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 Diamonds to You  
       Helping you get the best out of yourself and others.                    

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Vol 11, Issue #3, Mar. 2016
Publisher - Author
Ethical Customer Service Works Bestt
Ethical Behavior is Contagious
ProMatch Workshops
University Courses Taught
Books Published
Unusual but Powerful Reinforcers
When CEOs are Blindsided
Publisher, Editor, Author-
 ArLyne Diamond, Ph.D.
For YouTube:   

ArLyne Diamond

 

 

 


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Hi and Happy St. Patrick's Day and all other Spring Holidays:

March winds have really been blowing here in Silicon Valley and we've had a goodly amount of rain as well.  Some days it was so bad that I chose to stay indoors.  I was planning to go to the theater last Saturday night and stayed home to watch TV instead - that's how bad it was outdoors.

In spite of the weather and a cold (sniffles and cough) I've been really busy.  I just completed my latest Proformative course: Rewards and Recognitions That Get You What You Want To Achieve.  The link will be available to it soon.  I am now starting a course on Onboarding.

Speaking of links:
Your Bitly links and discount codes are:
10% Discount code to all of your courses is: Diamond10

I also finally completed the audio book based on my Fund-Raising Book:  The Please and Thank You of Fundraising.  My producer, Carlos Cruz promises to have it online very very soon.

Much of my business this month has been my involvement in some of the professional and community organizations that I'm a member of - and try to do my share.  Some, of course has been working with my business clients.

And, some has been pure fun:  For example, I attended the Santa Clara Library Foundation's huge party which they called a Lollapalooza with a Roaring Twenties Theme.  I took a picture with R2D2 which I posted on my Facebook page.  (I know!! How does R2D2 belong in the twenties - don't know but it added to the fun.) 

Ethical Customer Service works best

My niece, Amelia was just named one of New York's top 10 Real Estate Agents.  In the announcement card I received, Amelia is quoted as saying:

This confirms what you and I have always felt.  You can be honorable, keep your word, manage expectations and not farm out your sellers and buyers once paper work is signed.  You can actually be present personally 99% of the time if not 100% - from the showings through the closing and still rise to the top.  Thank you for believing in me like I believe in you.  Here's to an amazing 2016.

As I told Amelia when I complimented her about this, it reminds me of Joe Daniels, a man I worked with, admired and dated back in New York City. 

Joe was one of the top salesmen in the New York Garment Center (that's a big deal to those of you who don't know how big the Garment Center was in those days.)   I'd often watch him in the salesroom talking to buyers who came in from all parts of the country.  Often a buyer would select a particular dress for her store and Joe would say something like "I'm glad you like that dress and I'd be happy to give you one in your size as a gift, but I don't think that style will sell well in your location."  He was right!   And, think about all the repeat business he got because of his honesty.

Amelia, Joe and thousands of other honorable and trustworthy salespeople and others providing customer service, teach us that they are the best of the best and are far more successful than those who are looking for a quick buck.


Ethical Behavior is Contagious

A study recently quoted in the Harvard Business Review found that when employees used symbols connoting ethical behavior, or shared quotes about ethics/morals, their supervisors were less likely to ask them to behave unethically.  (Sreedhari Desai, University of North Carolina; Maryann Kouchaki - Northwestern University.)  The authors suggest this might mean that a positive change in the culture of an organization might start from the bottom up.  Currently, we assume it has to start at the top.

ProMatch Workshops I've Offered.

 

  • Jump Start Your Job Search:       
  • Marketing (Branding) Yourself:   
  • Strategies and Tactics for your Job Hunt
  • Self-Assessment Seminar 
  • Who are You?  Part I & Part II  
  • Negotiation Skills for Women:     
  • Getting Your Mojo Back 
  • Enhancing Your Professional Image:  Your Unique Brand
  • Enhancing Your Professional Image:  Your Unique Brand - again
  • Business Planning Seminar
  • Negotiation Strategies and Tactics
  • Individual coaching interviewing, negotiating, resumes, cover letters, etc.

 

University Courses Taught


DeVry University, Keller Graduate School of Management
 
Career DecisionsConsumer Behavior

Leadership & Organizational Behavior

Quality and Performance Excellence  

International Business

Business Planning (Capstone MBA class) 

Psychology 110

Employment Law  (Compliance Issues )

The Legal, Political and Ethical Dimensions of Business

Change Management

Human Resource Planning (Capstone MBA class)

Negotiation Skills


 

Lincoln Law School:  The Psychology of Practicing Law
  

Stanford University, Continuing Education: Conflict in the Workplace

 Books - Published  

Leading and Managing in a Global Economy -                   Super Star Press 

Conflict in the Workplace:  Causes and Cures                  Robertson Publishing Co.

 

The following books can be ordered directly: www.ProductivePublications.com  


Training Your Board of Directors:  A Manual for the CEOs, Board Members, Administrators and Executives of Corporations, Associations, Non-Profit and Religious Organizations.  

 

The "Please" and "Thank You" of  Fundraising for Non-Profits:  Fifteen Essential Ingredients for Success.


 

Proformative Courses you can Upload and Purchase

 

Change:  The People Side

Effective Workplace Negotiation.

Ethics and Attitude in the Workplace.

Interviewing:  The Art & Science

Investigating a Complaint in the Workplace

Rewards and Recognitions that get you what you want to achieve.

 

Unusual but Powerful Reinforcers
 

In the course I just completed for Proformative, I mentioned some examples of extra-ordinary and unusual "gifts" given to me (and others) by some of the CEOs for whom I worked as a young woman in New York City.  Here they are in quick summary.

Max Lowe, the CEO of IPCO (an international medical and hospital supplies distributor) invited me to use his chauffeured limousine two nights a week so that I could be on time for a course I was taking across town.

Charlie Meltzer the CEO of Marlene Blouse ripped up a huge sales order in front of the buyer telling him never to come back again because this man's prejudiced behavior was an insult to one of our sales women.

In both these cases, the response was immediate, spontaneous, and a fine example of people who walked their talk.  Mr. Lowe was rewarding me personally for the hard work he knew I had repeatedly done for the company.  Mr. Meltzer was rewarding me, the woman who had been insulted, and everyone else in the company by his action that clearly stated, my employees are worth more than your money.

I mention others in my course - so if you are interested, please sign up at Proformative.
When CEO's are Blindsided


When a new CEO joins a huge bureaucracy or government agency determined to change the dysfunctional culture, she has to develop a team that will be honest with her.

Unfortunately, all too often people who had been with the company for many years, as many as 30 years have been promoted from junior to mid-level to senior management - way above their levels of competence.  For them, keeping the status quo is the safest.

Silos, lack of cooperation between departments - even lack of communication between departments becomes the norm.  Sometimes it is impossible for the new CEO to get rid of the people who are blind-siding him because they have seniority, tenure, or other means to be protected.

Thus they give their new CEO what one of my clients once termed "happy words".  In other words, they give her what they think he wants to hear - not what would necessarily be helpful.

In cases like this, honesty is rare.  Political correctness is the norm.  People are afraid that they will be stabbed in the back by others and everyone is ultra-careful not to do or say anything that will rock the boat.

New department heads brought in to improve things are sabotaged by their direct reports as well as by peers from other departments.  No one wants the good guy who is honorable and capable.

If the CEO is wise, he will bring in a Change Consultant to spend a year or two in the company working a day or two a week to bring people together in a manner conducive to building trust, teamwork, and cooperation.  This cannot happen in a one-shot deal intervention, but must be worked over and over again with different combinations of people in different ways.

It takes a real commitment to make the necessary changes.


Let me be your AUFIN - Adviser to Kings

Excerpts from a client's letter of reference.
... I found her work to be very professional and effective....impressed by her overall skill included intelligent, intuitive (deep understanding of people and their issues) and articulate.  Work included creating and facilitating a number of very helpful and effective workshops... with groups within VTA that had great conflict with each other.  ArLyne provided helpful suggestions about how to encourage communication from others in meetings, thereby creating a spirit of teamwork among different groups that had been working as silso.

As ArLyne is natural and engaging, I found her style made it very easy for others to open up and share their concerns with her.... She coached several of my staff ...her counseling was extremely helpful to them.

She partnered with me for results, helped me understand the people I was managing and how best to lead them.  a self-starter, she planned her own interventions, was reliable and trustworthy.   
Signed:  Greg Pustelnik, Chief Purchasing Officer, Procurement, Contracts and Material Management - VTA (Valley Transportation Authority.)

Thank You from a Satisfied Client
Hi ArLyne
It was a pleasure meeting with you after nearly 4 years to avail your services in negotiating a better compensation package for a direct employment at a well established health care company in the bay area...

You understood the offer and my situation thoroughly and compiled a response that provoked thought in the recruiter and hiring manager minds that [showed them] I was the perfect candidate and they can't afford to lose me.  Your ability to articulate and present a counter-offer helped me get an additional 20K, which is close to 15% higher than the original base salary offered.  I am glad to have called you.  Your 1 hour consulting fees helped me gain $20K and I thank you for your time and exceptional service.

I look forward to availing more of your services in the future.  Especially, developing my negotiation and leading skills.... Once again thank you very much.   Signed:  Sasi Poruri

ArLyne Diamond, Ph.D                                               .[email protected]   
Diamond Associates   3567 Benton St., #315, Santa Clara, CA 95051    408-554-0110