The intention of The Connector is to connect you with tools and resources that are focused on your success. In this issue, you will find:

• Three myths busted on how we use
  our brain.
• How Fujitsu is creating a market advantage.
• A decision matrix to easily make
  informed decisions.
• A webinar to achieve sales targets by aligning marketing and sales.
• Our featured book review on how to achieve business breakthroughs.

To contribute: Connect with Arlene

I encourage you to be a part of The Connector
by sharing what you have done to accelerate individual and company success.

There are myths--falsehoods that are widely believed. Some myths are based on a modicum of truth; others arise from misinterpretations or from a need for a great sound bite. However they come to be, they disguise themselves as truths and are passed along without question.

Brain Myth #1: You only use 10 percent of your brain.
Fact: You use your entire brain.
The 10% myth has been around for a long time. It is not certain how this falsehood began, but it has been strengthened over the past century by misinterpretations of neuroscience discoveries and unsubstantiated quotes by both scientists and laypeople alike ...

Brain Myth #2: A person's personality displays a right-brain or left-brain dominance.
Fact: The two sides are intricately co-dependent.
This myth holds that a right-brain person is generally creative, intuitive, artsy, while a left-brain person is more of a problem-solver, more linear, logical. The myth arose from genuine science, but new imaging technology has shown that the brain is more interdependent than once thought ...

The truth is … read more

The Corporate Spotlight features industry leaders who differentiate themselves in the market and experience the status of being a preferred business partner with their key customers.

In this issue, Julia Pitlik, Sr. Director of Marketing, Fujitsu Network Communications (Fujitsu,) speaks on their three part strategy that ensures long-term customer satisfaction.

Arlene was the keynote speaker for their 2013 Fujitsu Network Communications Leadership Conference. She spoke on "Developing a Culture of Change Leadership" and also experienced how their strategy for long-term customer satisfaction is effectively executed at all levels of the organization.
 

For over 25 years in the North American communications network industry, Fujitsu Network Communications (Fujitsu) has evolved a three-part tradition of quality; continuous improvement; and innovation in building long-term partnerships with customers. By blending the best attributes of Japanese and American business culture, the company fuels exceptional levels of customer loyalty and satisfaction. The result is successful long-term relationships with customers that range from the biggest telecom carriers to small local providers, as well as cable operators, government agencies, utilities and transportation authorities.

This three-part approach is evident in the company's willingness to co-innovate to meet specific customer requirements. An example is the Packet Optical Networking Platform (Packet ONP), a product family of high-bandwidth networking equipment, which Fujitsu launched in 2007 as its customers planned for the need to support new mobile and online communication services. This groundbreaking networking platform garnered Fujitsu the number one market share position in this new product category that it still holds today. The company's commitment to innovation is further evidenced by its achievement as the top U.S. patent-holder in the Optical Communications category, according to the U.S. Patent and Trademarks Office (USPTO).

Key to maintaining its long-term customer relationships and satisfaction are the company's dedication to quality and continuous improvement. The Fujitsu TL9000 quality ratings show consistent best-in-class long-term product return rates of 60% lower than the industry average. This performance does not go unrecognized, as Fujitsu has historically received awards through its blue chip customer supplier recognition programs focused on quality. The company's focus on quality is largely driven by its "Kaizen" or continuous improvement program that is actively promoted throughout the company. The Kaizen program rewards employees who develop and submit successful ideas for increasing efficiency, eliminating waste, with the aim of serving customer needs better, faster, and more cost-effectively.

These proven attributes together with customer relationships that span decades, are just some of the things that attest to the effectiveness of the overall three-part Fujitsu philosophy. The Fujitsu tradition of collaborative, customer-focused development is impossible without the right ingredients in place: quality; continuous improvement; and innovation go hand-in-hand in building market advantage through satisfied customers.

There's no doubt about it: During times of rampant change and uncertainty, it's more important than ever to make the best decisions about where to invest your personal resources of time, money and energy.

Use the Decision Matrix, a simple yet powerful tool to help you quickly and confidently make informed decisions. You can now know which action to take or not, and why. Commit to YES and go for it--or--say NO and walk away, confident that you made the best decision. No regrets. (See links below to access the complete Decision Matrix.)

When considering any important action, your decision should be:

• Yes - when the Benefits of Doing and the Consequences of Not Doing are stronger
• No - when the Benefits of Not Doing and the Consequences of Doing are stronger

Your decision to act or not to act becomes glaringly obvious after completing the Decision Matrix. When the benefits of doing and the consequences of not doing are stronger than the benefits of not doing and the consequences of doing, that's when you'll know to stop thinking about it, take actions, and charge ahead!

If, however, the benefits of taking action do not outweigh the consequences, you may choose to either postpone that decision or choose another action with stronger benefits.

The benefits you gain from using the Decision Matrix include the following:

• Being less inclined to make impulsive or emotional decisions
• Being able to move forward or walk away from an action, knowing you've made the right decision, with no coulda-shouldas hanging on
• Being able to uncover the real reason you haven't taken action when you knew you needed or wanted to, but just never had

Also, the Decision Matrix makes an excellent communication tool for children, assisting them to make best decisions!

Download FREE Decision Matrix
Download FREE Interactive Decision Matrix
Download all SuccessMapping® Interactive Worksheets

Sales and Marketing alignment has long been identified as a critical element to achieving sales revenue targets. Well-documented advancements in technology have enabled demand creation to become a measurable contribution to sales performance. Beyond demand creation, Marketing's renaissance is driven by the changing social landscape and Marketing's most critical intersection to the sales person: sales enablement. Driven by technology, enablement is defined as Marketing's ability to provide the sales person with the messages, collateral and tools they need to take the opportunity from qualification to close.

In this webinar we will review how World-Class Sales Organizations align Sales and Marketing, the elements driving Marketing's transformation and the role of Marketing in sales enablement.

In this issue's recommended book, leapfrogging is used to connect new research, unconventional strategies and practical tools for navigating the seemingly "messy" process of achieving business breakthroughs. Innovators take steps forward, but leapfroggers reinvent their markets and organizations. Soren Kaplan's book, Leapfrogging: Harness the Power of Surprise for Business Breakthroughs shows how to use the power of surprise to blow up the limits holding back your business--and your thinking.
 

The power and value of serendipity on the other side of complexity.

As I began to read this book, I was reminded of an observation by Oliver Wendell Holmes: "I wouldn't give a fig for simplicity this side of complexity but would give my life for simplicity on the other side of complexity." This is what Soren Kaplan has in mind when suggesting that the single most important factor in fostering true game changers in innovation is "the way leaders and organizations handle the discomfort, the disorientation, and the thrill (and pain) of living with uncertainty, finding clarity from ambiguity, and being surprised." Very few business leaders and their organizations are both willing and able to work heir way through the complexity of what I view as "the fog of innovation" until, finally, there is a business breakthrough. … read more

Contact Arlene to discuss how she can work with your organization to increase profitable sales and map relevant change to directly impact your bottom line results.