3 Reasons to Try: The Secret of Business Success
One of my favourite quotes is from a well-known fictional movie character:
“Do or do not, there is no try.” ~ Yoda
This seems to imply that merely trying things will not be successful. There are certainly a lot of success gurus out there that tell you to avoid “trying” and just “do it”.
In reality there are many shades of try (is it 50?) and […]
My Goal is to Have A Goal Some Day (Really!)
I just came across a Tweet in my stream that went something like:
"My goal is to become an aspiring writer."
An aspiring writer is someone who hopes to be a writer one day. So the goal is to become someone who hopes to be a writer.
I am all for trying new things out to see what I like to do.
I would suggest though, that if your goal is to try to try… you probably won't.
"My goal is to become a […]
Turn Business Mistakes into Business Lessons
In business and in life you have a choice in how you frame failure.
"How much did that mistake cost you?" or "How much did that lesson cost you?"
The $100,000 Explosion
Back in university one of our electrical engineering professors told us a story about a mistake when he was a young engineer working for a big company that built transformers.
The professor and another young engineer were tasked with stress testing one of those really big transformers.
Apparently, one of the calculations they performed was a wee bit off […]
Thorns and Your Ideal Customer
I stopped by one of our Sea Buckthorn bushes the other night for a snack. The berries are small and a little tart but packed with nutrition.
The bush is characterized by big sharp spikes, generally 1-2 inches long (2-5 cm). They make it difficult to get the fruit but you can as long as you are patient and careful.
It occurred to me.
I am not the bush’s ideal client!
The ideal client are the little birds that clean off the bush in […]
Chasing the Moon or Catching Customers
The shortest path to achieving your business goals may not be to aim directly at the destination.
“Always aim for the Moon, even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.”
― W. Clement Stone
The meaning of this is that if you aim big, even if you miss you will still achieve great things.
But what if you actually want to hit the moon?
Chasing the Moon
Aiming your spaceship at the moon is not the shortest and fastest way to get to the moon. […]
Illusions at Work and Business
What you see as reality is not what I see. It is not just me or you.
It is everyone.
Everything you see, touch, smell, feel, hear or otherwise interact with is a construct and interpretation by your brain including the filters of your beliefs and world views.
The illusion of reality.
Once you understand this and that everyone sees and interprets the world differently it becomes a lot easier to get along with others, sell your products and services, and create […]
3 Ways You May Be Stealing Success From Your Business
When we spend time doing things that don’t add value and pretending it is work we are stealing. The only question is from whom?
The Law of Value states:
“Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment.”
Bob Burg and John David Mann – The Go-Giver
Stealing From Your Employer
As an employee you are paid to deliver value to your employer that far surpasses the amount of money you take in payment. The more […]
Underperforming in Sales: Check Your Beliefs
Are your beliefs holding you back in sales?
If you don't believe you can sell until…
- You have a killer web site,
- You have a flawless script,
- You have a gorgeous glossy brochure and beautiful business cards,
- You have been trained for countless hours,
- You have 10,000 followers on Twitter and 5,000 page likes on Facebook,
- Essentially, everything is perfect…
You won't!
Just like anything else you choose to do, it is extremely difficult to exceed your own expectations.
Sales starts with attitude.
If you are the only one selling, your business will die or at the very least, you will starve.
[…]
Strategic Drivers
Watching how people drive can tell you a lot about how people think. My hypothesis is that people tend to predominantly think a certain way across multiple areas of their lives.
I am not talking about the ages old good versus bad driver. Most people consider themselves to be above average drivers and statistics say half of them are wrong.
This observation first hit me on the long drive from Calgary to Edmonton watching someone else drive. Much of the highway is two lanes in either direction and the speed limit is mostly 110 km/hour. The challenge is to maintain a constant […]
Everyone Is In Customer Service – Just Do It!
We've all heard it.
"Everyone in your company or organization who interacts with a customer or provides a product or service to a customer is in customer service."
The same is true for marketing. Or branding.
If you extend this to include everyone inside your organization who could impact the reputation of your organization; you pretty much include everyone.
Zappos starts everyone out in their call center. I read that WestJet expects employees and spouses flying for free or on discounts to help clean the plane.
[…]