At the end of my seminar for a trade association last September, the guy who’d been taking photos all morning came over and introduced himself as Hersch Wellman. He said he was the region’s past president and wondered if I’d be willing to come and speak for its larger Eastern Zone meeting a few months later.
Toward the conclusion of our in-depth and engaging 30-minute chat, Hersch asked me a question I’d never heard posed quite this way. He asked, “So, what do you want people to get from your talks? What’s the message you’re hoping to impart?” In other words, “Why are you doing this?”
Seeing as the talk he’d just heard was on Leveraging Social Media for Business and I speak mainly on the topics of customer service, sales and leadership, I asked him to clarify which topic he was referring to. “All of them,” he replied. “What’s your ‘message’? What do you want people to get out of what you’re doing? … Do you need some time to think about it?”
By the time he was done asking, the answer hit me like a ton of bricks. (more…)
Do you have thoughts … or do your thoughts have you?
I invite you to consider what you are currently filling your head with; allowing in. Is it useless morning deejay chatter; shock-jock banter; political chitchat; water-cooler gossip; sports updates; constantly negative news; death metal? (That’s a type of music, by the way.)
Consider the types of thoughts that are conjured up as a result of allowing these types of things into your head — are those thoughts useful; powerful; inspiring; joyful?
Thoughts drive results
We experience 60,000 thoughts a day — more than having thoughts, it often seems that our thoughts have us. These thoughts are a direct result of what we are allowing in.
Aren’t we all looking for results? Results <—– Actions
Actions <—– Decisions
Decisions <—– Thoughts
Results are a product of your actions … actions are the product of your decisions … and thoughts are what drive your decisions.
So isn’t it safe to say that your thoughts are ultimately driving your results?
Be selective about what you are allowing in.
You are either growing or you’re dying. Some of the healthiest and wealthiest seasoned professionals will tell you that their constant yearning for ongoing growth, learning and discovery is their secret to success and longevity.
As bestselling author Dan Pink says, our default setting as human beings is to be active and engaged — just look at any 2- to 4-year old. Somewhere along the way, many of us choose to unplug; tune out; go unconscious; follow, rather than lead.
SO … Let yourself experience: things that make you happy; things that inspire you; things that are new and exciting; things that promote learning and growth.
…and then pay it forward — share your new knowledge — we teach what we need to learn.
We teach what we need to learn
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:: What thoughts do YOU have? ::
(If you don’t see “Share Your Thoughts” below,
simply click on this article’s headline at the top)
In my early twenties, I managed a popular chain restaurant – a very successful company with hundreds of locations worldwide. I’ll always remember what our CEO said at that time…
“People are customers until they’ve chosen to enter [our restaurant], at which point they become guests.”
A simple word substitution can help to create a culture shift inside of an organization. Consumers (people) can be thought of differently – more favorably – simply by being thoughtful of the word(s) we use to describe them. Additionally, this can cause a chain reaction. When a patron hears her merchant referring to her as their “guest,” it feels different – much warmer than “customer.” Think for a moment of what each word implies — A “customer” can feel distant (cold) while a “guest” feels connected (warm). When working with my clients, I advise them to eliminate the word “customer” from their company’s vernacular, if it feels appropriate for their industry to do so. Some recommended replacements are client, guest, patient, fan, or member. If none of these seem to fit, or you cannot seem to find an acceptable and appropriate alternate for your industry, consider using customer, but only as a last resort.
“The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.” ~Mark Twain
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:: What do YOU think? ::
(If you don’t see “Share Your Thoughts” below,
simply click on this article’s headline at the top)
Look familiar? Our state highway administrations carve these rumble strips (seen on left) into the shoulders of our roads and especially in areas where we are prone to fall asleep at the wheel. So a fair assumption, from the title here, might be that I wanted to write about the business metaphor for … falling asleep at the wheel. Nope. Good guess, though.
Elaine has been cutting my hair for many years and we usually talk about what’s new. Well, her youngest son just started driving and I said, “Wow, I can’t even imagine how stressful that must be for a parent.” She went on to tell me how — to her amazement and wonder — her son (wide awake) recently drifted over into the rumble strips. She just shook her head after sharing this with me, so I asked if I could share a coaching tip…
“Tell your son: LOOK! …where you want to go,” I said. It’s that simple — so simple, in fact, it almost seems too easy. How could it be so easy? If you ask aircraft pilots, motorcycle instructors and driving teachers, this may be the most valuable advice they could ever share. I, myself, learned this from taking a motorcycle safety course and I’ve heard this same advice from someone who has learned to fly a military jet…
Remember when you were a kid, riding along on your bicycle? Every once in a while you’d see a twig or branch on your path, right? Do you remember what would happen if you fixated on that obstacle? (more…)
What you can learn in 40 seconds from Google’s CEO
A billion-dollar tip (or 2) in under a minute
My friend and colleague, Myron Radio, must feel as strongly about this 40-second video as I do — He has a link to it, at the bottom of every e-mail he sends out.
There are two related — yet very distinct — messages in this short clip from an interview with Google’s CEO, Eric Schmidt. I was so inspired by both topics and really wanted to share an observation, especially since I’m wondering if most viewers will only see the obvious one. I’d love to know what you think…
The Obvious:
Eric Schmidt’s tip on hiring a coach may already be a familiar one to you. The most recent observation and parallel you could draw from coaching has to do with our Olympics. For the last 16 days, we’ve watched in awe as the world’s top athletes have endured what most of us would consider unfathomable.
These Olympians achieve such greatness in their area of expertise that there is only enough room (in the world) for a select few to even compete on their level.
So, what can a business owner, CXO, manager or salesperson learn from these elite few? You guessed it: coaching is what helped get them there and coaching is what helps keep them there. A coach can help you navigate your path to success and a coach can help you maintain your existing success. Every Olympian has reached great success and every one of them has a coach. Every single one. Shouldn’t you?
“The one thing people are never good at … is seeing themselves as others see them.” ~Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google
The Not-So Obvious:
Okay, this is the part of the video (below) that really got me excited. It’s related to the Driven To Excel tag line, “Aligning Behavior … with Mission.” At the end of this video clip, Eric Schmidt says, ”The one thing people are never good at … is seeing themselves as others see them.” So true, right? If you’ve ever taken a personality test, you know exactly what he’s talking about. At a recent leadership meeting, our facilitator took us through an interactive exercise involving the four personality types. What was most fascinating to me was that the group’s perception of each individual was usually completely different from that of the individual. In other words, you could think (perceive) that your dominant personality trait is influence while everyone around you sees (perceives) it as dominance — two distinctly different personality types. And perception is reality…
The same holds true for your organization. How are you (your organization; team) showing up for others? If you saw this ad (left) in the paper, what would you “make true” about the “county?” They’re spending $250k! … to advertise … A LACK OF FUNDS?!?
Just today, I was visiting the web site of a marketing company … a marketing company. The site consists of one single page of (boring, me-centric) text (not one single picture) and the founder’s personal email address at the bottom. What would you “make true” about this company? Obviously, the founder doesn’t see herself (her company) the way others might. She’s simply unaware of how she’s showing up in the world. Maslow might classify this as unconscious incompetence. She doesn’t know … what she doesn’t know. I’m sure I’m guilty of this from time to time … aren’t we all?
I see it every day; everywhere I turn. A self-proclaimed “seafood restaurant” serving frozen fish, an Architect’s flimsy-thin business card, an Editor with misspellings and grammar faux pas on his brochures, a financial planner driving a Yugo, a depressed-looking comedian, a real estate agent … well, you get the idea.
While these might be the examples of obvious and blatant misalignment, the more subtle ones are all around us too. And all of these things are gathered as evidence, both consciously and unconsciously, by onlookers. QUESTION: Based on the “evidence,” what are your potential clients “making true” about you?
By Bob Burg and John David Mann, coauthors of Go-Givers Sell More*
“I’m no good at selling!” Have you ever heard someone say that? Or maybe said it yourself? (Now, tell the truth.)
We hear it all the time. Everyone who is not in sales thinks, “I could never sell” — and most people who are in sales secretly think the same thing.
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There is a reason people feel this way: most of us look at sales backwards. Backwards how? In the most fundamental ways.
For example.
They see sales as convincing people to do something they don’t want to do. It’s not: it is about learning what people do want to do and then helping them do that.
They think sales is about taking advantage of others. Not so: in fact, it’s about giving others more advantage.
Most people think of sales as a talking business. Nope: it’s really a listening business.
Classic sales training focuses on the “close.” The true sales greats hardly notice the close — they are too busy focusing on the open.
But the biggest inversion of all, the great upside-down misconception about sales, is that it is an effort to get other people to do something. Ask most anyone to define sales and you will hear some variation of this: “Sales is getting people to buy something.”
The truth about sales is that it isn’t about getting at all. Sales at its best, at its most effective, is precisely the opposite: it is about (more…)
With all the “me,” where’s the “we” and the “you?”
How To Win Clients By Providing Value
“…but enough about me, lets talk about you…what do you think about me?”
The share of adult Internet users who have a profile on an online social network site has more than quadrupled in the past four years — from 8% in 2005 to 35% in 2008*
Have you noticed? Social media is blowing up these days and I believe one of the biggest reasons for that, is that (more…)
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At the end of my seminar for a trade association last September, the guy who’d been taking photos all morning came over and introduced himself as Hersch Wellman. He said he was the region’s past president and wondered if I’d be willing to come and speak for its larger Eastern Zone meeting a few months later.
