Dr. Kevin Elko

One of the best things you can do to improve yourself is to learn how to connect with people.  Connection is simply defined as I see you as a person. The phrase used today to describe what is going on in society is extraverted loneliness, which means we are walking around in a crowded world yet people have never reported feeling more lonely and isolated. Connection is the answer to this dilemma – an intentional act to convey a message to our clients that they are seen as a person.

There is not enough education given to simple connection which is the reason why people go and eventually stay in relationships.  It is also very important with teams and companies.  In the absence of connection, fear usually rules.  Fear is the great disabler, and it is more dangerous today because fear is so widespread..  With the present volatility of the financial markets, constant change is all fields, and the constant alarm message by the media, this is especially true in the corporate world.  If the leader or the advisor can make each client feel valued and seen as an individual, all indication is there is not fear but confidence and strength.  The biggest mistake is to treat clients and employees like commodities.  Connection is learning to treat people like people and not numbers.  You will be amazed at how it will change your level of success.

This workshop will help participants utilize tactics to connect to others.  It teaches self-talk to help connect, listening skills (feel, felt, found) and the use of thank you.

Structure drives function in every company, family, organization and team. As the leadership expert W. Edwards Deming has said, “Almost all problems an organization faces are systemic.” Therefore, it is crucial for the leader to shape the culture over and over in much the same way that an athlete shapes muscle.  

In this seminar, the leader learns first how to address the emotions of the team and to excite the team with a vision and a personal connection. Then, by “keeping the main thing the main thing,” the leader learns how to maintain everyone’s focus on meaningful tasks. Finally, since there are keystone habits that act as fulcrums by which other good habits present themselves, the leader learns how to identify the keystone habits and to bring about a higher level of focus on them.  

This entire process occurs because the leader creates a daily “go to” script, designing the words he or she speaks. Thus, the leader has developed organizational muscle and likewise created a winning culture. 

This seminar consists of four major points and four action items. First, from a research study conducted with MBA students at Harvard over ten years, those who have goals make twice as much over time as those who do not. And those who have written goals will (1) make ten times as much money and (2) are ten times as effective as those who do not (if you go on Google and type in goals/Harvard the study comes up). One either lives in circumstance or in vision. The first action step is to get a notebook and write goals daily.

Secondly, this seminar has the objective of clearing mental clutter. A person is effective when realizing “there are some things beyond my control and there are some things that are not.” When the vision/goals are clear, one is pulled to them, but what makes the vision fuzzy is mental clutter, or thoughts in our head about things we can do nothing about. This seminar has the objective to identify those thoughts that rob performance and joy on the job. The second action step is to develop a focus phrase that clears the mind and then to write it on a card supplied at the seminar that the participant can keep in a wallet or purse.

Third, the process of developing a “game plan” is discussed and ways in which the participant can adhere to one that is effective. A key to performance is to get to our day and start our process as early as possible and without emotion. Sport analogies are used here in the seminar to show how athletes approached their task without emotion but with intent of execution. Studies show that the productive advisor makes his or her first call before 9 a.m. to a possible client, where the mediocre advisor makes that same first call after 11 a.m. In other words, productive people start their process as soon as possible daily. The third action step is to develop a personal script to use when starting the day to visualize the process and to focus before starting each day.

Last, the concept of “claiming” the vision is important in this seminar. High-level performers know the effectiveness of asking and asking and asking. The mediocre performers assume that those around them read their mind and will give them what they want because they have presented something to them and that others can read their mind. People like to be asked and research shows that people usually will not respond until asked—to do whatever. The final action step is to leave the seminar and focus on asking for what one wants, or claiming it.

This program addresses life-changing concepts by explaining the step-by-step process necessary to guide you. Dr. Elko teaches you how to be mentally tough when times call for it, and how to stay focused on the things that are truly important.

Although there has been much energy given to stress and how to handle it, the challenges of the stressful environment remain. Today’s workplace, be it an athletic field, a business office, or our home, is more stressful than ever and people report being less able to handle their environment now than any time in history. In his approach, Dr. Elko discusses the strategy necessary to develop Nerves of Steel. He points out the importance of intrinsic motivation and how to keep those motivators in front of you at all times. Dr. Elko discusses how to focus using specific self-talk and how to identify your internal Voice of Judgment (V.O.J.) and how to internally respond to it. Finally, to retain the information taught in this program, Dr. Elko explains how to give away the very thing you need…your “68”.

There is very little evidence that I.Q. alone is responsible for the success that an individual has in life. But one’s ability to focus through adversity, be creative and maintain motivation, all factors that are referred to as having “Nerves of Steel” has been known to have a significant influence on one’s success and satisfaction.