To follow the lead of a previous post regarding the unknown being an 800 lb gorilla, several people have asked me about “how do you deal with the unknown?” So, today is a how to of dealing with the unknown or uncertainty.

We need to become comfortable with the concept of contingency planning. This is a form of creativity being applied to the planning process or the classic “what if …” application of dealing with possibilities. Think of it as simply looking at alternative courses of action.

Being prepared by thinking about possible scenarios of events is the mark of true winners and the best leaders. Why? Because they prepare in advance for the possible changes in the current environment. This allows for individuals and leaders to remain calm in the face of chaos in the eyes of others. Calmness in the face of adversity is a characteristic of great leaders.

Napoleon Bonaparte was a great strategist who was prepared for multiple contingencies as a General of the French army. He thought about every possibility that could occur during a battle and developed a plan to deal with it if it happened. Thus, he has very successful for an extended period of time – when longevity was not a given. Continue reading ‘Planning for the Unknown’ »

Yes, it is the middle of the year, the beginning of July indicts we have made the middle of the calendar year. Are you making the half-time adjustments to your goals and annual plans?

Just like the best football teams in the country, making half-time adjustments is a key skill that makes great coaches – well, great! If a coach did not adjust to what was happening on the field of play during the halftime, then two things would happen.

1. The opponent would make changes in their game plan to take advantages of the weaknesses they found in the first half and exploit these areas to their advantage.
2. The team would not be in a position to improve their position in the game.

Okay, so we are not talking about a football game in the middle of the year, however, we should be talking about your goals or your team’s goals (assuming you use a calendar year rather than a fiscal year.). Your personal goals are definitely on a calendar year – so it is time to review your progress.

Here is the process for reviewing your goals using a half-time adjustment review: Continue reading ‘Are You Making Half-Time Adjustments?’ »

Just thinking about all the things that leaders worry about as they run their organizations. And several classics come to mind:

• What Strategy should we use?;
• How do we execute our plans effectively?;
• How do we grow our Sales in this economy?;
• How do we get and keep the human talent needed for the competitive future?;  and,
• How do we innovate our products and services for the future?

While the above list of issues will keep many executives and leaders up at night worrying about the answers, the real 800 lb. Gorilla comes in an invisible format called the unknown.

In a world that strives for consistently and needed objective data to solve the problems and issues connected to the future, the unknown brings a humbling attitude to this group. The fact that there are unknown problems, issues or challenges – some in the form of “surprise, I’m here now, so what are you going to do now?” – take the spirit away from many of these powerful people.

The fact is there is more “unknown” issues than there are known. So how can you deal with these unknown events? Simple. You explore the unknown areas as often as possible. The more you venture into the areas of the unknown the faster you actually learn about the issues and the faster you can apply the appropriate solution and move forward.

If you are not continuously learning and exploring the unknown, it will overtake you and leave you painted into a corner with no where to go, no options to choose, and no alternative answers for the questions. A continuous learning program will keep you in the forefront of knowledge and information – actually providing the wisdom necessary to succeed.

Use the unknown as a motivator to take action. This habit of taking action will give you a head start when the unknown jumps up and scares everyone else. You will be able to take the lead, take action and get the results before the 800 lb. Gorilla can destroy your organization. Think of the unknown being a good thing that gets us started down the path of continuous improvement and growth.

Whether you are in sales, managing a project or leading a group of people, there are three reasons why people don’t buy what you’re selling or offering. When you look at these reasons, it is obvious and simple regarding what it will take to get them to buy from you.

Okay, let’s look at the three reasons people don’t buy what you’re selling or offering:

1. They Don’t Want it – They simply don’t want what you have to offer at that moment in time. It’s not personal, they are just not buying in because it is not important to them.
2. They Don’t Have the Money or Investment in Time and Effort – They simply can’t afford to invest in your offering – be it a sale or a project. In many cases, it is the lack of available time to devote to entering a new project or direction.
3. They Don’t Believe You – Now this is the tough one. When people don’t believe you, it shows a total lack of trust. This is the toughest issue to deal with since it feels personal rather than an objective feeling or truth.

So how do you deal with the three reasons listed above? Let’s take each one in more detail: Continue reading ‘Three Reasons They Don’t Buy or Buy-In’ »

This past weekend I was looking into how people become authorities of a topic or subject. This exercise was very enlightening as I looked into how people get the title of authority.

I have always believed the way you become an authority was to study a subject in depth. The rule of thumb was to read a minimum of five books on a subject. Then outline the information as if it were a process. Using this method allowed me to learn about several different areas in sales and leadership.

However, in today’s world there seems to be other methods that are getting more play. It is true that a person could be using my method or one like it, yet, incorporating one of the two methods I discovered over the weekend. Continue reading ‘How to Become an Authority’ »

The Inner Game of Selling holds the key to a sales person’s real success. What the sales person is thinking about positions as a winner or a loser – depending upon the dominate thoughts. Since your thoughts control the inner game, they set the stage for your ultimate performance – good, bad or indifferent.

So how do beliefs enter into this discussion?

Beliefs are the thoughts that get placed into the subconscious mind. This is important because the experts in human performance have found that the subconscious mind actually controls most of what we do, say (particularly how we say things), word choices and decisions. And, the most alarming thing is – the subconscious mind just follows the orders of your thoughts – without judgment. Therefore, good and bad thoughts are embedded into our subconscious mind. Then words and actions are pushed out as commands with both good and bad results!

The cumulative effect of our beliefs create our mindset about everything – including our abilities as a sales person. I have heard more than once, people in sales state – “I hate sales or I hate selling.” What a mistake. The “I” makes this statement a direct command to the subconscious mind therefore placing real power behind the statement.

If you want to excel in sales (if you are in sales this should be a primary thought) then you must take control of your thoughts, self talk, and concentration of thinking about sales or selling. Make this a commitment to your success.

Now if you have not be paying attention to the quality of your thoughts and you feel that something inside is holding you back from superior performance, you may need some focused attention. There are three things you can do: Continue reading ‘Inner Game of Selling is About Beliefs and Mindsets’ »

I know this is a little different from my usual business insights post, however, my ah-ha alarm rang true this morning. Internet Marketing is the newest version of Multi-Level Marketing ideas.

I was a little slow in picking this up until lately since I had assumed that all this Internet Marketing gurus were focused on helping people like me figure out how to use the Internet as a marketing tool. Yet, lately I’ve been seeing a new side of this promotion – affiliate links and linking. Continue reading ‘Internet Marketing has a Multi-Level-Marketing Edge’ »

Okay it is time for me to follow up on my promise on Tuesday. What is the best method to impact your personal results?

The answer can be found in you. Yes, that’s right, You hold the power to change your thoughts and therefore change your results and performance overnight.

Just take these two pills – er no – no drugs, no magic, no magic bullet, no cult, no voodoo,  no eight years of therapy, no painful implants or anything like that.

Here is the three step method to improve your results and your performance – permanently. Continue reading ‘Changing Beliefs Can Impact Your Results’ »

Beliefs influence your level of discipline. These same beliefs impact your level of execution and therefore your level of success.

Interesting how most things that are important to us begin with our own beliefs. The results of beliefs on our results can be either positive or negative. The term “self-limiting beliefs” describes the negative impact that some beliefs have on our results.

Have you ever tested your beliefs? These are the deep beliefs that influence our actions in positive ways or negative ways. Continue reading ‘Beliefs Influence Our Level of Discipline’ »

In this day and age of fast paced gadgets and ADD marketing buzz, could it be that good old discipline really determines your level of success? Could Discipline be the real bottom-line for Success – period?

My believe is that discipline is the key determinant to mine and your level of success. There are several reasons that discipline is the master key to your success. Continue reading ‘Discipline Determines Your Success’ »