Clusters
Facial Expressions
STARS Method for Thinking on Your Feet
Responding to Difficult Questions
Reading Verbal Tone
Emotional Intelligence
Employee Motivation
Self-Reflection
Self-Awareness
Emotional Intelligence
Mode of Communication
Change Management
Transparent Communication
Continuous Communication
Public Speaking
Voice Inflection
Our story takes us through the trials and tribulations of Dalton Zimmer, a well-known speaker and executive coach. Readers are led through many different challenging scenarios that test Dalton's resilience and character. Dalton balances his client demands with operating his business and attempting to be a good father to two kids, Caleb (12) and Liora (11). Some of the scenarios and topics covered in the forthcoming narrative include:
Chapter 1: The People-Centric Journey Begins Anew: This chapter re-establishes our characters and sets up our storylines for the duration of the novel.
Chapter 2: Reading Through People: Dalton arrives at his client (Sojo Technologies) in San Francisco to assist the CFO in interviewing a suspected harasser and fraudster, Julianne Cranson. Julianne is a high-level sales executive who has always been one of the company's top producers but is suspected of numerous violations, including kickbacks, undocumented discounts to customers, fraudulent reporting of travel expense, and threatening employees. Dalton advises and assists Kelli Jackson on how to approach Julianne and how to read her. Dalton has also coached Kelli on presenting to the audit committee and board and is planning a return visit for hands-on instruction for her team.
Chapter 3: Emotional Intelligence: Dalton drives into San Jose to meet with Stanton Electronics Chief Financial Officer Brad Lester, a long-term friend and client. Dalton has his kids fly up and spend the weekend with Brad and his kids. Dalton takes in Dax's (Brad's eight-year old) soccer game, where Brad is an outspoken fan and parent. Brad is very demanding and vocal. After the game, Dalton and Brad talk about his impact on his son and how, in certain situations, Brad is intimidating without realizing it. The conversation dovetails into the importance of empathy and how to use it effectively to build relationships and relate to people.
Chapter 4: Different Points of View: Using Self-Awareness and Empathy Effectively: The next day, after Dalton's deep-dive conversation with Brad on emotional intelligence and how to apply it in the workplace and at home, Brad applies these key learnings in an important conversation with his son, Dax.
Chapter 5: Wrong Mode = Wrong Mood: Determining the Optimal Mode of Communication: Dalton's ex-wife is Caleb's newly appointed soccer team manager and wants to make sure the communication issues that the team has suffered from in the past do not continue to occur. Over dinner, Leslie and Dalton discuss some situations that have occurred and how they should have been communicated.
Chapter 6: Influencing Change Throughout Any Business: Dalton delivers one of his signature courses on how to look for deficiencies and continually improve any business process. Dalton starts the presentation with the importance of communication throughout any organization, highlighting the foundational keys to a successful corporate culture transparent, continuous communication.
Chapter 7: Projecting the Real You: Public Speaking: Dalton meets another visit to the Bay Area to see Kelli and her team and discuss presentation skills and leading practices on how to deliver a compelling message.
Chapter 8: Coaching and Mentoring: Dalton meets with Austin, head of Information Technology at Sojo Technologies, to determine the right path and approach to deliver feedback to one of his directors, David Allison. Austin is struggling with David because he was recently promoted to vice president, a role David believes should have been his.
Chapter 9: Presentation Skills and Body Language: Dalton reviews the videos completed by Kelli's team and delivers feedback to the team on presentation skills and body language and other topics that assist in delivering a top-notch presentation.
Chapter 10: Thinking Quickly on Your Feet: Dalton discusses leading practices in listening techniques and how to recall a person's name. He also discusses how the senior team might handle people who display aggressive techniques. He introduces the STARS method for thinking quickly on your feet, and how anyone can use it effectively.
Chapter 11: Coaching and Mentoring, Revisited: Dalton previously coached Austin and assists him in delivering feedback to David Allison, a direct report he has struggled with since Austin's promotion to vice president. Dalton helps Austin deliver delicate feedback to make sure he and David are aligned moving forward.
Chapter 12: Crisis Management: Prior to catching a flight, Dalton discusses the pros and cons of various ways to handle crisis management with Sojo CEO Brandon and CFO Kelli.
Epilogue: We wrap up some of our storylines and find out what happens to Dalton, Lauren, Julianne, and others.
NOTES
1 1 https://hrexecutive.com/are-soft-skills-more-important-than-the-right-qualifications/
2 2 https://www.fenews.co.uk/featured-article/17062-are-soft-skills-more-important-than-education
3 3 https://www.forbes.com/sites/nazbeheshti/2018/09/24/are-hard-skills-or-soft-skills-more-important-to-be-an-effective-leader/#5e1f9a512eb3
Acknowledgments
I
