October 2nd, 2011
Of the ten basic motives that inspire all human action, love is probably the most powerful. More has been accomplished by people motivated by love for mothers, fathers, wives, husbands and children than any of the other motives.
It is very common to see athletes, musicians, and business people purchase beautiful houses for their parents when they make it big. I recently read about Gene Simmons, the famous bass player and singer for the band KISS, and his devotion and love for his mother, a Nazi concentration camp survivor who brought up her kids as a single mother. Famous, and not so famous, people recognize the love their parents gave them and the sacrifices they made to get them to where they are and want to ensure their parents never want for anything again.
Love for their wives has often been cited as the reason for the success of many men. Napoleon Hill wrote numerous times about the impact that the wives of the people he researched had on their success. Henry Ford and Thomas Edison had tremendously supportive wives and this propelled them to tremendous success, despite the many difficulties each of these men faced. John Wooden, the famous basketball coach, is well known for his love of his wife Nellie. Anybody studying John Wooden’s success will soon learn the importance of his wife Nellie to that success. I think of the story that Zig Ziglar tells of his friend Bernie Lofchick. Bernie became a wealthy, successful, business person because his son David was born with Cerebral Palsy. Bernie and his wife did everything they possibly could to make sure their son David had as normal a life as he could. Part of doing everything possible was earning an above average income to pay for the extensive therapy his son would need throughout his life.
The motive of love can also help people endure tough situations for long periods of time. I think about single mothers who often work tirelessly and still manage to impact their children positively to become contributing citizens of the world. I think of parents who endure jobs they do not like so that their kids will have the best life they can possibly give them. I think of people who experience physical disabilities and challenges in their lives and their spouses make adjustments to their lifestyle and dreams to lovingly care for them.
Think of the person you love the most in this world and who you would do the most for. If you were to find out that person would die in one year and suffer in the process, unless you earned say, $20,000 more in the next 12 months than you did in the previous 12 months, would you earn the additional $20,000? Would you sleep less? Would you watch television less? Would you waste less time? I believe that, if your love is strong enough, anyone could do it.
Think of the people in your life that you love the most. Think of the needs they have. Think about how you could help them with those needs, big and small. Bringing happiness, joy, and comfort to loved ones can motivate you more than anything else in life to do what you need to do.
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September 14th, 2011
Some time ago, someone wrote me an email and said, “I would love to know what motivates YOU!” So I took them up on it and I want to spend some time telling you how I stay motivated.
It is a valid question, this one of what motivates me. After all, each and every day I have to stay on the top of my game, whether because I am giving a speech, marketing my materials, writing to one of the subscribers I have in over 100 countries, or just trying to keep my kids energized!
As I thought about it, I realized again just how simple life can be if you put the right processes in place. I realized that staying motivated revolves around a few basic things that I do. And they are things that ANYBODY can do. So if I can stay motivated, you can too! If you want to stay motivated, try these basics that I use to keep myself motivated:
Read good books and magazines. I am an information junkie! I read all of the time. I don’t care what you say; you cannot be successful without reading! I read books, magazines, etc., all of the time. I read a breadth of information so as to develop myself on a wide variety of topics. Keep reading them on a regular basis throughout the month and not just in reading binges. Listen to good information. Get yourself into some good tapes. Listen to what others have to say. Give yourself a budget to spend on materials that will make you into a motivated animal! Above all, as you listen, apply the truths to your life in your head and they will become what you live! Maintain a positive group of friends and colleagues. I broke this rule yesterday and went to coffee with a real downer. I am still recovering from him! One of the best things you can do is to surround yourself with positive people who will build you up and encourage you to pursue your dreams. They will be honest with you, yes, but they will also challenge you to shoot for the stars!
Focus clearly on my goals. I know where I am going and what I want to accomplish. They are firmly rooted in my mind and heart. Because of this, my mind and heart are in an attitude of motivation all of the time. I want to hit my goals, and since they are present in my heart and mind, I put my energies into them.
Discipline myself to live out my priorities. Most of the time, this takes plain old hard work. We have to discipline ourselves, and as we do, we find ourselves becoming more and more motivated. If we discipline ourselves, it gives us wins and victories, which make us feel good, which motivate us for further action. If we don’t discipline ourselves, we feel defeated and we fall into a downward spiral of despair.
Are you keeping yourself motivated? You can. I know you can because I have seen these principles and actions work in my own life. Take a moment right now and see if you are living out the principles for keeping motivated:
Do you regularly read good books and magazines?
Do you regularly listen to good material?
Do you surround yourself with positive and supportive people?
Do you know and focus on your goals?
Do you discipline yourself to action even when you don’t feel like it?
Commit yourself to these and you will find that you have become a much more motivated person. This is what I do, and why I can continue to motivate others!
Upward and onward my friends!
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July 5th, 2011
It’s time to change your mind about money and wealth.
Freedom is more than financial, and living a wealthy life is about more than just making money.
Below are the top 10 principles you need to know when pursuing more money so that you end up with a happy, healthy, and wealthy life…
1. Give More Than You Take
“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” Winston Churchill
To build true wealth, you must help improve other people’s lives as you improve your own. When you give more value than you take it helps everyone around you. Living this way means the growth of your financial wealth becomes a measure of how much you have given to others. Your success becomes an act of contribution.
Always remember, taking value may bring you temporary financial success but it can never lead you to happiness and fulfillment.
2. Live With Integrity
Never cause harm to other people or the environment, encroach on the property of others, or violate moral laws. Never insult, lie, or cheat for financial gains.
Follow the simple rule, “If it doesn’t feel right then it probably isn’t”. Don’t do anything you wouldn’t be comfortable telling your family about.
When faced with the choice between expediency and integrity, choose integrity because no amount of wealth can replace peace of mind and a clear conscience.
3. Find Your Inner Motivation
Building financial wealth is not an easy path. It is a long and challenging journey that requires a deep rooted motivation strong enough to see you through to the achievement of your goal. Superficial motivators like a fancy car or endless vacations sipping umbrella drinks on a tropical beach won’t cut it.
Below are four proven motivators that can help you stay the course long enough to succeed:
- Freedom from daily labor: This will allow you time to connect with family, indulge in your passion, or pursue personal growth so you can live your life to its fullest potential.
- Capacity to share: Contribution is a powerful motivator because the more you have the more you can share. Wealthy families have significantly empowered social and environmental causes through the charitable foundations they’ve created. Maybe giving is your reason for getting.
- Personal growth: When you’ve achieved financial freedom you will have more time to pursue personal freedom and achieve true wealth.
- Capacity to inspire: Your success will inspire the people around you to follow in your footsteps and pursue their dreams. By achieving true wealth you will have the chance to help people break free from the shackles of financial mediocrity.
4. Have The Courage To Find Your Own Path
As social beings, we are afraid to do things differently and independently. However, wealth won’t be achieved by conforming to the majority. Wealth comes from doing things that others don’t so you can acquire the wealth they never will. It comes from following your own unique path in life.
Dare to be different. Be brave enough to take on new paths and learn new skills so you achieve your goals — even if it causes you discomfort.
5. Discipline Is The Key
Wealth isn’t built overnight. Get-rich-quick is a lie.
Instead, financial wealth results from many little things done right that accumulate and compound over your lifetime. This is good news because it means anyone can do it. There are no magical answers or sudden strokes of luck required. Instead, success depends on simple daily habits like saving, investing, and re-investing. It depends on regular investment education through reading and listening to podcasts that develop your financial and business intelligence daily.
When you have discipline you take regular action that produces regular results. Without discipline you will fall prey to the leading wealth killer – procrastination.
6. Live A Modest Lifestyle
The foundation of wealth is delayed gratification. Spend less than you can afford so you can invest the difference for greater value in the future. Materialism doesn’t bring happiness but it does keep you from achieving wealth. It will keep you attached to the superficial rather than connecting to the deeper motivation that drives you to achieve wealth.
Don’t be fooled by the consumerism myth that being wealthy is about living a conspicuous lifestyle. Most self-made millionaires live modestly — that is how they built their wealth. The truth is lifestyle conflicts with wealth building. Your resources are limited and can only serve one master.
7. Create Supportive Environments
The path to financial freedom is not easy. Few succeed even with the best laid plans because life incessantly gets in the way by throwing up obstacles and distractions. The key to success is focused, consistent and unyielding action. To achieve this objective create a support system that maintains your focus as you work toward wealth.
Properly designed environments will literally pull you toward your wealth goals. Structure your relationships, financial habits, daily routine, family and work environments to support and reinforce you plans. Eliminate contradictory environments that distract or drain your resources. Shaping your environments is the most efficient path to achieving your goals with the least effort required.
8. Nobody Builds Wealth Without Leverage
Leverage is the key principle to building wealth. You will achieve greater results in less time when your efforts aren’t limited by your own resources.
Below are the 6 types of leverage you should consider using:
- Knowledge Leverage: How to work smarter — not harder.
- Financial leverage: Other people’s money.
- Marketing Leverage: How to connect with many for the same effort as one.
- Systems and Technology Leverage: How to get more done with less effort — automation, streamlining, standardized protocols.
- Time leverage: Other people’s time — employees, volunteers, assistants.
- Network Leverage: Other people’s connections.
You will never build wealth by trading time for money, and you will limit your success as long as you’re limited by your own resources. The key principle required for breaking through the obstacles that curb your success is leverage. It literally separates those who can build wealth from those who never will.
9. Manage Your Money Like A Business
Treat your money like a business because that’s exactly what it is — a growing wealth management business. Employ proven success principles in your wealth plan similar to a traditional business plan as follows…
- Competitive advantage
- Risk management
- Strategic planning
- Accurate record keeping
- Accountability milestones
You wealth plan should include all of these business principles while also incorporating your unique skills, interests, and resources so that it’s custom fitted to your personal life situation. You wouldn’t expect to succeed in business without a plan so why should wealth be any different?
10. Use Money Responsibly
You don’t own wealth: you’re merely its temporary guardian. Everything must pass including you and your money. Since you can’t take it with you the only alternative is to use it wisely while you are here and give it carefully upon death.
Always remember that money is a flow that passes through your control while you pass through this lifetime. Whether or not you use that temporary power wisely will determine the legacy of your life.
It will also determine if you lived with true wealth.
The goal for true wealth is not just financial success. It is about leading a balanced and fulfilling life that honors your deepest values. It is a about a life well lived.
As John Wicker wisely pointed out, “Wealth is not in making money, but in making the man while he is making the money.”
When you follow these ten key principles you will grow your financial wealth, and more importantly, you will grow personally.
That’s what true wealth is all about.
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May 10th, 2011
Sales is an emotional roller coaster, and unless you figure out how to manage those emotions and keep yourself motivated, you’ll have a difficult time succeeding. This is particularly true during a downturn. The economy struggles and unemployment rises. Many companies cut back, there are fewer jobs available, and pressures to perform are greater than ever. It’s easy to lose our motivation.
However, even though the world around us may be dreary and depressing, that in no way reduces our personal need to do the best we can. That means we all have a responsibility to stay motivated.
It is amazing what a difference a few degrees of attitude adjustment can make in our performance. Try this little exercise. Tell yourself these things: “Business is terrible. All of my customers are struggling. Nobody wants to see me, and when they do, it’s just to complain.” Wallow in those thoughts for a moment, and note how much energy and enthusiasm you have.
Now, think the opposite: “I have great opportunities. My customers need me more today than ever. I have valuable solutions for them. It’s a great time to have this job.” Roll those around in your mind for a while. Note how much energy and enthusiasm you have.
As you reflect on this exercise, it’s clear that your energy, enthusiasm and drive to succeed come as a result of your thoughts. Here is one of the most powerful truths known to mankind: You can control your thoughts.
Going Beyond “Positive Thinking”
Succeeding in difficult times depends a great deal on our motivation. Staying motivated requires us to take charge of our thoughts.
I’ve heard dozens of salespeople say, “I’ve tried positive thinking. It just isn’t me.” I agree that it is difficult to patch a bunch of positive thoughts on top of an essentially negative personality. The issue is deeper than that. Let’s, therefore, examine the deeper issues.
At the heart of motivation lies a pair of powerful beliefs that you must embrace if you are going to successfully motivate yourself. Without a wholehearted commitment to these foundational beliefs, all the techniques and tactics for self-motivation are like spreading wallpaper over crumbling plaster. It may hold temporarily, but it is soon going to deteriorate into a mess.
Here’s the first foundational principle: You must believe that you can do better than you are now doing. The second is this: You must accept that it is your responsibility to do so.
It’s simple and commonsense, but, the more I observe people and salespeople specifically, the more convinced I am that the majority of people do not share these core beliefs. Rather, they are in the habit of making excuses for their situation. They believe fate, not their actions, determines their success. They believe success is for someone else, not them. They never really grab unto the first of these foundational principles.
Others believe that they can achieve greater degrees of success. They embrace the first principle, intellectually, but they never internalize the second. They become content with their situation and remain in pre-established comfort zones. They look at their manager as the person who is responsible for their success, or lack thereof. Maybe it’s their parent’s fault, or their spouse’s, or… the list goes on.
Whether you are struggling with a lack of energy that accompanies a bad day, or you’re depressed and frustrated with your lack of progress on a larger scale, examine your core beliefs first. If you really accept these two principles, you have the keystone in place to become highly motivated.
Having said that, here are a couple proven techniques you can use to keep yourself motivated day-to-day.
Have a Compelling Purpose
Have something you are working to accomplish. This can be an important and compelling goal like saving enough money for a down payment on a house. When you are working toward something like that, your emotions of the moment tend to be a lower priority than your drive to achieve. If you are trying to make money for a home for your family, so what if you’re tired or depressed? You get out and do it.
The same is true for having a compelling purpose. I believe that every salesperson should be able to articulate clearly his or her purpose in life. I once began a ten-week sales training program with a requirement that everyone write a two-sentence “life purpose.” Why? Because it gives power and focus to everything you do. In your job as a salesperson, there will be many difficult times when things don’t go your way. You may lose a big deal, or be unable to get anyone to return your calls. At times like these, it helps to view them within the context of a larger perspective: your life purpose.
Choose Your Thoughts
Proactively put positive thoughts into your mind. Make a point of taking charge of your mind and the kind of thoughts you choose to think. Wise and thoughtful people for ages have discovered an extremely powerful principle: Your actions arise from your thoughts, and you can choose your thoughts.
Controlling and managing your thoughts is one of the basic tenants of Zen Buddhism, for example. In the Christian context, the apostle Paul said, “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Philosophers, educators, and thinkers of every generation conclude the same thing.
But the power of this truth is not reserved just for philosophers. Salespeople can use it as well. The reason you may feel depressed or anxious is because you are thinking depressing or anxious thoughts. Change your thoughts, and you can change your feelings. Change your emotions, and you can change your behavior. Change your behavior and you can change your results. It’s not as difficult as it may sound.
Take Action
Do this: invest in a couple of audio programs filled with good, positive stuff, or find something at the local library. As you drive between appointments and on your way home from work, listen to those tapes or CDs. You’ll find yourself thinking positive thoughts. Those positive thoughts will lead to a more positive attitude. That attitude will manifest in more focused actions. Those actions will lead to better results.
There is no limit to the amount of positive, educational material available to you. If you are not regularly exposing yourself to some of this, it is because you are choosing to not be motivated.
Succeeding in difficult times requires you to take charge of your motivation. Now is the time to take this most important step to becoming a true professional.
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June 4th, 2010
A wise teacher was taking a stroll through the forest with a young pupil and stopped before a tiny tree.
“Pull up that sapling,” the teacher instructed his pupil, pointing to a sprout just coming up from the earth. The youngster pulled it up easily with his fingers. “Now, pull up that one,” said the teacher, indicating a more established sapling that had grown to about knee high to the boy. With little effort, the lad yanked and the tree came up, roots and all. “And now this one,” said the teacher, nodding toward a more well-developed evergreen that was as tall as the young pupil. With great effort, throwing all his weight and strength into the task, using sticks and stone he found to pry up the stubborn roots, the boy finally got the tree loose.
“Now,” the wise one said, “I’d like you to pull this one up.” The young boy followed the teacher’s gaze, which fell upon a mighty oak so tall the boy could scarcely see the top. Knowing the great struggle he’d just had pulling up the much smaller tree, he simply told his teacher, “I am sorry, but I can’t.”
“My son, you have just demonstrated the power that habits will have over your life!” the teacher exclaimed. “The older they are, the bigger they get, the deeper the roots grow, and the harder they are to uproot. Some get so big, with roots so deep, you might hesitate to even try.”
Creatures of Habit
Aristotle wrote, “We are what we repeatedly do.” Merriam-Webster defines habit this way: “an acquired mode of behavior that has become nearly or completely involuntary.”
There’s a story about a man riding a horse, galloping quickly. It appears that he’s going somewhere very important. A man standing along the roadside shouts, “Where are you going?” The rider replies, “I don’t know. Ask the horse!” This is the story of most people’s lives; they’re riding the horse of their habits, with no idea where they’re headed. It’s time to take control of the reins and move your life in the direction of where you really want to go.
If you’ve been living on autopilot and allowing your habits to run you, I want you to understand why. And I want you to let yourself off the hook. After all, you’re in good company. Psychological studies reveal that 95 percent of everything we feel, think, do and achieve is a result of a learned habit! We’re born with instincts, of course, but no habits at all. We develop them over time. Beginning in childhood, we learned a series of conditioned responses that led us to react automatically (as in, without thinking) to most situations.
In your day-to-day life, living “automatically” has its definite positives. If you had to consciously think about every step of each ordinary task—making breakfast, driving the kids to school, getting to work, and so on—your life would grind to a halt. You probably brush your teeth twice a day on autopilot. There’s no big philosophical debate; you just do it. You strap on your seatbelt the minute your butt hits the seat. No second thoughts. Our habits and routines allow us to use minimal conscious energy for everyday tasks. They help keep us sane and enable us to handle most situations reasonably well. And because we don’t have to think about the mundane, we can focus our mental energy on more creative and enriching thoughts. Habits can be helpful—as long as they’re good habits, that is.
If you eat healthfully, you’ve likely built healthy habits around the food you buy and what you order at restaurants. If you’re fit, it’s probably because you work out regularly. If you’re successful in a sales job, it’s probably because your habits of mental preparation and positive self-talk enable you to stay optimistic in the face of rejection.
I’ve met and worked with many great achievers, CEOs and “superstars,” and I can tell you they all share one common trait: They all have good habits. That’s not to say they don’t have bad habits—they do. But not many. A daily routine built on good habits is the difference that separates the most successful amongst us from everyone else. And doesn’t that make sense? From what we’ve already discussed, you know successful people aren’t necessarily more intelligent or more talented than anyone else. But their habits take them in the direction of becoming more informed, more knowledgeable, more competent, better-skilled and better-prepared.
My dad used Larry Bird as an example to teach me about habits when I was a kid. “Larry Legend” is known as one of the greatest professional basketball players, but he wasn’t known for being the most athletically talented player. Nobody would have described Larry as “graceful” on the basketball court. Yet, despite his limited natural athletic ability, he led the Boston Celtics to three world championships and remains one of the best players of all time. How did he do it?
It was Larry’s habits—his relentless dedication to practice and to improve his game. Bird was one of the most consistent free-throw shooters in the history of the NBA. Growing up, his habit was to practice five hundred free-throw shots every morning before school. With that kind of discipline, Larry made the most of his God-given talents and kicked the butts of some of the most “gifted” players on the court.
Like Larry Bird, you can condition your automatic and unconscious response to be those of a developed champion. This chapter is about choosing to make up for what you lack in innate ability with discipline, hard work and good habits. It’s about becoming a creature of champion habits.
With enough practice and repetition, any behavior, good or bad, becomes automatic over time. That means that even though we developed most of our habits unconsciously (by modeling our parents, responding to environmental or cultural associations, or creating coping mechanisms), we can consciously decide to change them. It stands to reason that since you learned every habit you have, you can also unlearn the ones that aren’t serving you well.
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March 30th, 2010
It is spring, a time for renewal and a fresh start. We invest time in spring cleaning around the house, plant flowers, wash off the lawn chairs in preparation for BBQ’s and fun times ahead. It is also the perfect time to do the same with your business. Consider this a season of renewal. Take a step back and look at your business, what needs to be cleaned out and spruced up? Do you need to invest in your website? Do you have a clear goal of what you want to accomplish this season? What role do you want your employees to take during your business’ renewal? New Year’s Day is not the only opportunity to get motivated and set goals.
Businesses have been cutting back and reducing their marketing budgets so much that they are not going to be ready to take part in the economic renewal. When is this finally going to happen? Now, there are signs everywhere. Restaurants have wait times, people are buying kids spring clothes and businesses that have worked wisely have actually expanded. As with the early signs of spring, you will miss the signs of the renewal if you don’t look for them.
Companies that continue to provide good service, new servics and keep their names out there have a greater change for growth. Give your customers a reason to take a second look. If we all think about Hallmark stores, we know that each season we go into their stores for a birthday or Easter card we know that seasonal marketing is everywhere capturing our eye to bring into their stores. The only thing that does not change is the good service we come to expect with each visit.
We all have experienced challenges during this economy but we must look forward to come out of it. We know that there is a day when we will finally be in a good place forgetting exactly when things all began to be positive once again. It is funny how we can remember when things began to go bad but not so much so when things began to be positive again. Working together with others we can keep ourselves focused on our own motivational programs with small rewards along the way.
Motivational tips for you and your employees:
1) Have a grip party for a 1/2 hour. Discuss light weight problems this economy has caused your company, have each participant find one funny solution and move on.
2) Hold a meeting outside in the beautiful spring weather to inspire a discussion about how you will renew your business. Ask each person to provide at least 3 solutions but how deeper discussion for a follow up meeting.
3) Thank your customers with added services and pleasant changes to your store or website.
4) Survey your customers for their opinions on how you could serve them better, why they do business with you and how you can motivate them to do more business with you.
5) Look to your competition, visit their stores and websites what is it that you found to be attractive about their business. Note the positive differences between you and them.
6) Read, research and rediscover your industry. What has changed since you went into business? Can you develop a niche in your industry?
7) Provide reward programs using platforms that focus on providing capitvating incentives that attract customers again and again.
Whether you are thinking about customer retention or buiding your business, use the freshness of the season to start you off in the right direction.
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September 29th, 2009
Throughout history, most of the great achievements and incredible comebacks have been the result of an individual whose motivation to persevere was influenced by a coach or mentor. In science, art, politics, sports and business, there is a common thread of having been coached among those who achieve greatness. A coach doesn’t need to be a professional consultant or counselor. He or she could be someone within your organization or industry, or it could be someone from your personal life whom you respect or admire.
A study was undertaken on the Hawaiian island of Kauai by two researchers named Emily Werner and Ruth Smith. This study, which followed more than 450 people from childhood through their adult lives, was an attempt to learn why some people are motivated to overcome severe disadvantages while others from the same background seem to have been overwhelmed by their problems. This research continued for an incredible length of time: 40 years, to be exact.
According to the research, one of the most interesting qualities of these motivated individuals is their ability to recognize potential sources of support in other people, to look beyond the walls of their homes to find relatives, friends, teachers or other role models who can provide help. This very important finding illustrates the benefits of forming mentor relationships to encourage achievement.
Choosing a coach or mentor is like having an additional correctional device to keep you on target. An analogy of this premise comes from aerospace technology. Years ago, the military used inertial guidance systems on missiles. Unfortunately, once the course of an inertially guided missile is set, it proceeds along that path with no capability for adjustments. It’s like a bullet fired from a rifle. Even when the aim is good at the outset, if the target moves unexpectedly once the projectile is in flight, the shot is going to miss. And if there’s one thing you can count on in life, it’s that the target is going to be moving! In the Gulf War of 1992, the Patriot missile that defended Israel and Saudi Arabia was introduced. Unlike previous defenses, this system had an advanced self-adjusting navigation system that continuously monitored the missile’s trajectory as well as the path of its swiftly moving target. The Patriot was able to make whatever corrections were necessary, regardless of changes in the position or speed of its objective.
A highly motivated person uses a coach or mentor in the same way when he or she has targeted a worthwhile goal. A coach or mentor can assist you in making adjustments and navigating through difficult times.
Finding coaches and mentors is an important mission, and you will no doubt have several over the course of your life. It is critical that you choose them wisely. Your mentor is someone to whom you’ll be committing a great deal of time and attention, and who ideally will take a very focused interest in you as well.
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August 13th, 2009
A lot of people think leaders are born and not made. I disagree. I think you can become a better leader. I’m not a cook, but I’ve held many leadership positions. I thought this recipe for a leader sounded pretty good:
Have all ingredients at body temperature. Sift intelligence, ambition, and understanding together. Mix cooperation, initiative, and open-mindedness until dissolved. Add gradually ability, tactfulness and responsibility. Stir in positive attitude and judgment. Beat in patience until smooth. Blend all ingredients well. Sprinkle liberally with cheerfulness and bake in oven of determination. When absorbed thoroughly, cool and spread with kindness and common sense.
If that seems like a long list of ingredients, well, it is. But good leadership won’t happen if any of those items are missing.
I love to study leaders and the different ways they lead. If there ever was a need for great leadership in a company, that time is now. Taking an organization through a good economy is tough enough; when the going gets rough, the real leaders shine. Consider the challenges that faced these leaders.
The military presents many opportunities to observe leaders in action. For example, President and General Dwight Eisenhower used a simple device to illustrate the art of leadership. Laying an ordinary piece of string on a table, he’d illustrate how you could easily pull it in any direction. “However, try and push it,” he cautioned, “and it won’t go anywhere. It’s just that way when it comes to leading people.”
The Duke of Wellington, the British military leader who defeated Napoleon at Waterloo, was a great commander but a difficult man to serve under. He was a perfectionist and very demanding, who complimented his subordinates only on rare occasions. In retirement, Wellington was asked by a visitor what he would do differently if he had his life to live over again. The old Duke thought for a moment and then said, “I’d give people I worked with more praise.”
The famous general and Macedonian king Alexander the Great led by example. As he led an army across the desert, a soldier came up to him, knelt down, and offered him a helmet filled with precious water. “Is there enough there for 10,000 men?” asked Alexander. When the soldier shook his head, Alexander poured the water out on the desert sands, refusing to take even a sip.
My friend Marilyn Carlson Nelson, Chairman of Carlson, wrote in her book How We Lead Matters, “The fact is that being a leader in any field requires discipline, effort, and yes, sacrifice. It can be all-consuming. And during that time, life may not have much balance. It’s been said, ‘If you can’t ride two horses at the same time, you should get out of the circus.’ A circus is not at all a bad analogy for the swirl of demands placed on leaders at the top.”
Leaders are not always popular. Former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell wrote in his book, My American Journey, “I learned … you cannot let the mission suffer, or make the majority pay to spare the feelings of an individual. I kept a saying under the glass of my desk at the Pentagon that made the point succinctly if inelegantly: ‘Being responsible sometimes means pissing people off.’”
Ken Blanchard once told me, “The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority.”
“A business leader has to keep their organization focused on the mission,” says Meg Whitman, former CEO of Ebay. “That sounds easy, but it can be tremendously challenging in today’s competitive and ever-changing business environment. A leader also has to motivate potential partners to join.”
Leadership guru Warren Bennis spent several years researching leaders for his book “Why Leaders Can’t Lead.” He traveled around the country spending time with 90 of the most effective and successful leaders in the nation—60 from corporations and 30 from the public sector. His goal was to find these leaders’ common traits. At first, he had trouble pinpointing any common traits, for the leaders were more diverse than he had expected.
But he later wrote: “I was finally able to come to conclusions, of which perhaps the most important is the distinction between leaders and managers. Leaders are people who do the right thing; managers are people who do things right. Both roles are crucial, but they differ profoundly. I often observe people in top positions doing the wrong thing well.”
Mackay’s Moral: Good leaders inspire others with confidence in them. Great leaders inspire them with confidence in themsel
Tags: motivate, motivate employees, motivational programs
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August 10th, 2009
Everyone loves to eat but not everyone loves to cook or should. Cooking is a fine art of heart and soul. We can learn quiet a bit about a cook who painstaking prepares the table, the meal, creates a welcoming warm ambience for their quests. What main course is selected, is there a variety of vegetables colorfully displayed on the table, is the dessert fresh fruit or a wonderful airy pastry.
Good cooks evolve from lots of practice but a chef is an expert who uses their passion to create an amazing experience. Chefs use developed skills and instincts to use the right ingredients, knives and pans to help them deliver a masterpiece. The right knives to smooth, serrated and cut, a good chef knows exactly when to use the right tools, whether they are for slicing, cutting or spreading frosting on a cake.
Good managers develop skills much like a great chef. They learn to lead, inspire, motivate employees and create positive results. They know when and why to use each style. Managers gain an understanding about which skills they should use for various types of employees and situations. They learn that it is crucial to keep all their plates spinning in the air representing different responsibilities and challenges.
Great leaders must consistently find a new ways to motivate employees. Finding new and exciting motivation really is a trail and error experiment. What works for some may not work for others and what worked last year may no longer be that interesting. Managers look to the Internet for ideas and success stories to help them put together new incentive contests. Customer Service Week is just around the corner so, managers scramble for contests and prizes that will not break the bank. This year the trend is to provide the participant’s choice of incentive. No hassle of trying to make one incentive fit all. Managers and business owners also look to the Motivation Show in Chicago for the latest trends and ideas for the coming year. One thing to keep in mind is the use of an Incentives Broker who will scan the market for new incentives and do all the comparison shopping for you. Usually their is no upfront costs because their commission is built into their incentives.
Before it used to be that an admired leader was like a great painting: no one could define it, but everyone knew it was special when they saw it. Empathy, self-awareness and the ability to lead by continuing development of their staff is what separated a good leader from the rest.
How do you know when to use one style of management over another? Use what we know from Emotional Intelligence:
- Ask your employees using open ended questions for broader responses
- Observe your employees reaction to yours and your peer’s management styles
- Challenge yourself over and over again looking for the right type of management styles. Keeping a diary of successes and failures
- Ask a mentor and pay attention to what works for you and other departments
- Experiment and take the plunge with new ideas. Test ideas on small groups before you launch your new project
- Management up what are others in upper management doing in your division and others, is their a common theme?
As a manager, your top objective is to instill confidence in your company, your department and in your department’s services.
Tags: motivate, motivate employees, motivational programs
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July 8th, 2009
So you want to be a leader? Or you want to be a better leader? It can be done, you know. No matter where you are in your leadership journey, you CAN move forward. You CAN lead better. You CAN lead more people. You CAN lead your organization to higher ground. Yes, you CAN!
But let me tell you this: You won’t do it via osmosis! It won’t just “happen.” Growing in your leadership is not something that comes from the fairy godmother of leadership. You can’t touch the hem of a great leader’s garment and become “Super-Leader!” Oh, that it were that easy!
So what does it take?
Time.
Experience.
Training.
Hard Knocks.
A Mentor.
Discipline.
And a few others.
But let’s start at the very beginning. You want to be a leader. That’s good. You want to be a better leader. That’s good too. But what comes first? Preparation. Leadership Prep. What is it? What needs to happen in order to get yourself ready to become a leader? As you get ready to take the next step in your leadership journey, take the time to go through a little reflection on Leadership Prep.
Before you become the leader you want to be:
Count the cost. Leadership is hard. There will be times that you say, “Leadership isn’t worth it. These people are crazy and I don’t deserve this.” It is true. You don’t deserve it. But you choose it. You choose it because you want to lead people. You want to improve their lives. You see the higher ground that they cannot see and you desire to take them there. It will take time. It will take money. It will sap your strength and energy. Count the cost, my friend. Leadership is not for the weak and timid. Yes, the rewards are great, but so are the sacrifices. Prep yourself for the cost of leadership.
Assess your strengths and weaknesses. Too many people dive into trying to lead and end up dying out because they were not honest with themselves about their strengths and weaknesses. They get going and realize that they should have strengthened themselves in certain areas because now it is killing their ability to lead. If you know your strengths, then you can focus yourself on them and allow yourself to be successful through them. If you are aware of your weaknesses, you will be able to stay away from them, or hire to cover them, and thus allow yourself to become even more successful as a leader. So prep yourself by becoming exceedingly clear on your strengths and weaknesses.
Settle in for the marathon, not the sprint. Very few – I mean VERY few – people get big leadership assignments at early ages. And when they do, even fewer of the few see things happen fast in their leadership. No. Usually things happen slowly. Why do we think they will happen fast then? Because those are the only stories we hear on TV and read about in magazines. “Twenty-five-year-old starts business that grows to $20 million a year in sales in JUST TWO YEARS,” Sells a lot better than “Forty-five-year-old works hard for twenty years and builds lasting business that makes a difference in her community.” Right? Right. So, unless you are one of the chosen few, you will need to prep for a marathon, not a sprint. This is both a mental and emotional adjustment that needs to be made. Prep for the long haul!
Develop a learning attitude. You have perhaps heard it said, “Leaders are readers.” It is true. Even more so, leaders are learners. I don’t know any leader who has attained any level of leadership who doesn’t keep himself or herself on the edge of learning. One of my mentors runs a company that you would all know by name—in fact, you probably used one of their products today, no matter where you live in the world—that does billions of dollars a year in revenue (Yes, with a “b”) and he still takes time each year to go to a school of leadership! He is already a tremendously successful leader, yet he is still working on it! THAT is a learning attitude! If you want to lead, prep yourself for it by developing a learning attitude.
Acquire a love for people. In reality, we do not lead organizations or businesses. No. We lead people. We are successful if we know how to lead people. People are the name of the game. And the best way to become a leader of people is to love people. Others can tell instinctively whether or not we love them and have their best interests at heart. If they do not know that we care for them, they will not follow. Leadership is the art of directing people we care for and desire to help. In other words, we love people. If you have an issue with people, chances are you are not ready to lead them. To prep yourself for leadership, acquire a love for people. If the other things are in place, then they will want to follow you.
You CAN become a leader. I truly believe that. If you are already a leader, I know you can become better. Take a long, hard look at yourself and see if perhaps there are some areas you need to prep yourself in regard to leadership so that when you really get going you don’t have to stop and go back!
Leadership Prep – that’s the place to start!
Tags: motivational programs
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