Being Blind to Bias and the Value of an Outside Perspective

Posted by Vince Poscente on Fri, Sep 09, 2022 @ 06:15 AM

You may think you're the exception. BUT... everyone has Blind Spot Bias.

We each have a tendency to see other people being more biased than we are. In fact, in one study - over 85% of Americans reported they are less biased in their thinking.

People are motivated to see themselves in a positive light while biases are generally seen as undesirable.

Everyone has unconscious patterns and personal ‘factory defects’ if you will. There are things about each of us, we don’t know we have.

Let’s say elbow skin for example.

Roll your sleeve up and give your elbow skin a pinch. There, see that, you have no feeling in your elbow skin. A factory defect you weren’t likely aware of.

Another 'factory defect'... you have a Blind Spot.

Take this quick test. Cover your left eye. Keep your right eye on the + sign while you slowly bring your face closer to the screen. At some point the black spot will disappear then reappear. THAT is your blind spot.

Blind spot bias with Vince Poscente

When it comes to topics you’re passionate about, you also have a combination of blind spots. Blind Spot biases are enhanced by confirmation bias and repetition bias. You recognize data as aligning with your way of seeing the world, and bingo you have reinforced or confirmed your bias. Or, you hear a certain bit of information repeatedly and you are in the sights of repetition bias. 

If you hold your gaze from a fixed position, there is nothing you can do about your optical bias. It is by seeing something from a different angle or position will you then see what you couldn’t see before. The same can be said in life.

If you are posting your bias on social media or arguing your point with a significant other, know, you may have an unconscious bias, A BLIND SPOT that’s a factory defect somewhat like the unfeeling elbow skin of objectivity. 

For leaders and sales folks who are driving forward without an awareness of your blind spot biases... give us a call. The value of an outside perspective can be priceless. 


#Goals #selfawareness #biases #BusinessLeadership #setbacktobreakthrough

Tags: Goals, Sales, Motivational, Business Leadership, Inspirational, Changing Times, CustomerExperience

Put a Moat of Value Around Your Business

Posted by Vince Poscente on Thu, Jun 09, 2022 @ 12:15 PM

It’s hyper-competitive out there and we all seek ways to protect what we’ve built. There are those who are determined to attack your book of business, storm your sales territory, steal your market share, displace you from the job you enjoy, or a litany of ground assaults. Lead with value first and you will effectively create a protective moat. The more valuable your upfront offer, the more you fortify unassailable walls. Be creative with the value you provide.

Protect Your Biz with a Moat of Value

Here’s an example:

This past week I attended this compelling session by @RichardBliss. He talked about the tactics to get the highest engagement on LinkedIn. While he conducted the session, a real post was initiated by an attendee.

By the end of the 90-minute course, she had over 1,000 impressions. It was impressive. I tried my own LinkedIn post and checked most of the boxes:

  • Write a compelling post,
  • include names of individuals,
  • add original images,
  • insert 3-5 hashtags,
  • and make it a priority to answer all the comments that would appear in the first two magical hours of the posting.

Alas, the post only had a few dozen views.

Undeterred, I realized I needed to encourage comments by providing value to them first.

I texted 155 friends on Wednesday with an invitation to participate in this study and (here's the value part) a promise to provide the results.

At the time of posting this to you, the impressions on Thursday’s post were 4,500.

By offering value first, you are effectively competing at a higher level. With a background in ski racing, I learned it is conventional and average to do what your competition is not doing. Instead, do what the competition is not willing to do, and you’ll put a moat around your business.

With this moat of value, you will better secure that castle of yours.

#businesslife #innovation #digitalmarketing #winningstrategies #setbacktobreakthrough

Tags: Sales, Business Leadership, CustomerExperience

Breakthroughs of Audio Branding for Customer Engagement

Posted by Vince Poscente on Fri, Dec 18, 2020 @ 01:06 PM

Audio branding impact is not just for large companies. Entrepreneurs who seek distinction from their competition are in on the sound logo advantage. A sound logo will elevate your customers’ experience.

Audio branding is not new. If I were to quiz you on the following sound logos, chances are you’ll be able to sing them immediately. Intel. Netflix. HBO. McDonalds. A good logo resonates with the sense of sight and is meant to elicit an emotional response. Adding the sense of sound further elevates a customers’ experience of your product or service.

Audio branding is next level entrepreneurship. Just ask GaryVee (Gary Vaynerchuk) about the Rise of Audio Branding as a competitive advantage. He supports the fact that audio branding is important.

"Sonic branding is about how your brand sounds and how it gets recalled or remembered — like the little jingle in the beginning of video games or the sound when you boot up your computer. It’s about to become dramatically more important for every single brand."

Note that jingles are the predecessor to sound logos. In fact, there's anecdotal evidence that Elizabethan musicians, wandering from town to town in the 16th century, were known to be sponsored by local entrepreneurs to come up with catchy tunes. Over the centuries, music has been used to enhance a company's brand image. In the roaring 20's Wheaties introduced a jingle. The first jingle broadcasted on radio was a General Mills initiative. "Wheaties, the best breakfast food in the land" first aired December 24th, 1926. It only aired in Minneapolis market. Sales in that area blew the roof off sales compared to the rest of the country. Advertisers caught on. It wasn't long after, alongside the popular 'radio in every home' companies took advantage of the infectious power of a catchy jingles from "plop plop fizz fizz" to "Like a good neighbor." 

The next iteration of sound branding are audio logos. The addition of sound, and the subtle difference of a moving logo, your audience (or customer) is trained to get a shot of endorphines. Think of THX prior to a movie. That bone rattling wwwwwwwoooohhhhmmmmm sets up the audience for a "This is about to go down." 

The internet, websites, and proliferation of video communication facilitates immediate access for savvy entrepreneurs to do the exact same thing as the corporate 'Big Dogs.' 

The accessibility of having your own sound logo has become immensely accessible. Answer these questions:

1. Where can you get a Champagne Sound Logo on a Beer Budget? (see @MaxLewisPoscente cell 214-240-9987 below)

2. What are the Top Ten Jingles of our time?

    1. McDonald's "I'm Lovin' It"
    2. Kit Kat® "Give Me a Break"
    3. Oscar Mayer "I Wish I Was an Oscar Mayer Weiner"
    4. Subway "Five Dollar Foot Long"
    5. Empire "800 Number"
    6. State Farm "Like a Good Neighbor"
    7. Lucky Charms "They're Magically Delicious"
    8. Huggies "I'm a Big Kid Now"
    9. Alka Seltzer "Plop Plop, Fizz Fizz"
    10. Band-Aid "Stuck on Band-Aid"

3. What are the best sound logos of our time?

  1. McDonalds
  2. Honda
  3. THX 
  4. Netflix
  5. HBO
  6. Intel
  7. Microsoft Windows 95
  8. Apple
  9. XBox
  10. MGM Lion

Full disclosure, @MaxLewisPoscente is my son and I learned this from him. He produces audio branding and sound logos for companies of all sizes who are wanting to elevate their brand experience. If you'd like to learn more about how a sound logo would benefit your business, contact @MaxLewisPoscente cell 214-240-9987.

#breakthroughs #soundlogo #businessgrowth #audiobrand #wegotthis

Tags: Sales, Changing Times, CustomerExperience

The Hazards of a Self-Serving Bias

Posted by Vince Poscente on Wed, Nov 04, 2020 @ 03:57 PM

A self-serving bias can cut two ways. Avoid any form of self-destruction.

As you'll see in this video, if you take credit and say, "Those good things are due to me," then you have a self-serving bias. If you say, "Those bad things are not my fault, they happen to me because of someone or something else," then you have the other side-of-the-sword where you are playing the victim.

Basically, having these kinds of biases hobble your growth.

The solution is to let go. Let go of the credit. Let go of the victim language. Just let go of the bias altogether.

It all correlates to the versions of the truth. There's your truth. The other person's truth. Then theirs likely 'the truth.'

Having a bias may make you feel good. You may feel vindicated. You may feel 'right.' Your bias may launch you into, "The good fight." But if bias has anything to do with ego or fear, it is a bias that is on the road to dysfunction.

If you absolutely HAVE to HAVE bias, then have a bias for LOVE while you have a bias against hate.

As Martin Luther King said, "Hate is too great a burden to bear."

Look for ways you can observe without judgment. Look for opportunities to clarify someone's point of view. Challenge yourself to actively listen over silently formulating what you're going to say next. Self-serving biases diminish your relationships with others, and, get this, your self.

Breakthroughs in life happen when you are constantly in the solution loop of listening, not talking. Test out what you think and challenge your own beliefs. Be part of a conversation not a one-way stream of your biases. Being right is far less important than being happy.

Let go of the self-serving bias.

Tags: Self Development, Sales, Team Building, Motivational, Business Leadership, Inspirational, Changing Times, Safety

How to Eliminate Fear (or at least make fear insignificant)

Posted by Vince Poscente on Wed, Nov 04, 2020 @ 03:05 PM

Fear can be the bane of our existence. Getting rid of fear(s) will be a lifelong pursuit. 

The paradoxes surrounding FEAR is multilayered: 

  • Run away from fear it gets larger.
  • Run towards fear and it gets smaller.
  • If you let fear go up, confidence goes down.
  • If you minimize fear, confidence goes up.
  • Fake that you're not scared and you're only kidding yourself.
  • Embrace your fears and you are courageous.
  • If you ignore what you fear, you're ignoring what is important to you.
  • If you dive into the middle of what scares you you're on your way to fulfillment. 

This video is a small exploration into the power of fear. Whether that power is in your hands or out of your control is absolutely up to you.

Enjoy.

Tags: Goals, Self Development, Sales, Business Leadership, Inspirational, Money, Changing Times, Safety

Goal Acceleration | Raising Good Kids | Making the Sale and MORE

Posted by Vince Poscente on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 @ 03:15 PM

Conversations with Dune explore a variety of inspirational topics, practical tools for entrepreneurs, insights for parents, and anyone searching for a better way... Enjoy this one hour and fifty minute interview. 

Tags: Goals, Self Development, Sales, Business Leadership, Inspirational, Money, Changing Times, Safety, Neuroscience of Safety, Safety Training

7 Highly Effective Virtual Meeting Tactics

Posted by Vince Poscente on Fri, May 15, 2020 @ 04:07 PM

Deliver experiences that put everyone in the front row.

Whether your virtual event has 10,000 people on it or 100, follow these highly effective approaches to have maximum impact and lasting influence. I've been doing video production for years (starting with a vampire movie when I was 12 to documentaries to live feeds for World Championship Olympic Wrestling, etc). Couple that with me award-winning presentation skills and I know you'll benefit from this video. Meeting planners and C-Suite leaders agree that their most valuable asset, human capital, needs to be educated, entertained, and motivated for a successful online event. Watch this 1.5-minute video to make the most from your virtual meeting.

1. Go Spielberg, Not Fosse

Think production not theater. Use multiple cameras for a dynamic experience.

2. Hire a Production Host

Your IT Guy Aint' THE GUY. A Production Host knows Tech AND Production

3. Hire Presenters to Set Momentum and Tone

Pro Speakers Keep the Energy High. Execs Lead the Way.

 4. Assign Moderators for Optimum Flow

Ensure you have PreSet Polls, Q&A Plants and Meeting Rooms

5. Entertain, Educate and Motivate

Ensure each session has a healthy dose of each. 

6. Turn Your Panel into an Interview Festival

Assign 3 interviewers per panelist. Make your audience the hero.

7. Pre, During, Post Engagement Tools

Set the stage with Pre Event Materials that come-to-life during and after the event.

 

 

Tags: Goals, Sales, Team Building, Motivational, Business Leadership, Changing Times

Virtual Presentations to Last a Lifetime

Posted by Vince Poscente on Thu, May 14, 2020 @ 09:46 AM

Everybody's running around trying to do what the competition's not doing, especially when there's chaos. Here's how to have a competitive advantage.

Instead of trying to do what the competition's not doing, imagine your competition is the highest performers, that person that does what you do, and instead of doing what that person's not doing, try this. Do what the competition is not willing to do. What is that high performer not willing to do?

Typically, those are the things you're not willing to do either. The biggest advantage of virtual presentations is we're creating a dialogue, people communicating better. The biggest mistake is we're taking a bucket of content and dumping it on people's head and hoping that it sticks. The only way content is gonna stick is through an experience, and it's especially true with virtual presentations.

For you, I've created a virtual presentation for you that accomplishes three things.

First, that it's ENTERTAINING. The people are engaged in the story because of storytelling. This recreational skier to Olympian in four years is also the motivational piece.

The second piece, being MOTIVATED to move forward and to be inspired by someone else's story that draws them in to that experience.

The third piece is the CONTENT, the content that gets inside their head that's both innovative and counterintuitive. The people go, "Okay, that's a great idea. "Hadn't thought of it that way." 

For example, use a gold dot is a trigger for your emotional buzz. I put them everywhere. On the back of my cell phone. On the odometer in my car. On the bathroom mirror. On my toothbrush. A gold dot triggers that emotional buzz of where you want to go.

When you have an emotional quotient attached to where you want to go, your people are going to get exceed their goals faster than you ever thought possible.

Listen, bring in a professional speaker. As an Olympian, a "New York Times" best-selling author, and Hall of Fame speaker, I'm able to take people on an unforgettable experience in a virtual presentation where they're engaged. It sticks for a lifetime. The best part of my virtual keynotes is they are interactive.

We had a comment the other day, the attendee said, "I felt like I was in the front row." Put your audience in the front row of this virtual presentation and given them an experience. We had zero people drop off the call. Zero. Zero people because they were entertained, educated, and motivated all at the same time.

Let's do those three things within your virtual presentation. 

Tags: Goals, Self Development, Sales, Team Building, Motivational, Business Leadership, Inspirational, Changing Times, Radical Safety, Safety Training, CustomerExperience

The Science of Alignment

Posted by Vince Poscente on Wed, Apr 08, 2020 @ 03:16 PM

The ratio between the conscious and subconscious mind is the exact same ratio between an ant and an elephant.

The ant is the conscious mind, the elephant the subconscious. The ant is on the back of your elephant making decisions on direction. You make a decision, I wanna go west, it starts marching on the back of the elephant going west. What if the elephant is headed east, which way is the ant really going?

East thinking you're going west. But it's human nature. We make decisions and owners and managers, I wanna go west, I'm gonna go on a diet. Subconscious mind, I don't think so. And so we may have unconscious reasons why not and end up in a place where we go how did I end up here again?

Yet, how much better would you compete with this kind of alignment?

How much better could you do what the competition's not willing to do if you had 2,000 neurons and four billion neurons headed in the same direction.

Tags: Goals, Self Development, Sales, Team Building, Motivational, Business Leadership, Inspirational, Money, Changing Times, Neuroscience of Safety

Can Covid Campers Manage their Way to Excellence?

Posted by Vince Poscente on Mon, Mar 30, 2020 @ 05:52 PM

Hey COVID campers, how you doing?

You know what? We're trying to manage our way through this situation. We're trying to cope as things look like they might get worse before they get better. Yet, we don't manage our way to excellence, and then we don't cope our way to better outcomes.

Now when you think of what the opposite of managing or coping with a situation is, it's surrendering, well we're not doing that either.

The point here is to be able to supersede coping into the next level, which is to be able to be curious about the kinds of things that may work and then get creative within that. 

I mentioned this earlier, but I'll give you another example. My son Max is a musician. You know, he is kind of trapped at home with the rest of us. He's reaching out through social media, and he's saying, hey, tell me your story, I'll create a song for you. And then I'll give it back to you and I'll play it live for you. So, is that gonna bring in revenue for him? Who knows, that's not the point. He has an expertise, he got curious about the kinds of things he could do, and then he got creative with that.

Here's a link for you to be able to learn more about what Max is doing.

In the same breathe, how curious and creative can you be in these times ahead instead of just coping or managing the situation? Take care COVID campers, bye bye.

Tags: Goals, Self Development, Sales, Team Building, Motivational, Business Leadership, Inspirational, Money, Changing Times