Summary

In today's volatile business world, success requires an edge, a factor that sets you apart from the crowd. Corporate coach Frances Cole Jones understands that challenging times demand immediate solutions, and The Wow Factor provides vital information that will help you rise to the top--fast. Who needs the Wow Factor? Executives seeking to reinvent themselves, recent graduates facing fierce competition, entrepreneurs looking for funding in a world where funding is seemingly nonexistent, or anyone who has been downsized, outsourced, or simply blindsided by harsh economic realities. In her proven Search and Destroy format, Jones shares thirty-three things you must (and must not) do to survive in a moment that demands solutions, shortcuts, and less sugarcoating. You'll learn how to: identify and transform the qualities that dull your edge, restore your confidence in these days of look hungry, go hungry, target your dream job, outprepare your interviewer, and get your resume to the top of the pile, fine-tune the soft skills that will amplify your network, perfect your written communications (text, email, snail mail), follow the Do It, Delegate It, or Delete It Rule, get the ten worst business sayings out of your vocabulary, implement the Six Layers of Why for maximum impact when interviewing, branding, or selling, and leverage the value of timing, silence, and the verbal one-two punch. Through critical, perfectly timed advice, amusing anecdotes, and proven strategies, Frances Cole Jones gives you the tools you need--daring, fluidity, and mental strength--to stay afloat in a sink-or-swim environment. The Wow Factor will help you ensure that your ideas and skills remain both timely and timeless, so that you'll have the confidence to wow everyone, every time.

Author Biography

Frances Cole Jones founded Cole Media Management in 1997. From the beginning, the company’s focus has been on cultivating clients’ inherent strengths to develop the communication skills that will enhance their professional and personal performance. The scope of Jones’s work includes preparation for television and print interviews, IPO road shows, meetings with potential investors, and internal meetings with partners, sales staff, and in-house personnel. She also provides presentation skills seminars and speechwriting. The author of How to Wow, Frances Cole Jones lives in New York City.

From the Hardcover edition.

Introduction	p. xi
Practice	p. 3
Retrain Your Brain	p. 5
Look for Angels Wearing Overalls	p. 8
Create Camaraderie	p. 11
Offer Others an All-Access Pass	p. 14
Don't Work in a Goat's Stomach	p. 17
"I Wondered Where That Was...."	p. 20
Home Office Professionalism	p. 21
Adopt a Renaissance Attitude	p. 23
Corporate CliffsNotes	p. 26
Recognize "Opportunity Costs"	p. 27
The Chute You Pack May Be Your Own	p. 30
See the Whole Board; Think Several Moves Deep	p. 32
Who's Your "Fish"?	p. 35
Pick Limiting Features	p. 37
"If I Only Had X Back at My Office..."	p. 39
"No One Can Make You Feel Inferior Without Your Consent"	p. 41
What Two Things...	p. 44
Breakups Are Like Handguns	p. 44
Don't Break Your Own Heart	p. 46
Business Class Is About More Than the Salted Almonds	p. 48
Summing It Up	p. 49
Know	p. 51
Manners Matter	p. 53
Elevator Etiquette	p. 57
Off-Duty Do's and Don'ts	p. 58
Stick a Fork in Me	p. 62
For the Love of Pete	p. 64
"No Problem" Is One	p. 65
(Mis)Pronunciation(s)	p. 65
(No Need to) Second That Emotion	p. 66
"In Other Words"	p. 67
Sample Script: "This Is She"	p. 67
The Six Layers of Why	p. 69
Why Not	p. 71
Master the Medium	p. 73
Eye Spy	p. 75
Sign with Style	p. 78
URGENT!!	p. 82
Texting-Time Out	p. 84
The Must-Have FAQ	p. 85
It's All in the Timing	p. 91
Human Resources: An Insider's Guide	p. 97
Sample Script: Your Greatest Strength	p. 103
Presenting Your (Checkered) Past	p. 104
The Compensation Conversation	p. 105
The Artful Dodge	p. 106
The Toddler Treatment	p. 108
Problem Solving is Personal	p. 109
"You Can Discover More About a Person in an Hour of Play Than in a Year of Conversation"	p. 110
Get Something on the Calender	p. 112
Your Problems Are Not (Necessarily) Their Problems	p. 113
You Must Have the Cattle	p. 114
Now You're Speaking My Language	p. 116
The Ten Worst Business Sayings	p. 117
Summing It Up	p. 118
Do	p. 121
Plan for Courage	p. 123
There's a New Kid in Town	p. 127
"Can You Come Speak to an Old Friend?"	p. 129
"Let Us Not Commit Suicide for Fear of Death"	p. 130
Job Search Secret: "Do It, Delegate It, or Delete It"	p. 131
Abandon All Nonessential Functions	p. 133
Research Roundup	p. 134
Job Interview Time Line	p. 136
Have a Thick Face	p. 140
Just Say Yes	p. 141
Sample Script: Embed Yourself	p. 142
Be "Dress-Ready"	p. 142
Do Go There	p. 144
Bypass the Bureaucracy	p. 146
Call with No News	p. 147
Your Approximate Waiting Time Is...	p. 150
Keep Current Outside Your Comfort Zone	p. 151
Have a Scheme (or at Least a Blog)	p. 154
Favor the Moment	p. 160
Return Receipt Requested	p. 163
Brain Barter	p. 165
The Elegant Extrication	p. 167
Stop the Bombing	p. 167
Make Expectations Explicit	p. 168
Build and Advisory Board	p. 170
Don't Ask Permission	p. 174
Summing It Up	p. 176
Remain Calm and Carry On: An Afterword	p. 179
Website Roundup	p. 187
Recommended Reading	p. 191
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

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Excerpts

Section One

Practice

In sports, the ability to shave a hundredth of a second off your time can be what determines the difference between the gold and the silver medal. In turbulent economic times, the same is true-getting the job, the deal, the account is determined by the smallest of degrees.

How, then, can you ensure you're standing on the winning platform? The same way athletes do: by developing the habits, skills, and disciplines that will stand you in good stead, regardless of the state of the playing field. And in the same way their training routines and practices are designed to leave nothing to chance, you must ensure that your habits keep you in the best shape possible.

When you're called into the game, you need to be at the top of your game.

What are some of the qualities that dull your edge? Everything from the seemingly innocuous unexamined habit, through disorganization and trepidation, all the way to the flat-out fear that paralyzes your thinking, not to mention your ability to act in your own best interest. For myself, I know that when I'm off my game I tend to adopt the coping skills of Lucy Ricardo-changing what might have been a manageable situation into an operatic showdown at the Copacabana.

Given this, over the years I've developed, discovered, and learned from the brightest stars with whom I work a number of ideas, habits, and tools that help me present my best self regardless of the circumstances. For example, I've learned how to actively create camaraderie in meetings, strategically choose projects that guarantee the biggest bang for my buck, and consciously create customer satisfaction along the entire chain of my business.

The tips and tools offered in this section, then, are things you must do to fine-tune how you show up every day-mental weight lifting, if you will. And, in the same way those seemingly pointless bicep curls and leg presses you do in the gym ensure you the necessary physical strength to carry your kids to safety if your house is on fire, these tips and tools ensure you the mental strength you'll need when your interview gets moved from tomorrow to today, your colleagues are gunning for your job, or your boss has been asked to put together his "early retirement" short list. Armed with up-to-the-minute technical acumen and finely honed people skills, you'll be poised to instead grab that promotion.

1 Retrain Your Brain

"That's one small step for man..." Most of you are likely able to finish Neil Armstrong's sentence regarding his first step on the moon: "...one giant leap for mankind."

I propose that mental strength, and its twin brother, confidence, are gained in much the same way. While I am intent on avoiding the obvious Lao-tzu quote (journey/thousand miles/single step/etc.), I think the sentiment is one it's important to remember. Circumnavigating, removing, or changing your attitude toward the obstacles you currently face is far more manageable if you break it down into discrete steps. And the fact is that even small changes begin to retrain your brain. This phenomenon, called "neuroplasticity," is a burgeoning field in brain research, and thanks to the latest brain scanning technology, it is increasingly clear that adults can-and do-sharpen their brains, heal learning problems, and more.

In short, you can teach yourself resilience. Should you be skeptical, here's an immediate, tangible example of simple brain retraining: Stop reading this and interlace your fingers. Now, unlace them and relace with your other index finger on top.

If you are like most people this switch will feel awfully peculiar. The reason for this is that we generally interlace our fingers with the index finger of our dominant hand on top-it's our body's habit. And, like so many habits, we accep

Excerpted from The Wow Factor: The 33 Things You Must (and Must Not) Do to Guarantee Your Edge in Today's Business World by Frances Cole Jones
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.