eZine February 2010

Jennifer Chittenden is Client Relations Coordinator for Tero International. She joined the Tero Team in 2005.

Jennifer establishes and maintains solid relationships with Tero's clients, ensuring the quality experience that Tero promises. She is certified to serve as a coach for Tero's workshop - IMPACT: How To Speak Your Way To Success.

Prior to Tero, Jennifer was the Recruitment Team Coordinator at Gazette Communications in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where she worked with the Recruitment Team to establish better selling and prospecting methods and serve the clients needing recruitment advertising.

Jennifer is a graduate of the University of Iowa and holds a B.A. in Communication Studies. While at Iowa, she held a marketing internship with the University of Iowa Learning & Development. She is a 2009 graduate of the West Des Moines Leadership Academy.

Jennifer serves on the Board of Directors for the Central Iowa Chapter of ASTD as Vice President of Programming. She also leads the committee for Central Iowa Shelter & Services - Public Relations. Jennifer contributes as an instrumentalist in the Greater Des Moines Community Band.

Tero® International, Inc.
Your Elite Training Team

Monthly eZine - February 2010

Welcome to the Tero International Monthly eZine

Scandals continue to plague the worlds of business, politics, sports and entertainment. Athletes, executives, actors and elected officials are increasingly finding their otherwise impressive careers defined by a bad judgment or public misstep.

Are embarrassing revelations about personal failings the exclusive province of the rich and famous? Do everyday people like you and me also fall prey to temptations and later defend our actions with excuses and rationalization?

Research continues to show that students cheat on tests at unprecedented rates. Employees lie to customers to cover up their own mistakes. Leaders get creative with their internal accounting systems to paint inaccurate pictures of organizational health.

Are moral codes of conduct on the endangered list and in peril of extinction? Is it possible that people don't realize when they are crossing the line? Are we failing to teach our children the difference between right and wrong?

One theory is that behaviors such as lying and cheating are perpetrated by human beings who do know the difference between right and wrong but are making choices focused on short-term personal gains such as wanting to avoid conflict, preserve one's reputation, satisfy a craving, or benefit from financial incentive.

This eZine is dedicated to the subject of human values and challenges us all to take a long view. It is through considering the long- and short-term goals along with tangible and intangible benefits and consequences that we are able to make the choices that allow us to proudly face the person in the bathroom mirror each morning.

Check out the Feature Article and Professional Development Activity to help you gain clarity on what you value.

As always, you'll gain insights from the responses to questions from Tero graduates. Visit the sidebar to meet Jennifer Chittenden, Tero's Client Relations Coordinator.

Ask Tero

This section contains questions asked of the training professionals at Tero. Do you have a question for Tero? Let us know! If there is a topic or question you would like to see addressed in a future eZine, please make suggestions so we can give you the resources you need. Thank you for the continued responses we receive each month.

Question: Can you provide some tips to get people to stop texting and using Blackberries during meetings? It is distracting to the speaker and when a senior person is doing it, it sets a bad example.

Tero says: Your question is a good one and the answer is not simple. There are a variety of reasons that people engage with their communication technologies during meetings and some problem-solving and analysis will help get to the root cause. Here's a few possibilities:

1. Many people (especially senior people) are in meetings almost non-stop throughout the day. The business they are attending to on the Blackberry may be important and they don't want to disrupt the meeting by coming and going. If this is the case, it may be time to think about who is on the invite list for meetings. Encouraging busy people to attend only the portions of the meetings most relevant to them, and then engaging them in the meeting discussion, can help with the problem.

2. The individual(s) may be finding their Blackberry interactions more engaging than the meeting process and content. At least two times each year, it is a good practice to review meeting process and seek to improve the quality of meetings. If individuals find the meeting to be boring and/or lack relevance, their use of the Blackberry may be feedback to the meeting leader that the meeting is not valuable.

3. It may be time to establish meeting protocol. Devote some time on a meeting agenda to ask the meeting participants how they want the meeting to run. Someone in the group will likely raise the subject of Blackberry usage during meeting time (along with a number of other useful items such as starting on time, finishing on time, staying on track, minimizing interruptions, listening attentively, etc.) Flipchart the ideas and seek commitment to adhering to the protocols established by the group.

4. If only one person is engaged in this distracting behavior, a private conversation is more appropriate than addressing it in a group setting.

Question: I remember the facilitators of my Tero workshop talking about where people should sit in a meeting to create the best environment. What were the guidelines?

Tero says: Being attentive to environmental factors such as seating impacts meeting success. If your goal is a comfortable environment, conducive to clear thinking and open conversation, following are some guidelines to consider:

Choose a comfortable environment. Especially if the meeting is a long one, comfortable chairs with ample personal space are important.

Invite your key decision-maker to sit at the head of the table. He/she will enjoy the best eye contact with all members at the table and will not suffer the discomfort of someone encroaching on his/her personal space.

Sit at a 90 degree angle from your key decision-maker. You will enjoy strong eye contact that is not too direct.

Avoid sitting across the table from a key decision-maker. The physical barrier of a table and direct eye contact can non-verbally signal opposition. When possible, ask an ally to sit across from you (you're less likely to argue with a friend in a meeting).

Sit next to the individual you tend to argue with. It is difficult to argue with someone you can't easily get eye contact with and is especially challenging when the individual is in encroaching on your personal space. While this will be uncomfortable for you, it is also uncomfortable for your troublemaker.

Click here to ask Tero a question

Feature Article - Follow Your Laws

"When you know what your values are, making decisions becomes easier."
-Glenn Van Ekeren

Not only must you know your values, you must be true to them. It is important to select your top values and to rank them in order so that when two or more values are in conflict, you know which one is your driving value above all others.

Sometimes it helps to think about how someone you admire might handle a situation. The best way to determine what another person's values are is to observe how they live their life. That's how we know what your values are. We can tell what you value by how you act in different situations.

Consider your response in these scenarios. What does your response say about your values?

Your colleague tosses a soft drink cup on the ground in the park. You ask them why they did that and they respond, "they pay people to clean up litter, I'm just helping to make sure they have a job". What do you do?

A co-worker shows up at work with a black eye. You suspect a spouse is being physically abusive. The co-worker insists that they got the black eye playing softball. What do you do? What if this is the third time something similar has happened. What do you do?

Click here for the full article

Professional Development Activity - Clarifying Your Values

We vote with our time and our money and we vote for that which we think is important. A good way to figure out what you value is to inspect your check book, your credit card statements and your calendar. How you spend your time and money gives you an idea of what you think is important.

Knowing your values helps give direction to your life. Living your values shapes how you are perceived by others and how you will be remembered.

As you discover your values, your direction in life can be adjusted accordingly.

Take a few quiet moments to reflect on what you value. Examples of values are:

your friendships

your family relationships

your pets

your car

your home

the environment

health

promptness

professionalism

patience

freedom

security

respect

challenge

making a difference

Challenge yourself to identify your top five values and then choose the one value that is more important than any other. The one value that defines you. The value that if compromised you would leave a relationship or a job over. Then take a few minutes to think about how you can exemplify that value in your daily life so that others will know your driving value - not because it is a stated value but because it is observable in your day-to-day behaviors.

Our values drive the choices we make and all of our behaviors. If we don't consciously know own values, then we look for and follow the most charismatic person. We get upset at things that aren't important.

An understanding of our values is what guides our behavior and forms the code by which we live - also known as your ethics. If you have a code (internal), then you don't need rules (external).

Resources

Tero Learning Center

Consider Tero's state-of-the-art Learning Center as a location for your next meeting.

Click here for a video clip featuring a virtual tour of Tero's Learning Center.

Click on the image above for a virtual tour of the Tero Learning Center
hosted by Jennifer Chittenden

Click here for information about Tero's Learning Center

Click here for a pdf version of the Tero Learning Center rental brochure.

Tero International Inc.'s Learning Center is located with quick and easy access to the interstates in Des Moines, Iowa. The convenient location and large sign on the building provide good visibility for guests trying to locate the Center. Parking is abundant and free. With numerous restaurants, hotels and amenities nearby, enjoy an exciting new option for your meeting venue.

There is no charge for space rental when the event you are hosting is a Tero training program. Reasonable room and AV rental rates with catering options are available for groups seeking a meeting-friendly environment.

What's New at Tero

Partnerships

If you are a member in good standing of one of the following organizations your membership in that organization entitles you to a discount on some Tero Public Workshops.

The Greater Des Moines Partnership

Central Iowa Chapter of the Society of Human Resource Managers (CISHRM)

American Society of Training and Development, Iowa Chapter (ASTD Central Iowa)

To take advantage of these learning opportunities offered through your professional affiliation, Click here.

Public Workshops

Outclass Your Competition
A 5-hour Business Etiquette and Dining Tutorial workshop.
April 22, 2010 (Des Moines), June 10, 2010 (Omaha)
July 8, 2010 (Des Moines), September 16, 2010 (Des Moines)

Image and Influence: Polishing Your Professional Look
A 1/2-day workshop on polishing the message your appearance sends and discovering the best way to present yourself.
May 6, 2010 (Omaha)
May 13, 2010 (Des Moines), July 15, 2010 (Des Moines)
August 19, 2010 (Omaha), October 14, 2010 (Des Moines)

IMPACT - How To Speak Your Way To Success
A 2-day workshop on speaking confidently and persuasively.
March 9-10, 2010 (Des Moines) - CLASS FULL, April 6-7, 2010 (Des Moines)
April 13-14, 2010 (Omaha), May 11-12, 2010 (Des Moines)
June 15-16, 2010 (Des Moines), July 13-14, 2010 (Des Moines)
August 10-11, 2010 (Des Moines), September 14-15, 2010 (Des Moines)
October 12-13, 2010 (Des Moines), October 19-20, 2010 (Omaha)
November 9-10, 2010 (Des Moines), December 7-8, 2010 (Des Moines)

MORE IMPACT - Advanced Presentation Techniques
A 2-day advanced presentation skills workshop for IMPACT grads only.
September 22-23, 2010 (Des Moines)

Time Management Through Goal Setting
A 2-day workshop on setting goals, balancing priorities, managing time and building stress strength.
March 3-4, 2010 (Des Moines), August 25-26, 2010 (Des Moines)

Selecting Top Performers: Recruiting and Interviewing
A 2-day workshop on hiring top performers.
December 1-2, 2010 (Des Moines)

Beyond Compromise: A Better Way To Negotiate
A 2-day workshop on negotiating win/win solutions.
November 16-17, 2010 (Des Moines)

Click here to register for a public workshop

Online Resources

Are you a graduate of a Tero workshop? Your feedback is important to us.

Click here to fill out an evaluation of how your Tero acquired knowledge has impacted your everyday work and life. This opportunity is available in each eZine or you can visit the Tero website at www.tero.com to give us your feedback.

Inspiration - Things to Think About

"I desire so to conduct the affairs of this administration that if at the end, when I come to lay down the reins of power, I have lost every other friend on earth, I shall at least have one friend left, and that friend shall be down inside me".
- Abraham Lincoln

"To put the world right in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must first cultivate our personal life; we must first set our hearts right".
- Confucius

"What people say, what people do, and what they say they do are entirely different things".
- Margaret Mead

Knowing and being true to our values is one of the most important things we can do for ourselves, our loved ones, our organizations and our nations. It is also one of the easiest things to procrastinate.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Tero International Monthly eZine is written for the graduates and friends of Tero training programs. It is published by Tero International, Inc., 1840 NW 118th Street, Suite 107, Des Moines, Iowa 50325. Copyright 2010, Tero International, Inc. All rights reserved.

To contribute your ideas for future eZines, Click here.

If you received this newsletter from a friend and want a complimentary subscription of your own, Click here. Type Subscribe to eZine in the body of the email and send your message.

Tero International, Inc.

1840 NW 118th Street, Suite 107, Des Moines, Iowa 50325
phone 515-221-2318 fax 515-221-2369

P. O. Box 241143, Omaha, Nebraska 68124-1143
Phone 402-334-6819

website www.tero.com
email training@tero.com