Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Why Your Story Is So Important To Your Business Success
It's important that people know who you are, what you stand for, and how you got to the place you are in your business. That's why your story is so important to the success of your business, and telling your story ensures that you attract the right clients.
Your story becomes the thing that attracts people to you, the thing that makes you relatable. People like to do business with people they know, like and trust... people who are like them, and who they relate to. By telling your story, people are able to relate to you in a way that grows the know, like and trust factor and makes them want to do business with you.
But, you have to ask yourself, how much of your story should you tell? How much of yourself should you share?
Telling people who you are, what your life is about and what your business is about is perfectly acceptable. Being able to share the things you hold dear, personal things about your life and your experiences is important in building relationships. However, you shouldn't share the private things, the personal things that are deep in your soul. Those things you should keep private and you'll know what those are.
Think about a mentor or somebody you respect and look up to - think about the things you know about them. What do you know about their life? Not their business, but their life, their family, their hobbies, their likes and dislikes. What do you know about them as a person? Do they like wine, do they drink coffee every morning, are they married, do they have children or pets, where did they grow up or go to college, do they watch or play sports?
Now, how do you know these things? You know them because they shared them with you, and told you their story. These are things you can share with your clients. These are the things that make you who you are, and have shaped your life. They're personal things, but not private things.
So, you may tell your story over and over at different events, to different people, day after day, and you may get tired of hearing your story. But, you have to remember, you have new people coming into your business all the time and your story is new to them.
Sit down and think about your story and what you share on a regular basis, or what you can start sharing. Then, think about three or four more things to share the next time you tell your story. Tell your story to your clients, and keep telling your story to attract the right clients to your business.
What Logistics Business Development Consulting Can Do For Your Company
Like every company owner, you want your company to be a success. You want to maximize profits, have satisfied and well-trained employees and you want your company to continue to grow and get stronger over time. If you want to increase and enhance the growth of your firm, one way to do that is to turn your attention to logistics business development consulting. This is a kind of service that will encourage growth and prosperity. If you know other company owners, ask them about it and do your own research. You will quickly discover that this is a means of getting closer to achieving the goals you have set for your firm.
If you have reached a point where you want to learn tools of the trade that can bring more success your way and you want to make more money, logistics business development consulting is the direction you should be looking in. A consultant in this field has the training to help you get what you want.
One of the most advantageous means of improving your company is to ensure that you are employing the right kinds of technology to get the job done. The number of applications is many, but how can you be sure that you are using the ones that are most suitable for you and will lead to success?
If the software you are using is out of date or you are not in the know about how you could more efficiently run you company, logistics business development consulting can prove beneficial to your needs. Hiring a specialist in this area can bring new insights your way, which can make a world of difference to every aspect of your company. The consultant you bring in to take a look at how you are running operations can introduce new concepts and cutting edge technologies to you that can make your company run in a smoother manner and can improve the manner in which your staff conducts business. Not only will the specialist educate you in terms of advances in technology, but he will also be able to teach you how to put them to work in your firm.
The professional from the logistics business development consulting firm you hire will have the skills necessary to train your team in using the new software that gets installed. You may be too busy with day-to-day operations to train your employees in new methods and you may not even know how. This is where a consultant in the industry can prove to be a tremendous asset to you and the functioning of your firm. The specialist can teach your staff all that they need to know in terms of new features and new additions. If you like, you can arrange a meeting for the consultant to talk with your management team before a time is set up to train your office staff in new methodologies.
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Making the Quantum Leap in Your Job or Business
"If You're Not Enjoying Yourself You're Doing It Wrong"
Fran Tarkington
Many will be familiar with the type of manager who rules by intimidation and control, they have been the subject of many industrial tribunals and caused untold psychological and financial damage to companies and employees throughout history.
On the surface we could demonize their behavior relegating them to the box labeled bully.
In this article I'm choosing to look a bit deeper to help us all to understand the underlying dynamics of these individuals and to see how we can help them and ourselves to live happier more prosperous lives.
The undeveloped Manager
I was a salesman working in a major multi-national who had recently changed its entire management team, from the CEO down to the Directors of each major business Unit.
The new head of my particular business unit initially demonstrated a style that was open and friendly but that soon changed into intimidation, and threat. Life became difficult for all that worked for him, some including myself even reported him to Human Resources, which did help him to repress some of his poor management habits.
The need for Control
Most human beings need some sense of control in their lives in order to feel happy. However this sense of control can sometimes get out of balance to the point where they become obsessive about controlling almost everything. When this happens it is likely that a few other conditions may be prevalent. Others will be treated as if they are simply extensions of the controlling individual, who will want to make all the decisions, and will micromanage all around them. Respect and self worth will be low, team morale will be low, people won't feel empowered to make decisions, and creativity will be virtually nonexistent. In other words this organization or team will not be performing well.
Lessons From The Military
I attended nine weeks of military boot camp when I was 18. The troop was commanded by a first class petty officer fresh from the fleet, who had risen quickly through the ranks. He was a hard taskmaster and as the weeks progressed morale declined. By the end of week five we were rated as the poorest performing troop out of a group of five.
The decision was made to remove the troop leader and install a Chief Petty officer to guide the 50 souls throughout the rest of their training. I remember he was a gentle slow talking soul who led by demonstrating. The first thing he did was demonstrate that at over twice our age he could do more pushups and even do them with one arm.
Through his gentle style and what seemed to be innate wisdom he helped us to improve to the point where we became the highest performing troops to ever graduate.
So here we have the same young men under a different leader and dramatically different results. While we could attribute this to the Chiefs skills, let me tell you another story.
Lessons From My Clients
I remember coaching an individual who had usually been a top performer at all of his previous companies, he was now working for a manager that he disliked. When we began working together, he had gotten to the point where he was ready to resign his position. I asked him to not make any major decisions for a week or two.
I explained that the brain has up to 70,000 thoughts a day and that sometimes we get fixated on a particular thing. This fixation causes a part of the brain called the Reticular Activating System (RAS) to draw our attention to activity in our lives that we think is important to us. It's a bit like if we think someone is incompetent we will primarily be focused on their incompetent activities.
As this fixation continues the thoughts cause emotions that we eventually feel in our bodies. This emotion makes everything seem even more real and important to us, acting like fuel on a fire. This emotional state clouds our happiness, and blocks creativity it also causes us to make poor decisions.
This individual was focusing on the behavior of his manager and providing ample evidence to fuel his own anger. When he began to see how he was unconsciously looking for things to make himself upset. He stopped doing it. He immediately began to feel better. He decided to stay and achieved 200% of his quota for that year with a committed pipeline of over 200% for the following year. What is also important to note is that he had suffered with hypertension for over seven years. After three months of coaching, he got his blood pressure checked, and it had returned to normal and healthy.
The Power of Thought
Human beings are thinking all the time. We then make up meaning from that thinking based on our past experience, we then create emotions within ourselves, and then act on those emotions. When we obsess on a thought our synapses in our brains form strong bonds that then form a habit. The thing is if our meanings, or beliefs are in error then the emotions and actions may be in error.
This is where some executives often get stuck. The thinking, habits ad emotions that got them to one level aren't what is needed to take them through the glass ceiling. To be able to make better decisions that effect a larger part of the organization a different way of thinking is required
We could spend years going through therapy, shout affirmations, read thousands of self-help books and attend dozens of seminars. Or we could simply realize that we place far too much importance on our thinking, and beliefs. It's realizing that all of our thinking, beliefs, emotions, habits, history etc are acting as a block to better thinking.
"The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes"
Marcel Proust
When we can see a problem anew then our thinking changes dramatically
When we recognise that fixating or stressing about anything is actually counter productive then we firstly begin to feel better.
As we remain in this space we find that there is a deeper wisdom within each of us. The wisdom demonstrated by the Chief Petty officer during my boot camp days, or by the salesman who had been struggling and then realized that he was really principally struggling with himself.
When we find this deeper wisdom we find that we not only become happier and healthier. We also find that we become more creative which can lead to increased prosperity.
In the corporate world I have seen mid sized companies increase revenue by as much as 60% in three months and larger companies go from revenues of $250M to $2B in ten years. I have also seen difficult managers and employees make major shifts in their business and personal lives.
The bully or poor manager is simply stuck in some poor thinking habits that can quickly be changed.
Yes we want to achieve our goals, we have outcomes that we have promised to, our selves, our families, Sales Directors, Vice presidents, CEO's, the Board and to Stock Holders. But if we can also see that life is a bit like navigating a ship, we may have a destination, but currents, wind, storms and problems are just a part of the journey, the growth and the fun.
Fran Tarkington
Many will be familiar with the type of manager who rules by intimidation and control, they have been the subject of many industrial tribunals and caused untold psychological and financial damage to companies and employees throughout history.
On the surface we could demonize their behavior relegating them to the box labeled bully.
In this article I'm choosing to look a bit deeper to help us all to understand the underlying dynamics of these individuals and to see how we can help them and ourselves to live happier more prosperous lives.
The undeveloped Manager
I was a salesman working in a major multi-national who had recently changed its entire management team, from the CEO down to the Directors of each major business Unit.
The new head of my particular business unit initially demonstrated a style that was open and friendly but that soon changed into intimidation, and threat. Life became difficult for all that worked for him, some including myself even reported him to Human Resources, which did help him to repress some of his poor management habits.
The need for Control
Most human beings need some sense of control in their lives in order to feel happy. However this sense of control can sometimes get out of balance to the point where they become obsessive about controlling almost everything. When this happens it is likely that a few other conditions may be prevalent. Others will be treated as if they are simply extensions of the controlling individual, who will want to make all the decisions, and will micromanage all around them. Respect and self worth will be low, team morale will be low, people won't feel empowered to make decisions, and creativity will be virtually nonexistent. In other words this organization or team will not be performing well.
Lessons From The Military
I attended nine weeks of military boot camp when I was 18. The troop was commanded by a first class petty officer fresh from the fleet, who had risen quickly through the ranks. He was a hard taskmaster and as the weeks progressed morale declined. By the end of week five we were rated as the poorest performing troop out of a group of five.
The decision was made to remove the troop leader and install a Chief Petty officer to guide the 50 souls throughout the rest of their training. I remember he was a gentle slow talking soul who led by demonstrating. The first thing he did was demonstrate that at over twice our age he could do more pushups and even do them with one arm.
Through his gentle style and what seemed to be innate wisdom he helped us to improve to the point where we became the highest performing troops to ever graduate.
So here we have the same young men under a different leader and dramatically different results. While we could attribute this to the Chiefs skills, let me tell you another story.
Lessons From My Clients
I remember coaching an individual who had usually been a top performer at all of his previous companies, he was now working for a manager that he disliked. When we began working together, he had gotten to the point where he was ready to resign his position. I asked him to not make any major decisions for a week or two.
I explained that the brain has up to 70,000 thoughts a day and that sometimes we get fixated on a particular thing. This fixation causes a part of the brain called the Reticular Activating System (RAS) to draw our attention to activity in our lives that we think is important to us. It's a bit like if we think someone is incompetent we will primarily be focused on their incompetent activities.
As this fixation continues the thoughts cause emotions that we eventually feel in our bodies. This emotion makes everything seem even more real and important to us, acting like fuel on a fire. This emotional state clouds our happiness, and blocks creativity it also causes us to make poor decisions.
This individual was focusing on the behavior of his manager and providing ample evidence to fuel his own anger. When he began to see how he was unconsciously looking for things to make himself upset. He stopped doing it. He immediately began to feel better. He decided to stay and achieved 200% of his quota for that year with a committed pipeline of over 200% for the following year. What is also important to note is that he had suffered with hypertension for over seven years. After three months of coaching, he got his blood pressure checked, and it had returned to normal and healthy.
The Power of Thought
Human beings are thinking all the time. We then make up meaning from that thinking based on our past experience, we then create emotions within ourselves, and then act on those emotions. When we obsess on a thought our synapses in our brains form strong bonds that then form a habit. The thing is if our meanings, or beliefs are in error then the emotions and actions may be in error.
This is where some executives often get stuck. The thinking, habits ad emotions that got them to one level aren't what is needed to take them through the glass ceiling. To be able to make better decisions that effect a larger part of the organization a different way of thinking is required
We could spend years going through therapy, shout affirmations, read thousands of self-help books and attend dozens of seminars. Or we could simply realize that we place far too much importance on our thinking, and beliefs. It's realizing that all of our thinking, beliefs, emotions, habits, history etc are acting as a block to better thinking.
"The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes"
Marcel Proust
When we can see a problem anew then our thinking changes dramatically
When we recognise that fixating or stressing about anything is actually counter productive then we firstly begin to feel better.
As we remain in this space we find that there is a deeper wisdom within each of us. The wisdom demonstrated by the Chief Petty officer during my boot camp days, or by the salesman who had been struggling and then realized that he was really principally struggling with himself.
When we find this deeper wisdom we find that we not only become happier and healthier. We also find that we become more creative which can lead to increased prosperity.
In the corporate world I have seen mid sized companies increase revenue by as much as 60% in three months and larger companies go from revenues of $250M to $2B in ten years. I have also seen difficult managers and employees make major shifts in their business and personal lives.
The bully or poor manager is simply stuck in some poor thinking habits that can quickly be changed.
Yes we want to achieve our goals, we have outcomes that we have promised to, our selves, our families, Sales Directors, Vice presidents, CEO's, the Board and to Stock Holders. But if we can also see that life is a bit like navigating a ship, we may have a destination, but currents, wind, storms and problems are just a part of the journey, the growth and the fun.
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