accomplish a number of goals.

• You tell the listener that you are insecure.
• You state that problems are bigger than you are.
• You let the listener know that "being themselves" is risky with you.
• You give the message that "this isn't a safe place to work."

This moves personal energy from solving problems, creating products and improving efficiencies to the politics of self-preservation.

Want to experiment with a new behavior?

Spend one week without complaining or making negative comments about others.

If doing this experiment interests you, send me an email with "Positive Regard" in the subject line and I will send you instructions about how to join a free teleseminar so we can set some ground rules and do this together as a group.

This will be fun. I invite you join us.

Richard Friesen