Still We Must Act

What is your current and continuing success really made of ?

Are you the recipient of great fortune by being in the right place at the right time or do you attribute your success to something else. The achievements you have made can be directly associated with the effort expended. There is such a thing as "luck" but these uncontrollable events called luck have far less to do with your success that want happens when lucky things happen. There are good and bad things that happen that you had nothing to do with. The issue is singularly focused on what happens when these unpredictable things happen. How do you respond? That is the pivotal question. When good things happen you can certainly take credit for being ready to make the most of the good fortune. Conversely when bad things happen, you need to be prepared to rapidly make the moves that will mitigate the effect and turn lemons into lemonade and you can take credit for that as well. You are going to have to take ownership either way.

Take the time to analyze what has happened that is directly attributed to your actions and take time to analyze the things that are not. Then you can draw a clearer conclusion how to build upon the events that are part of your continuing and increasing levels of success. You must act no matter what happens and to the extent that you are prepared to respond and build upon the events, you will find yourself so busy "doing" that the impact of the uncontrollable events will either be positively greatly expanded upon or you will significantly diminish the negative impact of less fortunate events. Some of the greatest victories are going to be those victories where you can look back at the bad events and calculate just how well you preformed in less than desirable circumstances. Robert Trent Jones Jr., one of the greatest golfers of all time was quoted as saying: "I never learned anything from a golf tournament I won."

So it does not really matter if it is good or bad, still you must act.

Of Brine & Swine

Surprisingly more people are killed each year by pigs than are killed by sharks.

Businesses often spend a great deal of their resources, human and financial, on figuring out a way to get ahead of the competition, the sharks. They focus on the sharks outside the business and rightfully so. You cannot ignore your competition and viewing them as sharks will motivate you to swim faster, else that will eat you up.

But sharks are not what kills or damages most businesses. The pigs inside the building are the real threat to the business. The are also the part of the business that is completely within control of the management. Allowing the pigs to destroy by tolerating their lazy and ineffective work ethic happens far too often. When a company becomes so consumed with the sharks they allow the pigs to run wild, a death spiral is inevitable. Pigs run wild, at times, without running at all. When management allows the pigs to lower the overall expectations by accepting their mediocre efforts and results, they are in effect saying that this behavior is acceptable. Pigs are crafty and will appear to be making progress when is fact, they are simply working dilligently at not working. Others in the company see the pigs performance and reasonably think that if the pigs can behave as they do and still get paid, why should I make the effort to meet expectations. The pigs don't, so I am not going to.

Allowing pigs to wallow in their sty of deplorable results while expecting others to make up the difference does the company considerable damage and will eventually take a toll on everyone. Once a pig is identified, get the pig help and try to turn the pig into a productive member of the team by insisting that they perform at a higher level. If they chose not to take advantage of the opportunity, call the butcher.

Thank You

Often the most simple words are the most meaningful. All to often we get so wrapped up in what we are doing to move the business forward we forget to consider the considerable-contributions of all of the people around us. Considerable-contributions does not necessarily mean large contributions. What it means, is that in some meaningful way, the people were involved in our achievements and we would have not been as successful had they not been involved.

No one can be successful in a vacuum. You cannot achieve anything meaningful without the help of other people. While you may be the person who gets the attention, I assure you your efforts are not the only individual efforts that contributed to your achievements. Many other people helped you. (From the doctors and nurse who aided in your delivery, to your teachers and your friends who gave you advice even when you didn't want it.)

Take the time to look around and consider where you would be if you didn't have other people helping you. You may subconsciuosly look to they that set fine examples by what they do well, and you follow their lead. You may learn from the mistakes others have made, because indirectly they paid a price you didn't have to. All of these people deserve your thanks. One of the best means to say thanks to those people who helped and may not be around anymore, is to make the best of what you have because of the opportunities you have been given. Of course the very best way say thank you is to simply say; "thank you, I really appreciate what you have done for me."

I Will Try That

In a restaurant, trying something new is perfectly acceptable. You may like it and add it to your must have list or you may not like it and never order it again. Either way, you know.

In business "trying" is a path to failure. Trying is implying failure because, to try, lacks commitment. When you commit you are buying-in and unleashing your determination to make a success of your new chosen project. All to often when someone says they are going to try, the outcome is already in question. Simply trying gives them the path to an easy-out by allowing them to say; "At least I tried." So what? We do not need non-committed individuals in the business world. Either take a stand and say, I will or say I will not. Do not take the position that you are going to try. There is not time for try, there is plenty of time for "I will."

When you make the commitment to making something happen there is a gathering of unseen forces within you that align and provide strength and determination moving you toward a favorable outcome. To commit means that you are not going to try it means that you are going to DO.

There will be times when you realize that the endeavor might not succeed as planned and that may be the time to cut your losses. Yes, there is a difference in cutting your losses and saying; "At least I tried." Cutting your losses often means that circumstances beyond your control have changed. You didn't stop trying because you never were trying, you were in the process of doing when things changed. That is perfectly acceptable and understandable. Move on to the next endeavor, but don't try, DO!

If People Aren't Buying

A good friend of mine was in the sales business. At the time of this story he shared with me, he was in the advertising sales business working at a newspaper where his Father was the editor. One evening at dinner with his Mother and Father he was complaining about how terrible sales were. He was not making his goal, clients were too unreasonable, prices were too high, he could not get appointments with decision makers, the competition was stiff and no one in the newspaper was willing to help. His Father listened patiently to this tirade and then said; "I have found in my rather lengthy newspaper career, that if people aren't buying, that usually means that no one is selling." My friend said that changed his whole disposition and outlook on his sales career.

Selling is not an easy endeavor and yes there are many reasons why people do not buy. But for every reason there is for not buying, there is a reason to buy. Your mission is to discover why people aren't buying and then give them factual reasons to buy. If you spend your time mulling over the reasons that someone is not buying, you are looking in the wrong direction. Focus on the reasons why people should buy from you and look at the issue from the client's perspective.

If people are not buying that means that someone is not selling.

We are the Constant

I am in the newspaper business. My career in this fantastic business started a long time ago, selling advertising for a daily newspaper with a circulation of 16,000. When I began, the only thing I knew about newspapers was that I read one every day. I still do.

The local newspaper in my hometown was, for want of a better word, local. The newspaper was much more than a newspaper, it was an institution and a part of our daily lives. There was community information in the newspaper that could be found no where else. Good information, the kind that provides people with what they need to make decisions. Those decisions were, and still are, centered in the desire to make a better life. The newspaper could be trusted to report the news that mattered.

Sports was and still is my favorite section. There was, over the course of time, a bit of news and information for almost every interest one may have. The newspaper appealed, in that sense, to everybody. Some loved it and some did not, but almost everyone read it and talked about what they read.

The newspaper provided local businesses a very effective end efficient method to deliver their marketing messages to their best potential customers. These advertisers could talk to their market using a vehicle that delivered, literally and figuratively.

These realities are indisputable.

What is also indisputable is that the newspaper held politicians and business people and citizens accountable. The news-hounds would aggressively go after anyone who was suspected or actually charged with wrong doing.

The questions we all need to answer is who, that can be trusted, is going to continue this vital service if newspapers do not. Make no mistake, if there is not a means, with a commitment, to hold people accountable and bring to the light the wrong doings, and also illuminate that the accused did nothing wrong, the places we now live will look a lot different, without newspapers, than they do today.

"We are the Constant" and, unless someone-else wants this responsibility, we need to trust and support the local newspaper.

Talent-Alone Will Not

Talent-alone will not work!

We all know talented people. Some of us know exceptionally talented people. We ourselves, may be exceptionally talented. Talent in and of itself is a gift and should be categorized as such. Talent-alone is not what your are going to need to get you where you want to go. We were all given a special set of talents from the beginning of our life. Some get bigger doses of talent than others. So what? Talent-alone is not sufficient to achieve lasting and meaningful success. Certainly not the kind of success that helps to build on other successes and establishes a winning pattern. They who rely on talent-alone will achieve the occasional victory, but they do not grow because talent-alone is not a willful act. You don't choose to get talent, you just get it.

Talent does not teach.

When you compliment your talent with your determination and meaningful action you will begin to see just how far you can go if you decide to do so. You will discover that the choices you made to add determination and willpower to your efforts are going to help you achieve much more than your talent-alone.

Look around. The world has a lot of very talented people that are not getting anywhere. Their considerable talent, instead of being a positive, has actually hurt their chances of continued success because they relied too heavily on talent-alone. Their talent "ran out" and they stopped progressing because they had not willingly added anything, such as determination and persistence, to the formula.

You can achieve high levels of success independent of your level of talent, if you do the things that need to be done, consistently.

Do not take talent for granted, it is a gift, and should be treasured. Identify your talents and make the most of what you have been given by getting better everyday. You may discover talents you did not know you had and may have never discovered, if you had not made a decision to do the things necessary to be successful. With or without exceptional levels of talent, you can and deserve to be successful.

Rewarding Bad Behavior

Do not reward bad behavior.

This applies to large companies all the way down to the one-man shop and everyone, in the end, is a one man shop regarding their professional path.

Knowing what to do, how much and when is required for you to achieve desired levels of success. It is always in the doing and learning that builds over time, the experience that will teach you what to do, how much needs doing and by when it needs to be done. Once you are empowered with this vital information, take action by doing what is necessary and do not reward bad behavior by allowing yourself to be distracted or convinced that there is an easier path. You know what needs doing and not making progress, when it is entirely within your control, is in fact, rewarding bad behavior by accepting less than you know you can accomplish. Losing focus or momentum are classic mistakes in business growth and if you allow that to happen, without losing sleep, you are in effect rewarding inappropriate or bad behavior. The reward is in your thinking and accepting that you are going to be okay with a level of achievement that is less than you are capable of. Think again. While the detrimental effect of your underachievement may not surface immediately, it will come back to haunt you and you will either get better or get out. So do not reward bad behavior by accepting less.

Do Things Differently With a Desire to Do Things Better

"There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things. Because the innovator has for enemies all those who have done well under the old conditions, and lukewarm defenders in those who may do well under the new." (Niccolo Machiavelli)

Machiavelli was right. The person who boldly introduces a new order of things is too often alone in their quest and also often right in their new order of things. Independent of the level of success ultimately achieved, the necessary and bold change in the order of things will illuminate "some that will and some that will not."

Changes in life or in business are never ending. Change comes in all shapes and sizes.

The opportunity to be a part of positive change is yours to embrace or reject. You may be at the forefront of change in the new order of things and as so, you are most vulnerable. Be prepared for the attacks from those in the organization that do not embrace the opportunity to change. These people are the very ones that change will leave behind. Pay more attention to they who say "I will" than they who say "I will not."

When you commit to a new order of things, stay committed inspite of the uproar you hear from the masses. The unique individual, that seizes the chance to take a positive role in becoming a part of the new order of things, will learn a lot about themselves and about the people around them. It takes just one spark to start a raging fire, you can and should be that spark, at whatever level, you are given the opportunity.

Failure is Required

The tech industry is one of the places you will find many more failures than successes. Some of the failures are colossal. Failure in the tech industry is not only accepted as a the norm it is almost required. The tech industry learned that in their wold they are going to fail before they succeed so the industry understood, on a grand scale, that failures are part of the norm. Because of the willingness to fail and willingness to accept failure as a vital part of success, the tech industry has changed the world.

Failure requires money but money is simply a by-product of success. The moment you start putting too much emphasis on the money is the moment you will likely divert your attention from the challenges of making incremental progress and overcoming the obstacles that are a part of every successful endeavor. Failure requires guts and money. Failure requires commitment, dedication and money. Failure requires efficiencies and money. Failure requires and thrives on persistence and yes, money. All too often we see failure as, a dark spot on our progress, it is anything but that. The very act of failing means you are doing something and doing something is vastly more productive than waiting. The more you experience unique failures, the closer to success you get. Make sure to learn from your failures. Making the same mistake repeatedly, is not failure, it is not paying attention and cannot be accepted.

You cannot make a commitment to succeed , without factoring in the reality that, in order to achieve success, you are going to fail. Failure is a part of the process. Success is all the sweeter the more failure that is mixed in with it.

If I Presented to Me

There is more of an art to making effective presentations than there is a science. You surely must focus on presenting the facts and to a large extent let the facts do the talking. The fine art of presenting includes several vital components that will help to make you a very effective presenter and effective presenters are more successful at whatever their chosen careers. Sales people need to be effective presenters if they are going to help prospects and clients fully understand the value of their proposition. There is only one way to get better at presenting and that is to make more presentations. Start by making the presentation to yourself, in front of a mirror. Score your presentation based on:

1. How much of a command do you have of what you are proposing?

If you stumble through the facts, you need to acquire a deeper knowledge of your offer. Clients and prospects do not need to dedicate time to helping you get a better grasp of your offering. Know before you go.

2. Are you fluid without being too slick.

Decision makers will be interested in your presentation if it makes sense on a step by step basis. It must be fluid, but it cannot be slick to the point of being cavalier or disengaged.

3. Is there clarity?

One of the biggest mistakes is to assume people will understand simply because you do. People need time to process what you're saying while you visually present, so don't assume they understand enough to make a positive decision without your help in delivering a clear message.

4. Are you allowing time during your presentation for questions.

In acting they call it, dramatic pause. That is the time between dialogue that is given so the audience can fully digest the point being made. You need to pace yourself and pause during the presentation so you can give the person the time to process what you just said.

5. Do you exhibit a professional image?

You must be professional in your dress and the hard-copy documents you leave behind and very professional during the presentation.

These are only a few of the artistic things you need to consider while you endeavor at becoming a great and effective presenter. Practice by presenting to yourself and others in the controlled environment of your team.

There is no one-thing

Especially when times get tough, companies, organizations and individuals, in their effort to turn things around quickly, will often look for the one-dramatic-thing they can do to make life better. Unfortunately, because they become so myopic by virtue of concentrating the majority of their resources on the one-thing, they do not spend much time or energy on the many things that attributed to their success in the first place.

Successful businesses and individuals made their success by doing many things well. Therefore when things get tough, it defies logic to begin the search for the one-thing that will reverse the slide. It is just not that simple. Unfortunately many companies and businesses do look for and find one-thing that they think will make the difference and then push hard and fast in implementing and executing based on their belief that if they do the one-thing well, all will turn out well.

In his book, How The Mighty Fall, author Jim Collins uses research to chronicle the fall of some industry giants. Most of the failures were self-inflicted and many of the companies that did fail, were guilty of looking for, and finding, that one-thing, that they just knew would serve as the fulcrum to tip the scales back in their favor. They did not find such a thing because it does not exists.

What happened is, they stopped doing the many things that made them successful, or they did not adjust to the changing business environment quickly enough and after they realized it, it was too late. They had invested untold fortunes and human resources in the one-thing, only to discover that if they had begun to look at everything, they could have corrected course by making several improvements and probably survived and maybe thrived.

Distinguish Yourself

In order to succeed at higher and higher levels, you are going to have to distinguish yourself from the crowd and distinguish yourself from your former self. There is only one way to continually justify your existence in the professional world and that is to get better every day at what you do. The only way to get better is to make sure you are utilizing your time wisely and making the best of the lessons you learn from your efforts.

How to distinguish yourself is a matter of looking at the things that you and your leadership measure and manage. Once you have clearly identified the things that are measured and managed, simply decide which one of those activities and behaviors will, if you got better at it, would have the greatest impact on your positive performance. Then concentrate a significant amount, if not most, of your time on improving your performance in that targeted area.

Distinguish yourself by:

Making more calls

Increasing your revenue average by individual clients

Sell more to more

Make more presentations

Increase the number of contracts or commitments

Read more books

There is a great time to start and that time is now.

Colonel Sanders was sixty five when his first restaurant failed due to traffic construction which was, of course, beyond his control. That was when he decided to distinguish himself by taking to the road and talking to potential franchisees. The rest is a distinguished history.

Things That Bother You That Shouldn't and More

Take a few minutes and consider those things in life that bother you that really shouldn't.

We all have our list of these things and here are few for your consideration;

1. People that do not reset the microwave oven timer

2. That speedy driver that races down the street, passing you, only to have you right next to them at the very next traffic light

3. People that call and dive into their information delivery without asking if you have time to listen

4. People that do not refill the paper in the copier
5. People that do not put the toilet seat down

The list could go on and on.

Let's take a look at a few things in business that should not bother you and a few things that should:

1. People that do not return phone calls.

It shouldn't really bother you if people do not return your calls. They probably do not return anyones calls. What should bother you is if you don't make enough phone calls.

2. People that don't make time for you.

People are busy and unless they understand the value of devoting some of their time to you, you will not make much progress. What should bother you is if you do not understand the value you represent well enough to encourage others to give you some of their valuable time.

3. Prospects that say no to your proposal.

Most "no's" stem from a lack of understanding so when a prospect says no, they are typically saying, "I don't have enough information." If what you are selling can indeed help the prospect then it is a matter of time before you or your competitor get the order. However if you are getting a no because there really is no need, or they are wasting your time then move on. What should really bother you and keep you up at night is that you are not getting to enough qualified prospects thereby never giving enough people the opportunity to tell you no.

4. People that say your stuff is too expensive.

Many people do not understand the value you offer so you are always, initially, going to be too expensive. It shouldn't bother you when someone makes the broad statement that what you are selling costs too much. What should bother you is if you are not equipped to demonstrate your value. If you cannot factually support your considerable value, then you are overpriced and overpaid. The issue is NEVER price. The issue is ALWAYS value.

5. No one is buying from you.

People do not buy unless they are sold. Educated people buy more than uneducated people, Your job includes teaching. People either sell themselves or someone does the selling to them. It really should not bother you if people are not buying, but what should shake you to your sales-foundation is not getting in front of enough qualified prospects.
6. There are issues that are beyond your control.
The appropriate response is to not allow the circumstances to overcome or discourage you, rather you should address the realities and then move toward the objective with a firm commitment. The facts do matter so it should bother you if you make decisions before you have a firm hold on the realities. 

Don't let things bother you that appear to have unalterable bearing on the foundation of your current and growing success.

Public & Private

Outside sales people and indeed any one who deals face-to-face with client's and prospects on a regular basis are, in the view of the customers, the face of the business: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

While many people think that their private lives and their professional lives are distinct and separate, that is simply not the "real-world". You see, you are a person and people naturally relate to other people and most people find it very difficult to view any one individual through multiple lenses. Your customers and prospects and fellow employees look at you and see what you are on and off the job and what they see is one person that behaves either consistently or inconsistently. You cannot be two people to clients and prospects independent of the separation that you feel should rightly exist. That simply does not fit the reasonable evaluation process that we all employ to determine who we can and cannot trust and who we really want to do business with. The degree of separation that you have between your professional and private existence may indeed vary from person to person, but there is still a considerable amount of character evaluation occurring in-spite of the ability of any individual to attempt to to see you as two different people. You are one person all the time and what you broadcast, either in actions or words, will build a basis for just how other people view and judge you.

Use extreme caution and sound judgement when you demonstrate your character with your actions and when you tell others by your words, what you really represent. Professionalism does not have any boundaries and never sleeps.

The explosion of social networks has created a means of communicating that can be used for your benefit or for your detriment. Whatever you post, is fair game and will either help you or hurt you. There is simply no neutral place on these networks. Everything is being judged.

Your private life should be protected and enjoyed but remember that you are always, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week representing your profession and your company. Do so with pride and considerable discretion when necessary.

Sometimes Chicken - Sometimes Feathers

Sometimes Chicken and sometimes feathers.

After work we often reflect on the accomplishments of the day. Each day offers the opportunity to accomplish something and move forward. However there are many times in our career that, at the end of the day, we look back at exactly what we accomplished and we cannot clearly identify anything we did to help move the process forward.

You cannot do everything in a day, but you can do something everyday. Extraordinary and defining accomplishments rarely happen in a short timeframe. Building anything worthwhile takes time and a steady process toward a goal. The steps you take toward your destination are more often small and sometimes they are backward. We have all heard the saying, "three steps forward and one step back." Business does not often follow a linear path. Business takes twists and turns and sometimes it seems that the road to success is not very clear at all.

The "must-do" exercise must be to, DO SOMETHING EVERY DAY, however small and insignificant the activity may seem. There will be days when you get Chicken and other days when you get only Feathers. The key is to make the best of what you have and enjoy the big and small accpmplishments.

No One Owns The Hill Forever

No one owns the hill forever. Business is in a constant state of change. They who find themselves on top of their market, must accept that others want to be on top as well and are willing to fight hard to get there. That may seem to be an over simplification, but looking at things from a simple viewpoint, is beneficial. If you are on top, you must fight as hard to stay on top as you did to get to the top.

There are circumstance that are beyond your control that may have an negative impact on your ability to get to or stay on top. That is going to happen and how you respond to the change is going to determine if you get to or stay on the top. But since you already know that nobody owns the hill forever, you must understand that what you are doing is either getting you closer to the top or moving you away. The journey to the top of the hill is going to prepare you for staying on top and owning the hill, for a limited time. There are companies that are so powerful that they own the hill for a long time, but they should know that their competitors are continually adapting and aggressively attacking their position. All to often companies start to ignore their competitors because they have such a commanding position. That is often a critical error in judgement because "no one owns the hill forever."

Choices

We are all a result of the choices we make. Each and every day we have the opportunity to make choices and the life we live is going to be determined, in large part, by the result of those choices. You chose to be in a sales job, which means that you chose to be a revenue producer. Therefore you must choose to do the behavioral impact-activities that will open the door to additional choices.

Those choices you will decide upon will include, but are not limited to:

1. Will you make the right number of calls?

2. Will you call on decision makers?

3. Will you take the time to learn what the client needs, what their problems are and how you can help?

4. Will always be trustworthy?

5. Will you communicate clearly and make sure the message is understood?

6. Will you endeavor to always learn?

7. Will you commit to doing something productive today that you can build upon?

8. Will you focus on the merits of your offering and not devote valuable client time derailing your competition?

The Pyramid

Every organization has a pyramid that represents the people and their respective titles and areas of responsibility. Most organizational pyramids, look like, well, pyramids and that is by design and by default.

Wherever you are in the pyramid take a look and see that the structure is wholly dependent on the other parts of the structure and unless you are already at the top, you have opportunities to take the next step up. Therefore if you are going to grow, you must realize that you will fill a slot above you and hopefully there is someone below you in the pyramid that will fill your slot, because they too are on an upward path. The pyramid is one of the strongest structures known and that is why companies organize the different responsibilities in the shape of one. This graphic view makes it easy to see the correlation and dependance each position has to the other positions. If there are weak people in any positions you can see how their status affects the entire organization. Conversely when you have strong performance in the individual "blocks" you can see just how much stronger the entire structure can be. Make sure you are one of the strong "blocks" in the pyramid and that you are on a path to the top!

Bounce Back

Great successful sales people, like new tennis balls, always bounce back. The harder you fall the higher you bounce back! If you want a tennis ball to go faster, hit it harder!

The only thing that will keep you from successfully recovering from a fall is not getting back up. Bouncing back and bouncing back robustly is a terrific and exhilarating experience. When you aggressively attack your objectives you are going to occasionally, and perhaps frequently, fall. Go into the fight knowing that you are going to experience some temporary failures. They are a part of the growth process and should be viewed as opportunities to learn and grow.

When you do experience the inevitable falling-down episodes, take a few moments to calculate just how far and fast you are going to bounce back. Be strategic in your calculated move upward so you can take every advantage of the experience. Make the fall count. Falling down is going to happen, as it does to ever successful person, and everyone around you is watching to see how you are going to respond. You have only two choices; stay down or bounce back!

What do I get for my Money?

What do clients get for their money? This is a great question that you should objectively ask yourself and really consider the ramifications of the complete answer.

Clients do not buy just products or services when they make a buying decision. Client's buy the entire package especially the working results of every employee. Simply put; the money that client's invest in your offerings serve as the primary revenue stream that makes your company viable on the financial statements. Therefore it is critically important that everyone understand that the client's are in reality paying their salary and incentives. The money you get in your paycheck is indirectly the money client's paid to the accounting office!

Therefore a good employee, preforming well (at or above expectations) is a benefit to every employee in the organization and by doing so they are making the client's money worth the investment. Conversely a bad employee, performing badly (below expectations) is costing not only the client but also costing the good employees. There is no escaping this fact. Clients pay for good performance as well as bad performance.

Make sure you are a productive member and that your efforts are making the client's money go as far as it possibly can within your organization.

Communicate

How well do you communicate and do you fully understand the incredible value you can bring to your proposition, if you make all things perfectly clear?

Numerous business books have been written with the underlying theme that poor communications result in many of the self-inflicted wounds that businesses and business people suffer. Communications, good and clear communications, make the difference in all relationships. Many times, because of our deep knowledge specific to our products or services, we tend to"varnish" over relevant and important issues. The best course of action, is to not leave any topic on the table that has not been addressed, while allowing the person we are communicating with to make the qualitative decision as to the relevant weight of each matter and just how much they want to know more about any particular thing.

My experience finds that women are better communicators than men because they typically want to discuss, in-depth, what ever the specific issues are. Men tend to gloss things over and make too many assumptions because they feel they have delivered a clear message. Perhaps because they themselves have a clear understanding of the issue(s) being discussed. Perhaps they do this in the interest of time. But there is very little, short of ; "run the place is on fire" that does not deserve in-depth discussion especially considering that people place different values on different matters. What may seem to be insignificant to you may be the biggest issue to the person you are communicating with and communications is a two-way street.

Communications, good and clear communications, must be your objective and the way you run your life. Addressing issues thoroughly will resolve many issues in the valuable relationships you are working hard to build.

Good communications builds solid relationships while poor communications can harm relationships. You choose every day and during every conversation just how well you are going to communicate. Choose wisely!

Give of Yourself

All of us are professionals and as such we have considerable demands on the time we spend building our business. Building your business must be your focus on a daily basis.

However there are people in your community that need your time and talents. Giving of your time and talents is not only needed it is one of the most fulfilling endeavors you could possibly devote your efforts to. The benefit will be manifest in lives of people you may never see but you will know that through your efforts these nameless individuals were provided the opportunity to live a life that they may not otherwise be afforded.

Throughout your community there are organizations who sole purpose is to serve others, especially the less fortunate. Get involved in one of these organizations and be one of the top 20% that are the go-to people who get things done. It is true that 20% of the people in any organization are responsible for 80% of the positive results. You should already be one of the people who make up the 20% in your profession so by focusing your talent and time to help others, you are well equipped to be a get-it-done individual in one of the organizations that need your help.

Giving of yourself without any expectation of recognition or reward is going to be of greater benefit to you than it will be to the people you are serving. It works that way every time, so get involved and give.

I Am Not Because...

When people are failing to meet expectations or to grow, there is one reason out of five that is keeping them from achieving the desired results. Once the reason for failing to meet expectations is determined, immediate, positive and strategic corrective action must be taken. Getting the to the real reason will be challenging, uncomfortable and difficult, but not getting to the real reason is far more destructive. Many good employees are ruined by leaders who don't take the time to get their hands dirty and help.

The five reasons people fail to meet expectations:

1. They do not know what is expected

2. They do not know how

3. They are afraid

4. They are not capable

5. They know what is expected, they know how, they are not afraid, they are capable but they simply will not do it. Why?

Recently a survey was conducted asking employees what they needed from their supervisors and the number one response was: "What is expected of me." Hard to believe that we hire people to do a job but fail to clearly articulate what, specifically, they are required to do at what levels.

If people do not know how to do something, get them trained. It is impossible to hold people accountable for not doing what they don't know how to do!

People are typically afraid of the unknown. The more they do something the less fear they will have if they have the proper risk & reward system in place.

Successful sports teams put players in the position they are most capable of performing at. If they are not capable of performing at any position, they can't be a part of the team.

When someone has the opportunity to do something they are fully prepared to do and they choose not to, the root-cause must be determined and the only way to arrive at the best conclusion is to communicate. If they decide not to do even though they know what is expected, they know how, they are not afraid and they are capable, then they can't stay and the sooner they leave, the better.

Don't pick only one

There is no one, even they with vast levels of professional training success, that owns a franchise of "how-to-improve-knowledge". There are many people conducting really good training that have unique angles to saying the same thing as every other trainer. Listen carefully to what  trainers have to say and take ownership, but don't fall in love with any one source because, what they are sharing, they likely learned most of it from someone else and also from their personal experience. In Brian Tracy's book: "Eat That Frog" Tracy states that 90% of the ideas and strategies in the book, he got from someone else.

There is a saying: "When the student is ready, the teacher will appear." There is virtually an unlimited amount of information readily available that will help you identify what you need to do to get better at whatever you decide to get better doing. When you learn from other sources, apply the knowledge. Consciously become the student that is ready for the teacher. Of course the teacher is not always a person. Many times the teacher is a book, a particular challenge you face, or when you fall down and you find yourself in the place where you "must do something." The action you take will either get you closer to a successful resolution or farther from it. Either way you learn.

Ask yourself what you are doing to get better. Are you listening to successful people including your friends and associates. Perhaps one of the most under utilized knowledge resources we have access to is the knowledge of the people around us.

Endeavor to learn from others and learn all you can so you can go out and put to work successful strategies you have learned. You do not have to make the same mistakes as others and you can accelerate your development by practicing what successful people preach! Use everyone and everything, not just one!

Momentum

• Sir Isaac Newton discovered that for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction.

• During a 2-hour flight an MD8O jet airplane burns approximately 50% of the fuel it is carrying building the necessary momentum required to takeoff.

The energy required to build momentum is significantly greater than the energy required to maintain or increase momentum. Jim Collins, in his hugely popular book, Good to Great, talks about how great businesses become great. In this fantastic book Collins refers to projects as flywheels. (The flywheel is a massive steel wheel that is critical to the operation and requires a great deal of energy to start turning and is of course a metaphor representing important activities.) Once the flywheel is turning, it becomes much easier to maintain the momentum, if effort is continually dedicated to the activity. In order to get the flywheel to turn faster, it is simply a matter of committing more energy.

When you get moving you are well on your way to building necessary momentum. The momentum you build will help you move forward to reaching your goals. However it is very important to understand that you are going to invest the most expensive-time in your effort to building momentum in the beginning. Starting your flywheel to turning will require a considerable amount of time and energy.

Obviously, if you stop dedicating time, energy and effort, your flywheel will start to slow down, wobble and eventually stop completely. Then, all of the time and energy you dedicated to building momentum will be lost. You must determine what your most important flywheel is and then you must dedicate your energy and effort to build and maintain momentum. Choose wisely, and make sure you are indeed working on the most important flywheel and once it is moving, you can devote energy to other flywheels. Never take your eye off of the most important flywheel and always keep the momentum.

Great companies build and maintain momentum by focusing on and dedicating energy and time to turning their most important flywheels.

Team

Do you consider yourself to be part of a team?

From a distance a professional golfer may seem to be a one-person team. However when you look closely, you will see an army of support behind them. Golf, like any professional endeavor, is a TEAM effort. Without team, no one makes it in their professional development very far, if at all.

One of the most productive and rewarding experiences in your success will be your involvement with the team. Winning or losing individual battles serves to make a team better. In fact, losing can bring a team close together more quickly than winning because the team must evaluate the contributions, or lack thereof, of the individuals on the team to determine who is making a positive contribution and who is not.

What makes a team and who, in your life, is on your team? There are easy to identify team members and then there are those members of the team that may not be so obvious. The best way to look at what makes up a team is to consider that, the team at your work place is essentially everyone that works for your company and not limited to just your department, in addition to those key people in your life.

When one team member makes progress, the entire team advances and conversely, when a team member lags behind, the entire team is adversely effected. Everything you do and everything the other team members do, will ultimately make for a stronger team or a weaker team. Even though you may not see the results of your involvement, be assured that you are making a contribution to your team. When you are given a task, consider the impact that doing the task very well will have on your team.

There will be times when a team member needs you support and you should freely offer it. However, you cannot help people unless they want to improve. Otherwise you will find yourself doing your job and theirs!

Life is teamwork and you are only as good as those around you.

Dog Catches Car, Now What?

We have all seen the passionate dog chasing the car, but we have never seen the passionate dog catch the car. Suppose, the dog did catch the car, now what? The dog would be at a loss as to what to do with the enormous prize, because the dog only wants to chase the car, not catch the car. In fact when the car stops, the dog loses interest.

Some people are like the car chasing dog. They are highly energized with the chase and have very little idea what to do if they actually catch the prize they are chasing. Since the challenges associated with success are far greater than the challenges associate with failure, you need to be ready to EXECUTE once you get a green light to proceeded.  

Sales people or anyone for that matter, that love the chase for the sake of the chase, have no idea what to do if they catch the prey.  They chase every car, large or small, old or new in good shape or even cars that are falling apart. They do not qualify prey as to potential, so catching is not the objective, chasing after everything is what they live for. People who are highly energized by the chase often lose emotional interest once the chase ends, independent of the results. They don't really care if they catch anything or not. 

Be ready to execute once the prey says yes, don't get so wrapped up in the chase that you are at a loss as to what to do when a positive commitment is made. Chasing cars does not earn you glory, catching cars and keeping them caught is where the money is.

Reliabiltiy

The word reliable is one of the most utilized words when describing the merits of products, services and other offerings. Reliability matters, so advertising agencies use it over and over again to extoll the value of the focus of their campaigns.

How reliable are you? Clients expect that you are going to do what you say, and they should. There are not many businesses that are built and sustained on one-time purchases. Most businesses need repeat customers and they need those repeat customers to tell other people about how great their business is. Your business is no different in this respect than your client's businesses are. When clients learn that they can count on you, that you are reliable, they will have a great level of trust in you and what you offer. There exists in every prospect some level of distrust. You can use this to your advantage if the prospect knows that you will be reliable. There is a level of reluctance that is a part of considering the purchase of anything. Before the purchase we all ask; "What do I do and where do I turn it if I am not satisfied?"

Many companies have built their business on mitigating the risks associated with doing business with them by making clear how reliable they are in the event the purchaser is dissatisfied. When you make it clear, by your actions, that you are reliable, you take a giant step in building confidence so that buying from you is something that is worth seriously considering, because you have established that you are going to be there to help your client in the event that something does not meet expectations. One of the critical steps in establishing your reliability is to openly manage expectations during the selling process. Promise only what you are certain you can deliver.

When you say you are going to do something, do it and do it on time. Become someone that can be relied upon before you enter into a business relationship. You will enjoy and benefit greatly from building relationships where you and your clients can be relied upon. Reliability is a two-way street.

Up or Down

Pat Riley, the former head coach of The Los Angeles Lakers once said; "You are either getting better or you are getting worse".

Making improvement must be one of your daily objectives. You cannot stay where you are and get better, you must move, take action and get going at getting better. Business is dynamic. Business is constantly in motion, moving up or down. You are either making conscious decisions to get better daily, or you can stand by and watch as your competition does. Either way, you will be impacted. Professional athletes understand this reality as do their coaches. They are in a highly competitive business and if they want to stay in the sport, they must evaluate their physical and mental condition, performance, attitude and desire on a daily basis. They must focus on improving because there is someone else who is trying very hard to take their place.

More often than not, the improvements in your performance will come in small increments. The issue will not be how much improvement did you make today, rather, what improvement did you make today. As an example, you might get more organized by beginning each day with a to-do list that you composed before you left work the previous day. Your list need not be detailed, simply a list of things that matter and that you need to accomplish that day. Something as small as this list is an improvement and will help you to get better by focusing your time and energies.

What you do to improve is not nearly as important as simply doing something today that will make you better, helping you to be more prouctive tomorrow.

Demanding Clients

How did you feel the last time you had a contentious encounter with one of your very demanding clients? Perhaps you felt that the client was overly demanding and did not deserve the extra attention they were expecting. Maybe they did and perhaps the were in fact being too demanding. Either way, you will find yourself at a point of decision. How you view the matter will largely determine how you handle the resolution.

Consider what would happen if you look at these situations as opportunities rather than distractions. You may learn a great deal about yourself, your product or service and what may need to happen in order to make improvements. The demanding client expects you to perform at a certain level and in most situations, these clients are simply reminding you that they are not getting what they are paying for. Your responsibility is to handle the matter quickly and either demonstrate that you are delivering what was purchased or commit to this client that you will get the matter satisfactorily resolved, and do so as quickly as possible. When surveyed as to why clients made a change in the people they bought from, the number one reason was poor service. When a demanding client puts forth their demands, you are being given the opportunity to save the business you are getting from them. Clients will get what they want, and what they demand, within reason. The only question is where will they get it.

When a client makes demands, you must make additional efforts and get moving with the attitude that the demanding client has just given you the opportunity to save the hard-earned relationship and make improvements, perhaps to the benefit of all clients. These situations will typically serve to strengthen the relationship. Welcome and value THE DEMANDING CLIENT.

What you are.

You are what you tolerate. Tolerating that which is within your control can be destructive. Far too often we get less than we can because we tolerate that which does not meet our current or future demands. The desire that drives us may not drive others and making progress, when it is tied to others getting their stuff done to satisfactorily blend with our progress, can be fatiguing. Therefore we accept less from ourselves and from others.

The reality is that we need not put any more effort into making sure the right people, including ourselves, perform at a high enough level so as to accomplish the team-objective, than we put into dragging someone along. When we tolerate behavior and performance that does not meet the standards, independent of the source, we compromise and in doing so we define ourselves. Or, perhaps, we are allowing others to define us by our tolerance of their lack of achievement. When you are doing all you can, then perhaps other people are indeed holding you back. However, make sure to closely and critically examine your efforts because initially, and most often you will discover that there is something you can do more of, or improve upon what you are currently doing. Take caution before you start looking at others, when a closer examination of what you are doing is what is really needed. Start by looking at what you tolerate from yourself.

How does that fit?

There are two really big mistakes you can, and will, make with clients if you do not do the process correctly.

There is a "tried & true" process that consist of:

1. Identifying prospects

2. Asking the Right Questions

3. Constructing a professional and customized proposal

4. Making a professional presentation

5. Following up

Each of these steps is necessary in order for you to do what is best for your new and current customers. So, do not take any shortcuts! Once you have the information you need, you should have a very good idea on how much your clients should invest in your products or services.

The two biggest mistakes that a sales person will often make are:

1. They sell the client more than the information indicates they should.

2. They sell the client less than the information indicates they should.

While either of these is wrong, the biggest mistake is selling the client less than they should. When this happens the program you are selling never has a fair opportunity to succeed. You have invested considerable time and effort learning what the client needs and just when you get to the critical decision process, you acquiesce and allow the client to do the wrong thing by under-committing. You need to revisit with the client why you are making the fact-based recommendation and ask the client why they feel the recommendation does not meet their needs. Do not just take the money and run. Rather take the opportunity to build a greater level of trust by engaging in the discussion as to how and why you are recommending this plan.

Make sure your recommendation fits. If it is too large it will be awkward and difficult to manage. If it is too small it is uncomfortable and restricts movement and growth.

What about you

You are what ever you think you are. Many people will see this as an over simplification of reality regarding self-worth, but it is not. You either think of yourself as someone special or you do not. The self-worth is in the "thinking" and then the "doing."

Considering yourself worthy does not require you to have accomplished something monumental. What it does require is that you take action and do something and therefore establish a pattern of accomplishment that you can build on. Even if you fail (temporarily) you have accomplished something. You learned what not to do. Thomas Edison spend years inventing the incandescent light bulb. He tried over 5,000 versions of the device until one day he got it right. Edison would never have achieved success if after one of his failed attempts, he considered himself unworthy and simply quit. He may have struggled, as we all do, but he persevered, by taking action and realizing that he would eventually get it right. His victory required him to constantly consider his value as a person. There is simply no other way he would have been successful. If he had told himself that he was not worthy, he would not have made it.

You are unlikely to get to where you what to go unless you look at yourself and know that you are indeed unique. You can be successful if you don't get down on yourself. Self doubt is a destructive force. When you face some difficult situation, remember that it is only temporary and that you have the opportunity, at this very moment, to think positive thoughts about yourself and move on!