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What does it take for 800 people to work together on a project with a minimum of friction? Back in 1983, that’s exactly what my partner Lynda-Ross and I were aiming to figure out.  When I fist met Lynda-Ross, she was managing a very large multi-year systems development project for a major corporation and she was searching for tools to help the people working on the project stay motivated, reduce conflict, and perform to the best of their capability.

Why do some people thrive in the work they do while others seem miserable? Throughout my years as a business coach and a consultant, this question always fascinated me. On a practical level, I always tried to place people in the “right” job for them. But uncovering “right” was a trial and error process of soliciting input from people about what they wanted and then observing their performances.  It wasn’t until my partner Gary and I developed the Perceptual Style Assessment that I discovered a reliable way to help people match their talents with the tasks at hand.

It sounds easy – knowing who you are. It should be a given, right? Knowing and understanding who you are is a lifetime process that begins in childhood, on the playground, when you begin the process of learning just where you fit in.  But where you fit in as an entrepreneur is a whole different question!  Most people start a business because they have an area of expertise. If they’re in tune with who they really are and what makes them happy, chances are, this area of expertise is also an area of deep personal passion.

Coaches have the honor and privilege of working with a broad range of clients in a variety of different contexts. Whether the context for that coaching is professional or personal, clients reveal what life is like from their unique perspective. What might come easily for one client is a constant struggle for another. What feels like an opportunity to one client feels hugely intimidating to another… and the list of differences goes on and on.

Most of you, I am sure, know the scene: As December marches on we prepare ourselves to gather with family members to celebrate the holidays. You may prepare for it with dread, with joyful anticipation, or with a mixture of the two, but we do it every year and rarely ask the question, “Why”?  I was confronted with this question recently by my 21 year old nephew, and I have become quite intrigued by my quest to find an answer.

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!