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.