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News Articles
Robert J. Flower
Intelligent discourse
By BILL FALLON
An avid golfer, Robert J. Flower is a longtime member at
Westchester Country Club, where he carries a 13 handicap. He founded
his business in 1962; it now has offices in Bronxville and on Long
Island and enough Flowers on board to make a bouquet. In his spare
time, he works toward making the world a smarter place via: political
discourse on TV every week; a regular You Tube investment and
economics presence; and three published books.
After graduating from Archbishop Stepinac High School in 1957, Flower
earned a B.A. at Fordham University. He did graduate work at Fordham
and NYU and earned a Ph.D. from Walden University in Minnesota in
organizational and systems sciences. He lives in the architecture- and
landscape-rich Lawrence Park section of Yonkers.
Flower and wife, Angela, a property tax consultant with Robert J.
Flower & Co. L.L.C., work alongside daughter Deborah Flower, an
appraiser, daughter Bobbie-Anne Flower-Cox, a real estate attorney,
and son, Robert Flower, a mortgage banker who heads the Westbury, Long
Island, office. “We’ve got the whole family,” Flower laughs. “It’s a
challenge, but it’s also rewarding.”
Flower has a TV show Tuesdays on Channel 18 at 7:30 p.m. called “The
Public Advocate” on which he interviews various officials “to try to
formulate a new model of governance at the local, town, city and
county level.” His advice: “Create a public advocacy commission of
private citizens with specialties in areas that impact government:
accountants, constitutional attorneys, union attorneys. Have them
oversee the fiscal events of a municipality.” And, critically, “They
would have veto power,” meaning line-item veto.
Flower offers an easy smile. He possesses the seductive conversational
style of your favorite teacher. Take, for example A + B = C, where A
equals awareness, your greatest intelligence; B equals your beliefs or
concepts of reality; and C equals communication. As Flower spins the
equation, a person finds it quite logical that such a formula would
improve Flower’s golf game and make steady his hand in winning the New
York state Western Division Trap-Shooting Championship in 1984. “I
took a very impersonal approach toward the competition. And I
continued that into my golfing habit – I’m about a 13 handicap.”
His sports problem, he confesses, was nerves. His approach was
objective: “What you become aware of and what you believe about that
will always equate to how you communicate it. Always. So if you’re
having a problem communicating something, expressing something,
comprehending something, all you need do to resolve it is look at what
you’re focusing on and what your concepts about that are.”
Flower’s ideas are available in three books: “Decoding Potential:
Pathways to Understanding” (2005); “A Revolution in Understanding:
Discovering Your Natural Intelligence” (2006); and 2008’s “Your
Exceptional Mind: Enhance Intelligence; Expand Understanding.” (All
are available online through Borders, Amazon and others.)
Flower has a You Tube show every week: “The Master Pattern Report”
(type in natiandyou or Robert Flower on the YouTube Web site),
featuring predictions and analysis of economics and stocks. “We have a
nice following, about 6,000 to 7,000 hits,” Flower says. Flower tags
’09 “bad” when asked for a prognostication. “The first three to five
or six months I think things will hold up,” he says. “But I think
after people see the new administration does not have its arms around
what’s going on, I think we’ll start to see declines, rather severe
declines; whether in six months or nine months, I don’t know, but I’m
sure it’s going to happen within ’09.”
He said one way to unlock the economy would be to codify depreciation
for houses purchased over the next two years. Buyers would accrue the
tax benefits of seeing their properties officially lower in value 15
percent for two years regardless of what the housing market does.
Flower believes the move would entice buyers who are now holding back.
He also would institute a loss-insurance program funded by real estate
purchases to buffer against downturns. He was scheduled to meet on
these ideas with Westchester County Association officials – whose
mission is at least partly better, smarter taxation – as early as last
week.
When he spoke, Flower and his wife were preparing to jet off to
Scottsdale, Ariz., for a few months. That desert state’s pro sports
teams have been serviceable of late – the D’backs, the Cardinals, the
Suns – but Flower, it appears will never identify himself as a
Westerner, nor root for teams that sprout beside the cacti. “I'm a New
Yorker. I like the Jets and the Giants. I like the Mets and the
Yankees.” He’ll be back on the tees at Westchester Country Club this
spring.
www.wcbizj.biz/profitspassions/011209flower.php
LoHud.com
Yonkers achievement scientist publishes self-help book
Sun-Sentinel.com - Fort Lauderdale,FL,USA
Here's how to deal with the problem boss
Instead, resist that urge, and think about better ways to communicate
and accomplish your goals, says Robert Flower, author of
Decoding Potential: Pathways to ...
San Diego Union Tribune - United States
Workers hold key to creating better workplace
Workplace consultant and coach Robert Flower has blunt advice for
employees who want to be more productive. ...
Atlanta Journal Constitution
Got a bad boss? Look inside, change yourself
Relationship may reflect on employee, author says....americanventuremagazine
American Venture Magazine
Development as a
workplace objective
The Austin American-Statesman.
Defuse Conflicts And Turn Them To Your Advantage
BY MOREY STETTNER
INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY
Posted 10/13/2006
When conflict erupts at work, your next move can either restore peace or spread
ill will. If you cast blame or expose others' faulty thinking, you may feel
better. But the discord will intensify. A better approach is to look within,
says Robert Flower, author of "Decoding Potential." By exploring your desire for
engaging in conflict, you can modify your behavior before tension mounts.
"A common mistake is to try to make the other person change," said Flower, an
achievement coach in Bronxville, N.Y. "But because we also bear some
responsibility in a conflict, we need to understand our role and what's driving
us."
Flower suggests that you excuse yourself early in a conflict and regroup in
private. Use the time to examine the core emotions that you're feeling. Ask
yourself five questions:
• Am I fearful of something? You may realize that you're scared of saying what
needs to be said. Or you may dread facing up to your weaknesses or acknowledging
another person's troubling actions. Fear can muddle your ability to think
clearly and understand opposing views.
• Is my ego in the way? Excess pride can feed a conflict and block your
willingness to see your mistakes. If you feel that your authority or credibility
is at stake, you may refuse to process new information. An inflated ego can stop
you from listening with an open mind and considering multiple views, Flower
says.
• Do I have all the information I need? Many conflicts spiral out of control
because individuals pretend to know more than they do. They may make
pronouncements without proof, or argue their point despite their lack of command
of the facts. Recognize what you do not know, and others will respond in kind.
This will help you identify what data you both need to reach a resolution.
• Am I being honest? Self-deception plays a surprisingly strong role in
prolonging conflict, Flower says. You might bicker over a petty matter that
masks the real issue.
• Am I picking a fight? Many conflicts thrive when one person's stubbornness
stokes the ire of others.
"We sometimes polarize a situation by instinctively saying no when someone says
yes," Flower said. "That urge to fight can be exacerbated when we don't like the
other person."
Withdrawing briefly from a conflict to ask yourself these five questions can
help you develop a plan to regain civility. When you return to confront your
adversary, use your newfound awareness to engage in a more reasonable dialogue.
If you've deceived yourself as a subordinate, you can say, "We've been talking
about my absences over the last few weeks. There's a deeper issue that I think
is at the bottom of this that I'd like to raise with you."
Related Resources:
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