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I love the fall.  There are so many reasons – the weather, the trees, the food, the sports, special birthdays, and Thanksgiving (my favorite holiday).This year the fall season is even more special for several reasons. I haven’t been on the road as much as usual, so I’ve been enjoying more than my fair share of gatherings with friends and spur-of-the-moment family get-togethers. And we are experiencing a burst of energy in our business – a renewed focus within our team, great clients and outstanding affiliate partners.

As one of my friends put it, the process of battling this type of cancer is “like pushing the pause button on your life for about a year.” I can tell you that knowing what I do about how people perceive the world has been an important component in the whole process. So much so that I thought that my experience was worth sharing.

I have several friends who send me interesting emails. You know the type, You Tube videos, jokes, stories – you probably get a few of these, too. Recently, I received one that got me to thinking about its message, which was “Change your words. Change your world.” It’s a message that really hit home for me, especially within the context of human Perceptual Styles.  How you perceive the world – how you make meaning out of what your senses experience – really does determine your world. This means that the words you choose to create meaning and share your experiences with others have a powerful impact on your life.

It seems to go without saying – people are the most important part of any business. Their strengths, their contributions, their ideas, are essential. But working with those strengths, recognizing those contributions and ideas, isn’t always easy. Every person is different, but when it comes to business, we all have the same goal – to succeed.

Just as in the human body, the strength of a business comes from its core. A strong core facilitates growth and endurance, and in business, that growth equals success, and that endurance equals longevity. Naturally, a successful, long-living business is what we all want and strive for!

Marketing was never my forte. Recently, I was talking to some people about my struggles with marketing before we discovered natural marketing styles (more about that later).  Before I finished my sentence, one of the people I was speaking to said:“  I can tell you how to do that. Here’s all you have to do. First you do this… Then you do this … It’s that simple. You can do it, but you have to want to.”.

What do you think of when you think of the word 'networking?' If you're like most people, what comes to mind is a room full of strangers with their business cards in hand, trying to sell you on what they can do for you. The sort of place where you're likely to hear one 90-second elevator speech after another, but have very few real conversations.

Leadership development is defined by Wikipedia as “any activity that enhances the quality of leadership within an individual or organization.” As one might expect from this definition, what constitutes leadership development is highly dependent upon the definition of leadership.

When I worked in the corporate world I learned to appreciate that people perceive things differently. By understanding the differences in the way people see the world, what is important to them, the conclusions they draw, and the actions they take, I was able to put people in positions that used their natural skills, surround myself with people who complimented rather than mirrored my skills, and assemble teams that had both the right amount of creative tension and synergy.

When I speak to groups about Talent Advantage I always begin by clearly defining everything the concept encompasses. Simply put, Your Talent Advantage is the idea that each of us is born with a unique set of natural skills. When we recognize and develop these skills into their full potential we create our “Talent Advantage.” When speaking, I always receive smiles and knowing nods from the audience. It seems that we are all familiar with the concept in some shape or form, and more importantly the concept resonates with what we know to be true. Yet the amazing thing to me is how many people “understand” the concept and yet fail to truly live it.”