This week I spoke the very energetic sales group in
San Diego, CA. However, this blog is not
about the speaking event – it’s really about questions the event created. During the speech I discussed many concepts
on Personal Development. Among those:
- The
four areas most responsible for success over the last 200 years
- How to
develop a Vision for your future
- Imagination
- Powerful
Journaling, and
- Creating
20-20 business sight
At the end of my speech a gentleman in the audience
asked the best question of the day. “How
do I take my notes and implement,” he asked with a non-blinking, reptilian-like
stare. My answer was short and to the
point. Pick one concept, use repletion
and become an expert at using that one idea.
Then gradually move to the next and the next and so on.
I also told him that I would review my speech and
add to the program by sending them my perspective on the information. So for all of you loyal readers who were not
at the event … here’s my version of what I taught to start the New Year:
“ Be
unconventional. Be bold. You cannot have a unique value proposition if you are
not unique. “The meek shall inherit the earth” is a fallacy created to give
hope to those that “don’t do”.
1.) Create your
own destiny. You can live in a world shaped by others, or you can shape the
world to your liking, the choice is yours.
2.) Continuous
improvement. The moment you stop improving the value you provide is the
moment your business loses ground to the competition.
3.) Focus.
If you don’t have focus, it doesn’t matter how fast you run if you’re not going
in the direction you want. Focus on the goal, if a task doesn’t relate to your
goal, don’t do it.
4.) Execute!
Businesses don’t grow from good ideas, they grow from action on good ideas,
heck, some businesses even grow from action on bad ideas. People made money by selling a talking Bass
wall mount!
5.) Observe.
Learn to always scan the environment. Threats to your business will never be
recognized by keeping your focus strictly on your product. Any animal knows the
secret to survival is to always keep a lookout for threats then work to counter
or mitigate them.
6.) Systems
Thinking. The best lever is not always where you think it will be, in any
system, there is one point that if it changed, will have a greater effect on
the system than any other point. Find it.
7.) Mistakes. Make ‘em…quickly and remember them so you
don’t repeat. Mistakes makes experience. Making a lot of mistakes gives you an
incredible amount of experience.
8.) Persistence.
There are a lot of ordinary people who have successful businesses because of
persistence. It will take dogged determination to make a business succeed, if
it was easy, everyone else would have done it.
9.) Integrity.
Lack of integrity leads to a short term business and destructive relationships
with no chance of a redo.
10.) Time
Management. Learn time management in
turn of your capacity. Most people can only hold intense focus for about 45
minutes. So focus on one item at a time
for the full 45 minutes then take a walk, get some water etc. Then come back for another 45 minute burst of
productivity. Your time is finite, value
it – increase your capacity, time will take it from there.
11.) Ethics.
It’s not about just growing a business; it’s about growing an ethical business.
You do not exploit your suppliers, your employees, your family, yourself or the
environment.
12.) Quality.
If it is worth doing, it is worth doing right. Work with quality people,
quality processes, quality suppliers. If in doubt, sell quality. It is always
easier to work with quality than to rework poor quality. Poor quality people
will pull you down, don’t bother with them.
13.) Big
number thinking. A little profit on a large number of items is a large
profit…maximize the system, not the individual pieces.
14.) Sales
by helping. It doesn’t matter what your idea is, without sales it is just
an idea. Taylor your entire approach to using your product the “help” a client
solve a problem within their business
15.) Continuous
Improvement. Learn to work on the business and not in it. To be truly
invaluable, learn to work on the business to improve it.
16.) The
truth about buying. Learn that it is
all about perceived value, not actual value, to the person who pays you money.
Value is in the eyes of the beholder, not you.
17.) Internal
Dialogue. Your thought communicate more to you than anyone around you (an
average of 50,000 thoughts per day).
Take out the negative talk, say nice things to yourself and your
confidence will grow.
18.) Team. Learn to work with a team. Gather people
brighter than yourself around you. You will achieve greater heights by standing
on the shoulders of others than standing by yourself (and it’s more fun).
Mountains are not moved with a teaspoon in one hand.
19.) Attitude. Learn the proper Attitude. As they say
attitude is everything. (as long as you incorporate everything above) Attitude
is what motivates, it infects others to help. It is your source of energy when
the going gets tough, and it will get tough. Start with a great attitude, end
with a great attitude, give it your all and you’ll have no regrets.
And finally …
It’s never too late to be what you might have been. – George Elliott
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