The Hawg Blawg

2012 Action Steps For Success #81 121711

2011-12-17T05:36:00.000-08:00

Successful people are ordinary people with a success orientation. — Wayne Nalls

I was looking at a calendar on the wall of my office and realized that in 14 days I would be saying goodbye to 2011 and hello to 2012. Wow! Time flies. It was only three and one-half years ago that I penned the first Hawblawg and now here is article No. 81.

If you missed any of the previous postings, you can quickly and easily find them at: www.thehawgblawg.blogspot.com

During the past three and one-half years I have been pleasantly surprised to see the communication reach of this blog. In that time frame we have hits from 52 International counties representing 95 international cities. In addition we recorded 209 cities and towns in 40 states in the US.

We live in an increasingly globalized market. The universal law of success is that people everywhere realize that they must continually invest in themselves or be left behind.

In this last posting for 2011, I made a decision to dispense with a topical approach for the article and instead provide a list of what I consider 22 salient self-improvement doables—one for each workday in January. These are presented for your consideration.

On January 31st, you will have an overview of what it takes to be a success. I don't expect you to master or even highly value each of the doables. But, among the list is at least one idea that you can use for the rest of your life to change the rest of your life.

Week One
1. Daily bring out the best in others.
2. Because you choose your attitude, choose wisely.
3. Be a Problem Solver.
4. Accept yourself for who you are. Be comfortable with yourself but never complacent. Everyone has room for growth.
5. Think! Think! Think! Everything we do begins with a thought.

Week Two
6. Never get mad at someone for being more successful than you, it’s not his fault.
7. Expect to excel and assume the responsibility for your own success.
8. Keep your eyes and ears open and learn from others. Everyone has something unique
to offer.
9. Keep your knowledge current and your skills marketable.
10. Concentrate on giving and not getting, it puts you in the best position to achieve success.

Week Three
11. Always look for ways to change, to improve every single thing you do.
12. Never lose sight of the goal.
13. Devour books. Read every day. “If you spend one extra hour each day in the study of your chosen field…you’ll be a national expert in five years or less.”—Earl Nightingale
14. Render a greater service than your competitor.
15. First you have to conquer the day before you conquer the week, the month, the year.

Week Four
16. Listen for what isn’t being said. As management guru Peter Drucker wrote, “The
most important thing in communication is to hear what isn’t being said.”
17. Be a person of action. Focus on the task at hand and don’t get distracted by tasks with fringe benefits.
18. Believe you can do it, plan to do it, and do it! In the end, it is always belief, planning, and execution that determine success.
19. Celebrate your uniqueness. For the next 30 days let your first thought each morning be one of thankfulness for who you are. Like fingerprints and snowflakes, you are one of a kind.
20. Uncover and understand what you’re here to do. Then pursue that purpose with passion and enthusiasm. If you don’t know your purpose read, The Seed by Jon Gordon.

Week Five
21. Don't settle for mediocrity, commit to being the best you can be.
22. Live in the moment. Focus your energy on the present.

Of the above 22 success action steps, which one is a priority for you for the New Year?

As we exit 2011, I end this article with this candid thought: The achievement is not in winning. It is in the struggle that we achieve. And like all successful people before us, we must hold on until we succeed.

I wish you personal growth and success—as defined by you— in 2012.

Wayne Nalls
wn-Tampa@att.net

What I Would Say to a College Freshman Class on their First Day #80 102211

2011-10-22T13:56:00.000-07:00

Though I am not a school teacher or college professor, I have a goal to teach an introductory college business course. Why college level? The student or a benefactor is paying for their opportunity to obtain an advanced education. They are here because they want to be here.

The second reason for teaching college level students is that for most of them this is a time of seeking, searching and being open to new things and thinking outside the box. Many students are searching for the answer to, "How do I succeed, whatever the field of study?"

The college environment exposes students to new surroundings, influences and circumstances. In their new setting, concepts, values and even thinking processes are challenged. It may be during the college years students learn a person can think and grow rich; that the mind, once stretched like a rubber band never returns to its original shape; a person’s attitude controls their actions, and by identifying a desired effect and working back to identify the causes that created that effect, the student can take action to get the same effect.

As students file into their first class, I give each one a handout that has printed on it seven quotes. These quotes set the tone for the upcoming semester.

• “The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by alerting their attitudes of mind.” —William James

• “We know what we are, but know not what we may be.” —William Shakespeare

• “To every person there comes that moment when he is figuratively tapped on the shoulder to do a very special thing unique to him. What a tragedy if that moment finds him unprepared for the work that would be his finest hour.” —Winston Churchill

• "Try not to become a man of success, but rather to become a man of value. He is considered successful in our day who gets more out of life than he puts in. But a man of value will give more than he receives."— Albert Einstein

• “The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chose field of endeavor.” —Vincent T. Lombardi

• "The key to happiness is having dreams. The key to success is making your dreams come true."
— Anonymous

• “Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any one thing.” — Abraham Lincoln

After introducing myself and welcoming the students, I start the class by answering one of their big concerns: How do I get a good grade in this class?

I have an unusual grading system; every student begins the class with a score of 100 points—an "A". It is up to the student to maintain that grade by scoring high on tests, turning in well-written papers and on-target class participation.

If the first class was the only class of the course, they would all leave with their "A." But, for all the students I saw taking notes, I would add 10 points, giving them an A+. The reason: "A small pencil is better than a long memory." That is the first great lesson of this class.

Next, while I had their attention, I make a homework assignment. Yes, 15 minutes into the first class I hear a collective groan. Remember, no one said life is fair or easy. The assignment is to bring to the next class a list containing two of your personal strengths and one personal weakness. The only guideline is that students must be honest with themselves. I would offer several examples of both traits. For strengths: achiever, competitor, passionate, caring. Weaknesses could include: procrastinator, unmotivated, non focused, uncommitted.

I give a preview of the lesson that will take place when we cover personal strength and weaknesses later in the course by stressing that It is strengths that you build on to achieve your goals and not improvement of weaknesses. The goal is to minimize weakness as you maximize and leverage your strengths.

Moving on, I cover the importance of time management and stress that the best time to start on their present homework assignment is as soon after class as possible. Begin now to purge procrastination from your vocabulary.

I spend time on high level planning including goal setting, developing priorities, and the importance of focusing. I explain that in future classes we will be drilling down to the finer points in personal planning and the ways to achieve their goals. The path they take may not be my path. We can take different paths to the goal, but we must reach the goal.

Planning should result in focused actions. We evaluate the potential or payoff and rate the action by asking ourselves, “Is this the best use of my time?” “What is the payoff of this action?" "Does it bring me closer to achieving my goal?” If you determine the action has low payoff, eliminate it from consideration and choose another course of action. Be judicious of your time; don’t waste valuable time on actions with limited payoff. You have three capital assets: Attitude, Knowledge and Time.

I assure them that when setting goals they must determine what they will give in exchange for the achieving the goal. These are the specific actions needed to achieve the goal. Here is where you test desire. Are you willing to do what is needed to achieve the goal?

Someone has said, “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.” Without a destination and a plan for getting there, you will end up somewhere, but probably not where you want to be. My goal for each student is that they get to where they want to go.

Before the first class ends, I hope to see the light come on for many of the students as they discover that this class is about stretching oneself, always pushing the envelope. Robert Browning expressed the underlining motivational essence of the class when he wrote, "A man's reach should exceed his grasp."

The last minutes of the class, I focus on values and how they drive our actions. Our attitudes and behaviors flow out of our values. Therefore, core values determine who and what we will be. It is a certainty, we reap what we sow. The Law of Cause and Effect is still a law. Therefore, values drive what we do and what we do is what we become.

As the first class ends, I stress that while focusing on achieving your goals, don't miss opportunities that spring up unannounced. These opportunities often appear disguised as problems or potholes on your road to success. Before deciding to alter or change your course vet any new opportunity using your propose as the guideline. Ask, "Will this action bring me closer to achieving my purpose? Success—however you define it— is living your true purpose. Never forget that your purpose is why you are here.

For a typical 19 year old freshman, he or she has another 56 years or 20,440 days to live. Ask any senior citizen and they will say those years fly by. Many people including students in this introductory class will reach their 75th birthday and regret that they had not early in life discovered who they really are and spent more time following their heart and dream.

Here is timely exercise. Take your age and subtract it from 75. The difference is the time you have remaining. Enjoy the remaining years by enjoying every day, every moment of time. As Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "The time is always right to do what is right."

My final words to the class, are, "Let go and grow. Enjoy the moment. Grades, while important, are not the "why?" you are here. When you find the answer to your "why?", you will find what you truly want from life—what you truly want to become."

SUCCESS THOUGHT: Believe in the learning process, not just the curriculum. Success—a degree, position, power, responsibility—is the result of a developmental process that includes: goal setting, defining priorities, focusing on strengths, time management, maintaining a positive attitude, commitment to values and a commitment to execution. The process helps mold, execution is what creates the success.

SUCCESS QUOTE: "Whether you think you can or whether you think you can't, you're right." —Henry Ford

SUCCESS ACTION: Add these words and phrases to your "working" vocabulary: Carpe Deim, Commitment, Effectiveness, Enthusiasm, Execution, Excellence, Integrity, Passion, Positive Attitude, Priorities, Purpose, "My pleasure", "How can I help?" "Thank You!

When You Win, Everyone Wins #79 090511

2011-09-05T15:29:00.000-07:00

The full benefit of a self-improvement program is that everyone around you benefits. Improving yourself, improves those around you. You cannot become a winner without promoting the winning spirit in others. There is no solo success. Your achievement is a challenge for others to achieve.

Here are twelve steps for improving yourself and those around you.

1. Define Specifically What You Want to Achieve

The first step to success is to clearly define what you want to achieve. Successful people are those who are doing what they really want to do and are doing it on purpose with a minimum effort. Your goals should be few and all realistic (some should have a stretch in them to challenge).
Keep in mind, goals should be consistent with your core values.

2. Know "Why" You Want to Achieve the Goal
Identifying the true purpose for achieving a goal may require you to enter a new paradigm and move out of your comfort zone. Having a big "Why" acts as a driving force to achieve the "What"—the goal. "Why" is the inflective force needed to move people out of their comfort zone.

3. Determine The Action Steps Needed to Achieve The Goal

Whereas in step two, you determined "why?" you want to achieve a specific goal, now you layout the "what" and the "how" you are going to achieve your goal. Successful people constantly think in terms of actions priorities. Be resolute. Refuse to waste a single minute on any activity that doesn't move you toward your goal.

Once you have the actions steps, execute. Execution is the link between goal and achievement, between dream and reality. Do what needs to be done, when it needs to be done. Execute!

4. Set A time Line For Achieving The Goal
Start you plan today. The time you have now is the only time you have. There is no extra time at some unspecified future date. There is an old Chinese Proverb that says, "The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is today." Action leads to success; inaction results in failure. Set a time line that includes a deadline—the ultimate motivation tool.

5. Choose To Be Positive

Contrary to what some people believe, you can always choose to have a good day, even if the events of the day seem insurmountable. By choosing to have a positive attitude it is amazing how circumstances bend to accommodate you. Think positive. A positive attitude serves as a powerful driver of actions. It makes you attempt even more. Be positive, upbeat, and enthusiastic today and every day.

6. Expose yourself to Something New today In Each of the 4-E's
People are a product of their: Education, Experiences, Entourage and Environment. Successful people use each day to learn something new, try something new, meet someone new, and visit new places, outside their comfort zone. Are you growing in each of the 4-E's?

7. Enjoy Today As If It Were Your Last
See today for what it is: the present and the present is all you are guaranteed. Ask yourself, "Is what I am doing today going to help me achieve my goal? If the answer is "yes", then keep doing it. If the answer is "no", then redirect your activities to tasks that are better aligned with your goal. Life is too precious to moor in the harbor. Set sail.

8. Make Good Decisions
Gather all the pertinent facts. Unless you have at least two choices, there is really no decision to be made. Know what the decision has to accomplish. When you are in doubt, go with the choice that brings you closer to goal achievement. Never be afraid to choose. Remember, choosing not to choose is making a decision. Risk avoiders and successful people are not family.

9. Define the End Of The Day In the Beginning Of The Day
Spend a minimum of 15 magic minutes first thing each morning planning your day. The goal is to control your day and not let it control you. At the beginning of the session ask yourself, "Will doing these things help me end the day the way I planned it?" If you answer "yes", good. If you answered "no" develop another course of action. Always look for actions that bring you closer to your goal.

The start-of-the-day plan helps you prioritize important projects and prioritize valuable time. Work on what matters and don't get off track.

10. INVEST IN YOURSELF
The purpose for investing in yourself is to make yourself more valuable. Investing in self keeps you growing and contributing . As you become more valuable, you achieve a reputation as a professional and create a broader area of influence to do good. The great motivational expert, Earl Nightingale said it this way, "If you spend one extra hour each day in the study of your chosen field...you'll be a national expert in five years or less."

Set aside some prime time for investing in yourself on a regular basis.

11. Execute And Be Effective

Execution is the most basic key to success and bridges the gap between plans and results delivered. Be a doer. In doing, you gain momentum and momentum is a game changer and the most powerful force in winning.

Be effective, get the right things done. People see you as an effective performer, an insurer of your success and a contributor to the success of your organization. Effectiveness is like the Equator dividing the successful from the failures. Don't confuse effectiveness with effort. Focus on results, not activity.

12. Have Fun And Celebrate Successes
Be passionate—truly care about what you do— and have fun at the same time. Don't be afraid to celebrate. Big achievements call for immediate celebration. Celebrating immediately reinforces achievement and leads to further achievement.
Celebrate achievement, not activity.

Three Point Success Summation

SUCCESS THOUGHT: In the final analysis, personal success is within and it is within reach. As you improve yourself, you improve those around you. Share the 12 Steps for Improving Yourself with an associate, friend or family member and discuss how the steps helped you jumpstart your life and career.

SUCCESS QUOTE: "Treasure today, it is the only time you have. Make it your masterpiece."—Wayne Nalls

SUCCESS ACTION: Define specifically what you want to accomplish and do it!

The Death of The Salesman? #78 072401

2011-07-24T17:03:00.000-07:00

"He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine . . . A salesman is got to dream, boy." —Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman

A lot of people have lost the dream and pronounced the death of the salesman. They say all buying will soon be done electronically and there will be no need for a salesmen.

Operating behind on-line web sites, catalogs and brochures are the talented photographers, artists, illustrators, and copywriters who sell a vivid picture of the product or service—whether with words or illustration. The better people demonstrate their talent and capitalize on their strengths, the more they sell.

While computers can search by name and come up with a profile. A sales professional knows his customer by name and knows the person behind the name.

There is probably a better way to do almost anything. Successful people assume that there is room for improvement and set about making improvements. In the zeal to improve, let's not overlook the fact that electronics can improve our standard of living but they can't touch lives. By their nature, people need people to make them feel important.

Helen Keller observed, “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.” Electronics may stimulate and excite but they don't touch the heart. Only a person can do that.

Selling boils down to finding a need and filling it. People will always have needs and somewhere in the buying equation is people finding solutions to those needs whether it be face-to-face or portal-to-portal. Before you say, "a sale is just a "click" away," remember the computer doesn't automatically put the sizzle in the sell.

I am not a computer, I'm a person computing how to build better rapport with other people. If computers could build relationships, how come so many people with computers feel so unimportant and irrelevant?

Buyers are looking for sales professionals who can help them solve problems. They are not looking for a product or service; they are seeking solutions to problems. Uncovering the problem and positioning yourself as a solution to that problem is what sets the professional apart from the computer and the competition.

Take time and ask questions of the prospect or buyer so you get a better understanding of the problem(s) he or she has. By paying attention to what he or she asks, you can often tailor your product or service to solve their specific problem.

To a degree everyone sells. Parents sell their children on doing their chores; teachers sell students on doing their assignments; coaches sell their athletes on practicing and improving their skills; ministers sell their congregates on helping others; managers sell employees on being effective. The better the rapport, the easier the sell.

Successful people in all walks of life learn that the ability to "build relationships" is little more than salesmanship under another name. Using people-to-people salesmanship, many professionals develop a warm and rewarding relationship with their customers, clients, children, team, congregates, employees.

The principles of salesmanship (relationship building) can be taught and learned. But a head full of knowledge doesn't make a person a professional salesman. Just like a professional in any field, you don't become a pro until you have spent a practical amount of time gaining practical "field" experience. It is in the face-to-face encounters with buyers that a person develops and hones their relationship building skills. Other things being equal, the sale usually goes to the salesman with the best rapport.

Selling is not an easy job. Nothing about success is easy. As Henry Ware Beecher voiced it, "Victories that are cheap are cheap." In four words, achievement has a price. So, dream big! Dream of helping others and discover how quickly your dreams become reality. Far from death, the relationship-building salesman lives and lives well. He or she, is still out there in the blue riding on a smile, a shoeshine and a well-earned rapport with their customer.

Selling is a great profession. If you succeed there are many perks; If you fail, you can always go into management.

Three Point Success Summation

SUCCESS THOUGHT: Computers can help facilitate rapport building but a computer cannot, of its own, build a relationship. Relationship-building is a people-to-people activity. The better you are at relationship building, the more successful salesman you become. If you want to succeed, you need to build relationship, personally and with the help of a computer.

SUCCESS QUOTE: "Along with the opportunity and privilege to make a sale goes the responsibility to make the sale." —Wayne Nalls

SUCCESS ACTION: Top successful people constantly work on their relationship building skills. Start improving a key relationship today.

Success Lies In Seeing The Unseen #77 071511

2011-07-04T15:55:00.000-07:00

While attending a traffic school class to insure that I did not have "points" added to my driving record I learned a valuable lesson about creativity. To emphasize her point regarding the importance of traffic awareness, the instructor held up a FedEx shipping carton and asked if anyone in the class saw the arrow in the logo.

No one in the class of sixteen saw it.

But hidden there— yet, in plain view— was a big bold arrow located between the E and X. Once pointed out, it was easy to see. Since that moment I never see a Federal Express truck, package or ad, that I don't clearly see the arrow tucked between the E and X.

The arrow image is always there but until it is pointed out, few people see it.

The $65 dollar fee I paid to attend the class turned out to be an excellent life investment. Like the "camouflaged or hidden arrow in the FedEx logo, creative solutions to problems often come hidden in the problem or disguised as ancillary problems.

From the FedEx example I learned that focusing on the problem often reveals the solution within the problem. The inquisitive mind can look at what everybody else looks at and see something that nobody else sees. In doing so, you have solutions that nobody else has.

The enemy of innovation attempts to deceive the problem solver. No wonder William H. Swanson, Chairman and CEO of Raytheon company challenges people to, "Look for what is missing. Many know how to improve what's there; few can see what isn't there."

Creative solutions to problems are unearthed more quickly as the result of stating the correct or "real" problem. No wonder John Dewey said, "A problem well-stated is a problem half-solved." This thought is echoed in the words of Albert Einstein, "The formulation of a problem is far more often essential than its solution." More failures to solve problems can be traced to a fuzzy or imperfect definition than to any other cause. You can't solve what you can't define. And the better the definition, the better the potential solution.

By carefully defining the problem you not only ensure that you are solving the right problem. But frequently, you will find the solution is more or less obvious. The exercise of properly discovering the "real" problem often reveals the steps necessary to solving it.

The military dictum that "time spent on reconnaissance is seldom wasted" is equally applicable to problem solving. Take time and identify in a clear statement the true problem. Often this "reconnaissance" will lead you to the "arrow" in the problem.

Creating ideas that lead to innovation takes costly time and work. But the only thing more expensive than innovation is complacency.

The words of ancient Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu, written 2,500 years ago still ring true, "All men can see the tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved." Creative people search for the strategy. Though it be hidden, once discovered it leads to success.

French novelist, Victor Hugo observed that "Nothing in the world is more powerful than an idea whose time has come." If you want your idea to bear fruit, have it at the proper time. Ideas don't wear a sign around their neck saying, "Here I am, take me."

I once read that people see what they want to see. Creative thinkers want to see the camouflaged "arrow" in the problem. They aren't fooled by a problem trying to disguise or hide the opportunity contained with the problem. Henry David Thoreau observed, "Many an object is not seen, though it falls within the range of our visual ray, because it does not come within the range of our intellectual ray."

HOG THOUGHT: Sometimes the solution to a problem is quickly found, other times we must spend sustained thinking time focused on the problem. Voltaire observed that "No problem can stand the assault of sustained thinking." The ability to focus on the problem helps a good thinker discover the camouflaged solution hidden within the problem.

HOG QUOTE: "We are continually faced by great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems." —John W. Gardner

HOG ACTION: Step beyond your current paradigm—venture out! And look for the camouflaged "arrow" hidden with the problem.

To Succeed, Read! #76 062711

2011-06-27T18:36:00.000-07:00

In a tight job market, like the current one, there are a lot of people looking for jobs and not a lot of jobs looking for people. You don't have to be a mathematician to know that the higher the unemployment rate the larger the number of people who are chasing the limited job opportunities.

With so many people unemployed today, you would think that there would be a lot of highly-qualified people looking for work in every industry. But that has not been my experience.

During the last 45 years I have interviewed hundreds of candidates seeking employment in positions ranging from sales and marketing to administration and purchasing, to human resources and operations. From these interviews I have drawn several conclusions.

First, many candidates are unprepared for the interview, knowing little more than my company has a job opening. They do little homework. Their lack of preparation quickly reveals the candidate is not knowledgeable of my company (it's products or services), the industry or, the competition. There is really no excuse for this ignorance. A wealth of company information is a click away via my company's web site.

Second, the focus of many candidates is on what they expect to get from the company. They have not considered what they can provide the company in exchange for a job or position. In reality, job interviewing is bartering. The candidates offers something—talent, education, experience, enthusiasm, problem solving ability—for something the potential employer has—a challenge, paycheck, prestige, opportunity, training, security. For success in the employment game , there cannot be one winner; there must be two: the employer and the employee.

In my interviews with candidates, I find it informative, educational, and useful to ask potential employees two questions: Question 1. What individual has had the most influence on your life and why? Question 2. What is the title of the last book you read?

For most people, the answer to "Who has had the most influence on your life?" is easy. The answers most often given are: my mother, my father, a grandparent, teacher or, a close relative. Answers as to why often provide an insight into the values of the candidate. "My grandfather taught me the value of hard work." Or, "My 10th. grade history teacher taught me that what goes around, comes around."

Once I know who had the big impact on the candidates life, I follow up with another question: "Why were they so influential?" The answer to why reveals a lot about the candidate and gives insight into their values. People often say, "My mother taught me to care for others and to be polite." "My father taught me discipline and to finish each job I start. His motto was, if it is to be, it is up to me. He taught me self-reliance." "Mrs. Johnson, my 10 grade history teacher, opened the world to me. Moreover, she taught me to apply the knowledge I was learning to my everyday life. Places, empires, and events came alive and relevant as she spoke."

The answer to my second question, "What is the last book you read?," is especially revealing. For many people, the longer they have been out of a formal education program—high school, trade school, college or graduate school—the more likely they won't have a book title to tell you. I think of this as, the inverse relationship between formal education and reading. The longer the person has been out of school, the less likely they are to have read a book recently.

I find it distressing, but for many people the last book they read was a text book that was required reading. Now, that they are out of a formal learning program, they don't feel the need to read and, they don't!

It's not surprising that today many book stores are going out of business. There are several reasons for this. The primary reason being, if people don't read, they aren't buying books. As someone said, the person who doesn't read is no better off than the person who can't read.

It takes discipline to read. And you must make an investment in time and energy. But the payoff is big if after reading you apply the principles that resonate with you.

Without execution, information is only potential power. It is application of information that transforms the potential power (information) into kinetic energy (the results). People find achieving their goals easier and quicker when they apply what they have learned.

If you want to become more successful, then become a better reader.

HOG THOUGHT: Often, success is just an action step away. To be successful in any field, you have to take action. Employers are looking for people who are prepared for success and willing to work for it. Don't talk to a potential employer about how valuable you are. Provide evidence that you will continually add value to their organization.

HOG QUOTE: "Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings so that you shall come easily by what others have labored hard for."—Socrates

HOG ACTION: Assume the responsibility for your own success: read books, magazines, attend seminars listen to tapes and CDs, ask questions and seek advice of experts in your field.

How To Bring the Customer Back #75 050711

2011-05-07T18:17:00.000-07:00

I think there are valuable business lessons to be learned that are best learned in slow economic times. It may be that people best learn from adversity and not from success Often these lessons are not new discoveries but the rediscovery of principles and guidelines and even laws that prove immutable but also forgettable. And when we forget to serve our customer, we soon find our customer has forgotten us.

This past week, I went to office supply store to buy a memory stick for a digital camera I had purchased a couple of years ago. Upon entering the store, I heard the manager instructing her new cashier to, "Position yourself so you can say, 'good morning' to every person who comes in today. We want everyone one enters our store to know that we appreciate them choosing to shop with us."

She went on to say, "Ask everyone can you help them find what they are looking for?" Basic business, yes. But, this is an art that is finding its way back into mainstream business. For the last several years it seems like the question, "Can I help you?", had become political incorrect

When I travel I stay at a particular hotel chain. In the last month, I have noticed an added interest in me personally when I check in. It is hard to miss statements like: "We're glad to have you back." "You must attend our welcoming appetizer get-together this evening, the food is great!" And, "We serve a delicious breakfast from, 6:30 to 9:00, right here in the lobby." My request for a wakeup call results in a cheerful "It is my pleasure."

In my room I find a bottle of water—a free bottle— along with a package of Oreos. Five minutes after I enter the room, I get a call, not from the front desk but from the SERVICE desk asking, "Do you find everything ok?" The hotel personnel have always been courteous, efficient and friendly. But I see their recent customer relations training being acted on.

Currently, the country and the world are experiencing tough economic problems. The problem is too big to fix with cost cutting or productivity increases alone. Most people have jobs and people are still buying. Though, they may be more discretionary than in times past. Today people expect their supplier to show genuine gratitude for their patronage. A simple, "Thank you" is not enough if you want your customer to do repeat business with you.

Customer service is a relative thing; it's relative to how the customer defines it. If he or she believes they are getting 5 star service from your competitor and you are providing only 4 star service, you lose.

I wish someone would explain to the under forty generation that while life offers options and they can opt to be indifferent to the customer, the customer can just as quickly opt to be indifferent to them. The difference is, you need the customer; he or she may not need you.

We make a big mistake to think of organizations as profit centers. Organizations create costs. In exchange for your product or service, customers provide the revenue that offers the potential for profits. Organizations can be labeled as an expense entities. Customers are revenue entities; they pay the bills. Simply put, the customer holds the trump card. Always has and always will.

Treating people right is a great investment with immediate and long-term pay back. Most organizations have invested heavily in technology, and rightly so. They have invested big time in processes and organization. In the rush to grow, expand or stay in business, the customer has often been forgotten. This oversight is unforgiving.

People and organizations appreciate being more than a number or an account. They show their appreciation in a number of ways, principally by buying from you. People want to know that you care. It has been said, people don't care until they know you care.

A concluding thought. If you are the man or woman in charge, make certain that your company delivers exceptional service to internal and external customers. If other companies are putting people first, why not your company? Put people first and the first thing you will see is a first-class bottom line.

Three Point Success Summation

HOG THOUGHT: Don't get comfortable. In fact, stay uncomfortable. Always assume your definition of customer service may not be your customer's definition. Focusing on competitive products and pricing may not be enough. Competitors have great products and sharp prices. The advantage goes to the provider that genuinely cares. It is hard to beat authentic service.

HOG QUOTE: "Want of care does us more damage than want of knowledge."— Ben Franklin

HOG ACTION: If you are looking for a competitive advantage, Treat people like you want to be treated and even better.

Control The Controllable. Acknowledge The Uncontrollable #74

2011-02-19T13:50:00.000-08:00

Even though he was born a slave about A.D. 55, the venerable philosopher and teacher Epictetus left guiding principles that can set us free to be our own hero. Epictetus taught that it is best to get to work on what we can control and let the uncontrollable go. We can believe him when he said, "Make the best use of what is in your power, and take the rest as it happens."

Over the years I have observed that for most people their life is a mix bag of success. Some of their actions have favorable results. Other actions have unfavorable outcomes. It makes you wonder if they ever thought to increase their chances of success they should do more of what is working and do less of what isn’t.

Given six activities and two of them are producing desired results and four are not. Doesn’t it make sense to drop the losing activities, and focus on the two that are producing results thus increasing your productivity?

Much of success is attributable to time spent working on projects that we have some control over. The more control we have, the better the chance of success. The less control we have the less chance of success. In today's competitive world failure is not an option. Therefore, people who strive for success, seek to control, organize and have power over the critical variables of any undertaking.

A lot of people are surprised to discover that by asking a few focused questions at the start of a project, they are better able to control the outcome. By knowing the elements they can control, the, avoid becoming a project victim. A victim can be described as an individual who allows the uncontrollable to dictate his or her actions. It is paradoxical but, the things that are uncontrollable are the very things that control the victim's life.

Often we can help ourselves be more productive and improve our chance of success by answering a few pointed questions about a project we want to undertake. Here are five questions that lead to increased chance of success:

Question 1. What activities do you have control over and what activities are uncontrollable? List each activity under its correct heading and then ask and answer questions two through five.

Question 2. For activities listed under "uncontrollable", ask why is it not controllable? Are there ways to adjust or change the activity to make it controllable?

Question 3. Is there an alternative controllable action that provides equal results? If so choose it.

Question 4. Can you enlist help to make the uncontrollable, controllable? Look at co-workers, friends, mentors, supervisors, teachers, and non-competitive organizations,

Question 5. Can you change or adjust your objective to eliminate or at least lessen the uncontrollables? I recall seeing a motivational poster featuring this enlightening
thought: "We can't change the wind but we can adjust the sails."

Once you have your final list of controllable and uncontrollable actions, you can move swiftly to engage in the project or to search for an alternative.

People are seldom able to control all the situations they find themselves in. The parameters and circumstances are seldom 100 percent favorable. In fact a 100 percent controllable environment is probably an illusion. Don't deceive yourself, good things don't happen because the planets are perfectly aligned. They happen because of a person's willingness to work toward accomplishing their goal in spite of obstacles and less than ideal resources.

In the end, you must focus and work on the things you control. Always look for ways of increasing your odds of success. Realize you must accept personal responsibility for the outcome. And you do not want to fail. A winner controls the outcome by controlling the activities needed to win.

Three Point Success Summation

HOG THOUGHT: To achieve success, we often must deal with uncontrollables in a way that makes them controllable. This means that you may have to adjust or change an activity, look for alternatives that provide equal results, enlist help to make the uncontrollable, controllable or adjust the objective to eliminate or lessen the influence of the uncontrollable. Before you bargain for help with an uncontrollable, always be able to accept what you are willing to exchange or give up to obtain control.

HOG QUOTE: “The reason most major goals are not achieved is that we spend our time doing second things first.” —Robert J. McKain

HOG ACTION: Determine what needs to be done and begin working on priority activities you control.

The Mentor In The Mirror. How To Be Your Own Hero. #73 011511

2011-01-15T08:57:00.000-08:00

What's happening on the outside is a reflection of what's within.

The key to saying something is to have something to say. Occasionally, after we have thought about what we previously said, we discover we have more to say.

Several times over the past few months I have read my article, The Mentor In The Mirror (posted September 3, 2010) and have concluded that I have more to say about this idea than I previously said. I also have an additional tag line: The Mentor In The Mirror. How To Be Your Own Hero.

Computers are great creative enhancers. Typewriters are not. Whiteout was ok for a typo, not for inserting new sentences or rearranging or introducing new paragraphs. If, after completing an article, I discovered I had more to say, I really had to be motivated to make the change or changes. With the computer, when the muse strikes, you simple cut, type and paste. Bingo! A new and expanded article. Thus, this expanded article.

This article is about working with a mentor who will encourage, guide, motivate and provide expertise to help you achieve what you truly define as personal success. The Mentor in the Mirror, How to be Your Own Hero is about achieving personal hero status.

Achieving success as defined by the world never leads to inner peace. The key to inner peace is to achieve personal success as defined by you. What matters most is what matters most to you. Achieving your goals is what this article is about.

During a life time, many people will look for a mentor and some will find a wise and trusted counselor in a business colleague, a coach, teacher, parent or friend. But for many others, they will not have the luxury of having a mentor, someone to guide, critique, and challenge them to excel.

To help achieve personal success you need a mentor and a mentoring program that is practical, cost-effective and prepares you for success? You are about to meet that mentor and discover the mentoring program that is tailored to you.

When you look into the mirror, you'll quickly recognize the mentor's face. But, the voice may not be familiar. People, over time, have silenced the voice inside by ignoring it day after day, month after month, year after year. That voice wants to speak, wants to be heard and desires to share the knowledge and information stored within.

Your mentor in the mirror will explore and evaluate your education, training, work history, interests, skills, and personality traits. This can help modify your perceptions and behaviors, enhance communication and understanding among peers, and help prevent career blunders.

The idea that the mentor in the mirror knows how to motivate is built on the observation that no one knows us like we know ourselves. Today look behind the stone face that is starring at you from the mirror and start chiseling away doubt, fear, and procrastination. You, like Michelangelo can free the angle to achieve greatness.

As the worthless chips fall away, you discover the keys to goal achievement are not in the mirror. They lie within each of us. The mentor knows that the higher our self-esteem, the more we will achieve. Self-esteem is really the value we put on ourselves. Therefore, you are priceless.

Many people will hero worship a popular sports figure, actor or actress, a politician, etc. But hero worship is not the same as being a hero. We can be our own hero seeking and following the success advice of your mentor in the mirror. Your mentor's purpose is to help you discover you own special calling and then assist you in identifying, accessing and utilizing your strengths and talents to achieve success and excellence, as defined by you.

In many lives, the mentor in the mirror lies dormant below the level of awareness. Instead of wielding a strong positive influence on our behavior the dormancy of the sleeping giant results in counterproductive behavior and wasted talent.

Wake up the giant. Tap the latent power. Your mentor wants to release the hero within.

The full benefit of participating in the Mentor in the Mirror self-improvement program is that everyone around you benefits—Improving yourself, improves those around you. You cannot become a winner without promoting the winning spirit in others. There is no solo success. Your achievement is a challenge for others to achieve.

When you win. Everyone wins. participate

Three Point Success Summation

SUCCESS THOUGHT: As you listen to the counsel of your mentor in the mirror listen for enjoyment, listen for information, listen for insight, and listen for application. German playwright and poet, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote, "Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do." As you collaborate with the mentor in the mirror, the mentor will stress execution. The mentor's goal is to motivate you to act!

SUCCESS QUOTE: "A mentor is someone who allows you to see the hope inside yourself." —Oprah Winfrey

SUCCESS ACTION: The key to personal success and being your own hero lies within. It is also within your reach. Reach inside and release the hero within.

Best of the Hawg Blawg for 2010 #71 122410

2010-12-24T12:09:00.000-08:00

This is my final entry of 2010. And as I have done in the past, I am listing the top five postings for the year. I believe these entries have relevance to everyday life as we pursue success and excellence.

In 2010, The Hawg Blawg© was viewed by people from 49 countries representing 84 international cities as well as 164 cities in 37 American states. These statics testify to the fact that people everywhere recognize that they must continually invest in themselves or be left behind. Personal success is a do-it-yourself project. Granted, we need the help of others but, if we aren't participating in the game we wont score.

Success, as defined by the individual, does not come easy. But the reward is worth the journey.

I invite you to take a quick voyage through the top five 2010 posting below. The top article is reprinted in its entirety. The other four articles are summarized using the Three Part Success Summary that accompanies each article. To read the complete article— or any of the other 69 postings, go to the date as listed with the title.

2010 TOP HAWG BLAWG POSTINGS

Number One Article, 2010
Sometimes The Story Is Not About You #62 032610

I think, given the option, most people would choose to be charismatic rather than dull. That's basically a no brainer. They would prefer to be charming as opposed to unexciting. But, you don’t have to look far to discover that not everyone is charming and appealing. I know people that were born with this seemingly magnetic gift. I know others who have acquired it through experience and practice. I know a few people who have no idea what I am writing about.

Charisma, according to Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, is "a special magnetic charm or appeal." Synonyms are magnetism, allure, and magic. It seems that when a charismatic person enters a room, the meeting or party starts; excitement and fun follow.

There is no magic script a person follows to become charismatic. Yet, in being charismatic, a person emits a magic spell. I have watched charisma open doors, gain interviews, sell products and services, negotiate more favorable deals, and acquire preferred seating positions in restaurants. Traffic tickets seem to avoid people with charisma.

Small children have it. Most adults don't. Few teenagers posses it. The people who have it—children, adults or teens—have it.

Years ago, during an "aha" moment, I had an idea to create a product that would have sales managers and motivational-hungry organizations beating a path to my door. To paraphrase the famous quote of Ralph Waldo Emerson, if you build a better mouse-trap the world will make a path to your door.

My idea took form in a 4-oz. aerosol can of magic, I named "Instant Charisma." It would be my path to riches. The world never made the path to my door. People liked the product and wanted a free sample. No one wanted to pay for it. While there was not a mass market for Instant Charisma, there was a market of one. That one "customer" illustrates an important life lesson.

Trying to help our shy teenage daughter to be more extroverted, my wife and I signed her up for a high school speech class. She wasn't happy with our choice. In one of the early classes she was required to do a sales presentation for a product of her choice. I suggested she take a can of Instant Charisma and demonstrate how it helps create a positive charismatic environment to help users build confidence, command attention, and attract success—In short be a winner!

Reluctantly she took a can to class. When it was her time to present, she walked to the front of the class and asked, " Are you looking for an edge? An advantage? In my hand is a magical 4-oz. can of Instant Charisma. Each can of this personal magic contains an extraordinary combination of goal achievement and winning attitude to help you create self-motivation and magnetic charm." She then sprayed the air above her head and challenged her audience to breathe in the magic and exhale excitement.

What happened next was magic. Following the presentation her classmates began clapping and cheering. They loved the concept and the passion of her presentation and showed it. That moment twenty-five years ago changed my daughter's life, for life.

The magic wasn't in the aerosol can. The magic was in the clapping that was evidence of the support, approval and encouragement of her audience. I would love to credit the change to Instant Charisma but, twenty-five years ago when our daughter exited her cocoon to fly it was instantly, but not due to Instant Charisma. It was her classmates authentication of her worth that transformed her into a beautiful butterfly.

Her mother and I noticed the change immediately. She began to walk faster, stand taller, smile more. Sometimes the story is not about you. It's about the other person. Your encouragement and support may help them stand straighter, walk taller, smile more and take flight.

Three Point Success Summation
SUCCESS THOUGHT: Sometimes the story is not about you. It's about the other person. In one minute you may have the opportunity to not only make someone's day better, but to enhance your own self-image. Are you making the most of your opportunities to recognize and validate the uniqueness in the people you encounter?. When was the last time you spoke words of encouragement?

SUCCESS QUOTE: "Charisma is a sparkle in people that money can't buy. It's an invisible energy with visible effects."— Marianne Williamson

SUCCESS ACTION: Today and every day tell someone you are proud of them and mean it.

Number Two Article, 2010
The Nearest Exit May Be Behind You #63 051610

Three Point Success Summary
SUCCESS THOUGHT: The past is often a drag on the future. Actions that produced success in the past, even when executed brilliantly, today frequently lead to failure. Blame it on change. The great advertising executive, Bruce Barton observed, " When you are through changing, you are through." Look at a caterpillar and look at a butterfly. the only connection is change. As someone has said, "If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies."

SUCCESS QUOTE: "When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves." —Victor Frankl

SUCCESS ACTION: You may want to adopt as a motto: "Don't look back, something might be gaining on you."

Number Three Article, 2010
A Short Pencil Is Better Than A Long Memory #59 021110

Three Point Success Summation
SUCCESS THOUGHT: While a person can help overcome the passive role of an attendee at a seminar or meeting by taking notes, the real power of retention is aided by action upon the notes one takes soon after taking the notes. Putting into practice what we learn is critical to our success.

SUCCESS QUOTE: “Set your goals to paper and you’re halfway there.” —Don Ward

SUCCESS ACTION: One idea or one piece of information can change your life. Write it down!

Number Four Article, 2010
There Never Was and Never Will Be A Free Lunch #65 80510

Three Point Success Summation
SUCCESS THOUGHT: As there is no free lunch, there is no free time. Successful people don't merely spend time. They invest it by using it wisely. People can't buy, borrow, spend or steal time. They can only barter time. Make sure in the exchange you get a good deal.

SUCCESS QUOTE: "Remember, you can earn more money, but when time is spent is gone forever." — Zig Ziglar

SUCCESS ACTION: Quickly turn a deft ear to the "beggar" who ask you, "Can you spare some time?"

Number Five Article, 2010
Triumph is Triumph. Victory is Victory. #64 61610

Three Point Success Summation
SUCCESS THOUGHT: Triumph and victory doesn't always go to the most deserving. But success and winning always go to the most serving. We should heed of the words of Victor Kiam, “You can only govern men by serving them. The rule is without exception.” Let each day be a day of renewal— a new learning experience. Never stop learning or serving.

SUCCESS QUOTE: "Success typically comes with work. But, too many people quit looking for work once they have found a job." — author unknown

SUCCESS ACTION: In whatever you are engaged, focus on the difference you can make.

Don't Fear Tomorrow. Be Feaful That You Will Miss Today #70

2010-12-04T05:14:00.000-08:00

Fear makes the wolf bigger than he is. —German Proverb

I believe that one of the greatest crimes committed by most people is their failure to live today because of their fear of tomorrow.

We are taught in school that all of us are born with a very limited number of instinctive fears—of falling, of loud noise, of the dark. Basically these are there to help us survive. What we aren’t taught is that there is another fear that has the power to stagnate our lives, our careers, our relationships, and our success. That fear is the fear of the future, more specifically the fear of tomorrow.

The reason we fear tomorrow is that tomorrow is unknown. We don’t understand what may happen and being human most people will think the worst. But this fear of tomorrow exist only in our mind. We have little or no evidence of what tomorrow may bring. Certainly we have no guarantee of tomorrow. The way you overcome fear of tomorrow is to become so involved in today that you forget to be afraid.

In truth, the only reality is the present and it will soon be the past just as what you thought was the future becomes the present. It doesn't matter whether you or rich or poor or in-between, you can only live in the moment and these moments are quickly recorded as past successes or past failures. You think about the future and that moment becomes the reality of the now.

Time is relevant. It is relevant to the present. You can’t change the past or relive it. Though there are some people who try to rewrite it. You can’t predict the future, but you can always find someone willing to play the role of a prophet for a fee or promise of notoriety.

Thomas Edison did not worry about the failures of yesterday, nor did he leave his success to the future. He daily applied himself to the task at hand. And after 10,000 failed attempts to develop the electric light bulb, his success came on the day the light bulb glowed. Today, the world would be poorer and different had Edison lived his life based on regret and hope. People have a brighter today because Edison lived in the present.

I think Rodin's sculpture, The Thinker is an excellent picture of someone who is deeply worried about the future and meanwhile stuck in the present. While we contemplate the future, the present is changing. What was tomorrow, is now today. The reality of life confirms Greek Philosopher Heraclitus' statement: "The only constant is change." Therefore, if you want to be a success don't worry about tomorrow, deal with today and before you know it, the dread of tomorrow becomes the opportunity of today.

When you are having a down day, you think of yesterday as being much better than it was. In your despondence you may envision an idyllic tomorrow, but in reality you only have today. You can squander today or you can invest in it. The choice of one precludes the choice of the other. The odds say you're going to have 24 hours, so make all 1,440 minutes count.

People need to prioritize their life like they prioritize their projects and then spend today working on their highest priorities. The reason most major goals are not achieved is that we spend our time reminiscing about the past or daydreaming of the future. Neither yesterday nor tomorrow produce results today. Only actions today produces the result we achieve today. Our priority should be to work on our top priority— today!

For the employer, the challenge is to find good, smart, work-in-the present people. People that when assigned a task get started on achieving the goal. These "now" people understand the mantra: If it is to be, it is up to me.

By far the most effective way to motivated these in-the-present people is with short term rewards that recognize that the job must be accomplished quickly and correctly. Finding the correct timing and reward for these get-it-done employees is a daunting leadership challenge. But that is what leadership is about.

Employment experts tell us that the key to hiring is to hire the best and brightest. I would add to that, hire people who work in the present. When hiring, ask the candidate about what he or she is currently doing to enhance their job skills. What projects they are currently working on. What do they expect to happen today. Look for people who are disappointed that there are only 24 hours in the day; not just for work but for living.

Successful people take control of their lives. Their actions are focused on achieving their goals. They spend each 24-hour cycle appreciating and being thankful that they are alive. They spend their present not longing for yesterday or dreading tomorrow. Successful people know the greatest present they have been given is the moment— the Present.

If I had to pick one thing that failures have in common, my choice is the fear of tomorrow, the dread of the unknown, the mysterious. Don't fear tomorrow; be fearful that you will miss today.

Three Point Success Summation

Success Thought: I find it interesting that many people faced with today's challenges choose to hide in yesterday's memories or tomorrows uncertainty. We must look for ways to be active in the present and forget the past and not waste time day fearing tomorrow. Will you take charge and get the job done today so when "tomorrow" becomes today you will be ready to seize success? Regret and Fear are obstacles to success. Action eliminates the regret of yesterday and the fear of tomorrow.

Success Quote: “If you’ve got one foot in yesterday and one foot in tomorrow, you’re missing today!” — Liza Minnelli

Success Action: Do something today that makes today worth living.

The Power of Positive Expectations #69

2010-10-26T17:09:00.000-07:00

While positive thinking and positive attitude are often paired with each other, neither automatically or necessarily lead to success. Failure can thrive when it is paired with either one; or, both.

The problem doesn't lie with the word "positive". The problem occurs when we deceive ourselves and believe that by focused thinking or having a positive attitude we can have whatever we desire. Positive thinking, "I know I can," and having a positive mental inclination toward a project or problem doesn't guarantee success.

While positive thinking and a positive attitude are more likely to be found in people who succeed, they take second and third place to the power of positive expectations. When we anticipate the occurrence of a positive outcome and expect positive things to happen, we will do all in our power to make them happen. Success is the result of a positive performance. Success is the results of doing the right things. Leonardo da Vinci left us with this great thought: "I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do it."

Longing for success is not the same thing as expecting success. It is our chief duty to execute the required actions steps and move toward our goal with each step until we achieve that goal.

I think that many people today live—if one can call it living— with fewer expectations than past generations. I constantly hear phrases like, "What is, is!" and, "Whatever will be, will be." lack of positive expectations can be summed up in the title to the hit song, Que Sera Sera
("What Ever Will, Be Will Be").

It wasn't long ago that parents held the idea that their children would be better off financially than they were. Optimism ruled. People envisioned a better day and even a better tomorrow.

Up to a few years ago people believed that even in economic turndowns the pendulum would swing; the rain would be replaced by the sunshine. Their positive attitude told them that when the circumstances where right, things would be better.

Circumstances are seldom right. You never have the capacities, the strength, the wisdom, the skills and talents you ought to have. You must always do with less than you need in a situation that is different from what you would have chosen for your special talents.

It is truly amazing the number of people that go to work each day with little or no expectation of succeeding. The reason people fail to achieve success is that they don't expect to be successful. For the unsuccessful, hopes, wishes and dreams have replaced expectation as the method to success. As someone has said, "Hope is not a method." To achieve and reach goals people must first expect success and second execute the action steps leading to success.

Having positive expectations means you have confidence in yourself and your fellow workers. You look forward to the challenges that face you. You are not presumptuous and you don't deal in probabilities. You execute with assurance and confidence expecting victory. Execution paired with expectations is the mental edge that results in victory.

Do you plan on carrying your dreams with you to the grave? Dreams that if turned into actionable ideas and executed would provide you with a better lifestyle, improve the status for family, friends, neighbors or even mankind. Why would anyone be so selfish that they would let their dream die for lack of expectation.

When we don't expect , we disrespect ourselves, our strengths, our abilities, and our purpose for being on planet earth. In essence we say, "I can't change things"," I have to go with the flow", "Whatever will be will be", "What is, is! If you subscribe to any of these false assumptions, let Amelia Earhart's advice challenge you: "Never interrupt someone doing what you said couldn't be done."

I offer one caution regarding the power of positive expectations. Don't expect overnight success or set unrealistic goals. To believe in the impossible (overnight success) only leads to frustration, stress and the inevitable failure. And failure, once achieved, can lead to additional failure as we confirm for ourselves, "we are failures." This is of itself flawed thinking, we may fail, but we are not a failure until we forgo our positive expectations and quit doing. Keep expecting success. Keep doing until you reach your goals.

You'll pardon me for cutting to the chase, but I believe the power of positive expectations is clear. When you have positive expectations you will engage in specific actions that transform your desires into reality.

My high school friends loved the song, Que Sera Sera. It won the 1956 Academy Award Song for Best Original Song. But don't adopt, Whatever Will Be, Will Be as your manta. Fate is not a synonym for positive expectation.

Three Point Success Summation

SUCCESS THOUGHT: Can you really say that you expect tomorrow to be better than today? When you go to bed tonight, do you sleep sound knowing that the morning will bring a fresh new day with exciting challenges and opportunities. Or, do you expect more of the same old stuff? Make the best use of positive thinking and have a positive attitude. More importantly, tap the power of positive expectations and you will perform in a manner consistent with your strengths, talents and desires.

SUCCESS QUOTE: "Good is not good, where better is expected." —Thomas Fuller

SUCCESS ACTION: Expect success and have a relentless bias toward action.

The Buck Stops With Me #68 092410

2010-09-24T17:22:00.000-07:00

Times can be defined by major societal and economic influences such as The Dark Ages, Age of Enlightenment, The Industrial Revolution, The Roaring Twenties, The Space Age, The Age of Technology and even The Age of Aquarius. I believe there is ample evidence that we are living in an age best defined as, The Age of Irresponsibility.

We live in a time were few people accept responsibility for their actions. Finger pointing is in vogue. Government is not responsible for the recession, companies are not responsible for oil spills and faulty products, service organizations are not liable for misusing the word “service”, religious organizations are not responsible for declines in membership, parents are not responsible for their children and children are not responsible for their parents. To accept blame is to accept responsibility which leads to accountability. Few people and fewer organizations acknowledge that the buck stops with them.

Those of us who love slogans know that a great slogan is a nugget of timeless truth. The irresistible truth is the time has come to resurrect a great slogan that dates back to former U.S. President, Harry S. Truman: “The Buck Stops Here."

It is time people accept personal responsibility and quit passing the buck. I believe success or failure can be measured by the degree of personal accountability. The more we hold ourselves accountable, the more success we experience; the less we hold ourselves accountable, the less success we have.

We know that in the dictionary "I" comes before "u". Therefore, I must first hold myself accountable for my own actions and the results I produce before I check to see what you are accountable for and the results you are achieving. Positive results occur when I focus on my accountability and allow you to take responsibility for your actions.

Being responsible involves both the body and mind since it is the body that that carries out actions conceived in the mind; thus, your actions follow thought. Positive thoughts produce positive actions that produces winners. Negative thoughts result in negative actions that create victims.

Risk avoiders are irresponsible negative thinkers and easily identified. Their number one activity is evading personal responsibility. Risk avoiders attempt to avoid failure at all cost. In doing so, they pass up success. Successful people are risk takers and take responsibility for their life. They choose to be positive and in charge of their destiny.

Each day we face many decisions. I have found that I make responsible decisions when I first consider the variables beyond my control and the things I do control. Over time, I have experienced that it is a waste of my time attempting to change what I can't change— what is, is! As for my accountability, my job is to take action on the things that are controllable.

I suggest we cease attributing our problems to, the competition, the government, the organization, the environment, the educational system, bosses or bad luck. Each of us must accept personal responsibility and work hard for our own improvement and success. The more we exercise responsibility the more success we will have.

Accepting personal responsibility and being accountable leads to: increased self-esteem, improved attitude, enhanced ability, opening the door to improvement, eliminates finger pointing.

• When you accept responsibility for the choices you make in life, you increase your self-esteem.
• When you accept responsibility for what you choose to feel and think, you improve your attitude. • When you accept responsibility for using your strengths, abilities, and talents, you enhance your ability to succeed.
• When you accept responsibility for your circumstances, you open the door to improvement.
• When you accept responsibility, you point the finger of responsibility back to yourself and away from others.

In the quest for victory, successful people understand they become responsible when they choose to be responsible. Responsibility is not delegated; it is taken. Not everyone can be in charge, but most can be more responsible than they are. The reason people blame things on others is there is only one other choice.

As the slogan states, "The buck stop here." So does this article.

Three Point Success Summation

HOG THOUGHT: People make a big mistake when they don't make themselves personally responsible for their position and standing in life. Where you are and what you achieve is directly tied to the degree you take responsibility for: your attitude, your actions, and your every thoughts. It would be a better world if each of us truly acknowledged that the buck stops with me.

HOG QUOTE: "Responsibility is the price of greatness." — Winston Churchill, former Prime Minister of England

HOG ACTION: Accept responsibility for the consequences of your actions. Be responsible, even at the cost of failure.

The Mentor In The Mirror #67

2010-09-03T09:42:00.000-07:00

It's nice to have a mentor to encourage and motivate you and provide expertise to help advance your career, solve problems, and achieve goals. In many different arenas people have benefited from being part of a mentoring relationship.

I have experienced that there are many people who desire a mentoring relationship but find it unavailable. While we do not always find a capable or willing person available to help us learn the "ropes" and build our self-esteem, everyone has access to a first class mentor. Someone who knows us best and has our best interest at heart. To find this outstanding mentor you only need to look in a mirror.

This amazing mentor in the mirror has the power to help you believe in yourself and boost your self-esteem. He or she will point out the steps for moving from apprentice to master starting with the fact that self-esteem is a indication or measurement of the relationship of self-mage and self-ideal; our current performance level and goal performance level.

For many people there is a gap between their self-image and their self-ideal. This variance creates a conflict— low self-esteem— that your mentor wants to help resolve. Your mentor in the mirror has one goal: help you improve your self-image thereby, bridging the gap.

Improving self-esteem involves these easy steps. Set aside some time to get acquainted with your self-ideal, the person you most want to be. Is this the person you really want to be; your alter ego? Is this your inner hero? If so good, if not, then you want to identify the person you would like to become.

Once you have your self-ideal clearly in focus, your next step is to determine your current relationship to that ideal. People who fail usually have a view that they aren't meeting their standards. This low self-esteem will prevent them from becoming the person they want to be. Remember, self-esteem is a personal approval rating or self evaluation. It is the relationship between self image and self-ideal. The closer you see yourself being your self-ideal the higher your self-esteem; the further away, the lower your self-esteem.

If you are only the shadow of your ideal, you may with discipline, dedication, and perseverance achieve the ideal and obtain maximum self-esteem. Work to move closer each day until you have bridged the gap.

Like all skilled mentors, the mentor in the mirror doesn't accept alibis. He or she will hold you accountable for results. The mentor knows that victims create alibis while winners don't make excuses. Victims may try but, winners do!

In the classic movie Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Obi-wan Kenobi begins to tutor Luke Skywalker in the ways of the force. This force is a natural power used by the Jedi Knights. The emphasis is on the good that comes from being positive and proactive. Unfortunately, too many people don't think positive thoughts and thereby fail to act. It is amazing the number of people that half-heartedly try to succeed when a Jedi knows that to progress from apprentice to master, there is no try, only do!

For many people their self-esteem problem is not that their self-ideal is set too high. The problem is that their self-image is not realistic. Unfortunately too many people have low self-esteem due to the negative way they look at themselves. It is easy to forget just how unique an individual is when we get caught up in judging ourselves based on what we perceive to be the outstanding traits of other people. I believe that we tend to overestimate the strengths of others while we underestimate our own strengths. Too often we compare the strengths of others to our own weaknesses thus erroneously comparing apples to oranges.

It is our strengths that define and make us who we are. Our weakness keep us humble. Time spent on improving and amplifying our strengths pays off in increased self-image. Time devoted to improving our weaknesses only reinforces our low self-esteem.

You can have confidence in the mentor who says, "Have fun and celebrate." Long-term self-esteem success is the result of the small victories we accumulate ever day. Have fun as you move toward victory. Celebration when justified unleashes more motivation for additional success and increased self-esteem.

Starting today listen to the voice of the mentor in the mirror. He or she is trying to get you to believe in yourself so that you feel good about yourself. The solutions to your self-esteem problem is not in the mirror. They lie within each of us. The mentor knows that the higher our self-esteem, the more we will achieve. I believe that self-esteem is really the value we put on ourselves. If so, you are priceless.

Three Point Success Summation

Hog Thought: The idea that the mentor in the mirror knows how to motivate (inspire) is built on the observation that no one knows us like we know ourselves. Look behind the stone face that is starring at you and start chiseling. Chisel away doubt, fear, procrastination, You, like Michelangelo, can set the angel free to achieve greatness.

Hog Quote: “A human being always acts and feels and performs in accordance with what he imagines to be true about himself and his environment.”— Dr. Maxwell Maltz, Psycho-Cybernetics

Hog Action: Have high aspirations. Your performance is a reflection of the mentor in the mirror.

Decision Making Is More Than Deciding Where to Eat #66

2010-08-21T14:17:00.000-07:00

I grew up in a home where we had three square meals a day. My mother was a great cook and she did not favor one meal over another. Each day began with a hearty breakfast , eggs, grist, bacon or sausage and biscuits. Lunch was a complete meal with meat, bread, potatoes or rice and a green vegetable or two. Dinner— we called it supper— was another full course meal plus dessert. It wasn't until I went away to college and ate with some of my married friends that I discovered not everyone ate like my family. Granted, I still don't believe a salad, a few crackers and a glass of tea is a fitting description of lunch or dinner or supper.

When I travel I look for good places to eat. A Cracker Barrel restaurant is a good place to eat, breakfast, lunch or dinner, any day of the week. I have eaten at 118 individual Cracker Barrels. The food is excellent. The dining experience predictable. The geographical location doesn't matter. The country ham in Ocala, Florida and the country ham served in Lebanon, Tennessee is the same great way to begin the day. When I travel and it gets to be meal time, the decision where to eat is easier than what to eat.

Some decisions are easy and obvious. Or, are they? It's easy to make spur of the moment decisions without giving thought to the consequences. But, think about it. When we say, "yes", we preclude any action that results from saying, "no." By saying, "I will," I eliminate the opportunity to be not involved.

For most people the decision to have or not have a cup of coffee in the morning is obvious; a no brainer. I know people that are not "awake" until they have their first cup of coffee. Other acquaintances prefer a cola, hot chocolate or tea. To report for work each day is also basically an easy call as is going home at quitting time.

We can improve our decision making process and our chances for success by concentrating on the choices we have to select from. Sometimes we have more choices than we think. Some choices may not be obvious. To improve your decision making ability you want to:
1. Get all the facts surrounding the problem or opportunity
2. Seek counsel from knowledgeable and trusted sources
3. Weigh short and long-term implications
4. Recognize the effect of the decision on others, if any
5. Know the cost and evaluate if you are prepared to pay the price of your decision.

We waste more time and energy worrying about the outcomes of decisions than do all of the other creatures of the earth. Like creative thinking, decision making is reserved for homo sapiens. Other creatures just live. I suppose we could really live and live longer if we quit worrying about the outcomes of our decisions and spent more time making and executing better choices. When confronting a decision, keep in mind that the word "decision" is only a noun. Its verb form is "decide." Your actions settle the issue.

I find the four steps of success, credited to H. L. Hunt, to be helpful in making wise choices:
1. Decide what you want
2. Decide what you are willing to exchange for it
3. Establish your priorities
4. Go to work

Ralph Waldo Emerson would agree that step number one is the most important and most difficult for most people. But as Emerson wrote, "Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen." While waiting for the help from the universe, you will find the help comes quicker when you are busy working on your plan.

It doesn't matter where you are in the game of life, young, middle age or senior citizen, you must make choices every day. To not make a choice is in itself a choice and indicates a lack of personal responsibility. Like it or not, we are accountable for our decisions.

Three Point Success Summation

Hog Thought: Someone has written, "When one bases his life on principle, 99 percent of his decisions are already made." We know that our core values or governing principles drive our actions therefore, people should invest time in analyzing their basic values. If you find yourself making poor decisions, you may want to examine your basic values. If you don't like what you find, it is never too late to replace ineffective values with new values and guiding principles that are valuable to you. It is only old dogs that can't learn new tricks.

Hog Quote: "It's not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are." — Roy Disney

Hog Action: Decide wisely. The decisions you make not only impact your future, but the future of others.

There Never Was and Never Will Be A Free Lunch #65

2010-08-06T16:18:00.000-07:00

I don't know whether it's just me, but I find these eight words from an unknown source worth a page of wisdom: “A free lunch is only found in mousetraps.”

Recently, during my lunch hour, I was standing by the food counter in a local cafeteria. I notice a young father at the same counter. He had three small children in tow and was asking them what they wanted to eat. The youngest child, probably four or five years old and so short in height that she couldn't see into the food display, asked, "Do we get something free?" "No", he said." I have already paid for it."

Yes, Virginia there is a Santa Clause. But unfortunately, there is no such thing as a free lunch.

Hope as we may, we cannot get "something for nothing". As people have discovered, even though something appears as "free", there is always a cost. There is never something for nothing. In order to get, we have to give. This is an observation that many people miss.

Sometimes we give money; sometimes we give our talent, sometimes we exchange knowledge. In all cases, we must give time to get the "something we desire."

I hear people say, "I would like to have time to do that." Or, "I wish I had time to get an education or an advance degree, read a book, travel, exercise, take up a hobby, etc ." Each time I hear that longing, I am reminded that we all have the same amount of time—60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour and 24 hours in a day.

A person's race, education, age, nationality, or economic position can't extend, bend, buy, barter, or create time. Time is time. How we prioritize time is the differentiator. People can generally make time to do what they want to do; it is not really the time but the prioritization that is important. But, because time is inelastic, we may not have the time to do all we want to do.

Author and salesman extraordinary, Harvey Mackay said, "Time is free, but it's priceless. You can't own it, but you can use it. You can't keep it, but you can spend it. Once you've lost it, you can never get it back."

The appropriate utilization of time is superior to the conservation of time. In fact, the case is made that there is no such activity as conserving time. People can conserve water for later use, but the minute that just went by can't be captured and saved for future use. Water stored behind a dam is potential power. Minutes are always kinetic in nature, they are powerful in the moment, not at some future time. A minute of time has no future nor a past, only a present. Minutes are not found but often lost. An old Proverb states, "Lost time is never found again."

There is no conservation of time; only utilization of time. If you plan on being a success, expect to spend time on activities that lead to goal achievement. "It is not enough to be busy," wrote Henry David Thoreau, "so are the ants. The question is, what are you busy about?

HOG THOUGHT: As there is no free lunch, there is no free time. Successful people don't merely spend time. They invest it by using it wisely. People can't buy, borrow, spend or steal time. They can only barter time. Make sure in the exchange you get a good deal.

HOG QUOTE: "Remember, you can earn more money, but when time is spent is gone forever." — Zig Ziglar

HOG ACTION: Quickly turn a deft ear to the "beggar" who ask you, "Can you spare some time?"

Triumph Is Triumph. Victory Is Victory #64

2010-06-16T18:18:00.000-07:00

The cap is where you place it. Achievement is one of those things that starts and ends with you. You determine how far you go in life. You set the bar. You decide how you will run and if you'll finish strong. We don't measure triumph and victory by the size of job. Triumph is triumph. Victory is victory.

Success, or the lack of it, is the result of the individual’s attitude—positive or negative. If you want to be a winner don't offer excuses and don’t blame others. Mistakes are made; miscalculations result in errors and losses; unforeseen forces thwart the best efforts. But, you are the quarterback of your life. You call the signals and you must execute the play. Sometimes things don’t go your way and it is easy to pass the buck. But, as former American President, Harry S. Truman was oft to say, “The buck stops here.”

There is a wonderful old Scandinavian saying, “The north wind made the Vikings.” I believe it is the struggle that produces achievers. At some point in their life, achievers discover a great insight about success: It’s not in the achievement that we win. It is in the struggle that we achieve. And like countless thousands before us, we most hold on until we achieve.

I have experienced achievers know living their life as usual is not an option. All around us are reminders of organizations and people who are living in the past and on games that were won or lost months or even years ago. Historical wins or loses are just that, history.

Achievers take responsibility for failures. In doing so, they learn from their mistakes and missteps. Failure doesn't have to fatal. Out of the ashes of defeat can come renewal and new opportunity.

Experience proves that people can learn more from failure than success if they analyze the failure, find what went wrong, and take appropriate corrective action. From ancient times this rebirth or renewal after misfortune has been liken to the rise of the Phoenix, the mythological bird that is destroyed by fire only to arise to live again

Motivation is when you take the second, third and fourth steps. While "marching in place" is an Army thing, it isn't moving you toward your goal. Merely having a goal is not in itself motivating. To accomplish your goal, you have to maintain momentum and initiative— you must execute. People often forget that success is measured by achieving goals, not measuring the action steps. Though, it is the action steps that move us closer and closer to our goal.

It is good to guard against premature celebration. Many runners have failed to win their race because they began to "coast" with the finish line in sight. My high school track coach used to say, "Run through the tape." He meant slow down only after you have crossed the finish line.

I witness too many people who are only intent on winning. The real test of intent is whether it produces action. Hope is only intent; not an actionable step. The intent of successful people is to achieve their goals. What action(s) are you taking today to ensure you achieve your goals?

Today, start your journey to success. From this day forward, refuse to waste an ounce of energy or a moment of time on anything that doesn't move you toward your goal. St. Vincent Pallotti's provided excellent counsel when he said, "Let there be few words and many deeds, and may they be done well."

Success with happiness is the result of hard work, not luck. Luck favors the persistent. On occasion, a person achieves success without hard work. In this accidental success, people usually fail to find happiness. The achievement is hollow and lacks authenticity. Anything easily achieved is temporal and provides little lasting satisfaction. Therefore, set the bar high and invest your time, energy, and capabilities in the activities that lead to goal achievement.

HOG THOUGHT: Triumph and victory doesn't always go to the most deserving. But success and winning always go to the most serving. We should heed of the words of Victor Kiam, “You can only govern men by serving them. The rule is without exception.” Let each day be a day of renewal—a new learning experience. Never stop learning or serving.

HOG QUOTE: "Success typically comes with work. But, too many people quit looking for work once they have found a job." — author unknown

HOG ACTION: In whatever you are engaged, focus on the difference you can make.

The Nearest Exit May Be Behind You #63 051610

2010-05-16T15:29:00.000-07:00

For most people, it's only natural to look ahead and not behind. You can't successfully drive a car or peddle a bicycle or for that matter, walk safely if you are always looking back. Though it may help to sneak a backwards look once in a while to insure your safety. But, when it comes to achievement, the past is just that, the past. Former great pro baseball pitcher and Hall of Famer, Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige said, "Don't look back— something might be gaining on you." That something may be your competitor.

On a recent flight out of Tampa, Florida, I actually listened—a good idea— to the flight attendant's mandatory preflight safety announcements that addressed the issues of seat belts, oxygen masks, no smoking, float devices, service trays, etc. When she spoke of exiting the plane, should an emergency occur, she emphasized the importance of knowing the location of the nearest exit. I think it is natural to look up the aisle ahead searching for the closest exit sign. But, as the attendant quickly reminded us, the nearest exit may be behind us, even in the next row back.

A quick look back can help in times when a person must face the fact that he or she is not the success they had planned to be. Those are the times with the scoreboard shows you're not winning. You aren't making the money you want to make, you aren't on the step of the career ladder you planned on being, you worry too much, your health isn't up to standard, personal relationships are sidetracked. You may even doubt yourself.

Recognizing these shortcomings is the first step in getting back on track. Look back and make certain the goals you set for yourself in the past are in fact realistic goals for you and are they goals that you want in the first place? There are times when we set unreasonable goals. Most people aren't going to be the president IBM three years after starting in the mail room. Sometimes we have allowed parents or other authoritative figures determine our goals. If the goal is in your head and not your heart, you will always struggle. Let the past reveal the reasons for your decisions for your present pursuits. Once you are comfortable that you have the goals founded upon your strengths, values and interests, then quit looking back.

While what's behind—the past—is important, it is also important to look around—the present. Both the past and the present are often harbingers of the future. While we can't relive history, we are the offspring of history. A sensitive appraisal of today viewed in the light of the past can help eliminate repeating the mistakes of history. With the future just ahead, don't get caught looking back.

Football has a name for the talented player that can run, pass and kick. He is called a "Triple Threat". Success has a name for the triple threat person who makes important decisions based on information from the past blended with experience from the present, and an educated guess of the future. He or She is tabbed a "Winner."

Three Point Success Summary

HOG THOUGHT: The past is often a drag on the future. Actions that produced success in the past, even when executed brilliantly, today frequently lead to failure. Blame it on change. The great advertising executive, Bruce Barton observed, " When you are through changing, you are through." Look at a caterpillar and look at a butterfly. the only connection is change. As someone has said, "If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies."

HOG QUOTE: "When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves." —Victor Frankl

HOG ACTION: You may want to adopt as a motto: "Don't look back, something might be gaining on you."

Sometimes The Story Is Not About You #62

2010-03-26T17:37:00.000-07:00

I think, given the option, most people would choose to be charismatic rather than dull. That's basically a no brainer. They would prefer to be charming as opposed to unexciting. But, you don’t have to look far to discover that not everyone is charming and appealing. I know people that were born with this seemingly magnetic gift. I know others who have acquired it through experience and practice. I know a few people who have no idea what I am writing about.

Charisma, according to Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, is "a special magnetic charm or appeal." Synonyms are magnetism, allure, and magic. It seems that when a charismatic person enters a room, the meeting or party starts; excitement and fun follow.

There is no magic script a person follows to become charismatic. Yet, in being charismatic, a person emits a magic spell. I have watched charisma open doors, gain interviews, sell products and services, negotiate more favorable deals, and acquire preferred seating positions in restaurants. Traffic tickets seem to avoid people with charisma.

Small children have it. Most adults don't. Few teenagers posses it. The people who have it—children, adults or teens—have it.

Years ago, during an aha moment, I had an idea to create a product that would have sales managers and motivational-hungry organizations beating a path to my door. To paraphrase the famous quote of Ralph Waldo Emerson, if you build a better mouse-trap the world will make a path to your door.

My idea took form in a 4-oz. aerosol can of magic, I named "Instant Charisma." It would be my path to riches. The world never made the path to my door. People liked the product and wanted a free sample. No one wanted to pay for it. While there was not a mass market for Instant Charisma, there was a market of one. That one "customer" illustrates an important life lesson.

Trying to help our shy teenage daughter to be more extroverted, my wife and I signed her up for a high school speech class. She wasn't happy with our choice. In one of the early classes she was required to do a sales presentation for a product of her choice. I suggested she take a can of Instant Charisma and demonstrate how it helps create a positive charismatic environment to help users build confidence, command attention, and attract success—In short be a winner!

Reluctantly she took a can to class. When it was her time to present, she walked to the front of the class and asked, " Are you looking for an edge? An advantage? In my hand is a magical 4-oz. can of Instant Charisma. Each can of this personal magic contains an extraordinary combination of goal achievement and winning attitude to help you create self-motivation and magnetic charm." She then sprayed the air above her head and challenged her audience to breathe in the magic and exhale excitement.

What happened next was magic. Following the presentation her classmates began clapping and cheering. They loved the concept and the passion of her presentation and showed it. That moment twenty-five years ago changed my daughter's life, for life.

The magic wasn't in the aerosol can. The magic was in the clapping that was evidence of the support, approval and encouragement of her audience. I would love to credit the change to Instant Charisma but, twenty-five years ago when our daughter exited her cocoon to fly it was instantly, but not due to Instant Charisma. It was her classmates authentication of her worth that transformed her into a beautiful butterfly.

Her mother and I noticed the change immediately. She began to walk faster, stand taller, smile more. Sometimes the story is not about you. It's about the other person. Your encouragement and support may help them stand straighter, walk taller, smile more and take flight.

Three Point Success Summation

HOG THOUGHT: Sometimes the story is not about you. It's about the other person. In one minute you may have the opportunity to not only make someone's day better, but to enhance your own self-image. Are you making the most of your opportunities to recognize and validate the uniqueness in the people you encounter? When was the last time you spoke words of encouragement?

HOG QUOTE: "Charisma is a sparkle in people that money can't buy. It's an invisible energy with visible effects."— Marianne Williamson

HOG ACTION: Today and every day tell someone you are proud of them and mean it.

Be Your Own Hero #61 031010

2010-03-10T18:18:00.000-08:00

There were a lot of things I liked doing as a kid growing up in Central Florida. One of my favorite activities was reading and trading comic books. A comic book cost a dime and delivered a million dollars of high adventure and escapism.

All the kids read and traded comics. Some comic books were more valuable than others and when you traded them, you would give two or three less popular comics for a single Lone Ranger, Batman or Superman book. These heroes had extra value, even if was only in our minds.

These hero books have come a long way. I recently read that a copy of the first comic book featuring Superman, a 1938 edition of Action comics No. 1, sold for $1-million at auction. Wish I had known about economics back then. Invest a dime and seventy-two years later sell your investment for a million dollars. Heck, why not invest in two copies?

A lot of kids dreamed of being able to move faster than a speeding bullet, being more powerful than a locomotive and having the ability to leap tall buildings in a single bound. In reality I know no one with those capabilities other than Superman.

People attach the term hero to sports figures, movie stars, political leaders, and yes, comic book characters. They think of these people as having divine strength, talent and the ability to defy the law of gravity, remain ageless, or be bullet proof.

Unfortunately, most of us have never looked at ourselves as a hero. We often view our abilities, talents and strengths as flaws, failings and weaknesses. Instead of always wishing we were someone else, we should realize that it is ok to be me.

I have observed that some people over estimate their ability and self importance. But it has been my experience that more people have the tendency to sell themselves short. The people I meet day in and day out don't consider themselves heroes. But anyone, in any role, who consistently performs at their best is a hero. True, they are not legendary figures with great strength or god-like ability. Real heroes deliver on time, on budget, and on target.

In their best-selling book, Now discover Your Strengths, Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton tell how great managers do no not help people fix their weaknesses. "Instead they capitalize on them. They try to help each person become more and more of who he already is."

The only way to be a hero is to become more and more of what you are. The only barrier to being a hero is your failure to perform at your best. Good enough isn't good enough, because the competition is performing at a good enough level. The only way to be a hero is to refuse to be classified as a good performer.

It isn't always possible to get agreement on just who is a hero but there are a number of situations that can develop where a person stops or ceases to be a hero.

• When you stop learning, you stop being a hero.
• When you stop caring, you stop being a hero.
• When you cease to be enthusiastic, you stop being a hero.
• When you stop setting authentic goals, you stop being a hero.
• When you stop short of the goal, you stop being a hero.
• When you cease being a team player, you stop being a hero.
• When you stop innovating, you stop being a hero.
• When you stop being a cheerleader, supporter, and encourager, you stop being a hero.
• When you stop living our core values, you stop being a hero.
• When you cease to have integrity, you stop being a hero.
• When you stop thinking, you stop being a hero.
• When you stop accepting corrective criticism, you stop being a hero.
• When you stop raising the bar, you stop being a hero.
• When you no longer delight your customer, you stop being a hero.
• When you stop being true to your principles, you stop being a hero.
• When you stop being productive, you stop being a hero.
• When you no longer have a positive attitude, you stop being a hero.
• When you stop adding value, you stop being a hero.
• When you stop believing you are in business for yourself, you stop being a hero.
• When you stop holding yourself accountable for outcomes, you stop being a hero.
• When you stop taking responsibility for our career, you stop being a hero.
• When you stop pursuing excellence, you stop being a hero.
• When you stop being the master of your time, you stop being a hero.
• When you stop taking care of your health, you stop being a hero.
• When you stop being an aggressive listener, you stop being a hero.
•When you stop acting and began reacting, you stop being a hero.
• When you lose your sense of humor, you stop being a hero.
• When you don't follow up, you stop being a hero.
• When you can't say, "I was wrong", you stop being a hero.
• When you stop leading by example, you stop being a hero.
• When you stop being the master of your time, you stop being a hero.
• When you stop believing in yourself, you are no longer a hero.

Ignore the call to goodness and embrace Heroism. If you get used to being a hero, you'll continue to be faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Heroes— like you— have powers and abilities for beyond those of mortal competitors.

A fictional hero is worth a million dollars. As your own hero, what are you worth?

Three Point Success Summation

HOG THOUGHT: It takes people with all kinds of skill, talents and abilities to build a successful organization. The transformation happens when each member of the team contributes their best to the team. This way, the organization is comprised of a team of heroes. The spotlight may not be on you, but it will be on the team. Enjoy the illumination you help create.

HOG QUOTE: "The ordinary man is involved in action, the hero acts. An immense difference." —Henry Miller, Author

HOG ACTION: Look in a mirror. Do you see a hero? If you want to be a hero, you have to think and act like a hero.

The Power of Values #60

2010-02-20T11:09:00.000-08:00

There are a lot of people that make excuses for their actions. Very few of us want to admit we made a mistake or did wrong. We all participate in the blame game. But, denial doesn't erase responsibility. Men and women are accountable for their behavior because they are more accountable for their values than for anything else. And, values are the driving force behind actions.

The Dictionary defines values as, “Something that we esteem or prize; something of value.” A value is a belief, principle, or guide that is really significant to a person. It is something that you value. “What we obtain too cheap,” wrote Thomas Paine, “we esteem too lightly; it is dearness only that gives everything its value.” Values establish the ground rules and boundaries of acceptable and desirable behavior.

Personal values can include the belief in: orderliness, commitment, creativity, personal development, optimism, generosity, integrity, competitiveness, spirituality, professionalism, teamwork, patriotism, accountability, courage, and traditionalism among other things.

Why Are Values Important?
Values lead people to do what they do, and what they do, leads them to the results they get. Simply put, values are revealed in behavior. “What’s going on in the inside,” Earl Nightingale pointed out, “shows on the outside.”

Most behavior is consistent with core or governing values. For example, the majority of overweight people know the actions to take in order to lose excess weight and get themselves into “shape.” Eating right and participating regularly in a good exercise program are key actions that help shed extra pounds, firm up muscles, and improve the cardiovascular system. People that value their health will eat properly and engage in a proper exercise program. People that only want to have good health, but don’t value good health will tend to overeat and forego athletic-type activities.

You may think, “I don’t have time to exercise, or enhance my computer skills, or go back to school for more education.” But this is not true. What you are really saying is you value other activities more than any of these activities. We spend time doing what we value.

Values have become a rallying cry of the times. Politicians we approve of have “good” values; politicians we don’t agree with have “bad” values. Our country stands for good values while countries or ideologies who oppose us have bad values.

How we choose to live—our choice of possessions and profession, our passions and how we related to others—is determined by our set of values. This behavioral coding constantly broadcasts the message: “This is what I value as a person.” Someone has said, “Values suggest the ringing words in the Declaration of Independence, ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident.’”

Every person has values. The key is not that we have values, but what values we have.

How Do We Acquire Our Values?
By the time a person becomes a teenager, he or she has a well-defined value system. This system has been influenced and defined by four major influences:
1. Experience. The conscious events that make up an individual’s life.
2. Entourage. Ones’ parents, teachers and peers.
3. Education. The knowledge and development resulting from an educational process.
4. Environment. Background, past and present surroundings.

These four influences also act as value protectors or filters with regards to future sensory data you incur. Sensory data attempting to influence your value system faces two challenges: First, you filter or color sensor data that does not fit your value system, thus restricting the flow of information. Second, sensory data that does fit your value system not only quickly passes through the filters, but is enhanced as it comes through thus creating and illusion of even greater support for a value.

Because the four major influencers (the 4-E’s) mold our values we need to:
• Learn from the right experiences
• Associate with the right people
• Be open to the right educational opportunities
• Be in the right environment

I don't claim to be an authority on values but, I regularly witness that when people look to associate, they often look for people with the following three values. You may want to verify that you posses these values or determine to acquire them.

1. Integrity. Integrity is when there is congruency with values and actions. But, when a person’s actions are at odds with stated values, they are engaging in hypocrisy. Because actions are a derivative of values, ones actions reveal their true values.

2. Determination. Staying the course and getting things done. Being determined means you set a deadline for achieving your goals and stick to your plan until you have achieved it. The challenge to achieve must be accompanied by the determination to achieve. Napoleon said, "The truest wisdom, in general, is a resolute determination."

3. Enthusiasm. The new secret to success is the old secret to success. The ancient Greeks called it enthousiasmos: enthusiasm. Success isn't about good enough, because many people are good enough. People want to associate with people with passion—personal passion, passion for their company, their products, their services and their team. Because this value is catching, let others catch your passion.

Individuals can make a marked improvement in their lives by either committing to the values they already believe in or in adopting new ones. Therefore, evaluate the current values in your life that you want to reinforce, or discover new values that you want to adopt.

Three Point Success Summation

HOG THOUGHT: Our behavior is a direct reflection of our values. Decision-making is simplified when you are guided by your core values. Someone has written, “When one bases his life on principle, 99 percent of his decisions are already made.”

HOG QUOTE: “In matters of principle, stand like a rock, in matters of taste, swim with the current.” — Thomas Jefferson

HOG ACTION: Be a person of great values. Great accomplishments come from great values.

A Short Pencil Is Better Than A Long Memory #59

2010-02-11T16:21:00.000-08:00

I know a lot of money is invested in learning seminars and training sessions whether they be short motivational sessions or multi-day conferences. Organizations and individuals invest heavily in meetings seminars. The payout or return on investment—in money or time—is not as apparent.

Numerous studies have been conducted on the retention levels of people who attend meetings, seminars, training sessions, discussion groups and the like. While there is disagreement on the exact retention percentage— how much knowledge is retained and put to work on the job—it seems evident that after a short period of time, four to five days, the average person has forgotten a large amount of the information they were introduced to. As a result, organizations are nowhere near performing optimally. This low level of knowledge retention has a direct impact on revenue and earnings.

Information presented in seminars, lectures, and conferences often contains the ideas and strategies that lead to achievement. Yet, people who attend these meetings frequently do not realize the power of the pen and note taking. I find that if I don't take notes, I am not as attentive and focused as I could be.

An article by Ellen Gibson, How A Doodle Serves Your Noodle, in April 6, 2009
Business Week refers to a study published in Applied Cognitive Psychology by Jackie Andrade at Britain’s University Of Plymouth in which she played a rambling voice-mail message to 40 people, half of whom were given shapes to fill in as they listened. The results: The doodlers recalled 29% more of the message than those who just listened. Andrade says idle scribbling uses just enough cognitive bandwidth to prevent daydreaming, so it may help us to stay focused.”

Benefit of Note Taking
1. Putting notes down on paper gets them out of your head and into concrete form. Write down what you want to remember. Ideas are fleeting things. Write them down and later when you review them, they may lead to even more ideas.
2. You collect the information in real time and are able to process it later. It is easier to reread than to remember.
3. Taking notes forces you to read and listen carefully. Note taking also helps avoid lapse of memory later on.
4. When you are reviewing, notes aid in recall. People quickly forget especially if the information is not acted upon immediately. The power of notes is they are a wonderful discipline of action. Notes help recall the important things that you may want to use
5. Reducing ideas and facts to concise notes increases understanding and retention. Often notes help put the pieces together. I find that what I think I remember is often at odds with facts.

I have found that I can increase my retention level significantly through the use of a non-technical recording device—a pen or pencil. Note taking is a sure way to improve retention levels. As someone has said, "A short pen is better than a long memory."

A person who takes notes is forced to listen more attentively to what is being said or discussed.. Note taking produces something that can be seen and read at a later time. And, in the process of taking notes, the writer is participating in the learning process.

A good rule is to write thoughts down when you hear them or when a idea comes to you. Do not depend on your memory. Write down pertinent information, but don't overwrite. Use short sentences, fragments of sentences, phrases and key words. Focus on salient points. A pen is an aid in memory retention and will help you capture points and facts you may overlook.

Sometimes, a comment you hear can help you with a future task.. A few weeks ago my wife and I were eating in a local restaurant and I complimented our waitress for her great service and remarked how it looked like she was the only employee in the restaurant who cared to be there. Her statement, “While you’re here, I am here.” and, “I’m the only one working”, was so astute that I immediately took out my pen and wrote it down on my napkin. See, that note found its way into this blog.

There is no excuse for forgetting important information. Good ideas are often fleeting. and solutions to problems can quickly slip away. To capture them, write them down. Then, use the information. Thomas A. Edison said, "Achievement is 2 per cent inspiration and 98 percent perspiration." What is achievement? Achievement is utilizing the information you have written down.

HOG THOUGHT: While a person can help overcome the passive role of an attendee at a seminar or meeting by taking notes, the real power of retention is aided by action upon the notes one takes soon after taking the notes. Putting into practice what we learn is critical to our success.

HOG QUOTE: “Set your goals to paper and you’re halfway there.” —Don Ward

HOG ACTION: One idea or one piece of information can change your life. Write it down!

Forget Motivation. Just Do It! #58

2010-01-23T06:24:00.000-08:00

Note. This is an update and rewrite of a former shorter posting titled, "Hogzilla Grunt Tip #8, posted March 15, 2008.

Among your resolutions, (New Year's or otherwise), you should make a commitment to be the best salesperson, store clerk, accountant, business owner, nurse, pilot or student you can be. You need not be the best person in your occupation or even your organization; just be the best you can be.

Success is not a measurement of how well you perform compared to someone else's performance. True success is the measurement of how well you perform with the talent and abilities you possess. If at the end of the day you have given it your best and you are riding on "empty", you have done your job.

Some years ago, while reading a business magazine, I saw the following short story. I think it describes how we should look at life if we want to be successful and contented.

"Every day in Africa a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows that it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn't matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle. When the sun comes up, you'd better be running." —anon

I believe there is little that you cannot accomplish as a person if, in addition to fully utilizing your strengths, you manage and effectively make use of your time. To fully utilize this precious and limited commodity, you will need to be running when the sun comes up. U.S. Army Gen. George Patton was quoted as saying, "If you are on time, you're already too late."

Many people lived stressed lives as a result of what they perceive as a the shortage of time. They have too many projects and too little time. But clocks and calendars are not partial. Everyone has the same 24 hours and 30 days a month. Or, do they?

Here is a way to add time to your life. Simple math shows how you benefit from having an extra month each year. Why not have a 13 month calendar instead of the traditional 12? Here's how. Simply get up one hour earlier each day during the work week to plan and prioritize your day. That will give you 5 hours per week, or 250 hours per year (based on a 50 week work year) . Divide those 250 hours by 8 and you get 31 days—a free month!

One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to believe you don't have enough time to be successful. Make a commitment to being the best you can be and fulfill that commitment for 13 months this year. The extra month is yours. What will you do with it?

HOG THOUGHT: Like the lion and gazelle, it doesn't matter whether you are a rookie or a vet. with one extra hour each day you will be up and running before the competition awakes.

HOG QUOTE: “One can never be content to creep when one feels an impulse to soar.” — Helen Keller

HOG ACTION: Start the day tomorrow and every work day going forward by getting up one hour earlier than normal. Use this time to plan, prioritize and commit to actions for the day that bring you closer to your goal.

They Just Aren’t Here Anymore #57

2010-01-09T18:05:00.000-08:00

When I allow myself to reminiscence, I often get melancholy. It is easy to get sad when you think about the good things that just aren’t here anymore.

I went to the local mall last week looking for a computer company that sold out of a kiosk on the main aisle. After walking to the end of the mall and returning and not seeing their kiosk, I asked at the information booth if they had relocated. “No,” the information specialist said, “they aren’t here any more.”

From there I went inside one of the retail stores; once the giant of retailing, I wanted to look at their electric shavers. Sadly, after five minutes of looking for a sales consultant, I realized, clerks just aren’t there anymore. So, I left without making a purchase.

Elvis has left the building.

Electronic stores no longer stock cassette players; any clerks under thirty-five years of age has no idea of what you are referring to when you tell them you have hundreds of old cassettes and want to be able to listen to them. Their quizzical look asks, “Why would any one want to listen to Earl Nightingale, Zig Ziegler, Sergeant Preston of the Yukon, or Red Rider? “

When I was growing up there was a great steakhouse in my home town. It served the best bacon-wrapped filet mignon and twice baked potato one could every hope to eat. The restaurant was always crowed, but the wait was worth it. The original owners died and the next generation over. It was never the same. The quality and service just wasn’t there. Today, the restaurant isn’t there anymore!

I often remind myself that nostalgia has a place in life and the past has definitely played a role in who we are and what we do. But, in most cases, it should never play the major role in what we can become or what we can do.

The important thing to remember is that the yesterdays are gone—they aren’t here anymore—and the tomorrows are uncertain—they aren’t here yet. Therefore, make today count for something. People must realize that today is all they have and that they should maximize the moment. “Reflect upon your present blessings,” wrote Charles Dickens, “of which every man has many - not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.”

You find success not in the past but in the present. Motivational giant, Tony Robbins stated it well, “I've come to believe that all my past failure and frustrations were actually laying the foundation for the understandings that have created the new level of living I now enjoy.”

Yes, I found my cassette player, a Slim Line Panasonic cassette recorder plus 35 unused cassettes at a garage sale—ten dollars. I bought a new computer at Best Buy and purchased my new electric razor, without sales help, at Target. I occasionally enjoy a steak and a blooming onion at The Outback.

There are a lot of people, places and things that aren’t here anymore. Some people call this progress. The same people offer “change” as a synonym. But I am not certain that all change is advancement. I certainly prefer my laptop computer to the old IBM Selectric typewriter; High Definition TV beats my old Philco black and white TV; cable and rabbit ears aren’t even comparable; cell phones and the old 5-lb. dial phone on a party line are generations apart. There are a lot of things that are better described as, “not being here anymore.”

Maybe, in the name of progress, we have gone a little overboard. Courtesy is on the endangered list—seldom is it exhibited anymore. Customer service is about as rare as a, “Thank you.” Quality left with the craftsman. Giving has been replaced by getting. The importance of “You” has been replaced with the self-indulgent, “Me”. Rock-solid values have been superseded with situational ethics.

Compromise might be a good idea when it comes to the new vs. the old. Advances in engineering and production, without a doubt, improved our standard of living. But advances in communications have not necessarily improved our ability to transmit ideas and feelings.

I think I will pick up my cell phone and call an old friend and just say, “I appreciate all you do for me.”
HOG THOUGHT: It will never be said of people and organizations that are good at blending the past with the present that “they just aren’t here anymore.” People and organizations that bet on change hedge their bet by building on the best of the past using new applications and innovative twists to give the market what it wants. There is really nothing new, just the rearrangement of the old in a new way.

HOG QUOTE: “Nothing revives the past so completely as a smell that was once associated with it.” — Vladimir Nabokov

HOG ACTION: If you want to be a player five years from now you will not forget the sounds, sights, smells, and touch of today. But, stay relevant by capitalizing on how your customer relates to the sounds, sights, smells and touch of his or her yesterdays.

The 80 /20 Principle Applied to 2009 Hawg Blawg Articles #56

2009-12-26T13:05:00.000-08:00

Earlier I prepared this article for posting today, December 26th. It is my last entry of 2009. During the year, I post a blog every other week. My goal is to have 25new entries each year, reserving the 26th posting for what I believe to be the best article of the year and summaries of the next best four articles.

This approach follows the 80/20 Principle or the Pareto Principle, named for the I7th Century Italian economist who discovered the pattern underlying the 80/20 Principle. This principle states that 80 percent of any action contributes 20 percent of the results and 20 percent of any action contributes 80 percent of the results. The 20 percent has an influence way beyond their numbers. Therefore, I have chosen five articles (20 percent of the 25 annual articles) for this yearend posting that I believe can greatly improve the reader’s life.

In 2009 the Hawg Blawg was viewed by people from 38 countries representing 66 international cities as well as 138 cities in 34 American states. We live in an increasingly globalized market. The universal law of success is that people everywhere realize that they must continually invest in themselves or be left behind.

Below are the top five 2009 Hawg Blawgs. The top article is reprinted in its entirety. The other four articles are summarized in the Hog Thought, Hog Quote and Hog Action. To read the entire article, go to the date as listed with the title.

I wish success for you in 2010 and exit this year with these personal words:

The achievement is not in winning. It is in the struggle that we achieve. And like all successful people before us, we must hold on until we succeed.

2009 TOP HAWG BLAWG POSTING

Three Pictures, Ten Dollars 032809

A tall young U.S. Marine serving in Afghanistan visited a bazaar in Kabul with one of his friends, an Army Major. They came upon an enterprising camel owner who was offering people an opportunity to photograph his camel. This Afghan entrepreneur had a sign that read: “Picture of camel, $5.00; Picture of you with the camel, $5.00 and picture of you riding camel, $8.00.” This was the posted prices, but everyone knows, the way business gets done in Afghanistan is through bargaining. Posted prices are the starting point or they are the final price for the uninitiated.

The Marine said to the camel owner, “I want three pictures, one of the camel, one of me on the camel and one of the camel, my friend and me — ten dollars.” The camel owner, replied, “Eighteen dollars.” The Marine, replied, “Three pictures, one of the camel, one of me on the camel and one of the camel, my friend and me — ten dollars! To which the camel owner replied, “Fifteen dollars.” Once again the Marine held up his ten dollar bill and repeated his offer, “Three photos--ten dollars.” The camel owner countered with, “Thirteen dollars.”

The camel owner had the camel and wanted the Marine’s money; the Marine had a camera, wanted three pictures and had ten dollars. They were haggling over a gap between selling and buying price. The bridge became the Marines steadfastness. He wanted three pictures and the Arab wanted the ten dollars. For the Marine the ten dollars was small; for the camel owner, the ten dollars was big.

After several more exchanges, the camel owner, realizing that ten dollars was better than nothing, gave in; the Marine got what he wanted and the camel owner wanted what he got.

Sometimes in life, you are the Marine and sometimes you are the camel owner. Sometimes to reach your goal, you need to be steadfast, unchanging, and unmovable. Other times, you need to survey the situation, be flexible and heed the maxim, “A bird in the hand is better than two in the bush.” Bridging the gap between what must be and what can be, you make your decision based on what is negotiable and what is not. Where do you stand fast and where are you flexible? If you must have three pictures and you only have ten dollars, the choice is easy. If you have a camel and there isn’t a line of people waiting to have their picture taken with your animal, you become more flexible.

If you must have three pictures and only want to spend ten dollars, there are three things you need to clearly understand about steadfastness: Attitude, Belief, and Focus.

Attitude
You must have or develop a “never quit attitude.” You simply refuse to give up. You have a goal and you are determined to achieve it. Success doesn’t come easily and we must keep on keeping on. We encounter obstacles, discouragements and disappointments, but we prepare for them. Or, if they arise unexpectedly, we have a “fall back” plan. A positive attitude will keep you moving forward. You may not achieve all your goals, but in the end you would agree with William James, “Most people never run far enough on their first wind to find out they've got a second.”

Believe In Yourself
You must believe in yourself and your strengths. To believe in yourself typically means that you have confidence in your talents and strengths. This confidence comes from high self-esteem. The truth is that only a small percentage of people ever achieve their full potential. We would do well to heed Buckminster Fuller’s revealing insight, “I am convinced all of humanity is born with more gifts than we know. Most are born geniuses and just get de-geniused rapidly.”

Focus
You must stay focused on the task at hand and not get distracted. Distractions—people, projects and emergencies-- clamor for your attention. But your “get-it-done” attitude will help keep you focused on what is important and vital to your success as opposed to what is urgent and peripheral. Disappointments and setbacks occur and should be viewed as instruments of learning and not permanent failure. Stay focused and don’t get sidetracked by tasks with fringe benefits.

Three synonyms for “steadfastness” are: perseverance, resoluteness, and determination. Get the picture? I bet ten dollars you do.

HOG THOUGHT: Steadfastness is the stance you take after you have carefully weighed your resources against the target and decide to commit to the attainment of the goal. The people who achieve in this world are the people who land on the beach, burn their boats and march inland to victory.

HOG QUOTE:
“It's not that I'm so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer. “ --Albert Einstein

HOG ACTION: Don’t be afraid to stand fast. Often people just need to know that you are truly sincere in your requests or actions. Every time you achieve a goal, you are that much stronger and confident. So, focus all your efforts today toward achieving your key goals. In your steadiness remember the words of Jacob A. Riis, “Look at a stone cutter hammering away at his rock, perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred-and-first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not the last blow that did it, but all that had gone before.”

Number Two Article, 2009
See the End of the Day in the Start of the Day #49 082309

HOG THOUGHT: To ensure your daily preordained success you must believe you can reach your goal, have the confidence in your ability to achieve it develop a plan to achieve it, and execute. In the end, it is always belief, planning, and execution that determine success. Believe you can do it, plan to do it, and do it!

HOG QUOTE: “Determine that the thing shall be done and then we shall find the way.” — Abraham Lincoln

HOG ACTION: Start today with a vision of how you want your day to end; list the things you must do to achieve that ending; do what you must do so the day ends like you designed it.

Number Three Article, 2009
Four Lessons Learned from Buying the Second Best Bicycle #46 071609

HOG THOUGHT: Don’t mistake procrastination for patience or stubbornness for perseverance. While patience and perseverance move you toward your goal, procrastination and stubbornness prevent goal achievement.

HOG QUOTE: “Patience is the companion of wisdom.” — St. Augustine

HOG ACTION: Practice patience. It forces you to focus on the task at hand. Good things come to those that wait with purpose: end of story.

Number Four Article, 2009
Fingerprints, Snowflakes and You #47 080109

HOG THOUGHT: Accept yourself for who you are. Be comfortable with yourself but never complacent. Everyone has room for growth. Relationships are not static things, they are growing and must be cultivated or, they are stagnant connections subject to decay.

HOG QUOTE: “Do not wish to be anything but what you are, and try to be that perfectly.” — St. Francis De Sales

HOG ACTION: For the next 30 days let your first thought each morning be one of thankfulness for who you are. Like fingerprints and snowflakes, you are one of a kind. Celebrate your uniqueness.

Number Five Article, 2009
A Progress Report Card #43 061409

HOG THOUGHT: Progress is made by organizing activities around accomplishing the goal. In the normal course of making progress, Successful people make significant impact getting the right things done by doing the right things.

HOG QUOTE: “Restlessness and discontent are the first necessities of progress.” — Thomas A. Edison

HOG ACTION: We are to: Make progress toward our goals; Make progress toward getting organized; Make progress toward integrating actions. The goal is to make progress and progress requires change.

The Magic Starts with the Dream. Therefore, Don’t Kill the Dream #55

2009-12-08T15:05:00.000-08:00

“When we kill the dream within us, we kill ourselves, even though the blood continues to flow within our veins.” — Richard Bode, First You Have to Row a Little Boat

There was a time of Kings, knights, wizards, and magical swords. That era predates Harry Potter. If you set out to define a magical time in a kid’s life, it could be the 6th century— the time of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.

As a kid growing up, there were many times, in my own back yard, that I played the role of this British king who defeated the Saxons with his legendary magical sword, Excalibur. With my magical Excalibur I was invincible and lived to slay thousands of enemy soldiers and hundreds of fire-breathing dragons.

Over the years, I’ve searched for an Excalibur—a magical strategy to defeat the “Failure Dragon.” With this magical strategy sword, I would slay Failure and his two bodyguards: Yesterday and Tomorrow.

A life time of experience helps me realize one of the great truths of life: People spend too much of their time regretting the past and fearing the future. Former American journalist and author Fulton Oursler succinctly captures this truth in his statement, “We crucify ourselves between two thieves; regret for yesterday and fear of tomorrow.”

Regret and fear are not the ingredients of magic. Magic is the result of a dream fighting for authenticity. A contemporary knight, armed with his Excalibur, slays the problem at hand while giving birth to the dream.

Through the ages, mankind has searched for an Excalibur that would turn their dreams into reality. From the beginning of time, mankind feared darkness and the night; Thomas Edison’s Excalibur was the light bulb that transformed the night into day; from the creation wars and violence have exacted a huge toll; Mahatma Gandhi used his Excalibur to promote the practical actions of peace, nonviolence that lead to peace and harmony; confronting with mankind’s dream to fly, Orville and Wilbur Wright used their Excalibur to turn the dream into reality; faced with devastating diseases, Louis Pasteur, Dr. William Reed, and Dr. Jonas Salk used their Excalibur’s to conquer, Smallpox, Malaria, and Polio.

With an Excalibur the wheel and the printing press were invented to fight immobility and ignorance. Whether it be Alexander Bell, Helen Keller, Mother Teresa, Newton, Einstein, or Archimedes, a man or woman with Excalibur in hand is positioned to make magic.

HOG THOUGHT: California surfers like to say that they are waiting on the "Seventh" Wave, the big one, the wave that changes the scene. An Excalibur in the proper hands is like that Seventh Wave, a creative sword with the magic to change the scene.

When you live your dream, you have found the Wave. You have discovered the power to make magic.

HOG QUOTE: “When you think at the moment that it is possible—then the magic starts.” —Siegfried, master of magic and illusion

HOG ACTION: With your Excalibur in hand, slay all the excuses that hinder you from making magic.

The Art of Being Omnipresent #54

2009-11-21T10:34:00.000-08:00

“A competent leader can get efficient service from poor troops, while on the contrary an incapable leader can demoralize the best of troops.” —General of the Armies John J. Pershing

As I was writing this article, I realized that even though I can’t physically be with my team 24 / 7, it is possible to have a presence on every sales call they make, or in their office or cubicle as they work on their projects. This is called omnipresence. Having omnipresence means being present everywhere with your team.

The best and only way to develop omnipresence is to get to know and be known by your team. I think when people know you are sincerely interested in them; they become sincerely interested in you. It takes time and effort but the investment pays big dividends.

Start by getting out of your office and learning about each of your teammates. Take to heart the insightful statement from John Le Carré, “A desk is a dangerous place from which to view the world.” To really know someone requires one-on-one contact. You get real information on their turf—whether that is their cubicle, their territory or route, their delivery truck or their customer’s office.

I think leaders must clearly convey the importance of these one-on-one meetings and the three guiding principles: 1. There are no rules; 2. There are no repercussions; 3. The information gained is input for helping the employee, you and the organization achieve their potential.

The first step to being omnipresent with your team is being present when you are with them. Presence is more than physical. It is also emotional. People need to know that they are important; that they really matter; that they are more than just employee #758. You want people to know you are present no matter where they are, no matter what they are doing, right? It begins with trust.

Trust has an amazing effect on performance. When a person is confident you trust them and have their best interest at heart they will perform whether or not you are with them.

So, where to begin? Here are five suggestions for obtaining trust:

1. Take on the risk of being vulnerable. People need to know who you are. Spend time working with them. Let them get to know you. Forget the old saying that familiarity breeds contempt. Choose to be present with them as you make them your top priority. Focus on the person.
2. Reach out. People need to know your care before they will care.
3. Understand who they are, their strengths and weaknesses. Help them discover the possibilities within themselves.
4. Share your wisdom. Though book learning is important, real world experience is what people value most.
5. Teach them to execute. Teach by example. Teach through stories, analogies and personal experience. Teach them to implement, to execute, and to get the results that change the market. Success depends on execution not plans. Plans determine the road to the goal. Execution is the travel along the road.

When the leader trains his or her people to be successful, challenges and tasks become expressions of co-ownership. The leader provides the training, expertise, and wisdom, the individual executes as they have been trained.

Leaders must accept that the members of their team are looking at them. Do they trust and respect you? Do they feel good about you and know you have their best interest at heart? Now is the time to leverage those emotional ties and prove to them that you have their back

People need to connect. They want to connect with a leader they trust. If you want the team to follow you then, you must walk your talk. People imitate action rather than rhetoric. As you help prepare them, they help prepare you just as a great leader is as much a student as a teacher.
Managers sometimes find excuses for not spending time with the people they lead or manage. The number one excuse is most likely, “I don’t have time.” But if you want to stay in touch, you must be in touch. Modern electronics can help bridge the separation gap: a phone call, an email, a text message or a video conference. But nothing beats personal one-on-one contact.

Communications is a two way exercise. Don’t wait for others to contact you. Take the initiative, no matter what your title. Pick up your phone today and call a couple of team member and tell them you were thinking about them and wanted to know how you can help.

The question isn’t how do you carve out more time to be with your team. The question is, are you omnipresent? Are you with each team member as they go about their assigned tasks?

Through your mentoring you provide a blueprint or guide to help your team make best decisions under all circumstances. You are sharing success DNA not creating clones.

HOG THOUGHT: Make a sincere commitment to contribute to the members of your team in a positive, encouraging way. Knowing that you believe in them enables them to believe in themselves and produce amazing results.

HOG QUOTE: “The leaders who work most effectively, it seems to me, never say "I." And that's not because they have trained themselves not to say "I." They don't think "I." They think "we"; they think "team." They understand their job to be to make the team function. They accept responsibility and don't sidestep it, but "we" gets the credit. This is what creates trust, what enables you to get the task done.” — Peter Drucker

HOG ACTION: Leaders don’t seek credit. Their reward is in knowing they made a positive difference on the members of their team. Develop trust and be a difference maker.

Get Stuck on a Thing Called Hope #53

2009-11-08T14:49:00.000-08:00

There is the “hope against hope” where the person hopes without any basis for expecting fulfillment. When I purchase a lottery ticket and hope to win the fifty million dollars or so, I hope—I would like to win. But, I honestly have no expectations of claiming the money.

Then there is “hope” where a person expects to win. Winning is being successful and hope is not in the luck of the draw but in the confidence born out of the desire to win plus having a plan and executing the steps necessary to achieve the win or goal.

In the mega-hit Rogers and Hammerstein musical, South Pacific, the leading lady, Nellie sings “A Cockeyed Optimist”. This song contains the memorable optimistic words, “I’m stuck like a dope on a thing called hope.” While we may think of a “dope” as a simpleton or stupid person, the message is not from a dim-witted individual. This is no half-empty glass philosophy.

People can learn a great deal about personal success from this great Broadway play and later box-office hit. Like Nellie, successful people are optimist. I don’t think the definition of an optimist as one who sees the glass half full does justice to the word. A true optimist is one who believes in their ability to produce the best outcome. They use their ability to optimize; to add water to the glass and thereby make it more than half full. An optimist sees opportunities, acts positively to remove the pessimism engendered by obstacles and expects to be victorious.

Get in the habit of being positive. Think more about the good things in your life than the bad. See the sunrise in every twenty four hours. Yes, nighttime comes with the setting sun, but a rooster’s crow in the morning signals a new day.

Being negative, like sprouting weeds, just happens. Being positive, like cultivating flowers, takes work. Gratefulness is a powerful tool for that work. And the resulting beauty is worth the investment.

Being positive is easy, fun and works. Start by being thankful. The more often you are thankful, the more often you will be positive. A principle often overlooked: the more positive you are, the more reason you have to be positive.

A positive performance begins with a positive attitude. If you are having a bad day, stop and ask yourself, “Why”? When you have determined the cause for your negativity, stop. The problem or circumstances are real. But, it is your reaction to the problem or circumstances that determines whether you respond in a positive or negative way. Blame someone else or fate and you will respond negatively. If you accept the reality of the situation and determine to make the best of it, you respond in a positive way and things naturally get better.

I don’t know why so many people are negative thinkers. For many people negativity is a natural, normal and first reaction to problems. Their intuition tells them that this is what they should expect. Instinct urges them to accept what they deserve. My experience is that negative people too often have the motto: “What is, is.” This type of acquiescence leads to accepting negative situations as a part of my lot in life and just another link in my chain of failure.

If you think this way, you have given control of your life to the “dark side of the force”, fate. Luke Skywalker, of Star Wars fame invites you cast off the negative force and come over to the positive force. Let this Force make you hopeful, optimistic and expectant. You may not be a Jedi, but the Positive Force can be with you.

The message of the song, A Cockeyed Optimist is, to have hope; expect to succeed. Unfortunately, many people live a life of hopelessness. These pessimists see themselves as victims and not victors. As Winston Churchill’s once declared, “The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” Make an effort every day to see opportunity in all circumstances.

In my experience in business and life, I find that success favors the optimist. Practice positive expectations and see your self being successful. Get stuck on hope and you will get stuck on success.

HOG THOUGHT: There are many reasons to be negative. One for being positive: Being positive leads to success. A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will put you on the autobahn to success.

HOG QUOTE: “Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.” — Willie Nelson, song writer and singer

HOG ACTION: Success is built on positive expectations. Never give up the idea for being successful. Get stuck on HOPE.

Another Success Dimension: Time #52

2009-10-18T18:43:00.000-07:00

“Time is free, but it's priceless. You can't own it, but you can use it. You can't keep it, but you can spend it. Once you've lost it, you can never get it back.”—Harvey Mackay

A pet concept of mine is that people should be born with all the wealth they will ever have and as they age they have corresponding less and less. When life finally ends, their bank account would be down to zero. It is nice to envisage having your wealth when you can most enjoy it.

But, life is not designed that way. We spend our lifetime acquiring possessions and then most people end life with a little something to pass on to the next generation or the government.

There is another aspect of life—time—that does work on this principle of having all of the possession at birth and then corresponding less and less of it as we age, until at the end we have none.

Of the two, the second is the most valuable and the most fleeting. As author Denis Waitley wrote, “Time is the most precious element of human existence.” While time is valuable it is not infinite. Its value is derived from its scarcity and its fleetness. John Randolf stated it this way, “Time is at once the most valuable and the most perishable of all our possessions.”

I read a newspaper article about NASA sending a spacecraft crashing into the moon to see if there is any water or ice below the surface. The impact site is a crater at the moon’s South Pole that hasn’t seen sunlight in billions of years. I don’t know if they will find traces of water. But, I know a billion years is a long, long time.

Time has a dimension of speed. The speed is easily calculated by the number of candles on a birthday cake. When we are young, time drags; when we are old time flies. You never ask a youngster if they have a minute; they have a lifetime. Ask a Senior Citizen if they have a minute and they may answer, “That’s all the time I have, a minute.”

A paradox has emerged in this electronic age: people have an endless supply of gadgets that are suppose to create more time for them, but at the same time they are adding information overload, increased activities, and additional projects that eat up the time.

There are a lot of thoughts on time. Here are some that I think are worth your time.

• Take care in your minutes, and the hours will take care of themselves. — Lord Chesterfield
• Neither can the wave that has passed by be recalled, nor the hour which has passed return again. — Ovid
• Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of.—Benjamin Franklin
• The time is always right to do what is right. — Martin Luther King, Jr.
• They say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself. — Andy Warhol
• We always have time enough if we will but use it aright. —Goethe
• Time is our most valuable asset, yet we tend to waste it, kill it and spend it rather than invest it. —Jim Rohn
• The bad news is time flies. The good news is you're the pilot. —Michael Althsuler
• In truth, people can generally make time for what they choose to do; it is not really the time but the will that is lacking. — Sir John Lubbock
• I dare you, while there is time, to have a magnificent obsession. —William Danforth

If I had to choose my favorite, I’d choose the quote by Martin Luther King, Jr. If we take the time to do what is right, we rightly invest where the payoff is the largest.

When I think about it, time has a monetary value. Therefore everything we do or don’t do has a cost associated with it. Each year has 8,760 hours. If we allow 2,920 for sleeping, there remains 5,840 discretionary hours. Assign a value to your time. At $20 an hour, your wakening time is worth $116,800 a year; at $25 per hour $146,000. Do you spend your time wisely on actions that bring you closer to your goals?

It is my experience that the importance of a project is inversely related to the time available; the more important the project the less time available; the lower the projects priority the more time available. This is why the best people should always work on the priority project. This is also the rational for personal projects— work on important projects. Invest time where there is a big payoff. I find I can’t do everything. In fact, my experience leads me to believe that some things are not worth the time.

Successful people are those who have mastered time. They know that time has no past, no future; only a present. You can’t change the past nor can you predict the future. But, you can make the best use of your time today. Author and Publisher, Elbert Hubbard wrote, “If you want work well done, select a busy man—the other kind has not time.”

We all come into the world with no wealth but arrive on time, with our allotted time. As we age, we gain wealth, but exhaust our time, until there is no time. The Roman Stoic philosopher Seneca stated it well, “Whatever begins also ends.” The count-down clock is ticking. Use time wisely, there are no resets or carry over minutes.

HOG THOUGHT: Bracketed between two sunrises are 1440 minutes. We should not be so busy making a living that we fail to make a life. Each 24-hour period contains great possibilities and corresponding great responsibilities. Look for the opportunities; search for the possibilities; be committed. It may be your time.

HOG QUOTE: “Remember, you can earn more money, but when time is spent, it is gone forever.” — Zig Ziglar

HOG ACTION: Take time to think; but when the time comes to act, act!

Why Is It Difficult To Say, "Thank You?" #51

2009-09-29T18:06:00.000-07:00

I go to the same donut shop twice a week and each morning order the same thing: coffee, black and a cinnamon roll, nothing else, never anything different. I have been repeating this twice weekly ritual for over a year.

When I enter the shop, the clerk—anyone of four employees—automatically, pours my coffee, never asks if I want sugar or cream—goes to the display case and chooses a cinnamon roll. Then, they come to the counter and say, “Two dollars.” Over 100 times I have repeated this ritual and only once has any employee said, “Thank You.” That is, except me. I always thank the clerk for taking my money and allowing me to have their product.

Many people, maybe even you, have experienced this seller indifference. The merchant fails to thank you; you thank them. People should never expect your money if they don’t expect to thank you for it. I don’t know why it is so hard to say thank you.

For a long time I have witnessed just how difficult it is for some people to say, “Thank You.” But, saying thank you for a business transaction, or for opening the door for someone, or even helping a little old lady across the street pales in comparison to saying thank you to people who have influenced our life. The actions, advice and lifestyle of family, friends, neighbors, teachers, coaches, pastors, priests, rabbis, and business associates influence our lives and help determine the outcome of our journey through life.

Twenty-Five years ago in 1984, while thinking about this very subject, I read an Ann Landers article in the Akron Beacon Journal in which Ann answered a reader’s question: “Why is it so difficult to say thank you to people who have influenced our lives?”

Ann Landers wrote, that there are two major reasons we fail to say thank you. First, people intend to do it but, many find it hard to put their feelings into words. The second reason is our nature to procrastinate. We mean well but never get around to it until it is often too late.

Those two excuses for not saying thank you struck a chord with me. I determined I was not going to be guilty any longer of failing to say thank you to the very special people in my life that had and were having a major role in making me who I am.

First, I put into words and had printed a Thank You certificate that I labeled, “You Are One in A Million.”

Thank You
__________________________

Because Of You, I Am A Better Person

This One-In-A-Million certificate is my way of saying “Thank You”
for the strong, positive impact you have had on my life. To some
extent, we all influence and are influenced by those around us. But,
your influence has been and continues to be special. You are truly
One-In-A-Million.

Dated: ____________19___ Signed: _________________

Next, I made a list of the names of people who lives had crossed mine and had some influence on me. Then, I narrowed the list down to those who had a major impact and help make me a better person.

I ended up with a very, very small list. I lettered in the name on the Thank You Certificate©, dated it, signed my name and mailed it in an oversized envelop with a see through window so everyone that handled the certificate would be exposed to the thank-you concept.

Ken Blanchard, co-author of The One Minute Manager states emphatically, “the things that get worked on first tend to get fixed first.” This being true, the question is what needs to be fixed in your life? Who do you need to connect with today to say, “Thanks, because of you, I am a better person?”

Somewhere out there are people who believed in you when you didn’t believe in yourself; who encouraged you when you were uninspired; who provided direction when you were lost; who stood by you when you felt alone. These people bring to mind the words of Guillaume Apollinaire, “Come to the edge, he said. They said; we are afraid. Come to the edge, he said. They came. He pushed them and they flew.”

We can only hope that during our life time we will invite others to the edge and then push them into flight. Then someday you may be surprised to receive a thank you call, visit or letter telling you about the life changing influence you had on another’s life.

HOG THOUGHT: When you genuinely thank someone for something specific, you set off a chain reaction. You feel good by saying thank you. The recipient feels good in your acknowledgment. And, all the friends and acquaintances of the recipient that hear about the timely thank you will also feel good.

HOG QUOTE: “You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson

HOG ACTION: This week, send a thank you letter to a special person who has had a strong positive impact on your life. Remind them they are one-in-a-million.

Only Motivated People Change #50

2009-09-10T09:08:00.000-07:00

It is our well-established patterns or habits that keep us where we are. I am most comfortable with the familiar, the tried and true. The XM radio in my car has, like most car radios, preset buttons. I have five and use only three. One button is for the 50s music— Elvis, Little Richard, The Platters— one button for Old Time Radio—The Lone Ranger, Dragnet, The Shadow, The Whistler, etc. The third button is for Southern Gospel.

Often people allow their habits and love for the familiar to become obstacles to change. We have a built-in system that resists change. Status quo is the watchword. Many will accept the way things are, even if they are bad, instead of venturing out. For these people the familiar is better than the unknown.

When confronted with the opportunity to change the natural reaction is to pull back; play it safe. This is an attempt to avoid or minimize the risk involved in a change. But hanging on to the old, while it may feel good, nevertheless creates additional stress and disillusionment.

Two Reason People Resist Change
People will do almost anything to avoid change and its consequences. The two most common reasons people resist a change are fear and apathy.

1. Fear. People in general fear change. The new is unfamiliar, daunting and therefore potentially precarious. There is a certain amount of security in the familiar and a lot of dread in the unknown. The situation is reminiscent of long ago, when map makers sketched dragons on maps as signs to sailors that they would be entering unknown territory at their own risk. Some sailors took this sign literally and were afraid to venture on. Others saw the dragons as signs of opportunity.

Professional change is almost always accompanied by fear over the loss of familiar boundaries, guidelines, and old values. Many people find it hard to leave the comfort and security of the past behind and enter unknown and untried territory. But as a new success mindset emerges, you must bring your life more in line with your new values and new paradigm.

2. Apathy. It is hard to appreciate the need to change when things are going good. But success can often be the kiss of death because it breeds apathy. Comfort can lead to stagnation.

In today’s world you have little chance of succeeding with yesterday’s No. 2 pencil, a package of carbon paper, or an IBM Selectric typewriter. Success often calls for change that can only be described as transformational. We can learn a lot about transformation and change by looking at insects. Consider the butterfly, formerly a caterpillar which undergoes metamorphosis in its chrysalis and emerges a glorious butterfly. The same creature, which enters the cocoon eventually, emerges, but the change is so remarkable that it cannot be recognized as the same.

The dictionary defines metamorphosis as “change of form or change of character.” It implies a major change—transformation— in form, nature, or function, usually for the better. In the final stage of biological metamorphosis the cocoon splits open and what emerges from the chrysalis is a fully formed adult butterfly, the final predestined form of the insect is realized.

In the seminal book, The Art of Living, the ancient Greek philosopher, Epictetus, advises that to discover our “predestined” state, we must clearly identify the kind of person we aspire to become. It is in the definiteness of the person we want to be that creates the power for metamorphosis and change. As a caterpillar is transformed inside its cocoon into a beautiful entity with wings, so people are changed from within by the power of positive thinking that is channeled into positive actions.

Someone once said, “There is nothing about a caterpillar that tells you it’s going to be a butterfly.” But then there is nothing about Harry S. Truman, a failure in business (haberdasher) and perennial political loser that would indicated that this farm boy from Independence, Missouri would become a U.S. President (ranked by most in the top 10 Presidents); As a “caterpillar” there was nothing to indicated Anna Mary Robertson Moses would, in her late 70’s, become the outstanding 20th Century folk artist, Grandma Moses. Her first paintings were given to family member. She later sold her works for $2 to $3. Later, her painting Sugaring Off sold for over $1-million. A beautifully example of a person undergoing metamorphosis is Helen Keller. She emerged from her cocoon of deafness and blindness to graduate cum laude from Radcliffe College and become a world famous author and lecturer—a classic “butterfly.”

An old axiom states successful people do those things that unsuccessful people don’t like to do. In my experience, the number one thing that unsuccessfully people dislike doing is undergoing change.

HOG THOUGHT: Only motivated people change. Change can be easy or difficult depending upon the motivation for change. A strong motivation for change creates a powerful force for a change. Change never happens until it is in the self-interest of the person involved.

HOG QUOTE: “There is nothing about a caterpillar that tells you it is going to be a butterfly.”
—unknown

HOG ACTION: Visualize what you would be—never underestimate your potential--and then take transformational steps to achieve your goal. In the process, you like the caterpillar, are changed.

See the End of the Day in the Start of the Day #49

2009-08-23T17:20:00.000-07:00

In the game of success there are only two players: creators and custodians. Creators plan their success in the AM and reap the rewards in the PM. Custodians maintain the day rather than seeking to influence the outcome. People owe their success—of lack of it—to the type of player they become.

You must begin to think of yourself as the “creator” of your day. Humans—among all living things— alone, have the ability to create. Because we have this creative ability, we have an obligation to deliver favorable outcomes.

The best time to plan your day is upon rising early in the morning while your mind is fresh and unencumbered and open to creative thought. I call this time, “Reflective Time”—a time to make apparent how you choose your day to end and what actions you will take to ensure success. AM Reflective time is about turning the things you need to do today into the PM things you’ve done.

Reflective Time is an invitation for you to achieve your goals, reduce your stress, and live a happier life. This highly focused, contemplative 15 minute morning session with yourself is not to supply you with something you’re missing. Instead it’s designed to unleash what already exist in you and to unlock the potential you already have.

During Reflective Time your goal is to look at the day ahead and make sure you will be doing the things you need to do to get done what you must. During this time don’t watch TV or to listen to the radio or check your emails. Block out all the noise clamoring of your attention.

We read and hear a lot about goals and planning, including setting personal goals and personal planning. For the most part these goals are long-term goals. So, the “down-the-road” plans we develop have a lot of uncertainty which creates a lack of urgency.

I find there is nothing like a pending deadline to sharpen a person’s focus. A news reporter has to get his story written by the deadline if he hopes to see his article in the paper or on the newscast. An important report due COB today means that between now and close of business you must be doing only things that have to do with completing the report.

Knowing how you want the day to end, guides you to do those things that help you achieve that end and not do things that have no bearing on goal achievement. If you are going to end the day as you designed it, if you are going to achieve what you predetermine you would achieve, you need to make every action you take bring you closer to your goal. The day is too short and too valuable to waste time doing things that don’t lead to goal achievement.

Nine benefits you can expect by predetermining your day
1. Seeing the end of the day in the start of the day enables you to develop a plan for getting things done.
2. In determining daily goals you discover ways to achieve them.
3. Helps avoid the “activity trap” and encourages you to work today only on those activities that connect you to your goals.
4. Encourages discipline.
5. You can stay in a high state of motivation for only a short time.
6. Setting daily goals develops a sense of urgency and commitment.
7. Achieving today’s goals provides motivation for tomorrows tasks.
8. What you did not do today gets put on the next day’s priority list.
9. Life is more exciting and rewarding when you live today as you planned it instead of waiting to be surprised at the end of the day.

Setting daily goals requires asking and answering two simple questions: “How, at the end of the day, do you define victory?” And, “What are the activities you must do to claim victory?”

At the end of the day, successful people are looking for the satisfaction that comes from being able to look back to the morning and say, “I saw the end in the start of the day.”

HOG THOUGHT: To ensure your daily preordained success you must believe you can reach your goal, have the confidence in your ability to achieve it develop a plan to achieve it, and execute. In the end, it is always belief, planning, and execution that determine success. Believe you can do it, plan to do it, and do it!

HOG QUOTE: “Determine that the thing shall be done and then we shall find the way.”
— Abraham Lincoln

HOG ACTION: Start today with a vision of how you want your day to end; list the things you must do to achieve that ending; do what you must do so the day ends like you designed it.

Effectiveness vs Efficiency Management #48

2009-08-08T17:50:00.000-07:00

During my school years I was never called a, “math maven.” I preferred the flexibility and descriptive power of words and the adventure of ideas as opposed to the exactness and preciseness of numbers. But some of the arithmetic took hold of me. For instance, I know a fraction represents the quotient of two numbers: the numerator and the denominator. The former being the part of the fraction above the line, the latter being the part of the fraction below the line.

Organizations have above the line and below the line agendas—a numerator that stresses the external effectiveness of its relationship with its customers; and a denominator that represents the internal below the line efficiency of the organization. The numerator is focused on delivering the “Wow” service that exceeds customer expectations; while the denominator is focused on achieving a “no-fat, no-waste” operation.

I have observed that organizations with a denominator only (bottom-line) orientation often emphasize efficiency while jeopardizing effectiveness. This internal focus overlooks the reality that an organization is not a profit center but a cost center because all activity of the organization involves costs.

Profit opportunity exists outside the organization and resides in the hands of customers or potential customers willing to exchange their money for the products and/or services the organization has to offer.

Customers expect you to operate efficiently and thereby provide competitive pricing. Being efficient in your operation is the cost of entry and enables you to compete for the customer’s business. Numerous opportunities exist in companies to drive down costs. That’s good for the bottom line and contributes to the outlook of the organization.

Effectiveness is the way you acquire business. Therefore, the more effective you are the more business you are going to generate. In all sectors that touch your target you want to maximize effectiveness and distinguish yourself from the competition.

If you cannot deliver customer effectiveness, as defined by the customer, you must make quantum improvements in efficiencies. Increased efficiency helps drive cost down enabling you to sell for less. At some point you reach the point of diminishing returns and come face-to-face again with the effectiveness issue.

It is well known that efficiency is every employees business. The search for efficiencies is the driving force behind most employee reward programs. Indeed, employees are encouraged and often rewarded for creative ideas that lead to cost savings and increased productivity. The emphasis is to get everyone to think and act like owners of the business.

While not as obvious or well known as the internally efficiency programs, external effectiveness programs have as big, if not bigger payout potential. The effectiveness-numerator reflects the service orientation toward the customer. While you are always open to denominator changes, only change the numerator when it is to the customer’s advantage.

Focusing on Efficiency
Focusing on efficiencies is often based on two assumptions: one about the past and one about the present.

First the assumption is made that the past predicts was yet to come. History is just that, history. Past performance is a consideration, not a deck of tarot cards. The second assumption is that the forces at work today will continue to shape what is to come. This leads people to assume that they can make internal improvements based on current trends.

Basically, denominator planning is planning to operate in the future based upon a mixture of historical facts mixed with voodoo and hubris that ignores the power of changing customer expectations. None of these factors are predictive of long-term success.

Focusing on Effectiveness
Focusing on effectiveness involves a different set of assumptions. First, you find out what your customer expects of you, without considering what you are currently offering. Your past and present customer service platform has no bearing on how you plan to please your customer in the future. Customer effectiveness is defined from the customer’s point of view, not yours.

Customer effectiveness is not measured by number of orders or by total dollar sales. Number of orders and dollar sales is a measure of activity. Customer effectiveness is defined by profitable sales and is a measure of how well you please your customer. Only efficient, well-oiled organizations have the opportunity to become truly effective. The challenge is to remember that efficiency is mastering internal processes. Effectiveness is maximizing customer satisfaction. Profit is the reward for knowing the difference.

The company or organization that most effectively serves their customers or clients has the goal of being indispensable. If you reach that goal, remember it’s a precarious position and only continued improvement in effectiveness and efficiency will keep you there.

What mathematics calls an improper fraction—a fraction whose numerator is equal to or greater than its denominator—business calls a proper mixture for success. The above the line striving for effectiveness must always be as great as or greater than the below the line crusade for efficiency. Success emerges when linkage between efficiency and effectiveness merge to produce the desired result.

In mathematics we reduce fractions to their lowest terms. In business the goal is to reduce the relationship between effectiveness and efficiency to its basic terms. The effective manager doesn’t over emphasize efficiency or under stress effectiveness. Too much efficiency and we take the focus off the customer. Too little effectiveness makes the situation worse.

Business Week, in a November 28, 2005 cover story, called Peter Drucker, “The Man Who Invented Management.” Mr. Drucker wrote 39 business books among them his classic, “The Effective Executive.” As I recall, he never wrote a book about The Efficient Executive.

HOG THOUGHT: Sustained commitment to customer effectiveness blocks competitor inroads and results in increased market share. Becoming more efficient allows you to deliver the service and products your customer wants at a more competitive price. Effectiveness should be your organization’s driving force; efficiency is the fuel that powers effectiveness.

HOG QUOTE: “Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things.” — Peter Drucker

HOG ACTION: Always look for ways to improve effectiveness; see to it that your team continually looks for numerator opportunities to serve the customer better; challenge them to ask the customer, “What more?” and then listen to what the customer has to say.

Fingerprints, Snowflakes and You #47

2009-08-01T06:15:00.000-07:00

Relationships seem to be the “in” word these days. Of course, good relationships are preferred to bad relationships. And the closer the relationship gets to a bonding, the better the relationship.

Families strive for closely-knit relationships and suppliers work to establish strong relationships with their customers and professionals with clients. Universities want to relate to their students and government desires a positive relationship with its constituents.

If you set out to define relationship, you could describe it as a connection between at least two entities. But the relationship doesn’t begin with the binding of two entities. It begins with a single entity. You will never build a strong positive relationship with a customer—or anyone else—until you have a strong positive accepting relationship with yourself.

How to build an accepting relationship with your self

How do we develop a strong positive accepting relationship with ourselves that enables us to have strong positive relationships with others? Here are four practical guidelines to follow in developing a better self image.

Accept yourself, which is the foundation for relationship building.

Accepting yourself begins with the thought that you are unique, unlike any other person. Like fingerprints or snowflakes, no two people are exactly alike—you do not have an “identical” twin. Unlike fingerprints and snowflakes, you are special. Though you are important never confuse the idea of importance with self-importance.

If you are to accept yourself, you must get past the idea that that some people are more important than other people. You are important and so is everyone else. Often we prioritize or judge people, including ourselves, according to a counterfeit status code. The guidelines may be: wealth, power, education, physical appearance, nationality, occupation or other outward class sign. Accept yourself by knowing you alone can achieve your purpose for being.

Appreciate yourself, which is another way of saying have a healthy self-esteem; feel good about you.

A person appreciates themselves in direct proportion to their self-esteem. Esteem means to value. Therefore, self-esteem is how much you value your self. It is my experience that others will value you no higher than you value your self. Take the words of an unknown author to heart, “If you put a small value on yourself, rest assured that the world will not raise your price.”

My parents taught me that there is nothing more important in relationship building than the honest value you put on yourself. “You see in others,” my father would say, “what you see in yourself.” If you like yourself, you will like others. If you dislike yourself, you will have a dislike for others.

Have an Awareness of your potential, which is to focus on what you are capable of doing, not what you can not do.

Having an awareness of your potential is the result of knowing your strengths and weaknesses and then working to develop your strengths. Our ability to build strong relationships depends on the development and use of our special talents or abilities. Marcus Buckingham & Donald O. Clifton wrote in their book, Now Discover Your Strengths, “Unfortunately, most of us have little sense of our talents and strengths, much less the ability to build lives around them. Instead, guided by our parents, by our teachers, by our managers, and by psychology’s fascination with pathology, we become experts in our weaknesses and spend our lives trying to repair flaws, while our strengths life dormant and neglected. Discover your strengths and then play to these strengths.

Acknowledge success, which is achieving what you want to achieve unencumbered by the judgment of others.

We need to acknowledge success because everyone has experienced success in some form. Some people more than others. Often, because of lack of self-esteem, people will down play their achievements or credit them to luck. The size of success doesn’t matter. And luck, as someone has described, is what you have left over after you’ve given 100 percent.

It does not matter how you slice or dice it, success is success. We best acknowledge our success when we use it for a foundation to build on to achieve our next success. And, we must never forget, success like failure is repeatable.

Our true relationships in life depend on our willingness to accept and appreciate ourselves, our awareness of our potential and acknowledging our success, no matter the size. In the end, we have relationships with others in direct proportion to the relationship we have with ourselves.

HOG THOUGHT: Accept yourself for who you are. Be comfortable with yourself but never complacent. Everyone has room for growth. Relationships are not static things, they are growing and must be cultivated or, they are stagnant connections subject to decay.

HOG QUOTE: “Do not wish to be anything but what you are, and try to be that perfectly.” — St. Francis De Sales

HOG ACTION: For the next 30 days let your first thought each morning be one of thankfulness for who you are. Like fingerprints and snowflakes, you are one of a kind. Celebrate your uniqueness.

Four Lessons Learned from Buying the Second Best Bicycle #46

2009-07-16T16:43:00.000-07:00

According to Wikipedia, bicycles now number about one billion worldwide, twice the number of automobiles. Fortunately today, I have one bicycle and two cars. Back in simpler times, I had one bicycle and no car.

No matter how you view it, there are a lot of different types of bicycles. There are urban and mountain bikes; touring and triathlon bikes; road bikes and trail bikes; lowriders and tall bikes. Then, there’s something call a recumbent—a bike that look like a chaise lounge on wheels.

For me there is only one real bike, a Schwinn Black Phantom. Call it nostalgic if you like but call it the classic cruiser bike of the 50s. Every kid dreamed of owning a Phantom with whitewall tires and a streamline fender light. Phantom’s were sleek and traveled fast. They had to be to get you home, from the far edge of your neighborhood, before your mother called out your name the third time. The third call was when she used your first- middle- and last name and you knew you did not want to hear that because it meant some form of disciple awaited.

When I was eleven or twelve my father went with me to the local Western Auto store where they sold Schwinn bikes. Schwinn was the Rolls Royce of bikes, or so it seem to the kids in the neighborhood.

I was ready to buy my Phantom, but they were sold out. The clerk said they only had the Green Hornet in stock. I was disappointed but the hornet wasn’t bad either, never mind that it was second best. I gave the clerk a $5.00 bill and agreed to pay $2 every Saturday until the note was paid. The money came out of my paper route. I had my first taste of credit, got the bike and pay two dollars every week for ever it seemed.

As time went by I enjoyed riding the bike but, I never loved it. My heart was set on owing a Phantom and I settled for a Hornet. My goal was to own the best bike and I chose the second best bike because I was unwilling to wait a short time for a new shipment of Phantoms to arrive. The Hornet also cost a little less than the best thing but the savings were soon forgotten.

I learned four valuable lessons from buying the second best bicycle. Lesson 1. Have patience. Had I waited a couple of weeks for the new shipment to arrive I would have gotten the bike I wanted. Lesson two. If what you really want costs a little more, don’t settle for a little savings. Price is quickly forgotten. Value has a long shelf life. Lesson 3. I know now, looking back over the years, that the “fastness” or speed of the bike was the result of how much energy I expended peddling. Phantoms and Hornets had a chain-driven sprocket with one speed— no derailleur offering multi gears. You peddled slow, you moved slow, you peddled fast you moved fast. The same is true of life today. Lesson four. Anything worth having is worth working for. I sometimes got tired delivering my newspapers, but I knew come Saturday, I had to have two dollars for the man at Western Auto.

I am sorry for those kids today who don’t have the opportunity to earn money from a paper route to buy a bicycle, but I am sorrier still for those kids that have a bicycle and did not earn the money to pay for it, for they will never know the joy of patience and the excitement of paying off a “note.” Unable to make the connection between effort and results; between cause and effect; between sweat and reward, they only know getting, never giving. Whenever I feel myself being impatient, as I sometimes do, I remember the words of John Quincy Adams, “Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.”

I peddle on.

HOG THOUGHT: Don’t mistake procrastination for patience or stubbornness for perseverance. While patience and perseverance move you toward your goal, procrastination and stubbornness prevent goal achievement.

HOG QUOTE: “Patience is the companion of wisdom.” — St. Augustine

HOG ACTION: Practice patience. It forces you to focus on the task at hand. Good things come to those that wait with purpose: end of story.

Creative Thinking Eliminates the Two Ugly Siblings: Complacency and Mediocrity #45

2009-07-05T06:14:00.000-07:00

"Nothing in the world is more powerful as an idea whose time has come."—Victor Hugo

In 1889, Charles Duells, Director of the U.S. Patent Office suggested abolishing the office on the grounds that almost everything possible had already been invented. Had this suggestion been carried out, we would not have patent numbers for : television, DVD, video games, computers, digital cameras, cell phones, GPS locators or satellite radio.

The market place is rapidly changing. New products, new services, new technologies and new competitors are entering the market every day. To succeed today, organizations must be constantly searching for new and better ways to get the job done.

Innovative organizations seek to tap the unused creative potential of their employees and/or members. They create and maintain a climate where employees or members are encouraged, recognized and rewarded for developing new ideas and taking risks. These creative-orientated organizations also provide the necessary leadership to see that innovative behavior becomes usable on a daily basis.

Ideas are elusive. They appear quickly and just as quickly disappear. Ideas often emerge at the most unusual times. Running, biking, showering, shopping and reading are some of the activities condusive to unexpected ideation.

Ideas need to be captured. You need only a few things to capture and hold ideas that bubble up. A pen or pencil and a piece of paper or an index card are good for starters. If you are into computers, you need a file labeled, "Ideas and Thoughts."

Keep a pad and pen beside your bed on the nightstand so when the muse befriends you, you capture the revelations for future study and analysis. I have had more than one idea pop into my head during the night and said, "I won't forget that." But, next morning, try as I may, the idea was nowhere to be found. You must write the idea down while it is fresh in mind.

The chance of having a great idea increases when you engage in a creative program generating a lot of possiblities, many of which may not be apparent when you start. Ideas tend to spawn other ideas, and these additional ideas create new ideas. It often happens that seemingly unrelated, even outrageous ideas lead to practical, creative ones.

Often the obvious solution is not the best solution. Therefore, don't discard your first thoughts, just save them until you have exhausted your possiblities. Then, spend time sifting through the list of ideas looking for the one that offers the best potential. As you cull your ideas, keep in mind Charles F. Kettering's advice, "The typical eye sees the 10 percent bad of an idea and overlooks the 90 percent good."

Using creative thinking to solve problems helps in the search for solutions that are not always obvious. We are looking for possiblities and what is not apparent, at least on the surface.

The actions needed to be successful aren't always the obvious ones or the first solutions to pop up. Instead of wasting energy and time on rehashing the "obvious", spend time looking for the unobvious—what's not there. Often opportunties don't look like opportunites. They represent themselves as challenges or obstacles.

William H. Swanson, Chairman and CEO of Raytheon, provides good advice when he wrote, "Look for what is missing. Many know how to improve what's there; few can see what isn't there." He goes on to say, "Always think about what's missing; it's amazing what you will find."

When asked to describe the most important factors of invention, Thomas Edison said, "One must keep himself sold on the idea that the solution of his problem exists somewhere and that he will find it." Edison also said of ideas, "Your idea needs to be original only in its adaptation to the problem you are currently working on." Another great innovator, Albert Einstein, endorsed the thought that a new idea is often an adaption of an old idea when he wrote, "Creativity is simply making something new or rearranging the old in a new way.

Don't worry about how absurd or skeletal an idea may be. You can flesh it out later. Creative thinking is the first step to eliminating complacency and mediocrity.

HOG THOUGHT: The creative process is a race to success. The process starts with ideas and ends with the game plan to reach personal or organizational goals. Creative thinking can spell the difference between an organizational leader and organizational follower. Good organizations search for opportunities to be creative. Leaders find them.

HOG QUOTE: "Within the problem is the solution to the problem." —Chinese Proverb

HOG ACTION: Keep a pen and pencil handy for capturing creative ideas. Ah ha moments have wings and quickly take flight, leaving no footprints.

What Would It Be Like #44

2009-06-20T07:56:00.000-07:00

When I think of success, I often think of something in the future; something up ahead; something just around the corner; something just over the next hill. Success is something a lot of people are chasing.

Many people believe that tomorrow will bring success. Their mantra is, “If I can only get through today, tomorrow will be better.” This focus on tomorrow reminds me of the closing words of author Margaret Mitchell in her book, Gone with the Wind. “After all, tomorrow is another day.”

Tomorrow is another day. But, in reality all we have is today. So, here are some thoughts that may help you live a life of success today.

What would it be like … if you went to work today and worked?
What would it be like … if you really enjoyed today?
What would it be like … if you smiled at everyone you meet today?

What would it be like … if you got up 20 minutes early today and thought about the things you have to be thankful for?
What would it be like … if you took a 30 minute walk after dinner and listened intently for unique sounds?
What would it be like … if you shook the hand of a service man or woman and thanked them for serving?

What would it be like … if you gave the homeless guy on the corner a couple of dollars and did not pass judgment on where he or she might spend it?
What would it be like … if you ignored the newspaper, television, your blackberry, and radio for twenty-four hours?
What would it be like … if you paid a genuine compliment to someone that wasn’t expecting it?

What would it be like… if you actually listen to someone’s argument when they disagreed with you?
What would it be like … if you did a good deed for someone and expected nothing in return?
What would it be like … if you thought of your actions in relation to eternity instead of just for today?

What would it be like … if you expressed more happiness and less regret?
What would it be like … if you did something just for the fun of it and for no other reason?
What would it be like … if you told someone that you truly appreciated them?

What would it be like … if you picked up the check for a senior couple at the next restaurant you dine and they never knew you were their benefactor?
What would it be like … if you said, “Thank You,” “My Pleasure”, “How can I help?”, “Can I get the door for you?
What would it be like … if you visited a nursing home and spent some time with a complete stranger who has no one to visit them?

What would it be like … if you read a good book and then pass it on to an acquaintance you think would enjoy it?
What would it be like … to spend twice the amount of time eating your next meal and enjoy the flavor of the food?
What would it be like … to allow someone else to have a “bad” day?

What would it be like … if you asked someone to tell you how they got into their career and then let them proudly tell you about their life?
What would it be like … if you quit swallowing the poison of bitterness and asked forgiveness of someone who had done you wrong?
What would it be like … if you went to several garage sales and just enjoyed capitalism at is best?

What would it be like … if you could be just you and be ok with that?
What would it be like … if you forgot some of the things you are suppose to forget?
What would it be like … if you did all you can do and quit worrying about what you can not do?

What would it be like … if at the end of each day, you could honestly say, “I did my best?”
What would it be like … if today you told someone, “I am proud of you?”
What would it be like … if you made lemonade out of the lemons handed you?

What would it be like … if, after eating at the Cracker Barrel restaurant you sit on their front porch and rock in a rocking chair for 25 minutes while your meal digests?
What would it be like … if you see the glass half full and pour in more water?
What would it be like … if you contributed to the solution and not the problem?

What would it be like … if everyone was like you?

HOG THOUGHT: Because tomorrow never comes, you may want to heed the advice of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, “Light tomorrow with today.” Why don’t you do something today to brighten someone else’s tomorrow?

HOG QUOTE: “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.” —Proverbs 27:1

HOG ACTION: Live today. Sing the song of success that resides within.

A Progress Report Card #43

2009-06-14T11:12:00.000-07:00

The Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines “progress” as “a forward or onward movement (as to an objective or to a goal); a gradual progressive betterment.”

I think the average person views the results of his or her effort in terms of success or failure. While
success-oriented people look at the results of their actions in terms of progress toward professional growth and maturing expertise.

An illustration will help explain this distinction. Early one Saturday morning, while I was walking through my neighborhood, I noticed this message on an elementary school message board, “Students Progress Reports Due This Week.” My mind flashed back to a time when I was in elementary school and students received “report cards.” Now they call them “progress reports.”

Obviously there is a big difference between a progress report and a report card. The progress report is a measurement of movement toward a goal or goals. While a report card reflects degrees of passing or failing. A report card can also be used to measures an individual against other students in the class thereby establishing a pecking order among peers.

As I reflected on the message of the elementary school board sign I, instantly understood that that I preferred to have my actions graded using a progress report. The measurement being: are you more effective today than yesterday, better this week than last week, more productive this year than last year?

The best way to ensure you are making progress is to ask yourself three question. But don’t answer them quickly or flippantly. Your goal is to determine if you are truly more effective today than you were last week, last month, or even last year.

Are you making progress toward your goal?
To make progress toward reaching your goal, you must first set a clear well defined goal. You can’t achieve everything and do everything. Having a goal sharpens the focus of your plan, and helps to avoid wasting effort on irrelevant and conflicting issues. Knowing what you want to achieve is the first step in making progress toward your goal.

Are you making progress toward getting organized?
Organize around your goals. Organizing forces you to simplify your plan and deal with priorities.
Knowing what to do, when to do it, where to do it, and how to do it enhances your progress toward goal achievement. Don’t forget to organize your time. Peter Drucker in The Effective Executive writes, “Time is the scarcest resource, and unless it is managed, nothing else can be managed.” Look for and eliminate time-wasters.

Are you making progress toward integrating actions?
Always connect the goal to your actions. Focus on activities that bring you closer to the goal and eliminate actions that don’t contribute to goal achievement. Identify the actions that will deliver success and then ask yourself, “Are you really doing the things that are required to reach your goals or, do you equate “success” with effort and not results?” Spend more time on results than touting your efforts. Results count, not effort.

Progress is a habit; it is a mindset. And a mindset can always be improved. Strive for daily and weekly improvement in all your actions. Challenge your current commitment to self progress.

Each and ever one of us face the urgent need to make progress —rapid and continuous — in our personal life, our career and our organization. Incremental progress doesn’t work in today’s world. If your idea of progress is small calculated steps toward a distant goal, you will be passed on the autobahn of progress (change) by others with their “pedal to the metal.”

HOG THOUGHT: Progress is made by organizing activities around accomplishing the goal. In the normal course of making progress, Successful people make significant impact getting the right things done by doing the right things.

HOG QUOTE: “Restlessness and discontent are the first necessities of progress.” — Thomas A. Edison

HOG ACTION: We are to: Make progress toward our goals; Make progress toward getting organized; Make progress toward integrating actions. The goal is to make progress and progress requires change.

Preparation and Great Practice Lead to Winning #42

2009-05-30T11:46:00.000-07:00

Legendary football coach Vince Lombardi said, “Winning is not a sometime thing; it’s an all-the-time thing...” The same thing can be said of selling. Selling is not a sometime thing; it’s an all-the-time thing. You don’t sell once in a while; you don’t sell on some calls and not on others; you sell on all your calls. Professional selling is a habit. Unfortunately, so is order-taking.

You do not have to reinvent the formulas for winning or selling. Just find out what they are and model them. Both formulas have in common a key ingredient: Practice. Professionals in any arena spend time practicing. The greats spend more time practicing than they do performing.Practice is not fun, but as Malcolm Gladwell writes in Outliers, “To be great at what you do requires that you work harder in practice and in follow through than those you compete with. It is done on your own and not in the main arena or under the spotlight.”

You measure winning by the results, not by the effort. If the result you want to deliver is delighted customers, you will have to use their measuring tool. Only your customer can tell you whether you are delivering solutions to their problems and truly taking care of them.

Making sales call doesn’t make money. Making sales makes money. That is why the professional is prepared and asks for an order on every call. With the goal of writing an order on every sales call clearly understood, the winner is prepared to do what, when, where and how to serve their customer or client.

Winners spend quality time in preparation for each customer or client contact. The pre-call preparations help identify what it takes to make your customer more productive and their job less stressful.

Winning is in direct proportion to practice and Professionals invest a lot of time in preparation and practice. Here are five things winners practice:

Practice starting today. Today is the day to begin to get better. There is no better time than the present. So heed the words of Robin Williams in the movie, Dead Poets Society, “Carpe Diem” —seize the day.

Practice in the present to guarantee the future. College football teams practice Monday thru Friday for the big game on Saturday. The better they practice during the week the better they perform at kickoff time. Practicing in the present helps create your profitable tomorrow.

Practice your sales call. You have heard that it’s not practice that makes you perfect, but perfect practice that makes you perfect. Practice will improve anyone. Often this will not be fun. And most often it is done in solitude. As Marshal Matt Dillon described his job on the popular radio show, Gun Smoke, “It’s a chancy job and you get lonely.” Practice may be lonely, but it helps eliminate the uncertainty in your job. You practice for one reason: to be great at what you do.

Practice the “five minute / three question reflective moment.” After every sales call you make, take five minutes to honestly review what you did or did not accomplish and what you will do on the next call to be more effective. Ask and answer these three questions: 1. What did I do that contributed to building my relationship? 2. What did I do that inhibited building my relationship? 3. How do I improve next time? Focus on learning from your mistakes and successes. This short reflective moment can help improve your ability to close future sales and remain a winner.

Practice is hard and it’s not fun. If winning were easy, almost everyone would be a winner. But winners are a step or two ahead of the pack. They do the things that the crowd is unwilling to do. They spend hours deliberately practicing those activities or actions that improve performance in their specific occupation. When asked about his practice routine, golfing great, Gary Player said, “The harder I practice, the luckier I get.” Practice is hard, but it is a difference maker.

Instead of looking at practice as a chore, winners challenge themselves to view it as a self-improvement exercise; a review of the “game film” or an After Action Review. In practice, you are working out the kinks and building winning muscle before the curtain rises on opening day. Look at practice as a dry run or “Off Broadway” presentation.

HOG THOUGHT: Winning is like losing—it is the end game. People remember winners and quickly forget losers. Organizations reward winners and fire losers. The problem with many people is that they are good losers instead of being great winners. Great winners never get comfortable. They use great practice sessions to help them become better, stay ahead of the competition, and be more successful. Great practice enables ordinary people do extraordinary things.

HOG QUOTE: “Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good.” — Malcolm Gladwell, author, Outliers

HOG ACTION: You can choose to practice or not practice. The outcome of your choice is not yours. Therefore, practice.

Be A Difference Maker #41

2009-05-17T15:08:00.000-07:00

In the classic song, What A Difference A Day Makes, Dinah Washington sings, “What a difference a day makes, twenty-four little hours brought the sun and flowers where there used to be rain.” This theme reminds us that in a short period of time, creative actions can produce big differences.

There are people who, when confronted with an opportunity to make a difference, opt out and choose the ordinary, the common, the familiar, the safe. But, if you want to make a difference be reminded of the words of Robert Frost, Two roads diverged in a wood, and I... I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference. Often it is the less traveled road, the less popular position, the seemingly less rewarding choice that will make the extraordinary difference. Mediocrity is an anathema to a Difference Maker.
Difference Makers believe that their own actions, and not those of someone else, are the cause of their success or failure. Therefore, to be a Difference Maker you must:

1. Be willing to take risks. Don’t allow fear to overcome your desire to make a difference. Fear often leads to procrastination. Do. Any action might fail. But, if you don’t try, you guarantee failure. Start doing so you can become a difference maker.

2. Keep up with the latest technologies and innovations in your field. At a minimum you must constantly develop your skills that lead to the next level.

3. Be passionate about what you do. A competitive spirit under control can move mountains.

4. Be committed to what you are doing. Commitment has its foundation in confidence. Confidence plus desire produces commitment.

5. Provide answers to the problems. Many people are problem bearers; they are like Chicken Little only proclaiming, "the sky is falling." A difference maker identifies the correct problem and suggests plausible solutions.

6. Seek counsel from other stake holders and be open to making adjustments or corrections in your proposed plan. A committee is often not the best way to solve a problem, but a small group dedicated people can, using their combined experiences and creative abilities, design a plan that no single person could develop.

7. Be service-oriented. Make the lives of customers and associates better, easier, and more rewarding. Serve and there is no limit to reward.

If you are not making a difference in your position maybe you are not in the right position or you are not the right person for the position. Either way, it’s an untenable situation and must be corrected. "Don’t let what you cannot do,” wrote John Wooden, “interfere with what you can do.” Anyone with talent and desire can make a difference given that they are in a position to do so. If you consciously work to make a difference and find yourself unable to make that difference, consider finding another position in your current organization or finding another organization.

Making a difference is something you can do and do ever day. Your goal should be to get better at it. Each day is a new opportunity to travel the less traveled road.

You will never know the difference you can make until you began to make a difference. In the process of making a difference you become a better person and you come closer to achieving your purpose for being on planet earth.

HOG THOUGHT: The need for difference makers has never been greater. If you live each day to make a difference, you will be successful in your job and your personal life.

HOG QUOTE: “It's easy to make a buck. It's a lot tougher to make a difference.” —Tom Brokaw

HOG ACTION: Choose to be known as a difference maker. Challenge yourself to go out each day and make a difference by answering these three questions:

1. What will I do today to make a difference?
2. What am I doing today to make a difference?
3. What did I do today to make a difference?

Awareness Rocks #40

2009-05-09T08:20:00.000-07:00

I find few places more pleasant and restful than sitting in a rocking chair on my front porch. While slowly rocking back and forth, it’s easy to forget— even if it is for just a few minutes— that we live in difficult times.

The bad news from the world of business, finance and civics fills the communication pipelines. The U.S. unemployment rate is at 8.5% — 5 million people are unemployed; personal bankruptcy is at an all-time high; business and personal loans are hard to acquire; carnage and chaos are daily reminders that people keep killing innocent people. While this is a current picture of America, it is also a snapshot of the world; countries and people all over the globe are experiencing troubles.

But, good can come out of this. It often takes a crisis to force us to think. Against this bleak backdrop of failure and suffering is the idea that mankind’s mind will resolve these problems. Of all things created, only men and women can think and thereby create. Mankind alone has “ah ha” or “eureka” moments. And, it is our creative ideas—not one idea, but many ideas that will provide the true stimulus package to reignite our careers, our businesses, and our world.

Rocking back and forth in my rocker, I am aware of the sounds and sights around me. If I intently listen, I hear more than the honking of the sand cranes flying overhead. I also hear an owl in the distance and the singing of several robins in the magnolia tree in my front yard.

Focusing on the landscape in front of me, I see some new growth on the palm tree in my neighbor’s yard and a new car in another neighbor’s driveway. Yes, by focusing I become more aware or more perceptive of my situation and environment. But while I have more knowledge of what is happening around me, I do nothing with this awareness.

For my awareness to be useful, I must transform it from an observation word to a word of engagement. This new definition of “awareness” derives from an archaic root meaning watchful or wary. The ancient business use of awareness means people are to be on guard or cautious about getting involved or caught up in things outside their job description or their department or their team. This new definition of “awareness” means that difference makers are to be more than observant, more than informed and more than awake to opportunities to multiply their effectiveness and influence; they must act on what they observe.

If you are looking for some creative ways to use awareness as a word of engagement rather than an observation technique, consider using this list as awareness motivators.

1. I am finalizing a project report for my team, but I also have an associate in another department that could benefit from the content, I am aware and copy her.

2. I know that virtually everything accomplished by a team is done with the help of the members. I am aware and let each member of my team know how important his or her role is to the success of the team.

3. I am making a trip to the local hardware store, but I remember I need to have a prescription filled and will be passing by the pharmacy. I am aware and make two stops saving time and gasoline while avoiding the second trip later.

4. I notice a co-worker seems depressed. I am aware and speak a word of encouragement. The co-worker feels better and so do I.

5. I receive an email at work requesting information, but the email should have gone to another associate. Rather than replying to the sender and telling them they need to send their request to someone else, I am aware and forward the email to the correct person saving time for all concerned.

6. I read a good book and I am aware of someone else who would enjoy the book, I email or phone them and recommend the book. Or, better send them a copy.

7. I help a customer or client solve a problem and I am aware that other customers and clients have a similar problem; therefore I share this solution. (I am also aware not to reveal confidential information).

Front porch rocking-chair logic suggests that the current bad news may get worse before it gets better. While the economy is looking for a bottom, innovative people and companies are looking for their own stimulus package—a package of creative ideas that reinvent the way we do things.

It is human nature to be skeptical of innovation and change and try to ride things out. But standing on the sidelines is a very unforgiving activity. “Status quo” is not a part of an innovation machine. It is my opinion that the leaders who emerge from today’s difficult times will be the people and organizations that focused on awareness and timely execution.

HOG THOUGHT: Ideas keep us looking to the future and expanding our possibilities. Execution is the seismic action that enables a person to take advantage of the future, today. Think about using awareness as a creative advantage in your daily life.

HOG QUOTE: “Let us not look back in anger or forward in fear, but around in awareness.” —James Thurber

HOG ACTION: Awareness shows how a small idea can become a big innovation. Be ever watchful and look for opportunities to help yourself, your organization, and someone else.

The Red Walking Socks #39

2009-04-25T07:53:00.000-07:00

During a recent and unplanned trip to the local hospital emergency room, my wife was required to stay 24 hours for observation. She had gotten up during the night, blacked out and fell backward hitting her head on the marble topped night stand beside the bed. Nine hours later, a half-dozen test and seven stitches, a nurse took her to a hospital room for 24 hour observation.

It seems a lot of people fall. According to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2008 analysis of 2005 statistics on falls, each year one of every three Americans 65 and older falls—and almost a third require medial treatment.

I thought it strange when a nurse came into my wife’s room and replaced her hospital-issued green “walking socks” with red ones. When I questioned the nurse why the change, she said, “the red socks alerts all the nurses on the floor that the wearer is prone to fall.” The red socks act as a warning sign and alert the nurses to be extra vigilant.

It would be nice if disenchanted customers, patrons or clients wore red walking socks to alert you that you had fallen out of step with them. It’s easy for a customer’s loyalty to slip on a late shipment, or stumble on a product mix up, or lose balance over what they perceive as a lack of attention resulting in a loss of sales and even switching to a competitor.

Often customers will not tell you what you are doing wrong, so sales fall prevention begins with you. Keep yourself in front of your customer—personal visit, phone call, email, fax or a simple note sent via US Mail—on a regular basis. Six actions you can take right now to reduce your risk of being a victim of falling sales:

1. Consistently review your sale reports and look for variances, especially those that aren’t easily explainable.
2. Look for evidence of inroads being made by your competition.
3. Ask your customer to evaluate your service, product and pricing. Just say, “How am I doing?” “Are we living up to your expectations?”
4. Ask, “What can I do to improve my serve?
5. Ask, “Is there something else I or my company can do to make your job easier?”
6. Ask, “What does your supervisor or boss think about me and my company?”

Whatever you do, you should consistently follow the first rule of customer service: enough is never enough.

Always be working to improve your service.

HOG THOUGHT:
Professionals are constantly doing two jobs at once: selling profitably today and positioning themselves to be successful tomorrow. If you plan on tomorrow being more profitable than today, you must make a habit of looking for red warning signs and take corrective action.

HOG QUOTE:
“I was always afraid of dying. Always. It was my fear that made me learn everything I could about my airplane and my emergency equipment, and kept me flying respectful of my machine and always alert in the cockpit.” — Chuck Yeager

HOG ACTION:
Be alert to recognize customer or client dissatisfaction, discontent, or frustration. At the first sign of red walking socks, determine the problem, assure your customer or client that you are on it and then get the issue(s) resolved in a timely manner. The quicker a problem is recognized, the faster it is solved. Great opportunities often are disguises as problems. Recognizing and solving problems is a key to relationship building.

The Caravan

2009-04-11T08:03:00.000-07:00

The following “Caravan” short story is not original with me. I wish it were. I haven’t a clue to the author. In fact, I don’t recall seeing the story in print. But, I have heard this narrative numerous times and in assorted settings, but always with the same insight: “He who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly; and he who sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully.” —The Good Book.

One night a small caravan was crossing the desert. The night was unusually dark; it was quarter-moon. Suddenly, about midnight, a voice spoke out of the heavens commanding the travelers to stop and dismount.

Once on the ground, they were instructed to pick up rocks and place them in their saddlebags. They were told by following these instructions, that in the morning when the sun came up, they would be both glad and sad.

Doing as they were instructed, they remounted their camels. As they rode along in silence, they pondered the strange experience and the meaning of the daylight surprise.

At the first sign of light, the travelers dismounted and carefully opened their saddlebags. Inside the bags they gladly discovered that the rocks they had picked up during the night had turned into gold. But the gladness was short lived because they quickly realized that they should have picked up more rocks.

Some people easily identify with this glad/sad situation. They see themselves at the midnight of life. When opportunity calls, they choose to pick up only a few rocks or none at all. Their life is an arduous journey. Greatness has eluded them before. Someone or some event blocks their way to the top. Therefore, why dismount and pick up rocks? Why be on time for work; few co-workers do? Why give 110%; only fools do more than they have to? Why help another team member, they never help you? Why suggest a solution to a problem, someone has obviously thought of the idea before?

The great British mathematician and physicist, Sir Isaac Newton, when asked about his scientific greatness, confessed, “I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.” If Newton acknowledged to only touching the shoreline of truth, what can we say about the degree of our commitment to achieving our full potential?

As for time and talents, I think they are too valuable to be sacrificed in picking up shells when the great sea of opportunity lies before us. Success resides in the ocean, not along the shore. I am not a boater, but I know boats are safest when in the harbor, but that is not what they are built for. You weren’t built for failure. You are here to snare significant opportunities when they present themselves.

The world-class performer is never satisfied. He or she never ceases to pick up rocks or aimlessly wander along the shore. Performers never stop asking, “What if?”, “What else?”, “Where else?”, and “How else?” They never stop learning; they don’t stop short of their goal — they never cease to do: whatever, whenever, wherever and however to take care of a customer, client, fan or prospect —internal or external.

HOG THOUGHT: Hindsight and regrets have no place in your thoughts or conversation. Accept the fact that you have a new day. Let that truth power you to your goal. Start today to pick up rocks— and not a few— and diligently search the ocean of opportunity that lies before you.

HOG QUOTE: “The difference between what I am and what I become is what I do.” — Anonymous

HOG ACTION: Good things usually begin with picking up a few “rocks, but great things invariably begin with picking up a lot of “rocks.” Welcome the extra work; go the extra mile and tomorrow you will be both glad and sad. You will be glad that you have become a success and you will be sad that you did not start sooner and work smarter.

Three Pictures, Ten Dollars

2009-03-28T07:37:00.000-07:00

A tall young U.S. Marine serving in Afghanistan visited a bazaar in Kabul with one of his friends, an Army Major. They came upon an enterprising camel owner who was offering people an opportunity to photograph his camel. This Afghan entrepreneur had a sign that read: “Picture of camel, $5.00; Picture of you with the camel, $5.00 and picture of you riding camel, $8.00.” This was the posted prices, but everyone knows, the way business gets done in Afghanistan is through bargaining. Posted prices are the starting point or they are the final price for the uninitiated.

The Marine said to the camel owner, “I want three pictures, one of the camel, one of me on the camel and one of the camel, my friend and me — ten dollars.” The camel owner, replied, “Eighteen dollars.” The Marine, replied, “Three pictures, one of the camel, one of me on the camel and one of the camel, my friend and me — ten dollars! To which the camel owner replied, “Fifteen dollars.” Once again the Marine held up his ten dollar bill and repeated his offer, “Three photos — ten dollars.” The camel owner countered with, “Thirteen dollars.”

The camel owner had the camel and wanted the Marine’s money; the Marine had a camera, wanted three pictures and had ten dollars. They were haggling over a gap between selling and buying price. The bridge became the Marines steadfastness. He wanted three pictures and the Arab wanted the ten dollars. For the Marine the ten dollars was small; for the camel owner, the ten dollars was big.

After several more exchanges, the camel owner, realizing that ten dollars was better than nothing, gave in; the Marine got what he wanted and the camel owner wanted what he got.

Sometimes in life, you are the Marine and sometimes you are the camel owner. Sometimes to reach your goal, you need to be steadfast, unchanging, and unmovable. Other times, you need to survey the situation, be flexible and heed the maxim, “A bird in the hand is better than two in the bush.” Bridging the gap between what must be and what can be, you make your decision based on what is negotiable and what is not. Where do you stand fast and where are you flexible? If you must have three pictures and you only have ten dollars, the choice is easy. If you have a camel and there isn’t a line of people waiting to have their picture taken with your animal, you become more flexible.

If you must have three pictures and only want to spend ten dollars, there are three things you need to clearly understand about steadfastness: Attitude, Belief, and Focus.

Attitude
You must have or develop a “never-quit attitude.” You simply refuse to give up. You have a goal and you are determined to achieve it. Success doesn’t come easily and we must keep on keeping on. We encounter obstacles, discouragements and disappointments, but we prepare for them. Or, if they arise unexpectedly, we have a “fall back” plan. A positive attitude will keep you moving forward. You may not achieve all your goals, but in the end you would agree with William James, “Most people never run far enough on their first wind to find out they've got a second.”

Believe In Yourself
You must believe in yourself and your strengths. To believe in yourself typically means that you have confidence in your talents and strengths. This confidence comes from high self-esteem. The truth is that only a small percentage of people ever achieve their full potential. We would do well to heed Buckminster Fuller’s revealing insight, “I am convinced all of humanity is born with more gifts than we know. Most are born geniuses and just get de-geniused rapidly.”

Focus
You must stay focused on the task at hand and not get distracted. Distractions—people, projects and emergencies — clamor for your attention. But your “get-it-done” attitude will help keep you focused on what is important and vital to your success as opposed to what is urgent and peripheral. Disappointments and setbacks occur and should be viewed as instruments of learning and not permanent failure. Stay focused and don’t get sidetracked by tasks with fringe benefits.

Three synonyms for “steadfastness” are: perseverance, resoluteness, and determination. Get the picture? I bet ten dollars you do.

HOG THOUGHT: Steadfastness is the stance you take after you have carefully weighed your resources against the target and decide to commit to the attainment of the goal. The people who achieve in this world are the people who land on the beach, burn their boats and march inland to victory.

HOG QUOTE:
“It's not that I'm so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer. “ --Albert Einstein

HOG ACTION: Don’t be afraid to stand fast. Often people just need to know that you are truly sincere in your requests or actions. Every time you achieve a goal, you are that much stronger and confident. So, focus all your efforts today toward achieving your key goals. In your steadiness remember the words of Jacob A. Riis, “Look at a stone cutter hammering away at his rock, perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred-and-first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not the last blow that did it, but all that had gone before.”

Some Books Are Just Good "Fishing" Books

2009-03-15T14:13:00.000-07:00

I read books for pleasure, information and application. Two books I have recently read meet this criterion. One book is non-fiction and deals with the 2006 disastrous climb of Mt. Everest. The other book is fiction and tells the story of a shepherd boy who leaves his home in Spain to search for a treasure supposedly buried in the Pyramids in Egypt, only to find that the treasure is located back where he started his journey

I would classify both books, Into Thin Air and The Alchemist as “fishing” books. I am not talking about outdoors fishing, deep sea fishing or even ice fishing. What I refer to is these books have a fishing hook that catches the reader, hook line and sinker. Read the first page of either book and you have taken the bait, you’re hooked.

Both books have been in print for some time now, but it took the recommendation by two friends for me to travel to the book store and purchase the books. Without their suggestions that I might enjoy reading each of the books, I may have missed being blessed by Jon Krakauer, author of Into Thin Air and Paulo Coelho, author of The Alchemist.

People read books for enjoyment. But the content of a book, when applied to our everyday life, should make us a better person. The Alchemist provides two excellent examples of ideas, that have the power to make us a better person and therefore more successful. In the book, a camel driver tells the Sheppard boy why he is not concerned with the threat of war that surrounds them: “Because I don’t live in either my past or my future. I’m interested only in the present. If you can concentrate always on the present, you’ll be a happy man.” The moral: live the moment. Later the Sheppard boy explains what alchemists do. “They show that, when we strive to become better than we are, everything around us become better, too.” The better sales person has the better customers and works for the better company; the better company has the better employees; the better doctor heals people quicker and saves more lives; the better entertainer provides better enjoyment; the better teacher graduates better students and the better neighbor lives in a better neighborhood.

Through this posting, I am recommending a number of “fishing” books that you may want to consider in addition to the above two mentioned books. I believe you will be a better person for having read any of the following books:

1. The Greatest Salesman In The World, by Og Mandino — The story of a camel boy who is given ten ancient scrolls which contain the wisdom necessary for the boy—or anyone— to achieve all his ambitions.
2. The Richest Man in Babylon, by George S. Clason — Using parables to teach simple lesson in timeless financial wisdom aka how to get rich.
3. Hope Is Not A Method, by Gordon R. Sullivan & Michael V. Harper. Practical lessons on leadership, acting strategically, and human behavior for business leaders from America’s Army.
4. Execution the Discipline of Getting Things Done, by Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan — Sound, practical advice about how to get things done. “The absence of execution,” the authors write, “is the single biggest obstacle to success and the cause of most of the disappointments that are mistakenly attributed to others causes.”
5. The Effective Executive, by Peter F. Drucker — The practices the executive must master in order to be truly effective. Drucker writes, “The executive is, first of all, expected to get the right things done. He or she is to work on truly important things.”
6. A Message to Garcia, by Elbert Hubbard — A very short book that delivers. The story of Colonel Andrew S. Rowan, who when called on by the President to delivery a message of importance to Garcia, delivered. (See Hawg Blawg, Feb. 1, 2009).
7. Patton on Leadership, by Alan Axelrod — Strategic lessons for corporate warfare.
8. Selling the Invisible, by Harry Beckwith — A field guide to modern marketing for those in a service business. How markets work and prospects think.
9. Now, Discover Your Strengths— by Marcus Buckingham & Donald O. Clifton — Shows you how to develop your unique talents and strengths — and those of the people you manage.
10. Positioning the Battle for the Mind — by Al Ries & Jack Trout. A classic in using positioning as a communication tool to reach target customers in an over communicated marketplace.
11. Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell — Discusses what separates the high achievers from the rest of us. (Gladwell is the author of two other outstanding books: The Tipping Point and Blink)
12. Talent Is Overrated, by Geoff Colvin — The premise is that great performance isn’t reserved for a preordained few. The price may be high—but it is available to us all.

There are a lot more “fishing” books, but here is a fishing trip a month for twelve months. So, cast out your line, set your hook and don’t let the “big” one get away.

HOG THOUGHT: There are all kinds of books on all kinds of subjects. Invest in yourself and purchase a book on a subject that you enjoy and want to know more about. Read for pleasure and information, but always for application. You can buy a “fishing” book today at a book store, order online or check out at your local library.

HOG QUOTE: “Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body." —Joseph Addison

HOG ACTION: Live in the moment. Read and digest a good book this month. Set your goal to read every day. Look for good ideas that you can put to practice in your life, professional and/or personal. Information plus execution will help make you a better person.

Note. I post every two weeks. This is posting number 36.

A Coach Sees the Athlete in Each of His Players

2009-02-28T07:06:00.000-08:00

The coach spoke masterfully. His speech was memorable and motivating. I don’t know his speaking fee, but he was worth it. The audience’s reaction confirmed the company made a wise investment in retaining Rick Pitino, basketball coach of the University of Louisville Cardinals, to fire up the troops.

Basketball is not my favorite sport, football is. But, this basketball coach was good. Using illustrations from his experiences in professional and college basketball, Coach Pitino was like Michael Jordan driving to the basket or Shaq dunking. No PowerPoint, no video clips, no notes, just “heart talk.”

Talk is cheap and plentiful. Heart talk is rare and therefore, valuable. Scarcity drives up the value of anything. Coach Pitino made valuable points and exquisitely tied them together to paint a picture of how a successful coach brings out the athlete in each of his players. His speech was reminiscent of the words on a popular motivational poster, “A coach sees the athlete in each of his players.”

Though Pitino attributed much of his success to the great talent on the teams he coached, I was captivated by his comments on self-esteem. He spoke about how a successful coach or successful manager works to improve his player’s or employee’s self-esteem. The coach shared personal experiences with players he had coached as evidence that improvement in self-esteem greatly improves productivity. Coach Pitino made a three-point play when he said that a coach or leader can raise the output of the individuals on their team by helping increase the player or employee’s self esteem.

After the speech, I got thinking about the presentation. What about the person who has greatness within but isn’t fortunate enough to have a Pitino-type coach who senses this latent ability and works to help develop it? Unfortunately many people, especially sales people, don’t work for a coach-leader. These people need a “do-it-yourself” self-esteem development program.

Self-Esteem can be described as, how much you like yourself. It is your self approval rating. Self-Esteem is an evaluation of self-worth and stresses the striking contrast between your Self-Image and your Self-Ideal; between outward appearance and inner reality. The more you see your Self-Image matching your Self-Ideal the higher your Self-Esteem. The less you see your Self-Image matching your Self-Ideal the lower your self-esteem and the lower your opinion of yourself.

Self-Image is the way you see you and think about yourself today. Your actions throughout your life are consistent with the image you have of your self inside Your Self-image sets limits on what you can attain. In the absence of any deliberate change on our part, we will continue doing, thinking, saying, and feeling very much the same things indefinitely. To improve your Self-Image and change the way you act, you have to change your internal image.

Self-Ideal is the description of the person you would most like to be in the future—your self hero. It is an idealized image of what you want to be. When you see yourself closely resembling your Self-Ideal you will have a positive Self-Esteem.

We’re familiar with Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. After the three basic needs, Physical Needs, Security, and the need of Belonging, comes the need for Self-esteem. If you are healthy, reasonable secure and know you are loved, why not become what you are meant to be, your self-ideal. Inside you is a success waiting to be set free. Don’t wait for someone else to validate you.

Lots of people talk about wanting to develop more self esteem, to improve their self image, to become their self-ideal, but only a few are truly dedicated to spend the time and energy to do so. Commitment to self-improvement is the key.

Engage yourself in “heart talk”. Play the role of coach Pitino and bring out the successful “athlete” within. Coach yourself to a higher level of productivity by believing in yourself and daily executing to the fullest your talent. Don’t short change yourself and miss an easy layup. Not everyone can be number one but everyone can be someone. When you become the someone you should be, let that be enough.

HOG THOUGHT: Being a success is about a lot more than IQ and talent. It involves having a true picture of yourself in your head. Accept yourself. Love yourself. Be proud of you. You are unique, unlike anyone else who has ever lived or will ever live. You are like your finger prints— one of a kind.

HOG QUOTE: “It’s no exaggeration to say that a strong, positive self-image is the best possible preparation for success in life.” —Dr. Joyce Brothers

HOG ACTION: Self Esteem is something you can improve and every day your goal should be to improve. Every day is a new opportunity to see yourself as becoming the person you want to be. You can also help improve someone else’s self-esteem by accepting them for who they are and their uniqueness. After all, self-esteem is an evaluation process. Give the other person a reason for increasing their self evaluation score. Encouraging someone else is like using a lighted candle to light their candle, you lost nothing in the exchange but now there are two sources of light.

There Is Always An Opportunity Window

2009-02-14T18:23:00.000-08:00

There is always an opportunity window, a time or period when the odds of success are weighted in your favor.

The advertising opportunity window for a company selling roofing shingles is right after a hard rain. Snow shovels sell best after the first big snow and radiator coolant flies off the shelf the day before the first seasonal freeze. People line up to get their anti freeze, having known for weeks that they would need it. Car owners replace their tires most often when the tires have become dangerously tread bare, even bald. Many people will only see their doctor after they have a major health scare. Contrary, it is difficult to create demand for coats—even mink ones—in June or July. Like roofing, snow shovels, anti-freeze and mink coats, there is an economic opportunity window. For opportunistic people, the sinking economy and the rising unemployment situation can offer a window of opportunity.

If you are in sales — and everyone is— you want to be open to opportunity. In economic downturns it is easy to lament about how bad things are and blindly accept as fact, people and companies are just not buying. While at some organizations purchasing budgets seem to have evaporated, other buyers have yet to reach their budget boiling point and are still issuing purchase orders, accepting shipments and writing checks.

For many employees this is the time they spend fantasizing about the past and better times or rationalizing the current bad way their company is treating them: eliminating 401k matching funds, freezing salaries and bonuses, restricting expense budgets, etc. Employers may focus on “denominator” business strategy—cutting expenses rather, than on “numerator” (above the line) strategy and work to increase sales and share of market. “Numerator” employers look for opportunities to take advantage of their competitors who are focused on entrenching or circling the wagons.

There are many opportunities out there, but too few opportunists. You may be right in the middle of a great window of opportunity — an opportunity that offers unparalleled success for you and/or your business. It is time to see the future in the present.

The window opportunity is presented to those people who are willing to turn on the lights and work despite the darkness. While others read and hear bad news, opportunity workers are using their time and talents to find prospects that are buying. They search for needs that are going unfilled within their department or company, and develop and introduce new products or services that people are willing to pay for.

Opportunity workers and innovative companies are on the same playing field as their counterparts, who are not playing the same game. They see, hear and sense things that others don’t.

Opportunistic workers are strange beings — while helping themselves, they help their coworkers, their company and the nation. They think about the situation, see the opportunity and get to work. Opportunistic Workers don’t see bad or good times they look at the day and see the right time.

HOG THOUGHT: Successful people are opportunity-conscious. Once they recognize a window of opportunity they quickly connect their actions to achieving these opportunities. Unsuccessful people don’t even see an opportunity. They pass time and wait for something to change. Someone once said, “Weight is what loads down the donkey.” So, wait and lose.

HOG QUOTE: “Our grand business is not to see what lies dimly in the distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand.” — Thomas Caryle

HOG ACTION: Starting today, don’t merely look for windows of opportunity that can be exploited, but also devise such situations that are tailored to your strengths and the strengths of your organization.

Do You Get It Done?

2009-02-01T17:10:00.000-08:00

My son, a Major in the United States Army, was so impressed with the book, A Message to Garcia that when he was a Captain he gave a copy of the book to all his lieutenants to read. When presenting them the book, he would tell them, “There are some people who deliver the goods; they are the people who get it done! That’s what the Army and I expect of you.”

The inspiring story of A Message to Garcia is the story about Colonel Andrew Summers Rowan, who, when the Spanish-American War broke out, was a young lieutenant in the United States Army. Rowan was chosen to deliver a message from President McKinley to General Calixto Garcia the leader of the revolutionary forces. Author Elbert Hubbard set the stage for the drama that followed by writing in his 1899 essay, “Garcia was somewhere in the mountain vastnesses of Cuba — no one know where. No mail or telegraph message could reach him. The President must secure his co-operation, and quickly.”

Lieutenant Rowan held the lowest commission rank in the Army but, by having his name suggested to the President, Lieutenant Rowan received the ultimate commendation “If anybody can find Garcia, it is Rowan.”

After receiving his instructions to carry the message to Garcia, Lieutenant Rowan shook his commander’s hand and without asking one question sailed to Cuba with no other help and no other directions than to deliver the President’s message.

With only the assistance of native guides provided by Cuban patriots, Rowan made his way into the mountains of the interior and delivered his message to Garcia. The lieutenant faced many obstacles, but as the author of this essay, Elbert Hubbard writes, “It was the sheer courage and indomitable spirit of the young lieutenant that were at the heart of the accomplishment of his mission.”

Elbert Hubbard penned A Message to Garcia over 100 years ago. Over 40-million copies have been sold and it has been translated into 37 languages making it one of the highest selling books in history. Maybe the message of this “old” essay is really a new message for change. How long has it been since your manger gave you an assignment and you took the message to Garcia? Can you remember giving a task to one of your employees and without questioning you about, what, when, where, why or how, they took the message to Garcia? When did you last volunteer to take a message to Garcia?

To paraphrase a popular song, “What the world needs now is more people taking the message to Garcia.” Governments, business, the military, religious institution, organizations (profit and non-profit), sporting teams, hospitals, schools and universities, everywhere the search is underway for Lieutenant Rowans.

I know many organizations classify their employees using the ABC method. If you are a Rowan, you are easily an “A”. In tough times, the “A” players— the message carriers — are highly prized.

HOG THOUGHT: Are you a Rowan? When asked to accomplish a task, do you deliver? Do you do more than is expected? Are you one of the rare individuals that can take a message to Garcia? Or, are you a non-Rowan with a victim mentality asking a lot of questions and offering a litany of excuses?

HOG QUOTE: “Civilization is one long, anxious search for just such individuals (Rowans). Anything such a man asks shall be granted. He is wanted in every city, town and village — in every office, shop, store and factory. The world cries out for such; he is needed and needed badly — the man who can.” — Elbert Hubbard, A Message to Garcia

HOG ACTION: Remember, change is a decision and excellence is not an option. When you choose to be a Hog, you decide to welcome change and accept excellence as your standard for delivering, “The Message to Garcia.”

We Like Talkers, but Employers Prefer Doers

2009-01-20T15:53:00.000-08:00

When I was a kid, we were taught it was better to be seen than heard. These days, it seems like being heard is more important.

We like talkers. The National Speakers Association is comprised of more than 3,000 professional speakers and after-dinner entertainment specialist. Some of these keynote, seminar and motivational speakers, celebrities, best-selling authors and sales trainers earn up to $1,000,000 a year just talking. Parade Magazine (Dec. 7, 2008) reports that ex-president Bill Clinton has earned $52 million in fees since leaving office and George H.W. Bush ears up to $100,000 per speech.

But for the other 305-million of us who don’t earn our living exclusively talking, we need to focus on being better doers. Because employers value people who get the right thing done, now is an excellent time to be a doer.

Ask almost any manager and he or she will tell you they prefer doers over talkers. That is understandable. Ask almost any employee and they will tell you they are a doer and not just a talker. That’s not always confirmed by the evidence.

Here are “Seven Qualities of a Doer.” While the list is not exhaustive it provides food for active thought leading to action.

1. Doers take an active part in making good things happen. They leave nothing to chance. They plan their work and work their plan.
2. Doers make the best use of their time. They know time has a monetary value and invest it wisely.
3. Doers perform the tasks assigned to them. They understand what is required of them. They have specific directions and a goal for achieving them. Henry Ford said, “If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right.”
4. Doers execute. They daily do those specific activities that will eventually lead to achievement of their goal. They focus on what is right, not what is wrong. They focus on what they can do; never complain about what they can’t.
5. Doers are dependable. They do what they say they are going to do, and do it when they say they are going to do it. They work just a little harder and know just a little bit more than their competition.
6. Doers are practitioners. They see their job as a career, not just work. They practice their profession. They love what they do and are passionate about their work. As Abraham Maslow, the mid-twentieth century psychologist who established the theory of a hierarchy of needs wrote, “A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately at peace.”
7. Doers are builders. They know their actions combined with the actions of their co-workers will build a better team. Therefore, they make it easy for others to work with them.

While audiences can benefit from professional speakers who have a thorough knowledge of the appropriate topic, many people will return to their daily work routine where they fail to apply the information they received. They will go back to their role of doer, unchanged. The real information transformation occurs when you successfully introduce ideas you hear or read about, into your daily routine.

HOG QUOTE: “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” — Walt Disney

HOG THOUGHT: The 80 / 20 rule works well for doers. Spend 80% of your time doing and 20% talking.

HOG ACTION: Hold yourself accountable for getting the right things done.

Email Wayne Nalls at
wn-tampa@att.net

The Magic of Thinking Big

2009-01-09T16:19:00.000-08:00

While in graduate school, I took several marketing courses taught by Dr. David Schwartz who wrote, The Magic of Thinking Big. The book has sold over 2-million copies and explains how to set your goals high and then exceed them.

In the first class, Dr. Schwartz announced that, although the marketing class he was teaching did not require the purchase of his best-selling book, students that did buy the book—specifically the hardback version— usually received higher grades. He stated he would autograph copies of the hardback version only and remember those students as Big Thinkers. I bought the hardcopy, got the autograph and received A’s in both classes.

Dr. Schwartz lectured on teamwork and the need for the team to interact positively to achieve synergy. But, his real emphasis and passion was on the individual and his or her responsibility for their own success. The professor clearly believed the words of the Good Book when it states, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” Swartz taught that by awakening the professional within, you can inspire the professional without.

In The Magic of Thinking Big, Schwartz wrote, “Believe in yourself and good things do start happening.” His three guides to acquiring and strengthening your power of belief are: “1. Think success, don’t think failure. At work or in your home, substitute success thinking for failure thinking. Thinking success conditions your mind to create plans that produce success. 2. Remind yourself regularly that you are better than you think you are. Successful people are just ordinary folks who have developed belief in themselves and what they do. 3. Believe Big. The size of your success is determined by the size of your belief. Big ideas and big plans are often easier—certainly no more difficult—than small ideas and small plans.”

So, when you make plans: Think Big!

HOG THOUGHT: Thinking big awakens the professional within, which then inspires the professional without. What is on the inside shows up on the outside.

Hog Quote: “Big thinkers train themselves to see not just what is, but what can be.” —Dr. David Schwartz

Hog Action:
Dr. Schwartz signed my copy of his book, “Remember all things do work together for good. So, make good lemonade out of every lemon!” Hogs make lemonade out of every lemon because they: Think Big! Execute Big! Win Big!

Forget the Wake, Steer the Boat, Trim the Sails and Keep Your Eyes on the Goal

2008-12-27T06:40:00.000-08:00

Note. This posting is an updated version of the Feb. 26, 2008 entry that has been edited to be a companion piece to the two most recent postings that deal with the same subject, "Success In Tough Times."

When a Hog experiences a sales drought it is often easy to lie down and wallow in the mud. They look around and see gloom, doom and despair everywhere. Where once they envisioned a bright future, they now look backward at all the problems that are pressing upon them and drawing them away from their goal.

But, the answer to achieving goals does not lie in the past. You must not believe that the past drives your future. Past failures are just that; past failures. What you did or did not do yesterday or last week or last month does not have to influence you today. So, don't dwell on the past. At best, learn from it. Past experience is only useful to you as you apply it to the present and to the future.

For example the wake of a boat does nothing to propel it forward. A boater who continually watches the wake is headed for trouble. Successful boaters forget the wake, steer the boat, trim the sails and keep their eyes on their goal. Professionals must forget the past, execute action plans, monitor and adjust activities according to the winds of the territory, and stay focused on the goal.

By focusing on the goal, you can trim or eliminate current actions that sidetrack you from achieving your goal. Therefore, you are able to align your actions with your goals. Achieving your goals—business and personal—defines the life you live. Failing to achieve your goals also defines the life you live.

Your most important goal should be to live a life worth living. Author John Alston explained, “The dash between the birth year and year of death on a tombstone represents a person’s entire life—and it’s important to make sure it means something.” What will your dash represent?

HOG THOUGHT: Successful people laser-focus their time and talents on achieving a series of short-term goals, over time. Professionalism comes from grunting out hundreds of small goal-related action steps each day. If you continually say that you want to improve your follow through yet take no action-steps to improve it, then perhaps you just want to want to improve your follow through.

HOG QUOTE: “To will is to select a goal, determine a course of action that will bring one to that goal, and then hold to that action till the goal is reached. The key is action.” —Michael Hanson

HOG ACTION: Don't give the past the last word. Forget the wake, steer the boat, trim the sails and keep your eyes on the goal.

Success Can Not Be Separated From Opportunity and Work

2008-12-25T09:08:00.000-08:00

Thomas A. Edison said, “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”

I believe that success is the result of two things: opportunity and a willingness to work. In the case of opportunity, it’s an external thing. In the case of work, it’s an internal thing.

The New Year presents a golden opportunity for those who exploit the opportunity—the external. By working hard you release the internal willingness to work to produce the results you desire. Your success can not be separated from your work. In your work, you provide the evidence of the relationship between effort and reward. The harder and smarter you work, the more successful you will be and ultimately the more money you will make.

You will outwork, outsmart, and out serve your competition. While your competitor is overwhelmed at what they see as the realities of the poor performing economy, you take the initiative and turn lemons into lemonade. Success for you arises out of same circumstances that your competitor faces: high unemployment, a housing market in disarray, businesses going under, and loans hard to acquire.

The difference between you and your competitor is that in all this you see opportunity; they see problems. You are thankful for the opportunity afforded you; they complain about the bad luck confronting them. You seize the day, they bemoan the day. At the end of the day, you are tired from hard work; they are exhausted from hours of frustration, rationalization and no production.

Each of us has his or her own IQ, educational background and distinct talents. But IQ, education (formal and practical) and talents aren’t the characteristics that will lead to success this year. Overriding these distinctions is the strong desire to work. It’s not surprising, successful people work harder.

HOG THOUGHT: Successful companies know that their success is built on the hard work of their employees. Companies know that a hard-working employee is a scarce resource. That’s why successful companies work hard to encourage and reward them accordingly. The costs of not keeping hard workers are growing, as are the rewards of having a genuine committed work force.

HOG QUOTE: “There is no security on this earth, there is only opportunity.” —General Douglas MacArthur

HOG ACTION: Work hard and work smart.

It’s December and Almost Time to Say, “Happy New Year”

2008-11-30T19:48:00.000-08:00

“Start your new year today. And remember, anyone can make a resolution. Very few people keep one.” — Harvey Mackay

Often tomorrow arrives all too soon. But for me the upcoming New Year can’t come quick enough.

I want to stop thinking about 2008. I want to forget about the weak economy, the elimination of jobs, wondering if gas prices will shoot up again, the two foreign wars America is fighting and the year-long bickering between the two major political parties. Most of all, I want to forget that I forgot to keep my 2008 New Year’s Resolutions: one was to lose weight a second was to be better off financially at the end of 2008 than I was at the beginning of the year. I kept neither.

Most people make New Year’s Resolutions. Few of us keep them. We start the New Year with resolutions and end the year with mostly regrets. Then, we make more resolutions for the up-coming year. Resolutions are good because they make us confront reality. But resolutions without resoluteness are like nouns without verbs. The American College Dictionary defines “resolute” as, “firmly resolved or determined as in action.” Values that will affect success in the new year include: commitment, flexibility, creativity, attitude, steadfastness, and a sense of humor.

In discussing the history of New Year’s Resolutions, Gary Ryan Blair (www.GoalGuy.com) says that the tradition of the New Year's Resolutions goes all the way back to 153 B.C. Janus, a mythical king of early Rome was placed at the head of the calendar. With two faces, Janus could look back at the old year and forward to the new.

Looking back I want to forget 2008. My accomplishments and failures belong to the year that will soon be history. Looking forward to the New Year, I see change. While no one can predict the future, we know that 2009 will not be like 2008.

While many people will fail to keep their New Year resolutions, I am determined to do the few most important resolutions that I make and thereby change the results I have been getting. I will heed Yoda’s advice to Luke Skywalker in The Empire Strikes Back, “Luke, there is no try; there is either do or not do.” I choose do! I commit to fulfilling my New Years Resolutions.

Here are a few resolutions that you may want to consider for the New Year

• I will recognize how important my role is to the success of my company. To help my company achieve its goals, I will achieve my goals.

• I will focus my attention on the two or three most important priorities that will affect my success. I will take actions each day to bring me closer to achieving what really matters to me.

• I will recognize obstacles and look for alternative pathways to my goals. I will keep in mind the comic strip character, Pogo’s famous quote, “We have met the enemy and he is us.” On our journey to success the biggest obstacle we often encounter is ourselves. Lao-Tzu stated it well, “He who knows much about others may be learned, but he who understands himself is more intelligent. He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still.”

• I will improve my listening and communications skills. By keeping my eyes and ears open I will learn from others.

• I will improve and expand my education. Knowing that education is the single best investment and individual or organization can make. I will search out material and people that introduce me to new ideas, new ways of thinking, and new ways of doing things. I will look at learning as a continuous process. I will learn all day, every day.

• I will set reasonable but challenging goals that stretch me beyond my current abilities.

• I will have a short term goals and long term goals. Because I know that I am constantly doing two jobs: selling profitable today and putting myself in position to be successful tomorrow.

• I will watch and imitate others who are successful and respected. Studying the strengths and weaknesses of successful people allows me to incorporate the best practice of those who are successful.

• At the end of each work day I will ask my self, “What did I learn today that will make me more effective tomorrow? Then, I will apply the principle immediately.

• I will take ownership of my job and the results I get.

• I will put myself in the position of my customers, clients or residents and address their needs and interests, not my own.

• I will make my planned sales calls every day knowing that only one sales call is important to each customer.

• I will create competitive advantages and gain my customer’s loyalty.

• I will make the most of every day by being canceling out negative thoughts when they arise and replace them with positive affirmations.

• I will remember that, “On the day of victory no one is tired.”

• I will form a support chain with two or three of my co-workers. I will choose people I respect and not just people who I feel comfortable with. We will share experiences and helpful tips with one another to encourage and motivate us.

• I will “fake-it-till-I make-it.” I know old habits are hard to break and I won’t change overnight, but I will keep on acting as though I have achieved success. I believe the words of The Good Book: “For as he thinks within himself, so he is.” (Proverbs 23:7)

• I will control my stress. I know that stress comes not from any event but for my response to it. Therefore, I will respond to any event in a positive way and look for the good in everyone.

• I will do more than is required of me and I will do it with enthusiasm.

• I will be resilient. There is no pathway to success without obstacles. The ultimate test is whether I overcome them.

• I will develop my success plan and having developed it, I will execute it

• I will have pride in myself and my organization.

• Each day I will do my best and, having done that, I will sleep soundly.

• I will celebrate victories, both small and large. Success isn’t just about hard work and achieving goals—it’s also about having fun at the same time.

HOG QUOTE: “Our grand business is not to see what lies dimly in the distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand.” —Thomas Carlyle

HOG THOUGHT: To become a better salesperson, you first have to want to be one, believe you can be one, and commit to being one. You have to work on it all day, everyday. Becoming a professional in any field is not a sometime job. It is an all time job fueled by passion and commitment to achieving your own personal best.

HOG ACTION: Determine your New Year’s Resolutions, have faith that you will accomplish them, and then work with passion to achieve them.

There Is No Victory at Bargain Basement Prices

2008-11-20T14:35:00.000-08:00

Every four years we witness what can best be called a political paradox. The presidential campaign ends with a winner and a loser. I think these terms are contradictions. I believe the declared winner may really be the undeclared loser and the declared loser may become the undeclared winner.

You remember how George Bush was the winner in the 2004 election and Al Gore was the loser. Well, Gore went on to win the Nobel Prize and President Bush was saddled with the recession. Now we have another winner and looser. Only time will tell the real winner and the real loser. I am certain that I would not want the President’s job. Not for the money, the prestige, the power or even for the knowledge that I would not be charge extra for taking more than two bags on Air Force One.

I sleep well knowing others contend to be presidential winners. Campaigning for President of the United States of America is an energy draining, thankless and time consuming job. Along with 305,000,000 other Americans, I have no desire to have a large percentage of the 6.7-billion people on earth dislike me, regardless of the stance I take. But, I do find one thing of interest in a presidential campaign: the candidates advertising slogans. Some slogans are winners, some slogans are losers. Some are very memorable. For example, Williams Henry Harrison’s, “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too.” Or, Herbert Hoover’s slogan, “A chicken in every pot and a car in every garage.”

The presidential slogan that sticks out most in my mind is the simple but effective slogan from the 1952 Presidential campaign for General Dwight Eisenhower, I Like Ike. There is a lot to like about the thirty-fourth President of the United States. He was a five-star general in the United States Army, Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe during the Second World War and father of our Interstate Highway system. While the candidate’s three word slogan was catchy and memorable; I find deeper insight into this eight word quote from his address to the troops before the invasion of Normandy: “There is no victory at bargain basement prices.”

Winners pay the high price of success by pushing themselves just beyond what they currently do. It doesn’t matter whether they are in politics, military, business or sports or any other field, achievers continually push the envelope. They see limitations as only temporary restrictions. With laser focus and persistent endeavor they work at their highest level to move beyond or around obstacles or constraints that stand between them and their goals. In the final analysis, achievement often requires the ability to get more out of yourself than you’ve got. You push yourself just beyond your limit and you discover you have broken a self-imposing limit.

Roger Bannister broke the racing four-minute mile barrier for the first time on May 6, 1954. Until Bannister ran faster than his “limit”, it was a known scientific “fact”: No runner could run a sub-four-minute mile. Today, most milers run beyond that barrier.

If you want to be a winner and not a loser—presidential or otherwise —you must willingly pay the price by consistently and constantly working beyond your barrier, whatever the barrier.

HOG THOUGHT:
Victory has a cost and it doesn’t come at bargain basement prices. The price is often high. But, without victory there is no success. In the final analysis, achievement often requires the ability to get more out of yourself than you’ve got. When you do more than you think you are capable of doing, you will achieve more than your thought possible. Show me a person that works beyond their limit and I’ll show you a winner.

HOG QUOTE: “Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival.” —Winston Churchill

HOG ACTION: Set aside a time to think about your current personal goals and what it will take to achieve them. Count the cost and decide whether you are willing to pay that price. You may want to change goals. I offer these words from Socrates: "The unexamined life is not worth living."

Six Steps for Digging America and Your Company Out Of a Hole

2008-11-08T10:43:00.000-08:00

I read in the paper today (November 8) that the economy lost over 240,000 jobs in October bringing the total decline since August to 651,000. Clearly, these are very bad numbers. The unemployment rate climbed to 6.5 percent, the highest level since 1994. Nineteen ninety four, that seems so long ago, almost like a century away.

The new president-elect acknowledges that it isn’t going to be easy to dig ourselves out of this hole we are in. One day after his election, President-elect Obama, while acknowledging this great economic challenge said, “But, America is a strong and resilient country.”

It isn’t “America” that is going to change the economic situation. It’s Americans—people like you and me—that when faced with difficult choices and tough decisions decide to excel and perform above our limit.

First, confront reality or as George Kohlrieser, a professor at the International Institute for Management Development in Switzerland calls it: “Put the fish on the table. It’s smelly, and cleaning it is messy work, but you get a good meal in the end." We must face facts squarely. Understand what is and then begin to take action that contributes to improving the situation. Don’t be quick to say, “What is, is.” Go the extra mile. Keep in mind best-selling author and professional speaker Wayne Dryer’s words, “It’s never crowded along the extra mile.” It’s the travelers on the extra mile that will dig us out of the current economic hole and bring about the needed changes.

Second, know that 20 percent of the workforce produces 80 percent of the results. Therefore, commit yourself to be in this 20 percent. Have focus, a plan, a sense of mission and most importantly, execute! As we know, becoming great at anything requires commitment and action. Good intentions are not good enough. When we execute, we exceed expectations.

Third, acknowledge that you have inner resources that have never been tapped. Bad times drive good people to dig deep. Committing to achieving goals forces you to make use of your inner resources. In the final analysis, achievement often requires the ability to get more out of yourself than you think you have. Most people would be amazed at how little of their talent and resources they actually use.

Fourth, encourage and support those around you. It is acknowledged that a team of players committed to each other can beat another team made up of superstars that are seeking their own individual glory. In these times our country and our companies are looking for team players because team players are the right players for the time. Herb Brooks, coach of the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey team that beat the Soviets at Lake Placid captures this truth: “I’m not lookin’ for the best players; I’m lookin’ for the right players.” Are you one of the “right” players? If so, you will remain employed and help defeat the bad economy.

Fifth, serve. True greatness and a key to achieving success is to apply the Golden Hog Rule: You serve yourself best when you best serve someone else. Serving your customers, clients, patients and fellow team members takes the focus off of, “What’s in it for me” and spotlights, “What’s in it for you.” Remember, your side of the economic equation is only costs; revenue is produced on the other side of the equation.

Sixth, take responsibility for your attitude. Assign a number to each of the letters in the word “attitude” i.e. A= 1, T=20, I= 9, U=21, D=4, and E=5. Add these numbers up and the sum is 100. And 100% is how much of your attitude you are responsible for. Therefore, the attitude you bring to your job is your attitude, not someone else’s. Bring a good attitude and you do a good job; bring less than a good attitude and you may soon be one of the statistics in the unemployment figures. “You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the season, or the wind, but you can change yourself.” —Jim Rohn

These are six steps a country, a company or a person can take to dig themselves out of a hole. The lesson to learn is that by starting with the individual and his or her commitment to the six steps, the company can dig itself out of the hole and, when enough companies apply the six steps, the country can dig itself out of the hole.

HOG THOUGHT:
America and American companies have economic problems, the competition is fierce and the economy unmerciful, but how we respond reveals a lot about us and our character. Remember, Hogs got character.

HOG QUOTE:
“Whatever I have tried to do in this life, I have tried with all my heart to do well; whatever I have devoted myself to, I have devoted myself to completely; in great aims and in small, I have always been thoroughly in earnest.” —Charles Dickens

HOG ACTION:
Dig deep and do more of what you are good at and less of what you are not good at. Ignore the unimportant and avoid distractions. You have only so much time and energy. You control your actions and your attitude. A great attitude and your best actions are good enough.

Do You Hear Your Customer?

2008-10-26T14:29:00.000-07:00

It should be obvious that service people need to hear more than people in non-service occupations; we expect a waiter or waitress, for example, to hear much more of what their customers are saying than the construction worker. But it isn’t nearly as obvious as it may seem, and in fact experience often proves this is not true.

Twenty-two Million Americans suffer from hearing loss according the National Academy On An Aging Society. The Society points out the obvious, a large number of those with hearing loss are 65 years of age or older. I qualify for that age group and confirm that I don’t hear today as well as I once did. It is obvious though that all hearing loss is not due to age.

I suppose people working in certain occupations are more prone to hearing loss. For example, people working in manufacturing, construction, and rock bands. People in other professions like medical, administrative, service and sales should be less prone to hearing loss.

I have experienced that some people in two of these “less likely to lose hearing” professions—service and sales— suffer from extreme hearing loss not attributable to age.

Recently my wife and I dined at a nice restaurant in our home town. Our server, a young man in his early twenties asked for our drink order. We ordered two waters, no lemons. Our server returned with two glasses of water with a lemon on the rim of each glass.

He took my wife’s order for trout almandine and a salad with ranch dressing. When he asked for my order, I said, “I will have the same order as my wife, but I want honey mustard on the salad.”

Upon returning, our waiter placed a salad in front of my wife; nothing in front of me. He promptly left. When he returned 10 minutes later to inform us that our order would be out shortly, I questioned him regarding my salad. He answered, “Did you want a salad, too?”

Four days later we ate breakfast at the local IHOP. We both ordered the Seniors Omelet. My wife selected spinach and ham as her two ingredients. I chose ham and pork sausage.

The omelets were delivered to the table. I never found a single nugget of sausage in my omelet. When I questioned the waitress about the lack of sausage she said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you say you wanted sausage.

We ate at two different restaurants and had two different waitpersons. I assume both have the same goal, to provide service so they receive a generous tip. Although both were pleasant, both suffer from hearing loss—not a physical incapacity but a psychological handicap caused by inattentiveness, indifference, and lack of focus.

The most important ingredient in hearing is deliberate listening. Deliberate listening enables the professional to hear more than the nonprofessional. Deliberate listening is a key to increasing your income and happiness.

As a sales professional, do you suffer from hearing loss? The question is not, do you listen to your customer? The question is, “Do you hear your customer?” Great salespeople have a “good” ear or the ability to not only listen and hear but the talent for making fine distinctions in what they hear. The great in any profession or occupation can also hear what is not being said.

We do well to hear the words of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s Poem, “Paul Revere’s Ride,” that celebrated the patriot’s famous ride of April 18-19, 1775.

“LISTEN, my children, and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere.”

Professionals do well to hear and heed the Head Hog’s paraphrase of the opening line of Longfellow’s 1860 poem.

LISTEN my fellow professionals and you shall hear
Of the sound of success in your ear.

The difference is that the Hog’s paraphrase is not just a midnight message; it is an around-the- clock truth. Deliberate listening leads to hearing and is a defense against failure and a key to success.

HOG THOUGHT:
A Hog knows that his or her priority is to serve their customer. Before you can serve, you need to know the need. To discover the need, you must hear the need articulated.

HOG QUOTE: “It is the providence of knowledge to speak and it is the privilege of wisdom to listen.” —Oliver Wendell Holmes

Eliminate Self-imposed Mental Barriers with Creativity and Execution

2008-10-18T05:47:00.000-07:00

“There will always be a frontier where there is an open mind and a willing hand.” —Charles F. Kettering

There are times when we read in a newspaper or see on TV products or services being promoted that are “rip offs” of an idea we previously had. Our initial reaction is, “That’s my idea!”

I remember being in a book store years ago and being fascinated by the number of books that dealt with vocabulary expansion. There were 10 to 12 books on the subject and most of the titles began with “How To…”

A creative spark ignited in my brain. Why not produce a Word-A-Day Calendar? There would be 365 tear off pages and each page would contain a word, its definition, part of speech, etymology, a pronunciation guide, usage in a sentence and a synonym. Using my Word-A-Day Calendar, people could easily learn 365 new words in only one year.

I took my idea to a printer to get an estimate for printing and production. I liked the idea of putting ink on paper and the potential profit projection. But, somewhere in the experience the creative spark fizzled. Maybe I didn’t have enough money to make a production run, or I failed to devise a marketing or distribution plan. I may have questioned the buying market for the product. But the real reason for not capitalizing on my idea was that I limited myself by what I believed was possible. I did not break the bonds of my self-imposed limited success. I did not see thousands of people buying my Word Calendar.

Several years later, much to my surprise, I discovered someone had “stolen” my idea. There in the same book store where I had my “Ah Ha” moment, I saw “my” Word Calendar. Someone was successful by following through on their idea. I failed to move my idea from incubation to development to market because I did not believe it possible.

Success is often limited by what a person believes is possible. Opening yourself to creative thinking—thinking outside the box—is one way to break the bonds of self-imposed limited success.

Creative ideas are not the result of luck, as many people believe them to be. They are the product of an active human brain. Sometimes ideas do seem to come out of the blue, but certainly they do come more frequently when you’re searching for them.

Creative thinking is like acknowledging, while the accepted belief is that the earth is flat, you go ahead and ask Queen Isabella for three ships; you know Newton’s Law of Gravity and yet you begin the countdown: “10, 9, 8…” and you rocket beyond earth’s gravity.

Creativity thinking isn’t deterred by reality. While the medical world was saying, “Men will never run a mile in less than four minutes,” British medial student Roger Bannister was lacing up his running shoes. Someone wrote, “Had Thomas Edison used accepted thinking he would have developed a larger candle, not the light bulb.”

There are several principles about ideas: We all have them. They quickly vanish, unless captured on paper and most of the time we do nothing with them. Don’t let your million dollar idea get away. Hogdacious Hogs don’t let “reasoning” or other peoples’ negative comments talk them out of taking action on an idea. Once you have evaluated an idea and determine it has merit, act upon it. Hogs convert ideas into action.

Hog Thought: A Short Pencil Is Better Than A Long Memory
You should always carry a note pad and pencil with you. When an idea strikes you capture it on paper. Solutions to problems often imitate lightning; they strike quickly and are quickly gone. Don’t trust your memory. Daymon Aiken has said, “Ideas are flighty things. That which now seems perfectly clear may later get away from you. Make a habit of jotting down ideas as they occur to you. Although many of them will not work out they may suggest other thought.”

Hog Quote: “The ability to convert ideas to things is the secret of outward success.” —Henry Ward Beecher.

Motivation Is Playing Up To Your Ability

2008-10-09T16:05:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, September 27, 2008, 90,106 fans in “The Swamp” and millions of TV viewers watched the favored Florida Gators lose to underdog Ole Miss 31 to 30. The nation’s fourth-ranked team was defeated by the unranked Mississippi Rebels. Only two days earlier, on Thursday night the nation’s top-ranked team, USC had lost to another unranked team, Oregon State.

Clearly, the Gators and the Trojans had the superior “weapons”. Both highly ranked teams have an abundance of talent and depth. Both had THE reason to win: remain in the hunt for a national title. Both wanted to win and expected to win. But, as Florida’s junior Heisman winning quarterback, Tim Tebow said after the defeat, “We felt like we were a better team, and we didn’t play up to our ability.”

I believe both upsets and many sports losses can be described in one simple phrase, “The loser just didn’t play up to their ability.” Motivation was lacking. There is a Hog Law that says, “Talent without motivation will lose to non-talent with motivation.”

On paper the superior teams were the Florida Gators and USC Trojans. On the field—where it counts—the Mississippi Rebels and the Oregon Beavers proved to be the superior teams. The two losing teams lost due to failure to play up to their ability. The two winning teams won because they were motivated to win and played to their ability.

I don’t know much about ranking football teams or players, but given the choice, I know I would choose a team or player with talent and motivation. Forced to choose between the two, I choose the motivated team and motivated player. Motivation is the magic.

HOG THOUGHT:
Don't tell people how good you and your company are. Tell people how good you and your company can make them.

HOG QUOTE:
"Money was never a big motivation for me, except as a way to keep score. The real excitment is playing the game." —Donald Trump

Leadership Is The Act Of Leading

2008-09-27T07:03:00.000-07:00

My TV viewing time is limited. I watch NFL and college football, Deal or No Deal, Jeopardy and Dancing with The Stars. That’s it. I tune in "Deal or No Deal” knowing that, “what’s in here is not out there.” The way most of the contestants bet against the odds, I assume there is very little in their head. Jeopardy is just the opposite. The contestants have everything in their head.

I never learned to dance, but I do enjoy watching the celebrities on "Dancing With The Stars" get outside their comfort zones and attempt something new. We all need to do that. Then, there is football. I think television was invented for football, especially pro football. I enjoy the close-ups, instant replay, and slow-mo, but most of all I enjoy John Madden’s analysis and insights of the game. Madden is the football commentator for NBC Sunday Night Football. He was also the last color commentator for Monday Night Football before it moved to ESPN IN 2006.

Madden is at the top of his game. He is arguable the all time top broadcast analyst of NFL games. When asked by a Time Magazine reporter what he considers to be the traits of leadership, this former Oakland Raiders coach replied, “Just being a hard worker and a good player. Some people think that it’s about talking. If a guy doesn’t work hard and doesn’t play well, he can’t lead anything. All he is a talker."

I think that the art of leadership is governed by six “work-hard, play-well” responsibilities, all of which need to be taken into account. They are: Direction, Stewardship, Communications, Guidance, Management, and Control.

Direction. To be a leader you must first decide to be a leader. Then, every day do more of the things that move you in the direction of your goal and less of the things that move you away from your goal. Thomas A. Edison, who turned night into day with the invention of the light blub, was more than one of the world’s great inventors. He was also a man of wisdom. If more would-be leaders adopted Edison’s idea that “If we all did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves”, more teams would turn defeat into victory.

Stewardship. The dictionary defines stewardship as, the “careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care.” True leaders never forget that the most important thing entrusted to them is the group they are leading. As in the military, the troops eat before the officers, so the real leader puts his or her team first. They make certain that team has the ability, training, equipment, information, direction and support they need to succeed. Leadership is putting others first. Mohandas K. Gandhi illustrates that ego has no place in leadership. “Many could forego heavy meals, a full wardrobe, a fine house; it is the ego that they cannot forego.”

Communications. This is the leader’s most effective tool. Using this trait you make known or convey knowledge. True communications forms a loop. It begins with the imparting of information, leads to feedback thus accomplishing an exchange of thoughts or ideas. The ability to listen for feedback is a distinguishing mark of a great leader and not typically, a manager’s strength. It has been said that we have two ears and one mouth and we should use them in that proportion.

Guidance. Leadership revolves around human beings. Anyone can be a manager if he or she is willing to compel people to do things right. Leadership leads the team to do the right things. The mark of the leader is their ability to motivate and guide the team to do the right things because they are the right things for the team to do. People can distinguish between managers and leaders. They may do what a manager tells them to do, but they embrace the goals and strategies of their leader.

Management. Without a group to lead there is no leader. But a group that is not managed is a group without a leader. A good leader is a manager but a manager is not necessarily a good leader. A good leader knows that he or she is getting paid for team results. So, the leader motivates and focuses the team on the things that produce the desired results.

Control. To be a great leader you must control your circumstances, especially your environment and entourage as best as you can. Who wants to lead a group of naysayers in a pity party? Nalls’ law of group motion states that unless acted upon by an outside force, a negative group tends to stay negative. All things being equal a negative group is odds on to bring down the lone change agent rather than the change agent lifting up the negative group. Therefore, a leader may have to replace some members of their team in order to insure the desired outcome.

John Madden’s top selling home video game. Madden. NFL has been around since 1988. NFL obviously stands for the National Football League, or does it? NFL may just mean Never Forget Leadership. If you work hard and play well, you can lead.

HOG THOUGHT:
Forget about being a manager or even a boss, and focus on leading your team, group, club, and family to discover the great talents they have within themselves. Then, to paraphrase Michelangelo, you help them chip away all the “marble” that is not the “angel” and what remains is the angel: the successful salesperson, the professional accountant, the service-oriented waitperson, the caring pastor, the proficient technician, the learning student, the mentoring father, the guiding mother, the responsible son or daughter.

HOG QUOTE: “Leadership is not rank, privilege, titles or money, it is responsibility.” — Peter F. Drucker

Treasure Before Trash

2008-09-14T19:17:00.000-07:00

They are every where. You see them in every city and every neighborhood. Garage sales are popular. It is estimated that over 60-million people go to a garage sale every year. That’s a lot of people searching for diamonds in the rough.

I like to go to garage sales. I don’t buy much. I find that about 80 percent of the items are best described as junk. Twenty percent seem to have some value. This helps confirm the Pareto 80/20 principle that business is so fond of reciting. For example, for most businesses 80 percent of the customers provide 20 percent of the company’s sales and profits and 20 percent of the customers are responsible for 80 percent of the sales and profits. You may not be a garage sales shopper but, if you are a professional sales person you can use the 80/20 principle to identify and focus on the 20 percent of your customers that give you 80 percent of your sales. More focused relationship building with these vital few who provide you with your success will pay off handsomely.

I believe that garage sales can teach a lot about business and sales. For example, pricing for a garage sale is easy. The price of an item is what someone is willing to pay. The item may be priced at $2.00 but an offered price of $1.00 often seals the deal. Pubilius Syrus, a first century B.C. Roman philosopher remarked that “A thing is worth whatever the buyer will pay for it.” Two thousand years later, that principle remains true but with an additional qualifier. A thing is worth whatever the buyer will pay for it and the competition will allow.

Preparation is also an essential ingredient for a successful garage sale. You will need a lot of one and five dollar bills and a minimum of $10 in coins. You also need bags and boxes to bag and box the items. You may have advertised that your sale hours are from 7:30 am to 5:00 pm. But, be prepared for early arrivals. You often find people parked in front of your house at 6:00 am or earlier. Some people just can’t tell time or follow directions. The same is true for sales presentations. There are prospects that tend to misunderstand a sales reps presentation. You need to adhere to what the military calls the KISS principle (Keep it simple stupid.)

Several good garage sale signs strategically placed and directing prospects to the correct address does wonders for improving traffic flow. The same is true of a well-constructed sales presentation. A solid presentation will have strategically placed benefits to direct the prospect toward the close and action steps. The maxim for presentation is to, tell them what you are going to tell them then, tell them what you want to tell them and finally review and sum up by telling them what you have just told them.

I’ve noticed that the more successful garage sales operators display some of their more interesting items at the end of their driveway to act as a magnet to lure people in. Some people will just drive by slowly and take a quick look to determine if it looks worthwhile to stop. Professional sales presenters begin their presentation with a question or two that helps to determine the prospects need. These focused questions can serve as a magnet to pull the prospect in.

I have observed a universal law regarding garage sales. From the buyer’s perspective, the best product selection is available early in the morning coupled with the highest prices of the day. The lowest prices come with reduced selection late in the day. From the seller’s perspective, their best profit opportunity is early before the “treasures” are gone and the day becomes long and tiresome. An astute sales person can learn from this “early/high”, “late/low” phenomenon.

Remember, 20 percent of your customers give you 80 percent of your business. Call on these first and early while saving your later more unproductive time (be it daily, weekly or monthly) for 80 percent of the customers who give you 20 percent of your business. As I stated earlier, garage sales prove the point that, “One man’s treasure is another man’s trash.” So, get the “treasure” before going after the “trash.”

HOG THOUGHT.
Hogs know that the simplest way to solve a problem is to borrow an existing idea. So, if you are having a sales problem borrow an idea or two from the next garage sale you attend. If you don’t normally stop at garage sales, get outside your box and attend a couple this weekend. You may just find more that a treasure.

The Three Ps

2008-08-30T16:17:00.000-07:00

The Three Rs are familiar to most people. As a child we quickly learned that, Reading, ‘Riting (writing) and ‘Rithmetic (arithmetic) were the keys to scholastic success. Mastering these three disciplines was the foundation to success in all other courses.

Likewise successful sales people are familiar with the Three Ps. They have learned that Passion, Persistence, and Patience are keys to selling success. The sales community is populated with many people who have passion, and some who are persistent, very few are patient. The patience of some sales people is best illustrated by the impatient petitioner’s prayer, “Lord, give me patience and give it to me now!”

Patience is the ability to uncover the real needs of your customer or prospect. If they don’t have a problem, they don’t need you or what you are selling. Patience is spending time asking questions to discover how you can help solve your customer’s problem. Patience shows you respect your customer and his time. Impatience is attempting to get an order before you have determined if there is a need for your product or service. Thus impatience causes a sales person to focus on the sale and not his or her customer. While a sense of urgency is important, impatience is deadly.

Patience aids in the ability to take a large goal and break it down into manageable tasks. Facing a 20% sales decline for the first half of the sale year, patience helps you develop action steps to replace that short fall and also get back on track for achieving your annual goal. Without patience you push yourself to make up the shortfall overnight. This doggedness is sensed by your customers and they often respond in a negative way creating more missed goals.

Not only is it hard work to practice patience, but many people fear patience itself. People don’t want to be patient. Practicing patience helps reduce stress, tension, and frustration. Therefore, patience is a prescription for living longer and living a happier life.

"Success doesn't come overnight. It comes overtime." Remember, with time and patience the caterpillar becomes a beautiful butterfly.

Hog Thought. Obstacles and problems are evidence that a person is on the road to success. How far you travel is often determined by your patience and perseverance. John Quincy Adams once wrote, “Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.” Patience is essential to spectacular sales achievements. Hogs know that in selling, the result is always their final judge and patience helps provide a favorable verdict.

Brick Walls Are There To Stop The OTHER People

2008-08-09T13:47:00.000-07:00

There is a line in the song, Do You Believe In Magic that goes, “The magic is in the music and the music is in me.” And for many people that’s where their music remains, inside bottled up. They take their music to the grave. In their lifetime on earth, they never sung their song and never experienced the magic.

Dr. Randy Pausch was not such a man. He died last month, Friday, July 25. He was 47. Until I read about his death in the local paper, I had never heard of him nor had I reason to. He was a professor at Carnegie Mellon University located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. US News named Carnegie Mellon one of the America’s Best Colleges of 2008.The following thoughts aren’t about one of the best colleges in America; they are about one of the great men of our times, Randy Pausch.

Randy died before his time. He would say he died at his appointed time. Pausch, who was a computer science professor and virtual reality pioneer, died of complications from pancreatic cancer. His fame is the results of his “Last Lecture.” This lecture was part of a long standing academic tradition at Carnegie Mellon. After agreeing to give the lecture but, a month before delivering it, Pausch’s doctor told him that he was in the early stages of the terminal disease.
The book, “The Last Lecture,” based on Pausch’s last lecture became a No. 1 best seller with over 2.8-million copies in print in 29 languages. More that 6 million people have viewed highlights or the entirety of the 76-minute talk on how to make the most of life.

On achieving dreams, Dr. Pausch said, “It’s not about how to achieve your dreams; it’s about how to lead your life. If you lead your life the right way, the karma will take care of itself; the dreams will come to you.” Last Friday night, (August 1st), I watched Diana Sawyer’s interview with Randy and his wife, Jai. It is easy to see why Pausch has become a symbol for living and dying well.

Two of Pausch’s thoughts stand out. First, “Life is not complicated and it is not fair.” This is reminiscent of Epictetus statement that we must, “See things for what they are. Things and people are not what we wish them to be or what they seem to be. They are what they are. When something happens, the only thing within your power is your attitude toward it; you can either accept it or resent it.” (Hawg Blawg, July 4, 2008). Randy accepted his coming death.

Pausch’s second creative insight regarding brick walls is the basis for this article. “The brick walls are not there to keep us out,” Pausch said, “the brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the OTHER people.”

Brick walls, roadblocks, obstacles, however you describe adversity are the things that stand between you and success. Dr. Norman Vincent Peal described obstacles as, “What you see when you take your eyes off your goals.” Everyone at some time takes their eyes off their goals and hit a brick wall. It is not that you encounter obstacle but how you respond to them that determines failure or success.

Brick Walls—the economy, the weather, the competition, the market, or fickle customers—are not usually things we can change. It is easy to respond by blaming circumstances or other people for our inability to penetrate the walls. Blamers are best described as victims. Things happen to them. They usually have a love for the familiar. They have a build-in system that resists change. Status quo is their watchword. They accept the way things are, even if they are bad. For these people, the familiar is better than the unknown. What is on this side of the brick wall is better than what may be on the other side. These people are the OTHER people Pausch spoke of.

But the Pausches of the world welcome brick walls and enjoy the challenge of moving around, over, under or through them. They know the goal they seek is on the other side of the wall and nothing will keep them from achieving their goal. Unlike the victim, the victor welcomes change. He or She sees the obstacle as a challenge and the bigger the challenge, the more determined they are to achieve.

If you gave your last sales calls today, would your customers and prospects be left with the impression that you are a Victim or a Victor? Would they know that the music was still inside you and the brick wall had defeated you? Or , would they magically know that you had defeated the brick wall—you sung your song. One of the best of the motivational lecturers and writers, Napoleon Hill said it well, “Whatever the human mind can conceive and believe it can achieve.” Therefore, sing your song of success for everyone.

Hog Thought. Hogs know that brick walls are there for the competition, the people who don’t want success enough to pay the price. Hogs pay the price for success because they know success is worth the price.

Do Customers Know You Care About Their Business?

2008-07-24T15:41:00.000-07:00

Today I had a “caring” experience. I was in a customer’s reception area waiting for my appointment when the receptionist said to me, “Would you like a water?” Would I like a water? No, not really, but it was a very refreshing gesture. The message I received was, someone cared. If this employee cared for a visiting sales person how much more must they care about their co-workers and customers.

I once read an article by the CEO of Pursell Industries, Inc. regarding his caring experience at The Ritz Carlton Hotel in Atlanta.

In his article, Taylor Pursell said, “I know The Ritz Carlton is not cheap, probably four or five times as much as the Holiday Inn down the road. But try and get a reservation at the Ritz. You can’t. It’s always booked. There are always people lined up trying to get a great room with great service. Is the room that much better than the hotel down the street? Not really. Is the service that much better? Have you ever tried to get service at a Holiday Inn?”

Mr. Pursell goes on to describe the service at the Ritz. “The service is unbelievable. Everyone that works there is great. They act like they really enjoy serving you. The two phrases that I hear over and over are My Pleasure and Certainly.” I ask “May I get change for a five?” The answer, Certainly. “Thanks for helping me with my luggage.” My pleasure. “Would you mind cleaning my room?” My pleasure.”

I can echo Taylor’s experience from a stay at the Marriott in downtown Tampa, Florida. At check in, the girl at the desk welcomed me with, “I’ll get you a room with a great view.” When I called the hotel operator to leave a wake up call, he answered, “How can I be of service?” He confirmed the wake up time and then, he actually used my name in saying, “Have a good night’s rest, Mr. Nalls and thank you for staying at The Marriott Waterside.”

So, how does this relate to you and your company? There are caring actions that cost nothing but really make you special to the customer. How much does it cost to say, “My Pleasure” after a customer asks, “Can you get that to me by next week?” And when you are asked to write up a return, how much does it cost to say, “Certainly?”

Hog Thought: It’s more profitable to compete on service than on price. It takes 17 muscles to smile and 286 muscles to frown. Why not use 269 less muscles? Smile and improve your serve with these two telegraphic I-care-statements, “My Pleasure” and “Certainly”.

Learning to Become Better at the Art of Living

2008-07-04T10:06:00.000-07:00

Having acquired my undergraduate degree in Advertising, I have always liked short, pithy, memorable advertising slogans. Such a slogan is, “Things go better with Coke.” They don’t say what things, just things. Ask someone, anyone, “Where’s the beef?” and they will answer, “At Wendy’s. Another advertising gem is Nike’s motivational —“Just do it!” A classic for me is the six word line from the United Negro College Fund ad, “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.” Too bad that so few people remember that slogan and even fewer heed the implied suggestion: Don’t be wasteful, use your mind.

“A rubber band once stretched” wrote an unknown author, “never returns to its original size; it's always a little longer. The same is true for you and me. Once we stretch our minds, we never return to the same mental person we were; we've grown.

One way to stretch your mind is through reading. Books lay the world of knowledge at the feet of the reader. Obviously there are some books not worth reading and some more difficult to read and understand than others.

There are some historical writings, that when written were easily understood but today are hard to master. The King James Translation of the Bible is hard to read and difficult to understand. Any of Shakespeare’s writings are difficult for most of us to read and understand. Then there is Beowulf—I never understood Old English nor grasped the significance of this Scandinavian Warrior and his battle against the monster Grendel. But then, I am the one on trial not Beowulf.

Yet, there are some historical writings that were practical and easily understood when they were written and are still practical and easily understood today. Some months ago while at Barnes and Nobles looking for a book to read, I came across such a book, “The Art of Living.” The book reveals the wisdom and sayings of Epictetus a Greek Stoic philosopher (A.D. 55 – A.D. 135).

The book jacket advertizes the book to be, “The Classic Manual on Virtue, Happiness, and Effectiveness” — three classic Hog Nation values.

Sharon Lebell, whose interpretation of “The Art of Living” I read, writes that Epictetus, “dedicated his life to outlining the simple way to happiness, fulfillment, and tranquility, no matter what one’s circumstances happened to be.” This 2,000 year old wisdom is as relevant today as the latest motivational Best Seller. Here are a few gems to consider:

• “See things for what they are. When something happens, the only thing within your power is your attitude toward it; you can either accept it or resent it. Things and people are not what we wish them to be or what they seem to be. They are what they are.” Hogs know this as, “What is, is!”

• “Events don’t hurt us, but our views of them can. It is our attitude and reactions that give us trouble. We can not choose our external circumstances, but we can always choose how we respond to them. Discriminate between events themselves and your interpretation of them.” Hogs know that they are solely responsible for their attitude and Hog Professionals choose to have Positive Attitudes.

• “Avoid adopting other people’s negative views. Other people’s views and troubles can be contagious. Don’t sabotage yourself by unwittingly adopting negative, unproductive attitudes through your associations with others.” Hogs don’t associate with “swine” i.e. negative thinking individuals.

• “All advantages have their price. You will never earn the same rewards as others without employing the same methods and investment of time as they do.” (Compare to The Law of Causality and The Law of Cause and Effect; for every effect there is a cause).

• “Stay the course, in good weather and bad. Regardless of what is going on around you, make the best of what is in your power, and take the rest as it occurs.” Hogs sleep good knowing they gave the day their best. They know they will never have to “back up” to the pay window.

• “Every habit and faculty is preserved and increased by its corresponding actions: The habit of walking makes us better walkers.” The habit of selling makes us better salespeople. Hogs know that good habits are hard to break; so are bad ones.

The more we open our minds to the writings, teachings and philosophy’s of great authors, thinkers and philosophers, the more we can clearly see success is a personal thing. The core rules of success are the same for every age. And the ultimate success goal, though it predates Epictetus, is as relevant as today:“What matters most,” Epictetus stressed, “is what sort of person you are becoming, what sort of life you are living.”

Henry David Thoreau makes the same point when he wrote, “What you get by achieving your goals is as important as what you become by achieving your goals.”

Rating Sales Reps Is a Lot Like Rating Restaurants

2008-06-12T18:42:00.000-07:00

I enjoy reading the Restaurant Reviews in the local paper. Each review, in addition to a detail evaluation of the reviewer’s dining experience, features an overall “Star” rating for the restaurant— four stars being the highest.

I believe customers enjoy grading sales reps using the same type of rating system— one to four stars. One star being the entry level, order-taking sales person and four stars reserved for the extraordinary professional sales rep.

Study the following Star Rating System and see how many stars you rate.

1. ONE STAR: Rep focuses on taking an order. The order taker’s approach is a simple five word sentence, “Do you need anything, today?” This approach is founded on the idea that the order taker has the product or service the prospect buys and by calling on the prospect and announcing, “I am here,” the prospect will buy. This approach calls for minimal communication between the prospect and order taker. If the customer answers the order taker’s initial question with a,” No,” the sales call is terminated.

2. TWO STARS: Rep focuses on selling the product or service. Here the salesperson must know something about the product. And their job is to tell everything they know about the product in technical terms: size, weight, components or ingredients, and include pricing, terms and shipping information. In using this approach, the second to the bottom-of-the-food-chain salesperson leaves it up to the prospect to discover the benefits of the product and then determine if and how the benefits of the product can solve their problem.

3. THREE STARS: Rep focuses on selling the benefits of the product or service. The salesperson knows the specifications of the product or service and knows in general the benefits of the offering. The salesperson talks about the product and the benefits of the product. The prospect must determine if the product or service can solve his or her problem. Thus, the salesperson adds very little value to the process.

4. FOUR STARS: Rep focus on selling the solution. This is the highly prized value-added ingredient. This professional-level selling requires the salesperson to know the specific problem the prospect is trying to solve. This information is best gotten by using the question and answer method of selling. Each question you ask should bring you closer to solving the prospects problem. The gold in this method is that you communicate to the prospect that you sincerely want to help make their job easier. This is the ultimate approach to adding value. It is easy to persuade if you solve your prospects specific problem.
A sales dialog that begins with a sincere and relevant question is almost always a positive and welcomed one.

Using the Four Star Selling Focus let’s take a popular selling cleaning product and see how it is “sold” using the above approaches.

1. ONE STAR: Focus on taking an order.
The order taker greets the customer. “Hi, I have XYZ Bowl and Restroom Cleaner. Do you need any?” Or, “By the way, I carry cleaning supplies. Can you give me an order?”

2. TWO STARS: Focus on selling the product or service.
The approach goes something like this. “XYZ Bowl and Restroom Cleaner is one of the best selling bowl cleaner. I carry it in the gallon size. It is safe on most bathroom surfaces and easy to use. Do you want to try it? "

3. THREE STARS: Focus on selling the benefits of the product or service.
"This is XYZ Bowl and Bathroom Cleaner. It comes in the economical gallon size. You know, the bigger the container, the less it costs per application. It is a mild acid formula that makes is safe to use on bathroom tile, fixtures and hand rails. Great for chrome and stainless steel too. It is easy to apply, just spray on and wipe off. It fast and easy to use. It doesn’t leave any residue or streaks."

4. FOUR STARS: Focus on selling the solution.
Four-Star Selling Pros focus on the prospects problem(s) with questions like these:
a. “Mr. Prospect, what is your toughest bath or kitchen cleaning problem?”
b. “Mr. Prospect are you finding it hard to control the build-up of hard water scale and soap scum? Many of my customers find XYZ Bowl and Bathroom Cleaner controls the build-up of soap scum and hard water scale. I believe it will do the same for you and solve your problem.”
c. “Mr. Prospect, do you find your cleaning product does the job but, you wish it was less costly? I find that in today’s market many of my customers are working with shrinking budgets and are looking for alternate products that still do the job but cost less. I have a product, XYZ Bowl and Bathroom Cleaner, that may be a great match for you. It is a mild acid, non-corrosive, multi-surface cleaner safe to use on Tub, Tile, Shower Doors and Toilets. It is great for chrome and stainless steel too? In addition, for regular everyday clean up or maintenance, you can dilute it in a trigger spray bottle—50% product and 50% water. You don’t need the full concentrate of mild acid and you’ll save money. But, for those difficult cleaning jobs, just use it straight. It's great!"

Hog Question? Which of the 4-Star Selling Focuses creates an opportunity to build a relationship and a loyal customer?

Hog Thought: Hogs are at their 4-Star professional selling best when they think in terms of problems and solutions. The prospect has a problem that requires a solution. You want to prove your product solves their problem.
Never blame someone else or some other external factor for your inability to sell solutions. Identify problems by asking the prospect how you can help make their job easier. Carefully listen to what they say. Then, and only then, offer a solution to their problem. You persuade best when you are providing solutions to problems not when you are pushing products to prospects.

A True Salesperson is a Persuader

2008-05-31T13:12:00.000-07:00

Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary is one of several valuable reference books I have on my desk. Another useful book is, Rodale’s Synonym Finder. In the last blog I wrote about “Indifference” using my dictionary to define it. This entry is written with the help of my synonym finder.

Webster defines “synonym” as: one of two or more words or expressions that have the same or nearly the same meaning in some or all senses. For example synonyms for “Idle” include: loaf, lounge, laze, doze, and procrastinate. In casual communications any of these synonyms may work to convey your thought because they all have nearly the same meaning.

When you want to convey something important a “nearly the same meaning” won’t do. You need a specific word with a specific and focused meaning. Accurate communications is not about the game of horse shoes where close to the stake counts. Accuracy requires exactness and preciseness.

Take the word “Salesperson”. Synonyms include: clerk, drummer, coach, advisor, counselor, partner, and associate. While all of these words can be used to describe someone engaged in selling, they fail to capture the true meaning of a salesperson: “one employed to sell goods or services.” A salesperson’s job is to persuade a prospect to exchange their money for a product or service offered by the salesperson that provides mutual satisfaction to both parties. (See entry dated April 11, 2008, Symbiotic Selling). Professional salespeople have to sell just as a singer has to sing, an artist has to paint and an author has to write.

A true salesperson—man or woman—is a persuader, not an order taker or a casual visitor in the presence of their prospect or customer. A salesperson moves their prospect or customer to a course of action that is profitable for the prospect or customer. Are you prepared to persuade?
Before you attempt to persuade someone to buy from you, you should prepare yourself by answering these questions. When you can answer all six questions with a “Yes”, you know you are prepared to sell.
1. Do you really know your customer—who they are, their interests, likes and dislikes?
2. Do you know the guidelines they use to determine whom they buy from? Is price the real issue? What about quality, service after the sale, delivery policy, or credit terms?
3. Do you know why they buy from you or a competitor? What is their buzz button?
4. Do you know what problems they need to find answers for? People really don’t buy products; they buy the benefits of those products.
5. Do you know if he or she is really the decision-maker in regards to the products or services you are selling? You waste valuable time trying to persuade someone without authority to buy. Often different people within the same organization have authority to purchase different products and or services.
6. Do they know you really care about them as a person and not just a meal ticket? Someone has written that “people want to know you care before they care to do business with you.”

In Arthur Miller’s Pulitzer Prize winning 1949 play, Death of a Salesman, the hero, Willy Loman is described by his neighbor and friend, Charley as, “He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine…A salesman is got to dream, boy.”

Yes, a salesperson has to dream but the dream is always about providing solutions to customer’s problems and giving exceptional service. Do this and you can identify with the tribute paid to Willy by his wife. “Willy Loman never made a lot of money, his name was never in the paper, but attention must be paid to such a person.”

Be a professional persuader and you will receive attention and, unlike Willy, you may also make a lot of money. I can’t guarantee your name in the paper.

HOG THOUGHT: There are no synonyms for Hog. A Hog is a professional persuader who does whatever, wherever, whenever, however, to satisfy his or her customer. Competitors, be they coaches, counselors, clerks, drummers, advisors, or associates are only antonyms.

We Are Living in a “Desert of Indifference"

2008-05-24T15:31:00.000-07:00

The Merriam Webster’s dictionary I have on my desk proclaims itself to be, The Voice of Authority. Right there on it’s red, white and blue cover are those printed words. Therefore, I am confident this dictionary is the last word in defining words. When I looked up the word, "indifferent", I discovered that as an adjective it means an “action marked by a lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern for something or someone; apathetic. “

At some time most of us have experienced the indifference or lack of concern and insensitivity on another’s part. The waitress, who finally gets around to taking your order and eventually brings the meal to your table but never refills your coffee cup. Meanwhile, she is in the corner talking and joking with the other waitresses and waiters. The airline ticket agent who at last announces your plane will be 45 minutes late but offers no reason. The fast food order taker who asks, “What do you want?” and then announces the total is $4.67. You give him a five dollar bill and he slaps the change in your hand and without even looking at you says, “Next”?

Try this experiment and you will see how pervasive indifference is today. The next time you pass a coworker in the hall instead of saying, “Good morning” or “How are you” say, “I’m not doing well.” Don’t be surprised that he or she will answer with, “Good morning” or “Fine” or “Yes, it is a good day.”

There is an abundance of evidence that we are living in a “desert of indifference.” All around are apathetic, uncaring, inattentive and otiose people—some of them professing to be salespeople who need our business but are indifferent to solving our problems.

A key to being a successful salesperson is to be a fertile, green oasis of caring in the vast desert of indifference. Showing genuine concern, interest and enthusiasm for your customer is like offering them a cool drink of water in this arid desert of indifference.

HOG THOUGHT: Be an oasis of caring. Show your customers and prospects that you appreciate them, the time they give you and that you truly want to solve their problems. Make a difference by eliminating indifference.