Solopreneur, not a sustainable business concept

I don't struggle with the solopreneur concept, 

it's just a bad concept and I don't struggle with it.

A solopreneur is defined as an entrepreneur who works alone, a company of one. You can not maintain a successful business by yourself. A solopreneur is a non-sustainable business model, concept and THOUGHT.

You can be the only "paid" employee in your company, but you still must develop a Team. We all need a team, paid or not.

Think bigger that one, bigger than solo.

To that end...

Squirrel Syndrome

Daily Ps

I like the letter "P." In 1994 I used 5 Ps to help me through the process of finding the right mortgage company and continued with it recently when looking for a bigger pond to swim in.

Mark Hairston text'd last night asking how the 5Ps were playing out at the new company. My reply was good, but my thoughts were around how I wasn't as focused, engaged and as productive as I thought I should be.

And this morning during my pause, prayer and reflection time - during the "Lord, give me my daily bread" - the 5Ps hit me again. But this time, it was

Pause - Prayer - Purpose - Plan - Practice

I believe I've been practicing these 5Ps but not Prposefully. So, I'll set some reminders during the day to regularly Pause, Pray, and check that I'm Practicing my Purpose and on Plan.

To that end....

Sometimes we just want it both ways

 Thanks to Bryan Anderson, Realtor Extraordinaire, for thinking of me when he saw this picture!

Leading Slow, but Steady

After talking to a group of men once about living one day-at-a-time, one gentleman came up to me and said "I'm sorry, but sometimes that's just too long."

Here's to just putting one foot in front of another and accepting our daily bread.

To that end....

Over on MarketSmarterNotHarder

Click to read....#WhyUseTwitter? 2

Some days you just need to hunker down

Some days you just need to make a list, hunker down and get'r done.

- Review Calendar for day

- Reschedule / Schedule by priority / urgent

- Review List

- Revise List

- Everything needed in briefcase for appointments

- Marketing purpose for the day determined


To that end....

 

#BrainStorming with Hurdie Burke and Mark Herbert

Audio: Click Mic to Hear

Steps to Networking with Impact

I don't like networking, but networking works. I connect with more people, I've built a large database and I've met some incredible people.

Networking has become a passion I want to get better at. I want to network better, build more relationships, learn about more people, make a difference in more lives.

Without a lot of explanation, here's the simple version of my initial process when meeting someone and the follow-up -

1. I ask "what industry are you in?"

#ThinkingAboutCustomers

I've written before about Peter Drucker's book The Five Most Important Questions You Will Ever Ask About Your Organization and Question Number 2 (WHO IS MY CUSTOMER).

Right now, real quick....WHO IS YOUR CUSTOMER?

Chances are you stumbled and answered it at least partially wrong. Who is typically treated as the customer is never the only customer and an attempt to satisfy that customer only leads to poor performance. Drucker writes in the book at length about the second type of customers, or supporting customers. They are all people that have the ability to cause you rejection.

Much like the key salesperson being the one delivering the service, the real customer is not just the one writing a check. What if you never interact with the purpose writing the check? Who then is your customer? Does that mean you have a customer?

This revision has been edited by Jim Collins and others: "if Peter Drucker were alive today, he would amend his observation from 40 years ago, when he said, "the purpose of a company is to create a customer." Today he would say, "the best companies don't create customers. They create fans." He would say that it is less important to report better profits this year than to check on whether you improved your share of the customer's mind and heart this year.

Everyone, every team, every company, every manager, every executive every board must do a better job of understanding who the customer is and how to create fans of those customers.

Note we aren't talking about "know your customer." That's different than "know who your customer is."

While the org chart can be top-down, or inverted, or sideways, it doesn't matter unless everyone understands and accepts who the customer is FIRST. Take the time, it matters.

Keep this out in front, right along with your mission statement. Know your mission, know who your customer is.


To that end.....

#ThinkingMatters

Thinking about thinking. Thinking about having good margins in my day. thinking about the importance of prayer. Thinking about how much I pray. Thinking about how much I don't pray. Thinking about the processes I use to be more productive. Thinking about the processes I think about and don't use. Thinking about my schedule today. Thinking about yesterday. Thinking about making and difference. Thinking about making a profit. Thinking about decisions. Thinking about paths. Thinking about being told I think too much. Thinking about learning. Thinking about discussion group at CRU yesterday. Thinking about mastermind group yesterday. Thinking about sharing at life group last night. Thinking about the lesson on prayer...thanks Brook! Thinking about 2 big things from page 141 last October were Planning and Listening. Thinking about need to listen more. Thinking about looking for opportunities to shut-up. Thinking about need to get on with today.

To that end........Lord, help me to think more critically and to cause better actions.

#ThinkingMatters

...as a man adapts his mind to that regulating factor,

he ceases to accuse others as the cause of his condition,

and builds himself up in strong and noble thoughts..

- James Allen in "As A Man Thinketh

On #ThinkingMatters

- Set aside time to "think" everyday
- Be determined to think right things
- Have a special place to think
- If needed, develop a process to help you think (certain music, cup of coffee, your enviornment, pen and paper)
- Write thoughts down (including those after you've drifted..what were you thinking about when your mind wondered)
- Gather good input during today to think about tomorrow
- Spend time with good thinkers
- Reflect on your thinking

(from "Today Matters" by John Maxwell)


To that end....

Sacred Work: Maturing

We tend to judge others based upon actions, ourselves upon intentions.

In a short conversation with Jim Butt (@JimButt3) on Friday he said "It's good to see how you've become more alive with your Christian walk in the last 2 years."

I was thankful, but also a bit stunned. Was he saying I wasn't always this forthcoming? I thought it was well known by anyone around me for very long that I was a believer. But, thinking about the period in my life when Jim and I met, I realized what he was saying. My feelings were I've been this way for years. My thoughts instantly jumped to a different period when we regularly talked about glorifying God through policies and procedures, prayed before meetings and even had people leave the company because of our beliefs. When I took someone to lunch, anyone, I'd say "I hope you don't mind but since I'm paying, we're praying." And I bought a lot of lunches in those days!

But....that was more "before" when I was a CEO with 8-10 direct reports and over 400 hundred employees. Things changed, surroundings changed, people within my daily circle shrunk. Two years ago I was trying to find myself, my dream and a new plan.

My mission has been intact; make a difference (Colossians 1:28,29) but I was struggling with how to do that in my new role. Ha! I wasn't sure what my new role was. Sometimes one day-at-a-time was just too long. I wasn't as open with my testimony as I had been. John Piper says "God is most glorified, when I'm most satisfied, in Him." I'm afraid I was not well satisfied.

But, that's when "the rubber meets the road" and one learns to put one foot in front of another, pause, pray, reflect and let life catch up. Those are the times we learn to be, in the words of John Eldridge, "alert and oriented x 5." Or not.

I thankful for these times, all times, God wants me to "....search the matters out" (Proverbs 25:2) and I know now that as much as I was worshiping Him and searching Him out before, I'm closer to Him today. God has led me through new times and my heart, soul and mind have been strengthened.


Thanks for the compliment and reminder Jim.


To that end.....blessings and God's mercy.

PS...this is a repost of post at http://godandworkmatters.blogspot.com/
 

Winning Habits are....

Wikipedia defines Habits as routines of behavior that are repeated regularly, tend to occur subconsciously, without directly thinking consciously about them.

Dictionary.com defines Winning, in adjective form as successful or victorious acts, or the noun as the act of a person or thing that wins.

So, Winning Habits would be "subconscious behavior that routinely brings about successful acts without consciously thinking about them."

What Winning is not;

1. Winning is not about IQ, and while talent helps, it is not always necessary

2. Winning is not necessarily about starting out with more money

3. Winning is not about luck

4. Winning is not about education

5. Winning is not about being in the right place at the right time

There is a fine line between success and failure. Whether it is golf, football, or wall street, it is only a few strokes or points that separate the winners from the rest of the field.

Successful people win by developing good habits and disciplines...and never giving up. I said....NEVER GIVING UP.

Ben Franklin, at the age of 19, felt there were 13 virtues important to him and until his death at 76 he worked on improving one each week. His virtues were self-control, silence, order, determination, economy, productivity, truthfulness, justice, moderation, cleanliness, peace, chastity, and humility. For 57 years he worked on developing better habits surrounding these virtues; 228 times he paid specific attention to each of his virtues.

Undoubtedly this focus developed subconscious habits and greatly influenced his success.

What habits and disciplines are influencing your success? What habits do you need to develop "over" others you already have?

To that end....develop good habits and WIN!

Intelligently cultivating thoughts

The workplace is today the most strategic arena

for Christian thinking and influence

- Doug Sherman and

William Hendricks

It's a powerful claim to declare the workplace to be the most strategic arena for Christian thinking and influence. Seriously, if it's true, where's the evidence of this activity? Thinking and influence become two very powerful words when combined with "and."

In his classic As a Man Thinketh James Allen writes "Man's mind may be likened to a garden , which may be intelligently cultivated or allowed to run wild; but whether cultivated or neglected, it must, and will, bring forth. If no useful seeds are put into it, then an abundance of useless weed-seeds will fall therein, and will continues to produce their kind."

I've been challenged this week, from a stage, but also by my own thoughts to

• think
• cultivate
• produce

My prayer today is, in the spirit of Colossians 1:28 and 29, that I'd think about life and purposefully cultivate my thoughts. I pray that I come to really realize the potential God has given me and that I'm able to influence others to dream, think and reach their potential.

To that end

Takeaways...so far

At the John Maxwell Team Certification event in Orlando. Incredible. Here's some take aways...so far -

Surely, there is at least one step you can take right now that will move you in the direction of the star you're shooting for. - Paul Martinelli

Things have to change in you for things to change for you. - Christian Simpson

If you fail to go within, you will fail to go without. - Christian Simpson

Be wise about you read, listen to and watch, as there is a direct correlation between what you put in your head and what comes out your mouth. - Roddy Galbraith

Remember, man does not live on bread alone: sometimes he needs a little buttering up. - John Maxwell

Every day we have the power to choose to be in harmony with what we say we want and who we say we want to be. It's  always a choice. What will you choose. - Melissa Malueg


To that end.....

Anticipation, and hope

Hope is waking a dream

- Aristotle

This weekend went a bit slower than normal. I mentioned to Cathy last night how slow yesterday had gone. My world is usually going so fast at times that I have a hard time paying attention. Not the past few days. Maybe that law about "pausing, reflecting and letting the life catch up works!" !!

It went slower, and yet I've had a lot of anticipation leading into today. I've been planning for today for a long long time. Not that I knew when today would come, or what the day was, but I've been looking forward to it for a long long time; and tomorrow also, and the rest of this week. The anticipation and desire to participate in this week were so strong, and I didn't even know the details nor the actual time it would come about, that I actually quit following Tweets about it two years ago.

I realize the anticipation, the hope, has been based upon a dream that's been developing for a long long time ago. I'm not exactly sure when it started, but it's become clearer and clearer since October 20, 2012.

To that end...........hope for the dream

Enlarging tents and strengthening those around you

“Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, 

do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes."

- Isaiah 54:2

I've read Isaiah a few times but have never really camped-out on this verse before. In a meeting last week with John Robertson, CEO of LeadershipID / Align3Cubed, John (@jrobertsonlead) mentioned Isaiah 54:2 and it's stuck with me.

Colliding with that this morning have been thoughts around The Law of the Inner Circle. I looked up what Maxwell says about applying that law:

1. Who do I seek out for advice, turn to for support and/or rely on to help me get things done? (some are employees, but they are also family members, networking partners, others)

2. Am I doing the following with these inner circle members?

• Spending extra time to mentor and develop relationships?
• If appropriate, giving them extra responsibility and place higher expectations on them?
• Again, if appropriate, giving them credit when things go well and holding them accountable when they don't?

Enlarge my tent, stretch my curtains, lengthen my cords, strengthen my stakes - great application in which to apply The Law of the Inner Circle.

To that end....

Without guidance, a people will fall, but there is

victory with many counselors - Prov 11:14

You can teach an old dog new tricks!

You're never too old to learn and never too young to teach.

- Les Brown

I heard Les say that on a live training call a couple of weeks ago and it has meant so much. Not just that I've learned to learn better, but the young part.

How wise is that!
..never too young to teach!

I'm not "old" yet, but I'm much older than many of the people around me and it's so important to remember I can learn so much from them. Whether they know it or not, I'm asking questions, I'm learning.

Last night, talking to Evan Jenkins with @TiffsTreats and Christine Evans. What a learning experience! They asked good mortgage questions that caused me to dig a bit and then we got into a good conversation about social media and Hootsuite.

Never too old to learn, never too young to teach and never too old to learn from the younger.


To that end.....

Trouble remembering names? Try this...

I didn't say repetition, I said SPACED repetition

- Ken Blanchard,

Paul J. Meyer and

Dick Rube

Do you have trouble putting faces to the business cards you collect on your rounds each day? Or do you just not remember meeting people?

Shameful. You're wasting handshakes.

A good follow-up system will help you remember names.

Over the 2-3 weeks after meeting people -

• find a picture of the person on Internet...remember now what they look like?
• send a thank you for meeting them
• send a note asking for their Twitter, Facebook (yes FB is allowable for business) and LinkedIn names -I know, you can search for the name but that isn't the point...the point is connecting
• connect on Twitter, LinkedIn, FB

Treat this like dating...don't stalk. Give the person time to respond...the key is not repetition, but spaced repetition (see the book Know-Can-Do for a great story on this reasoning).


To that end...stop wasting handshakes