Dan Jones

Sheila,

Let me first say thanks for a wonderful time and a fascinating journey. You have helped me improve my communication skills immensely. You first helped me get into the right mind set by clarifying goals in a conversation. The statements "No stake in the result" and "what we resist persists" have become a mantra for me. I still remember the thrill and sense of accomplishment when I called my father simply with the intent to explain that his comments from a prior conversation had caused me much stress. I didn't go into it with the goal of proving myself right, or getting him to admit that he was wrong. Just getting the issue off my chest was such a huge relief. I described this sort of dilemma to you as the "doormat" vs. "%#&%*" choice. You have helped me find a third way that asserts my own emotional needs without trampling on the needs of others. You have helped me develop practical and specific behaviors that improve the richness of my communications. You have modeled the skills of paraphrasing and the positive specific "you" messages to me.

I have listened to you be a living example of these techniques and it has given me an appreciation for their power. You are extremely focused and present in our conversations. As I talk to you I feel like I am your only client and that your entire attention is dedicated to me. I still have a lot of practicing to do and as you have pointed out, we are always learning. But now I see the vision of how good it can be so I have a clearly visualized goal to shoot for. I believe that once we know something is possible it becomes achievable. I think that the gift you have given me is that I can picture the potential "me" who is a fantastic communicator and listener.

Dan Jones

CEO

Philadelphia Scientific