Christos J. Gianopoulos helps organizations by offering consultation designed to strengthen business practices and enrich organizational life. He works with leaders and managers to promote clarity of purpose and to increase their capacity to master challenging circumstances. His approach is to pay attention to the special needs of his clients and to offer custom designed programs that respond to the reality of the situation, as well as speak to the spirit of the enterprise. He uses the MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) in his consulting assignments when it is appropriate.

Christos concentrates on the fundamentals of management, stressing the importance of working effectively with people inside and outside the company.  He gives businesses and organizations an opportunity to develop greater insight, more discipline and internal strength to move closer to their chosen goals, without losing their way or compromising their integrity.

He emphasizes the importance of honest and open communication. His method of work is based upon the fundamental principle of dialogue, fostering a conversation that opens up new opportunities for problem solving. Christos knows his way may not be the shortest and the easiest route to success, but he believes that it is the surest and the most enduring. In this challenging process, Christos acts as a guide and an advisor to help you clear away the path to accomplish your goals and live up to your most important commitments.

Course Offerings

A. Attitude and Communication 

"The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven." --John Milton

Attitude is a habit of thought or feeling, and it shapes our thinking, moods and actions. You will get insight into the way you look at the world and the people in it. Your automatic way of being will be challenged, and you will learn specific practices to develop and maintain a robust attitude.

"Words are decoration on the hem of the skirt of action." --Meyerhold

Nothing happens in an organization without communication. Ask anybody with leadership responsibility in an enterprise, and they will tell you that they know that communication needs to be improved to achieve the results they are striving for. People pull for the same result when they trust each other and when they tell each other the truth. You will learn specific practices to help you deal more effectively with your associates and to know what, how, and how much to say.

B. Personality Types and the Development of Character

“My profession has always obligated me to take account of individual differences...The natural orientation of the mind can be seen as the four points on a compass.” --Carl Jung

People are different. We adopt various ways of relating, communicating and learning. The MBTI is an instrument that reveals helpful information about the strengths and unique gifts of people that work and live with you. Members of your organization are introduced to a theory that enables them to understand their own preferences and motivations, as well as realize the valuable differences that exist between normal, healthy people. This information will assist you in understanding more than superficial sources of miscommunication and misunderstanding. You will be able to assess your own strengths and weaknesses, and your appreciation of others will increase. You will also learn practices that will help you achieve more focus and balance in your life.

C. Team Building: How Groups Form and How Groups Function

"When you accomplish things as a team, it makes everything else take care of itself." --Carl Yastremski

Teamwork does not happen by accident, even though most people can’t explain why and how it happens. They say it’s a function of “personality” and “chemistry.”  Despite the mystery, there are specific ways to build a stronger team using the MBTI as a guide. This challenge involves a clear understanding of the nature of power and authority, and it calls for commitment to the purpose and goals of the organization. Members of the team accept responsibility for their performance and realize how their participation affects the way others behave. What attitudes and roles make for good team play and how can egocentricity be contained to enable the group to consistently accomplish its tasks?

D. Orchestrating the Action: Leadership in Problem Solving

"If you want to truly understand something, try to change it."  
--Kurt Lewin

A leader is an innovator who is working on the outside edge of what already exists. Leaders are challenging common conceptions, and they are exhorting their colleagues to move into the future to create what isn't yet real. How do you manage this process and move through the chaos without losing your way and your courage? You will be able to identify stages of project development and ways to move projects toward completion.

What are the critical differences between the kinds of roles that people assume as they display leadership in helping a group to move through a problem solving process? You will learn a method of problem solving that will help you identify the facts, envision the possibilities, weigh the consequences and evaluate the effect of your conclusions and decisions.

E. Time Management and Productivity

Tom Seaver: "Hey, Yogi, what time is it?" 
Yogi Berra: "You mean now?

"Most of us have a big problem with time, and we struggle with our inability learn how to work smarter. It is as if we have permanently lost a sense of natural rhythm that allows us to work energetically without wearing ourselves out. How do you develop the self-discipline and the instinct to know what and how much to do? What is your job? And what responsibilities need to be shifted to others? This is an opportunity to face the reality of your schedule, develop a more strategic definition of productivity and to create more satisfaction with your work.

F. Sales and Customer Service

"Would you persuade, speak of interest, not only of reason." 
--Benjamin Franklin

We distrust salespeople. There is often an adversarial feeling. We think salesmen and saleswomen have an ulterior motive. Suspicion and distrust turns us off to sales presentations, yet selling is a must for success in business. What is the way out of this adversarial trap? How do you develop a message that will influence and persuade buyers to purchase your product and use your services? Learn how to earn the respect of your prospective customers and find out how to keep your existing clientele happy. 

G. Managing Information in the Organization

"The spot on the map is never the same as the spot on the ground."
--Capt. Charlie S.-Artillery Officer, U.S. Army, Vietnam 1966

This is an information age, but so much of the information that we have is not pertinent to our needs. Things happen when we can use information that is accurate and reliable, but so often leaders find themselves in situations where they are like the man who is adrift at sea in a lifeboat--there is plenty of water around but he knows that drinking it will do him no good. How to develop systems and practices to generate helpful information that you can feel confident using.

H. Effective Supervision

"People need responsibility.  They resist assuming it, but they can't get along without it." --John Steinbeck

It has been said by many masters of wisdom that most difficult job is to lead a follower on to greater accomplishment without making it look like the person is merely doing the boss's bidding. How do you motivate and inspire, as well as guide and evaluate an employee's performance? The practice of management and leadership is a challenging art that requires insight into human behavior and confidence in one's own sense of direction. You will learn some sound people management skills that will enable you to exert the kind of influence that commands the respect of your subordinates.

I. Grant Writing

"The great enemy of clear writing is insincerity." --George Orwell

Many naively assume that seeking financial support from a charitable source is a simple matter of writing home for money. It’s not quite that way. Nor is it a treasure hunt. This course is for people who are committed to a worthy project that needs funding. It is a rigorous inquiry into the reason for your appeal, and it will help you clarify your thinking and your writing. When you can clearly identify the need and explain your response to the problem, your chances of receiving funds increase dramatically. You will be introduced to potential funding sources and ways to approach them. Be prepared for work on your written proposal.

Copyright. 1998, Christos J. Gianopoulos. All Rights Reserved.