The Poker Lesson – Adjusting Your Approach Based on the Situation

Although there are many similarities between poker and business, sometimes the strategies contrast. At the poker table, the basic premise is to figure out how your opponent is playing, and then beat them by using a counter strategy. However, the business world is not a zero sum game, and opportunities can easily be win-win. Collaboration amongst teams and partners is the key to success. The following article is below as it was published:

Early on in our career, a businessperson learns that building relationships is a crucial element to success. Fundamental to this concept is our ability to tailor our communication style. My natural tendency, like many other sales and marketing folks, is a friendly story telling approach. However, considering that people like what is familiar to them, I try to deliver my message in a way that best relates to the person I’m speaking with.

For example, if I’m talking to a CEO, I use straightforward and concise messaging, whereas when meeting with a CPA, I focus on analytical tools and data driven concepts. The takeaway is that people have certain styles that they prefer. Being successful in business, and in the game of poker requires an understanding of whom you’re dealing with. Players have certain tendencies based on their value of money and understanding of the game.

If you know what to look for, your opponents give you information that helps you read their hand and play optimally against them. Your capacity to consistently win directly relates to how well you figure out what your opponents are doing. The first step is to observe betting patterns to identify where on the spectrum each player falls in terms of passive/aggressive (how they play their cards) crossed with loose/tight (how many hands they play).

Passive: This player is more risk averse, valuing safety and security. Interested in seeing cheap cards, these players hang around, hoping to make a good hand. This player type rarely raises pre-flop or bluffs post-flop. You’ll know someone is more passive because they tend to check and call frequently. 

Aggressive: This player is comfortable taking risks. Interested in building larger pots and bluffing. You’ll know someone is aggressive because they tend to bet and raise often. To assess how aggressive an opponent is, pay attention to the quality of their cards at showdown.

Tight: Plays fewer hands and generally continues only with good holdings.

Loose: Plays lots of hands and often continues with marginal holdings.

By identifying your opponent, you can figure out what their bets mean and make the best possible decision against them. In poker, like business, sometimes you make the right choice and things don’t work out. Do not be so attached to immediate outcomes, and focus instead on making the right decision for long run results. Learn the game, play within your means, have fun and start winning!

Josh Silverstone

Blurb about Josh: Josh has a background as a management consultant, and is now a Pokerpreneur. He plays in tournaments like the World Series of Poker, and coaches players at all skill levels. Josh uses poker as a tool to help organizations raise money, and for businesses to up their game. For more poker strategy and winning mindsets, check out www.acesraise.com.

The Business Life Cycle – Where Do You Fit?

Every organization goes through different phases – it’s all part of the business life cycle. The phases may have different names, but they follow where an organization is in its own evolution.  The phase that currently exists helps to guide how the organization operates at that given point.

·       The introductory or start-up stage when the organization is new and fresh. I like to think of this as the spring of the organization. New ideas are being planted and starting to spring to life. There’s lots of creativity, innovation, and energy.

·       The growth stage when the organization is meeting the demands of its markets and clients, customers and other stakeholders. I like to think of this as summer. The seeds of ideas that were planted are being cultivated and the resulting products and processes have to be managed.

·       The maturity stage when the organization experiences a leveling out. You’re enjoying the results of your hard work and expansion but you may be seeing increasing pressure from the competition.  You need to be flexible. I like to think of this as autumn when there is still plenty of activity, but things start to quiet down. The excitement and the newness of the introductory or start-up phase has waned.

·       The decline stage when the organization stays entrenched in the past and doesn’t breathe new life – like winter when everything goes dormant. Customers can lose interest as product development ceases to exist and key employees leave. Of course, the winter is a great time to sit back and contemplate rather than hibernate. The decline stage doesn’t have to be the death of the organization if leaders are willing to pause and make substantive changes.

In our fast-paced business environment, many organizations have to make these substantive changes. So many retailers, including the formidable Saks Fifth Avenue are finding that they have to be nimble in this age of the on-line marketplace.  A pork and lamb farmer who sells at my local farmer’s market in the spring and summer takes orders during the winter – when things tend to be dormant –  and has weekly drop-off points near the locations of the spring and summer markets. An innovative way to generate income during the cold months.

Recognizing and managing the various stages of the organization’s life cycle is not only important for leaders, but the associates as well. We’ve heard stories about the innovative leader who’s great at getting something off the ground. Once the newness and excitement is gone, the challenges of growth are overwhelming and the business is sold. Associates, as well, thrive in different stages.

If it’s stability and the status quo that makes you thrive, then an organization in the maturity stage is best suited for you. Don’t get too comfortable though. As that organization moves to decline, your future may not be that stable. Can you play a role in revitalizing it? Are you comfortable with creativity and doing things differently – which is exactly what the organization needs! If you’re not, the change you’ll need to make is to move on to a new organization – one in which you’ll thrive and not merely survive!

The Art of Conversation

When Pope Francis addressed the U.S. Congress in September 2015, he used the word dialogue twelve times. The irony of his use of that word struck me – “I want to take this opportunity to dialogue…” – since he was delivering a speech to them – a one-way communication. Yet dialogue implies a two-way communication, a conversation. Was he implying that there was not enough conversation among the members of this leadership body or was it a subtle suggestion that more two-way communication is needed in the world today? We text, we tweet, we post – but we don’t talk!

We rely too much on electronic communication these days. We push information out via e-mail, text messaging, and social media. All of these media lack social interaction – body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice. Since written communication is composed and not spontaneous, there is no immediate feedback if the message is misinterpreted, produces an unexpected response, or is never received. E-mail can be interactive, but it’s time delayed and often frustrates the process of reaching a conclusion and completing the feedback loop.

A casual conversation among three friends resulted in one offering space at his company to the other two who wanted to hold a simple networking event. He made the referral and introductions to the appropriate individuals in his firm – all via e-mail. The introduction was acknowledged by his colleague, and she subsequently advised the two friends that there’d be more information. Imagine the two friends surprise upon receiving an e-mail six weeks later from yet another staff member describing the event planned for them. The simple meet-and-greet somehow morphed into a formal event involving a presentation. When they finally had a phone call with the colleague to whom they’d been introduced, the two friends discovered she was clueless about the original request. Their request and the event had been blown out of proportion. Several months and countless e-mails later, they all realized that if a phone conversation had taken place initially, the confusion and frustration they were all feeling would have been avoided.

While all generations in the workplace can be equally guilty of heavy reliance on e-communication, the millennials are particularly disadvantaged. Many of them never learned the art of conversation at home. They grew up watching their parents on phones and devices and never learned how to have face-to-face conversations. In today’s virtual workplaces, the challenge to interact in-person becomes greater.

Good conversation is important. It’s the free flow and exchange of information and ideas – where people openly and honestly express opinions, share feelings, and articulate theories willingly, even when ideas and theories are controversial or unpopular. People involved are aware of what’s happening and what’s being said. Good conversation uses the follow skills:

·       Attending skills to convey acknowledgement and recognition and to establish ease.

·       Encouraging skills to help elaborate on thoughts or feelings.

·       Clarifying skills to reduce ambiguity and establish clarity.

·       Reflecting skills to restate, in your own words, what the other person is saying.

Great dialogue leads to effective conversations. Effective conversations have balance, maintain confidence and self-esteem and build trust, integrity and constructive relationships. These are goals that all leaders should embrace. Greater dialogue (and less texting, tweeting and posting) moves everyone toward common, mutual interests.

How Do You Hire?

From the Corner Office Column in the New York Times

Each Sunday, the New York Times interviews an executive about their background.  One of the questions that is almost always asked is, “How do you hire?”  I love reading the responses and always learn something new.  These tips come from people who do a lot of hiring and offer some insights into how to prepare for an interview.   Consider these ideas as you interview for the next position at your organization:

Jake Wobbrock, founding chief executive and chief scientist of AnswerDash, a provider of automated customer service for websites says, “ I start with the three ‘A’s—aptitude, attitude and appetite.  Start-ups are tough and an optimistic attitude is really important. I want to hear stories about how they respond in difficult situations. Appetite is often overlooked. How hungry do they really seem for this opportunity?”

Lori Dickerson Fouche, CEO, Prudential Group Insurance says, “I want to know that people have done their due diligence on the company, and that they have a passion for wanting to work at our company. I want them to care enough to have done their research to make sure there’s also a good cultural fit.  So, I’ll ask, ‘what kind of cultures do you like to work in? Where do you excel?’  I also look for resilience and perseverance.”

Kevin E. Lofton, CEO of Catholic Health Initiatives says “I start with the ‘why’—why are you here; why would this role fit into your career path; and why are you interested in coming to our organization?  I then focus on the ‘what’—what are the things that you’ve done that relate to what you might do here, and what are your ideas for how you can help us? And, then I move to the ‘how’, and that’s where character comes in.”

Jim Dolce, Chief executive of Lookout, a mobile security firm says, “I like to turn the conversation around and do an ‘ask me anything’ kind of exercise. What do you want to know about the company? I will tell you anything you want to know. That gets a bunch of discussion threads going. It tells me what you’re looking for. I can figure out what your interests are and what they’re not. And, just by the nature of the questions you ask, I can tell whether you’ve done your homework on the company and the industry, and whether you have a genuine interest in working here. If you’re going to make a decision to spend the next four or five years of your life working here, you’d better be inquisitive and have a lot of questions about us.”

Jonathan M. Tisch, C-chairman of the Board of Lowes Corporation and chairman of Lowes Hotels and Resorts says “You have to have a gene for hospitality, and I want to see that you have the ability to be creative. It doesn’t matter what role you’re in, you have to be creative in how you look at the challenges you face. And I want people who know how to listen. You can learn a lot with your mouth shut.”

Hopefully, these insights into how successful people hire can help whether you’re an applicant or a hiring manager.