Debates In Business

Some view debating as bad. They envision nasty comments back and forth and there being a winner and a loser.

That might be so in politics or in structured debate challenges, but not necessarily in business.
In business, I believe debating is actually an empowering conversation - a good thing! :)

Debating is the flow of ideas. It's a place where ideas & information from both parties (or both sides) can flourish and topics and agendas can be solidified or finalized. There is nothing healthier & stronger in business than these 2 things alone!

On a personal level, there are even better aspects that comes from a debate. Your intellectional development is enhanced because you learn different points of view that might allow you to see things differently, or you learn an entire new set of data that you weren't aware of that the opposite party presented.

At times, you also utilize your negotiation skills because with certain topics, especially in business -it's not about right and wrong, it's about coming to a meeting of the minds, a mutual agreement, and perhaps a compromise on one party's part. Negotiation skills is one of the essentials for a business professional to be successful.  Great place to practice them is in a business debate. :)

Debates in business can often be referred to as a heated discussion or a challenging conversation. But with those negative words, comes some outstanding situations at times.

The values debate encourages - reason, tolerance, the careful weighing of evidence - are applicable in life. As you grow as a person, the more practice you have with these, you become more of your best self and thus become better for others. So these values should be cherished and nurtured.

Debate is what makes democratic societies so free and flourishing - rich in people driven thoughts, values and ideals. True democracy can not exist without debate.

There is no such thing as a debate without at least 2 passionate people coming to the table. The icing on this cake is that a debate inspires creativity and it re-charges passion! It takes ordinary topics or issues and brings explosive life to them!


And it also envokes a sense that anything is possible when two differing viewpoints get combined or when two people come together to address a topic or issue. It also sheds light on the understood message: that there is much to always learn, no matter how experienced you are, how old you are, or how knowledgeable you are on a topic.

So as you can see, what some would view as a negative situation filled with harsh words or underhanded tricks, (oops, that's politics :) ) is actually a positive, empowering and transparent action in business!

Now that you have my point of view - why not start a debate this week? Remember, you aren't stirring trouble, you are encouraging the open exchange of thoughts and ideas. Nothing could be healthier & more empowering for you or your business!

See what comes from it. :) See who is eager to participate & who shys away. See if you can finally fix that long term problem. See if you can figure out that way to align with another or that company you have always wanted to, or to solidify a partnership, or to once and for all, establish a collaborative work environment, etc.

The key to a solid & fair debate in business is you go into it with the mindset that something good will come from it, you might learn a thing or two, and you will keep it civil. If that is the driving & underlying message both sides begin the debate with, it should go quite well.

I would love to hear how this goes, so please share your stories with me!

“Men are never so likely to settle a question rightly as when they discuss it freely.”

– Thomas Babington, Lord Macaulay

Positive Thinking is NOT the Key to Personal Development

There is a very big misconception that hovers around what a life coach does for you or can do for you.

Many believe life coaches tell their clients lots of positive things about their clients to inspire them, and ultimately try to get them to change their mindset to think more positively.

While positive thinking is a crucial aspect when you are undergoing transformations and making changes (some usually hard) in your life, it's not the only thing life coaches do for or with their clients. In fact, it's usually the starting conversation and only touched on again if the client digresses into self destructive negative thinking patterns.

About a decade ago, more weight was put on positive thinking and even affirmations. But to be practical and sustainable, great coaches recognized that much more was needed to help their clients make the tremendous impacts or the small tweaks in the clients life they were seeking.

Positive thinking is necessary for personal development growth, yes - but it is by no means the answer to how you will achieve this growth nor will it make the progress for you.

You can sit around all day and think positively, which is good to a point - because at least you have a very strong mindset and a great outlook on life and you enjoy and appreciate things in your life more. But your life will pretty much still stay the same unless you start to take action in some way.

Now don't get me wrong, it's key to have a positive mindset always in life. There is really no other way to handle day to day problems and enjoy life without this, but positive thinking is not the key to personal development. Big difference.

Positive thinking needs to be coupled with a few more aspects to really make headway with any of your personal development goals.

So what great coaches help their clients with (if it is not already strong/positive) is shifting their mindset in the beginning of the coaching timeframe, and then after that, they start to focus on the more important aspects about the client and of the clients lifestyle to create the strategy, plans and actions necessary to pursue each ideal the client is striving towards.

Some of these things are intelligence (the client's intellect), resillience, potential, skills/talents, etc.

So, for example: as a personal coach, I would factor in their intellect and I would focus in on some of their skills/talents that they have - that they might not be aware of, or that they don't use that much  and I would challenge or raise the bar on it's capacity, and I would have them consider what they could gain from these 3 (either or all) if it was strengthened/enhanced - so they could reach more (or all) of their potential. This can really make all the difference in the world.

It's identifying and giving them better tools for them to have 'as your person' (within themselves, to draw upon) to achieve what they are setting out to aspire to.

There is more to it than that, but this was the best example to show you how positive thinking is vital in the beginning of personal development, but it's not going to get you to the results you want - so it's not the key to personal development, it's just a necessary part of it.

Positive thinking needs to be combined with many other aspects of you as a person and your lifestyle in order to start the energizing pursuit of personal development and have this be a successful pursuit.

The most simplest example of a life coach's work is: think of a personal sports coach for a sports figure.

The sports coach offers words of encouragement – sure, & they keep that sports figure's mind sharp/strong/positive and focused - absolutely! But they mostly give pointers, share experiences, try to point out and correct what they see are things their client isn't doing properly, or is putting effort into, just at the wrong time, etc, etc.

Again, this is not all inclusive of what a life coach does, but it's the most basic way to describe the true impact a life coach can make on your life.

Positive thinking is a big part of personal development, but actually, thinking positively is a lifestyle. To me, it's the best andonly way to think!