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“When I get sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead. True story.”– Barney Stinson
There is so much truth in this statement! Life is about choices and we have the choice at any point in time to change how we are viewing a set of circumstances.
Think about that for a second……..you can change how you are feeling about a situation by changing how you are perceiving it. This is one of my major beliefs in life and also the greatest challenged when I share it.
If you can change how you are feeling by simply choosing to look at a situation differently, then your life takes a radical turn. It means that you have to take a greater responsibility for your path, your successes, your failures and your regrets. It means that you could have done things differently and that ultimately you are where you are today because of you. No one else.
How will you let information shape your future? That is the real question. What will you do with responsibility?
You are as successful as you want to be. If you want to be a beach bum and cruise through life enjoying each moment, then GREAT! Own that choice and make the most of it.
If you want to be the next Donald Trump, GREAT! Own that choice and make the most of it. The important factor is that you choose. And when things don’t go your way, choose to take a different step.
The choice is yours. Choose to be Awesome…
There is nothing like sitting something bad to in increase your appreciation of something good.
I quite literally just got out of the worst training I have ever attended. It was on a fairly simple topic (blood borne pathogens for hospitality workers) and it should have been a breeze. Instead the presenter over complicated the material, relied too heavily on his PowerPoint slides, showed no leadership from the front of room and took us through a long winded exercise that should have taken 5 minutes.
In the end I wasted 90 minutes on something that could have been done in 30-45 minutes and been highly entertaining. Time is the valuable we lose each day and he was irresponsible.
The point is, if you are going to take the time the present a topic to an audience, be respectful of the time and your responsibility as a presenter.
Too many people think they can breeze through a presentation. They don’t take the time to think through their transitions, their jokes, their beginnings and their endings. They don’t give the content or the presentation the credit it deserves.
If you have a captive audience, be sympathetic to their time. If they have chosen to be there, you have a little more leeway in that they have chosen to hear you speak. Go ahead, express your ideas, but be aware of the goal of the presentation. If the group is there because the topic is mandatory, be extra aware of time, content and explanation. If you aren’t…..they will turn on you and your point will be lost.
Here are a few quick tips for making your presentation useful and inspiring. (YES, blood borne pathogens could have been and should have been inspiring)
Only put major points on the slides: You should know your content well enough to explain without reading off the slides. If you don’t….learn it before you present. This keeps the attendee focused on you and should keep you focused on them.
Be aware of your tone and inflection: Run through the presentation a few times with someone you trust. If you don’t have someone around then record yourself. What irritates you about your own presentation? Are the jokes in appropriate? Do you speak to quickly and then to slowly. Take notice and focus on finding a rhythm. If you don’t have one, then you mind as well give up. They’ll never remember your message.
Experiential learning should be engaging: One of the most powerful forms of teaching is doing. By getting involved as a learner, the knowledge is being cemented. It is also the easiest time to lose your audience. If you are using multiple materials then create kits ahead of time so that you don’t create dead space while handing things out. Where there is dead space there is chatter. Chatter strays focus and pokes holes in your presentation.
If a point is important, don’t let the group make it not important: Jokes are ok and encouraged in any presentation. Be aware of the jokes you are telling and ensure they are not related to your important information. The exception to this rule is when a joke supports the emotional attachment to the information. Groups will tell jokes when they are uncomfortable. As a presenter it is up to you to maintain the tone and direction of the presentation.
All presentations have a purpose. If you are giving a presentation, be sure to own the importance and the goal of the content.
If you don’t…..no one will.
“The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but they have never found those dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore.” Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890) Dutch painter
Any sales person can sell price. A good sales person knows how to sell experience. If this market has re-affirmed any of my beliefs, it is the belief that those who have the means will always continue to buy the things they like.
Many of you will immediately think I am speaking about those with extreme wealth.
I’ll argue that it goes a few steps further and applies to everyone. All consumers will continue to buy within their means…your job is to find the consumer with the means to buy your product. Yes the competition is greater, the market tighter and the focus on value more extreme than ever before. These are the elements of your storm. Suck it up, face the facts and get over it so you can get back to selling your product and developing your business. It is time for you to re-define your existence and prepare for the future.
Re-define your customer. Most likely they have changed over the past year. Even if they are the same person, it is likely that their needs, and the psychology behind their buying decisions has changed. Are you selling to those points or continuing to use your old tired sales pitch that you used over the last 3-5 years when the market was good.
Re-define your strategy. You should have done this a long time ago. Unfortunately most sales people have not. Why are you selling and prospecting with old methods. Are you utilizing digital and social media? Why Not? Re-focus on the mediums that help you stand out….even if you do believe they are a short lived novelty. The beauty of this exercise is that you not only reach out to new markets, but you learn something in the process.
Re-define your goal. What are your key performance indicators? What does success look like for you? What will you celebrate? The reality is that the market has changed. Are you still measuring yourself against old criteria? Make sure you are setting yourself up for physical, psychological and financial success.
Happy Hustling!
Storming– Eventually the “it’s all good” feelings fade and people begin to engage in the community by sharing their feelings on the topics, discussions, styles, formats and whatever else pleases them.
Let me stress now…..This is a good thing!
When your community begins to engage and start the questioning process, you know you are gaining momentum. It is through this process that your community members begin to cement their willingness to be part of the communities growth. Essentially what they are telling you is that they care enough to voice their opinion.
How you react to that sharing will be a defining moment for your community. You can strike back and let them know who is the boss or you can gently guide them in a direction. You can encourage the sharing and moderate for positive growth or you can limit the comments. It’s your choice.
Understand that whatever you do, and don’t do, will have an impact on the outcome. I’ll humbly offer the following advice.
The greatest communities grow from villages to towns when their leader is strong enough to provide direction and listen for answers. The community will tell you what it wants, and in the beginning this voice will come the loudest from a few of the members. This conflict is productive because it challenges the norms that are useless and the drives you to define the content and quality of your product.
Listen to them and then ask the rest of the community for feedback when it comes to changes. You’ll be challenged to stray for your niche of information, stay strong with regard to the vision, but encourage the community to help participate in the growth of the product.
Again, some of them will leave during this phase. Those who stay will be stronger members and more committed to your growth.
As in the forming stage, your job continues to be the driving of the core content you committed to sharing and engaging your members in conversation. Help them to feel special and wanted. From that you will burst forth like a phoenix and begin to embrace the longest section of the growth process, Norming.
Earlier I wrote about the four stages of Developing a Social Media Community. I briefly touched on the stages of Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing. Upon further reflection I realized that it would be best for me to explain those a little further.
With that said….lets start with Forming.
Forming – In the beginning, it is always, all good. People are happy, positive and quiet about your new venture. They’ll join because they see something that they like and connect with. From those who decide to join, you won’t receive much more than positive feedback at first, and this is natural.
Don’t be fooled by that quiet though. It doesn’t mean they don’t care or that you are an all knowing god. It means the members are settling in and watching for the norms of the community. How do people speak to each other and share information? How and what can they share? What will they get out of the group?
All these are important questions for them to be asking themselves. Some will decide that they don’t want to be a part of the community based on these norms and some will become even stronger participants. It’s natural selection at work.
Your job at this time is to help set these norms. They may be your specific thoughts that you want to enforce, it may be a gentle guiding in a particular direction or it may be that you moderate and let the community decide. In the forming stages of a community a strong leader is required.
No matter what, it is imperative that you are actively involved in the community during the forming process. you must be the strongest voice in the beginning so that others can also be heard. It is your job to encourage interaction between the information and the members. It’s also important to encourage interaction between the members themselves. Only through this interaction can you be assured a community that will thrive with feedback.
This is what drives the initial interest of your readers and community. You are speaking about and sharing content that defines a topic they are interested in. YOu are the catalyst, the creative volcano and the dark whole from which forth information is spewed! Keep your content focused on your niche and don’t stray beyond the confines of the information you have promised to share. By staying within those confines you are embracing the most powerful tool you can. You are defining your community as a preferred portal for specific information and or services.
“No matter what you’re doing, try to work at that task like it’s your dream job.”
Russell Simmons (1957 – )
American entrepreneur
“Being maniacal about something is very helpful.” – Bill Gates
I have no doubt that maniacal is the correct word to use in this instance. True passion is maniacal! It is ludicrous and cannot be stopped by anyone. No amount of rejection can squash ultimate passion. As entrepreneurs and BizDev Mavericks we need to have that passion. No one faces more rejection us. No one!
It is the saving grace the keeps us motivated and moving forward…..so I ask again…..
Are you crazy enough to be successful?
My guess is that about 75% of the people out there are not. If I was wrong, the Bill Gates of the world would just be ordinary.
Passion drives us to work longer, harder, smarter, faster, and with more gusto than anyone else. We do this because we are driven to succeed by the beliefs that we hold. It may be a passion for your product and service or it may be a passion to make money or a difference in the world. No matter what it is, your success hinges on that understanding.
Take the time to understand what drives you
It is rare that anyone takes the time to truly reflect about a subject like passion these days. Even in an age of enlightenment, most are afraid of what they might discover. It took me a long time to admit to myself that I am indeed to passionate about making money. I felt ashamed of that. Once I did though, I was able to clarify what that meant and understand the deeper passion of living a full life and providing for my family. More than money, these were my passions, my drivers in life.
Remind yourself daily of that driver
Once I understood what my real drivers were, I could again focus on achieving that success. I am now surrounded by reminders of the joy I have created for myself and my family on a daily basis and the dreams we still have to accomplish. The trips we want to take and things we want to experience or have. Create a dream board that is a collage of elements that represent your passion and driving factors. Then be sure to look at it often…daily is an absolute minimum. The more you see it, the greater opportunity you have to achieve it. We get what we are most often focused on.
Share it with the world
Quite possibly the hardest step. By sharing our passions, we are committing to them. We open ourselves to the criticism of those who are scared of our success and also to the power of those that can help us stay focused and on course. Both of which provide us with challenges. Yet, we must share for the same reasons. So that we can stay committed, so that we can be supported and so that we do open ourselves to being successful. Share it on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and your family picnic and with your closest friend.
We all have a choice when it comes to our level of success. Passion is a crucial element to making that choice. Find your passion and your success is almost guaranteed.
“The greater the tension, the greater is the potential.”
Carl Jung (1875–1961)
I know immediately that many will disagree with the title of this post. Too many people these days are looking to be entrepreneurs who only work a 4 hour work week. The reality is that even if that is where you end up….it’s not where you start.
To be a successful entrepreneur and really develop your business, idea, product or strategy….you will work 24 hours per day, 7 days a week. If you are lucky or extremely gifted, you may figure out how to do this from a beach in Maui. Good for you. For the rest of us, we’re tied to something. Maybe it’s family or maybe your product is linked to a location. No matter, you’ll be working hard to get what you want. and that is the key. WORKING HARD!
Without hard work you cannot and will not be prepared to take advantage of the opportunities that will be presented. The very opportunities that will make you successful. A very wise person once said that good luck is the crossroads of preparation and opportunity. I have been blessed enough to cross those two roads on a number of occassions and my family and friends still marvel at my “good luck” no matter how many times I share that insight. You have to work hard to be prepared and then you have to work harder to take advantage of that opportunity once it is presented.
Great entrepreneurs and business development mavericks thrive in environments that make others sick. They look for opportunities that have a risk factor because they know that it is the the risky environment that provides the greatest rewards. You have to be able to push your comfort zone and put yourself out there.
If you want to ensure success, then burn the bridge behind you so that escape is not an option. Put yourself in an environment which causes pressure. The pressure to be successful. Challenge that fear and work towards your destiny.
It is pressure that forms diamonds, great leaders, heros and you. Embrace it.
One of my biggest challenges when building a business development strategy is getting someone to sign off on the social element.
Everyone is currently in favor and generally supportive of Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn because they are safe and offer a relatively low risk of complete and utter failure. The problem is not the portals, but the lack of risk taking. The true power of social media lies in it’s ability to draw attention and make connections. These connections can then lead to actual sales and referrals when they are followed up on by more traditional forms of sales and marketing. Social provides the first touch and friendly reminder that makes everything else a warm call.
Don’t be afraid to take a risk. One of the biggest advantages of Social media is that it is relatively in-expensive. You design a cheap, fun and easy website for next to nothing these days and use it to drive exposure. Create a funny PSA and blast it to Digg and everyone else. Create a promotion that is literally out of this world and the actually give it away when you reach a level of followers you would have not thought existed. And do it all organically……not stupidly.
Take some risks people. It’s not the end of the world.
CORE Business Development 