July is National Ice Cream Month! This is a holiday we’re excited to celebrate all month long, and to kick things off, we’re highlighting some of our favorite ice cream flavors…. As some of our upcoming trainings from Titan Skills Academy!

Cookies & Cream – This flavor is a new take on the time old classics, chocolate and vanilla. One could say cookies & cream is a rebranded version of the two, which is why Personal Branding is the perfect training to pair with this flavor. Much like cookies & cream, our Personal Branding training touches on how to build your brand while keeping your integrity intact.

Butter Pecan – Butter Pecan is an old, southern favorite. This salty and sweet flavor has stood the test of time, which is why we think it represents our Working Across Generations training. As Generation Z enters the workforce, many businesses and corporations will need to understand Working Across Generations to hold up for years to come, just like butter pecan.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough – The ultimate indulgence; chocolate chip cookie dough combines two desserts into one, which is the best representation of Self Care. While eating an entire pint of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream might be a form of self-care to some, our training will share forms of self-care that will nourish both your mind AND your body.

Rocky Road – Rocky Road has both a rich flavor and history, as it was created during the Wall Street Crash of 1929. While the flavor is delightful, its a reminder of a challenging time, which is why Crisis Management is the perfect training to pair with it. This training shares all the tips, tricks, and secrets for behaviorally intelligent and effective Crisis Management to help your organization get through a difficult time.

Mint Chocolate Chip – This flavor has always been a stand out from the crowd and is one of the earliest examples of innovation in ice cream flavors. Our Creativity and Curiosity training will teach you how to foster ideas, creativity, development, and curiosity into innovation and success, just like mint chocolate chip.

Superman – This ice cream is typically exclusive to the Midwest and combines the flavors of blue moon, red pop, and vanilla. Its name comes from its red, blue, and yellow color, which is also synonymous with Superman’s suit. This flavor leads in popularity in the Midwest, specifically Michigan, and along with its titular superhero, is the perfect example of Effective Leadership. The Effective Leadership training will share tips and tricks for those in leadership positions to rally their people and lead effectively.

To stay in the know of when these trainings will be available on Titan Skills Academy, subscribe today or follow us on Instagram and Facebook, @coeuscg.

Additionally, we offer in-person and virtual training, coaching, and strategic planning. For more information, contact us today.

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For anyone who participates in training with us, works with our marketing division, or simply has a conversation with one of our team members, you will hear the term Behavioral Intelligence. It’s the foundation of our company and it guides everything we do. With that said, you might be wondering what it exactly means. Through years of research, more than a decade of application, and collaboration with professionals in psychology, neuroscience, and communication disciplines, Coeus Creative Group has redefined this space.

Behavioral Intelligence is the application of skills and abilities to accurately explain existing behaviors, predict future behaviors, influence other people’s behaviors, and control your own behavior. Four easy-to-remember categories we describe as “EPIC,” but there is a lot to unpack here.

A Brief History

Behavioral Intelligence made its debut in military strategy. Its application to discern the root causes of intentions and actions of enemy combatants. This type of intel was invaluable for special ops and strategy planning. There were a number of technologies developed to track and analyze behavioral data points to support these military efforts. Like most technologies, these later became commercialized for use in tracking consumer behaviors across digital landscapes.

It wasn’t long after that researchers and talent development practitioners started toying with Behavioral Intelligence as a means for understanding self and others. Some of the work was good, some not so much. Much of it was academic and had no real application value. Mostly, it relied on psychology as its main driver. However, it was not easily accessible to those without advanced knowledge or experience. Unlike Emotional Intelligence, it did not generate mainstream interest nor widespread adoption as a tool for understanding self or others. Behavioral Intelligence remained in the shadows of Emotional Intelligence, which was made popular by Daniel Goleman.

We’ll Take It From Here…

In 2014, Coeus began developing a model that was more inclusive, more robust, and easier to access for the general population. We used the foundational discipline of psychology, but also included the disciplines of applied communication and neuroscience to round out a more holistic interpretation of Behavioral Intelligence. While a small handful of organizations began using the term, it remained mostly unheard of and unpopular until our TEDx talk in 2018 brought it to the attention of nearly 2 million people worldwide.

From that point forward, Behavioral Intelligence was no longer to be the long-lost ugly cousin that no one wanted to invite to the party. Now, there are a number of articles such as one in Forbes titled, “Why Behavioral Intelligence is the New Black for Marketers.” It’s a great article if you have not seen it although it has a narrow focus on digital technologies. Our team especially liked the idea of it being the “new trend” given we have been using our model to help our marketing clients for the past five years with exceptional success. So, what is it about our model that drives marketing results and human performance? Let me break it down.

A Deeper Dive into The Coeus Creative Group Behavioral Intelligence Model

Our 4 easy to remember categories (Explain, Predict, Influence, and Control) establish an internal and external awareness of behavioral meaning, coupled with a framework for internal and external behavioral modification strategies. Let’s take a look at each of the categories and how they interact to establish Behavioral Intelligence as a means for growth and development.

Explain –

This category is the base level and supports all of the other categories. The ability to accurately explain behavior is complex. There are a number of factors that drive behavior, such as emotions (which is why Behavioral Intelligence and Emotional Intelligence are related), brain functions, genetics, culture, environment, and motivational drivers to name a few.

Awareness of these and other factors offer a framework for understanding, but we still have to collect information to apply the knowledge. This is where observation of particular body language cues, listening to speech patterns, analyzing behavioral data for digital sources, and other mining tools come into play. Through these human and technological means, we can discern a variety of different behaviors and use these to predict future behaviors, influence other people’s behaviors, and control our own behaviors.

Predict –

This category relies on patterns of behaviors, habit formation, and applying the base level explanations to a deductive process that gives insight into future actions. Through these applied skills and abilities, future behaviors are often easily predictable. In fact, humans have a built-in capacity to make these deductions naturally. With the help of Behavioral Intelligence, it gets scary how accurate we can be in our prediction models.

For example, if you know that your work colleague suffers from low self-esteem and lashes out when his ego is under attack, you can anticipate his reaction when the new hire begins to threaten his standing with the company. Now that you can predict what will happen, you can insert an influence mechanism to mitigate the harmful effects of his response. Predictions such as these are useful in business in forecasting the impact of organizational changes, hiring results, leadership potential, and consumer behavior.

One thing to note; sometimes humans can act outside of their behavioral norms and be completely unpredictable. In these cases, we “autopsy” a failed prediction to see newly visible markers or an alternative behavioral factor that was previously unrecognized. This helps to refine future predictions and models.

Influence –

This is where we become masters of persuasion, sales, negotiations, and marketing. By understanding the genesis of people’s behaviors and being able to explain what drives them, we can employ an influence tactic that truly gets to the inner fibers of their very being. Matching a well-structured communication message to the intrinsic drive of another person is incredibly effective at delivering positive results.

Using the foundations of rhetorical communication theories, influence tools (as made popular by Robert Cialdini’s groundbreaking research), and practical applications of a myriad of persuasion methodologies, we can see how Behavioral Intelligence sets the stage for influence to not only be more effective, but faster in its application.

With influence strategies, we are particularly sensitive to the ethical application of persuasion. As the friendly neighborhood Spiderman once said, “with great power comes great responsibility.” These tools are not to be taken lightly and should only be employed with an ethical approach. Influence can quickly become manipulation in the wrong hands, use its power wisely.

Control –

This is the real power of Behavioral Intelligence. The ability to manage your behaviors – despite intrinsic motivations (or lack thereof), despite emotional urges, despite nurtured habits – is the epitome of success and failure. Behavior is a choice. How we choose to act and react to internal and external stimuli has consequences. Some of these consequences are positive in nature, while some are harmful or negative in nature.

Utilizing methods such as limbic reaction management strategies, meditation, self-awareness of behavioral triggers and cues, we can become the master of our own destinies. If we can explain why we engage in certain behaviors, predict how we will react to certain stimuli, then we can adapt and transform our behaviors. This is growing our Behavioral Intelligence, and that is the core of what we do at Coeus Creative Group.

Coeus Creative Group’s Application of Behavioral Intelligence

Our vision is to be the leader in Behavioral Intelligence globally, and we are well on our way. We have delivered keynotes, trainings, workshops, and lectures in more than 30 countries; consulted organizations on the development of a Behaviorally Intelligent performance culture stretching from Main street to Wall Street; executed hundreds of marketing campaigns that have driven significant results to our clients across government, nonprofit, and corporate sectors; empowered thousands of leaders to improve their Behavioral Intelligence, giving them the tools to empower their followers and constituents; and we have even developed a proprietary assessment that helps people to understand their own behavioral preferences.

You can take our free, Quick Behavioral Elements Assessment and learn your primary behavioral preference. Interested in going deeper? We offer a full assessment at the lowest price on the market for a growth and performance tool of this type. The investment is $30 USD and you receive a detailed 15-page report with your personal rankings in each elemental preference. If you are curious about all of your behavioral preferences, take the Behavioral Elements – Full Assessment.

Our Behavioral Elements Program also has a number of products and tools, such as our Behavioral Planner System, designed to help people transform their behaviors. We continue to innovate new solutions and services in our effort to lead a behavioral revolution.

Why? Because we believe that helping people understand their behaviors is a means to a better world. Less conflict, better relationships, more innovation, enhanced leadership…It is all possible with the application of Behavioral Intelligence. The Coeus Team is proud of the work we do. We would love the opportunity to help you improve your own Behavioral Intelligence. Behavior is a choice and how we choose to behave impacts our success and failure. Behave intelligently, friends.

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Whether you believe that your behavior is the result of when you were born, or you believe that it’s just a silly coincidence, there is no denying the popularity of Astrology. Astrology dates back to Babylon, but in recent years, has become more popular, especially amongst millennials. Zodiac related media is all over the internet, where you can find lists that focus on the personality traits of each sign and even entire social media accounts dedicated to astrology.

In total, there are 12 astrological signs, which are widely known as zodiac signs. What makes them so interesting is that each one is believed to have different qualities, strengths, and weaknesses.

So, in true millennial fashion, we decided to have a bit of fun and pair up each of the star signs up with a Coeus Creative Group Training that can help them to Behave Intelligently!

Not sure what your star sign is? Signs are determined according to your birth date, which you can view below:

• Capricorn: December 22 – January 20
• Aquarius: January 21 – February 18
• Pisces: February 19 – March 20
• Aries: March 21 – April 20
• Taurus: April 21 – May 21
• Gemini: May 22 – June 21
• Cancer: June 22 – July 22
• Leo: July 23 – August 23
• Virgo: August 24 – September 22
• Scorpio: October 24 – November 22
• Sagittarius: November 23 – December 21

Aries – Breaking Bad Habits

Aries can sometimes be selfish, quick-tempered, and impatient, all traits that can lend themselves to bad habits, such as lashing out and putting themselves before others, to name a few. This is why we think Breaking Bad Habits would be the perfect training for an Aries looking to improve their behaviors.

Taurus – Difficult Conversations

Taurus can be seen as inflexible, materialistic, and greedy, which is why our Difficult Conversations training will help them have those tough discussions about possessions and spending.

Gemini – Building Personal Trust

Gemini, the most controversial sign of the mix, may seem superficial and inconsistent to others. Our Building Personal Trust training will help them regain trust from those around them and change those misconceptions.

Cancer – Emotional Intelligence

Cancer is seen as the emotional one of the bunch and typically come off as moody, overemotional, and touchy. Participating in our Emotional Intelligence training will help them understand their feelings and rein them in.

Leo – Dynamic Listening Skills

While Leo is a natural leader, they can also be seen as pompous, patronizing, and bossy. Our Dynamic Listening Skills training will help this sign increase those skills, which is key to being a great leader.

Virgo – Communication Styles

Virgo struggles with communication, and this can cause them to come off as overcritical and harsh. By participating in our Communication Styles training, Virgo can learn to communicate in a more effective way.

Libra – Decision Making

Libra can be indecisive, gullible, and easily influenced, making our Decision Making training perfect for them. This training will give them the tools to be more confident when making decisions.

Scorpio – Dealing with Difficult People

Right behind Gemini, Scorpio takes the second spot for controversial signs. Often seen as jealous, resentful, compulsive, and obsessive, many people might categorize them as difficult people. Our Dealing with Difficult People training will help them understand how others might see them.

Sagittarius – Time Management

Sagittarius tend to be irresponsible and careless, which typically can lead to being late and missing important deadlines. Our Time Management training can provide them with the skills to get them on track.

Capricorn – Tools for Innovation

This sign is known for being pessimistic, miserly, and fatalistic. Participating in our Tools for Innovation training will help inspire them to see things differently and change their outlook.

Aquarius – Personal Branding

Aquarius is notorious for coming off as unemotional and detached to most people they come in contact with. Our Personal Branding training can help them enhance their personal brand and change others perception of them.

Pisces – Persuasion + Influence

Pisces are prone to being weak-willed and easily led, which is why our Persuasion + Influence training will take them from being led to being a leader.

Gemini or a Scorpio, Capricorn or Aries, no matter your sign, our training options can help you to “Behave Intelligently.” Contact us today to schedule any of our trainings in-person or virtually!

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Are filler words bad? Short answer- not always. Filler words are a necessary function for interpersonal communication. In one-on-one or small group communication, they serve a purpose in the concept of speech reciprocity. Essentially, filler words signal to the listener that you are still completing a thought and that it is not their turn to speak. But when you are giving a public speech, presentation, or lecture, filler words can have devastating consequences to your credibility.

During a presentation or when giving a speech, “the floor is all yours”. The audience generally is not seeking to interrupt and filler words begin to have negative consequences. We have all seen (and sometimes have been) that struggling speaker who uses um’s or uh’s every three seconds. Not only is this distracting and painful for an audience to sit through, but it can also kill the speaker’s credibility. The use of filler words signals to an audience that the speaker is not confident and is struggling to formulate their ideas. This can make the audience choose to leave rather than sit and listen for one more painful sequence of um…uh…ah… to come pouring out.

So, how can we use Behavioral Intelligence to reduce our filler words in public speaking?

1. Increase awareness – The first step in changing any behavior is to become aware of the situations that elicit the behavior. Do you find yourself having more filler words at the beginning of your speech or presentation? In the end? On topics that you are not as comfortable with? When do you feel anxiety? Noticing these triggers allows us to address the behaviors.
2. Introduce pauses and silence – We often use filler words to allow our brain to catch up to what we are saying, transition to a new thought, or to think through a question or process as we are talking. The best way to get past this is to pause. We generally think that pausing is bad because we find silence to be uncomfortable. However, if you watch someone like Obama (politics aside) and you will see this demonstrated exceptionally well. He chunks his information and uses pauses and silence in a way that makes his message extremely impactful. If you want additional information, this article helps explain how pauses can help eliminate filler words.
   Remember: Silence and pausing in a speech feel 10x longer to the speaker than it does to the audience. If the speaker uses it intentionally, it can make a powerful impact on what the speaker is conveying.
3. Use body language to your advantage – If you’re grasping for thoughts and need the pause or a moment of silence, talk with your facial expressions or gestures. Raising your eyebrows, making strong eye contact, using gestures to imply that you are pondering the thought (Think of bringing your hand to your chin and looking upward as an example). All of these can convey the inherent message of “I am thinking” or “Stay with me while my brain catches up with my words” without having to fill the dead space.
4. Practice, Practice, Practice – The more you practice, the more fluid and natural the presentation or speech will flow. Remember that the information that you are delivering is coming from an expert. Take your time, take a deep breath, and let it flow as though it is a conversation with your friends, colleagues, and peers. This will help to reduce your anxiety which will then lessen the need for filler words. When practicing, record yourself. It may be painful to start (it was for me), but when you see yourself, you will be able to better identify the areas of the presentation or the situations that breed more filler words.

Filler words can have a devastating impact on a speaker’s credibility. Using these tips and tactics, you can start reducing these unnecessary distractions and elevate your prowess in the public speaking world. If you want more custom support, Coeus Creative Group offers a 10 session coaching program to take your public speaking to new heights, contact us today to learn more!

Stay tuned for an upcoming blog with behaviorally intelligent tips to reduce anxiety before, during, and after your public speaking!

Jay Johnson is an internationally renowned speaker specializing in behavior and organizational development. Jay has given keynotes and workshops in 20 countries across 4 continents, empowering audiences with a unique perspective on behavior, communication, and leadership. Connect with Jay on LinkedIn.

Looking for more?

• Listen to our most recent #BehaveIntelligently Podcast
• Attend an upcoming webinar
• Join our Newsletter
• Check out our Charitable #CoeusCares Apparel Line

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For example, understanding that different cultures designate different members of the family as decision makers when it comes to health, finances, or other critical issues can mean the difference between building rapport and alienating the potential relationship. Whether you are in healthcare, sales, wealth management, banking, or other industry that interacts with people, you have four seconds to analyze the situation, recognize which family member is the designated authority, and act accordingly.

In our Cultural Adaptability Training program, we highlight the importance of those first four seconds. Participants often include people working in the healthcare industry, where lives are at stake and tensions are high. Nurses, social workers, physicians, and health administrators who understand culture and are willing to adapt to the norms and values of others see an increase in patient satisfaction scores, adherence to medical regimens, and better health outcomes.

Cultural Adaptability and Preferred Outcomes

I was working with a group of nurses and shared with them some of the key body language clues that would guide them in identifying the decision maker within the family unit; that is, if they were able to spot the nonverbal messages in the first four seconds of the interaction.

When they understood that speaking to the mother in some cultures would be damning to their credibility, they balked and felt that they had the right to talk to whomever they chose. ‘It’s not right. The mother should have just as much say in the decisions of their child.’ This is not an uncommon sentiment, but unfortunately it does not matter what “we” think. What matters is how willing we are to adapt our mode of thinking to the way that “others” think. I typically handle this the same way each time and here’s how:

• Me: I do not necessarily disagree with you. You certainly have the right to speak with whomever you like. But let me ask you, what is your primary purpose when it comes to your patients?
• Practitioner: The patient’s health outcome.
• Me: If a patient’s family trusts you, are they more likely to support your recommendations?
• Practitioner: Yes, of course.
• Me: If the patient’s family likes you, are they more likely to give you critical and personal information?
• Practitioner: Again, yes, of course.
• Me: If you offend them, will they easily cooperate with you?
• Practitioner: Probably not so much.
• Me: If you can create a positive relationship by adhering to their cultural values, and that could lead to a better outcome, is that more important than your personal feelings?
• Practitioner: ………..Ok, keep going.

Cultural adaptability is the willingness to learn and accept another culture’s way of behaving. It doesn’t mean that you have to like it, it doesn’t mean that you have to agree with it; what it means is that you are willing to accept that different cultures operate with different values, beliefs, traditions, rituals, norms, and behaviors. They are neither good nor bad, just different.

And it’s not just healthcare that finds a value for learning the in’s and out’s of cultural adaptability; choose the decision maker wisely and the conversation continues, or choose poorly and you have a hill to climb if you want to re-establish trust. This is an ideology that relays into all professions and even your every day life.

Moving past our judgement and biases is essential to understanding. Understanding allows for diversity and inclusion to become operational advantages for the organizations that foster these values. Cultural adaptability is a pre-condition to effective communication, relationship building, and high-functioning cross-cultural team performance.

Increasing a workforce’s capacity for cultural adaptability can create a healthy and productive workplace, while also reducing an organization’s risk of fostering tension amongst different cultures. But how can we accomplish this, especially with so many cultures entering the global workforce? By focusing on a behaviorally intelligent strategy of improving awareness; seeking to understand existing behaviors; opening space for mutual existence; and most importantly controlling our own behaviors in cultural interactions, we become more adaptable, which consistently leads to better relationships and outcomes across any industry.

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1. If people do not like you, they will not want to do business with you. Seems obvious, right? However, our body language can send signals that affect the way we are perceived.
2. The limbic system of the brain is what regulates our Fight – Flight – Feint instinct. Its default is to assume that there is danger around every corner and in every person. When we meet someone for the first time, we must get past this Limbic gatekeeper to make a positive connection.
3. If our body language causes a negative Limbic reaction in someone, it can have the effect of reducing trust, liking, credibility, and give an overall negative perception. Some of the ways people cause this negative Limbic reaction are as follows:
   • An overly aggressive handshake – Once thought to be a powerful symbol of a strong business personality, neuroscience has shown that it can decrease rapport.
   • Standing to close to someone – also known as proxemics, this can cause the Limbic system to go on high alert.
   • Toe-to-toe postures – We naturally stand shoulder to shoulder like Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. When we take a more dominant stance it can trigger a Limbic response.

These are just a few examples of how our body language can cause a negative limbic response in someone. This can have damaging effects on relationships. A savvy communicator understands this and works to ensure that the person they are interacting with is comfortable. This increases liking, and if people like you, they will want to do business with you.

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• Prioritization – Imagine being asked to join friends for dinner, but you have other obligations. You respond with, “I’m sorry; I just don’t have the time.” Now imagine that right after you decline, you receive a phone call from a local dealership saying that you just won a Mustang convertible. All you need to do is show up in the next hour to claim your prize. Would this change your priority? Would you forgo your obligations to collect your winnings? Most people would say yes. Through this lens, we see that time can be “created”. It depends on prioritization.
• Tracking Time – Do you know where you spend your time? Without fail, whenever I ask a client to track their time, the response is, “I cannot believe I spend so much time on _______.” The blank can be filled with a number of different activities, but most common include: social media, email, phone calls, Netflix, and driving. When we make a concerted effort to track time we notice trends. This is similar to tracking food while dieting.
• “Spending Time” – People use this phrase, but may not consider its meaning. The phrase implies that time is a resource, just like money. However, we never hear people say “Time doesn’t grow on trees you know.” Time is not something you can hold in your hand, nor is it something that you can earn more of, so we may not treat it the same way we treat money. We spend money to buy things we need or want, and try not to waste money on things that are not necessary or enjoyable. Looking at time in a similar way can help us not to “spend time” on tasks or activities that do not provide value.

Knowing your priorities, tracking your time, and viewing time as a precious resource may help you to spend your time more effectively. So, how will you manage time moving forward?

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So why do we find it so challenging to change our behaviors? Through behavioral intelligence, we can find the answer. Human beings are creatures of habit. Often, we find ourselves following a routine. It brings us a level of certainty in the world, which gives us comfort. When we attempt to disrupt our routine, our brain literally works to establish control and tries to get us to stick with what is known. We vow to exercise; our brain says that we can do it tomorrow. We promise ourselves that we will see our friends more; our brain tells us that they are probably busy. Our brain keeps us in the status quo because it has certainty. The saving grace is that through acknowledgement of this fact, we can start to observe the moments where our brain is limiting our actions toward positive, desired behaviors. Here are a few ways to overcome this challenge:

1. Create new habits by pairing them with old ones – Imagine that your resolution is to take a multivitamin every day. Research in habit formation suggests that you pair it with something you already do, such as brushing your teeth. Wrap a rubber-band around your vitamin bottle and your toothbrush. Each time you reach to polish your pearly whites, you will be forming the habit of taking your vitamin.
2. Affirm your commitment…the night before – Maybe you want to get up early and exercise. But every morning you justify hitting the snooze button and going back to bed. One way to train your brain into backing away from this negative reaction is to reaffirm your commitment the night before. Before you go to sleep, recite all of the reasons that you want to start this new behavior. Remind yourself of what your brain will naturally say in the morning, and how you will overcome it. Making this commitment the night before makes it harder for your brain to justify the negative reaction when game time comes.
3. Write yourself a note – Sometimes, you need a reminder of what you can accomplish. Write yourself a little note of encouragement and make it so you can’t miss it. Affirmations have been shown to positively affect behavior, just think, you can do it!!

There are a lot of strategies to stay on track, but hopefully these simple solutions can give you the boost you need to attain your goal. Now, get out there and be the best you that you can be.

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