Power of Two
Communication Strategy
Power of Two – Communication Strategy
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COPYRIGHT, LEGAL NOTICE AND DISCLAIMER
Much of this publication is based on personal experience and anecdotal evidence
and although the author and publisher have made every reasonable attempt to
achieve complete accuracy of the content in this Guide, they assume no
responsibility for errors and omissions.
You should use this information as you see fit and at your own risk.
Your
particular situation may not be exactly suited to the examples illustrated here, in
fact no situation will be exactly the same and you should adjust your use of the
information and recommendations accordingly.
Finally use your head.
Nothing in this Guide is intended to replace common
sense, legal, medical or other professional advice and is meant to inform and
educate the reader only.
So have fun with this Key Communication Strategy and go build an awesome
business and life together – celebrate living, sleeping and working together!
Email: info@peoplepower.co.nz
Copyright © 2012 People Power Training Academy Ltd
All Rights Reserved Worldwide
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction ......................................................................................... 3
Different not Difficult ......................................................................... 4
Strategy to Success .............................................................................. 5
Seven Simple Steps
Profiling Tools .......................................................................... 5
Knowing Me – Knowing You ..................................................... 6
D.O.P.E. ............................................................................... 7-8
Grab A Coffee ........................................................................... 9
Communicate ......................................................................... 10
Live, Love, Laugh ................................................................................ 11
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Power of Two – Communication Strategy
INTRODUCTION
Michael and I have been married and in business together now for nearly three
decades. In that time we’ve started three businesses, sold one of them, had two
kids and become so accustomed to the daily roller coaster of our lives that when
I did take a jump to create a business with another a few years back – it turned
out to be a disaster – an awesome “platform for continued learning”!
Hindsight of course being a wonderful thing, we then set about to refocus our
energies and re-evolve our business to have it fit with the lifestyle we have
chosen as opposed to having to fit our lifestyle around our business.
And how did we get to where we are today – it’s funny, my initial response to
that is “I have no idea” and yet when I stop and think about it three words come
to mind – Communication, Commitment and Compromise!
So today I share with you one key communication strategy, one simple
communication technique for you to master and have you dramatically improve
your relationship, your business, the very quality of your life.
Several years ago I was part of a team building exercise based on the Myers
Briggs / DISC theory of personality profiles.
The most valuable part of the
workshop for me was learning about my own “type” / “style” – it blew me out of
the water, it had me to a T! The second most important part of the workshop
was learning of my co-workers “type” / communication “style”.
We were given
identifying stickers and for the rest of the day every time I glanced at another as
I was talking to them I would be thinking to myself – Now I understand why that
person drives me crazy (and probably vice versa)!
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Even more importantly, I took the exercise home and completed it with Michael –
it was so funny to have what we thought about ourselves, and each other, spelt
out on paper in front of us, in words we could understand and visuals that we
could “see” as we began a journey to understand ourselves and each other
better. Understanding each other’s traits, appreciating our unique differences
and learning how better to communicate has definitely been a key to making our
partnership successful both in the work and home environment.
So today I share with you the same key strategy, the one simple technique to
have you master and dramatically improve your relationship, your business, the
very quality of your life ….. identifying your unique communication style!
Fact One – We Are All Different
It’s not just a Mars v. Venus thing, it’s about our communication styles, our
thinking style and what motivates us, our strengths, our weaknesses, it’s about
our different working styles and tolerance levels – it’s about each of us having a
different view of the world around us.
Fact Two – Perfect communication between any two human
beings is not realistic!
As partners when we learn about our own preferred communication style and
choose to manage our communication patterns, our relationship and business
will profit. When we learn what works for each other and embrace each other’s
unique styles our life and business together can rock! Remember too, if WE will
never be perfect, we can never expect perfection of OUR partner!
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Power of Two – Communication Strategy
So let’s start at the start, identifying our own individual communication style –
Follow the 7 STEPS to PROCESS and remember if you want more information
email us on info@peoplepower.co.nz and we will send you out our
Communication
Excellence
Guidebook
incorporating
a
comprehensive
questionnaire to identify your personality/communication; an in-depth analysis of
your primary, secondary and combination profiles.
Step One: I am going to introduce you to a tool that I love to use as an
introduction to profiling – the DOPE profile.
WARNING: The profiling tool we are about to introduce you to is NOT the most
“in-depth” profile around; NOT the “best” psychological assessment; NOT rocket
“science” and definitely NOT a “detailed” scientifically based diagnosis.
What it is, is, a quick way to get a better understanding of your baseline
personality and how you communicate with others. It is what we call the DOPE
test (Dove, Owl, Peacock, Eagle), what others call the Platinum Rule, the DISC
profile, the BIRDS.
And I like this tool for it’s simplicity and fun factor – without too much thinking
you will automatically recognize the differences portrayed by simply “seeing” the
birds in your minds eye! Remember this is just a guide on how you might prefer
to act/react/communicate in certain situations, so should be used only as an
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indicator to increase your awareness of your unique strengths, weaknesses and
abilities. No one person will ever fit perfectly into any one category, and no one
“bird” is better than the others – they are all simply different.
A little background on the DOPE test: formulated by Dr Gary Couture
(synonymous with BEST – Bold, Expressive, Sympathetic, Technical), a variation
of Dr William Marston’s, DISC test (DISC – Dominant, Influencer, Steady,
Compliant) and similar to Allison Mooney’s and Florence Littauer’s Personality
Plus model (Popular/Playful, Powerful, Perfect/Precise, Peaceful).
Step Two: Have a read of the simplified BIRD summaries on the next page and
see if you can easily identify your dominant traits & then identify which BIRD fits
your partner.
AND
Step Three: Have your partner do the same (with no input from you), have
them read the simplified BIRD summaries and see if they can easily identify
themselves & then identify your dominant BIRD style.
Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom.
Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power
– Lao Tzu
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FOUR BIRD TYPES
Dove
The peaceful dove. The dove is people-orientated, loyal, friendly,
hard working and a great team player but tends to avoid change,
confrontation, risk-taking and assertiveness. Doves take one day at
a time and are good at and enjoy taking time to stop and smell the
roses whenever they can in their day. Doves prefer to communicate one on one
and face to face and their best skills are in relationship building. Doves take a
very democratic attitude towards decision making which tends to take a longer
time. Since doves make an effort to be polite and courteous, they do not like
people who are blunt, direct and cold.
Owl
The wise
owl. The owl is logical, mathematically minded,
methodical and sometimes seen as a perfectionist. The owl can be
slow to make decisions and inflexible if rules and logic says
otherwise. Owls are not big risk takers and love detail, they like to have plenty of
information, evidence and theory available in any area they are investigating or
exploring. The strength of an owl is in their ability to problem solve as they are
able to work through a situation logically and systematically without emotion,
often able to identify the best course of action required.
Owls prefer to
communicate in writing due to their desire to have everything exact and planned.
Owls also like to work in an environment where they are uninterrupted, they
become frustrated with people who talk excessively and shoe too much emotion.
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Power of Two – Communication Strategy
Peacock
The expressive peacock. The peacock loves talking, being the
center
of
attention,
has
passion/enthusiasm
and
is
happy/optimistic. Peacocks can be accused of talking too much
and are not good with detail or time-control.
Peacocks are
energetic and love to be where the action is, they are great at dreaming up ideas
and getting others excited about their visions.
To persuade a peacock you will
need to show plenty of enthusiasm for your idea, show how it will benefit them
directly and present your idea with flair and creativity. Peacocks like to work in
high energy, dynamic, creative environments with plenty of flexibility and
autonomy. Peacocks are frustrated by shy, quiet, calm and disciplined people,
these people they perceive as boring/unexciting!
Eagle
The dominant
eagle. Eagles are bold, stimulated by
challenge, decisive and direct. Eagles can be blunt and
stubborn, they can lose sight of the big-picture and can be
insensitive to other people’s needs. Eagles are natural
achievers, who like action and want results in a short period of time. Eagles
excel in a crisis situation because they are fact decision makes and they will take
control of a situation. Eagles prefer speedy forms of communication because
they are busy. To persuade Eagles you will need to have a brief, hard hitting
presentation, packed with benefits that will bring a significant impact is a short
period of time. Eagles do not like timewasting or unnecessary talk, they tune out
if not interested. Eagles are fiercely competitive and are frustrated by people
who have no goals, no direction in life.
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Step Four: Take 15 minutes over coffee/tea (or something a little stronger
depending on the time of day) and discuss your styles, strengths and
differences.
(a) In a nutshell – talk about how simply you can identify your dominant BIRD
type and that of your significant other half.
(b) Have a laugh – take on the personality of the BIRD style that epitomizes
you, imagine together how the BIRDS would communicate in different
environments, in response to different situations and problems that arise.
(c) Recall times when your communication has missed the mark and you have
seen the “feathers” fly – can you see where you could have each done
something differently to connect differently?
Can you immediately identify areas where you are both similar and on the other
hand areas where you are completely different (i.e. for Michael and I it is around
decision making – I like to have all the details, agonize over the positives and
negatives, he just goes by gut feeling).
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Step Five: Based on your discussion in STEP FOUR – define what works well
for you both in the way you communicate together
(1) _________________________________________________________
(2) _________________________________________________________
(3) _________________________________________________________
Step Six: Based on your discussion in STEP FOUR – describe three things that
you can do differently together to take your communication to the next level,
creating more fun, wealth and success in your relationship and business
(1) _________________________________________________________
(2) _________________________________________________________
(3) _________________________________________________________
Step Seven:
Revisit your list each week and carry out a communication audit
– always over a coffee/tea or something stronger! Keep communication as a key
business strategy and you WILL maximize your strengths, your potential and
your bottom line profits!
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Power of Two – Communication Strategy
WRAP IT UP
Time seems to have just flown by and when I look back, when we started our
life and business together it was something that just happened – there were no
HOW TO books, there was no one there to help us create a VISION or carry out
a SWOT analysis.
It just seemed the right thing to do, a natural course for
Michael and I to take and yet now I look back at what we have done, where we
have been and boy have we had a great ride together and will continue now the
girls have left NZ. And don’t I wish I knew then all I know now - based on what
we “knew”, we must have been crazy.
And I still hold that conviction if you are looking at going into business with your
significant other half, first pre-requisite – you have to be a little crazy. To live,
sleep and work together 24/7, day in and day out, through the ups and downs
and everything in between – add to that children and other family commitments
that come along – that sort of commitment represents a special type of lunacy!
And I say BRING IT ON – GO FOR IT and I will leave you with something I
recently read in a café that epitomize’s what I believe life in business together is
all about …
“Life isn’t about dawdling to the grave, arriving safely
in
an
attractive,
wrinkle-free
body,
but
rather
an
adventure that ends skidding in sideways, champagne in
one hand, strawberries in the other, totally worn out,
screaming YEHAAAAA – what a ride” - ANON
Enjoy your ride together - LIVE, LOVE & LAUGH
Anna & Michael Anderson
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