Ross Prowd has a degree in communication and journalism from Queensland University. Many of you may know him from his passion for thoroughbreds and his columns in the Sportsman and the Racing Queensland Magazine. What you might not know is that Ross has years of experience in communication and its practical application to business. He has provided consultancy services for a range of businesses for many years, and worked in both the public and private sectors. Ross has now made his services available to local and international business in a range of areas.
A devotee of a number of different philosophies, Ross is committed to both the concept of Principal Centred business and Synergistic relationships. He believes that business is a part of life, and that it cannot be seperated from the underpinning nature of your beliefs.
Ross can be found on Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin. Feel free to contact him on any of these medium.
I will develop a postiive synergistic relationship with every business I work with. If I don't feel that this can be achieved, then there isn't much sense in working together as we will both be unhappy at the end of the day.
Let's work together to make business, and life, better for everyone. The first consultation unitl the end of June, 2011 will be free for up to two hours.
Call Ross Prowd on 0412 712 181 or email rgprowd@bigpond.com
I was reacquainted this week with the works of Dr Robert Cialdini whose website http://www.influenceatwork.com is certainly worth a visit. He has largely created a Persuasion industry, coining the term as part of his studies into what is primarily part of varying studies in Communications and various Behavioural Sciences. His own course and website are indeed interesting studies in the art of persuasion. Dr Cialdini certainly knows what he is talking about but I would probably warn readers that, in my view, his approach is just one example of a wider knowledge base.
Particularly, the supposed Rapture of May reminded me of one of Dr Cialdini’s early studies of a cult that had also come up with a doomsday philosophy. When their event did not eventuate, the leader claimed that it had been the good work of the cult in spreading the word of God that had averted the calamity. I note with interest that it is now Harold Camping’s claim that he got the date wrong. What will Mr Camping say if the Rapture now does not occur in October? Is there any way out, or has Harold brought himself enough time to plan an exit strategy for his prediction, and what can we learn from this?
Suspecting that the Rapture will not occur in October, I also imagine that Mr Camping will have a plan for this eventuality, and it will most likely follow the lines of the cult observed by Dr Cialdini. There will be some event, or events, that will be interpreted as averting the Rapture, or at least delaying it for a bit longer than six months. This brings us to the lesson. Unless Harold Camping and his followers can develop some sort of exit strategy should the Rapture not occur, the exposure that he has received, and any sort of credibility he may have will dissolve quicker than the sugar in your morning coffee. So how does this fit with your business. What claims do you make that can go wrong. I doubt if many are claiming the end of the world, but most will claim that their product can do something that every now and again it just might fail to achieve. The logical answer is a return or replacement policy, but how does this work with less tangible products? Do you have a strategy when a client is unhappy? Word of mouth can be a dangerous thing, and unhappy customers can have a significant impact on your business.
I am not saying that it is time to plan for the end of the world, but if you aren’t planning for some of the eventualities that your business will face, then it could mean the end of business.