Archive for May, 2005
Ask and You May Receive
It’s certainly no guarantee when you ask for something you will receive it. However, it does help your chances a great deal.
Not long ago I asked Ken Blanchard if he’d meet me for a drink or dinner or something - and he said yes. Last week I received an email confirming the date - June 16.
Now, I gotta tell ya, the room we first crossed paths in was full with about 80 people. A great many people talked with him that day, yet I did not hear anyone else ask him to lunch or such. Maybe the people who wanted to meet with him phoned him instead. Perhaps they sent letters? I don’t imagine I’m the only person who thought, “Gee wiz, it would be a thrill, treat and an…
Clever Quote
In life you are given two ends, one to think with and the other to sit on. Success in life depends on which end you use most. Heads you win, tails you lose.
- Conrad Burns, US Senator, Montana
Is It Possible To Be Perfect?
Today I emailed the latest Extra Oomph! newsletter to clients. I wrote it in just half an hour this morning, before my first meeting of the day. Half an hour is half the time it usually takes me. Plus the article is on an important subject, how to create lasting relationships via our sales efforts. Overall, I was happy for the content and the efficiency with which it was produced.
Not long after, I got an email from a client pointing out two errors. One was a missing word and the second was the misinterpretation of the creative use of an exclamation point. To me, there was one error, to him, two.
The perplexing thing is, I read and reread the newsletter at least four times before hitting send. Four…
Meeting Heroes and Icons
Have you ever met an icon - one of the greats in your profession? Have you met one of your heroes, that person who seems to have mastered the realm you work in, that man or woman who has earned their way to the center of your industry, the sage elder teacher? Yesterday I did.
At a meeting for the University of San Diego Masters of Science in Executive Leadership program, I met Ken Blanchard.
More than anything, I wanted to express my gratitude; his deep study of management science helps me in every area of my executive coaching work. Doubtless, he is as influential in the area of management and leadership as Tom Peters and Jack Welch.
Blanchard’s most recent teaching takes the form of stories and this is where he proves…
What You See is What You Get
Today, a new client announced he will take a break from our work together. He decided to reallocate some business development money to another program.
Immediately, I was disappointed.
What is interesting is not the details about why he is taking a break. Rather, what is most interesting is how deflated I felt and what happened next.
After the fog of disappointment crept in, I became very unproductive. Veeeeeeeery unproductive. At first I just swore a few times. The swearing led to pacing, which led to staring at my forecast, which led to a kind of mental swirl of negative thoughts. What did I do wrong? Why do people always think in on/off terms? Forgetting all my clients are referred to me, I worried, “Where does my next client come from? Damn!”
Eventually, I…
Networking: Hot Air or Cool Breeze?
Last week I attended a teleconference on the subject of networking – or, in their definition, “the process of accumulating social capital through our personal and professional associations.” UGH!
There was a lot of talk about getting in front of the right people by going to the events they go to. A lot was said about making them the center of your attention by asking a lot of questions. Great emphasis was put on not talking too much and listening a lot. There was a clever acronym, GAINS, to help us remember to focus all conversations on Goals, Accomplishments, Interests, Network and Skills.
Here are extra thoughts on the subject:
1. Don’t use phrases like “social capital.” They turn people into objects and you into a machine. We don’t have social capital. We…
Part II - What Are You Weeding OUT?
This is Part II of the post: What Are You Growing?
Last week I asked the question, “What are you growing?” This week’s question is, “What are you weeding OUT?” It’s good to ask these questions together, as if they were Siamese.
The “growing” question deals with what the items on your to-do list are helping you create, right? Well, not always. Sometimes they keep us stuck, hence the second question.
After reading last week’s Extra Oomph!, a client told me while he enjoyed the article, he was pretty much buried by his to-do list. There was nothing he could do because all the items on the list needed to get done. I said, “Yes. I understand. But, by whom?”
He told me by him because no one else could. But, the bigger question…
Forced to Compete Hard
Sometimes events conspire to create a difficult situation. Sometimes things take on a life of their own and you’ve got to respond firmly. Sometimes you get pushed and pushed and pushed until you finally just say, “Enough. “
Sometimes in those instances you won’t be the textbook sample of poise; some competitors are cunning and coy and manipulative. Sometimes you’ll get aggravated and draw a line in the sand. And - you decide to compete as hard as you can, marshalling all your resources, calling the people who support and believe in you and who know first-hand your worth, to help shore up your walls against the encroachment of a competitor who is coming with all he’s got to beat you. Yes, to beat you - not to collaborate, or partner…
Part I - What Are You Growing?
I’m thinking today about the work Activate Potential clients are doing. In particular, I’m hearing a question in my head:
“What are you growing?”
Every client has a long to-do list. Everyone is busy. The beauty to the question, “What are you growing?” is that it goes beyond the to-do list.
A to-do list as long as my arm, keeping a hundred balls in the air, having more work than I can handle are all common descriptions of the current situation. They don’t say anything about what is on the to-do list, what balls are being juggled and what work is keeping you busy.
The distinction is between what is happening and what is needed. I know, I know. I’ve had an allergic reaction to this idea myself. I usually reply, “What is needed…
