In the September/October 2012 issue’s lead article, Larry Mullins writes about a psychological space called the Fifth Quadrant. It’s a place, he writes, where great salespeople learn to be “perfectly balanced between aggressiveness and compassion, between self-interest and client interest.” How many Furniture World readers wish that the people they manage had the capacity to represent their stores in just this way? Quite a few I imagine.
Unfortunately, hoping for, or insisting that people ignore the stresses in their daily lives so they can engage co-workers and customers in a balanced, healed and professional way won’t get us very far.
That's why Furniture World Magazine has asked George Chen, founder of Mindful Skills (
www.mindfulskills.com) to write a series of online tips and columns in upcoming issues. Besides being a well-respected meditation teacher, George has substantial experience in high-level corporate negotiations, and has spent decades applying the principles of mindfulness to business situations.
George will offer tools and techniques, supported by up-to-date scientific research, to help your people become more positive, empathic and effective, both at work and in their personal lives. He will also answer questions about how to approach challenging work-related situations at
http://forum.furninfo.com/Topics/40205.
Click here to read his first installment, "Furniture Retail MIndfulness Skill Tip #1: The Science & Practice of Smiling In Retail Sales".
Furniture World is the oldest, continuously published trade publication in the United States. It is published for the benefit of furniture retail executives. Print circulation of 20,000 is directed primarily to furniture retailers in the US and Canada. In 1970, the magazine established and endowed the Bernice Bienenstock Furniture Library (www.furniturelibrary.com) in High Point, NC, now a public foundation containing more than 5,000 books on furniture and design dating from 1620. For more information contact editor@furninfo.com.