Staying Motivated

So you are all gun ho to look for a new job, start a project, lose weight, paint the house or whatever your ambition is and after only a few days or weeks you begin to lose interest, motivation or hope. This happens to just about all of us! I can't say for sure why it happens but I certainly can give you some ideas on what to do to rekindle the excitement that you once had.

Here are a 3 simple things you should do:

1. Check Your Thinking: Positive energy begins in the mind. The thoughts we consistently think attract what it is we get in life. If we think negative thoughts we will act out those thoughts and naturally receive negative results. However by thinking about what want and focusing on the positive, we will act accordingly thus achieving success.

2. Check Your Feelings: Forget how you feel about the project, task or situation. Decide that you will feel successful and give yourself a pep talk. Repeat out loud positive affirmations such as "You can do this!", "You are successful!", "You can do anything!" and watch how quickly your physical and mental energy increases. If you think this is all bunk I dare you to try it! It works. William James, the Father of Modern Psycology, says that "Feelings follow action." If we want to feel differently, then we must act differently. Dale Carnegie tells us "If you ACT in enthusiastic then you will BE enthusiastic!"

3. Check Your Action: Are what you do and say consistent with what you REALLY want. Talk is cheap but it is what we do that matters. Remind yourself of what it is you really want and then gosh darn it take action and DO something, even if it is small. The only way to get what you want to to take action. If you feel like you are in a rut then try a new approach, do things differently, keep things fresh.

In short, you can reignite your motivation by thinking and acting in a manner that is consistent with what you want to achieve.

Why Communicating a Vision is Important

I am in the midst of a project with a large manufacturing company and they are really struggling with the performance of their overall plant output. Right now there is a lot if finger pointing, blaming and "every man for himself" behavior coming from the executive team. We asked the president "What is it that you really want for your company? How do you see the organization functioning a year from now?" There was a long pause. "That's a good question." was his reply.





After much discussion with the president and his senior team we discovered the major issue keeping them from reaching their goals is that no one really knows where they are going and why they are going there! Every department head has a different idea of what is important and a different understanding of why their department exists.



Think of it this way: the department heads are all part of a flash mob and each one of them have a different dance routine. When the mucis plays and the dance begins everyone is starting on a different foot and moving in different directions. The result is chaos!!!!


Here are some tips for communicating vision:


Communicate it often and well- Never under estimate how many time you need to tell people what the future is going to look like. It can never be said too many times. Use a variety of mediums to spread the message and keep it visible all the time.

Be very clear and keep it simple- Employ the principle "less is more" when describing the future. Make it brief but vivid. Use powerful words that are descriptive and can not be misunderstood. Use present tense language, word the vision as though it has already been accomplished.

Be Consistent- Be diligent that the vision doesn't change from day to day, unless there really has been a change. Vision should be the same today, tomorrow, next week and until we arrive. People can be easily confused about their contribution when the vision sounds different each time they hear it.

Use other leaders to help communicate the vision- Every member of the leadership team must know, understand and be able to articulate the vision to others. There is strength in numbers. Alignment at the top insures understanding at the bottom. Get the entire executive team involved with communicating the vision to the masses.


Communicate even small wins- Always share the progress, no matter how small, with the entire organization. Celebrating success is the best way to encourage and motivate a team. Be a cheerleader to the team, lavish them with praise.


Even if you are not the president of your organization, if you want to move a group of people in a given direction to achieve a given goal you have to communicate a vision.

Proactive Customer Service.....Really? Yep!

Today I stopped by the car dealership to ask 2 questions; one pertaining to warranty coverage for rust that showed up on my car that is only 2 years old and the other question was pertaining to the possibility of trading in my car for a newer model. My experience was ghastly! This blog is for the unnamed car sales and and service technician who helped me (well not really) today. What the both of them did was help me decide that the next time I purchase a vehicle I should and will go some where else.

Folks, it doesn't' have to be this way.......take my advice and consider taking some of these proactive steps with your customers and potential customers.


It is important to build on existing relationships with customers and clients before there are issues. Here are a few suggestions in taking the more proactive approach to servicing existing customers.

1. Promote additional programs. Initiate further incentives that will enhance the sale. This can increase add-ons and cross-selling opportunities, giving the customers a value-added experience.

2. Create a message. Having a consistent company message ensures customers that from purchase to usage your company supports them. Coach sales team to stay on this message.

3. Follow-up on sale or service. A simple phone call or follow-up letter can go a long way; people appreciate the time you spend on fostering the partnership and make the odds of repeat business very likely. If there are issues, it will be easier to right the situation because they did not have to make the effort in contacting you.

4. Be prepared. This includes knowing what is expected, professionally handling what you didn’t expect, going the extra mile, and acting as customer advocate.

If you want to ensure happy customers don't wait until they are unhappy to try to and delight them, it's too late!

When email doesn't work!

So here is a lesson about email that we can all learn from and appreciate!

6 months ago I was very frustrated about the inaccuracy of how my sales numbers were being reported to our corporate offices. At that time I went to our office manager who was doing the reporting and brought it to her attention in a very friendly manner. She agreed to look in to it and get it resolved.

After about 2 months, I inquired again because nothing had changed since our last conversation. Once again she said she would look into it. At this point I also brought it to the attention of our local franchise owner, who we both report to.

After 2 more months I inquired a third time via email including the owner on the email. This time there was no response at all. No reply to the email nothing. So now I am at a point of sheer frustration and anger.

So........I decide to send another email, again icluding our boss. Since my mental state was less than ideal for this situation I knew I needed to be very careful with how I worded the email; so I carefully chose my words and sent the email off.

In a flash came back a scathing response from my office manager and to make matters worse she also copied our boss as well. (After all, I copied him on the original email.......another mistake on my behalf) Needless to say, I didn't help my situation any with the email, in fact I made it worse!!

So what did I learn? Well here it is in a nutshell:

• Always reread your emails and if need be sleep on them before you send them. You will save yourself a lot of grief and hard feelings.
• Don't send an email to do the job of what should be a face to face conversation. Had I picked up the phone or went to her in person, she would not have gotten angry with the way I made the third request for her help.
• There really is no need to copy the boss on emails that throw other people under the bus, it just show a lack of professionalism and judgement. The two of us, as adult human beings should have been able to work this out.

So, what email lessons have you had that the rest of us can learn from?

Sell. Sell? Sell!

The sales "game"....well that's only for sales people, right?! Wrong! No matter what we do as a profession, no matter what level education we have or what degree we hold, no matter who we interact with, we are always selling.

Imagine this.....I want my 6 year old to go to bed early because tomorrow is a big day. What do I have to do? Sell him on why it's a good idea.

I want my boss to give me the promotion and not the other guy. What do I have to do? (All things being equal between you and the other guy.) Sell her on why you are the better choice.

I want my cross functional partner to embrace a new concept for completing projects. What do I have to do? Sell him on why my way is a better way.

I want my spouse to take out the trash without me having to nag at him. What do I have to do? Sell him on why he should just do it without me asking.

I want my coworker to carry their weight and quit putting the burden on the rest of the team.
What do I have to do? Sell her on how her productivity is hurting the project.

In a nut shell, if we have any hope of getting others to cooperate with us we have to help them see that our idea and way of thinking is good for them.

Here is the key to the sales "game"; if I can help you see that you have an urgent need and then show you how I can satisfy that urgent need you will readily hop on board with my solution.

You see people will only do things for their own reason...not mine, not yours, not the companies but for their own reasons.

I once tried to get my boss to pay me a bigger salary for doing virtually the same work I am currently doing. I gave him all my reasons as to why I thought I deserved more money, it made perfectly logical sense to me. Well, the answer I got from my boss was a flat out "No!" So, the next conversation I had with him, I outlined how he was to benefit from having me do my same job with more money, I even added a few extra responsibilities I could take on to make it more attractive to him. So, what do you think happened this time? His response was "You know, I like this idea. I think this will work. Yes, we'll adjust your salary!" You see I tapped into what was important to him. I forgot about what I wanted and talked more about what he wanted.

Here is the one simple principle to live and "sell" by: "ALWAYS talk in terms of the other person's interests!" When you do this, everyone wins!!!

When have you had a win-win outcome with a boss or peer? What did you do to make it turn out that way? Tell us about it, we would love to hear your success!

What Can We Learn From Running?

I the past few weeks I started a new training program in preparation for my first ever triathlon. Not being exceptional in any one of the triathlon events I have spent a lot of time training in all three categories, bike, run and swim.

Here are a few things I have learned that relate to success in business:

It's all in your head! A friend of mine told me that running is a mental game. She said I need to stay focused on what I am thinking and my body will just take over. Huh?! Are you kidding me? Tell that to the pains I get in my side......okay, she was right.

Question, what do you think about all day at work? Are you obsessed with negative thoughts? Thoughts like; I hate my job, I can't stand this place, I wish I could go home, If my manager asks me to do one more thing I am going to lose it, why do I bother, etc.
If we will focus on the dialogue that happens inside our heads and force our self to talk in terms of what we want rather than what we don't want our bodies will take over and lead us to the places we want to be!

Focus on what is right in front of you, don't look to the end until it is here.
I used to get very discouraged when I ran because I was always looking way ahead to the end of the run. It always felt like I wasn't getting any closer and that it was taking forever to reach the finish. I have since changed my approach, I focus on the ground in front of me, watching it pass by with every step, now when I look up I feel like I have gone far.

In life, we must clearly know where we are going and the path we must take to get there. Keeping the end in mind we should set ourselves on course focusing on the tasks at hand day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute. Every so often we should lift our eyes and check our progress....are we still on track? how close are we now? what adjustments shall I make moving forward? Think of the word WIN....What's Important Now?

Pace yourself before you burn out!
As a driver type personality, when I go, I GO. When it comes to running, once I start I am on....... full steam ahead. The problem with this is that while I was easily able to finish half my planned distance in only 10 minutes, the second half of the run would take me 20 minutes with great pain. What I learned was I needed to pace myself, run at a slower more consistent speed so I could finish strong.

How is your pace at work? Do you feel burned out at the end of the day, week or month? Do you have a hard time turning off your work? Could it be that you are moving too fast or carrying so much burden that the stress is overwhelming you? Do you have an even balance between work and home? For your health's sake, slow down, take it easy and above all find a way to work hard and steady. Ask yourself "What is my health worth?" We can't afford to burn out, there are too many people counting on us, primarily our loved ones; if you won't do it for yourself, do it for them!

What lessons have you learned from your past times or hobbies? Please share them with me, I love to learn from real life experiences!

Life Long Learners Achieve More

Some people look at training and education as a huge waste of time. They go to class, sit and listen to the instructor, go through the activities and exercises and a week later they don’t remember anything. In fact, I heard from one guy who retired after 40 years of service to his company; he complained that over the course of his career he had to participate in no less than 1,000 training events yet he can’t remember a single thing the trainers said. What a waste of my time, the trainer’s time and company money!

Here is what I explained to him. In the course of my lifetime I have eaten no less than 45,000 meals and I cannot recall what was on the menu for even one single meal. What I do know is this, had I not eaten all those the meals I would have starved physically and would now be dead. Despite not being able to recall everything we have ever heard in a classroom; the truth is this, no matter how good we think we are we are never good enough. Every experience in the class room increases our awareness, brings things back to a conscious level even if only for a short period of time. Learning and training experiences feed our attitudes and our souls; they give us the nourishment to help us forge ahead, even when times are tough!

The moral of the story here is to embrace learning and growing, without it we shrivel up and die.

Where do you want to be on the success scale? Somewhere at the top leading the way for others due to your thirst and quest for knowlege that puts you head and shoulders above others OR do you want to be buried under 6 feet of dirt with no hope at all for the future? It's your decision!

Let me know what decision you have made, post it here on this blog!