entrepreneur

The secret to Virgin America's happy customers

2011-10-21T05:28:00.000-07:00

The secret to Virgin America's happy customers
By Lucia Davis on October 18, 2011

Virgin America knows that a great marketing campaign won't succeed without a fantastic product behind it. Read on to find out how it is dominating digital in the air and on the ground.

Porter Gale, former vice president of Virgin America, knows that digital translates into profits. Now she's trying to figure out if it can save a man's life.

In an article for AdAge, Gale spelled out the story of Amit Gupta. Gupta is 32 years old, a member of the San Francisco tech community, and has been diagnosed with leukemia. His only chance of survival is through a bone marrow transplant, and as someone of South Asian descent, his chances of a positive match are one in 1,000. Gale's article, which has received more than 14 million page views since it went live on Oct.12, called out to readers that could be a possible match, asking them to get their cheeks swabbed at a Stanford event for Gupta. So far, only 700 people have gotten tested.

"There is a big difference between tweeting and taking action," Gale said. "We need to figure out how to close that gap."

(photo source: http://www.amitguptaneedsyou.com/)

For her opening keynote at iMedia's Breakthrough Summit in Henderson, Nev., Gale emphasized the power digital had in Virgin America's success, and took attendees through the never-before-shared making of the company that transformed the traditionally stressful, stale peanuts hassle of air travel into an experience so pleasant that one consumer said it was akin to "flying in an iPod." Over pictures of airplanes in various stages of construction, Gale said that Virgin was built on the premise that the airline category was broken, and that the Virgin America mission was simply to create an airline that people loved.

Challenging the norms
From the start, Virgin was different. The passion of its team members led to small innovations that made a world of difference to consumers. It was the first airline to do full fleet, in-flight WiFi, an amenity that is just now becoming widely accepted by the industry. Of course, pushing the envelope has its own inherent challenges.

"One of the main things that happened in those first four years," Gale said, "was that everyone we approached said, 'It's never been done that way.' Our response was, 'Just because it hasn't happened doesn't mean it can't be done.'"

Baking technology into the brand
Virgin America currently spends 70 percent of its marketing budget on digital, a number that Gale insists will continue to increase over time. Evidence of the company's commitment to digital is visible in everything from the "#nerdbird" hashtags on the airplanes, to its long-standing relationships with Google and Twitter. Social media is extremely important to Virgin America, as a great tool for engagement, service recovery, and promotion.

"We had a first class guest who wrote an angry tweet, in flight, about never getting a sandwich he ordered," Gale said. "When we saw it, we immediately sent a message to the crew, saying 'The man in 3C needs his sandwich.' The result? A customer for life."

Virgin America also uses Facebook and Twitter to keep travelers up-to-date on flight delays and sales. Though it has seen a steady growth of ROI in the last three years, social is still primarily an engagement tool for the company.

"The most important revenue channels for us are still email and online advertising," Gale said. "But social media is growing."

The first mover advantage
By now, it should be clear that Virgin America is not afraid to take risks and try out projects that may not have a huge ROI payoff. One recent example of this was its location-based promotion of the new routes to Mexico, in conjunction with mobile company Loopt. By visiting a taco truck, mobile users in Los Angeles and San Francisco got a two-for-one ticket to Mexico as well as a two-for-one deal on tacos. The promotion not only led to a full-page article in USA Today, but resulted in the fifth largest sales day of Virgin America's history.

(photo source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/loopt/)

What's next
In addition to improving its WiFi capabilities on board, Virgin America is also trying to integrate its loyalty program into the plane using tagging.

"We want to know what our customers like, so we can service them better," Gale said. "With our new onboard system, if you're watching an action film on one flight, the next time you're flying and you plug in your loyalty number, you'll get a message from us saying, 'We know you love action films. Enjoy a complimentary margarita and check out some of our new action movies.'"

The new system will also have 75 percent less wiring, which will translate into more competitive pricing and less wait time for passengers.

One of the system changes that highlights not only how digitally current the company is but also how focused it is on customer happiness is the ability to plug your iPad or iPhone into the seatback screen and download a movie that you weren't able to finish on the plane. This will make consumers happy, strengthen the brand relationship, and bring the brand off the plane and into the home.

"As marketers and media agencies, the more you can get involved in technology development, the more successful you'll be," Gale said. "A technology-driven business is just going to do better in a digital world."

Lucia Davis is associate editor at iMedia Connection.

On Twitter? Follow iMedia Connection at @iMediaTweet.

http://www.imediaconnection.com/summits/coverage/30307.asp

The DNA of an Entrepreneur

2011-09-14T09:24:00.001-07:00

The DNA of an Entrepreneur

The DNA of an Entrepreneur
by Greg Watson

http://www.DNAofAnEntrepreneur.com

Is there an Entrepreneur Gene or an Entrepreneur Chromosome within the DNA of an Entrepreneur?

In humans, there are chromosomes that determine sex and there are genes that determine the color of your eyes. Generically speaking, there are X & Y chromosomes that determine whether you are either male or female suggesting that you either are a female or are not a female. With genes, there are dominant genes and recessive genes, suggesting that while you might carry a gene for blue eyes, you may also have a dominant gene from brown eyes which would win out to determine what your eye color is.

A lot of institutional research is ongoing to map the human genome and identify the functions and role of DNA within the genetic make up of the human being.

If we evaluate the genetic structure of economics and commerce, philosophically we can ask the question – Are Entrepreneurs Born? Or are they made?

Culturally there currently exists a romantic “notion” about the glamour and romance of entrepreneurship. Many popular bands on tour have “groupies” that follow them that are romanced by the emotional feelings that are created by the illusion of what it means to be a “rock and roll star” on tour. Similarly, there are “entrepreneur groupies” that dream of the romance of entrepreneurship and desire to be associated with, close to, or affiliated with entrepreneurs. The reality of what it takes to be an entrepreneur (or a rock and roll star in a popular band) is often quite different than the romantic “notion” that exists in the public perception.

Similarly, what is an entrepreneur? What is the DNA of an Entrepreneur? What is the genetic make up of an entrepreneur? What are the characteristics of an entrepreneur? These questions are best answered not by a popularized romantic notion of the perceived glamour and romance of entrepreneurship, but by a scholarly researched assessment of the characteristics that drive long term sustainable success by identifiable entrepreneurs.

Taxonomy

To begin to define what an entrepreneur is we first need to create conceptual definitions of enterprise and the genetic players within the DNA space that we wish to look at.

The Enterprise is the fundamental economic building block or cellular organizational structure that allows an individual or group of individuals to undertake an economic activity. Typically this activity is sophisticated, requires some level of organization, and includes some inherent risk. The modern enterprise is the fundamental building block of the transfer of goods and services in society today. Virtually any activity that you may want to engage in, whether that is basic human needs such as the consumption of food or shelter or discretionary needs such as entertainment or the purchase of luxury goods, involves your personal interaction with enterprises in one varying form or another.

The traditional enterprise is composed of many individual actors each performing their unique functional responsibilities within the enterprise. Distinctly different, but not entirely separate from the individual actors within the enterprise organizational structure, is the entrepreneur. The entrepreneur is the individual “who organizes, manages, and assumes the risk associated with the enterprise.”

So what makes an Entrepreneur different from all of the other actors upon the enterprise stage? That is what we seek to define.

One characteristic often attributed to an Entrepreneur is that of seeing or identifying an opportunity. In isolation, this is not an adequate definition of a entrepreneurial characteristic. The Entrepreneur may not be the first creator or innovator of an idea. However, we can utilize this function to help draw a distinction between an Entrepreneur and an enterprise actor. An inventor may create a new product or concept but not know what to do with it, lack the skills or drive to develop it, or be willing to take the risk to exploit it. So is an inventor an entrepreneur? Clearly we must evaluate additional characteristics and then evaluate these characteristics cumulatively.

A second characteristic often attributed to an Entrepreneur is that of organizing and managing new solutions to problems. Again, in isolation, this too is not an adequate definition of a characteristic of an entrepreneur. Excellent actors on the enterprise stage perform these functions on a daily basis within the enterprise organizational structure.

A third characteristic often attributed to an Entrepreneur is that of identifying market opportunities, the ability to create and execute a sales and marketing plan that identifies prospective customers, identifies a value proposition for those customers, and a sales process to convert those prospects into customers. Here too, sales and marketing professionals within the enterprise perform these functions on a daily basis throughout the various enterprise organizations that make up the fabric of our world stage every day.

A fourth characteristic often attributed to an Entrepreneur is that of identifying the financial capital resources needed and sourcing those funds from various financial channels, whether that is debt, private equity, public equity, or other financial boot strap facilities. This function is also routinely carried out across a varied spectrum of enterprise organizations including advisors, bankers, attorneys, and accountants. All of which frequently participate in the process of identifying and acquiring the necessary capital resources.

A fifth characteristic often attributed to an Entrepreneur is that of building a management team of both internal people resources as well as external people resources who collectively have the knowledge and skills to participate in the execution of an enterprise activity. Yet this characteristic too is also a core function within the modern enterprise.

As we evaluate the characteristics traditionally identified as being associated with an entrepreneur, we quickly see these same characteristics executed by individual actors within the enterprise stage on a regular basis. So what makes an entrepreneur different from the various actors within the enterprise stage?

The traditional response centers around two distinct themes;
First a creative and passionate ability to combine these various characteristics to identify new solutions to meet unmet consumer needs in a new or different manner that creates lasting value, and
Second, a willingness to assume personal economic risk for undertaking that activity.

To this traditional response, I would add five additional characteristics and one core value.

Characteristic of a Replicable mindset. There are some pursuits that can legitimately last a lifetime. However, such lifetime opportunities are rare. The world is full of what are popularly described as “one-hit-wonders” – thus a critical criteria begs the question, did you just get lucky, or do you truly have the skills, talents, and characteristics that allow you the ability to repeat the entrepreneurial process not just once, but a second, third, and successive times. An entrepreneur has a replicable mindset that allows the enterprise creation process to be replicated time after time.

Characteristic of Sustainability of the resultant enterprise. This new enterprise that is created by an entrepreneur must also be sustainable. That is the enterprise must eventually develop to a point where it can be sustained without the original founder. If the enterprise requires the continued presence of the founder, the founder simply created a “job.” This is a traditional cycle of the various stages of development that a corporate enterprise goes through; and each stage typically needs a different type of management and leadership – thus to grow to the next stage often will require new management and the traditional entrepreneur must have the ability to move on to their next entrepreneurial cycle of new enterprise creation.

Characteristic of Innovative knowledge creation. Finally, the entrepreneur has to have the ability to creatively innovate knowledge. This is exercised in the combination of the various skill sets or characteristics that are commonly attributed to entrepreneurs. While individual actors within the enterprise stage may be better at their individual skill sets, the entrepreneur combines the pieces in unique creative ways to identify new opportunities, organize and select the best available combination of individual talents and skill sets, manage the development and execution of an organizational structure to serve the new opportunity, and manage the risk that the entrepreneur is assuming in the creation of this new enterprise.

Characteristic of Leadership. The entrepreneur must be able to inspire people with a vision of what the new enterprise will be, inspire investors and stakeholders involved in the creation of this enterprise, and provide the leadership to guide and manage the implementation and execution of the business plan to grow the enterprise.

Value of Ethics. This quickly relates back to the ability of the entrepreneur to replicate the new enterprise creation process. An actor may be able to be successful once while conducting themselves in a less than ethical manner; but can they inspire people with a vision, and receive the confidence of investors and customers a second time?

Thus a true entrepreneur has the ability to identify opportunities, provide the leadership to creatively innovate new solutions to serve those opportunities, organize, manage, and execute a plan to serve those opportunities, inspire and motivate stakeholders, investors, managers, and team members, lead the enterprise into the future, and pass the mantle of leadership to others when the organizational needs change. And finally, have the ability to replicate this process when the opportunity presents itself.

Another way to restate that is:

“Entrepreneurs have a need to achieve; and once having done so,
the need to do it all over again.” - Greg Watson

Position Statement: Individual Entrepreneurs are Born, but Enterprise Entrepreneurship Skills can be developed

Individual Entrepreneurs: Entrepreneurs are inherently defined by their ability to identify and execute on combination of a variety of entrepreneurial characteristics and values; however, it is this need to achieve and this subsequent need to do it all over again that truly distinguishes the entrepreneur from the successfully executive, manager, self-employed business person, business founder, or the innovator/inventor.

Enterprise Entrepreneurship: Many people believe that entrepreneurs are born with an innate drive and passion that allows them to accomplish these feats of new enterprise creation. However, that belief does not preclude the concept that within the corporate enterprise, various individual entrepreneurial skills can be taught and developed such that organized teams, provided with support and backing, can also function collectively in an entrepreneurial manner.

In many cases, free from the burden of assuming the risk of the economic activity, collective individuals functioning as part of a team will feel free to pursue new opportunities in an “entrepreneurial like” manner. Thus while they individually may not possesses the characteristics of an entrepreneur, they can collectively function in an entrepreneurial like manner to the “benefit of” and the “risk to” the enterprise.

Collectively, significant academic research is beginning to be developed in areas such as organizational development, new product development, and other functional areas to attempt to foster the development of entrepreneurial skills which will allow individuals as well as the enterprise to benefit. Enterprises that successfully are able to implement cross functional teams and provide the financial and organizational structural support to function in an entrepreneurial like manner stand to benefit significantly. These enterprises will also be able to attract more highly qualified individuals who desire to be part of an entrepreneurial process but are unwilling or unable to take the financial risk or lack some of the necessary entrepreneurial characteristics or skills.

Progress is being made within the academic community to develop and incorporate entrepreneurial skill sets into a broad diversity of academic disciplines. As the fruits of these efforts begin to develop, individuals, enterprises, and the roles that each play within society will all benefit.

The DNA of a Prototypic Entrepreneur

The characteristics of the prototypic entrepreneur or DNA of an Entrepreneur is composed of interwoven strands of:
Identity and Beliefs,
Capabilities, and
Behaviors

Identity and Beliefs: Entrepreneurs have an Identity System and a Beliefs System that at the deepest internal level, know and believe certain things about themselves. These are beliefs, not dreams or aspirations. Entrepreneurs:
Know who they are.
Believe they are an entrepreneur.

Has a strong need to achieve (not simply a desire to achieve).

Know they can create value.
Believe they have what it takes to build a business.
Believe in themselves.
Are comfortable with who they are.
Are optimistic.
Are visionary & pioneering.
Are passionate and energetic.
These characteristics are an inherent part of their self-identity and self-belief system. They are core values that the entrepreneur can not even imagine not being true; and is not happy when any one of them is not being fulfilled. Combined, these characteristics provide the strength for the entrepreneurial “need to achieve.” For the entrepreneur, “Achieve” is an action, not a result. Thus for the entrepreneur, success is not enough. Success once “achieved” must be started all over again – for achieve is an action.

This drive to achieve is a key distinction between an entrepreneur and a successful business founder, the inventor and his invention, or the traditional self-employed individual.

This need to achieve is the highest correlation factor of successful entrepreneurs.

Capabilities: Entrepreneurs have certain capabilities that are a natural functionality in the way they approach tasks and decision making.
Can make decisions in the face of uncertainty.
Can spot high leverage opportunities.
Can hire “A Players” (which often means hiring people who are better at individual tasks than they are).
Can build a thriving small business.
Can lead.
Can solve big problems.
Can see possibilities where others do not.
Can delay gratification.
Stanford University conducted a research project where they gave 4 (four) year old children marsh mellows and told them that if they waited 10 minutes before eating them, that they could have a second one. Some children ate the marsh mellows, some children waited, and some children “pseudo ate” their marsh mellows by licking them. Thirty years, later, they followed up this study to evaluate how these children performed in life. Those children that waited the 10 minutes statistically had happier marriages, higher paying jobs, had progressed further professionally, and also had the highest percentages of entrepreneurial activities. Entrepreneurs typically are not looking for the short-term financial gratification or rewards of material possessions, but rather look forward with a long term view building, growth, and development – and the emotional and psychological rewards that come with their continued and ongoing achievements.

Behaviors: Entrepreneurs demonstrate specific behaviors that differentiate themselves from the expectation that a typical “employee” expects.
Action oriented
Always strive to do things better.
Driven to achieve results with high standards of excellence.
Does not need supervision or accountability to “get tasks done”.
Incredibly persistent.

The entrepreneurial mind thrives in environments of uncertainty, diversity of culture, talent and opportunity. These three areas of characteristics provide broad insights into the mindset of the entrepreneur; perhaps the genetic makeup of the entrepreneur.

Is there an entrepreneur chromosome that defines you either as being an entrepreneur or not? There probably is not such a definitive source. Are there dominant and recessive characteristics that function in a similar manner as genes do within the human genome? It certainly appears that there are; and warrants sound scholarly academic research into the manner in which these inter-relationships between these characteristics function and manifest themselves in entrepreneurship.

http://www.dnaofanentrepreneur.com/

How to Make Piles of Money from Charging Nothing

2011-07-24T08:29:00.000-07:00

How to Make Piles of Money from Charging Nothing
By David Rogers | July 20, 2011

Digital Marketing Strategist

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The streaming music service Spotify arrived in the US market to much hoopla and expectations of huge success. A music observer might wonder why, considering the fact that Rdio, MOG, and Rhapsody have been offering pretty much the same product in America for a while now. Yet, I tend to agree with the hype-sters: I think Spotify will be very successful. What’s the difference?

Spotify Offers a Hook

The basic service is free. Sure, you may want to upgrade to a paid subscription in order to skip Spotify’s radio ads, or listen more than 10 hours a month, or use it on your mobile phone. But Spotify will soon be offering millions of Americans the chance to choose any song they want and listen to it immediately over their desktop… at absolutely no charge.

Charging most of your customers nothing for a valuable product might sound like a crazy business proposition. But its value is by now well documented.

A recent study by Flurry Analytics found that mobile phone games that are free to download, are actually making more money than those that charge. Rather than asking $0.99 to download a game you have never tried, these companies let you download the app for free, then entice their most avid players into paying quite a bit more than $0.99 for in-game virtual goodies like farm crops or power boosters. In June 2011, among the top 100 games in the iTunes store, free games generated almost twice as much revenue as games that charged to download.

The “Freemium” Business Model

Offering your product for free, and charging your more committed customers for premium services, is actually a common strategy. This business model is often called “freemium,” a term coined by Jarid Lukin and popularized by venture capitalist Fred Wilson.

A freemium business is not a free ad-supported service like Gmail. Nor it is that hoary come-on, the “free trial period.” The problem with trial periods is that far fewer customers sign up, especially if they have to give a credit card in advance so you can charge them after 30 days. In fact, after 30 days, a customer may still not have gotten around to finding out if they really love your service, so you just lose them as a customer.

The freemium business model works like this: Everyone gets your product or service for free, forever. But those customers who really like it, and find most value in it, will have a strong temptation to upgrade to a “premium” (paid) service which has lots of additional goodies. It is, at heart, a strategy of pricing by customer segmentation. It also requires a lot of insight into your customers and how they use your product.

Here are four examples:

1) Skype. The popular internet calling service is free for those millions of customers who use it just to call or videochat between two computers anywhere in the world. Skype only charges if you want to use it to call a landline phone. And yet, so many of its avid customers ponied up for that extra service, that the company was able to sell itself to Microsoft for $8.5 billion.

2) The New York Times. After building up a huge online readership (the source of lots of online ad revenue), the newspaper has has recently switched to a freemium model. Casual readers can still get up to 20 articles a month for free, and articles spread by social media like Facebook don’t even count towards this limit (so the Times keeps its audience large for advertisers). But loyal readers now have to sign up for paid accounts if they want to read more than 20 articles, or enjoy the Times mobile apps.

3) Evernote. The popular note-taking web service recently topped 10 million users, thanks it to its free service, which allows users to clip articles, images, photos, and voice memos into virtual “notebooks” that they can access from anywhere via the Web. Nearly half a million of those users are paying for Evernote’s premium service, which allows them to store much more data, include more file types (like PDFs), and easily share and collaborate with others.

4) Apple’s iCloud music service. Recently announced, and launching this fall, this service will allow Apple users to store online every song that they have purchased from the iTunes store, and to synch them across phone, mp3 player, or computer, without any need for pesky wires. If you love the wireless experience, you can also store and synch all your non-iTunes songs—for a fee of $25 a year.

Real Customer Insight Required

The freemium model requires that businesses rethink their customer equation. Acquisition (attracting customers) comes first, and monetization (turning them into revenue) is second.

A freemium model adds value to your customer, by demonstrating the benefits of your service before they are expected to pay for it (a powerful incentive in this lean economy). It also adds value to your business in two ways:
Acquiring customers incredibly rapidly, with much less marketing spend
Monetizing your customers based on their price sensitivity, and the value they derive from your business. (Even your free customers may generate revenue via advertising)

Most importantly, a freemium model requires deep customer insight. It hinges on uncovering the key shift in behavior between your casual users, and those customers who truly value your service. What happens when customer love you? Do they use your service more hours each month? Use more data storage? Go on to advanced game levels? Use your product for work and not just personal use?

If you can find that customer insight, and if you can offer at least a basic version of your service at minimal cost to your firm, then you may be able to follow the freemium model, and make much more money by letting your customers in for free.

image courtesy of flickr user, Sorosh

http://www.bnet.com/blog/digital-marketing/how-to-make-piles-of-money-from-charging-nothing/261?promo=713&tag=nl.e713

The Stealth Approach to Achieving Big Goals

2011-07-05T08:04:00.000-07:00

The Stealth Approach to Achieving Big Goals
By Jeff Haden | March 28, 2011

Ask anyone who is overweight if one of their goals is to lose weight and most will say yes. But losing weight is hard, so most people look for help, fueling a market for weight loss products and services worth about $120 billion in the U.S. alone.

The CDC estimates 34% of Americans are overweight, and a further 34% are obese, so it’s obvious most people don’t achieve their weight-loss goals, even after spending thousands on products, services, and support.

All of us know how to set goals. We know how to set conceivable, achievable, measurable, aligned, etc., goals. We create checklists and milestones and find ways to reward ourselves after making even the smallest gains. We know achieving goals takes determination and drive and effort and persistence.

We think about our goals a lot, as evidenced by the popularity of this recent BNET post by Kelly and Marshall Goldsmith about achieving goals.

Yet despite our best intentions and efforts, much of the time we still fall short.

If you’re failing to achieve a major goal, don’t resolve to try harder. Don’t apply the same old strategies. Don’t do more of the same while hoping for a different result.

Instead, try achieving a different goal — one that will naturally result in achieving your primary goal. Try the stealth approach to goal achievement.

Here’s how it works. Say you want to lose weight. Look around: Who tends to be thin and fit? Runners, to name one “group.” Not people who run; runners. As the old saying goes, you may see a fat person running, but you’ll never see a fat runner. (I know other “groups” are also thin and fit. I chose runners just to illustrate the point.)

Runners are thin because they can’t help but be thin: They burn tons of calories, eat healthy to try to improve performance, spend idle moments thinking about achieving their running goals… and in the process, without focusing on losing weight, they become or stay thin and fit.

So if you want to lose weight, one stealth approach is to train for and complete, say, a marathon. I guarantee you’ll lose weight in the process. And you’ll feel an incredible sense of pride from having conquered a separate and amazing goal. Achieve two goals for the effort of one? You can’t beat that.

Is training for a marathon an easy way to lose weight? Oh, hell no. But unlike the endless parade of “incredible weight loss breakthroughs,” it works. Achieving a difficult goal isn’t easy; if it was, everyone would be successful, satisfied, and fulfilled.

You can apply the stealth approach to just about any goal, whether personal or business. Here are a few quick examples:
Want to be an entrepreneur? Don’t focus on forming an LLC or developing a business plan or setting up accounting systems, at least not at first. What do entrepreneurs really do? Entrepreneurs make money. Focus on learning to make profits. Turn a hobby into a business, no matter how small. Turn a skill into a sideline. Become an entrepreneur and you’ll learn a lot, start to spot opportunities, and begin thinking like an entrepreneur because you are an entrepreneur. Before long starting a business will seem easy because you’ve already done it once.
Want to get more media opportunities? Developing a better delivery and presence will help, but who gets media opportunities? Experts. Become an expert in your field and have something original or insightful to say. When you’re an expert it’s easier to get booked, and often the media will seek you out.
Want to write a book? Don’t spend hours learning how to find an agent and write killer proposals. Start small and focus on writing things people will read: Newsletters, articles for your local paper, items for local organizations, etc. Writers write. Become a writer and the ideas (and skills) for a book will follow.
Want to be rich? If you’re starting from scratch getting rich isn’t easy. Who tends to become wealthy in a relatively short period of time? Athletes. Entertainers. Business owners. If you want to be rich, don’t focus on money. Become a business owner and focus on building an outstanding business. In time you possibly will be rich, in more ways than one.

Think about what you really want to achieve, no matter how difficult it is to imagine. Then think about a way to sneak up on your primary goal by achieving a different yet complementary goal. It won’t be easy, but nothing worthwhile ever is.

http://www.bnet.com/blog/small-biz-advice/the-stealth-approach-to-achieving-big-goals/606?tag=content;drawer-container

The Hidden Keys to a Life of Mastery

2011-02-25T19:53:00.001-08:00

The Hidden Keys to a Life of Mastery

Posted by Robert on Feb 11, 2011 in Book One | 0 comments
Home » Book One » The Hidden Keys to a Life of Mastery
Moving from the incarceration of enculturation to the freedom of a different wisdom

That we’re living in an extremely volatile, uncertain and rapidly changing world is a perception that’s gaining in accuracy. The speed and level of change taking place has no precedence in history. One year, we’re experiencing one of the greatest economic booms of all time and the very next year, we experienced one of the greatest economic collapses of all time; a collapse known as the world financial crisis.

The rich are getting richer more rapidly than ever before, the poor are becoming poorer at an accelerating rate and the dreams of the middle have all but vanished over the past few years. Currently we’re witnessing unexpected and unprecedented developments in many – and often contradictory – political, financial, environmental and personal directions.

Although it is not apparent yet, we’re also witnessing the ‘great cover up’ as political leaders and economic powerhouses of all persuasions attempt to hide the truth of the depth of financial and lifestyle destruction that is still in the pipeline.

However, the extent of this destruction cannot escape people for much longer as many economies and nations wobble at the brink of collapse. The sleight of hand we’ve been witnessing will no longer hold back the floodgates of a financial crisis that promises to be greater than the one triggered in 2007. Mario Raich PhD, Head of the Swiss based Institute for Strategic Innovation, is concerned about the tectonic shifts taking place. He notes that, “World governments are trying to avoid an unnecessary panic; therefore they are not willing to disclose too much insider information. But the first cost cuts, massive lay-offs, abandoned or postponed investments and projects, and closed factories are already a fact. The unemployment in the US and several other countries is rising sharply. Even China is experiencing big problems.”

In their book Beyond: Business and Society in Transformation, both Raich and Nolan observe that, “Strange forces are active in our world. On the surface everything looks normal; nothing seems to be really different. But under the surface many strange things are happening. It may be tomorrow, the day after tomorrow or some other day that the silent, invisible, yet fundamental changes will become suddenly visible, and the result will be a significant impact on our lives. However, if we do not identify the hidden part of the iceberg soon, once it is brought to the surface by its own forces, it will be too late. When this happens, our way of viewing the world will change.”

So too will our way of experiencing the world. The changes we’re about to encounter require an extremely important decision from you, perhaps one of the most important decisions you’ll ever make. You have to decide whether you want to continue to deal with the consequences of past problems or focus on the challenges and opportunities that the future is about to dish up. The future will offer two very different realities for people. One involves the financial pain and distress and all the consequences of being ill prepared for what will potentially be termed the second wave of the world financial crisis. The other reality will be experienced by those who position themselves to be financially well informed and nimble on their economic feet.

For the well informed and nimble, the old cliché of ‘Opportunity of a Lifetime’ is actually a reality. In the coming years, opportunities for accessing the rebuilding of value will be unprecedented. But to take advantage of such opportunities, you’ll have to be learned, observant, resourceful, patient and flexible. With a full heart of confidence, my instincts suggest that the next few years will offer some of the most exciting opportunities for economic and personal freedom for those who are able to take advantage of the coming changes.

Transformation Mastery has been in the wings waiting. It’s been waiting for enough people to become knowledge and emotionally prepared, as well as financially and psychologically resourceful and motivated enough to go after their dreams and come out to play.

While the reasons may not seem apparent yet, over the past few years I have consistently made reference to the notion of play. The words I’ve used have been carefully chosen and the operative word is ‘play’. The further we deleve into Transformation Mastery, the more the word ‘play’ takes on its rightful significance but for now, it’s important to understand that enculturation is designed to prevent ‘play’ from taking place.

Transformation is an invitation to awaken from a deep trance like state. It’s an invitation to be free enough to take advantage of the coming changes. Free enough to come out to play.

Transformation is all about change and whenever we talk about change we have to ask ‘from what’ ‘to what’? The ‘from what’ is relatively simple. It’s moving from a position of servitude achieved through the means of enculturation and conditioning. The results of which are best described by Henry David Thoreau, “Most men live lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.”

The ‘to what’ is also relatively simple. It means living a lifestyle of purpose, on purpose. It means the absence of physical, emotional, financial, psychological and spiritual constraints to that lifestyle. It includes transcending the conditioning of the civilising society, transcending the identification with an unaware ego, transcending the compulsion to conformity and the unconscious adherence to the unwritten rules and agreements of enculturation.

The freedom I speak of is available through the second order change identified by Clare W Graves. It refers to out of the box thinking and big vision stuff. It’s full steam ahead by challenging the givens, the establishment and the status quo. It’s an adventure of make it or bust yourself trying. Its change that tests assumptions in order to challenge assumptions; its push the boundaries and bulldoze the barriers.

Second order change thrives on chaos rather than order and we’re about to enter a worldwide zone of economic and personal chaos. I’m talking about Clare W Graves UP-shift: which describes a fundamental shift in one’s thinking and value system. It’s the shift in critical mass from one vMeme to a more complex and flexible vMeme. This is where real change takes place. By its very nature, UP-shift is evolutionary and transformative.

Transformation itself is a journey only those who are ready can take and as you read the wisdom of the following authors such a journey will either resonate with you or it will scare you. As always, the choice is yours alone. Before we move on, let’s revisit the ‘from what’ for a few moments.

What do you suppose Thoreau meant by his comment above? Does it have something to do with the observation that very few people ever get to achieve the potential they were born with or experience their dreams? We often hear people expressing a feeling as though they’re living in a rat race, running on a tread mill or going round and round in a hamster’s wheel they can’t seem to get off. Life for them is a bit like that of racing greyhounds. No matter how much nutrition or scientific diet you feed them, no matter how hard you train and exercise them, no matter how much bigger, stronger and faster they become, no matter how much racing technology improves or how much money they make for their owners or how many prizes they win, greyhounds keep on chasing rabbits they can seldom catch. They sacrifice their lives to the chase itself and never gain the prize they seek. If, because of mechanical breakdown, they do catch their prize, they quickly discover that it was an illusion all along.

This is exactly the circumstances under which most people are conditioned to experience their lives. If the time for change is not right for you now, then when will it be? When will you be ready for UP-Shift?

In Money Mastery, we learned that human beings have undergone tens of years of enculturation and conditioning: a processed designed to make citizens good servants of their enculturating society. Enculturation is designed to make people more manageable and more governerable. Not one single aspect of such enculturation is directed towards the possibilities of extraordinary success or the achievement of greater potentials.

Most people are unaware that enculturation is designed to ensure they play a game they can never win. It’s a process designed for holding patterns, mortgages, monotonous ruts and ‘lives of quiet desperation’. Servitude to debt is the ‘normal’ state. Sadly, few people ever achieve a fraction of their true potential. They’re numb to the realization that things could be so different for them. Rather than undertake journeys of explorative change, they follow the instructions of unwritten collective agreements while slowly, quietly and obediently ‘going to their graves with the song still in them’. If you’re on this track, it’s time to get off. If you want more out of life, if there is a grain of recognition here for you, if you want to explore the world of true freedom, then the only question you need to answer is when will you finally break free of the illusion you’ve been living under?

And it is an illusion. Lee Cullum, an American public broadcasting commentator, refers to the present time as, “The Age of Limbo” where we’re trapped in a kind of ‘Twilight Zone’, the void that develops between decaying social and technological ways of thinking and doing and the yet to be established new structures of thinking and doing. Much scholarly research and scientific investigation clearly demonstrates that it’s possible to move beyond the social limitations of enculturation, to move beyond the current capacities of body and mind and transcend Thoreau’s ‘lives of quiet desperation’.

Morrie Shechtman, Chairman of Fifth Wave Leadership, observes that the gap between ‘success and mediocrity’ is growing more rapidly than ever before because some people are accessing new information and ways of thinking while many are not. In the search for rich, meaningful experiences, “Our task”, notes Shechtman, “Is to develop skills for succeeding in a new culture that constantly challenges your belief systems and your core values.” The search for more enriching and meaningful experiences now requires greater self-confidence, more flexibility, more resourcefulness and more self-knowledge than at any previous time in history. It’s time to come out to play!

To receive more of the rewards on offer, to obtain the meaningful richness of purposeful experiences, to feel the accolades of personal success, to benefit from the financial changes ahead and to positively experience the momentous leap forward in social and technological change, it’s of critical importance that you change what you believe and change the way you think. Anything less is counterproductive and will only serve to support the further enmeshment of enculturation.

“We live our lives based on what we believe about the world, ourselves, our capacities and our limits”‘ notes Gregg Braden. If you want to change the expression of your life, then you must change the way you view the world and the beliefs of that world that you’ve been conditioned with. John B Arden PhD, author of Rewire Your Brain, notes that ‘if you want to change your life, you need to change your brain’ otherwise change is not possible because all thoughts will still be running along your previously conditioned neuropathways. If thoughts continue to travel along these pathways, they can only ever lead to the same old results. Braden suggests that, “There’s new evidence that the universe works like a consciousness computer… belief is the code that programs reality”, This means that if you change your beliefs, you change your reality.

What happens if the beliefs you currently use to program your reality with are based on inaccuracies? What kind of reality are you programming? In an exciting body of research, Braden discovered that beliefs which limit your full potential do not need to undergo traumatic shifts; they only need subtle changes. With subtle shifts, it’s possible to catapult yourself beyond your current limits and experience a powerful source of intelligence that can trumpet in a new state of being, awareness and fulfilment.

A word of caution; a subtle shift in beliefs is only possible if you have a big enough reason to want to shift them. Without this reason, beliefs do not change and people remain locked in the incarcerated limbo of ‘quiet desperation’.

Howard Martin, one of the original founders of the Institute of HeartMath, discovered that through the power of your heart’s intelligence, “You can move beyond your limitations into a new reality that allows you to become a more conscious co-creator and true custodian of the planet and its culture.” It’s time to tap into this intelligence. It’s time to come out to play.

While researching why people do what they do, visionary psychologist and social scientist, Clare W Graves came to realise that mankind was preparing for a momentous leap in social and technological change. “This leap would be a mega-change in society which would dwarf all previous changes.” We’re now at that time. As the pace of change soon begins to snowball, there will be those who think they can hide from the mass coming down the hill. Some may even think they can out run it. But neither are real possibilities. We’re tinkering on the precipice of a transformation in ways of thinking and consciousness itself. It promises to ignite social and technological change on a scale that dwarfs all previous contemporary and historical revolutions.

Clare W Graves left us with a model that pointed the way forward, a model that helps us understand the many deep forces in human nature which shape our value systems. He left us with a model that not only lays out a pattern for change but also an exciting trajectory for what’s possible.

Joseph Chilton Pearce implores us to undertake this journey by reclaiming our insight and intelligence, by reclaiming our true creativity and the capacity to think and reason without conflict. “Our problems are largely man-made” says Pearce, “Caused by ignoring nature’s plan.” Its time to reach beyond the limitations we’ve accepted for ourselves and explore the human potentials we’ve yet to develop. Human development, notes Pearce, is designed to follow nature’s biological plan which is a genetically inherent design for open-ended creativity and freedom.

However, enculturation promotes neither creativity nor freedom. Instead it demands obedience, sameness and conformity which inhibit our natural spiritual-creative existence. It demands that people buy into collective agreements and ‘lives of quiet desperation’. As with Graves, Chilton Pearce points the way forward. “Full development, for which we are genetically equipped, is pure creativity, which can only take place by thought being developed as an instrument of insight-intelligence, open to and capable of handling the awesome power of consciousness.”

Those who are governable through ‘one right way thinking’ processes produce the chaos, hostility, confusion, danger, fear and competitive conflict which become the primary driving forces of change itself. It’s time to come out to play.

“Beneath awareness”, observes Pearce, “Culture imprints a negative force field blocking the natural rise of your spirit towards its innate nature, sabotaging your natural abilities. You lose the sense of yourself and your connection to everything. Reverse the unconscious loss of your true being by allowing the intelligence of the heart to take hold and flourish.”

If we develop an awareness of how enculturation fights against nature’s plan, we can learn how to preserve and develop this plan in children and recover it in adults. Drawing on the latest research in neuroscience, the evolutionary pathway of our fourfold brain and the new science of neurocardiology, the ‘brain’ of the heart, Pearce maintains that we can move beyond fight or flight thinking and take the Gravesian leap into a new consciousness.

Transformational Mastery is an invitation to transcend the limitations of enculturation and experience the tremendous sense of joy and freedom that comes from reclaiming your full potential. As Pearce and others note, “Ours is an incredible age. Not only will we weather our current global crises both personally and socially, our possibilities for transcending these inherent limitations and constraints, and opening to new evolutionary vistas, make this surely the greatest of all times to be around. You contain a built-in predisposition and ability to rise above—a vital adaptive spirit that you have not yet utilized.”

Releasing your potential requires resourcefulness. Some of you may not yet be ready so your task over the coming year is to commit yourself to study, to development, to the production of financial and personal resources and to readiness. Make this a graceful sense of urgency year. Release yourself from the quicksand of ‘content and structure’, break out of the Plot’s grip, surrender your self-defeating egoic stories, allow yourself to be more effective than right, to listen more than speak, to observe more than judge, and to give more than take. Others of you have achieved the necessary space to take on the next stage – the journey home to your true self. It’s time to reverse the unconscious loss of your true potential, your true state of being and allow the intelligence of heart to take hold and flourish. It’s time to regain your freedom. For those who have the courage, it’s time to come out to play.

Transformational consists of two elements Entrepreneurial Mastery and Mind Mastery.

Entrepreneurial Mastery

Entrepreneurial Mastery is all about the ‘how to’ of various financial instruments. In this part of the journey we’ll essentially focus on three entrepreneurial vehicles including business, real estate and shares. (Garry Davis of Specialist Share Education will be our guest mentor) This means rolling up your sleeves and getting down to work.

Not all people need to partake in everything. I expect that you’ll have your own interests and over the coming twelve months you’ll wish to pursue either of the three, all of the three or a combination of the three vehicles. This does not mean that other opportunities or vehicles are excluded, but we’ll have to adopt a ‘wait and see’ approach as the year unfolds.

Entrepreneurial Mastery requires an ability to spot key issues and develop the necessary creativity and energy to solve them. According to Raich and Nolan, “Humanity has to rise to the challenge or perish. The question is no longer just “Can we?’’, but “How and when can we?’’

By focusing on any of the three vehicles mentioned above, we’ll concentrate on short term strategies of acquisition, value add and disposal. During the coming unstable times, we must be both nimble and resourceful in producing the necessary cash flow for the opportunities that lie ahead.

Mind Mastery

Mind Mastery is a step by step process of changing the configuration of your brain. I’ll walk you through the brain’s various structures, how neuro-rigidity sets in and how thoughts, feelings and emotions become hardwired. Neuroscience is showing us how thoughts shape reality but where do our thoughts come from?

You’ll learn how various media and marketing industries manipulate thoughts and feelings to their advantage. You’ll learn how to recognize the patterns you want to change and how to create new, positive habits that will not only dramatically improve your economic results, but allow you to exercise a greater degree of ‘mind over matter’ and live in expanding economic and personal freedom.

Through concentration and repetition of thoughts, neural circuits become ‘hard wired’ so we’ll concentrate on hard wiring circuits of economic and personal freedom.

In addition, conscious manifestation is possible; it’s what I’ve used to get myself into a position personal freedom since 1978 and financial freedom since 1997. In Mind Mastery, I’ll show you the step by step processes I go through, the very step by step processes you can use to facilitate your journey forward.

The future is born in our imagination! It’s the product of our remembered past, our experienced present and our dreamt future. The future we create lies in our ability to anticipate, to think forward and move beyond our addicted selves. ‘Right way thinking’ is not capable of this so you have to move to a more flexible thinking system. The future is created first in our imagination and then experienced in our holographic reality.

What you’ll be in the future depends very much on your present decisions, actions and experiences. But all this is guided by your vision for yourself. Vision can lead to a new and better future so you need to work on your vision, because whether you have a conscious one, or you operate on the unconscious agreements of enculturation, your future is defined by your vision. All change begins with an attitude and a desire to alter your current way of thinking. In order to succeed, one has first to dream and imagine “big” and “different”. This is what a new mindset is all about; this is what ‘beyond’ is all about.

We’re entering a new cycle on a global scale. The world of our parents is not there anymore. Although we may have grown accustomed to it, it’s important to realise that it is no longer there and it’s not what it used to be. We’re teetering on the precipice of many different possible futures, which are changing more quickly than pictures in a kaleidoscope.

“But since we have a choice, the future depends very much on our actions TODAY – NOW. What we are doing today is defining what the future will be!” (Raich and Nolan)

What will your future be?
Do you have the courage for great change?
Do you have the courage to come out to play?

To discover more i invite you to explore the Fast Track to Wealth program run within the Wealth Trilogies

Paul Counsel

http://thewealthtrilogies.com/hidden-keys-life-mastery/

Secrets of the Millionaire Mind

2011-02-25T19:50:00.000-08:00

Secrets of the Millionaire Mind

The 5 Secrets of How to Get Rich

Would you like to have millions of dollars in the bank? Sure, most people would. But achieving it can seem nearly impossible. In this article, you’ll learn that it is simpler than you think and you’ll discover the 5 secrets of the millionaire mind that millionaires use to get rich and achieve what they want out of life.

Millionaires have it nice! They’ve got money in the bank and can focus on other things rather than on where they are going to get enough cash to pay their bills. Sure, money isn’t everything but it tends to help you focus on what is more important (family, friends, fun, spirituality) when you have the money to take care of bills.

For those who have never done so, acquiring millions of dollars doesn’t seem easy. But when you study the millionaires who are out there and learn and master their secrets, it suddenly becomes easier – and very possible – to acquire the wealth you deserve. There are five factors that make millionaires so successful

Secrets of the Millionaire Mind Factor #1: Belief

Millionaires believe firmly in the successful outcome of whatever they put their minds to. They have confidence in their own abilities and in the ultimate success of the situation. Look at Donald Trump, for example. He seems to have the biggest ego in the world, but that is simply because he is so confident! How can you have a millionaire mind? Be confident and fearless.

Secrets of the Millionaire Mind Factor #2: Vision

Millionaires have a vision for the success. They dream it. They think it. They breathe it. They KNOW how it will turn out (which is a combination of their vision and the confidence you just read about). Their concept of the achievement of their goal is vivid. How can you have a millionaire mind? Dream what you want as vividly as possible.

Secrets of the Millionaire Mind Factor #3: Uniqueness

Millionaires aren’t cookie cutters. They don’t copy, they create. They innovate. They find out what’s broken or not working and they fix it. They solve problems. They push the envelope. Millionaires develop a new way of doing things and that sets them apart from everyone else who simply tries to copy the last successful person. How can you have a millionaire mind? Create something new.

Secrets of the Millionaire Mind Factor #4: Action

Millionaires don’t get to be millionaires by sitting around on the couch eating popcorn. They work hard to achieve their vision. They love what they do and are devoted to take constant action to see it achieved. How can you have a millionaire mind? Act now; act often.

Secrets of the Millionaire Mind Factor #5: Leverage

Millionaires know that they can’t do it all themselves. They need other people to help them. They ask for, and accept, the help they need and they reward people accordingly. They share their wealth generously, knowing that whatever they give will come back to them. How can you have a millionaire mind? Get help and pay them fairly.

These so-called secrets of the millionaire mind can be adopted by you and employed in your life so that you too can become a millionaire.

http://thewealthtrilogies.com/secrets-millionaire-mind/

Millionaire Minds Set Goals and Reach Them

2011-02-25T19:29:00.000-08:00

Millionaire Minds Set Goals and Reach Them
Chunk-Down that Goal and Get Out of Overwhelm

by Jack Canfield

Sometimes our biggest life goals seem so overwhelming.

We rarely see them as a series of small, achievable tasks, but in reality, breaking down a large goal into smaller tasks—and accomplishing them one at a time—is exactly how any big goal gets achieved.

After you have decided what you really want, with specific deadlines, the next step is to determine all of the individual action steps you will need to take to accomplish your goal.

How to Chunk It Down

There are several ways to figure out the action steps you will need to take to accomplish any goal. One is to consult with people who have already done what you want to do and ask what steps they took. From their experience, they can give you all of the necessary steps as well as advice on what pitfalls to avoid.

Another way is to purchase a book or manual that outlines the process.

Yet another way is to start from the end and look backward. You simply close your eyes and imagine that it is now the future and you have already achieved your goal. Then just look back and see what you had to do to get to where you now are. What was the last thing you did? And then the thing before that, and then the thing before that, until you arrive at the first action you had to start with.

Remember that it is okay not to know how to do something.

It’s okay to ask for guidance and advice from those who do know. Sometimes you can get it free, and sometimes you have to pay for it. Get used to asking, “Can you tell me how to go about…?” and “What would I have to do to…?” and “How did you…?”

Keep researching and asking until you can create a realistic action plan that will get you from where you are to where you want to go.

What will you need to do? How much money will you need to save or raise? What new skills will you need to learn? What resources will you need to mobilize? Who will you need to enroll in your vision? Who will you need to ask for assistance? What new disciplines or habits will you need to build into your life?

Another valuable technique for creating an action plan for your goals is called mind mapping.

How to Use Mind Mapping

Mind mapping is a simple but powerful process for creating a detailed to‑do list for achieving your goal. It lets you determine what information you’ll need to gather, who you’ll need to talk to, what small steps you’ll need to take, how much money you’ll need to earn or raise, which deadlines you’ll need to meet, and so on—for each and every goal.

When I began creating my first educational audio program—a breakthrough goal that led to extraordinary gains for me and my business—I used mind mapping to help me “chunk down” that very large goal into all the individual tasks I would need to complete to produce a finished product.

To mind‑map your own goals, follow these steps as illustrated in the example:

1.) Center circle: In the center circle, jot down the name of your stated goal—in this case, Create an Audio Educational Program.

2.) Outside circles: Next, divide the goal into the major categories of tasks you’ll need to accomplish to achieve the greater goal—in this case, Title, Studio, Topics, Audience, and so on.

3.) Spokes: Then, draw spokes radiating outward from each mini-circle and label each one (such as Write Copy, Color Picture for Back Cover, and Arrange Lunch.)

On a separate line connected to the minicircle, write every single step you’ll need to take. Break down each one of the more detailed task spokes with action items to help you create your master to‑do list.

Next, Make a Daily To‑Do List

Once you’ve completed a mind map for your goal, convert all of the to‑do items into daily action items by listing each one on your daily to‑do lists and committing to a completion date for each one. Then schedule them in the appropriate order into your calendar and do whatever it takes to stay on schedule.

Do First Things First

The goal is to stay on schedule and complete the most important item first. In his excellent book, Eat That Frog! 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time, Brian Tracy reveals not just how to conquer procrastination but also how to prioritize and complete all of your action items.

In his unique system, Brian advises goal‑setters to identify the one to five things you must accomplish on any given day, and then pick the one you absolutely must do first. This becomes your biggest and ugliest frog.

He then suggests you accomplish that task first—in essence, eat that frog first—and, by so doing; make the rest of your day much, much easier. It’s a great strategy. But unfortunately, most of us leave the biggest and ugliest frog for last, hoping it will go away or somehow become easier. It never does. However, when you accomplish your toughest task early in the day, it sets the tone for the rest of your day.

By chunking down your goals, and then taking daily action on them, you create momentum and build your confidence, both of which move you farther and faster toward the achievement of your goals.

Now go take some action!

http://mymillionairemind.org/author/sandi/

2011-02-25T19:23:00.000-08:00

The Greatest Gift
9/11
Just saying, reading or hearing 9/11 triggers a maelstrom of emotion

— unbearable sadness, grief, loss, fierce anger, betrayal, bewilderment, pride, patriotism, and for some, acceptance, forgiveness and peace.

This year as I feel the memory of 9/11 in my body, I have some new insight that is helping me to experience 9/11 differently.

“Ho’oponopono is a profound gift that allows one to develop a working relationship with the Divinity within and learn to ask in each moment, our error in thought, word, deed or action to be cleansed. The process is essentially about freedom, complete freedom from the past.”

— Morrnah Nalamaku Simeon, Ho’oponopono Master Teacher

To find and eventually share the gift of peace, we must train ourselves to look within rather than judge without.

“Wouldn’t it be great if the world would just change?”
“What If people would become more compassionate and generous?”
“Why can’t they stop all this political double speak and conflict?”
“I just don’t know why they can’t just accept each other’s differences without blowing each other to kingdom come.”
The world would be at peace, if they would just work with each other and be more tolerant.”

The truth is we have no control over what “they” do. But we do have total control over how we behave in our world. It is not what happens to us that determines our peace of mind — it’s how we respond to life’s challenges.

We are our own peacemakers. Peacemakers live by the Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” We create peace within our families by supporting one another, giving and seeking support, as it is needed. We give and receive unconditional love. We all give and receive these gifts right where we are, in our homes, offices, our neighborhoods and our communities through the way we live our lives and make decisions.

We can make a difference in the world though the gifts we give and receive.
The Gift Of Love

“Peace Begins with You: Creating Peace Within Ourselves and In Our World.”
This gift is the conscious choice to reveal the best in people, other living creatures and any part of nature. By helping us perceive the beauty that surrounds us, it relieves our self-consciousness and helps us uplift others and ourselves.

How to use the gift of love: Look for the good in other people. Watch them closely, and listen to them carefully to discover what will bring out the joy in them. Then remind them of the unique talents, experience or character qualities they already have that ensure they can have what they want. Give them vivid accounts of instances when they used those traits. Watch the light go on in their eyes.
The Gift Of Dreams

This gift enables us to focus on whatever inspires or uplifts us, letting us play a part in the creation of a better world as we form good intentions and carry them out.

Access your dreams: Ask…

What would make me happy?

Why would it make me happy, and why is it important to me?

How will it benefit other people… and how will I act toward others when I have it?

When do I want it to happen?

Where will my dream take me when it comes true?
The Gift Of Courage

This gift involves taking concrete action to help us achieve the object of our love and dreams. Answering the question, “What am I willing to try?” makes change exciting, rather than frightening. It takes an act of courage to completely release an old hurt and forgive and let go. It is a step into the unknown. The reward of courage is freedom.
The Gift Of Unity

This gift joins us with other like-minded spirits to achieve a shared vision. It asks, “Who can I help?” “Who can help me?” “What can we accomplish together.”
The Gift Of Joy

This gift lets us take pleasure in what we have created, showing us that we are not here just to survive but to satisfy our souls and inspire others to do the same. Start a journal in which you can unleash your joy for a few minutes every day. Answer the questions…

What is going right at this moment?

Why does it make me happy?

How can I best respond to it?

Smile, just because it feels good!
The Gift Of Trust

This gift is the internal radar system that aligns our thoughts and actions to help us grow and makes us feel bad whenever we think, say or do anything that could be harmful.

When you feel stressed, call on your sense of trust. Stop whatever you are doing. Close your eyes… ask yourself what you should do now… take several deep breaths … and listen to your intuition before you take action.
The Gift Of Character

This gift understands who we are now and who we want to be. It reminds us of our authentic self and unique role in the universe.

How to become what you want to be: List all the traits you do not want… then, line by line, make a second list with exactly the opposite traits. Destroy the first list, rewrite the second list, and for each good trait think of at least one person you know who possesses it. Ask yourself, “Which trait would serve me best now?” and picture how your role model would act. After a while, your new traits will become natural.
The Gift Of Thanks

This gift lets us bless what we have achieved with our other gifts. By saying “This is good,” we enjoy a feeling of contentment that also lets us pour positive energy into others, helping them to use their own gifts.
The Gift Of Intention

This gift is the ability to choose a new direction or return to an old one, regardless of current circumstances. It asks the questions, “What now?” and “What next?” When we remind ourselves that “It ain’t over until it’s over,” we can decide to leave the past behind or trade something good for something even better.

In the year ahead, until we reach our next 9/11, resolve to be the kind of person you wish the rest of the world would be. It’s the greatest gift you can give yourself, our world and those we remember on this day.

This Blog was inspired by the sermons of Rev. Margee Grounds, Rev. Diane Brandenburg, Dr. Joe Vitale and the work of Morrnah Nalamaku Simeona

Margaret Mead said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

Changing our world for the better begins with us, right now, today.

In Love and Gratitude,
Sandi

Copyright © Millionaire Minds, LLC 2007

All writings here are copyrighted. You may not use them without written permission but you may link to the posts or give out a link to the posts. And remember, You Have a Millionaire Mind!

Millionaire Minds Set Goals and Reach Them

2011-02-25T19:21:00.000-08:00

Millionaire Minds Set Goals and Reach Them
by Jack Canfield

Post by H. Sandra Chevalier-Batik
posted in Action Blueprint, Career Management, Decision Making & Problem Solving, Goal Setting, Millionaire Mind MoJo, Mind Mapping, Modeling Success, Money Blueprint |
Chunk-Down that Goal and Get Out of Overwhelm

Sometimes our biggest life goals seem so overwhelming.

We rarely see them as a series of small, achievable tasks, but in reality, breaking down a large goal into smaller tasks—and accomplishing them one at a time—is exactly how any big goal gets achieved.

After you have decided what you really want, with specific deadlines, the next step is to determine all of the individual action steps you will need to take to accomplish your goal.

How to Chunk It Down

There are several ways to figure out the action steps you will need to take to accomplish any goal. One is to consult with people who have already done what you want to do and ask what steps they took. From their experience, they can give you all of the necessary steps as well as advice on what pitfalls to avoid.

Another way is to purchase a book or manual that outlines the process.

Yet another way is to start from the end and look backward. You simply close your eyes and imagine that it is now the future and you have already achieved your goal. Then just look back and see what you had to do to get to where you now are. What was the last thing you did? And then the thing before that, and then the thing before that, until you arrive at the first action you had to start with.

Remember that it is okay not to know how to do something.

It’s okay to ask for guidance and advice from those who do know. Sometimes you can get it free, and sometimes you have to pay for it. Get used to asking, “Can you tell me how to go about…?” and “What would I have to do to…?” and “How did you…?”

Keep researching and asking until you can create a realistic action plan that will get you from where you are to where you want to go.

What will you need to do? How much money will you need to save or raise? What new skills will you need to learn? What resources will you need to mobilize? Who will you need to enroll in your vision? Who will you need to ask for assistance? What new disciplines or habits will you need to build into your life?

Another valuable technique for creating an action plan for your goals is called mind mapping.

How to Use Mind Mapping

Mind mapping is a simple but powerful process for creating a detailed to‑do list for achieving your goal. It lets you determine what information you’ll need to gather, who you’ll need to talk to, what small steps you’ll need to take, how much money you’ll need to earn or raise, which deadlines you’ll need to meet, and so on—for each and every goal.

When I began creating my first educational audio program—a breakthrough goal that led to extraordinary gains for me and my business—I used mind mapping to help me “chunk down” that very large goal into all the individual tasks I would need to complete to produce a finished product.

To mind‑map your own goals, follow these steps as illustrated in the example:

1.) Center circle: In the center circle, jot down the name of your stated goal—in this case, Create an Audio Educational Program.

2.) Outside circles: Next, divide the goal into the major categories of tasks you’ll need to accomplish to achieve the greater goal—in this case, Title, Studio, Topics, Audience, and so on.

3.) Spokes: Then, draw spokes radiating outward from each mini-circle and label each one (such as Write Copy, Color Picture for Back Cover, and Arrange Lunch.)

On a separate line connected to the minicircle, write every single step you’ll need to take. Break down each one of the more detailed task spokes with action items to help you create your master to‑do list.

Next, Make a Daily To‑Do List

Once you’ve completed a mind map for your goal, convert all of the to‑do items into daily action items by listing each one on your daily to‑do lists and committing to a completion date for each one. Then schedule them in the appropriate order into your calendar and do whatever it takes to stay on schedule.

Do First Things First

The goal is to stay on schedule and complete the most important item first. In his excellent book, Eat That Frog! 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time, Brian Tracy reveals not just how to conquer procrastination but also how to prioritize and complete all of your action items.

In his unique system, Brian advises goal‑setters to identify the one to five things you must accomplish on any given day, and then pick the one you absolutely must do first. This becomes your biggest and ugliest frog.

He then suggests you accomplish that task first—in essence, eat that frog first—and, by so doing; make the rest of your day much, much easier. It’s a great strategy. But unfortunately, most of us leave the biggest and ugliest frog for last, hoping it will go away or somehow become easier. It never does. However, when you accomplish your toughest task early in the day, it sets the tone for the rest of your day.

By chunking down your goals, and then taking daily action on them, you create momentum and build your confidence, both of which move you farther and faster toward the achievement of your goals.

Now go take some action!

http://mymillionairemind.org/keeping-your-millionaire-mind-mojo/millionaire-minds-set-goals-and-reach-them/

The Cycle of Completion: Making Way for Success

2011-02-25T19:18:00.000-08:00

The Cycle of Completion: Making Way for Success
by Jack Canfield

Do you live in a state of mental and physical clutter? Do you have a bunch of unfinished business lurking around every corner?

Incomplete projects, unfinished business, and piles of cluttered messes can weigh you down and take away from the energy you have to move forward toward your goals.

When you don’t complete tasks, you can’t be fully prepared to move into the present, let alone your new future. When your brain is keeping track of all the unfinished business you still have at hand, you simply can’t be effective in embracing new tasks that are in line with your vision.

Old incompletes can show up in your life in lots of different ways… like not having clarity, procrastination, emotional energy blocks and even illness. Blocked energy is wasted, and a build up of that energy can really leave you stymied!

Throw out all the clutter and feel how much easier it is to think! Make a list of areas in your life (both personal and professional) where you have incompletes and messes, then develop a plan to deal with them once and for all. Fix and organize the things that annoy you. Take your final steps in bringing closure to outstanding projects. Make that difficult phone call. Delegate time-wasting tasks that you’ve let build up.

When you free yourself from the mental burden of incompletes and messes, you’ll be AMAZED at how quickly the things you do want in life arrive.

Another area where you’ll find incompletes in your life is in your emotions. Are you holding on to old hurts, resentments, and pain? Just like the physical clutter and incompletes, your energy is being drained by holding on to and reliving past pain and anger.

Remember, you’ll attract whatever feelings you’re experiencing. So, if you’re stuck in revengeful thinking and angered in muck, you can’t possibly be directing energy toward a positive future. You need to let go of the past in order to embrace the future. Letting go involves forgiveness and moving on.

By forgiving you aren’t releasing the other person from their transgression as much as you’re freeing yourself from their transgression. You don’t have to condone their behavior, trust them, or even maintain a relationship with them. However, you DO have to free yourself from the anger, from the pain, and from the resentment once and for all!

When learning to forgive, make sure to complete the cycle. Acknowledge your anger, your pain, and your fear. But also own up to any part you’ve played in allowing it to happen or continue. Make sure to express whatever it was that you wanted from that person, and then see the whole event from the other’s point of view. Allow yourself to wonder what that person was going through and what kind of needs he/she was trying to fulfill at the time.

Finally, let go and move on. Every time you go through this process you’re learning how to avoid letting it happen again!

Post by H. Sandra Chevalier-Batik
posted in Action Blueprint, Gratitude, Law of Attraction, Millionaire Mind MoJo, Modeling Success, Money Blueprint, Motivation & Self-Improvement, Wealth Creation |

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http://mymillionairemind.org/keeping-your-millionaire-mind-mojo/the-cycle-of-completion-making-way-for-success/

Victor Frankl quote

2011-02-25T19:16:00.001-08:00

“The last of the human freedoms is to choose one’s
attitude in any given set of circumstances.”

Victor Frankl
— an Austrian neurologist, psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor

The Millionaire Mind

2011-02-25T19:13:00.000-08:00

The Millionaire Mind

May 18, 2007 @ 10:00 am - Written by Trent
Categories: Books
Bookmarks: del.icio.us, reddit

The Millionaire Mind is a sequel (basically) to Stanley and Danko’s earlier book The Millionaire Next Door (which I quite liked; see my review of The Millionaire Next Door). This book is basically a continuation of the same premise: an analysis of the results of extensive surveying of people with a net worth of $1 million or more. Is it a rehash or does it actually contribute interesting new information? Let’s find out.

An Odyssey of The Millionaire Mind

Chapter 1: An Introduction to the Millionaire Mind
Instead of an introduction to the book, this chapter actually compresses the entire book down to about twenty five pages. Here’s a hot tip: if you see this book at the bookstore, read the first chapter and you’ve read most of the book – only read further if you want more detail. Seriously, the key points are all outlined right here.

Chapter 2: Success Factors
I discussed the content of this chapter early this week – it focuses on specific traits that millionaires self-identified as being important in their success. For the most part, this was the most useful chapter in the book, because most of the traits that were marked as most important are ones you can learn (being honest with all people, being well-disciplined, getting along with people, having a supportive spouse, working harder than most people, being very well organized, etc.) are ones you can control, while the ones you can’t learn (having a high IQ, etc.) are at the bottom of the list. As I concluded in the article linked to above, personal development works.

Chapter 3: School Days
It turns out here that great grades aren’t necessarily the key to success, but tenacity and leadership skills are. In other words, if you work hard and are involved in extracurricular activities (particularly in leadership roles) but are a B student, you’re in much better shape to succeed than an A student who coasts and isn’t involved in said activities. In fact, the chapter largely indicates that the B student is preferable here. In other words, don’t be ashamed of your grades – only be ashamed if you’re not willing to work for it.

Chapter 4: The Relationship Between Courage and Wealth
It takes courage to be rich, in several different dimensions: courage to not follow the greater spending trends of society, courage to start one’s own business even through the risk, and the courage to not spend the money frivolously once he/she has it. Mostly, the lesson here is to not just follow what everyone else is doing, but follow your heart and you’ll do better – something I believe in in earnest.

Chapter 5: Vocation Vocation Vocation
Here, the book suggests that you should find a vocation that not only you’re passionate about, but one where the competition is comparatively thin. This can often be done through specialization (finding something that you can do that others can’t or don’t) or by finding fields where you can succeed because it’s underexploited. In other words, don’t try to write the Great American Novel if you want to become a millionaire.

Chapter 6: Choice of Spouse
This chapter is all about a fundamental point that should be true for any marriage: never choose a spouse based on superficial reasons. Ever. If your relationship is about physical attraction above all, it won’t be rock solid when you need it to be because the bedrock of a reliable marriage is compatible values. If you have appropriate values for becoming a millionaire, then you’ll just undermine all of it by having a spouse that doesn’t share those values.

Chapter 7: The Economically Productive Household
Frugal living is the key here; in general, the millionaires surveyed by Stanley look at factors such as total cost of ownership before making purchases, using items through their entire lifespan even if they show some wear, and buying late model used cars that are reliable and can be driven for several years. Frugal values pay off whether you’re poor or rich.

Chapter 8: The Home
Another big clue appears here when it’s shown that millionaires on the whole do not buy houses that are ostentatious, but instead are functional for what the needs of the people are. They generally take their time looking for homes, search out bargains, and clearly define their needs before they buy, including factors such as good public schooling and so forth. They also buy modestly – the average millionaire owns a home with a median value only slightly above the median value for all homes; in fact, many of the most ostentatious homes are owned by non-millionaires.

Chapter 9: The Lifestyles of Millionaires: Real vs. Imagined
This short chapter reinforces the notion that most of the surveyed millionaires live typical lives: dining at home, enjoying time with their family, and so on. Most of the trappings of the millionaire lifestyle (“Let’s dine on the yacht with Quincy and Nathaniel”) are much more fiction than fact, or are misrepresentative of how millionaires actually live.

Chapter 10: A Final Note About the Millionaire Mind
The final, brief chapter has a few anecdotes, but mostly it ties up the entire message of the book in two distinct words: think different. Don’t just follow what everyone else is doing.

Buy or Don’t Buy?

Let’s be honest here: this book is mere continuation (and in some places, rehash) of The Millionaire Next Door. It’s a good read, but much of the same material is found in both books.

On the whole, I felt that The Millionaire Next Door was the more complete book of the two and I would recommend it above this one, but there are two big areas where The Millionaire Mind might be the winner. First, this book doesn’t have nearly as strong an age bias as the first book did, which means that if you’re young, you will likely feel more comfortable with. Second, it focuses on what I like to call “life management” skills more than financial planning, which might be of interest to you if you’re looking for behavioral aspects of how millionaires act. In particular, the second chapter stood out to me.

As a personal finance book, The Millionaire Next Door is a better choice. As an all-around read, though, The Millionaire Mind does hold its own and is potentially more palatable to some specific audiences.

The Millionaire Mind is the twenty-eighth of fifty-two books in The Simple Dollar’s series 52 Personal Finance Books in 52 Weeks.

http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/05/18/review-the-millionaire-mind/

Great First Jobs for Kids

2011-02-25T18:55:00.000-08:00

Great First Jobs for Kids
By Nick Wolff

I have long recommended that no parents give their children an allowance, rather I recommend they provide them commissions for certain household chores to help teach your kids that money comes from effort. At some point, many children begin to look for work outside the home to help augment their earnings and start to earn income that isn't reliant on Mom and Dad. First jobs are also great ways to learn about oneself and begin to learn about business. Here are several ideas for great first jobs for kids under age 16.

Paper Route - Many children cut their teeth waking up before dawn to deliver papers prior to going to school. Young people performing this work learn many of the mechanics and hiccups concerning the flow of goods from the factory to the consumer. One learns to push through challenges such as poor weather and supply problems to get the job done.

Babysitting - One of the most common first jobs for many (but not exclusively) girls is babysitting. Babysitting teaches responsibility, preparation, patience and safety not to mention dealing with the highly emotional expectations of customers (parents). These skills are extremely valuable in all aspects of working life.

Park League Official - My first job was as an official at the park league where I had previously been a player. A year round program I had the opportunity to be a referee and umpire for several sports. As an official I learned to make quick decisions, how to handle authority, peacemaking, and how to deal with difficult people. I found it one of the most challenging jobs I have ever held, because at the time I suffered from a great deal of self-doubt. The confidence that I learned through learning to wield these skills have paid dividends throughout my life.

Camp Counselor - Another great job I had at an early age was that of a camp counselor. Many of the same skills that one gains as a park league official are learned here as well, but often at a greater rate simply because one is learning for more hours in a day. Some opportunities are for day camps while others are for resident camps. I had the opportunity to work at a resident camp, which not only gave my parents a break from me, it gave me opportunities to experiment with independence as well as make stronger friendships, many of which thrive to this day. Two other great aspect of being a camp counselor is working as part of a team and being silly. I have found both skills to be invaluable in working with others and making my workplaces fun.

Tutor - Smart kids blessed with patience and good communication skills could be great tutors. Tutoring challenges young people to find different ways to convey information to students who are often reached in different ways. In addition, like all teachers can relate, dealing with personal frustration involved with turning on the light of understanding can be very challenging. Patience, understanding, and encouragement skills are gained through tutoring.

Entrepreneurship - Finally, more industrious kids can actually try to create the whole endeavor. There are numerous ways kids can find ways to practice entrepreneurship. World famous personal finance author, Robert Kiyosaki writes about how he and his best friend, at a young age, opened a comic book store for neighborhood kids and managed to secure a source of comics for free. Typical new businesses consist of lemonade stands, lawn mowing services and snow shoveling services. There is not better way to learn a wide variety of skills quickly than by starting a business. Children learn sales, managing equipment, customer service, procurement and a host of other concepts. In addition, much like in adulthood, often the rewards of being an young entrepreneur are much greater than a young employee.

There are undoubtedly other ways for children to enter the workforce. Getting children involved in earning money not only allows them to begin the process of financial liberation from Mom and Day, it also allows them to learn valuable skills that will help them throughout their lives.
Nick Wolff is President of LIFE Skills an education company dedicated to providing financial education to young people in a fun and interactive format. Visit our website http://www.YouthFinancialEducation.com and discover how we can help you and young people in your life get on the road to financial success.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Great-First-Jobs-for-Kids&id=5935210

The One Minute Entrepreneur by Blanchard, Hutson and Willis

2011-02-25T18:54:00.000-08:00

The One Minute Entrepreneur by Blanchard, Hutson and Willis -

Book Review
By Daniel Murphy

Title and Author: The One Minute Entrepreneur by Ken Blanchard and Don Hutson and Ethan Willis

Synopsis of Content:

This book about starting one's own business is a story format about a young man who soon marries and together they form a company. The story covers their growing pains and problems and the solutions. At the end of each chapter are some One Minute Insights and most of them are below. The book uses both real and imaginary people to create mentorship situations and teach basic lessons.

Readability/Writing Quality:

Well written and very easy to read.

Notes on Author:

Ken Blanchard has made his mark writing on business management with his One Minute Manager series of books. He is well respected and invited to lecture and instruct Fortune 500 corporations around the world.

Three Great Ideas You Can Use:

One Minute Insights (ok, more than three - this is good stuff, what are we going to take out?)--

1. Associate with people you admire and can learn from.

2. Keep a notebook of wisdom you read, hear, and learn, and distill that learning into One Minute Insights.

3. A good life is built on strong, solid values such as integrity, love, honesty, and purposeful work.

4. You never need to cheat to win.

5. What is right is more important than who is right.

6. You will be the same year after year except for the people you meet and the books you read. (Zig Ziglar).

7. You can get what you want in life if you help other people get what they want.

8. Success occurs when opportunity and preparation meet.

9. It is not who you know that counts; it is who knows you and what they think of you.

When you feel moments impacting your destiny, seize the opportunity.

10. Humility helps you to be open to learning and growing in your field of expertise.

11. Take care of your numbers and your numbers will take care of you.

12. To create a successful business, you must first master the basics.

13. For a mentor to be effective, you have to be an enthusiastic and committed protégé.

14. Always visualize your desired outcome ahead of time.

15. In sales and in every other business, you are constantly on stage --- so act like it.

16. Ambition is the fuel that can drive life-changing events.

17. Identify what you are passionate about doing. Look to do more of it.

18. Don't be afraid to dream big.

19. Don't quit your day job until you have got some success under your belt.

20. If nobody will pay you to do what you love, you have a hobby, not a career.

21. On the entrepreneurial path, few people come into your life without a reason.

22. Becoming a successful entrepreneur and having a spouse are not mutually exclusive.

23. When it comes to finding a life partner, character and values trump personality and looks.

24. To build a great marriage, especially if you are an entrepreneur, make sure you commit to spending time together outside of meals and sleeping.

25. You and your spouse are a team. Act like one.

26. Too many people dream too small. You will never achieve more than you think you can. So create a big dream.

27. When opportunity knocks, seize it.

28. Never let your expenses outstrip your revenue.

29. Don't be a banker for your customers. Timely collection of invoices is crucial.

30. Your customers are a company's lifeblood-they pay the bills.

31. Nurture your people. They make it all happen. Without them, you have no company.

32. Unless you want to do all the work, you have to think of ways to come up with new sources of revenue.

33. If you focus only on managing costs, your business will never grow.

34. Don't be afraid to seek advice when your business goes to a new level.

35. Making a profit is always a necessity if you want to stay in business.

36. As an entrepreneur the secret to success is generating CASH, CASH, CASH.

37. Without good cash management, you will never make it as an entrepreneur.

38. Profit is the applause you get for taking care of your customers and creating a motivating environment for your people.

Publication Information:

Copyright: 2008 Blanchard Management Corporation, Don Hutson and Ethan Willis

Published by Doubleday

General Rating:Fair, Good, Very Good, Excellent
Daniel R. Murphy writes on success and how you can build wealth. Would you like to learn how others have been successful in business and in life? For a free success ebook and much information which can help make you successful and financially independent visit http://www.bookstowealth.com. Begin your self-education today learning how others have become successful and rich! Do it today!

http://ezinearticles.com/?The-One-Minute-Entrepreneur-by-Blanchard,-Hutson-and-Willis---Book-Review&id=5582271

The 12 Pillars of Jim Rohn´s "One Year Success Plan":

2011-01-15T07:42:00.000-08:00

The 12 Pillars of Jim Rohn´s "One Year Success Plan":

1. Personal Development

2. Goal Setting

3. Health; spiritual, physical, emotional

4. Money; financial independence, getting out of debt, saving, giving

5. Relationships

6. Time Management

7. Networking/Referrals

8. Selling/Negotiating

9. Communication/Presentation

10. Leadership

11. Accelerated Learning

12. Legacy/Contribution

I really believe this is one of the most comprehensive success plans out there.

One of the main advantages is that it allows you to focus on one topic at the time. I think that focus is key to succeeding in anything. Do it step by step. If you want to improve your life, be patient and good to yourself. Results come from perseverance, usually not overnight.

Additionally, be realistic about the changes, even if you want to, you will not lose all that overweight in one month (it wouldn´t be healthy and sustainable anyway). You do it through changing your habits, your thinking and your values. And the same is true for all other changes you want in life. The Jim Rohn "One Year Success Plan" teaches you to plan for success. To plan for financial independence, strong relationships, excellent health and personal growth. And then take action.

This personal development web site is an indirect result of following the advice in Jim Rohn´s Success Plan. It has taught me so much, that I just want to share that knowledge with others seeking to improve their lives. It is a kind of contribution. A way of giving.

In addition to the excellent "One Year Success Plan" I really enjoy listening to Jim Rohn on numerous CD:s, DVD:S and audio programs online. I access all of this educational material trough my computer. The reasons I love Jim Rohn´s audios is that they are never boring, but full of wisdom, knowledge and fun. There are countless of inspirational quotes from Jim Rohn. Here is a selection:

"The few who do are the envy of the many who only watch."

"Don´t mistake movement for achievement. It´s easy to get fakes out by being busy. The question is: Busy doing what?"

"Your family and your love must be cultivated like a garden. Time, effort and imagination must be summoned constantly to keep any relationship flourishing and growing."

"Make sure the outside of you is a good reflection of the inside of you." (Yes! Personal development INSIDE OUT!) :)

"Some people don´t do well simply because they don´t feel well."

"You cannot change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction overnight."

I will most likely add a lot more about Jim Rohn here as time goes by, because he is such a great influence in my life. For now, I will just end this page with another quote of his that nicely summarizes my own belief:

"The big challenge in life is to become all that you have the possibility of becoming. You cannot believe what it does to the human spirit to maximize your human potential and stretch yourself to the limit."

(Jim Rohn)

Creative Goal-Setting for Kids or Teens

2011-01-15T07:29:00.000-08:00

Creative Goal-Setting for Kids or Teens by Denis Waitley

An Indian guide who displayed uncanny skills in navigating the rugged regions of the Southwest was asked how he did it. “What is your secret of being an expert tracker and trailblazer?” a visitor asked him.

The guide answered: “There is no secret. One must only possess the far vision and the near look. The first step is to determine where you want to go. Then you must be sure that each step you take is a step in that direction.”

A dream is what you would like for life to be. A goal is what you intend to make happen. A goal is the near look; what, specifically, you intend to do on a daily basis to get there.

No matter what their current ages, try to determine the sensory learning style of each of your children: visual, auditory, or kinesthetic. Visual learners understand and remember best what they see. Auditory learners prefer to hear and verbalize in order to comprehend. Kinesthetic learners need to involve touch and movement into the processing of new concepts, and to learn by doing. All of these styles have some overlap because we all use hearing, seeing and doing. But keep these styles in mind when you stimulate your children’s creative and goal-setting activities.

To build a pattern of positive expectations for your children, they need a way to keep score. Children know they are doing well when the task or project is well defined and the goals are clearly stated. How can a child experience the thrill of hitting the bull’s eye when he or she doesn’t know what the target is? Kids need to see the end before they begin a task or they will lose interest. When you are giving your child a task, such as cleaning her room, be specific in telling her what you want her to do and when you want it done and stick to it. By providing a clear and specific ending, your child can look forward to enjoying time with her friends when the task is completed.

Goals are the target of success! Who you see is who you’ll be. What you set is what you get. Help your kids get the far vision, the dream. Help them get the near look, the steps and action plans that pave the road to their dreams. Participate in your children’s games, problem-solving exercises, field trips and creative projects. Instead of telling them how things work, help them learn to discover the “hows” and “whys.”

Help your children dream about their future. Set the example by jotting down and cutting pictures out to describe family dreams. Assist them in defining their own goals and writing them down on index cards. Post the cards in their bedroom or on a board where they can see and review their goals daily.

Help your kids prioritize their goals. Have them consider their goals in the order of their importance. Place beside each written goal, a proposed target date for the attainment of that goal.

Help your child make plans. Unfortunately, many kids view problems as insurmountable mountains. Your role as parents is to help them view problems as opportunities. Teach them to go over, around, under or to bore a hole right through their roadblocks.

Show children how to prepare a daily “to do” list. In the evening, help prepare a list of a few important things to do the following day. At the end of the day, help them review their progress. By using index cards, you can use a file box to store daily activity cards. Monthly, quarterly and yearly, let them go through the cards in the box, to see all they have accomplished through step-by-step actions.

Help your kids to visualize, in advance, what the accomplishment of their goals looks and feels like. Bedtime is an ideal setting, where you can see in their imaginations where they want to be, what they want to do, and things they will have to work and save for to get.

Build goals and evaluations around the school year. When you go over your child’s report card, discuss the goals that he set for himself and how he is doing toward achieving those goals. Share with your child any comments teachers might have regarding his grades.

Kids need rewards and behavior that gets rewarded gets repeated, especially if they understand that the reward is coming when the goal is accomplished. Rewards do not have to be strictly financial, but can be going out for an ice cream or whatever your child enjoys doing. By rewarding goal-directed behavior, you are providing additional incentive to achieve almost any goal.

SAVE now when you choose from dozens of remarkable Goal-Setting programs from top experts, including Jim Rohn, Chris Widener, Zig Ziglar, Denis Waitley and more! Click here now to shop!

http://www.jimrohn.com/index.php?main_page=page&id=1345&utm_source=jrn-1_3_11&utm_medium=email&utm_content=bottomarticle&utm_campaign=ezines

Importance of Entrepreneurship By Justin Timory

2011-01-08T17:17:00.000-08:00

Importance of Entrepreneurship
By Justin Timory

The topic of entrepreneurship is a very popular one among students of business and administration but it has not always been so. During the time before 1960, many economists had understood the importance of entrepreneurship yet tended to underrate it. To start off, they laid their attention on big companies not realizing the fact that it is actually the newer and smaller firms that generate most of the new jobs.
Additionally, the role of the entrepreneur to organize new productive resources to increase the supply seemed not to be important among the dominant school of economies, which were only interested in managing consumer demand by promoting product purchase from customers.

During the 1970s, everything about the previous concept of entrepreneurialism has changed because economies primarily concerned with demand have failed to prevent constant inflation. The economists during that time have begun to worry about the fact that productivity was increasing much less faster than before. This has made them more interested in the supply of goods and services and this is where the entrepreneurs earned their break.

The importance of entrepreneurship has been realized and understood during this time and after because it holds at least four social benefits: it fosters economic growth, increases productivity, creates new technology and it rejuvenates the competition in the market.

One of the main reasons why the economists of that time started placing their eyes on the small new firms is that they seem to have provided the most jobs within their economy. In the United States alone, more than four fifths of all new employment comes from small firms. Out of all these openings, more than 30 percent are provided by businesses that have been around no less than 5 years. Yet not all small businesses are job creators but only those that are relatively young and expand rapidly during their early stages.

Being able to produce more goods and services with lesser labor and having other input increased much less rapidly especially in the US in the 1970s compared to 1950s to 1960s. Many of the economists conclude and still believe that this is the most fundamental problem that is plaguing the country. The greater reason why interest in entrepreneurship has increased is that they have recognized its role of raising the productivity of the country.

Also, a major impetus that has propelled their drive to research about productivity measures is the international competition during that time. The conclusion as to why people should take the importance of entrepreneurship seriously is that in order for countries to maintain a high standard in living, they should be productive in their business sector.
Tired of working for someone else? Be the boss! Learn how to unlock the entrepreneur in you and start building your own business. Click here to know more.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Justin_Timory

http://ezinearticles.com/?Importance-of-Entrepreneurship&id=5360468

The Qualities and Traits of a Successful Entrepreneur By Peter O Osalor

2011-01-08T17:16:00.000-08:00

The Qualities and Traits of a Successful Entrepreneur
By Peter O Osalor

Entrepreneurial activities are on the rise in Nigeria. This is mainly as a result of the lack of jobs that plague many Nigerians including university graduates. A study carried out by Gallup showed that 67 percent of Nigerians are willing to start their own businesses. Furthermore, 80 percent of those interviewed believed that their businesses would be successful in Nigeria. This is a large percentage as compared to the results of other West African countries whose median for those willing to start a business was 44 percent. This trend has not gone unnoticed and the former Nigerian president, Olusegun Obasanjo even mandated that entrepreneurial skills be taught to all university students irrespective of their major.

All this is in line with the Nigerian Economic Policy for 1999-2003 whose purpose is to promote education through the use of technology. The Nigerian president also has big plans for the country one of them being to see Nigeria as one of the top 20 economies of the world by the year 2020. This, he hopes will come to pass if the policy is duly implemented. According to this policy, one other way that these ambitious goals can be achieved is by partnering up with certain agencies such as the Fate Foundation in Nigeria and the United Nations Transfer of Knowledge through Expatriate Nationals (TOTKEN) which are dedicated to encourage entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurs in Nigeria face unique challenges that hinder their entrepreneurial spirit and encourage rampant corruption. Nigeria has been previously known as one of the most corrupt countries in the world and this discouraged free enterprise. Nigeria has also been largely dependent on the income from oil that other economic sectors have been grossly underdeveloped. During the oil boom period of between 1973 and 1980, Nigeria's GDP rose to $1,100 in 1980 from the previous $220 in 1971. However, due to inappropriate government policies Nigeria's economy was left vulnerable. Investment was made mostly with the oil industry in mind that other sectors such as the manufacturing and the agricultural sector was rendered noncompetitive.

The fall of oil prices all over the world during the 1980's combined with a general increase in the capital markets real interest rates, greatly affected the domestic and international fiscal situation of Nigeria. This led to a general economic slump which was characterized by a significant fall in GDP from 1,100 in the 1980's to $340. According to the World Development Report of 1994, Nigeria had dropped from being a middle income level country into one of the poorest countries in the world. A devaluation of this kind created very high inflation, a general spread in poverty and high unemployment rates.

Other factors that have affected entrepreneurship in Nigeria include poor infrastructure, high cost of doing business, constant political, tribal, religious and ethnic violence, gender discrimination and lack of quality education. However, measures are being taken to cub all these negative influences and to make Nigeria conducive for entrepreneurship. Despite all the challenges that have affected the Nigerian economy, business development and entrepreneurship has taken root. It is especially known that individuals from the Ibo ethnic group have great entrepreneurial skills. The number of private firms has greatly increased since the 1980's although they are quite small when it comes to employment, revenues and capital. Nigeria currently ranks second after South Africa in terms of GDP and if proper measures are taken and appropriate policies adopted then it may as well take the top spot.

Starting any type of a business requires planning, imagination or creativity, inner drive to succeed and of course hard work. However, the main traits and characteristics of entrepreneurs that make their businesses stand out from the crowd include; the desire to achieve. Entrepreneurs are people who highly desire to achieve. An entrepreneur should not wait for things to happen but should rather make them happen. They are also highly competitive and would always try to be informed about latest entrepreneurial developments. Entrepreneurs are also self starters. This is to mean that they motivate themselves to do something. They do not need an incentive to do anything but the desire to succeed is enough to get then started. They would rather make their own mistakes and learn from them

Entrepreneurship also requires hard work. As entrepreneurs, it is important to know that success does not come in a silver platter but has to be worked for. Entrepreneurs realize that they have to put in a lot of time and effort to see there dream come true. Focus is also another very essential characteristic of an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs know what they want and will do anything to achieve that. This is related to positive thinking in that they believe that everything will turn out well in the end no matter what. Entrepreneurs are also non conformers and almost always wanting to stand out of the crowd. A successful Nigerian entrepreneur should also avoid being pinned down to anything and instead make their own goals and objectives rather than working for someone else.

Entrepreneurs are also born leaders. Good leaders inspire trust in others and motivate them to do something. A good leader efficiently influences, guides and directs people. This trait is especially important when hiring people for the newly founded business. An entrepreneur should possess good judgmental skills and be sharp and bright capable of making wise decisions. Good communication skills are also a must for an entrepreneur. This means that a successful entrepreneur can efficiently convey a message which will be clearly understood. This trait only works well if one is also a keen listener. Entrepreneurs are risk takers. Running a business in itself is a risk because if one does not make calculated choices it could easily collapse. Successful entrepreneurs therefore, take calculated risks in order to succeed. Entrepreneurship also requires dedication. Entrepreneurs tend to stick to their ventures no matter what. They do not easily give up and when they make a mistake, they learn and move on rather than obsessing on that one failure.

Starting and running a business has its ups and down and the ability to stick by it defines a true Nigerian entrepreneur. Creativity and innovation is also another trait that characterizes a successful entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs will always look for new ways of doing things. They are not afraid to try out new ideas and are highly imaginative. Their products or services therefore usually have an edge due to this creativeness. Generally, Nigerian entrepreneurs need a strong spirit that will endure all the trials and tribulations that come with a business. Nigerian entrepreneurs therefore need to make informed choices before deciding to enter into entrepreneurship.
Peter Osalor is a multi-skilled director, chairman of trusts, proprietor and consultant. Peter Osalor has been a successful entrepreneur since 1992 when he formed Peter Osalor & Co and which has since grown to a very large client base with a turnover of millions. He is currently a fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Nigeria (ICAN). Peter is also a member of the Chartered Tax Advisors and the Chartered Institute of Taxation in Nigeria (CITN).

He is a business mentor for Princess Trust in the UK. He is a member of the Inter Governmental Committee of ICAN and also a member of BCBC, which represents Black Church Membership of Christians whose responsibility is to ensure that the Christian businesses are not left out in the business opportunities arising from the 2012 Olympic Games In London.

Currently he is one of the professionals behind the Entrepreneur Revolution and Africa Entrepreneurs ( http://theafricanentrepreneurs.com/ ). His T V program called success in your business ( http://www.successinyourbusiness.com ) has become a massive hit in Nigeria

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Becoming an Entrepreneur - 8 Questions to Ask Before You Take the Leap By Anne Culver Noble

2011-01-08T17:15:00.002-08:00

Becoming an Entrepreneur - 8 Questions to Ask Before You Take the Leap
By Anne Culver Noble

It's scary out there. A healthy respect for the powers of the ocean is necessary to survive when you go for a sail, surf, or a swim. Building your own business is no different. Give serious thought and considerable preparation to your endeavor before you make the transition from an employee, or a self-employed professional, to that of an entrepreneur.

Do you have job burn-out or a burning desire? In other words, are you really ready for entrepreneurship or just tired of your job? Not everyone is able to work for themselves effectively. Most people operate better with the structure and built-in accountability that working for someone else, for a corporation or for a government entity provides. Take the responsibility to take you life in your own hands and create your destiny.
Are you an entrepreneur or a consultant? Many people make the mistake of thinking that once they've left the corporate world that they are instantly an entrepreneur. They are in business for themselves; that is true. However, as long as you are compensated for your time, you are limited by two things; 1.) The amount of money people are willing to pay for your service and 2.) The number of hours in a day. In other words, an entrepreneur's time and money are leveraged by his or her business model, and not determined by a given market.
Are you a risk taker? You don't have to be an adrenalin junkie to be an entrepreneur, but you need to be reasonably comfortable with uncertainty. Deepak Chopra once said he prayed for uncertainty. It seems an enigma at first, but in fact, uncertainty is a gift that is the very stuff of life; the juicy stuff. I believe this is one of the key factors that distinguish the spirit of the entrepreneur.
What is your vision and why is it important to you? Develop a crystal clear vision of where you want to go and what you want to offer the world. Your vision will evolve, but it will be a vision none-the-less. Make it measurable so you can mark progress. Equally important or perhaps even more so, is your reason for taking this road less traveled. Is it your family? A desire to serve others? An unstoppable driving creative necessity?
What is your business plan? Don't skip this step; fail to plan and plan to fail. There are countless templates online and software packages for developing a business plan. Write out your vision or mission statement and the core values that provide the foundation for your business endeavor. Project your business plan five years out at a minimum, including your capital investments, projected costs and income. Seek out similar successful businesses to provide a model.
Are you prepared financially? You may be using other peoples' money, investors, loans or credit for your business, but your personal financial situation should be such that you can weather six months to a year of little or no income. Don't forget your own salary in your business plan.
What is the most effective means of marketing your business? How will you take your goods or services to market? You must know your target market like you know the back of your hand. This will determine the most effective marketing strategies whether it involves print, billboards, Google, or social networking. Internet marketing requires a learning curve that is constant. Get comfortable with ever-changing technology.
Are you crazy? I'm kidding, of course, but I am suggesting that you seek professional help. If you are one who believes that doing something right means doing it yourself, you are in for a fast and lonely ride to failure. Assemble your Master Mind Advisory Board. You do not have to be brilliant to be an entrepreneur but you absolutely must be smart enough to surround yourself with people who know more than you can possibly know in a multitude of disciplines and areas of expertise. This should include your own personal development as well. The best investment you can make is in yourself. Find good coaches, mentors and people who inspire you.

So, if your consideration of these questions does leave you with a burning desire and determination, you are an entrepreneur. Get clear on you vision, be willing to stick your neck out, and prepare your business and financial plan. "Your playing small does not serve the world," states Marianne Williamson. This is true of your personal development as well as your business development. Dig deep and play big. A business doesn't grow overnight but with your actions in alignment with your highest intentions, things can happen quickly and assistance can come from unexpected sources. For resources, marketing strategies, training and a powerful business model, contact me for more information.
Anne Culver Noble
Author and Entrepreneur
A Noble Pursuit, LLC
http://www.createyourdestiny7.com

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5 Ways to Work Effectively, Anywhere By Allison Way

2011-01-08T17:15:00.001-08:00

5 Ways to Work Effectively, Anywhere
By Allison Way

Entrepreneurs have been known to work in crazy places, at crazy hours, in crazy ways. You may see them typing away at a Starbucks, easily downing over 6 cups of black coffee. You may see them crunching numbers at the airport while stuffing their daughter's souvenir from Disney World into a suitcase. You may see them working in pajamas, on a park bench, in the car, upside-down, on the phone, in the basement. And no matter where these entrepreneurs are; they seem to always be working on something!

The most effective entrepreneurs, however, are the ones that sit down in a spot and focus solely on their work. From the local coffee shop to the business incubator, entrepreneurs know how to get work done. But what if I told you that entrepreneurs are most productive under certain "office" circumstances? Apply these aspects to whatever "workspace" you may be in and you will be a more productive entrepreneur all around:

1. Organize Your Work

A messy desk, a disorganized binder or an unfiltered email account does not make you look busier, it makes you look sloppy. Organize any workspace by:

Removing personal items from your desk
At the end of the day, throw away or recycle papers that you no longer need to carry with you
Use a spam blocker and filter through your email once a day to clean it out
Keep Post-Its at a minimum
Use an organizational binder or folder

2. KISS

Everybody's heard it: KISS. Keep it simple, stupid. When clutter is blocking your way of work, it is obviously doing you more harm than good. Only display office décor that truly makes you proud or is a very recent accomplishment. No need to thumbtack posters to the wall or keep a dead plant by the window.

3. Find a Style

If you have an office, home office, cubicle or just desk space in a business incubator, be sure that you find your own subtle style. If you decide to decorate with trinkets, err on the side of subtlety.

4. Find Inspiration in Your Workplace

An entrepreneur's work place must be inspirational. Since an entrepreneur must be creative all day long, they will often need stimulation throughout the workday to keep their brains firing. Find a place that inspires you! And once you have found that place, if possible, decorate it with more aspects that tend to inspire.

5. Get Comfortable

Entrepreneurs have been known to work long hours throughout the day. Therefore, you must be comfortable when you're working. Be sure to find a comfortable desk and a comfortable chair when you are doing work. At the same time, however, don't get too comfortable. Often times, reclining on a Lazyboy or lying on a bed while doing work can lead to a "leisurely" feel and can decrease the productivity of entrepreneurs.

No matter where you're working, be sure to implement these 5 key ingredients. It will boost your creativity, productivity and efficiency while at work!
Allison Way is a writer and videographer for Think Big Partners and bizperc, two of Kansas City's newest entrepreneurial resources. Allison also writes for the Think Big Kansas City Blog, the Kansas City Entrepreneurship Examiner, Helium, BrooWaha, and NewsVine.

http://www.thinkbigpartners.com
http://www.thinkbigkansascity.blogspot.com

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Ideas For A Business To Start - Stop Day Dreaming And Focus On These 7 Items By Nigel Pitcairn

2011-01-08T17:14:00.001-08:00

Ideas For A Business To Start - Stop Day Dreaming And Focus On These 7 Items
By Nigel Pitcairn

Many times I hear people asking for ideas for a business to start. My response is always the same. What do you want from your business? It's not the idea that is going to make you wealthy or create your dream life. I've seen many of my friends invest in some incredible "ideas" that have a huge market and would be widely used. After hundreds of thousands of dollars and lots of bickering the business failed everyone lost out. So instead of looking for ideas for a business to start here are some time-tested ideas that will lead you to being a happy business owner. Now forget thinking about ideas for a business to start and start focusing on these 7 items.

It doesn't matter what business you get into. Fortunes have been made and lost in just about every business you can think of. There are millionaires who made their money selling shoelaces. Do your research and find a business that fits your needs. No need to think about ideas for a business to start.
Consider buying an already established business. This throws out ideas for a business to start, however you will get to see a lot of businesses you may never have considered before. Not only that you will get the chance to see how the business is performing before spending your hard earned money and precious time.
Focus on management, systems and strategy the average small business will make the owner a living, at the end of the day the owner just owns a job. Like I mentioned above any viable business can make an exorbitant amount of money.
Everyone needs a coach and or mentor. Everyone who is at the top of their field has a mentor, coach or both. Often times it's a formal relationship where there is financial compensation and sometimes profit sharing. Other times it's a more informal relationship. In the beginning look for someone who is semi-retired and was in the same industry you are thinking about getting into. Also look at people who are successful business owners. The fundamentals of a successful business are the same across industries. Hire specialists for your current challenge or struggle.
Very few people have actually built the type of business that people are thinking about when they think about ideas for a business to start. In my experience one of the things most commonly overlooked and generally laughed at is having formal corporate governance. Both LLCs and Corporations need to have a formal corporate governance structure. I've found working with my clients over the years that taking the time to hold and document board meetings and annual owners meetings makes a dramatic difference in the way the business grows and how fulfilling the ownership experience is.
Attend seminars. Even if you haven't started a business yet attending a business seminar can be a very useful way to spend your time and money. Seminars can range from free to tens of thousands of dollars. Start with a free to a few hundred dollars. Don't let the price fool you. I've attending some seminars that were less than $100 and gotten great value.
Start networking. If you haven't started or bought your business yet don't be afraid to start networking, your local chamber of commerce is a great place to start. Don't be afraid to go up to people and start a conversation sometime when you're a new face it can be intimidating. Go and introduce yourself and ask a bunch of questions. People love to talk about themselves and their businesses. Use this to your advantage. Just please don't ask them for ideas for a business to start! Ask them questions about marketing, management, taxes, and the local marketplace. If you find one or two people who seem to be a wealth of knowledge ask if you can treat them to lunch sometime and pick their brain some more. One caution though. Beware that there are some people who will talk the talk but don't walk the walk. Also be wary of people who want you to invest your money with them. I've seen some horror stories where people have been taken advantage of.

Hopefully you are no longer looking for ideas for a business to start and searching for what will be fulfilling to you as an owner. Do them a favor and tell them to throw away searching for ideas for a business to start.
Nigel Pitcairn is CEO of Corporate Correct. ideas for a business to start

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How to Be a Successful Businessman in Four Ways By Donald Pang

2011-01-08T17:13:00.001-08:00

How to Be a Successful Businessman in Four Ways
By Donald Pang

Being rich is desired all over the world; simply because it guarantees survival. Not only that, wealth in excess is power and also glamorous. Everyone wants to be rich for so many reasons. Successful businessman enjoys whizzing around in Ferraris, mingle with A-list celebrities, and they seem to have an endless list of yacht parties to attend.

If you do not have the luxury of being born rich, there are other ways to earn your dollars. Here are four ways to become a successful & famous businessman in no particular order. For best effects, apply all four aspects to your current or future business venture!

#1 Never Invest Huge Sums of Your Own Money

It is a general rule of thumb for business people to minimize losses. Successful businessmen will usually be busy preparing proposals to pitch for money. That is what all those important-sounding meetings, PowerPoint presentations and phone calls are about.

- Research well on possible sponsors. The internet is your best friend.
- Networking to develop business contacts will help. You will get information faster by asking the right people.
- If you are starting out your own business, look out for government grants for entrepreneurship projects.

#2 Hire the Best

Hire a team of professionals for the best results possible. If not, hiring an expert consultant who is capable of training others will increase overall staff performance.

- Bill Gates hired professionals to get his business started. He did not further his Harvard education, but he sure knew the value of skill leveraging.
- Having trustable and efficient people on your team will help relieve workload. They can also suggest better methods to increase profits.
- Find highly motivated professionals who enjoy the work they do. A positive work environment leads to good work performance.

#3 Deliver the Best Products

A legitimate and successful business should always strive to deliver the best products to consumers. Serving your customers should usually be the main focus of your company. And they usually expect the best for their money's worth.

- Research on your consumers to find out what they like and what they do not.
- Never sell something you will not recommend to others. Not only will you lose passion in your business when money is tight, the public will be
- Keeping the best products around will keep customers coming back for more.

#4 Learn to Run a Business

The world's most highly effective billionaires know the ins and outs of their business. This is crucial for them to make effective and successful executive decisions. Going back to business school will empower you to:

- Leverage the talents of the best people in their company to achieve sales results.
- Execute well-crafted marketing strategies professionally.
- Garner respect from your staff by knowing your work and doing it well.
- Gain credibility from customers and people you work with.
- Analyze successes and failures of other businesses so you can add useful elements into your own business.

Want to find out more business school will empower you to:

- Leverage the talents of the best people in their company to achieve sales results.
- Execute well-crafted marketing strategies professionally.
- Garner respect from your staff by knowing your work and doing it well.
- Gain credibility from customers and people you work with.
- Analyze successes and failures of other businesses so you can add useful elements into your own business.
Want to find out more best business schools? Talk to one of our education consultants to explore your options in Asia Pacific. Raffles Education Corporation operates Raffles International College and Raffles Design Institutes offering design, business and science courses for international around the world. We have 38 campuses across 14 countries in 35 major cities like Singapore, Sydney, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Mumbai, Auckland, Shanghai, Beijing and Jakarta etc.

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The 7 Traits of an Exceptional & Successful Entrepreneur

2011-01-08T17:12:00.001-08:00

The 7 Traits of an Exceptional & Successful Entrepreneur
By Robert Moment

How often have you either referred to or considered the expression, "Success is a journey and not a Destination?" Probably many times, yet often being in a hurry to get there, we forget that success is not an end unto itself, but is instead an ongoing process.

Though some people seem to have the Midas touch and easily turn everything to gold, most of us have to give our endeavors lots of time, effort and the sweat of our brow before seeing things come to fruition. The simple truth is that the majority of us are simply not born leaders, but become leaders by who we are and the actions we take. Consequently, whether or not you're an established entrepreneur or just starting out on your journey, there are particular traits you'll usually find operating within the exceptional entrepreneur. In fact there are 7 particular traits you'll generally discover deeply embedded within the exceptional and successful businessperson.

If you've already taken the plunge as an entrepreneur, you know that it takes a great deal of planning, development and strategic marketing to succeed. At any given time, there are changes to be considered and new directions to examine. In which case, whether you're the CEO, CFO, Chief Marketer or Chief Solutions Officer of your company, your journey to success is probably full of trials and tribulations.

To support you in your journey to success, be willing to open your mind and sense of reasoning as you consider whether these traits are part of your driving force. If they are not yet ingrained within you, I recommend that you give them some thought.

THE 7 TRAITS TO SUCCESS

1) Successful Entrepreneurs Gain the Respect of their Peers

One of the first and most obvious characteristics you'll see operating in an exceptional entrepreneur is an equitable and unbiased disposition . Plain and simple the successful entrepreneur recognizes that no one is above or below. With an attitude of respect for others, the successful entrepreneur gains the respect from everyone they encounter. Strategies, attitudes and methods filter down to each person and reflect on all actions and activities. A successful entrepreneur gives everyone the space to be great. No matter how effective or beneficial your expertise, becoming a successful entrepreneur requires building up of your character muscles, traits and habits, which correspondingly make your dreams a reality.

2) Successful Entrepreneurs Believe and Trust in Themselves

The savvy entrepreneur is good at trusting his or her own ideas and instincts. Starting out as an entrepreneur requires persistence, determination and a high level of self-discipline. Continuing as a successful entrepreneur requires even more persistence, determination and self-discipline. The wise and successful entrepreneur knows this and works hard at developing their level of confidence. If you have a strong code of ethics and believe in yourself, then your ideas can work. Having the desire and passion are the first steps on your journey; getting there requires believing in yourself.

3) Successful Entrepreneurs Follow a Plan

The successful entrepreneur follows a plan. Haphazard or trial and error have no place for the triumphant entrepreneur, for no one gets to his or her destination without a map or a guide to follow. That doesn't mean you won't go off course if another road seems better, but it's still more effective to have a plan in place. Most successful entrepreneurs start out by writing a basic business plan that acts as the impetus and guide for their endeavors. It doesn't have to be fancy or lengthy but it should include marketing strategies, goals, intentions, ideas and why you can do better than your competition. A business plan should be reviewed and updated periodically for each new idea stirs and inspires other ideas.

4) Successful Entrepreneurs Think Creatively

Successful entrepreneurs are not afraid of thinking creatively. Whether a business idea has already been tried makes no difference to the exceptional entrepreneur. He or she sees better ways of doing things and knows that every idea can be expanded upon, made better, enhanced or broadened . The successful entrepreneur is willing to think outside or the proverbial box, which means using imagination, trying new things and expanding on a vision. The savvy entrepreneur pays careful attention as to whether a particular strategy is working. If after giving it his or her best shot the entrepreneur realizes the particular strategy isn't working, they know there's no point in continuing to invest energy, time and effort in the strategy. They move on to another approach and idea.

5)Successful Entrepreneurs Explore Their Exceptional Skills

Successful entrepreneurs realize that we each have our strengths and weaknesses as well as a multitude of skills and talents. Successful people ask themselves often what skills they have that no one shares in quite the same way. An exceptional and successful entrepreneur explores their particular skills until they find the ones that match most closely with their ideal. They don't try to be and do everything. If the successful entrepreneur needs help, they're willing to find someone who can do it better, and allows in the support. The successful entrepreneur stays open to change for they recognize that as they move forward, doors open in unexpected places that carry them to their next level of success.

6) Successful Entrepreneurs Envision Their Success

The successful entrepreneur gives time to envisioning how they want their business to look and how they want it to be. Intention is a powerful and dynamic tool. For those who are not inclined towards intention and visualization, talk to a successful athlete and you'll discover that before each sporting event, the successful athlete envisions exactly how he or she wants things to turn out. Imagine what it will feel like when you've reached a particular set of goals. Get in touch with the feelings, you'd have as a successful entrepreneur. Practice and conceive of the sense of empowerment and the joy of having succeeded. The successful entrepreneur knows they have the power to live life the way they want, but to make it a reality, they know it has to be seen first.

7) Successful Entrepreneurs Never Give Up

Giving up is never in the vocabulary of the successful entrepreneur. Of course there may be days when a successful entrepreneur feels discouraged or disappointed, but giving up is not an option. Having faith, trust, confidence and determination are the qualities needed for the successful entrepreneur. To keep their focus on track, they seek out the support of those that know them, encourage them and bring out their natural enthusiasm. The smart and successful entrepreneur realizes that there will be good days and not so good days. Being a successful entrepreneur requires accepting the ebbs and flows of business for it is in fact what separates the exceptional and successful entrepreneur from the one who gives up far too soon.

© 2004
Robert Moment, author,business coach and success strategist is the author of a best-selling book, "It Only Takes A Moment to Score". Founder of The Moment Group, a small business coaching & consulting firm. Robert, help entrepreneurs harness their potential and soar to new height. Contact Robert@sellintegrity.com or visit his website at http://www.sellintegrity.com

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Take Control of Your Dreams

2011-01-01T20:04:00.001-08:00

Take Control of Your Dreams
Charting a Course to Reach Them

Brian Tracy

Imagine arriving on the outskirts of a large city and being told to drive to a particular home or office there. But there are no road signs and you have no map. In fact, all you have is a very general description of the home or office, so finding it would be very much a matter of luck. Sadly, this is the way most people live their lives.

Most people start life traveling aimlessly through an unmapped and uncharted world. This is the equivalent of starting off in life with no goals and plans. They simply figure things out as they go along. Often, 10 or 20 years of work will go past and they will still be broke, unhappy in their jobs, dissatisfied with their marriages and making little progress. And still, they will go home every night and watch television, wishing and hoping things will get better. But they seldom do. Not by themselves.

Earl Nightingale wrote, “Happiness is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal or goal.” Goals fulfi ll the greatest need of human beings—a sense of meaning and purpose in life. One of the great benefits of goal-setting is that you control the direction of change in your life. Setting goals, working toward them day by day, and ultimately achieving them is the key to happiness in life.

"You are completely responsible for everything you are today, for everything you think, say and do, and for everything you become from this moment forward."

In more than 50 years of research, psychologists have determined that your locus of control is the determining factor of your happiness or unhappiness in life. People with an external locus of control—those who typically don’t set goals—feel controlled by external factors, by their boss, their bills, their marriage, their childhood problems and their current situation. They feel out of control, and as a result, they feel weak, angry, fearful, negative, hostile and disempowered. People who do set goals often operate with an internal locus of control—they feel in complete control of their lives. They feel strong, confident and powerful. They are generally optimistic and positive. They feel terrific about themselves and very much in charge of their direction in life.

The starting point of goal-setting is to realize you have virtually unlimited potential to be, have or do anything you really want in life if you simply want it badly enough and are willing to work long enough and hard enough to achieve it. So, what do you really want to do with your life? What do you want to be or to have in life? You should return to this question over and over again in the months and years ahead. Remember, you can’t hit a target you can’t see.

Brian Tracy is a top management consultant to more than 500 corporations, including IBM, Xerox and Hewlett-Packard. He is the author of dozens of books, including the best-selling Goals! How to Get Everything You Want, Faster Than You Ever Thought Possible.

Take Control of Your Finances

2011-01-01T20:02:00.000-08:00

Take Control of Your Finances
Managing Your Money

Dave Ramsey

I believe with everything within me that your most powerful wealth-building tool is your income. Ideas, strategies, goals, vision, focus and even creative thinking are vastly important, but until you get control and full use of your income to build wealth, you will not build and keep wealth. To build wealth, you will have to regain control of your income.

When we fail to plan, we plan to fail and so there is always too much month left at the end of the money. Everyone needs a written budget.

Sometimes I hear, “Well, I kinda, sorta know where my money is, ya know. I know what it is going to, ya know. I do my planning in my mind, ya know.” Having a written plan is absolutely necessary. Kinda, sorta knowing what’s going on with your money isn’t going to get you to your goals. Developing a written plan gathers, organizes, categorizes and analyzes information about your money situation. As you do your written plan, you will be amazed that answers to money problems will appear easily.

Set up a new written budget every month. At first it may take a while, but the process will get faster. My wife, Sharon, and I used to spend hours on our budget, and now we only spend a few minutes each month. Don’t try to have the perfect budget for the perfect month because you’ll never have those.

Spend every dollar on paper before the month begins. Give every dollar of your income a name before the month begins—that’s called a zero-based budget. Income minus outgo equals zero every month. Look at this month’s income and this month’s bills, savings and debts, and match them up until you have given every income dollar an outgo name.

"Don’t try to have the perfect budget for the perfect month because you’ll never have those."

Every dollar of your money should fit in a category, even if you need to make up new ones. The basic categories include saving, housing, utilities, food, transportation, medical, personal, recreation and debt. Don’t forget to include saving for things that aren’t monthly, such as Christmas, birthdays, taxes and insurance premiums. If you have an irregular income due to commissions, self-employment or bonuses, you still must do a written budget before each month begins. In your case, adding up what your outgo is each month is a form of goal-setting. It tells you what you have to earn in order to cover all the outgo you will have. Prioritize your bills, savings and debts in order of importance, not urgency. Ask yourself, “If I only have enough money to pay one thing, what would that be?” Move this way through the list. Stick to it! As the income comes in, work your way down this list.

It may take two to three months before your budget is correct, but keep trying. This is key to your financial success.

Dave Ramsey is a nationally syndicated radio talk show host and host of The Dave Ramsey Show on Fox Business Network. He’s a best-selling author of many books, including The Total Money Makeover.

Back to the Take Control of Your Life self-assessment quiz.

http://www.successmagazine.com/take-control-of-your-finances/PARAMS/article/816

=====================================================================================

Take Control of Your Life
Your happiness is in your hands.

Deepak Chopra Richard Eyre Robert Kiyosaki Dave Ramsey Jim Rohn Brian Tracy

We can’t do it all, so we do most things poorly—on a good day. And we’ve lived like this for so long that we don’t even realize how very far we are from reaching our potential!

Most times, we’re just reacting, as though we’re being jerked to and fro by some gigantic remote-control device. We’re trying desperately to keep one thing or other from crashing and burning. And we’re doing well just to make sure the kids are off to school wearing matching socks, and we don’t forget the big proposal on the kitchen table after working on it most of the night, and we’re getting most of our bills paid before they’re 30 days overdue.

Goal-setting? Forget about it. Attitude? Do you really want to know? Happiness? Come on!

And what about managing our money and taking control of our income? How’s that possible when we live paycheck to paycheck? As for our relationships—who would know? We hardly see each other or talk.

The signs of a life out of control may seem subtle: Your kids are growing up before your eyes, yet you hardly know them; you dread going to work at a job you’ve had for years; you want to say “no” before you even hear the question because saying “yes” means adding something to your plate.

Does any of this sound familiar? Is it normal to live a life out of control? Does it have to be?

The first step toward regaining control is examining your life and determining where you have problems. So take the self-assessment quiz that follows. Then read the insights offered by some of the best-respected experts and thought leaders.

You can change your attitude so you’re open to opportunities, so you feel it’s possible to chart your own course and drive your life forward. You can set goals—and you can reach them! Despite the economic chaos, you can take control of your income and start your own business. You can build wealth. You can reconnect with your family. And you can be happy.

Is Your Attitude Your Challenge?
Do you believe that now is the perfect time to seize opportunities?
Do you feel confident that your future is full of prosperity?
Do you believe that you have the skills and abilities to meet your goals?
Do you look at the challenging people in your life as teachers rather than enemies?
If you answered NO to 0-1 questions, congratulations! You have a winning attitude that inspires others and keeps you on track to your goals. If you answered NO to 2-4 questions, you may have a great attitude when things are going your way but struggle to stay positive in challenging times. Check out Jim Rohn’s advice for changing your attitude to change your life.

Are You Pursuing Your Goals?
Have you written down your long-term goals?
Have you written down a few things you want to achieve by the end of the year?
Have you developed specific steps to meet your larger goals, plus a way to measure your progress?
Do you meet your goals regularly and set new ones?
If you answered NO to 0-1 questions, congratulations! You are a champion goalsetter. If you answered NO to 2-4 questions, you could be settling for status quo instead of reaching for your dreams. Read Brian Tracy’s advice on goal-setting and achieving.

Is Your Life Fulfilling?
Do you feel like something is missing from your life?
Do you neglect your hobbies or interests in favor of daily tasks?
Do you find yourself watching the clock, waiting for the day to end?
Do you fill your downtime with mindless distractions like too much TV?
If you answered YES to 0-1 questions, congratulations! You balance your personal interests and passions with your responsibilities to stay happy and fulfilled. If you answered YES to 2-4 questions, it’s time to make a change and bring the joy back into your life. It’s never too late! Read Deepak Chopra’s advice on creating happiness.

Do You Need a Relationship Checkup?
Do you opt out of family activities because of work?
Do you think you’re too busy to connect with old friends?
Has your social life dwindled down to your spouse or co-workers?
During stressful times, do you avoid “burdening” others with your problems?
If you answered YES to 0-1 questions, congratulations! You’re doing a great job of making relationships a priority in your life. If you answered YES to 2-4 questions, don’t let another day go by without refocusing your daily life on what’s truly important: people. Read Richard Eyre’s advice on relationships.

Do You Have a Grip on Your Finances?
Do you know where your money goes each month?
Are you allotting money each month to your savings goals?
Do you feel in control of your credit card spending?
Are you on track to build wealth with your income?
If you answered NO to 0-1 questions, congratulations! Your money management skills are in top form. If you answered NO to 2-4 questions, you could be creating unnecessary financial stress and keeping yourself from achieving true wealth. Read Dave Ramsey’s advice on money management.

Do You Control Your Income?
If you face a layoff, do you have an alternate income source?
Do you feel you have just as much control over your financial situation in an economic downturn as you do in a boom?
Do you have a plan for building wealth?
Have you taken steps toward starting that business you’ve always dreamed of owning?
If you answered NO to 0-1 questions, congratulations! You understand the secret to building wealth is owning your own business. If you answered NO to 2-4 questions, there has never been a better time to take control of your life and your income. Read Robert Kiyosaki’s advice on entrepreneurship.

http://www.successmagazine.com/take-control-of-your-life/PARAMS/article/812

Ron White's Proven System for Success in Sales

2010-12-29T16:37:00.000-08:00

Ron White's Proven System for Success in Sales

Understanding the 7 levels of the Sales System, you'll know exactly what it takes to become the best in your field. Because sales isn't about luck. It's about having a proven system that works over and over again and once you've got a system working for you, your sales figures will explode and your income will sky rocket!

It's practically an "encyclopedic tour guide" to the realm of selling. This is a system that you can apply in any business and it virtually guarantees you'll Generate hot referrals, new customers, and sales numbers that go off the charts!

7-Part Downloadable MP3 Program Plus Workbook & Bonus MP3

Retail Value - $199
Special Online Price - $67 on MP3

The first 100 to order receive free download of 22 Success Lessons From Baseball eBook by Ron White

Through his sales system, Ron explains in detail, the 7 steps every salesperson who aspires to be the best needs to know. Once you understand the 7 levels of what Ron calls the sales pyramid, you'll know exactly what it takes to become the best in your field.

Because sales isn't about luck.
It's about having a proven system
that works over and over again

And once you've got a system working for you, your sales figures will explode and your income will sky rocket!

Here are some of the secrets you will
discover in Ron White's Proven System for Success in Sales
What you must do before you even begin making your sales calls. Skip this at your own peril.
The worst enemy of your sales career, created by your own mind, and how to defeat it.
What people like Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Edison, and Albert Einstein did differently from others that put them in "the genius state of mind", and how you can use their secrets to harness the power of your mind and catapult your sales potential to the skies.
Everyone's mind is underutilized. Here are 3 easy things you can do to tap into your mental powers for sales success.
What sales professionals do differently to gain access to the big-shot decision makers like CEOs, Presidents, and General Managers� while amateurs waste time and energy calling on people who don't have the means or the authority to buy their product or service.
Enthusiasm sells, right? WRONG! Getting all excited about your product is not enough. Only the right kind of enthusiasm will get your prospect to buy, and it's revealed in detail on Disc 1, Track 7.
The 10 commandments of selling. Memorize and apply these rules, and watch your sales figures shoot through the roof!
The most important element in the sales process. It all starts here. If you neglect this, your success in sales will never take off, even if you mastered everything else in the sales process (i.e. prospecting, asking questions, presentation, follow up, and asking for referrals)
How to build a network of people who will drive truckloads of business to you.
The surprising reason why reducing the time you spend talking and presenting to your customers can increase your sales.
Simple steps to positioning yourself as an industry expert. It's a lot easier than most people think, and once you "get it" you'll have a distinct advantage over your competition. Better yet, people will flock to you in droves to buy from you� and only you!
The one tool (you can create yourself) that can get you "through the door" faster than any brochure or business card ever will. Hint: You probably have a couple of these lying around your home.
The "empty boxes and orders" mentality and how it practically forces sales success out of you.
What to do when you're a beginner in your field and don't have any prospects.
The most powerful way to prospect for sales.
How to kill the fear of making cold-calls.
How to get a meeting with an elusive contact that plays "hard-to-get".
Knowing the features and benefits of your product is important. But if you're interested in hitting the hot-buttons of your prospects and turning them into paying customers, you need to know this even more�
Stop wrestling with your prospects. Here's a simple twist you can make in your presentation to make sure your prospect agrees with you virtually all the time!
The six laws to asking effective questions that leads to a sale.
Why you should never answer your prospect's questions with "yes" or "no".
Great open-ended questions you can ask to get your prospects to tell you exactly what they want to buy.
Some common questions (many sales trainers teach you to use) that you should NEVER ask and what you should do instead. If you don't know this, you're unwittingly wasting your time, or worse, killing sales!
How to memorize your product knowledge and recall it almost instantly; no brochures or notes necessary! (Being prepared is vitally important. If you're fumbling all over your presentation, you're telling your prospect that they are not worth your time and effort. In return, they will respond by NOT buying from you. Don't let this happen to you.)
"I want to think about it�", "It's not in our budget�", "We need to get approval from headquarters�" These are common objections that "rattle the cages" of amateur sales-people. However, these are simply false objections! Discover how you can weed these out, and unearth the real objections in your prospect's mind.
How to conquer your prospect's objection� even before they tell you about it!
How to beat the price objection. What to do when they tell you "the price is too high�"
Why dropping the price to get the sale is simply wrong, wrong, wrong, and what you should always do this first�
Is your customer already buying from your competitor? Here's how you can seduce them to switch� even though they are very satisfied with your competitor!
Why you shouldn't give your card and ask your prospect to contact you "in case they change their mind" and what you should do instead to keep the opportunity for a sale wide open.
The symptoms behind some common objections and how to cure them.
How to obtain testimonials that shine. (When you get your customers to do your bragging for you, you also get them to do the selling for you!)
Buyer's remorse can kill a sale, even after it's made! Here's a special close that can prevent that from happening to you.
The selling temptation you must avoid that can destroy a completed sale!
How law enforcers catch criminals, and how this technique can help you increase sales dramatically� and with less work too!
A little known reason why your customers don't give you referrals when you ask for them� even though they are totally in love with your service and know hundreds of people they can recommend you to. Here's what you should do to get so many referrals, you'll get "writer's cramp" just trying to keep up!
How to know your customers so well they'll think you work for the CIA.
What you can do to squeeze more out of every successful sale. Your existing customers are a gold mine just waiting to be mined� if you knew how�
How you can get your customers to go out of their way to give you repeat business.
Why tripling your memory power could triple your sales.
Lots of people buy simply because the sales person remembered their name. Here's the secret to remembering the names of everyone you meet (even for a short time) and recalling it the instant you meet them weeks, months, or years later!
How to get the business you failed to obtain the first time around.
And much more!

http://www.jimrohn.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1683

2008-02-21T16:56:00.000-08:00

10 Tips to Balance Work and Life

Many people put work before family and relationships. At times, doing this may be a necessity. If the wolf is at the door, it's understandable. But if you find that work has become your entire life, here are some tips to help you find your balance again.

1. If work occupies most of your thoughts, you've got your priorities messed up. Start by telling yourself that family comes first. Then do something to start making things up to them. It can be as simple as coming home early one night a week.

2. Write important dates (birthdays, anniversary, and so on) in your calendar and transfer them at the end of the year when you get a new one. If you use an electronic device, keep a hard copy backup.

3. There are times when you need to focus on yourself. If it's not a terrorist attack, you owe yourself at least ten minutes of peace every day. Just meditate or stare out the window.

4. When you come home, leave your Blackberry in your car, so you can keep your attention where it belongs. If this creates too much anxiety for you, it's a sign your life is not in balance.

5. Leave your work at the office, and unless it's a true emergency, don't take business calls at home. At the very least, turn off the ringer when you retire for the evening.

6. The Internet can be addictive and will eat up precious minutes if you let it. Spend the free time you have with real people who love you, not with some online stranger who might help you make some more money.

7. Make sure you dedicate as much time to your relationship as you do to your job. This can be done over time. If you travel a lot, try taking your mate along whenever possible.

8. Your loved ones know where your priorities are. Do everything you can to let them see that they are your first choice. Whenever you take a day off to be with family, it will pay you back tenfold.

9. Talking about your relationship is the most important tool you have to keep it on a positive track. Make sure you check in with the one you love at least once a week and talk about how your life together is going.

10. If you have the luxury of a paid vacation, use it this year. Things change quickly, and you need to make the most of what you've earned. The average American worker doesn't use all of their vacation time.

You owe it to yourself and your family to create a balance between what you do and who you love.

For more than two decades Fortune 500 companies, educational institutions, and government organizations worldwide have relied on Dr. Barton Goldsmith to help them develop creative and balanced leadership. He is a highly sought-after keynote speaker, business consultant and author. His columns appear in over 500 publications, including the Chicago Sun-Times, the Detroit News, and the Los Angeles Business Journal. Considered an expert on small business, he has spoken worldwide to groups of 10 to 5,000, and is in high demand for Keynotes, Training and Consulting. He may be contacted through his web site BartonGoldsmith.com or at (818) 879-9996.

2008-02-20T17:25:00.000-08:00

Top 7 Myths About Starting a Business

7. It Is All Dependent on Hard Work. Hard work is an absolutely necessary, but not sufficient, condition for starting and growing a business. It is the given, but without a solid business plan and compelling value proposition for customers and partners, all of the hard work in the world will be for naught. The world is filled with over-worked, over-stressed, and not terrible successful small business people who struggle not because of lack of appropriate effort, but rather for lack of appropriate planning.

6. If Your Product or Service is Compelling Enough, Customers Will Beat a Path to your Door. Unless you are building a business based upon intellectual property and/or technology that provides and creates such a competitive advantage and compelling customer value proposition, the early success of your business will be based as much on your ability to market and sell your product and service as it will on the product or service offering itself. Remember: in a capitalistic marketplace there is NO distinction between value and perceived value.

5. If Your Product or Service is Compelling Enough, Investors Will Beat a Path to your Door. Those that identify themselves as prospective investors in earlier-stage, small companies are mostly INUNDATED with investment opportunities. As such, no matter how good and unique your business opportunity, there is always a strong, initial prejudice AGAINST investment that needs to be overcome.

4. It Is All About You. The myth of the charismatic, "do and be everything" entrepreneur is just that -- a myth. Any and all companies of value are great teams much more than they are the by-product of a highly talented individual. The best entrepreneurs and business leaders inspire the mission, values and philosophy of a company by their own example. This inspiration is then communicated to all of the business' stakeholders -- employees, customers, investors, partners, vendors, and its wider community.

3. The Government Is Your Friend. We are constantly astounded by the regulatory and paperwork maze that a startup company needs to negotiate and constantly monitor to both start and maintain a business. It is a significant time, money, and energy drain that detracts from the main value creation intent of a new business. Our best advice in this regard -- as resources are available -- is to find competent legal and accounting counsel, to both advise upon and outsource the regulatory burden, so you can focus on business-building.

2. The Government Is Your Enemy. Having said the above, in the mixed economy in which we live, government revenue opportunities, on a local, state, federal, and international level, have never been greater for small business. While slow, meandering, and confusing to approach, governments have much to recommend them as clients and customers, not the least of which is that once sold, government clients pay well and are not bad debt risks. A somewhat trite but very important credo to remember when selling to governments, even more so than in business, is that "it is not as much what you know but who you know."

1. It Is Only Worth Doing If You Become the Next Google. The vast majority of small businesses will always remain just that -- small businesses. The odds of starting a business and have it become the next Google or a publicly-traded company are very, very small. While we would never discourage entrepreneurs for aiming for the stars, it is also important to have success metrics grounded in probability. An expectation of a minimum of 2 years of very, very hard work with little financial return but with a lot of learning (and some fun hopefully as well) involved is a good starting point. From this first milestone, then and only then should there start to be an expectation of significant wealth-building. Find that balance between the long term vision and the Monday morning action plan -- and success, while not guaranteed, is very likely.

http://eventuring.kauffman.org/Resources/Resource.aspx?id=33832

2008-01-18T17:38:00.001-08:00

Core Values for Ethical Entrepreneurship

Michelle Benjamin, Founder, President and CEO, Benjamin Enterprises Inc.

Last August, Benjamin Enterprises Inc., the company I founded in 1985, made a decision to add a position that might be considered unusual for an entrepreneurial company: that of Corporate Culture Specialist.

Many have asked: What precipitated your decision? The answer is wrapped in our vision, mission and our core values. As our company is the preferred choice for Facility Support Services, our customers depend on our people to deliver high-quality security, janitorial, cafeteria and construction-flagging services. We recognize that to deliver superior services, several key components must be in place. These components, to name a few, include training, management, career development and self-improvement. The position of Corporate Culture Specialist focuses on two of these key components, mainly career development and self-improvement.

Our people - about 100 full time and 200 part-timers - come to us mostly as unskilled workers. Once hired, they are trained and certified in their field of choice and mentored by the Corporate Culture Specialist, focusing on each individual's self-mastery and development. It is my firm belief that if we as a company make the effort to understand our team members' goals and aspirations, and enable them to reach these levels of personal satisfaction, they, in turn, will help our company reach its goals.

A Guiding Placard

In short, our team members are a constituency that we, as an entrepreneurial company, serve. If we are to build a thriving business, our team members must be included in our vision. Yet they aren't the only entities that need to be included in our vision. There are three others: our customers, our community, and our company itself. Taken together, these four groups are the focus of the ethical core values that we have determined must be ingrained in our corporate culture.

At a time when major U.S. corporations, such as Enron, Tyco and Arthur Andersen have managed to set appallingly new lows when it comes to ethical business behavior, entrepreneurial concerns such as our own can and must take the high road. Yet is isn't only in response to the lapses that we must do so; at Benjamin Enterprises, for one, the ethical high road is one we've been traversing since our founding 18 years ago. Indeed, a statement of our core values has long been prominently displayed on a placard that hangs in the lobby of our headquarters building.

What follows is a look at how Benjamin Enterprises has been doing business ethically when it comes to each group.

Customers
In order to assure profitability, it is essential that a core value address our customers, who ultimately enable us to earn our livelihoods. At Benjamin Enterprises, we take a holistic approach to caring for our customers. We endeavor to make them our partners when it comes to crafting and delivering our services. We meet monthly with each at the client's site, garnering an assessment of how we're doing and how we can do better. In one instance, a customer advised our traffic-control division that we needed our people to respond to a call within 30 minutes rather than 45. Had we not engaged with the client, we would have heard that everything was fine, fine - and we wouldn't have been able to correct a situation that could have became a problem.

People
By people, I mean the individuals who do the work that makes Benjamin Enterprises a company: our team members. Just as we believe we must cater to their goals and aspirations through steps such as hiring the Corporate Culture Specialist, we also believe that this core value calls for compensating employees according to performance. At Benjamin Enterprises, we've devised a point system, with credits being earned for outstanding performance that, in turn, can be used for a variety of benefits, such as increased salary or tuition reimbursement for advanced training. Using this approach, some team members at our company have been able to earn more than managers. A third leg in addressing this core value involves recognition; in our company newsletter, we regularly feature and praise employees for superior work ethics.

Company
At the heart of the ethical underpinnings for an entrepreneurial venture is the need for a commitment to the company itself; in short, a resolve to assure that it is profitable. At Benjamin Enterprises, we consider ourselves stewards of the company, which is an entity in and of itself and apart from our employees and our customers. Our baseline is our fiduciary responsibility to the company. Without black ink on the bottom line, nothing else is possible.

Community
Our commitment to ethical values doesn't stop at our company's doorstep. We believe we have an ethical obligation to contribute to the community to which we belong outside of the office. In addition to the usual contributions to service organizations, such as United Way, we have instituted two programs that are specific to our company. The first, called "Catch a Rising Star," provides five $1,000 scholarships annually for formal education. The other involves my agreeing to meet once a month with five emerging business owners to offer support and advice. This mentoring program enables those owners to seek advice about specific issues from the professionals on our staff, such as our accountant and, yes, even our Corporate Culture Specialist.

In the wake of the scandals that have wrecked havoc on the ethics of corporate America, it bears noting that not all major companies have behaved badly. Indeed, organizations such as Johnson & Johnson have routinely been cited for good citizenship; a classic case in ethical behavior was that entity's quick decision to recall during the Tylenol situation of a few years back.

Yet, if not all of corporate America is ethically lacking, the corollary is that not all entrepreneurial entities are ethical stalwarts. Indeed, it takes commitment to run a business ethically, even an entrepreneurial business. At Benjamin Enterprises, we've lived that commitment by adopting the core values of customer, people, company and community. It behooves all entrepreneurs to adopt those as the ethical bottom line for their enterprises.
About this author:

Michelle Benjamin founded Benjamin Enterprises Inc., in 1985, and serves as president and CEO. Based in Middletown, New York, the company provides facilities support services, including janitorial, security and food, to corporate clients. Benjamin Enterprises has annual revenue of $8 million and employs 100 full-time and 200 part-time workers in four states. The company has four core values emphasizing ethical behavior to customers, employees, the community, and the company. Formerly a registered intensive care nurse, Benjamin is a graduate of Hunter College with a degree in nursing.

http://www.feld.com/blog/archives/2006/07/_rob_shurtleff.html

2008-01-18T17:34:00.000-08:00

Board of Directors: The Chairman

Rob Shurtleff - a VC in Seattle with Divergent Ventures - whom I've gotten to know over the past year, dropped me a note with some ideas about a few posts in the Board of Directors series that Jim Lejeal and I have started writing. The first topic Rob suggested has evolved into the a post titled "The Chairman". Through the magic of Writely, I've involved him into a group edit on this post - what has resulted is a collaboration between the three of us.

In the public company arena, more and more companies are separating the Chairman of the Board position from the CEO. It turns out that this trend has benefits for earlier stage companies too. We believe that all CEOs - regardless of their experience - benefit from having a lead director on the board. In general, it has been our experience that boards (and the board meetings) work better when there is a Chairman in charge other then the CEO.

Some specific roles for the the Chairman follow:

Collects input from all directors and management on the board agenda - this facilitates surfacing difficult issues.

Creates the board meeting agenda with the CEO.

Runs the agenda of the board meeting, holding items to schedule or extending the time spent on them if the consensus is to spend more then the appointed time on an item. This frees the CEO to focus on content and allows the Chairman to keep the meeting on track.

Hosts an executive session without management at the end of the meeting in order to gather feedback, surface issues, and frame constructive feedback for the CEO and the management team.

Reports any relevant feedback to the CEO.

Collects input from the board and from the senior management team for the CEO's annual review, writes the review, presents it to the board for approval, works with the compensation committee on CEO bonus and changes in compensation, and finally meets with the CEO in a formal performance review.

Heads the search committee when hiring a new CEO.

In addition to being a focal point for the board, The Chairman can also be a critical mentor for the CEO. As a result, he should be a consensus choice of both the board members and the CEO. In addition, the Chairman should be a person who is made visible inside the company - such as attending and participating in all hands company meetings. The Chairman should make themselves easily available to employees (via in person, email, or phone) at any time. If bad things are happening within the company (e.g. date manipulation of stock options) employees should have a person on the board - namely the Chairman - that they are comfortable going to with any issues.

Some of the CEOs we have worked with have resisted this idea. Most have come to see it as a big plus. We've also found that - in most cases - boards also benefit from having a lead director as a focal point.

http://www.buzgate.org/nh/ten_steps.html

2008-01-18T17:27:00.000-08:00

10 Step Venture eMentoring Program™

Read below to discover how this online, interactive mentoring program provides a thorough, step-by-step framework for developing business skills, knowledge and a support network for successfully launching your own business venture. Thanking Your
Industry Expert and
Educational Champion

Welcome. . .
10 Steps to Venture Development with a Mentor

Copyright© by Dr. William R. Osgood

By participating in this program, you are already taking the first step of what is an exciting and rewarding adventure for many. For others, starting and running their own venture is a bad choice. The reality is that most businesses will be out of business in less than 5 years after they get started – and most of these because they failed. The sad truth of the matter is that most of these business failures can be avoided. That is the purpose of this program – to help you avoid the pitfalls that can limit a business's success or even make it fail, and reinforce the strengths and decisions that can lead to success.

The program is a methodical 10-step process that begins with a self-assessment of suitability for being in business, and concludes with a blueprint for implementing the venture initiative. Each component of the program introduces a critical aspect of the entrepreneurial process and provides instructional and background material followed by self-testing tools to allow you to assess your own skills relative to the key issues of that course component. This interactive feature will productively lead you through the venture planning and preparation process.

Each step of the program builds on the prior step. At every stage, we introduce the issues that need to be addressed, the questions that need to be answered, and the additional resources that are available to assist with supporting a successful venture initiative.

The program is self-paced – you proceed to the next session when you are ready. It is critical to spend time with the exercises. They are designed to provoke your thinking and the answers may not be immediately evident. We encourage you to read the materials presented thoughtfully. For once, there are no predetermined right or wrong answers – the right answers are the ones that work for you.

The worksheets are in an interactive format. This means that you can complete the worksheet at your computer and then e-mail it to yourself (and anyone else you feel might be interested – your friend, counselor/consultant, or spouse for example). We encourage you to set up a folder so that you can archive these forms once you have them completed and printed. In this manner, you will have a hard copy of your hard work throughout the program, and a valuable source of reference as you move forward.

It is valuable to have someone to discuss the various worksheet results with. There are really no right or wrong answers – instead, the right answer is the one that makes most sense for you. That is why using someone else as a sounding board can help determine whether it all really makes good sense.

If you are not already working with a business counselor or advisor, visit www.score.org to be matched with an experienced business mentor. SCORE provides access to 10,500 volunteer counselors who have more than 600 business skills. These individuals are either working or retired business owners, executives and corporate leaders who are willing to share their wisdom and lessons learned in business with others who are interested in learning about, starting or growing a business. This includes students, veterans, women and minorities.

By visiting the web site you will be connected to an eMentor, where you can receive counseling via email, or may request a local SCORE counselor to meet with face-to-face. The Web site also provides access to a range of additional free resources based on your own interests, including young entrepreneurs, veterans, women, minorities, and manufacturers.

In addition to connecting you to an experienced business mentor, this 10 Step Program will introduce you to a variety of other local business assistance agengies that offer free and low-cost help in practically all areas of business management including import/export, funding, marketing, site location, workforce development and government contracting. Contact these resource providers to not only gain more insight and skills based on your own particular entrepreneurial needs and interests, but to also begin building your support network for the longer term.

The 10 Step Venture Mentoring Program is comprised of 10 Sessions, each designed to support you in productively addressing the following entrepreneurial components:

Session 1: Self-Assessment
Am I suited for running my own business?

Session 2: Business Idea
Do I have a viable business idea?

Session 3: Market Analysis
Is there a market for my business idea?

Session 4: Management Skills
Session 4: Do I have the skills needed to make this work?

Session 5: Business Plan
Do I have a complete business plan?

Do I have a complete business plan?
Do I have a realistic forecast of revenues and costs?

Session 7: Financing
Am I aware of my business financing needs?

Session 8: Outside Resources
Do I understand what forms of venture assistance may be available to me from the public agency arena?

Session 9: Venture Launch
Do I have the licenses, approvals and other issues covered that are needed for actually starting the new business?

Session 10: Monitor Progress
Am I prepared to monitor and control operations once started?

By following the program systematically and completely, a great deal of confusion about what to do next will be eliminated, and the chances of your business success will be greatly increased.

Now – on to Session 1: Self-Assessment

2007-11-26T07:55:00.001-08:00

10 Roles of an Inspirational Leader

Provide an inspiring vision and strategic alignment, launch a crusade

Help people connect their personal goals to business goals

Make relentless innovation a religion

Encourage entrepreneurial creativity and experimentation

Involve everyone, empower and trust employees

Coach and train your people to greatness

Build teams and promote and teamwork, leverage diversity

Motivate, inspire and energize people, recognize achievements

Encourage risk taking

Make business fun

ENTREPRENEURIAL LEADERSHIP

2007-11-26T07:43:00.000-08:00

1. Why Entrepreneurial Leadership?

Rapidly Changing Global Scenario

Knowledge-based Enterprise versus Industrial Enterprise

New Company-Employee Partnership

Shift from Management to Leadership

Entrepreneurial Organization: Challenges, Opportunities, and Strategies

Entrepreneurial Organization: Building Attributes and Delivering Results

2. What Entrepreneurial Leaders Do

Leader as an Entrepreneur: Ten Key Action Roles

Strategic Leadership: Generic Role and Main Functions

Results-based Leadership

The Four E's of Leadership

Why Change Fails

The Eight Stage Change Process

Making Big Changes: Ten Questions to Answer

3. Entrepreneurial Leadership Attributes

Being a Leader Means, Above All...

Leader as an Entrepreneur: Talent, Temperament, and Technique Synergy

General Leadership Attributes

Entrepreneurial Leaders: Specific Attributes

80/20 Thinking

Entrepreneurial Creativity

Five Steps to Entrepreneurial Creativity

4. Energizing, Empowering, and Coaching

Employee Empowerment: Three Levels

Energizing Employees: Four Principles

Effective Coaching: Definition and the Keys to Success

Coaching in the Workplace: List of Activities

Inspiring Employees: Four Key Strategies

5. Opportunity-driven Business Development

Strategy Pyramid vs. Strategy Stretch

Choosing Between Strategy and Opportunity Approach

Corporate Management vs. Venture Management

Strategic Achievement

Organizing Rapid Opportunity Search

Moving with Speed

Ten Steps To Develop Entrepreneurial Staff

6. Leading Innovation

Radical Innovation

Internal and External Ventures

Innovation: The Key Players

Leading Systemic Innovation

Loose-Tight Leadership

Brainstorming: Techniques to Develop Solutions

Tips for Making the Vision a Reality

2007-08-09T10:58:00.000-07:00

The Last Chance Millionaire
by Douglass R. Andrew
Published by Warner Business Books; June 2007;$24.99US/$31.99CAN; 978-0-446-58053-3
Copyright © 2007 Douglas R. Andrew

The Pitcher of Water Versus the Empty Glass

When I give seminars, this is the moment that I introduce the most memorable visual aids I have ever used. Picture yourself holding an empty drinking glass in one hand and a pitcher containing water in the other. The glass represents your house. For simplicity's sake, let's say it is worth $100,000. It's an asset. Let's say you have $100,000 of cash in the bank (the pitcher) -- that's liquid wealth. The glass is empty because you have not put a penny into your house, but on paper, on a balance sheet, you would still list it as a $100,000 asset. Meanwhile the pitcher of water represents another asset -- $100,000 in cash.

What's the total amount of your assets? $200,000. What happens if you pour the water into the glass? You have reduced your assets by $100,000. You've combined $100,000 in cash to a glass already listed as an asset worth $100,000, and all you have to show for it is $100,000. You have cut your assets in half!

On the other hand, when you separate the liquid cash from the glass-sized house that is free and clear, you double your assets. That's what happens when you separate equity from your house and put it in a liquid investment. But you're not finished. Assume the empty glass-house appreciates at an average of 5 percent a year. After one year, what's the value of the empty glass? $105,000. If you pay off the mortgage on the glass (pour the water -- or money -- back into the house) what is it worth? The same $105,000 -- whether it is mortgaged or it is free and clear -- because equity has no rate of return when it is trapped in a house.

Next, pour the water from the glass back into the big pitcher. You've just removed $100,000 from your house and put it into an investment earning -- let's say -- 10 percent. At the end of the year, how much money will you have in that pitcher? Look at that! It's grown to $110,000! In your other hand is your house, worth $105,000 at the end of the same year, thanks to appreciation.

Leave the water in the pitcher.

How much have you earned by separating your equity from your house in the course of just a single year? $15,000. How much would you have earned if you had left the water in the glass? Only $5,000 -- one-third as much.

"But, but, but -- the mortgage wasn't free! I had to pay some interest." That's right, you did. Let's say the mortgage was at 7.5 percent. That's $7,500 subtracted from $15,000 for a net gain of $7,500, instead of just $5,000. You are still 50 percent ahead than if you had not removed the equity from your house. If the mortgage interest is deductible, then the net cost of the mortgage is really not $7,500, but $5,000 in a 33.3 percent marginal tax bracket. So the net profit is $10,000 ($15,000 minus a net, after-tax mortgage expense of $5,000) -- or twice as much as you made if the house was paid off!

Here's another quick analogy: Would you rather have one horse working for you or two? Can two horses work for you, even if you owe money on one of the horses?

The object of this demonstration is that no matter what else you do, when you separate your equity from your house, you increase your assets. Even though there is a charge for doing that -- the simple interest you pay on a mortgage -- it makes a whole lot of sense to take out a mortgage and use it to make your assets grow.

Do you recall the president of the bank I mentioned at the start of this chapter? What you've just done -- taken out a mortgage and used the money to make more money -- is what he did. You didn't make billions, but you made a profit in the same exact manner. By separating equity from your house, you give it the ability to earn a rate of return. Employ this strategy each year, and the profits will compound.

Copyright © 2007 Douglas R. Andrew

Order The Last Chance Millionaire: It's Not Too Late to Become Wealthy from Amazon.com

2007-08-07T13:11:00.000-07:00

Know--and Brand--Thyself
The ancient Greek adage is more than just a pithy saying. Creating a personal brand will show your strengths throughout life.
By John Williams | August 03, 2007

It's a brand new work world. And I do mean "brand."

It used to be that only large businesses worried about branding. To thrive, they had to distinguish their company from the competition. This meant carving out a niche based on competitive advantages and specific corporate attributes. They crafted and maintained a strategic brand--a unique, useful promise to current and prospective customers--to gain brand equity and loyalty. This was business, after all.

But things have changed. The 21st century is the age of free agents and custom ringtones. Nike doesn't just sponsor Tiger Woods; Tiger Woods sponsors Tiger Woods (check out the personal logo on his cap). Today, branding occurs at the individual level. This is especially noticeable in service industries, but increasingly in others as well. Everything about you, from the type of cell phone you carry and the vocabulary you use, to the brand of coffee you drink, says something about who you are and what you can do for the rest of us.

Content Continues Below

In business today, your most important job is to promote yourself. You probably won't work the same job from graduation until retirement. More likely, your future depends on leveraging your strengths along a winding career path ripe with possibilities. To take advantage of these opportunities, you need to stand out in a crowd. You must become your own brand.

Essentially, this means distinguishing yourself based on your "competitive advantages," including unique professional skills, life experiences, character strengths and personality traits. Here are some suggestions to get you started:

1. Ask the No. 1 question in branding: What makes you different than others, particularly others in your field? What qualities, experiences and skills make you special? Generate a list of personal brand attributes, and then prioritize them.

Your brand is a promise of the value you'll deliver to your customer. It's important to consider how you add value. For every feature, there's a corresponding benefit. Are you always on time? This translates to reliable service. Do you tend to think out of the box? You're a problem-solver. The more unique your brand is in your field, the better. If you add value like everyone else in your industry, it's not considered a competitive advantage. Look for ways--even small ways--that make you different and thus more valuable and irreplaceable to customers.

Ironically, it's really not about you. Like business branding, you must consider the needs and desires of your prospective customers. What are they looking for? This is a critical but often-overlooked component of personal branding. For example, if your competitive advantage is dogged reliability in a field defined by fast-paced innovation, you need to rethink either your brand or your field.

2. Write a mission statement that includes three or four of your top brand attributes. Include ones you already possess and those you're still working on. Keep in mind you're not defined by a company or a title. The only organization you belong to for life is yours. Create a mission statement that promotes who you are and who you are becoming.

3. Create a personal logo, like Tiger Woods did. People remember pictures and color (a logo) before they remember text (a name). Adding a logo to your personal business cards makes you stand out in a crowd. The symbol in your logo can serve in other capacities, including an embellishment to personal stationery or as a favicon for your website. (Try creating your own logo for free at LogoYes.com)

4. Broadcast your brand. Use personal business cards, create a personal website and network with colleagues to promote your attributes. Everything you say and do--from how you greet others and answer the phone to how you dress and carry yourself--sends a message about your brand. Strive for consistency.

5. Establish credibility. Join professional and community organizations, take or teach a class, give a lecture, start a blog or contribute to an e-newsletter. Constantly search for ways to get your name out there. Equally as importantly, hone your skills whenever possible.

6. Be your own brand manager. Don't be afraid to tweak your brand based on feedback from these forays. The success of any branding campaign depends on what the market thinks. Equally as important, preserve your brand with pit-bull determination.

The opportunities to brand yourself are endless. Seize the day, You, Inc.

John Williams is president and founder of LogoYes.com, the world's first and largest DIY logo website. In his 25 years in advertising, he has created brand standards for Fortune 100 companies like Mitsubishi and won numerous international awards for his design work.

2007-08-07T13:07:00.000-07:00

Breaking the Code
The authors of The Catalyst Code explain how to start a business by bringing others together.
By Alexa Vaughn | August 06, 2007

URL: http://www.entrepreneur.com/worklife/bookshelf/article182514.html

Touted as an excellent breakdown of one of the most profitable business models in today's economy by legendary businessmen like Bill Gates, The Catalyst Code: The Strategies Behind the World's Most Dynamic Companies can be used as a starting point for intelligent business brainstorming. Entrepreneur.com interviewed authors Richard Schmalensee, the John C. Head III Dean of MIT's Sloan School of Management, and David S. Evans, vice chairman of LECG Europe and visiting professor at the University College in London, to find out what today's entrepreneurs--big or small, tech savvy or not--can learn from their book.

Entrepreneur.com: How do you start a "catalyst business," and how does it work?

Schmalensee: You ask yourself, Are there two groups you can profit from getting together? A catalyst business serves two or more distinct groups of people who benefit from interacting with each other, but need help to do so efficiently.

These days, one of those groups will often be developers of application software, and that's what drives a lot of these businesses. There are a lot of different catalysts, though, going back as far as medieval trade fairs, marriage brokers or any other marketplace you can imagine. In the old days of department stores, when you walked into a big department store, there would be cosmetics from all the leading brands and those were basically in rented space. What the department store provided was foot traffic, and it brought people interested in buying cosmetics together with cosmetic vendors, only they had their own people behind those counters. Department stores saw that as a catalyst function.

Entrepreneur.com: What makes this business model so intriguing today?

Evans: In terms of opportunities, there are probably more opportunities to start catalyst businesses than there has ever been in past history. The reason for that is many of the elements that you need to start a catalyst business have become easier to get. Communication technology is easier and cheaper, and instead of thinking of physical places to start these businesses you have the web where it's really easy to start a business like a Facebook or MySpace.com.

If you have a business that's able to generate a lot of traffic it's relatively easy for you to go to a Google, Yahoo! or Microsoft and use that company to monetize your traffic and basically get advertisers on board. In the old days, you had trouble figuring out how to monetize your website's content. There's just a better-developed advertising business now than there used to be.

Entrepreneur.com: So catalyst businesses like Google are helping to create even more catalyst businesses today?

Evans: Absolutely.

Entrepreneur.com: Do you need to be an expert on software or a young tech-literate entrepreneur to start a successful catalyst business today?

Schmalensee: Well, as an old guy myself, the innovations here are in the business models. Yeah, Google had a very clever idea for a search engine, but that would have only been an academic curiosity if they hadn't married it with somebody else's idea for click-through advertising. I don't want to put down technology guys, because somebody has to make the idea work, but at the end of the day, the creativity comes not in writing the code, it comes in seeing the business model and thinking it through from a business point of view.

It's true in all fields that young people tend to be more creative than those looking forward to retirement, but frankly, you look at someone like Steve Jobs, who is no longer a spring chicken, and he still comes up with ideas. The key is not that you have to be an expert in the technology, but you have to not be afraid of it. You have to not say "Oh, I'll never understand that." You have to say "Well with a little help, I'll understand it." And then, what I'm good at is thinking, What is this good for? Because that's where you make the money--not in the new "gee whiz," but what the new "gee whiz" can do for people.

Entrepreneur.com: What kind of catalyst business opportunities do you anticipate in the next few years?

Schmalensee: We see, in particular, a lot of activity in the payment system space because the internet has really reduced the communications cost. Beyond that, it's sort of the sky's the limit in some respects. As you go to very, very smart phones, the opportunities for catalyst-based businesses that take into account mobility open up. BMW and other [automobile companies] are considering the notion of opening the software platform that runs the car, not to everything, but to third-party entertainment applications.

What we tried to do in the book is say, We can't anticipate the details of bright ideas people will come up with or competitive challenges that established firms will face, but here are the problems that have to be solved to make the thing go, here are the questions that need to be addressed. You have to understand the markets, you have to think through pricing, you have to understand design, you have to worry about competition, you have to be willing to experiment, and you have to be ready for change.

January 24, 2007

2007-07-29T11:20:00.000-07:00

Defeating the Eight Most Common Objections
Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

I often get questions from clients about overcoming objections during the sales process. There are eight objections that are most common during a business deal. I have listed them below along with my thoughts on each. I have also included some questions that you can ask yourself during the sales process to help avoid falling prey to these objections in the first place.

1. Lack of perceived value in the product or service – Answer the question: What do they get for their money? This is the cardinal sin of the sales process. Your first and only job is to demonstrate value at all times. Always think Return on Investment (ROI). In most cases this means showing a financial return greater than the investment. Perception is also a key part of this objection. Manage perception and you manage the sales process.

There’s more to it than this but these are the basics.

2. Lack of perceived urgency in purchasing the offering – Answer the question: Why should they buy this now? To get beyond this objection there has to be an end to the sales process. The end can be real or it can be artificial. There just needs to be an end.

3. Perception of an inferiority to a competitive offering – Answer this question: How is what I’m selling better than what my competitor is selling? There are three ways to get past this objection. Your product or service must be first, best or different (in a good way).

4. Internal political issue between parties/ departments – Answer the question: Who will this deal benefit and who will it hurt? You can be sure there will be people on both sides of this equation. The key to getting past this objection is to work at a high enough level to be above the internal politics. If that is not possible, you need to pick a side…and hope it is the right one.

5. Lack of funds to purchase the offering – Answer the question: Can they afford me/my company/my product/my service? You should answer this question before you ever walk in the door or pick up the phone. If you write up a proposal and you get this objection, you deserve to lose the sale. Shame on you.

6. Personal issue with the decision maker(s)– Answer the question: Does the decision maker like me? People need to like you before they can trust you. Trust is the foundation of any productive relationship. There are enough reasons to kill a deal (or a business relationship) without bringing personal feelings into the equation. Be charming, if it’s your style. Be funny if it is your way. Above all else, be yourself. Unless you’re a jerk, then just keep your mouth shut.

7. Initiative with an external party – Answer the question: What outside force could possibly derail this deal, and what can I do about it? Many times you will never know that this is happening. Sometimes the company will be sold, or your contact will get fired or the CFO will go to jail. At the end of the day, you need to keep doing your homework by reading the papers and trade publications. Try to close the deal before the company goes bust, is sold or they lead someone out in handcuffs. In other words, after you shake hands on the deal get the paperwork signed right away. Don’t wait. Oh yeah, try to get paid quickly too. In advance if possible.

8. “It’s safer to do nothing” perception – Answer the question: What is the buyer afraid of? Fear is the greatest motivator. You need to associate fear with the status quo. This is the only way to get a client to move off their rear end and spend their money with you. Find the fear and tie the fear to inactivity.

Every salesperson faces objections. The rainmakers anticipate the objections ahead of time and cut them off at the pass. This requires some strategic thinking.

Study these objections and recall some of the deals you lost in the past. Would these tips have helped?

More importantly, how can they help on your next big deal?

April 17, 2007

2007-07-29T11:15:00.000-07:00

Business Coaching Success in Miami Florida
Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

If you want to improve the profitability of your business you need to read this next post.

During the past year I piloted my entrepreneur coaching system and the results have been phenomenal.

My team and I coached 20 small businesses and independent professionals. These businesses each had less than $1 million in annual revenue and less than 100 employees. Most of the business owners were in the process of deciding if they wanted to stay in business or go out and look for jobs. Some of them were overwhelmed by the complexity that had engulfed their lives.

We worked with these fantastic people for the past nine to twelve months. We coached them on Strategic Planning, Sales, Marketing and basic Organizational Skills.

Ninety percent of our coaching was done over the phone. We had weekly sales and marketing teleseminars, monthly on-on-one sessions (again via phone) and quarterly workshops with a mastermind group in Miami, Florida. (Yes, everyone loved to come to Miami four times last year – but the focus of our sessions was on their business – although some of our clients brought their families and made a vacation out of it.)

What were the results?

All the businesses grew their revenue by 50% or more. Six of the businesses are on track to produce revenue over $1 million in 2007. But the most amazing part – every single business doubled their profit during the year we worked with them.

You read that correctly. All 20 businesses doubled their profit!

What are the secrets to this amazing success? They stick to the F.A.C.T.S.

Focus – Coaching forces business owners to prioritize their activities. They learn to look for a return on the investment of their time from everything they do. If it is not a “high value” activity, they don’t do it. Period. Some activities can be delegated. Many activities are unnecessary yet business owners do them because “that’s the way they’ve always done it”. We help them sort and prioritize how they spend their time.

Accountability – Our coaches do not let business owners off the hook. If the client sets a goal, the coach keeps forcing the business owner to take action toward that goal. Sometimes the work is tough but the results speak for themselves.

Confidence – The business owners build more and more confidence each time they see results. Coaching helps them learn to celebrate all the small victories that will eventually lead to larger victories. Confidence is responsible for a good portion of the success each of our successful entrepreneurs enjoy.

Tactics – Many business owners only know one way to do things. For example: Several of our clients focused solely on advertising as a way to bring in new customers. This is expensive and often ineffective. We work with our clients to develop at least seven different ways to acquire a new customer. This helps to diversify how they fill their client pipeline. Using this philosophy, if something doesn’t work they stop doing it.

Strategy – Everything our clients do is guided by a strategic plan that fits with their personal mission and leads to achieving their goals. They run their businesses in alignment with the way they live their lives. Our first task in working with a client is to remove the barriers that prevent them from achieving success. Normally these barriers consist of their own limiting beliefs. Creating a strategic plan that not only addresses their business goals but does so in a way that helps them align with their personal values and mission is our first priority.

Congratulations to all 20 of our business coaching success stories. As we expand our coaching practice we look forward to many many more of these phenomenal success stories in Miami, Florida.

March 7, 2007

2007-07-29T11:14:00.001-07:00

Great Summary of the Secret
Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

Working Solo has a great summary of The Secret for the self employed:

1. Intention rules all. Successful solo entrepreneurs understand that singleness of purpose is a potent force.

2. Clarity is crucial. Be specific in your targets.

3. Seek the joy. Chase passion, not profits.

4. Magnetize your connections. Be the type of person you want to associate with, the type of company you would like as a partner.

5. Take action. Merely thinking about having a successful company is not enough.

6. Expect the best. Expect great things from yourself and your company, and put forth the effort to build the professional foundation to support your aims.

7. Multiply the gratitude. Give thanks for all that you have, for no matter what your situation, there is much to be grateful for.

July 7, 2006

2007-07-29T11:11:00.000-07:00

Entrepreneurship Is Hip
Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

“Entrepreneurship keeps getting cooler, and the entrepreneurs keep getting younger.”
Inc.com’s Young and the Restless feature highlights five standout young entrepreneurs. Age has very little to do with potential for success in business and as an entrepreneur. Value is the key component. Other characteristics typical of entrepreneurs include:

Confidence. If you’re going to strike out on your own and try something new, you’re going to have to believe in yourself and what you’re offering. Confidence is magnetic, and when you’re selling something you believe in completely, customers are naturally drawn to you. Confidence is a skill that can be developed. Act as if you are already in the position of success you seek. Your mind will catch up to your behavior before you know it.

Risk Tolerance. Starting up your own business is risky, and you have to be willing to take a leap to get off the ground. Risk takers have just as many fears of failure as everybody else, but they always have a Plan B and a Plan C. Knowing you’ve got somewhere relatively soft to land if you fall makes it much easier to jump.

Adaptability. If you want to sustain yourself with your own work, you have to be flexible and adapt to what your clients need. Entrepreneurs perform so many different job functions, and they have to be ready to learn new skills all the time. Most business owners say that one of the best things about their work is that they’re always doing and learning new things.

Creativity. While not every entrepreneur is required to innovate and develop groundbreaking new products and services, all of them need to know how to reinvent old ideas and make them fresh. They must also be able to develop a personal brand, work with all different kinds of people, and present ideas in new and exciting ways.

Urgency. The business owner’s work is never done, and he can’t afford to take a lackadaisical approach to his business. He must discover opportunities and pounce on them quickly. To keep business relationships healthy and peaceful, he must be in close touch with his clients, ready to make quick decisions for their benefit. A superachiever has her finger on the pulse of the business world. She tunes in, reacts quickly, and makes things happen.

Anyone of any age can have these five traits, and all the others that make up a well-rounded entrepreneur. You don’t need years of experience, thousands of dollars, or the perfect moment to start your own business. The many young entrepreneurs of today prove it.

July 23, 2006

2007-07-29T11:07:00.000-07:00

Small Business Success - What it takes
Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

How do you know if you have what it takes to be successful in your own business? When people ask why your “cut out” to be a business owner how do you answer?

There are ten personality traits that successful business owners possess – at least to some degree. Read the list below and see how many of them apply to you:

Willingness to Sacrifice — Are you willing to accept the fact that you will be the last one to be paid? Are you willing to sacrifice your free time to your business? Are you willing to give up vacations, holidays, time with the kids, ball games and birthday parties?

Service Orientation — Do you have what it takes to deal with suppliers, customers, employees, lawyers, accountants, government officials, and everybody who calls on the phone and walks in the door? Are you willing to ask your customers for feedback and then adjust your business based upon what they say? Are you willing to spend time with the last customer of the day even if it means working after closing time? Can you come to win-win agreements with everyone mentioned above?

Leadership Ability — Are you willing to be the “go to” person for your business? Can you be the person who will lead a team to the promised land? Can you come up with the answers when others ask tough questions?

Business Intelligence and Creativity — Do you have street smarts and common sense? Can you make lemonade out of lemons? Can you anticipate problems before they arise and to take preemptive steps to avoid them? Can you “rearrange” solutions from other businesses or areas to meet the demands of your customers?

Management Ability and Organization — Do you have what it takes to manage relationships with your customers or clients, with your employees, with your suppliers, with your accountant and lawyer, with your banker, and with your family? Can you manage all of them at once….when you tired and hungry and when your worried about something else? Can you keep track of everything that’s going on in your business? Can you set priorities and get things done? Can you develop systems to automate the repetitive tasks in your business?

Optimism — Can you see the silver lining in each dark cloud? Can you keep your family and employees “pumped up” about you business and your ideas? Will you start each day looking for the possibility that it could be the best day you’ve ever had?

Persistence – Can you keep coming back for more even after you have had several setbacks? Do you believe that each time you you attempt something you learn and grow? Is it in your nature to come back over and over again until you get what you want?

Competitive Nature – Do you have to win? Are you the kind of person who needs to be the best at everything? Does competition bring out the best in your creative ability?
Sales Orientation – Can you sell yourself to others? You are you business. Can you convince others to work with you, buy from you and help spread the word about your business? Northing happens in business until somebody sells something. As an entrepreneur that somebody is you. Are you comfortable with that?

Confidence – Do you believe that risk is placing your future in the hands of someone else? Can you take on a difficult challenge head-on with the feeling that you will be successful? When the going gets tough do you instinctively feel that you will become stronger from the experience?

If one or more of these traits is not second nature to you, don’t fret. During the next two weeks we will be discussing each of them in detail. We’ll talk about ways to leverage your current skills, knowledge and experience to make up for a lack of strength in one or more of these areas.

September 12, 2006

2007-07-29T11:05:00.000-07:00

What one thing seperates the best from the rest?
Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

There is one quality that separates successful entrepreneurs from those who fail. What is that one thing?

Action.

Successful entrepreneurs do something, even if it is a little thing, to move one step closer to their goals each day.

It is not a complicated issue to grasp but all of us get caught up in the day-to-day activities that consume our lives. We get so caught up that we forget to take action on the things that are so important to us – the goals that will help us fulfill our dreams.

Here is an exercise that will show you how easy it is to take action:

Take ten minutes today and write down the five things you can do in the next five days to bring you closer to your goals (even if it is just an inch closer).

Next, schedule 30 minutes over the next five days to take these actions. If your schedule is booked wall-to-wall, get up 1/2 hour earlier.

Finally, on Saturday morning, while you are drinking your coffee, reflect back on the work you have done over the past week. Did you get closer to your goals?

Today’s money quote sums up half of it:

“We become what we think about all day long. The question is, ‘What do you think about?’”

- Dr. Wayne Dyer

How much time do you spend each day thinking about your goals?

The other half:

How much time do you spend taking action on them?

December 27, 2006

2007-07-29T11:02:00.000-07:00

Nine Types of Entrepreneurs

Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach
From the Globe and Mail:

Successful entrepreneurs are supposed to be outgoing, risk-taking workaholics.

But Rhonda Abrams says there are actually nine different types of entrepreneurs, each with their own style and interests, allowing more of us the chance to enjoy the joy of entrepreneuring:

1. Adviser: Some entrepreneurs are paid for giving advice, such as lawyers, accountants, and financial advisers.

2. Administrator/Organizer: Like organizing? You can plan weddings, oversee projects, or take care of accounts, databases, and order fulfillment.

3. Builders/Creators: Artists, bakers, carpenters, and designers are examples of entrepreneurs driven to create something tangible where it did not exist before.

4. Caretaker: People with a helping personality find opportunities taking care of people, plants or property.

5. Communicator/Trainer: If you can transmit information or communicate in different languages you might find demand in sales, marketing, writing, training or a variety of information services.

6. Entertainer/Host: If you thrive on being with people, you may find an entrepreneurial opening in the hospitality industry or service industries such as hairdressing. Or you may be an entertainer, actor, musician, or singer.

7. Investor/Owner: If you have money to invest you can put your capital to work for you investing in stocks, real estate or businesses.

8. Seller: This covers salespeople and brokers in our purchases, from real estate to insurance to art.

9. Technologist/Engineer:

If you love figuring out computers, autos and engines, you may want to explore entrepreneurial opportunities in software development, engineering or technology.

Which entrepreneur are you?

2007-03-14T09:28:00.000-07:00

Five Secrets Behind Successful Family Businesses
Miguel Ángel Gallo, Daniela Montemerlo, Josep Tàpies, Kristin Cappuyns, Salvatore Tomaselli, Sabine Klein

Original document:
From the Founder to Multigenerational Family Business: The Family
Year: 2006

Maintaining the delicate balance among members of a family business isn't always easy; people have different personalities and goals that can complicate their interactions. However, maintaining a high level of family functioning is crucial for a business's long-term survival. Though founders may be fully committed to the business, passing that commitment on to subsequent generations can prove challenging - even impossible. Yet, many family businesses manage to thrive for three generations or more. In "From the Founder to Multigenerational Family Business: The Family's Crucial Role as an Owner for Longevity," authors Miguel A. Gallo, Sabine Klein, Daniela Montemerlo, Josep Tàpies, Salvatore Tomaselli, and Kristin Cappuyns analyze their secrets for success.

Though a business's founders may start with strong "potential motivation" to improve their own and their families' lives, turning such motivation into "current motivation" is difficult, for two main reasons. First, when founders prepare to leave the business, they may resist transferring the business to the next generation or changing strategy or organization. Second, subsequent generations may choose not to be involved, and founders may opt to sell the business to ensure family members' financial security. Yet, many multigenerational family businesses (MGFBs) thrive - and "the key lies in the qualities of the people who form the ownership group."

Any exploration of human qualities and behavior requires delving into the fields of philosophy and psychology. One important theory of human behavior is agency theory, which proposes that man is "a rational actor, motivated only by extrinsic rewards." Some researchers, however, have suggested that this theory is flawed and that man's behavior, according to stewardship theory, "is ordered such that pro-organizational, collectivistic behaviors have higher utility than individualistic, self-serving behaviors." The stewardship theory looks at the motivational drivers "intrinsic" to the human being and helps us understand human characteristics and the idea that "rationality" guides human decision processes and behaviors in a organizational context.

The present work builds on this line of reasoning and proposes a "realistic model of man" which is founded on an anthropological conception inspired by Aristotelian and Tomistic (Tomas Aquino) philosophy. This "realistic model of man" has formed the basis of entire research project and in contrast to both previous theories, in this model the emphasis is placed on the different ways in which human beings are motivated, the basis for the skills they learn, the essential quality of being a free agent, and knowledge and will as the two facets of their freedom, which are basic characteristics of both families and businesses.

Moreover, through the exercise of rationality, people are able to identify "the good" in accordance with their own nature. By expressing their wishes and practicing virtues, they dominate their desires and exercise their liberty to improve themselves or their situation.

People are complex creatures with unique sets of characteristics. So what drives people to act? People are motivated by different types of needs, including material needs ("the possession of things," in its most general definition); cognitive needs ("needs related to our ability to do things, to achieve what we want"); and affective needs ("linked to the achievement of suitable relationships with other people"). Each type of need leads to different types of motives: extrinsic, intrinsic, and transcendent, respectively. These motives compel people to take action.

These philosophical and psychological musings help us to understand the individuals behind any family business. Keeping all of this in mind, we can look at the secrets of successful MGFBs and the families who run them.

The CAVA model
Four major categories of principles, structures, and rules are evident in an evolving family business that combine to form the CAVA model. The name of the model comes from the description of the four groups of principles, the different structures and the rules that combine to form the model: C = Committed, A= Active, V= Virtuous, A= Advanced Business Families. That is, the family business as a community of people; committed business families; power as a service; and estate transfer as a responsibility. Successful development of these areas bodes well for the longevity of the business, and exploring these categories in greater depth gives a better-rounded picture of what being a committed business family (CBF) entails.

First, the fact that the family business is a community of people suggests that financial success isn't the only requirement for survival. A family business "includes owners, managers and people who work within it, and these people must be organized in accordance with the proper formal structures of responsibilities and management systems." Families must set up membership rules, commit themselves to the development of members' professional skills, compensate their members fairly according to a transparent and logical structure, and "meet the 'social mortgage' attached to any kind of ownership."

Second, for family members to be united and committed to the business, there must be a structure in the form of "a combination of values, principle systems and rules." In fact, the values that lie at the heart of these structures are to some degree an attempt by the owner family to formalize some of its beliefs with a view to establishing a long-lasting family business.

Moreover, it is important to stress that each of the three structures of freedom, participation and entrepreneurship make it necessary to provide family members with a clear framework for action, so that each and every one of them knows the requirements for participation and how they can be a part of the process. Members participate effectively, make decisions fairly, and support the family's entrepreneurial spirit.

Third, the idea of power as a service means that the decision makers in a family business must "demonstrate high-quality motivational balance, since their decisions must take account of transcendent motives and not just intrinsic and extrinsic arguments." There are two types of power: potestas, which is "the power to decide that is afforded by law," and auctoritas, which is "the power to decide that is afforded by the possession of the required professional competence." The different powers exercised by owners and shareholders must be balanced an important challenge that's vital to the formation of a CBF.

Finally, the idea of estate transfer as a responsibility means that plans must be made for the transfer of "ethical, human, intellectual, financial and other resources." The future of the business must be of utmost importance when making transference decisions, and "the common good takes precedence over the personal good." Tyranny must be avoided by selecting "good and decent beneficiaries who intend to organize governance in a collegiate way."

Committing to a family business brings a great deal of responsibility, and when people make this commitment, they may feel a certain degree of ownership over that business even when they are not, in fact, the owners - a phenomenon called "psychological ownership." This can negatively affect the unity of the group. However, in multi-generational family companies, this feeling can also be positive: feeling ownership "generates commitment, a desire to make an effort to give something back to the family and the business, because so much of what an individual possess has been received from them."

This kind of intense commitment and involvement is what business families must strive for in order to survive through multiple generations. Instead, given the ever changing cycles of people's life's, as well as the changing circumstances in the family business, no perfect solution can ever be found. Companies are constantly evolving and family members must continually renew their commitment to the business. By understanding what drives people's behavior, and by analyzing the characteristics of successful multigenerational family businesses, business families can begin to strengthen and become, one day, committed business families with a business that will stay viable even when they themselves are gone.

Entrepreneurs Struggle To Hand Over the Reins

2007-03-13T18:30:00.000-07:00

By RANDYE HODER
Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal.

From The Wall Street Journal Online

Last spring, the husband-and-wife team who founded Internet telecommunications company telezoo.com began to tackle one of the toughest challenges facing them: They looked to replace themselves as heads of the business.

"There is always the fear that you will hire someone who will take the company where you don't want it to go," says Sharmine Narwani, who along with her spouse, Elias Shams, started telezoo from the basement of their Washington, D.C., home in March 1999. "You don't just hire someone overnight to take over a company that your sweat and blood went into."

But telezoo, having landed $3 million in investment by Lazard Technology partners, had reached a size and complexity that made it clear to Ms. Narwani, a former journalist, and Mr. Shams, a network engineer, that they needed an experienced manager. The couple recently spent five months sorting through stacks of resumes and interviewing dozens of candidates.

Many an entrepreneur has found that a start-up requires a leader with experience to guide it into the future. Often, outside investors make such a hire a condition of funding. But how does an entrepreneur know when it's time to hand over the reins? And how does he or she go about picking the right person?

"I have heard people compare it to cutting off a finger," says Victor Hwang, chief operating officer of the Los Angeles Regional Technology Alliance, which supports high-tech companies in Southern California. "It takes discipline to step aside and let a new CEO implement his own vision."

For some founders, gauging when to let go can be tough. "We have always thought that what we would do is best for the company, and right now that has been to keep me in this job," says Jeb Britton, CEO of Invesmart Inc., a Pittsburgh provider of retirement plans and financial services that he helped found in May 1999. The 55-year-old Mr. Britton has nearly three decades of industry experience and previously served as the CEO of a community bank.

But he can foresee a day when a better-known chief executive might be useful in cultivating relationships on Wall Street. He'd still be disappointed, he concedes, to watch someone else at the helm. "It's almost like who marries your daughter," he says. "They are never good enough."

Sometimes, even when founders acknowledge they need help, they turn to headhunters to find a chief financial officer or chief operating officer -- anyone but the CEO. Or when they do finally look for a CEO, they fall into what observers call the "Yes, but" syndrome. "You hire a search firm, you get CEOs who are extremely qualified, but the founder continually finds a reason to reject them," explains Brad Jones, a partner with Redpoint Ventures, a Los Angeles venture-capital firm specializing in Internet and broadband technology. "You go through a process that eventually fails or is fraught with problems."

It's Good to Give Way

Many management experts say that, in general, the faster a callow entrepreneur can make way for a more seasoned CEO, the better. "It's an issue of credibility," says Jon Goodman, executive director of EC2, an Internet incubator at the University of Southern California. "The fact is, growing a business of size is not fool's play."

Brian Johnson, 26 years old, was one of the lucky ones. In the fall of 1998, he started eteamz.com, a Web site devoted to amateur sports that features everything from schedules and standings to rosters, weather reports and photos for some 120,000 teams in more than 50 countries. For the first nine months, Mr. Johnson ran the company in classic start-up fashion: Though he held the lofty CEO title, most days he could be found sitting in his pajamas in his living room in Pittsburgh, working through the initial $10,000 he raised from "cracking open some pretty small piggy banks." He tried to save money by eating a steady diet of canned tuna.

Then he caught a big break. He and a friend, a student at UCLA's John E. Anderson Graduate School of Management, won the school's New Venture Competition, with eteamz's business plan. Some $5 million in venture capital soon followed. So did the realization that it was now the right moment to bring in someone with more experience -- someone whom Mr. Johnson could look to as a mentor. "I knew that as we grew I would be in over my head quickly," Mr. Johnson says.

He signed up Korn/Ferry International, a Los Angeles-based executive recruiter, to help him find a new CEO. The firm quickly fixed on Steve Wynne, who for some time had been planning to step down as CEO of Adidas America. Mr. Wynne, 48, had figured on taking some time off and sharpening his golf game. But he was caught up by Mr. Johnson's enthusiasm.

"With the market crashing all around the dot-com universe, I felt this was a company that was worthy of being saved," Mr. Wynne says. "And I knew I could do that."

For his part, Mr. Johnson says he knew that Mr. Wynne was the perfect choice after talking with him for just a few minutes. "I understood right away that he got our business."

The recent boom in technology start-ups has made the hunt for chief executives a thriving sub industry. Randy Frasinelli, managing principal of Grant-Williams Associates, an executive-search firm based in Pittsburgh, says that 90% of his executive-recruiting practice is now devoted to finding top executives for start-ups. That's up from a mere 10% two years ago.

Be Selective

Finding the right match is tricky, he says. Just as not every entrepreneur can adjust to the demands of managing an up-and-coming business, not every veteran executive can thrive at a bare-bones start-up. "Not everyone from the AT&Ts and the IBMs can do it," Mr. Frasinelli says. "Most people think they are pioneers, but the reality is that most people are settlers. It has to be someone with the experience, but someone who can also take off that three-piece suit."

At Arlington, Va.-based telezoo, the online B-to-B marketplace for telecommunications equipment and services, the 33-year-old Ms. Narwani and Mr. Shams, 37, began by handing an executive recruiter a wish list of attributes for their dream CEO. Among other things, they wanted someone with a great work ethic; online telecommunications expertise; sales and marketing know-how; experience at a public company; the ability to communicate with investors, analysts and the media; and a track record of helping a business achieve strong growth. "We were going for a star," says Ms. Narwani.

They interviewed executives from MCI Communications Corp., AT&T Corp., Lucent Technologies Inc. and Nortel Networks Corp. One by one, the applicants were rejected for being too technical, not having the right mix of skills, and having suffered too many past failures.

But mostly, Ms. Narwani says, the rejects just wouldn't have fit into telezoo's playful culture, which is built around the notion that the telecommunications industry is a jungle in need of taming. One would-be CEO "came in with the most starched, pinstriped suit you could possibly imagine," Ms. Narwani recalls. "Others couldn't recognize passion if it hit them over the head."

'King Comm'

Finally, she and Mr. Shams settled in August on Giulio Gianturco, who had 17 years of experience as a senior executive in the industry, including stints at Newbridge Networks, Cabletron Systems Inc., Digital Equipment Corp. and Lucent. And how did they know he was right for telezoo?

"Anyone who is OK with being dubbed 'King Comm of Telecom,' was going to fit in," says Ms. Narwani, who as telezoo's senior marketing executive herself carries the title "Queen of the Jungle." Mr. Shams, who continues to oversee technology development, is "Chief Zoo Keeper."

Mr. Gianturco made it clear during an interview that he was comfortable in the jungle. "We were sitting around during the third interview, and he was doing all the right things and sounding very CEOish," Ms. Narwani remembers. Then, out of the blue, she asked him this question: "What is the best animal sound you can make?"

Mr. Gianturco didn't hesitate. "I just figured that if I was going to dive off this cliff, I should just do it," he says. And so he let loose with a thunderous roar.

"We were in love," says Ms. Narwani. "It was the clincher."

Ms. Hoder is a writer in Los Angeles.

Email your comments to sjeditor@dowjones.com.

Five to Help You Thrive

2007-03-07T17:02:00.000-08:00

The five critical business relationships every entrepreneur must nurture

RISMEDIA, Feb. 13, 2007-You've probably heard it said that entrepreneurs are "married to their work." It's true. Running a company requires amazing quantities of time, energy, and devotion. But there is one big difference: while matrimony is all about maintaining a healthy relationship with another person, being married to a business is all about maintaining healthy (and profitable!) relationships with several groups of people. In fact, according to entrepreneurial expert Ty Freyvogel, there are five main relationships that small business owners must nurture: relationships with customers, employees, vendors, bankers, and mentors.

"Smart entrepreneurs never forget their own success is intertwined with a complex network of other people and organizations," says Freyvogel, founder of EntrepreneursLab.com, a new site with a plethora of great business advice for any entrepreneur. "All of those relationships must be constantly tended and nurtured. Even though your interaction with each of these five groups will be different, your reason for creating positive relationships with them will be the same-building a successful business."

Entrepreneurs, here are the five most critical relationships to focus on . . . and why your efforts with these people and organizations can make or break your business:

1. Customers. Of course, any business owner wants his customers to be happy. But you need to ask yourself, Am I really going that extra mile to ensure that my customers have the ultimate positive experience? "Particularly if you're a small business owner, your customers are your bread and butter," says Freyvogel. "Not only do you want them to be so happy with your service that they come back, you also want them to go tell someone else that they loved the experience they had with your business. Learn as much as you can about your customers, so that when their needs change, you can be the one to provide them with the new services they need-not one of your competitors! Constantly ask them, 'How can we continue to provide value for your company?' They'll appreciate your efforts to help them be as successful as possible. Always treat them with the utmost respect and do everything in your power to make them happy. That may mean anything from throwing them the occasional discount that's 'especially for them' to remembering their kids' birthdays. Take care of all of the little things and not only will your customers be coming back, but they'll be bringing their friends along."

2. Employees. The importance of seeking out the most dedicated, honest, and passionate employees you can find can't be stressed enough. After all, you have to trust these people to serve your customers, protect your brand, and help your company grow. When you have found the best employees for your business, do everything in your power to hold onto them. "Your employees are the face of your organization when you aren't there," says Freyvogel. "So they must feel like they have a stake in the business. Encourage a sense of ownership among your employees. There's no better way to keep them happy than by giving them the recognition they deserve. Have one-on-one conversations with each of your employees on a regular basis to let them share their problems with you and to give you a chance to recognize their good work. Make sure you find out which jobs within the organization they are the most passionate about and put the right people in those positions. Remember, passion equates to hard work! Nurturing your employees to love your business as much as you do will strengthen your company's foundation-and your business will be that much more likely to survive setbacks and grow to great heights."

3. Vendors. It's important to nurture relationships with those people who aren't necessarily working for you but who service you or your company regularly. This can mean anyone from the package delivery guy who stops by every day to the materials supplier who keeps your warehouse stocked to the designer who keeps your website updated. Think of your vendors as "honorary employees." Show them that you appreciate what they do for you and also that you care about them and their companies. Get their email addresses and cell phone numbers and stay in touch with them. You never know when an emergency might arise in which you could use their help. Your company may not always grow 10 percent a year, and you may have to ask for an extra 30 to 60 days to make your payment. If you already have a good relationship with them, they will be more willing to give you extra time and to work with you to get back on track. Never treat them like they are serving you. Always acknowledge when they have gone above and beyond the call of duty to make you happy. It's also important that you make sure your vendors are getting as much value out of their relationship with you as you are with them.

4. Bankers. At the beginning of your venture, it's likely that you will require a start-up loan of some kind. Therefore, the best way to nurture your banker is to make sure you always have enough money in your account to make your monthly loan payments on time. "With my businesses, I always made sure I had some emergency cash saved up to use in case I had a rough month," says Freyvogel. "You don't want to gain a reputation with your bank as someone who doesn't make loan payments on time. Staying close to your bankers can also help you secure your finances. Make sure you set up a safety system with them to ensure that all of your deposits are going through on time. I once had a manager who was embezzling money from one of my businesses. I had a close relationship with my bank and the bank manager noticed that something wasn't adding up with my account. He called me to let me know and we were able to set up the necessary precautions with them to ensure that no one was ever able to embezzle from me again. Thanks to my close relationship with him, I was able to correct a problem before it became even more costly for me."

5. Mentors. It's great to have someone to go to when you are first starting your own business and when you run into problems along the way once it is up and running. Find a successful fellow entrepreneur whom you respect and ask her to be your mentor. Always show her the respect she deserves and let her know you are thankful for her help. It's also a great idea to put your mentor on your business's advisory board. "It's likely that your mentor will have many connections in many different areas," says Freyvogel. "You want to have a close relationship with her so that she is willing to go that extra mile to help you build your business. Don't contact your mentor only when you have a problem. Regularly contact her even if it is just to give her an update on how things are going. You never know, she might tell you about a contact that could help you in a certain aspect of your business, for instance, or tell you where she sees a hang up. Always send a thank you note after she's done something to help you-it's a small gesture that has a big impact."

Here's the bottom line: no matter how determined, hardworking, and talented you may be, you simply can't be a successful entrepreneur all by yourself. It takes a village to run a company. Never forgetting that fact is critical to your success.

"Always be on the lookout for ways to show these key players that you want to be their favorite business owner," says Freyvogel. "Make sure they are getting as much out of the relationship as you are. Show them you care. Creating and nurturing these positive relationships will make being an entrepreneur a hugely rewarding experience. The more people who care about you and your business, the more successful you're going to be."

Ty Freyvogel is a visionary entrepreneur who has launched and grown numerous successful small businesses over the course of a 35-year career. He started his first venture in 1975 following graduation from college and a stint as an officer in the United States Army. Before the breakup of the AT&T monopoly in the mid-1970s, Ty saw the potential for growth in the telecommunications market and launched a consulting firm to provide client businesses with communication services. Today, 33 years later, Ty's consulting firm (now called Freyvogel Communications) is still serving the telecommunications needs of Fortune 500 and mid-sized businesses.

For more information, call (828) 325-4966.

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

Power of Personas

2007-03-06T17:51:00.000-08:00

A Note to Readers

"Know Your Customer" is the mantra of any good marketer. But then it gets trickier… what, exactly, must you know about your customer? What's crucial to recognize? What's the best way to develop a profile or persona of a customer? And wait a sec… what is is a persona, anyway?

A persona is essentially a representative customer profile, which distills a key demographic target. It puts a "real face" on a market and, from a business perspective, gets everyone in your company on the same page.

We've been preaching about the Power of Personas for a few years now. But the concept has been gaining more and more traction of late, particularly because some high-profile companies like Microsoft, Amazon and Yahoo! use them. But a surprising number of small companies do, too, because these abstract representations of customers can be a powerful device to help companies build better user experiences into their products, services and promotions.

This Wednesday and Thursday, we are holding two back-to-back virtual seminars on creating and running successful persona programs at your company. Tamara Adlin will offer both big- and small-company examples on the whys and hows personas. As Managing Editor Val Frazee wrote, Tamara "will show you which marketing objectives personas support, and she will help you identify whether a personas program would be a good fit for your marketing strategy."

I'm personally excited about this series, because in my mind, personas are one of the most powerful but misunderstood tools you can store in your marketing toolshed. So check out Tamara's seminar series here and here.

See you there!

Until next week,

Ann Handley
ann@marketingprofs.com
Chief Content Officer
MarketingProfs

Entrepreneurial DNA:

2007-03-06T17:41:00.000-08:00

Do you have what it takes to succeed?

by Michael Sexton

Michael Sexton interviews Thomas L. Harrison, author of Instinct: Tapping Your Entrepreneurial DNA to Achieve Your Business Goals

Thomas L. Harrison might be America’s most unusual CEO. He began his career as a research scientist and cell biologist. As the pull of entrepreneurship became stronger and stronger for him, he finally hung up his lab coat and plunged into the world of business. Today, he is Chairman and CEO of Omnicom Group’s Diversified Agency Services, the world’s largest holding group of marketing services companies.

Harrison’s deep insight into parallel disciplines - genetics, psychology, and management, to name just a few - led him to write Instinct: Tapping Your Entrepreneurial DNA to Achieve Your Business Goals. In this book, he maps a strategy for using knowledge of your own genetic makeup to achieve success.

In the conversation that follows, Trump University’s President Michael Sexton talks with Harrison about the link between DNA and success.

Michael Sexton: Is there really such a thing as entrepreneurial DNA?

Thomas L. Harrison: I believe there is. As a cell biologist and physiologist, I noticed many years ago that certain people possess particular traits that allow them to become successful more easily than other people can.

Now, that doesn’t mean that other people can’t be successful. They can! In fact, my book is really about helping people identify where they might lack a little DNA-given entrepreneurial talent. Once they know where their strengths and weaknesses are, they can work to develop the skills they need to get to the top.

MS: What is the first thing you notice when you see someone with great entrepreneurial DNA?

TLH: The most visible thing is the ability to handle risk, which really means two things. First the comfort to take risks; and second, the ability to manage risks. Those skills come much more easily to entrepreneurs than they do to others. They are the foundation of success.

MS: How can you understand your own genetic odds of success and what you need to work on?

TLH: You need to look at how strong or weak you are in what I call the Five Genetic Personality Traits:
Openness to Experience - Your receptiveness to new experiences and ideas.
Conscientiousness - Your ability to overcome impulsiveness and achieve goals.
Extroversion - Your level of ease in seeking out other people and connecting with them.
Agreeableness - Your ability to cooperate with other people.
Neuroticism - Your habitual reactions to the stresses of life.

The first chapter of my book includes an Entrepreneurial Personality Quiz that helps readers understand how they stack up in those areas. In later chapters, people use the results of that quiz to counterbalance any weak areas. Instinct does not provide a “one size fits all” prescription for success, but provides a personalized roadmap, based on one’s genetically inherited success and personality traits.

People tell me that my book, which provides both a tool for self-analysis and guidelines for addressing specific shortcomings, is practical and unique. It works!

MS: And to succeed, you need to have those traits working at equal strength?

TLH: Strongly, yes, but not necessarily equally. Different strengths create different personalities. After all, Donald Trump and Richard Branson are both successful entrepreneurs, but nobody would say that they have similar styles or outlooks.

MS: Can you tell me about the Picture Painting Gene, one of the eight critical success genes that you describe in your book? Is that a gene that helps successful people visualize their own success?

TLH: It is. The Picture Painting Gene is a turned-on ability to see yourself in success. In their minds before competitions, top athletes play and replay images of how they will perform. Not want to . . . but will perform. In great detail, they visualize how they will run their sprints, perform their backstrokes and win their marathons. And they win, because they have visualized themselves as winners.

Of all the Eight Success Promoters I describe in my book, the Picture Painting gene is one of the most important. If you can’t visualize yourself as successful, you’re not going to get there. But visualize success, and you’ll focus, move forward and attract people and events around you that will help you get to success. The success that fits your personal, genetic makeup.

For more insights on turning your entrepreneurial potential into real-world success, get involved in The Entrepreneurship Mastery Program from Trump University. Classes are forming now.
Michael Sexton is President of Trump University.
Posted on March 2 2007 at 7:18 AM
Category: Entrepreneurship
Permalink | Forward to a friend
3 Comments Post a comment

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Posted by Leesa for (c) DB7 International (LLC) on 03/02/2007 6:02 PM
I do believe that some people are genetically predisposed to greatness or inbred. Scientists say that it can be traced back generations!

Some other personality traits are evident in early childhood, such as leadership, initiative and drive. I'm sure that during entrepreneur week at elementary schools was evidence of those who were seemingly interested...gravitating to it, though having no understanding as of yet.

Although these skills can be learned, I feel that nature usually outlines the peking order along the way....
"I'm the king of the castle, and you're the dirty rascal..."
Survival of the fittest is usually defined in the beginning, unless late bloomers come along to catch up.
I wonder if Donald Trump ever had a kool-aide stand?
Posted by lightwayvez on 03/02/2007 8:23 PM
'TLH: It is. The Picture Painting Gene is a turned-on ability to see yourself in success. In their minds before competitions, top athletes play and replay images of how they will perform. Not want to . . . but will perform. In great detail, they visualize how they will run their sprints, perform their backstrokes and win their marathons. And they win, because they have visualized themselves as winners.'

Perhaps this why I see Mr Trump with such great form when I think skydiving with theworldteam
Posted by user89187 on 03/02/2007 8:26 PM
Cool, very cool!

TurboStrategy

2006-12-22T18:06:00.000-08:00

21 Powerful Ways to Transform Your Business and Boost Your Profits Quickly

Table of Contents

1. Start Where You Are
2. Draw a Line Under the Past
3. Conduct Basic Business Analysis
4. Decide Exactly What You Want
5. Create Your Ideal Future
6. Design a Mission Statement
7. Reinvent Your Organization
8. Pick the Right People
9. Market More Effectively
10. Conduct a Competitive Analysis
11. Be Better, Faster, Cheaper
12. Change Your Marketing Mix
13. Position Your Company For Success
14. Develop Strategic Business Units
15. Sell More Effectively
16. Remove the Critical Constraints
17. Reengineer Your Company
18. Pump Up Your Profits
19. Practice the KAIZEN Method
20. Concentrate on the Core
21. Focus on Results

Time Power

2006-12-22T18:05:00.000-08:00

Chapter 1
The Psychology of Time Management

"The mind is the limit. As long as the mind can envision the fact that you can do something, you can do it—as long as you believe 100 percent."
—ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER

The Law of Correspondence says that your outer life tends to be a mirror image of your inner life. Everywhere you look, there you are. Everywhere you look, you see yourself reflected back. You do not see the world as it is, but as you are—inside. If you want to change what is going on in the world around you—your relationships, results, and rewards—you have to change what is going on in the world inside you. Fortunately, this is the only part of your life over which you have complete control.

The Starting Point of Success

The starting point of excelling in time management is desire. Almost everyone feels that their time management skills could be vastly better than they are. People resolve, over and over again, to get serious about time management by focusing, setting better priorities, and overcoming procrastination. They intend to get serious about time management sometime, but unfortunately, "the road to hell is paved with good intentions."

The key to motivation is "motive." For you to develop sufficient desire to develop Time Power, you must be intensely motivated by the benefits you feel you will enjoy. You must want the results badly enough to overcome the natural inertia that keeps you doing things the same old way. Here are four good reasons for practicing what you learn in this book. You can:

1. Gain two extra hours each day.

2. Improve your productivity and performance.

3. Increase your sense of control.

4. Have more time for your family.

Gaining Two Extra Hours Each Day

You will gain at least two additional productive hours per day by practicing what you learn in this book. Just think of it! What could you do or accomplish if you had the gift of two extra working hours each day? What projects could you start and complete? What books could you write and publish? What subjects could you learn and master? What could you accomplish with two extra hours if you were able to focus and concentrate on completing high-value tasks?

Two extra hours per day, multiplied by five days per week, equals ten extra hours a week. Ten extra hours a week multiplied by fifty weeks a year would give you 500 extra productive hours each year. And 500 hours translates into more than twelve forty-hour weeks, or the equivalent of three extra months of productive working time each year.

By gaining two productive hours each day, you can transform your personal and working life. You can achieve all your goals, vastly increase your income over the next two to three years, and eventually achieve financial independence, if not become rich.

Improving Your Productivity and Performance

Your productivity, performance, and income will increase by at least 25 percent over the next year. Two more productive hours, out of the eight hours that you spend at work each day, is the equivalent of at least a 25 percent increase.

What you are earning today is what you are being paid today as a result of what you are producing today. If you increase your productivity by 25 percent or more, you must eventually earn and be paid 25 percent more. And if your current boss won't pay you for improved performance, some other boss will come along and gladly give you more money for your ability to produce greater results.

Increasing Your Sense of Control

You will have more energy and less stress as you practice these ideas. When you leverage the power of time, you will have a greater sense of control over your work and your personal life. You will feel like the master of your own destiny, and a power in your own life. You will feel more positive and powerful in every part of your life.

Over the years, psychologists have done extensive research in the area of what is called "locus of control." They have discovered that you feel positive about yourself and your life to the degree to which you feel in charge of your life; you have an "internal" locus of control. With an internal locus of control, you feel that your life is in your own hands. You make your own decisions, and you are responsible for your own actions and outcomes. You are the primary creative force in your own life.

Psychologists have also found that if you have an "external" locus of control, in that you feel that you are controlled by people and circumstances outside of yourself, such as your boss, your bills, your family, your health, or some other factor, you will feel negative, angry, and often depressed. You will feel frustrated and unable to change. You will develop what is called "learned helplessness" and see yourself more as a "creature of circumstances" rather than a "creator of circumstances." When you have an external locus of control, you feel that you are a prisoner of external forces. You often see yourself as a victim.

Take Control of Your Time and Your Life

One of the keys to developing a stronger internal locus of control is to manage your time and your life better. The more skilled you become at managing your time, the happier and more confident you will feel. You will have a stronger sense of personal power. You will feel in charge of your own destiny. You will have a greater sense of well-being. You will be more positive and personable.

Having More Time for Your Family

You will have more time for your family and your personal life as you get your time and your life under control. You will have more time for your friends, for relaxation, for personal and professional development, and for anything else you want to do.

When you become the master of your own time, and recapture two extra hours per day, you can use that extra time to run a marathon, complete a college degree, write a book, build a business, and create an outstanding life. With two extra hours a day, you can put your life and career onto the fast track and begin moving ahead at a more rapid rate than you ever thought possible.

The Three Mental Barriers to Time Power

If everyone agrees that excellent time management is a desirable skill, why is it that so few people can be described as "well organized, effective, and efficient"? Over the years, I have found that many people have ideas about time management that are simply not true. But if you believe something to be true, it becomes true for you. Your beliefs cause you to see yourself and the world, and your relationship to time management, in a particular way. If you have negative beliefs in any area, these beliefs will affect your thinking and actions, and will eventually become your reality. You are not what you think you are, but what you think, you are.

Barrier 1: Worries About Decreasing Your Naturalness and Spontaneity

The first myth, or negative belief, of time management is that if you are too well organized, you become cold, calculating, and unemotional. Some people feel that they will lose their spontaneity and freedom if they are extremely effective and efficient. They will become unable to "go with the flow," to express themselves openly and honestly. People think that managing your time well makes you too rigid and inflexible.

This turns out not to be true at all. Many people hide behind this false idea and use it as an excuse for not disciplining themselves the way they know they should. The fact is that people who are disorganized are not spontaneous; they are merely confused, and often frantic. Often they suffer a good deal of stress. It turns out that the better organized you are, the more time and opportunity you have to be truly relaxed, truly spontaneous, and truly happy. You have a much greater internal locus of control.

The key is structuring and organizing everything that you possibly can: Thinking ahead; planning for contingencies; preparing thoroughly; and focusing on specific results. Only then can you be completely relaxed and spontaneous when the situation changes. The better organized you are in the factors that are under your control, the greater freedom and flexibility you have to quickly make changes whenever they are necessary.

Barrier 2: Negative Mental Programming

The second mental barrier to developing excellent time management skills is negative programming, which is often picked up from your parents, but also from other influential people as you are growing up. If your parents or others told you that you were a messy person, or that you were always late, or that you never finished anything you started, chances are that as an adult, you may still be operating unconsciously to obey these earlier commands.

The most common excuse used for this type of behavior is: "That's just the way I am," or "I have always been that way." The fact is that no one is born messy and disorganized, or neat and efficient. Time management and personal efficiency skills are disciplines that we learn and develop with practice and repetition. If we have developed bad time management habits, we can unlearn them. We can replace them with good habits over time.

Barrier 3: Self-Limiting Beliefs

The third mental barrier to good time management skills is a negative self-concept, or what are called "self-limiting beliefs." Many people believe that they don't have the ability to be good at time management. They often believe that it is an inborn part of their background or heritage. But there is no gene or chromosome for poor time management, or good time management, for that matter. Nobody is born with a genetic deficiency in personal organization. Your personal behaviors are very much under your own control.

Here is an example to prove that most of what you do is determined by your level of motivation and desire in that area. Imagine that someone were to offer you a million dollars to manage your time superbly for the next thirty days. Imagine that an efficiency expert was going to follow you around with a clipboard and a video camera for one month. After thirty days, if you had used your time efficiently and well, working on your highest priorities all day, every day, you would receive a prize of one million dollars. How efficient would you be over the next thirty days?

The fact is that, with sufficient motivation (one million dollars!), you would be one of the most efficient, effective, best-organized, and focused people in the world. The best news is that after one full month of practicing the very best time management skills you know, you would have developed habits of high productivity and top performance that would last you the rest of your life.

You Are Free to Choose

Time management behaviors are very much a matter of choice. You choose to be efficient or you choose to be disorganized. You choose to focus and concentrate on your highest-value tasks, or you choose to spend your time on activities that contribute little value to your life. And you are always free to choose.

The starting point of overcoming your previous programming and eliminating the mental blocks to time management is for you to make a clear, unequivocal decision to become absolutely excellent at the way you use your time, minute by minute and hour by hour. You must decide, right here and now, that you are going to become an expert in time management. Your aim should be to manage your time so well that people look up to you and use you as a role model for their own work habits.

Program Yourself for Effectiveness and Efficiency

There are several mental techniques that you can use to program yourself for peak performance.

Use Positive Self-Talk

The first of these methods for programming your subconscious mind is positive self-talk, or the use of positive affirmations. These are commands that you pass from your conscious mind to your subconscious mind. Affirmations are statements that you either say out loud or say to yourself with the emotion and enthusiasm that drives the words into your subconscious mind as new operating instructions. Here are some examples of affirmative commands that you can use to improve your time management skills.

Begin by repeating over and over to yourself, "I am excellent at time management! I am excellent at time management!" Any command repeated again and again in a spirit of faith, acceptance, and belief will eventually be accepted by your subconscious mind. Your subconscious mind will then organize your words, actions, and feelings to be consistent with these new commands.

You can continually repeat, "I am always punctual for my appointments! I am always punctual for my appointments!" You can create your own mental commands, such as "I am well organized!" or "I concentrate easily on my highest payoff tasks!" My favorite time management affirmation is to repeat continually, "I use my time well. I use my time well. I use my time well." Used consistently, positive affirmations will start to influence your external behaviors.

Visualize Yourself as Highly Efficient

The second technique that you can use to program your subconscious mind is visualization. Your subconscious mind is most immediately influenced by mental pictures. In self-image psychology, the person you see is the person you will be. Begin to see yourself as someone who is well organized, efficient, and effective. Recall and recreate memories and pictures of yourself when you were performing at your best. Think of a time when you were working efficiently and effectively and getting through an enormous amount of work. Play this picture of yourself over and over again on the screen of your mind.

In athletic training, this is called "mental rehearsal." This requires practicing and rehearsing actions in your mind before you actually engage in the physical activity. The more relaxed you are when you visualize yourself performing at your best, the more rapidly this command is accepted by your subconscious mind and becomes a part of your thinking and behavior later on.
THE PRACTICE OF MENTAL REHEARSAL

The method is simple. First, sit or lie in a quiet place where you can be completely alone in the silence. Then imagine yourself going through an important upcoming experience, such as a meeting, a presentation, a negotiation, or even a date. As you sit or lie completely relaxed, create a picture of the coming event and see it unfolding perfectly in every respect. See yourself as calm, positive, happy, and in complete control. See the other people doing and saying exactly what you would want them to do if the situation was perfect. Then, breathe deeply, relax, and just let it go, as if you had sent off an order and the delivery is guaranteed, exactly as you pictured it.

The best time to practice mental rehearsal is at night in bed, just before you fall asleep. The last thing you should do before you doze off is to imagine yourself performing at your best the following day. You will be amazed at how often the upcoming event or experience happens exactly as you visualized it.

In becoming excellent at time management, it's important to practice mental rehearsal by continually seeing yourself as you would be if you were one of the best-organized and most efficient people you could imagine. Eventually these pictures will "lock in." When they do, you will find yourself easily and automatically using your time efficiently in everything you do.

Act the Part

The third mental technique you can use to program your subconscious mind for efficiency and effectiveness is to act the part of a highly efficient person. Imagine that you have been selected for a role in a movie or stage play. In this role, you are to act the part of a person who is extremely well organized in every respect. As you go through your daily life, imagine you are an actor who is playing this part, who is already very good at time management. Act as if you are already using your time efficiently and well.

Pretend that you are an expert in personal efficiency. Fake it until you make it. When you pretend that you are an excellent time manager, eventually your actions, which are under your direct control, will foster a mind-set, or the belief in your subconscious mind, that is consistent with it.

Benchmark Against the Best

The fourth mental technique you can use for becoming a highly efficient person is called "modeling." Modeling requires you to pattern yourself after someone you know who uses his time well. Think of someone you admire for good time management skills. Use that person as your standard or your model. Imagine what he would do in any given situation, and then do it yourself.

Many of the most effective men and women in America reached their positions by modeling themselves in their earlier years after someone who was already extremely effective, someone they admired and respected for qualities they wanted to develop in themselves. Because of the Law of Correspondence, you always tend to become on the inside what you most admire in other people.

Become a Teacher

The fifth technique for programming your subconscious mind is to imagine that you are going to be teaching a course in time management one year from today. This technique comes from discoveries in the field of accelerated learning. What the experts have found is that if you think about how you would teach new material at the same time you are learning the new material, you seem to absorb it and internalize it far faster than if you just thought about learning it and using it for yourself.

As you take in these new ideas on time management, think of how you would teach them to someone else. Think of someone in your life who could benefit from practicing what you are learning. Just as you become what you think about, you also become what you teach. Just thinking about teaching something to someone else increases the speed at which you learn it yourself. And you always think about teaching those things that you most want or need to learn for yourself.

One of the fastest ways to learn new ideas and techniques permanently is to share them with other people immediately after you learn them. Each time you come across a good idea in this book, take a few moments to share it with someone nearby, either at home or at work. The concentration you require to explain the new principle in your own words to another person seems to drive the information deeper into your subconscious mind where it becomes a permanent part of your long-term memory.

Be a Role Model for Others

The sixth technique you can use to program your subconscious mind is to imagine that others are looking up to you as an example of excellence in time management. Imagine that you are setting the standard in your company or your organization. Imagine that everyone is looking to you for guidance on how they should plan and organize their own time. If others were watching you, what would you do differently each day? How would you behave in your daily work? How would you organize your time if you felt that everyone was looking up at you to set the standard, to be the role model?

When you see yourself as a model, an example of excellent performance, you will always do better and accomplish more than if you just thought of yourself as personally trying to be more efficient. The more you think about yourself as an excellent time manager, the more excellent you become. The more you see yourself as a role model for others, the better you become in organizing your own time and life.

Your Self-Esteem Determines Your Life

Perhaps the most important part of the psychology of time management, and the role that your self-concept has in determining your performance and behavior, is the impact of your self-esteem in determining everything that happens to you.

Most psychologists agree that self-esteem is the critical determinant of a healthy personality. The best definition of self-esteem is "how much you like yourself." When you like and respect yourself, you always perform and behave better than if you do not. The more you like yourself, the more confidence you have. Self-esteem is the key to peak performance.

Your self-esteem is so important to your emotional health that almost everything you do is aimed at either increasing your feelings of self-esteem and personal value, or protecting it from being diminished by other people or circumstances. Self-esteem is the founding principle of success and happiness. It is vital for you to feel fully alive.

The Key to Peak Performance

The flip side of self-esteem is called self-efficacy. This is defined as how effective you feel you are at doing or accomplishing a task or job. When you feel that you are really good at something, you experience positive feelings of self-efficacy.

One of the greatest discoveries in psychology was the uncovering of the connection between self-esteem and self-efficacy. Now we know that the more you like yourself, the better you do at almost anything you attempt. And the better you do at something, the more you like yourself. Self-esteem and self-efficacy feed on and reinforce each other. This finding is what makes time management so important for every part of your life. The better you use your time, the more you get done and the higher is your sense of self-efficacy. As a result, you like yourself more, do even higher-quality work, and get even more done. Your whole life improves.

Three Self-Esteem Builders

There are three additional factors that affect your self-esteem that have to do with time management. These are:

1. Determining your values

2. Striving for mastery

3. Knowing what you want

Determining Your Values

Living your life in a manner consistent with your deepest values is essential in order for you to enjoy high self-esteem. People who are clear on what they believe in and value, and who refuse to compromise their values, like and respect themselves far more than people who are unclear about what matters to them.

This immediately brings up the question, "How much do you value your life?" People who truly value their lives are people who highly value themselves. People who value themselves highly use their time well. They know that their time is their life.

The Law of Reversibility says that feelings and actions interact on each other. If you feel a certain way, you will act in a manner consistent with what you're feeling. However, the reverse is also true. If you act in a certain way, your actions will create within you the feelings that are consistent with them. This means that when you act as if your time was extremely valuable, the action causes you to feel like a more valuable and important person. By managing your time well, you actually increase your self-esteem and, by extension, you become better at whatever you are doing.

The very act of living your life consistent with your values, and using your time effectively and well, improves your self-image, builds your self-esteem and self-confidence, and increases your self-respect.

Striving for Mastery

The second factor that affects your self-esteem is your sense of being in control of your life and work—your feeling of mastery in whatever you do.

Everything that you learn about time management, and then apply in your work, causes you to feel more in control of yourself and your life. As a result, you feel more effective and efficient. You feel more productive and powerful. Every increase in your feeling of effectiveness and productivity increases your self-esteem and improves your sense of personal well-being.

Knowing What You Want

The third factor that directly affects your self-esteem involves your current goals and the activities that you take to achieve those goals. The more your goals and your activities are congruent with your values, the better you feel. When you are working at something that you believe in, and that is consistent with your natural talents and abilities, you like yourself more and you do your work better. We will talk about goals in greater depth in the Chapter 2.

Three Steps to Performance Improvement

These, then, are the three keys to the psychology of time management. First, you determine your values, and then you resolve to live your life consistent with those values. Second, you dedicate yourself to mastery, to becoming absolutely excellent at what you do. Third, you make sure that your goals and activities are congruent with your true values and convictions.

When you do these three things, and manage your time well in the pursuit of value-based goals, you feel terrific about yourself all day long. You will have more energy and enthusiasm. You will be more confident and committed. You will be more competent and creative. You will become more persistent and determined.

When you manage your time well, you will get more done, and what you accomplish will be of a higher quality. You will enjoy higher levels of self-esteem and self-respect. You will have a greater sense of personal pride. Practicing good time management techniques will even have a positive effect on your personality and your relationships.

The quality of your life is largely determined by the quality of your time management. The better and more effective you are at managing the minutes and hours of your day, which are the building blocks of your life, the more you will like and respect yourself, and the better will be every aspect of your inner and outer life.

Twelve Proven Principles for Peak Performance

Here are twelve proven principles you can practice every day to get more out of yourself and improve your results in everything you do.

Principle 1. Time management enables you to increase the value of your contribution. Self-esteem comes from the knowledge that you are putting more into your life and work than you are taking out, that you are contributing more to your work than you are getting back. The greater the contribution you feel that you are making to your company and to your family, the greater will be your self-esteem. Good time management enables you to greatly improve your ability to contribute more and more value to whatever you are doing.

Principle 2. Your rewards, both tangible and intangible, will always be equal to the value of your service to other people. The more you put in, the more you get out. Through the Law of Sowing and Reaping, time management allows you to sow more and better, and therefore to reap more and better in every area of your life. If you want to increase the quality and quantity of your rewards, you need only seek ways to increase the value of your service. This is very much under your control.

Principle 3. Good time management requires that you see yourself as a "factory." A factory has three phases of production. First of all, it has inputs of raw materials, time, labor, money, and resources. These are the "factors of production" that are necessary to create the end-product.

Second, inside the factory there are activities that take place. These are the production activities or work that are necessary to produce the product or service. The efficiency of operations within the factory determines the productivity of the factory and the productivity of each person involved in the production process.

Third, what emerges from the factory are the outputs or production of the factory. The value of the factory is determined by the quality and quantity of its outputs relative to its inputs. The central purpose of the management of the factory is to increase the quality and quantity of outputs.

One main difference between highly effective people and people who seem to produce very little is that top performers always focus on outputs or results. Average performers focus on inputs. Top performers focus on accomplishments; medium or low performers focus on activities.

Good time management requires that you continually ask yourself: What outputs are expected of me? What am I expected to produce? Why, exactly, am I on the payroll?

The more you focus on the required outputs of your position, the better and more effective you will become. As a result, you will create greater value and make a more important contribution. You will become more productive and, therefore, more valuable to yourself and to your company.

Principle 4. Everything you accomplish, or fail to accomplish, depends on your ability to use your time to its best advantage. Your levels of achievement and performance, in every area, are determined by your ability to think through and to apply the very best time management techniques available to you. You can only increase the quality and quantity of your results by increasing your ability to use your time effectively.

Principle 5. Time is the scarcest resource of accomplishment. In America today, the biggest problem most people have is "time poverty." People may have money and material success, but they don't have enough time to enjoy them. We are short of time in almost every area of our lives.

Time is inelastic; it cannot be stretched. Time is indispensable; all work and accomplishment requires it. Time is irreplaceable; there is no substitute for it. And time is perishable; it cannot be saved, preserved, or stored. Once it is gone, it is gone forever.

Principle 6. The practice of time management skills allows you to develop judgment, foresight, self-reliance, and self-discipline. These are the qualities of leadership and character. It is time management that enables you to get things done, and your ability to accomplish the tasks that are assigned to you is the chief measure of your value to your company, and to your world.

Principle 7. A focus on time management forces you to be intensely results-oriented. Results orientation is the key quality of successful men and women. Your ability to focus single-mindedly on the most important results required of you is the fastest and surest way to get paid more, promoted faster, and to eventually achieve financial independence.

Principle 8. Time management enables you to work smarter, not just harder. Many people who are failures actually work harder than successful people. But they produce less in the hours they work because of poor personal and time management skills.

Principle 9. Good time management is a source of energy, enthusiasm, and a positive mental attitude. The more productive you become, the more positive you feel about yourself. As you see yourself accomplishing large quantities of work, you actually experience a continuous inflow of additional energy that enables you to accomplish even more.

Principle 10. You grow as a person in direct proportion to the demands that you place on yourself. The self-discipline of time management builds character, confidence, and an unshakable belief in yourself and your abilities.

Principle 11. Lasting motivation only comes from a feeling of achievement and accomplishment. The more you get done, the better you feel about yourself, and the more eager you become to do even more.

Principle 12. Now, this minute, is all the time you have. If you manage yourself minute by minute, the hours and days will take care of themselves. The more tightly you manage your time, the more you are guaranteed that it will translate into a great life that's hallmarked by purpose, power, control, and worthwhile accomplishments.

The Seven Practices of Time Power

There are seven methods that you can use to help develop the habits of time management. The more you think about and practice these methods, the more rapidly you will program yourself to be efficient, effective, and highly productive.

First, remember that your self-image determines your performance. You always perform on the outside in a manner consistent with the picture you have of yourself on the inside. Practice visualizing and imagining yourself as you want to be, not as you may have been in the past.

You can actually change your self-image permanently by repeatedly visualizing yourself as someone who is highly efficient and effective. See yourself as absolutely excellent in time and personal management skills. Play this picture over and over again in your mind's eye until it is accepted as a new set of commands by your subconscious. At that point, effective time management will become easy and automatic for you.

Second, remember that it takes about twenty-one days of practice and repetition to form a new habit pattern. It has taken you your entire lifetime to become the person you are today, with the time management habits you have at this moment. It takes time and commitment to change, and for your subconscious mind to accept the new commands, pictures, and affirmations as your new operating instructions for your personal behavior. Be patient with yourself. Don't expect to change everything at once.

Third, promise yourself that you are going to become excellent at time management. Promise yourself that you are going to be punctual, and that you are going to concentrate on your most important tasks. Then, promise others that you are going to be more effective and efficient in the future.

When you tell others, and promise others, that you are going to become better at the way you use your time, it makes it easier for you to make a firm commitment to yourself to follow through on these behaviors. When you know that other people are watching to see if you will do what you said you would, you tend to be far more disciplined and firm with yourself.

Fourth, in developing the habits of time management, start in just one area where poor time management is holding you back. Don't try to change everything at once. Change just one habit or activity where you know that improvement could be very helpful to you. As you discipline yourself to improve in a single area, you will find yourself becoming more productive in other areas at the same time.

Fifth, launch your new time management habit strongly. Never allow an exception once you have decided that you are going to become excellent in a particular behavior. If you decide to be punctual for every appointment, discipline yourself to be early every single time until the new habit of punctuality becomes a permanent part of your behavior. If you decide to start early and concentrate on your most valuable tasks, discipline yourself to do this every single day for at least three weeks until it becomes easy and natural for you to start early on your highest priority. Never let yourself off the hook. Never make excuses or rationalizations for slacking off. Resolve to repeat the new behavior every time until the new habit is firmly entrenched.

Sixth, use the "trial and success" method rather than the "trial and error" method. The trial and success method requires that you learn how to succeed by failing, and then by learning from your mistakes.

Analyze your reasons for poor time management. Stand back and look at the areas in your life where your time is the most poorly managed and ask yourself, "Why do I behave this way in this area?"

Ask yourself, "What are the obstacles to my operating more efficiently in this area?" Take some time to reflect on your current behaviors. This will give you the awareness to make the changes that you need to make to be the efficient and effective person that you are capable of becoming.

Seventh, and perhaps the most important of all, is for you to absolutely believe that you can and will become outstanding at time management.

The Law of Belief says that "Your beliefs become your realities." The more intensely you believe that you can and will become excellent at time management, the more rapidly this belief becomes your reality. If you hold to your belief long enough and hard enough, it will eventually materialize as new behaviors with regard to time.

The good news is that time management is a skill, like typing or riding a bike. Like any other skill, it is learnable with practice and repetition. You have the ability, right now, to develop the habits of excellent time management in every area of your life. It is simply a matter of getting started, then persisting until your new time management habits are permanent.

Time management is your key to personal effectiveness, self-esteem, self-respect, and greater personal productivity and happiness. With time management, you can overcome any obstacle and achieve any goal. With excellent time management skills, you can take complete control over your life and your future. Time management is your key to unlimited success.

"You are searching for the magic key that will unlock the door to the source of power; and yet you have the key in your own hands, and you may make use of it the moment you learn to control your thoughts."
—NAPOLEON HILL

Action Exercises

1. Select one area where better time management skills can help you to be more effective and get more done. Resolve to go to work on yourself in that area immediately.

2. Think back on a time when you were performing at your best. Recall and replay the picture of this experience in your mind whenever you approach a new task.

3. Talk to yourself positively all the time. Repeat affirmations such as, "I use my time efficiently and well!"

4. Imagine that everyone around you is looking up to you as the role model of personal efficiency, and that they are going to organize their days the way you organize yours. Act accordingly.

5. Think about teaching a course in time management to your friends and colleagues. What would be the most important things you would want to teach them?

6. Determine the areas of your work that give you the most satisfaction, and make plans to become even more productive in those areas.

7. Resolve today that you are going to work and practice until you become one of the most efficient, effective, and productive people in your field. Take action immediately on your resolution.

2006-12-22T17:24:00.000-08:00

Prioritize, Organize, Simplify -- at work

Prioritize, Organize, Simplify

These are the three sweetest words when it comes to how quality companies can shave costs and improve profitability.

Prioritize - "Change happens in an instant. It happens the moment you decide to change." Create a list of specific goals, put them in writing and then ask everyone from your Senior Level Management to your entry level employees to give you their specific suggestions for cutting costs and improving profitability. You will be amazed at how many immediate
and productive suggestions you will receive when you give your own employees the freedom to be a part of the solution.

Organize - Take the steps to build the foundation of a strong enterprise.
1. While the senior management team may create a corporate strategy, you can only make it a powerful tool when each and every employee is willing to buy into the same corporate strategy. If your
corporate vision is well aligned with the values and core beliefs of
your employees, you have an unstoppable combination of a great strategy,
backed by loyal employees.

2. Create a story. While corporate strategies look good on
spreadsheets, they are rarely the sizzle that can create a loyal
customer base. Spend time wrapping your corporate strategy inside a
story that your customers can understand. Once you have your customers
talking about your story, your profitability can skyrocket.

3. Create written systems and processes for everyday tasks. A
lot of money is wasted by having different team members recreate
repeatable solutions.

4. Invest in training. Knowledge is power. Encourage and reward
your employees for being the most highly skilled in their areas of
expertise.

5. Stop the cycle of - "That's the way we have always done it."
There are often new and better ways to solve old problems. Especially
be sure to include your newest employees in these discussions.

6. Fully use the technology you already have. Many corporations
invest huge percentages of their money into hardware and software. Make
sure you make the same commitment to teaching each employee how to fully
implement these new technologies to improve their productivity.

7. Remember it is always the small things that matter. Most
corporations are equally able to get the big things right. It is the
small things that will consistently set you apart from your competition.

Simplify - Cutting costs and improving profitability may require that you
constantly focus on asking the same three questions every day.
Where are we today?
Where do we want to be in the future?
How can we take our company to that next level?
Simplify the process and act on the good suggestions.

You MUST master these 3 Fundamental Coaching Business Skills

2006-12-22T17:20:00.000-08:00

Skill #1 Talk about what you do as a coach in a compelling way

It’s amazing how many coaches really don’t do this very well. I guess they assume that because they can talk AND they know about what they do that they can talk about it well.

Here is what this looks like. You meet ANYONE and in 5-10 minutes you can:
a) Find out what they are doing with their life right now
b) Shift their thinking into game language
c) Ascertain if it is a meaningful game for them and why or why not
d) Share a few comments about how you help people win BIG games
e) Spark their curiosity about the game they are playing, is it the right game and how they could play it better

RATE YOURSELF on a scale of 1 - 5 (1 is 10%, 5 is 90% reliability)
You can boost your skill in the You Will Win With Me as Your Coach program.

Skill #2 Make an offer or extend an invitation
This skill is deceptively simple. You MUST make an offer and yet this is where the process oftens skreeches to a halt. Inner game conflicts galore come into the picture. Here is where you will have an opportunity to explore and understand every fear that is holding your business back.

IF you have a full practice, then you extend an invitation to an event that you are hosting.
The purpose of this event is for the person to get to know you better and choose to get on your new player waiting list.

IF you DON’T have a full practice, then you make an offer to do a complimentary session with them by phone or in person. My suggestion is that you call it a “Design Your Winnable Game” session. Any time you spend with someone designing a winnable game is time VERY WELL spent and as you’ll see in skill #3 is essential to signing paying clients.

RATE YOURSELF on a scale of 1 - 5 (1 is 10%, 5 is 90% reliability)
You can boost your skill in the Your Winning Season for Coaches program.

Skill #3 Conduct a complimentary session that creates a certainty gap
Conducting an effective complimentary session requires lots of skill and planning. Yet, the effectiveness really comes down to one thing: can you create a certainty gap? That means that in the conversation the player sees that they have a desire to play their game better AND that YOU can guide them toward that result; That you can help them WIN! You have inspired by spaking their desire to play and win AND established your credibility as a winning coach at the same time.

If the person is playing a game that you are not qualified to coach, you can still create value in helping to design the game AND they will often become a valued booster recommending potential clients to you

RATE YOURSELF on a scale of 1 - 5 (1 is 10%, 5 is 90% reliability)

There are actually 7 Yes’s that must occur in order to sign a new client and we explore them in detail in the You Will Win With Me as Your Coach program.
The Coaching Mastery Quick Start program will teach you the Design a Winnable Game method.

And the Your Winning Season program a) includes both of these programs AND creates a team environment for support, challenge and mastery.

COACHING MANIFESTO

2006-12-22T17:19:00.000-08:00

The Purpose: To establish coaching as a mainstream profession - ie. EVERYONE knows about coaching and MANY people have a professional coach

The Theory: Coaching will gain popular understanding and demand only when it establishes it's true purpose: Helping players win games.

The Theme: Winning the coaching game

This letter to you: I share a few of my initial thoughts about this major initiative - in RAW form - to give you an idea. Keep reading! (Some of these thoughts may already be half-baked LOL)

Introduction to the Theory

There is only ONE true purpose of coaching: Help your players WIN the game

Focus on winning
The only thing that is truly unique about coaching as compared to the myriad other helping professions is the focus on winning. True, winning means different things to different people. In life, business, executive coaching the player defines the game. But be sure of this one thing: YOUR ONLY JOB is to HELP THEM WIN

The purpose vs. the byproducts
I think one of the reasons coaches struggle in talking about coaching is because they are describing the byproducts of coaching rather than the REAL product. The byproducts include LOTS of wonderful things: life balance, personal growth, insights, transformation, creativity, self-expression, having the life you want and reaching goals. But the REAL product of coaching is: consistently winning the game you are playing.

What coaches do vs. What coaches don't do
This protracted debate is completely useless- it's time for us to move on. Mostly because the people who matter- the players - REALLY DON'T CARE. Whether or not coaches give advice, or only ask questions or get involved or don't get involved or have an agenda or don't have an agenda - FORGET IT! This is what coaches do: whatever it takes within the context of fair play to help the player win the game.

Having coaching skills vs. knowing how to coach
Here is a BIG point. In my experience lots of folks who call themselves coaches have reasonable coaching skills; And they know a lot ABOUT coaching. THERE IS A BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HAVING COACHING SKILLS AND KNOWING HOW TO COACH!Knowing how to coach means you know how to win. You know how to help your players define the game they are playing and then have a reliable strategy to help them win the game.

To attract clients YOU MUST BE WINNING!
A player WILL NOT / CAN NOT hire a coach who has less certainty in the game than they do. This is the ultimate truth about marketing and selling coaching. So, your #1 mission as a coach is to continually expand your certainty in the game. You must be winning in order to get clients. It doesn't matter how nice your website looks if you are not winning in the games that matter to you.

Winning vs. Losing
Talk about a highly charged conversation. I'm just going to give a few points here, but be prepared for a major exploration. It's not a true game unless you can win or lose. There is no joy in winning a game that you can't lose. Losing is one of the best growth experiences you will ever have. You don't get the growth from losing unless you gave your heart and soul to playing to win. As a coach you must have a powerful desire for winning AND a healthy regard for losing.

Most people want to win but they are afraid to play to win
In my 10 years as a college soccer coach and 9 years as a life and business coach, I learned A LOT about winning and losing. One thing I know for sure is that MOST people want to win. And they yearn to play a game that truly matters. They yearn to put heart and soul into something and "leave it all out on the field" so to speak. But most don't do it. Even most coaches I know shy away from truly playing full out to win. Why not? Not because they are afraid, but because they don't know how.

Very few people have truly learned how to win. If you truly want to coach, you MUST learn this.

What you need to learn about winning...

Winning is a function of knowing what game you are playing
You've got to know the rules of the game. You've got to know who the other players are.

A Winning season is only possible if the game and season are defined
Applying the law of periodization is critical for high-performance AND the key to sustainability in your work as a coach. (if the game is always on, you are probably burning out) To win you must know when the game is over; when the season is over; celebrate wins and debrief wins and losses.
Note: Periodization is the quality of recurring at intervals.

Winning requires that you are ALWAYS keeping score
but NEVER looking at the scoreboard while the game is on. You will craft a scorecard for your work that will challenge you and inspire you every day. Then you begin to create a winning game plan on game day. When you start using this technique with clients... WOW! You will be amazed.

Winning is a function of your environments
It's VERY hard to win in a hostile environment. Most people play in an environment that is hostile to the games they are trying to win. When you build support from the world around you your game will come alive and so will you.

Winning is a function of your mental and emotional frameworks
Awareness is everything!! Your physical and mental attitude confine and refine what you do and don't do. You will only select strategies and make plays that fit within your current framework. Is your framework serving you? Is it big enough for your game?

Winning is a function of energy
The truth about playing to win is that you win some and you lose some. As you learn to honor the natural flow from chaos to order you will avoid losing streaks and your winning percentage will increase.

Winning is a function of playing to your strengths
To win consistently you have to "Get real" about your talents and abilities and learn to become masterfully yourself. When you do you will play better and win more games.

Winning is a function of improving your skills through practices
An interesting truth to consider is that most of the highest paid people in the world practice WAY more than they play. Do you practice? As you challenge yourself to improve as a player through regular practice, your joy of playing will increase and you will win more games.

Winning always has a price
Are you willing to pay it?

The primary purpose of playing the game
is to end every day feeling fulfilled.

Let the game begin!

A Litmus Test for Entrepreneurs

2006-12-22T16:50:00.000-08:00

Published: June 17, 2002
Author: Walter Kuemmerle

Editor's Note: A few years ago anyone could become an entrepreneur. All you needed was a half-baked idea and a phone to hear offers from salivating venture capitalists. Now the environment is much more difficult. Question: Do you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur in this new era?

HBS professor Walter Kuemmerle, who has studied more than fifty start-ups in twenty countries, says entrepreneurs today should take a litmus test of five questions (See sidebar). In this excerpt from Harvard Business Review, Kuemmerle discusses two of the questions: Do you have the patience to start small? Are you a closer?

In 1999, Tom Herman and Kaleil Isaza Tuzman, best friends since childhood, quit their comfortable jobs to start govWorks, with millions of VC dollars to back them up. Their goal was nothing if not grandiose: to use Internet payment systems to transform the way federal, regional, state, and local governments worldwide collected fees and taxes. To use the company's own phrase, govWorks was about "all payments for all governments." (The film Startup.com featured the company.)

Soon after Herman and Tuzman set up shop, they approached a venture capitalist for additional funding and for advice. He suggested that the company test and refine its business model by initially focusing on one payment operation, for parking tickets, in one U.S. city. The entrepreneurs almost bit off his head. "The leader in this market space is going to be a multibillion-dollar company," Tuzman declared. He believed that by winning the support of umbrella organizations that represent many municipalities, such as the U.S. Conference of Mayors, govWorks could quickly go nationwide. But it didn't work out that way. Tuzman and his partner underestimated how little the cities actually trusted the endorsements of the umbrella organizations. The big contracts did not come as quickly as the founders had expected, and in early 2001, the company was no longer in business.

GovWorks's failure is a textbook example of the perils of grandiosity. Smart entrepreneurs recognize that start-ups cannot afford to pass on any opportunity, no matter how small. They see business much like a game of PacMan—you can bag big fish only by learning to swallow small ones. The best entrepreneurs also recognize that trying out a business model on a small scale helps them find out what their industry is about and lets them make mistakes at those times when they can still afford it. Growth, when it comes, is all the more sustainable as a result.
GovWorks's failure is a textbook example of the perils of grandiosity.
— Walter Kuemmerle

Back in 1987, Leopoldo Fernandez Pujals, a corporate veteran with twenty years of experience at the likes of Procter & Gamble and Johnson & Johnson, decided to set himself up as Spain's first pizza magnate and founded TelePizza. He believed that customers in Spain—and, indeed, throughout Europe—would respond enthusiastically to a branded chain that offered home delivery, as Domino's does in the United States. Pujals recognized, however, that he knew little about making pizza or delivering fast food, let alone how such a business might function in the Spanish market. So he decided to start small, with a single shop in Madrid. In this way, he reasoned, he would be able to experiment with the economics and logistics of a pizza business and gain firsthand experience of his customers as well.

The outlet was an instant hit, but Pujals resisted the temptation to immediately replicate it. He waited a year before opening a second shop, and the delay paid off, because he had a much clearer idea about what would and would not work after his initial experience. During that first year, for instance, he found that Spanish customers felt more comfortable ordering takeout pizza once they had consumed one on the premises. So, in contrast to the setup at Domino's, Pujals included an eating space in his store and experimented with the dining area's size and décor. Ultimately, he discovered that a small, spartan dining room was good enough. Pujals also found it was usually the children's idea to order pizza from home. As a result, TelePizza has consistently marketed its products as family food, targeting its messages to children as well as adults.

Expanding slowly also gave Pujals the chance to work out and test his business model. He was able to determine exactly what sort of investments he could expect future franchisees to make and how large an area of geographic exclusivity he needed to offer them. On the cost front, he found that to tap cheap student labor, franchisees would have to supply delivery personnel with mopeds, because most Spanish students, unlike their American counterparts, did not own motorcycles or cars.

As a result of Pujals's initial caution, growth when it came was both fast and steady. When he sold the company in 1999 to the Spanish food conglomerate Campofrio, TelePizza spanned six countries with more than 600 outlets selling some $250 million worth of pizza a year. He had turned an equity investment of $100,000 into a fortune of more than $300 million in just twelve years.

Although many aspects of entrepreneurship favor the young, patience does not. Here, more seasoned businesspeople have the edge. The impatience and idealism of the young often lead them astray, pushing them to blindly adopt a get-big-fast philosophy— "going for scale," as the dot-commers put it. This approach makes sense in certain contexts, especially for businesses like on-line recruitment sites, because their competitive advantage lies in the size of their networks. But it does not work for most start-ups. Among the unsuccessful ventures I've studied, many simply burned up their capital by trying to expand too soon. Entrepreneurs should be greedy, but they need to be patient as well.
Are you a closer?

Successful entrepreneurs know how to seal deals. They possess an almost uncanny ability to come in, often at the last moment, and elbow their rivals aside. However tough the market or small the transaction, they know exactly what they must give up—and what they can get away with—while finalizing deals under pressure.

N. R. Narayana Murthy, the man who cofounded the Indian software company Infosys Technologies in 1981, was nothing if not a closer. His company had to break into international software markets because the local one was virtually nonexistent. To succeed, Infosys needed to build a track record, which meant closing deals quickly.
One entrepreneur I studied had had to make 150 key decisions before he was ready to do business.
— Walter Kuemmerle

Murthy took charge of sales, landing Infosys's first contract with a U.S. company—a six-year deal to upgrade the computer system at a large, New York-based textile distribution company. The upgrade—from a 16-bit processor to a 32-bit one—was quite involved, requiring that much software be rewritten. Over the next twenty years, Murthy spent little time at home. In 1990, he lived in France for three months, closing just one deal. His efforts paid off. Today Infosys is a serious contender in the customized software market in the United States and Europe, with $400 million in revenues and a market capitalization of around $8 billion.

Being a closer involves more than a willingness to go the distance in negotiating deals. You also have to be comfortable repeatedly making life-or-death decisions in the dark. Most executives-turned-entrepreneurs don't realize how big the gap is between making decisions in established corporations and making them in start-ups. And that's one of the main reasons many first-rate executives find it hard to adjust to the entrepreneur's world. Not only are decisions in a start-up more important—even small errors can kill the business—but they are of an entirely different nature.

In a corporation, managers are usually making the same sorts of decisions every day and are surrounded by other people making similar choices. While corporate managers obviously have to operate with a degree of uncertainty—they may not have all the information required—the environment is familiar, and that fosters self-confidence. In a start-up, however, managers don't have those comfort layers. If they can't trust their gut, they'll freeze.

In one case I studied, a senior investment banker had left a prestigious Wall Street company to join a start-up established by a former colleague. Wall Street traders are not known for their indecision, and this one had been a star, staking millions of dollars on his trading instincts and closing dozens of securities deals daily. But his killer instincts deserted him once he left the familiar environment of the trading floor. He even had trouble choosing which office supply vendor to go with. As he put it: "I felt I needed more and more information every time I tried to make a decision.''

Real entrepreneurs know that using their time to gather extensive information is a luxury they sometimes cannot afford. They are more concerned that a decision be made than that it be the best possible choice. One entrepreneur I studied estimated that he had had to make around 150 key decisions before he was ready to do business—from naming his company to hiring his first employee. If he hadn't been able to trust himself to make those decisions quickly, he might have never launched the company.

HBS professor Walter Kuemmerle says any aspiring entrepreneur must ask themselves the following questions:

Are you comfortable stretching the rules?
Are you prepared to make powerful enemies?
Do you have the patience to start small?
Are you willing to shift strategies quickly?
Are you a closer?

As Kuemmerle concludes, "Being an entrepreneur isn't for everyone, and even those who have the right stuff find the path to success much rougher and, usually, much longer than they had anticipated. But if you start your journey with a clear sense of your own capabilities and the gaps in them, you'll be much more likely to succeed in your venture."

Business Plan Contest Looks East: Risk, Opportunity Define China's Economic Landscape

2006-12-22T16:49:00.000-08:00

China's seemingly endless economic potential inspired this year's winners of the 10th annual HBS Business Plan Contest. Tingting Zhong (MBA '06), a native of Shanghai, won first place in the traditional track for 8Baorice ("bow-bow-rice," a favorite Chinese dessert), a lifestyle, fashion, and beauty Web site for Chinese women. In the social enterprise track, Yashmere, a venture to export yak yarn from one of China's poorest regions to the United States, took top honors. It was the first time in contest history that winning plans for both tracks focused on China, where GDP is expected to grow over 10 percent for 2006.

"China's business landscape right now is very similar to what the United States looked like in the 1950s and 1960s," Zhong explains in a phone interview. "There are so many unexplored opportunities available here." Although she was educated in the United States, Zhong says that her roots are in China—and that understanding the culture and language in her home country is a clear advantage in doing business there.

The diversity of her classmates' experiences was a change for Zhong, who arrived at HBS with what she describes as a more "traditional" background in investment banking and private equity. "A few of the students had worked in nonprofits, some came from a military background, and others were entrepreneurs before they came to business school," she recalls. "I think there was a part of me that was longing to try something more entrepreneurial, too."

Like so many new ventures, the idea for 8Baorice began with a question. "What interested me most," Zhong notes, "was why there were Web sites addressing women's needs and interests in the United States and Europe, but not in China."

In the first semester of her second year, Zhong undertook an independent field research project with HBS Professor of Management Practice Nabil El-Hage, interviewing U.S. companies with women-focused Web sites and conducting focus group studies. "HBS has an amazingly extensive network," Zhong remarks. "I was able to talk to a number of Internet entrepreneurs in the United States who had tremendous insights into the industry."

After winning the contest, Zhong returned to China to conduct more due diligence on the idea, working with a strategic partner based in Taiwan and fielding inquiries from angel and venture capital investors. A beta version of 8Baorice tested well with users, but the content was rapidly copied by competitors. "We developed very strong content, but there was no way to protect it without intellectual property enforcement," Zhong says. "Suddenly, our advantage became a disadvantage, which was very frustrating."

Now, she is working with her strategic partner to test the concept for 8Baorice in Hong Kong and Taiwan, where copyright laws are enforced more strictly. "Participating in the Business Plan Contest has taught me more than any other work I've done," says Zhong.
Exporting Yak Yarn

While millions of Chinese in coastal cities such as Beijing and Shanghai have benefited from the country's economic growth, those living in China's interior have been less fortunate. Yashmere, winner of the Business Plan Contest's social enterprise track, hopes to change that in some small way by exporting yarn and knitted throws made from an abundant local resource: the long, soft fibers of the local peoples' yaks. Money paid for the yaks' down will go directly to the animals' owners, while profits from the products will fund customized community projects that best fulfill the needs of each region.

Shawn Tan (MBA '06), a native of Singapore, says that the idea for Yashmere came from Carol Chyau and Marie So (both 2006 graduates of Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government), who traveled in the Western Chinese provinces of Yunnan and Gansu last winter. (Other teammates included Esther Hsu of the Wharton School and Jose Dias de Barros, MBA '06.) During their travels, Chyau and So spent time in communities where the yak is seen as the area's primary resource. In addition to using the animal for transportation, the poor people of these provinces drink yak milk, eat yak meat, make clothing from its coat, and use its dung for fuel. Back in Boston, the pair teamed up with Tan, Dias de Barros, and Hsu to brainstorm how to best use the incredibly fine, warm fiber found in a yak's coat. It took some time, however, to determine what sort of product to make from the soft, fluffy down.

"It was a bit challenging to determine how to best utilize this resource, given the fact that none of us really has experience in textile or apparel," Tan notes. "It was also difficult to think concretely about the various possibilities when the yaks and the communities we hoped to help were thousands of miles away. The Business Plan Contest provided discipline that forced us to think carefully—while on a time line—how to best help those communities exploit the opportunity at hand." The venture, now named Shokay (Tibetan for "yak down"), has begun testing the waters by shipping yarn to a few U.S. knitting stores. Luxury throws are the next product being developed, with a projected launch date of winter 2007.

Tan expects to return to a career in finance after Shokay finds it feet, leaving Chyau and So to oversee the organization's day-to-day operations. He says that the start-up experience has taught him the skill of bending both ways. "Over the course of refining the plan and launching this business I began to understand the importance of planning ahead and being careful and systematic in my thinking—there are so many early decisions that affect how you use your limited resources," Tan remarks. "But at the same time, it's essential to be pragmatic and willing to change your idea when you find it's not entirely practical."

Like Zhong, Tan emphasizes the element of risk involved in launching a business in an emerging market. But he also encourages would-be entrepreneurs to "just go out there and do it."

"It's been surprising to see how receptive people are to an idea when they see its potential," he says. "We've had many positive interactions, I think because people recognize the need we're trying to fulfill. The focus right now is on China as a powerful economic entity, but many people also recognize that there are a vast number of people not enjoying the rising economic tide who could use some help."

Think STEEP

2006-12-22T16:14:00.000-08:00

A Simple Way to Explore the Future Impact of Any Major Development
To determine what any trend might mean and how much it could matter in the future, start by thinking about its possible implications across a broad spectrum of fields. Consider and ask:

> Society: demographics, family life, public health, religion. Will this development affect people? What about family structure? Will work life change?

> Technology: information technology, biotechnology, nanotechnology, chemistry and materials science, manufacturing. Does this development imply that a new technology will become available? Will it eclipse an existing technology? Will it increase the market for other technologies? How will R&D need to react?

> Economics: globalization of commerce and labor, poverty and the income gap, inflation, current fluctuations. Will this development change business as usual for most businesses? How will it affect the marketplace? What about governments—will they need to alter their fiscal policies? Will consumers act differently as a result? How will it affect the standard of living?

> Ecology: global warming, supplies of clean water, topsoil and agricultural systems, air quality. What are the implications for the natural systems that support us? Will this development reduce the toll of human activity? Or will it cause a new stress? Does this change represent the tipping point to make us see and do something about the damage being done to the ecosystem?

> Politics: international governing bodies, wars and regional conflicts, government regulations, new bills and laws, litigiousness. How will this development affect the system and practice of governance? Will it alter election dynamics? Will it change the type of leadership? Will new groups begin to exert force on the government?

Adapted from FUTURE, INC.: How Businesses Can Anticipate and Profit from What’s Next by Eric Garland (AMACOM, Hardcover).

The Top 8 Drivers of the Future

2006-12-22T16:12:00.000-08:00

Areas to Keep Watching and Trends to Start Preparing for Now

Aging. Within a couple of decades, the majority of people in America, Europe, Japan, and China will be over age 65. Business implications: Invest in products and services to keep older people mobile, entertained, and connected to society. Consider creating an onsite “eldercare” center for your employees.

> Information technology. The next IT revolution will be marked by falling prices for small, powerful, maintenance-free devices. Business implications: Focus on service, not technology. The real killer app is solving people’s problems — and for that, the human touch is always the best.

> Health care. Medical costs and distrust of doctors are both increasing at a dramatic rate. Business implications: Prevention is far cheaper than the current system of care. Start exploring opportunities for encouraging healthy habits.

> Biotechnology. We’re just scratching the surface of mining the secrets of life, from genetically-modified crops to the promise of stem-cell research. Business implications: Consider products that can be customized to a person’s genes. And prepare to deal with the ethical choices and consequences.

> Energy. Increased demand for energy from developing economies is dangerously converging with increased scarcity of global supply of traditional sources. Business implications: Look at life-cycle costs when it comes to renewable energy. Investing in a new green office space could yield a competitive edge.

> Nanotechnology. The ability to manipulate matter at the level of a billionth of a meter is bound to open all sorts of new possibilities. Business implications: For large businesses, investing R&D in nanotech is imperative.

> Media and Communications. Network broadcasts and commercials will soon be history. The future of media is digital, portable, customizable, and micro. Business implications: Get used to being honest and polite. Establishing personal relationships will be required to advertise to the next generation.

> Ecology and Sustainability. With six billion humans and counting, the success of our species comes at a high price to the environment. Business implications: Determine how to measure what you do in terms of money, social responsibility, and ecological impact, equally and consistently.

Adapted from FUTURE, INC.: How Businesses Can Anticipate and Profit from What’s Next by Eric Garland (AMACOM, Hardcover).

A Little Year End Reflection

2006-12-22T15:52:00.000-08:00

As the year comes to a close, and our minds turn to celebration and remembrance, I'd like to invite you to spend a little time on reflection.

These will be some of the questions I'll be playing with as I reflect on my year.

Please feel free to use them, or use them as a model for developing your own. Be gentle with yourself as you answer the questions, and use them as a way to understand where opportunities lie in the upcoming year.

Where have I added value to the health and well-being of the whole planet?

Where have I added practices in my life that add to MY health and well-being?

Where have I missed opportunities to get stronger, smarter, happier or healthier?

Where have I missed opportunities to rest, rejuvenate, or reclaim my innocence?

Where have I brought love and caring to my work and my relationships?

How can I bring more of the authentic me to all that I do?

Where did I find places to make my customer's lives easier?

How can I be a wiser leader?

Where have I counter balanced the negativity of the world with my Positivity?

At the end of the 2006, can I say that I added more positive vibes than negative ones into the overall vibration of the earth?

Where have I been inspired and where have I inspired others?

As a leader (and we are ALL leaders) have I walked my talk?

Opportunities for positive change lie everywhere. Enjoy the questions - play with them - and find some of your own. Celebrate and appreciate all that you've done this year to make the lives of others easier, happier, more fulfilling, brighter, or more enriching.

I'm taking some time until the first of the year to reflect on my questions and my direction for the future. I hope all your holidays are merry and bright and that your new year is happy healthy and prosperous. I'll be back again the first week of 2007!

Peace and prosperity!

JoAnna

Through the Eyes of the Fish

2006-12-21T11:06:00.000-08:00

JoAnna Brandi

One summer, I went fishing with a friend. We rented a canoe and ventured out into a lake at dusk. If truth be known, I was mostly watching, not really fishing. But my friend was very serious about it. As dusk turned to darkness he opened his tackle box and began searching for a new lure. I watched, curiously.

Up until that moment he'd been using a yellow lure. He explained, "It's time to switch to a black lure." This mystified me almost as much as what I was doing in the middle of a lake, in the dark, fishing.

I had to ask, "Why would you use black lure in the dark, in what now looks like a black lake?"

"Easy," he replied. "When fish look up at the surface of the water they're looking towards the moonlight, and they can actually see the black lure better."

Hmmm. Now that's looking at life from the fish's perspective!

How many of us are hooked on our own 'yellow lures,' focused more on what we sell than on what the customer wants to buy? How many companies think about what makes things easier for them (and keep using the same old 'lures'), rather than easier for their customers? How many companies are focused on the inside/out rather than the outside/in?

When will we learn that the power has shifted from those who sell to those who buy? Customers have so many choices these days, why should they buy from you? What do you give them that no one else can? Do you keep up with their changing needs? When will we learn that we need to start looking at the world through the customer's perspective, not just our own?

The customer buys your ability to do something for them. They buy a state of mind. When we ask them what they want to buy, what they need our abilities to be, what will make their lives easier - we get an all-new perspective. Business through the eyes of the customer, like fishing through the eyes of the fish, might just yield different results.

What is it your customer buying? Beauty? Memories? Uniqueness? Are they buying convenience, prestige, safety, comfort? Are they seeking attractiveness, intelligence, peace of mind? Are they buying speed, security or pleasure? What is the ultimate state of mind your customer is looking to experience when buying from you?

Enabling customers to buy more of what they really want is easy when you see things from their perspective. So take a look at the 'lures' in your tackle box. Think about whether or not they're attractive to your customers - whether or not customers can clearly see that you have what they need. Are you selling what they want to buy?

2006-12-19T03:09:00.000-08:00

Nine Steps to Help You Develop Your Potential

Go into any bookstore and you will find a big selection of self-help and personal improvement products. Most everyone (and I’ll bet everyone reading this) wants to improve. We know we need to get better, and we want to get better. We may want to improve our personal relationships, our business capabilities, our ability to be disciplined, our desire to juggle four chain saws, or any of hundreds of other things. In that book store you can find books to help you do any of those things!

In many cases though, those books start half way through the process. After writing about identifying our potential in the last issue (click HERE to read that article). I realized that identification of our potential, while critical, isn’t the complete answer. It is only the first step.

If we want to reach our potential, we must start by identifying our greatest areas of potential. With that knowledge, we must take a step-by-step approach to making that potential reality in our lives.

It is no different than a business identifying its core strengths in order to best capitalize on the opportunities they see. When we start our personal improvement program with identified strengths or potential, we ignite our personal rocket – and begin our trip to greater heights and achievements.

Here then is a step-by-step process that you can use to convert your potential into results!

1. Identify it. I’ve already helped you do that. Whether you have followed those steps (Click HERE to read them) or are just aware of a skill you want to develop, this is a necessary first step.

2. Claim it. You must believe in your heart that you have untapped skill and ability in this area. Once you have claimed it, you must proclaim it by telling yourself (preferably out loud) that you ARE assertive, you ARE a swimmer, you ARE supportive of others. (Fill in your own skills and potentials!)

3. Scope it. Next you need to think about what part(s) of you life you want to apply this new skill or ability in. Take time to determine the areas of your life where you will use this enhanced skill.

4. Target it. Why do you want to develop this potential? How will you and/or those around you benefit from the development of this potential? What is your goal? Answering these questions will help you stay the course when you get discouraged. Write these reasons and your ultimate goal down and read them often.

5. Plan it. A plan will help us achieve most anything more rapidly. Wouldn’t you like to reach your potential sooner than later? Then make a plan! Determine what you need to know and how you will learn it. Schedule time on your calendar. Think about the situations you want to practice in. Write your plan down and remember to include timelines. This is a real plan. While it may not be as elaborate as a business plan, it is every bit as important. This is your plan!

6. Start it. Get started already. You might actually start as early as step 2, but I include it here because the scoping, targeting and planning is important too. Whatever you are trying to develop will require time and effort. The toughest step though is often the first one, so get started!

7. Support it. You may need to find support from many people and in many places. One way is to have a mentor. If you know someone who excels at what you are trying to develop, ask them to mentor you. You can also get mentoring from people indirectly, by reading about their approaches, thought processes and ideas. (This is one great reason to read biographies and autobiographies.) Get support around you too. Find people close to you who will support your efforts and encourage, not discourage you. Identifying your support system early on helps you get started. Having the support will help you get past the toughest times during your process.

8. Practice it. You won’t reach your potential in one try or in a week. I recently read a page on the web that was promoting a workshop called Building a Million Dollar Practice. The tagline is what was memorable. It read “Hint – it isn’t about the Million Dollars.” The tagline tells the story – it is about the practice! Practice builds our skills. Practice broadens our experience. Practice creates new habits. Practice makes permanent. Perhaps that greatest key of all to developing our potential, is disciplining ourselves to practice.

9. Be grateful for it. When you receive a gift from someone you likely send a thank you note. Being grateful for the gifts of our potential is just as important. By being grateful we begin to unlock even greater opportunities to use the potential we have nursed into skill, experience, and habit.

It isn’t too late to start. Reaching our potential has nothing to do with our age, situation or past. Using this process will help you to unleash the potential you identify to help you reach your professional and personal goals and objectives. Until next time I am…

Yours in Learning,

Kevin

2006-12-19T02:54:00.000-08:00

Seven Keys to More Effectively Leading Teams

Maybe you find yourself in a new team environment and leading a team for the first time, or maybe you have been working with and leading teams forever. Either way, the keys in this article – whether as new information or a fresh reminder – can make a world of difference in morale, productivity and results from teams.

Help the team identify its purpose. People work more effectively when they understand the goals they are trying to achieve. As a leader it is your job to help the team see the desired outcome of their efforts and help them set specific goals and milestones along the way.

Set the scope and boundaries. Teams need to know what they should tackle and what is “too big” or not their responsibility. By helping teams manage the scope of their work you will keep them more focused and help them reach their goals more quickly.

Show your belief. If you don’t believe in the team concept, you won’t effectively lead teams. If you do believe both in the concept and in a particular team’s potential, you need to tell them. Show through both your words and actions that you believe in them. Once they have purpose, goals, and your belief; they are on their way to success.

Define your role. Your role is to lead, not to do the work or make all of the decisions. Let the team know what your role is and isn’t. Help them see how you are relying on their experience, knowledge and intellect in the completion of the team’s work.

Be a supporter. Support the team with your actions. Don’t just delegate the work to the team and be gone. Teams will experience obstacles and roadblocks. It is your job to remove those roadblocks, find additional resources, and generally provide support. It is like a hike. If you are in front of a group on a hike, you will do your best to remove impediments that might slow down or injure those that follow. Your role on a business team of any sort is just the same.

Be a facilitator. Help the team succeed. Provide guidance when needed. Keep your hands off as much as you can. By giving the team a chance to succeed on their own, you are developing them towards greater future achievement at the same time. To facilitate means “to make easier” and that is your role. Remember that you chose to use a team to accomplish the task, so let them do it.

Keep your mouth shut. Teams often look to leaders to make the final decisions or assume that the leader has veto power on any decision in the end. If you really buy the team approach - that you want and need everyone’s input – you have to keep quiet. If you are the first person to talk on a subject, the overall amount of discussion and idea flow will drop. Team members will subconsciously assume that your word is golden – whether they agree or not. Because of your position, you must abstain from the early part of a dialogue on any issue, and share your thoughts nearer the close of the conversation.

Each of these things alone will help you build and lead more effective teams. But when taken together, significant progress can be made.

Look at the list above while you think both about your skills and behaviors and the needs of your current teams. Then, put a check mark (mental or literal) next to the one item you will work on today.

By getting started NOW you can become a significantly more effective team leader right away!

Yours in Learning,

Kevin

2006-12-19T02:47:00.000-08:00

Creating a New Standard of Excellence – Six Things You Can Do
by Kevin Eikenberry

Recognizing that the time had come to replace our hot water heater, my wife called our plumber to schedule an appointment. She placed the call at about 11 a.m. When the agent asked, "Would you be available between one and three?" Lori asked, "Which day?" The agent replied "Today of course."

Hearing a strange noise coming from our furnace, another call was placed. Again, the appointment was made and the problem was solved the same day. (Are you surprised that the furnace and the plumbing company have the same ownership?)

Earlier this week my wife had a problem with her knee and after seeing our family doctor she was referred to a knee specialist - a specialist considered one of the best in Indianapolis. When she called for an appointment, I feared the worst. Instead, she had an appointment within 24 hours.

My guess is that as you read each of these short stories. You are surprised at the service we received. The fact is, this level of service should be the norm, but sadly isn't. Our experience has lowered the expectations of most of us.

The Good News

The good news in these examples is that it is easier than ever to stand out. When you are good, people will notice. When you are excellent, they will rave.

This goes for us personally, professionally, or as an organization.

Below are six steps that you can take to continue to raise your own standards of excellence. These steps will make it easier than ever to stand out, be noticed, and have greater levels of success and satisfaction.

What You Can Do
Get a current check on performance. Talk to those you served, whether your family, coworkers or Customers. Find out from them, how well you are doing in meeting their expectations. Listen to their feedback. Don't justify your current performance or blame others. Simply listen.
Determine the standard they want. Again, ask your Customers or those you serve for their input. Listen to their needs, wants and hopes.
Determine the standard you want. Remember that their expectations may not be very high based on their experience. Take their feedback and ideas into account, but remember that it is your responsibility to set the level of excellence you want to reach. Set the bar is high as you wish.
Under promise and over deliver. Taking the first three steps will heighten awareness and likely raise expectations immediately. As you work to grow your standards remember that you can reach your goal is small steps. Make promises based on your current capacity, not your fondest wish. Make the promise, then deliver more, then raise the level of your promise a bit the next time. Steady and slow wins the race – and remember it won’t take long to leave those you are racing with far behind. This approach will help you raise your standards, and the trust others have I you too.
Ask "what's not excellent?" This question will help you continue to find ways to improve your standards and delivery. Ask this question of yourself, of your teammates, and of other interested parties.
Measure performance. You've set new standards for yourself. The only way to reach them and maintain them is to measure your performance against those standards. Depending on the standards you are setting this may be very simple or quite complex. Don't make the measurement more difficult than necessary, but remember to measure.

It is clear that these steps have obvious application for serving Customers better. While I encourage you to consider their applications to customer service, I also hope you will consider using them in other areas on your life.

It's time to raise the bar. It's time to set new standards. Standards won’t raise themselves; we must raise them consciously and consistently. The steps above will help you take that conscious action.

2006-12-19T02:37:00.000-08:00

The John Deere Way

by David Magee

I’ll admit it, I grew up on and around John Deere equipment. As an adult I have become a collector of antique tractors and become a student of this truly historic and great American company. John Deere is also a Client of ours.

So when I received this book as a birthday gift it was a slam dunk – it went near the top of my reading stack. Given all of that, this review doesn’t come from my obviously biased point of view – this is a book worth reading.

The book does tell parts of the history of this company, but it isn’t a book about products or history. Written by experienced business author David Magee, it is an exploration of the key factors that have led John Deere to growing and thriving over the last 150+ years.

The chapter titles tip off the business practices and attitudes that have guided the company and serve as the thesis for the book. Selected titles include:

Embrace the Culture
Quality Comes First
Always Maintain Integrity
Build a Business as Great as Your Products
Grow on the Strength of Your Roots

If you are interested in looking for keys that lead companies to be successful over the long haul, you will find some in this book. Written in a very readable style and interspersed with anecdotes and stories from Customers, Senior Managers and 4th generation employees, it deserves to be on your reading list.

Besides, how can any book go wrong when its dedication reads “For the Farmer”?

2006-12-18T18:20:00.000-08:00

Manners and Customer Service

Someone recently posed the question to me, "Can we get "jerks" to give good Customer Service? I mean with the overall decline in manners, how can we expect service to be excellent?"

Whew. There is a lot of beliefs dripping around the edges of that question!

My first point would be that if you think you have "jerks" on your team - or think that "jerks" are all you can find to hire, that you are in deep you-know-what before you ever move forward. Leaders need to have a positive expectation of people first and foremost. But let me get off my soapbox there and talk about the rest of the question - which hinges on the connection between manners and Customer Service.

While there's definitely a connection between customer service and manners, good customer service is about a lot more than good manners alone. Good Customer Service requires processes and procedures and tools that will enable good Customer Service. It requires leadership that makes customer service a priority and that empowers employees who work directly with Clients and Customers to make decisions.

Often leaders have expectations about how the Customer will be treated but never share those expectations with employees. They may be thinking "this is so obvious; we don't need to focus on this with our people because they know how to treat others."

Great Customer Service is more than knowing how to treat people; it's more than being nice. It's having processes and procedures in place from the beginning. It's knowing what to do - plus knowing how and when to do it. Customer service declines within an organization when those in leadership positions decline to make customer service a priority.

Those were my initial thoughts to the question posed to me... What do you think?

2006-12-18T18:02:00.000-08:00

After the Uncomfortable Pause
Seven Questions to Immediately Spur Greater Creativity
by Kevin Eikenberry

I’m betting you’ve had the same experience I have in most organizational brainstorming sessions.

You are in a room with beige (or otherwise boring) walls and a conference table. Sometime during the meeting, there is a problem or challenge identified. Someone standing near a flipchart or whiteboard picks up a pen and the brainstorming begins. After a momentary silence, a few ideas are suggested – at first they come almost faster than the person can write them down. Then after a short pause a couple of more ideas are added. Then comes a longer pause.

This pause seems like forever (though it has probably been 15 seconds at the most), and the group decides the brainstorming is over – and the problem will be solved using one of the 5-10 items on the list.

There are likely good ideas on the list. But the brainstorming began with the intent of coming up with as many ideas as possible – alternate ways to solve the problem or overcome the obstacle. Heck, someone may have even said, “We need to find a solution that is out-of-the-box.”

My guess is that there are no out-of-the-box ideas in those 5-10 on your typical list. And I know that smart people can always come up with more than this small number of possibilities.

The dynamics of brainstorming and causes of the challenges I am outlining are more complex that this article can address. So I will simply stick with what to do after the long pause . . . what to do to spur more ideas than those initially placed on the flipchart. In practical terms, the way to do that is with questions.

Seven Spurring Questions

How would X do it (or solve this problem)? In the place of “X” you can place another department, another company, your Mother, a 10 year old, Benjamin Franklin, a character from a book or movie, anybody.

What would we do if the problem were twice as big (or half as big)? Looking at extremes is another way to spur new ideas.

How would we solve the opposite problem? By reversing the problem and making that list, we are often able then to turn those answers back around into new alternatives.

What does this problem remind us of? If we can find other situations in our experience to connect to this situation, new ideas will come out.

How is this problem like X? In this case the “X” is any word or phrase. By forcing the connections to the random word, new ideas will burst forth. To get your word you can open a dictionary to a random page and find a random word or you can use a random word list that you have previously prepared. Email us at wordlist@KevinEikenberry.com to get our random word list that you can use immediately.

How can we do A and B? Perhaps the best alternative isn’t with one idea, but a by doing more than one thing.

How can we combine some of the ideas we have to find new and different ideas?

Of course there are more than seven questions and there are many fine books that talk about creativity enhancement. You can learn more techniques and approaches, but if you start with these seven questions, you’ll be amazed at how many more (and useful) ideas you will find, that otherwise would have never overcome “the pause.”

These questions can be asked by the meeting facilitator or leader, or by anyone in the group. They can also be asked internally, to help you personally spur new thoughts.

However you use them, these questions will work. Each of them creates a new perspective and generates new connections in our minds. It is with these new perspectives and connections that more, and potentially better, ideas will be generated.

Copyright © 2006 - All Rights Reserved, Kevin Eikenberry and The Kevin Eikenberry Group.

2006-12-18T17:57:00.000-08:00

Seven Reasons Why Goals Matter

Joanna was a great employee. She cared about her work. She worked hard. And she really wanted to succeed. But after a couple years of hard work and long hours, she felt like she was just spinning her wheels because she wasn't making the progress – personally or professionally – that she had hoped she would by now.

She talked to Tom, a person she considered a friend and mentor, and shared her feelings. Tom asked her about her goals.

Joanna paused, feeling a bit tentative. Then she shared some general comments about what she hoped to achieve in her work and how she hoped her work would contribute to her life.

Tom listened carefully, but she could sense he was waiting for more. And he was. Then Tom quietly suggested that Joanna’s goals weren't clear enough, and he encouraged her to set some more specific goals for the future. That action, he said, would be a way for her to both improve her results and lead to higher personal satisfaction.
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Joanna walked away from that conversation resolved to set some goals. She bought a book on goal setting and read it cover to cover. The concepts in the book made sense, and she decided on the weekend she would set goals using the approach the book suggested.

But the weekend came and went, as did the whole next week. Then the next weekend passed, along with the weekend after that – and Joanna still hadn’t set any goals. She rationalized that she was just too busy. She was working too hard, and she didn't have time to stop and set her goals; besides she already knew what she wanted to accomplish.

Six months later she visited with Tom again. He asked how her goal setting had gone and about the successes he suspected she was having since they last talked. She replied with a mix of sheepishness and defiance that she didn't have time for goal setting, that she knew what she wanted to achieve, and that it would take too long to follow a goal setting process. She knew she just needed to get to work.

Again Tom listened closely and while he didn't pass judgment, he did tell Joanna that when she was really ready to make greater progress, goal setting would be the answer. Joanna asked him why goal setting was so important, and he gave her The Seven Reasons Goal Setting Matters:

1. Goals create accomplishment instead of activity. Most of us are extremely busy – running from meeting to meeting and task to task focused primarily on how to be more productive and get more accomplished in our day. But when our focus is on the tasks and the busyness we lose track of any accomplishment – in effect we are focusing only on the activity itself. Goals help us look beyond the activity and get clear on what we really want to accomplish.

2. Goals give us direction. You wouldn't get in your car to go on a trip without knowing your destination. A destination provides purpose for our effort. A destination gives us a reason for our efforts. A destination gives us a way to monitor our progress and keeps us on track.

3. Goals capitalize on the brain’s amazing powers. Our brains are problem-solving, goal-achieving machines. Our brains operate best when they are seeking a solution to a problem. When we have a goal, our mind sees it as a problem to be solved and gets to work (with or without our conscious influence) on achieving the goal.

4. Goals make life easier. If nothing else, reasons one, two and three improve our productivity. They help us work smarter no matter what the work is. And when we work smarter, our life gets a whole lot easier. Who doesn't want to do things that make life easier?

5. Goals help us go faster. When we know our destination we can get to it more rapidly. Yes, any goal setting process requires some planning time, but that time will be repaid many times over.

6. Goals create satisfaction. How do you feel when you achieve something you care about? How do you feel when you don't know if you're making progress? Goals create satisfaction by giving us the targets to shoot for and therefore the sense of accomplishment when we know we have reached them.

7. Goals create confidence. There’s hardly any greater confidence booster than achieving something you have specifically set out to do. Setting goals and accomplishing them gives us the confidence to set even greater goals; stretching ourselves to greater performance in the future.

Joanna left lunch thinking about the seven reasons Tom had just shared with her and again determined to make goal setting a part of her immediate future. Only time will tell if she takes advantage of the many benefits goals setting would bring.

But more important than Joanna’s story, is yours.

Do you set goals? If so, are they ambitious enough and are they focused on the great accomplishments that await you? If you don’t have any real goals right now, at least consider these seven reasons and the advice they suggest.

Set some goals. You can start small, but at least start. A brighter future awaits.

2006-08-04T20:28:00.001-07:00

How to Trigger Great Ideas
By: Brian Tracy

A major stimulant to creative thinking is focused questions. There is something about a well-worded question that often penetrates to the heart of the matter and triggers new ideas and insights.

Questions Stimulate Creative Thinking
Some of the best questions I've found for business problem solving are the following:

Clarify Your Desired Result
Question #1 "What are we trying to do?" Whenever you become frustrated with slow progress for any reason, step back and ask this again and again, "What are we trying to do?"

Analyze Your Current Methods
Question #2 "How are we trying to do it?" If you are experiencing resistance, perhaps your method is wrong. Be willing to objectively analyze your approach by asking, "How are we trying to do it?" Is this the right way? Could there be a better way? What if our method was completely wrong? How else could we approach it?

Could You Be Wrong?
It requires courage to face the possibility that you may be wrong but it also leads to your seeing new possibilities. The rule is: Always decide what's right before worrying about who's right.

Question Your Assumptions
Another good question is, "What are our assumptions? About the person, the product, the market, the business? What are our assumptions? Could we be assuming something that is incorrect?" Someone once said that "Errant assumptions lie at the root of every failure".
What if your unspoken or implied assumptions were wrong?
What would you have to do differently?

Put Past Decisions on Trial
Another form of focused questioning is what I call "Zero based thinking." This method requires that you put every past decision on trial for its life regularly by asking,
"If I had not made this decision, knowing what I now know, would I make it?"
If I had not hired this person or gotten involved in this project, knowing what I now know, would I do it over again?
If the answer is "NO" to one of these questions, then your aim should be to get out of the decision as fast as possible.
Be willing to "cut your losses," and try something else.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do to trigger more and better ideas.
First, be very clear about exactly what it is that you are trying to do. Write it down and describe it as if it were already achieved.
Second, question your assumptions continually. What if there were a better way? Be willing to try something completely different.

2006-08-04T20:28:00.000-07:00