Pace is "Roots-Up" by guest blogger Steve Heston


“We cannot become what we need to be by remaining what we are.”
-  Max Depree, American author / businessman

“Adopt the pace of nature; her secret is patience.”
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Becoming what we need to be happens in a moment.
The concept today is along the lines of Abraham Lincoln being an overnight success.  He lost election after election.  He lost all his money.  He lost friends along the way.  Then, all of a sudden, he was president, and a danged fine one at that.

We have to be true to ourselves – anything else will contribute to our failure – and we also need to be constantly evolving.  It’s true in nature, and it’s true in us, as well.

What’s the connection to “pace?”

Well, we need to evolve faster than ever before.  We need to pick up the pace.

This is one of two times of year that I desperately miss the farm.  Planting and harvesting are the frenetic times in a farmers life, and they’re also a great corollary to the idea that pace and patience are closely linked.

All through the winter, the soil is changing.  The seeds are getting ready to be placed in the soil.  And, while patience is required, we mustn’t lose sight of the fact that billions of microscopic changes are taking place every hour of that waiting time.  Weeks or months later, we see the plants break through the soil, which appears to take place in a moment, when it’s actually been evolving out of sight for those weeks or months prior.
When it comes to changing our pace, perhaps one of the best things we can do is manage our prep time – our patience period – so that by it we are gathering momentum and accelerating our evolution.

What do we read?  What do we spend time on that detracts, rather than contributes to the outcomes we seek?  Who do we hang with?  What “seeds” do we plant in our minds?

If we want to accelerate our pace of evolution, the key to the acceleration is in the quiet times that lead up to the seeds breaking the surface of the soil.

Pace is a “roots up” consideration.

Make something incredible happen today.

STEVEN T HESTON

Staying on Purpose!

Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun's rays do not burn until brought to a focus.
- Alexander Graham Bell

 Note...this is a re-write of a former post (way too fitting!).

Looking over my shoulder and reviewing yesterday's events, I see I accomplished some of what I'd intended, but not near everything. Part of the start to my day is reviewing my marketing plan, evaluating and making any changes and focusing on the main event. Ha! Quite a few shots across the bow yesterday.

But, I think I did a pretty good job staying on purpose. Or at least I came back to it, a few times.

My personality is high D/I (from the DISC assessment) which means I have great intentions and will set out to accomplish something, even if it's wrong (D), but I can sure get distracted (I) by texts, people calling, a new idea (brainstorm), shiny objects....(oh look at that kitty). It really is amazing that I get anything done while at the same time I continue to be dumbfounded by the fact it happened AGAIN!

Habits and Clutter

Yesterday I began the day thinking a lot about leading myself, and rambled a bit in this blog and otherwise. I had started off with planned meetings: a standing 8:30-11am appointment I have every Monday, a prequal loan application at 2pm and a 1:1 with Ken Fudik/TeamLogicIT.

A lunch appointment with Gilbert Sausedo @thecolorfactory and Larry Megason/www.restoreavoice.org was added (incredible ministry...more on that in another post). A couple of phone calls are possible leads to loan applicationsI messed up the time on the meeting with Ken and was 30 minutes late, and failed to register for an event I really wanted to attend.

Overall good day of meetings and getting to know people and about their businesses, needs and how/if I can help.

But I missed something important along the way...the timely response to a rate and fee request. As a mortgage loan officer, I make money when I fund a loan. To fund a loan, I have to take a loan application. To take a loan application, I generally have to compete with a rate and fee quote. To compete, I need to be timely.

Sometimes the trust in the relationship is already there and the prospect will go directly to applying for the loan, but not always.

While I was timely in getting the original information to the prospect (30 minutes), a follow-up request didn't happen until hours later.

What caused the delay? I had other appointments, lost track of priorities and let clutter get in the way. This wasn't just missing an opportunity for a loan, it was putting income in jeopardy, loosing focus on my purpose, and clutter.

What caused the delay? Lost focus on priorities.

What caused the delay? Bad habits.

To that end...

Leading Myself, and Rambling


Starting another week and I'd sure like better results from last one. Yet, what do I mean by "better results?" My mission statement says "...make a difference and a reasonable profit." (Hmmm...it should say "positive" difference). I believe I made a positive difference last week, so what has me all spun-up about making this week beeper than last week?

Did I make a difference last week? Yes, seemed to, in reflection just now.

Did I make a reasonable profit? Hmmm, not really. Not last week.

So, my attitude has to do with my feelings of week's "results." The differences I made are overshadowed by numbers?! Not the first time for that.

Ok....T.A.S.K.S. Check-up: Time (check), Attitude (obviously not-so-good, Dreams not clear either), Skill (ok, though working on better habits, need better habits), Knowledge (good, improving), Style (hmmm...still developing style).

I'm now thinking about my "Ponderings on Why Work?" post....why do people put so much time into a hobby that has no hope of any financial gain? Serve money vs serve the work for the Glory of God.

Went I sat to write this post, my thoughts were on "leadership" and not necessarily about leading myself. Then the rambling took hold! (changed post title!).

To that end.....

BHAGs: Put Your Dreams to the Test

Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, 
but happy is he who keeps the law.
- Proverbs 29:18 (NASB)

A dreamer is one who can only find his way by 
moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees 
the dawn before the rest of the world.
- Oscar Wilde

I recently heard Brawn Lide, of BrawnCoaching.com, speak on John Maxwell's book Put Your Dream to the Test. Brawn went into fairly good detail on the 10 questions Maxwell challenges you to ask yourself....and I'm challenged.

Here are the 3 "Questions" I'm focusing on this next week and will be challenging myself and others:

#2. Do I clearly see my dream?

#9. Does working towards my dream bring satisfaction?

#10. Does my dream benefit others?

This year is almost 7/52's over and many of us have already forgotten the goals (errr..resolutions) we started 2012 out proclaiming.

That's probably because our dreams aren't big enough. How big are your dreams? What is God's will in your life? Are you considering the two?

It's ok to dream, it's good to have goals and it's ok to dream big and have big goals!

To that end....

Make 2012 the "year of achieving big Holy audacious goals and dreams!"

Danny

Related Posts

Goals and the Matter of Values

Goals. Deep subject, and wide. Setting goals is one part of achieving good results. Achieving good results is about a matter of habits (as mentioned in previous post) aligning values, setting good goals, establishing plan and strategies, determining measure points, putting forth the work and having a robust evaluation and correction process.

Goals are rarely achieved because of numerous reasons and the #1 cause is a lack of alignment to a persons T.A.S.K.S. (see below).

The second is a lack of understanding of what it takes to properly setting goals to begin with.

Working through and clarifying your values is the first stage of a solid foundation for goal setting. To properly set a goal, the goal must be reasonable and must be set in accordance with a person’s time, attitude, skill, knowledge and style (TASKS); a goal can be set to increase or strengthen any of these TASKS points.

Goals can and should build upon each other to achieve results that today one doesn’t have the TASKS to achieve. More about that in another session.

A key component to that solid foundation is recognizing your Core Ideology; comprised of your mission and your values. During life’s triumphs, struggles and day-to-day living your Core Ideology is what helps ground your behaviors and thoughts so that no matter what path you find yourself engaged on, you stand true.

It’s vitally important to not only define your mission and values but to put them both in writing, commit to these statements, and recognize when you find yourself detouring.

To that end.....

Habits and Batteries

This "new" year is almost 1/12 over. Three days left.

My step-up goals have not been met and I'm setting here this morning pondering what has gotten in my way.

I heard Donna Fox, CEO of GutsVisionIntensity, speak this week at PriorityAssociates. Donna's talk was on "goal setting."

She emphasized "habits." Or at least my big Ah Ha!, my take-away, the thing I'm remember most about her talk, was HABITS,

Evaluating my Top 10 Goals for 2012's 1st 100 Days (thanks again Scott Carley), where I'm on and not on track to accomplish, and I realize it's all due to habits.

I must develop better habits. Good habits.

This has been a great time of "evaluation and correction."

Thanks Donna, thanks Scott.

And to that end.....I'll now go back to the battery problem in my car, mower and jetski. Maybe I'll develop a habit of..never mind.
“Without dreams, there can be no courage. And without courage, there can be no action.”  
 - Wim Wenders, German film director (b. 1945)   

It’s interesting how one thing feeds another, and the continuum keeps on keepin’ on…   Dreams, courage and action.  

If that’s all we could bring to the game each day, we’d probably be ok. 

But they’re not all we can bring.  When we intersperse these traits with planning, wisdom, experience and knowledge (not necessarily in that – or any order), then incredible things start to happen.   Layer on a dose of practice, and wow, we’re rolling!  

Interesting to note, though, that action and courage are linked.  Even when the outcome is more sure than others – courage is at play.  Those that watch things happen tend to wish they were the ones making things happen.  

 Make something incredible happen today! 

Dream….courage…..action!  

STEVEN T HESTON

Dream Big, Think Small

This is a partial post from Fran Tarkenton's weekly newsletter Fran's Corner at GoSmallBiz.com. While this article is written to Small Business Owners, it pertains to all of us. Great article and thanks to Mr. Tarkenton and GoSmallBiz.



Put your time into dreaming about a great big idea: a great product or a great service. Dream about solving big problems for your friends and neighbors. Dream about doing something better than anybody has ever done it before. Don't dream about having offices in London, Shanghai, and Dubai, with a plush corporate jet to fly you between them. The big idea will take care of all that. Dream about relevant customer benefits and competitive differentiation, and the big idea will pull you right into the Hall of Fame.

Dream big, but think small. Too many small companies try to act the way they think big companies act. And too many big companies try to act like the Fortune 500 act. I'm not sure if you noticed lately, but the Fortune 500 has not been acting so smart. They think big: big corner offices, big corporate jets, big office towers, big signs on professional sports stadiums with their names on them. Big costs-but not-so-big profits. They have shareholders who will put up with that foolishness. As a small business owner, your number one shareholder better not put up with it, or all you'll own is debts and regrets.
- Fran Tarkenton, GoSmallBiz

To that end....

Danny



Sync Your Lips with Your Feet

What you do speaks so loudly that what you say I cannot hear

- Anonymous


Stephen M.R. Covey states "trust is one thing that changes everything. Trust is common to every individual, team, family, nation and organization." Mr. Covey continues with building an excellent compelling business case for Trust and how it is something you can get better at.

Having become a student of Covey's brand of trust the past 4 years, I've used his teachings in my daily practice of coaching, training and life. The one factor that stands out higher than any other is his 2nd core of credibility -

Intent: What's Your Agenda?

You can find this in his words and detail beginning with page 73, but I'll give you my version.

1. Words and Walk; the words and the walk must be the same every time. When they aren't, I lose traction with the relationship and everything slows down. When the words and walk are consistent, then our relationship speeds up and will grow.

2. Watch out for Blind Spots; be aware of the fact that we trust people based upon how much we trust ourselves and our own feelings about trust. If our tendency is to not trust, then relationships don't grow and business slows down. If we tend to blindly trust others, then we'll get burned. Subsequently, as we trust well, we'll build relationships and business between within those relationships will flourish.

3. Willingness to Win/Win; intentions and motives. Is everyone in the relationship pointed towards not only the same end mission or purpose, but also goals along the way and the basis for how to get there? Does everyone understand the other person's "win?"


My favorite Trust Behavior is -

Create Transparency (page 152): tell the truth in a way people can verify. Be real, open and authentic. Over deliver your disclosure.

Opposite is - hidden agenda / withhold information / not disclosing because "they didn't ask"

Counterfeit - masking the real behavior and agenda with hidden agendas and motives / being passively-aggressive / technically telling the truth (Covey has this as part of "Talking Straight" but in practice I've found it to be important here also)


Our lips and feet come out-of-sync in many ways and that can be driven by a lack of focus, the greed to sell something at the moment and volatility. Some of us don't even realize what we are doing at the time, others of us do and mistakenly think the end result is the only thing that matters.

Look over your shoulder and be aware of what you leave along the way; bad and good - improve on the bad and relish the good. Practice trust well.

To that end......


Danny

Third Time's A Charm: I hope

I subscribe to John Maxwell's Your Word Today is....  and today's Word he gave his viewers/listeners was Self Control.

My first view was early this morning and my thought was YEA! I agree, I have control of myself! By 8:30 though, life had attacked and I was in the middle of a couple of controversies; one with someone not making a call they were supposed to make, and then my seemingly inability to perform simple taks on the computer....a certain software this morning.

I thought...self control, self control, self control...why am I thinking self-control! And then I remembered----Maxwell's word.

So, I just now listened to it again. And I feel better. Or did. Not so much now as I write this and I'm thinking one, about the phone call (did it happen?) and two, I've got to get learn how to use that software and get that work done.

Self-Control.

I hope the 3rd time I watch that 1 minute video helps.

To that end...

Deep breaths.

Changes are Hard

He who rejects change is the architect 
of decay. The only human institution which 
rejects progress is the cemetery. 
 
~ Harold Wilson

I don't care who you are, change is hard.

Just hard.

It doesn't matter if you're trying to change, or having to changing. It's hard.

Just hard.

Whether you need to change, trying to change or having to change. It's hard.

Just hard.

If you say it's not, I'll say, as my brother Randy is fond of saying "you lie to your friends and I'll lie to mine, but let's not lie to each other."

Embrace the fact that change is hard and you'll be better prepared to handle the tasks it will take to change.

Because it's hard.

Just hard.

To that end....let's purposefully change in 2012.

And it'll be hard.

Just hard.

But that's ok. It's supposed to be.

A Baby's Hug

From an Anonymous author…..

A Baby's Hug ~

We were the only family with children in the restaurant.

I sat Erik in a high chair and noticed everyone was quietly sitting and talking. Suddenly, Erik squealed with glee and said, 'Hi.' He pounded his fat baby hands on the high chair tray. His eyes were crinkled in laughter

And his mouth was bared in a toothless grin, as he wriggled and giggled with merriment.

I looked around and saw the source of his merriment. It was a man whose pants were baggy with a zipper at half-mast and his toes poked out of would-be shoes. His shirt was dirty and his hair was uncombed and unwashed. His whiskers were too short to be called a beard and his nose was so varicose it looked like a road map. We were too far from him to smell, but I was sure he smelled. His hands waved and flapped on loose wrists.

This was Christmas time and we were eating before going next to the mall for Erik to see Santa. Frankly, it was annoying for Erik to be so interested in this man across the room.

'Hi there, baby; hi there, big boy. I see ya, buster,' the man said to Erik. My husband and I exchanged looks, 'What do we do?'

Erik continued to laugh and answer, 'Hi.' Everyone in the restaurant noticed and looked at us and then at the man. The Old geezer was creating a nuisance with my beautiful baby.

Our meal came and the man began shouting from across the room, 'Do ya patty Cake? Do you know peek-a-boo? Hey, look, he knows peek- a-boo.' Nobody thought the old man was cute. He was obviously drunk. My husband and I were embarrassed.

We ate in silence; all except for Erik, who was running through his Repertoire for the admiring skid-row bum, who in turn, reciprocated with his cute comments. We finally got through the meal and headed for the door. My husband went to pay the check and told me to meet him in the parking lot.

The old man sat poised between me and the door.

'Lord, just let me out of here before he speaks to me or Erik,' I prayed. As I drew closer to the man, I turned my back trying to sidestep him and avoid any air he might be breathing. As I did, Erik leaned over my arm, reaching with both arms in a baby's 'pick-me-up' position. Before I could stop him, Erik had propelled himself from my arms to the man.

Suddenly a very old smelly man and a very young baby consummated their love and kinship. Erik in an act of total trust, love, and submission laid his tiny head upon the man's ragged shoulder. The man's eyes closed, and I saw tears hover beneath his lashes.

His aged hands full of grime, pain, and hard labor, cradled my baby's bottom and stroked his back. No two beings have ever loved so deeply for so short a Time. I stood awestruck. The old man rocked and cradled Erik in his arms and his eyes opened and set squarely on mine. He said in a firm commanding voice, 'you take care of this baby.' Somehow I managed, 'I will,' from a throat that contained a stone.

He pried Erik from his chest, lovingly and longingly, as though he were in pain. I received my baby, and the man said, 'God bless you, ma'am, you've given me My Holiday gift.' I said nothing more than a muttered thanks.

With Erik in my arms, I ran for the car. My husband was wondering why I was Crying and holding Erik so tightly, and why I was saying, 'My God, my God, Forgive me.' I had just witnessed Christ's love shown through the innocence of a tiny Child who saw no sin, who made no judgment; a child who saw a soul, and a mother who saw a suit of clothes. I was a Christian who was blind, holding a child who was not.

I felt it was God asking, 'Are you willing to share your son for a moment?'

When He shared His for all eternity.

May we all remember the purpose of this season.

Steve Heston on Tebow, Trust and Results

Another great post from Guest Blogger - Steve Heston

“You can’t create a high-trust culture unless people perform.”
-  Craig Weatherup, former CEO of PepsiCo, as quoted in
The Speed of Trust; The One That Change Everything
by Stephen M. R. Covey
and recommended by Randy Watson

Tim Tebow is 7-1 as a starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos.

He “can’t throw,” “can’t read complex, high-speed NFL defenses,” “can’t make multiple reads,” etc.

He’s 7-1.

He can, and does, win.  He performs.  He gets results.

His teammates, interestingly enough, trust him.  Because he performs, but not just because he performs.

By all accounts, his integrity is impeccable, his intent (to be a winner) is clear and his capabilities have at least allowed him to be in a position to be in the NFL, so those cornerstones are set. 

But integrity, intent and capability aren’t enough over the long haul.  That’s significant today in our world, because we’re finally having “long haul” conversations again within the walls of this here place we spend our waking hours.

So, what are “results?”  To loop Einstein in to the conversation; “Not everything that can be counted counts and not everything that counts can be counted.”

Covey frames it with six objectives:

1)    Play hard
2)    Have fun
3)    Be a good sport
4)    Be a good team player
5)    Learn something
6)    Win

Pages 114-117 give more depth, so in the interest of space, I’ll move to how Covey suggests we can improve our results;

A)   Take Responsibility for Results
B)   Expect to Win
C)   Finish Strong

Tebow’s Broncos have come from behind in 6 of those seven wins.  The loss, by the way, was a crushing defeat to the Detroit Lions (before several of the Lions got sent home for being thugs).  Tebow bore the responsibility for that blowout loss, and he’s deferred to the team (see #3 and #4 above) in the wins.  Those would be the wins he’s expecting, and the ones he’s producing by finishing strong.  With the teammates he trusts and who trust him.

Integrity.  Intent.  Capabilities.  Results.

The four things that make up the core of the One Thing That Changes Everything.  Trust.

Make something incredible happen today.


STEVEN T HESTON 
SteveHeston@AOL.com

Counterfeit Credibility

Googling counterfeit brought up over 7 million hits; counterfeit behavior 948,000.

Counterfeit means; made in imitation so as to be passed off fraudulently or deceptively as genuine; not genuine; forged: counterfeit dollar bills. Pretended; unreal.

Credibility means; capable of being believed; believable: a credible statement. Worthy of belief or confidence; trustworthy: a credible witness.

Counterfeit Credibility then means that one's credibility, or credible statement, or credible witness is an imitation, deceptive, not genuine, and deceptive.

Normal counterfeit behaviors that destroys others trust in us, AND one's trust in oneself include:

An Amazing Post. Simply Stinking Amazing.

This is an "amazing" post. I say "amazing" because "amazing" is what my coach told me to say when I thought something was stupid, horrible, bad attitude.....or when I don't have anything good to say.

Keep Looking Over Your Shoulder

The step that most directly controls our success or failure is our
behavior - what we do or not do. Behavior means our actions.
How we act, what we do, each moment of each day...

- Shad Helmstetter What to Say When You Talk to Yourself


What did you do to be successful last week? Look over your shoulder? Literally. Look to see if you did what it took to succeed last week.

Assuming that you're responsible for generating income...Did you make a sale? Did you market well last week? Did you bring new people into your sphere of influence. Did you go out, meet people and tell them about your offer? What you're selling? Did you start new relationships last week? 

In days of old (ten years ago), most of us only started new relationships over the phone and/or face-to-face. These days, there's the social media aspect, email and other internet impact.

And, the guy that succeeds in these relationships will usually use many ways to touch his spheres.

Without Good Followers, There Are No Real Leaders

The Position Myth: "I can't lead if I am not at the top."
- John Maxwell in The 360 Degree Leader

Just a quick note this morning to remind those that follow this blog that in order to be a great leader...
  • you have to have great followers
  • you have to be a great follower
I've recently changed companies to join a team at US Home Loans. Our Mission Statement says -

Our goal is to be the lender of choice for the professional real estate agent and their clients in each market we enter as measured by all industry service level surveys reported. We will succeed by meeting the needs of our borrowers through exceptional communication and transparency throughout the loan process and conducting our business with absolute integrity.

US Homeloans' people will be the source of our competitive advantage. We will distinguish ourselves by creating an environment that fosters teamwork and innovation. We will utilize our employee's abilities to the fullest while at the same time treating each other with respect and dignity.

My ability to achieve this Mission Statement, my role as a Loan Officer, my success, my impact, is dependent upon how well I lead up, down, and around.

Cold Calling vs "Inbound Marketing"...

While there are undoubtedly some points of this video to argue against, including the language, the point it makes needs to be considered. 

And remember, things are a changing. We old guys need to be sure we know what we are up against!



 

Points-to-Ponder: Strategic Thinking Leadership

It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to
entertain a thought without accepting it.

Aristotle

A strategy is a theory of how best to organize and invest resources and ways of working together (including organizational culture) to achieve goals. To be able to think critically; analytically and systematically is critical to being a successful and an effective leader.

Notice that Aristotle (above) did not say an "educated person" but rather a trained or educated mind. Hence, a disciplined way of thinking.


Focus! Almost Getting Derailed.

My mission statement states "I will endeavor to glorify God by making a difference and a reasonable profit."

Endeavor, glorify God, make a difference, make a reasonable profit; endeavor, glorify, God, make, difference, reasonable, profit.


All of that came forth with a client recently. This client, I'll call Susan, is a very high "I" or Sanguine personality. These personality types are typically unfocused, even to the extent of being extreme. Their strengths include high energy, talk to most anyone, works a crowd well and lots (LOTS) of ideas and stories.


A Sanguine weakness is "lack of focus." You can typically tell if you are talking to a Sanguine if he/she doesn't stay focused on the subject.  They can easily relate their ideas and or stories back to one focus point and will even rationalize why all the subject matters are important.

Fires Attract All Personalities, But....

Fires attract all kinds of people, but not everyone acts the same once they get close. Such was the case this week with the Pedernales fire. I live on the Pedernales River and was forced to evacuate, and though I did leave , I didn't go far. Cathy didn't want to watch, and didn't, but I was drawn back out of curiosity, concern, and just the general fact "it's a fire!"

Right People in the Right Place


This is the 3rd article in a series about the book Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done, by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan. But...with an emphasis on small business.*

Building Block #3: Having the Right People in the Right Place - the job no leader should delegate

Many Small Business Owners aren't equipped in their passion and skill sets to hire the right people for the right seat on the bus (see Good to Great by Jim Collins) and will tend to hire friends, family and others not properly "fit" for the position. Thus, the business owner needs to prepare him/herself to do it right. Here are some tips - 


Small Businesses Need Cultural Change.....TOO!

This is another article in a series about the book Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done, by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan. But...with an emphasis on small business.*

Building Block #2: Creating the Framework for Cultural Change

7 Essential Behaviors for Small Businesses....TOO!

Most management and leadership books are written by and focused on big business. That's understandable considering the big money attracts and develops talent so well. Yet, even these authors become "small" businesses when they become authors!


Blogger in 7 Minutes

I wrote Why Blog? recently and was surprised about the number of people who were surprised that I used the Blogger platform. Blogging can be a very important weapon in your arsenal. My platform choice for 5 years has been Blogger. It is simple, easy to use and quick to get up and running (see video).


Key to Change and Success is Spaced Repetition

I didn’t say repetition, I said spaced repetition.

-         Ken Blanchard in “Know Can Do”


Experts say that improving anything is 90% spaced repetition. I’ll repeat…. 90% of learning, changing and improving is not just about hearing, reading and experiencing it again and again and again, but hearing, reading and experiencing it again and again and again spread out over a period of time; days weeks and months.

In “Know Can Do,” Ken Blanchard, along with co-authors Meyer and Hue, lay out an incredible story about how to listen, learn, experience and change; these guys are true change agents.

Investment in People vs Technology

Are you paying as much attention to the improvement of yourself and your people as you are your technology and other assets?

What's Keeping You from Moving On?

Intentionality...a Guerrilla Marketing Competency

Keep Your Weapons Sharp and Tuned-In!


Clients report that the Marketing Calendar is their most precious business asset.

- Jay Conrad Levinson
Master Marketer and
author of Guerrilla Marketer


 

Trust....

Trust can be a great thing. Search this blog for writings about trust, the Speed of Trust, Trust Matters, Trust in Sales and Marketing, the Speed of Trust in God's Eyes and more.

Need a speaker at an event?

We are available to talk about subjects related to posts on this blog, including Trust!

Danny Smith
512-773-6528
danny@dannylsmith.com

Does God bless us when we honor Him? The business owner with increased wealth, or the healthy family, is tempted to think so. But what about the owner who has devoted her life and business to honoring God, sought Christian counsel in setting company policies. Yet, she's lost that business? Or the family that prays and seeks Christ's ways and has lost a child or parent way too early?

Is one more blessed than the other?

Read more

Sales People Need Reserves and Margins, Too

The real price of everything, what everything really costs to the
man who wants to acquire it, is the toil and trouble of acquiring it.

 Adam Smith

Bryan Flanagan writes "sales professionals must build a physical, a mental, and a spiritual reserve. It's easy to run out of gas due to your daily selling activities. Therefore, you need to have something "extra" in your tank. This is where the reserve comes in."

Performing Daily Acts of Trivia

In the absence of clearly defined goals, we become strangely

loyal to performing daily acts of trivia.
- Robert Heinlein


How about you….how do you engage in the changes in your business? Do you plan, set goals and prepare for changes? Or, are you in the more common camp of “go-with-the-flow.”

I call this the “ready-shoot-aim” method and actually know a few people who seem to do well in spite of themselves. That doesn’t work for most of us though. To be effective, we know we need goals and a plan of action, but we’ve set and missed so many that it’s gotten us down and we’re scared to set them again. In default we’ve taken to the go-with-the-flow or ready-shoot-aim methods and we’ve failed.
 
Experts say that by far the #1 reason goals are NOT achieved is this..

A Rambling Thanks

I've been asked, tweeted and emailed "what's up, no posts this week?!"

Thanks for asking. It is always nice to know that people are following you. On that note, I was inside my Google Analytics and found where I could see how many people follow me via RSS feeds and such as that. Cool!

So, where have I been? Planning, fixing and working. This has been a great week and I purposefully wanted to work on some other things and let the 52 Great Loan Officer posting stay as visible as possible this week. Some of that purpose got off-track with a problem upgrading my shopping cart and Blogger's editing issues.

On the note of Blogger...one reason I stay with Blogger is the fact that it is in "at least" viewer/read mode over 99.9% of the time. When it does have problems, like it did for around 24 hours this week, people could still get on the site to view/read. Very few other hosts can say that, and this is free (that's good high-impact/low-cost marketing...true Guerrilla style).

The emails, calls and SIGN-UPs have been great and I appreciate the responses. This is going to be a great addition to the behavioral characteristic study we are doing. Not to mention the book (that's a teaser to an announcement we'll be making next week).


To that end....thanks for questions, Tips sign-ups, registrations for the Guerrila Marketing workshop and overall followings.


Danny




My involvement in a national study of top loan officers has confirmed what I read in a 1994 magazine article; there are commonalities among this elite group of professionals.

Some of these commonalities are behavioral, while others are strategies and actions. We are sharing these strategies and actions with you at no charge.

Click the link below and sign-up for 52 weeks of "Great Loan Officer Tips."

Apply these 52 Great Loan Officer Tips and you will increase your income.




To that end....


Danny L. Smith
RP2 Development
danny@rp2development.com
512-773-6528

Are Seminars and Workshops Worth the Time? Not Usually

The trick is the purpose behind our motives, agenda and behaviors.
 
- Anonymous

This post, much like the one yesterday, is a bit self-serving. Well, I guess most bloggers' posts are self-serving as are journalists and anyone that speaks or writes. Heck, most of us are just trying to push our agenda in some form or fashion no matter what we're doing; that's sales and marketing whether we're selling houses, widgets or trying to get a date!

What does that have to do with today's post? I'm not sure...it all just came to mind and I thought I'd share. Well, it does have something to do with today's post....I've been told recently, a few times, that people don't know what I do - thus, the advertising type posts recently!

To the question at hand: Are seminars, workshops and classes worth the time and effort it takes to attend? Normally NO. Of course, if you're attending just for the purpose of being in the room to get some CE credit, then they're worth it.

But, what about spending the time in a venue from which you'll really learn in such a way that it'll help you change?

Experts say that we'll only remember 10% of a 2 hour seminar 1 week later. The same experts tell us the average person can't remember the name of the seminar speaker we heard 3 months ago or even the subject last year.

But......people say RP2's workshops are different. They're collaborative, interactive and keep coming back at you for weeks afterwards. Our intent is to always to give you way more information than you can ever expect to learn; it really is like drinking from a fire hydrant! Then, from allllllll that material, you have plenty to pick from that matters to you now.

During the workshops we encourage you to bring forth scenarios, your real life situations that pertain to the matter-at-hand and let's build them into the process so you and others in the class can have take-aways that matter. We encourage you to interrupt and ask questions.

And afterwards? Instead of the time you spent being an expense, we've turned it into an asset by keeping you involved; for at least 4 weeks we send you emails, audio postcards and more workshop materials to insure your time in the live workshop was worth it. Most people tell us that not only were they able to build on their 2 top take-aways from the workshop, but they found additional tips and strategies in the follow-up that also increased their sales.

Our mission and goals, like yours, is at least partly about making money. I agree with Zig Ziglar when he said "anyone that says they don't think about money will lie about other things also!" In fact, our mission statement says "We endeavor to glorify God by making a difference and a reasonable profit."

That's what our workshops and the bonus follow-up is all about - insuring that what you pay for (even if you come to a sponsored event and it costs you nothing) makes a difference.

To that end....make a difference and a profit today!

Danny L. Smith



What if you trained your employees and they left? What if you don't?

a Zig Ziglar quote




You spend money on systems, new equipment, marketing, compliance, accounting, more new systems and hire more people. Yet, do you train yourself and your employees? Spending time and money for training gives you a competitive advantage. It is working smart. Do you work smart, or are you just working hard?

Statistics continue to prove that a company that provides continuous training will increase its productivity, trust, and the better overall results it will achieve. Companies that have continuous training programs rank over 70% higher in local and national best places to work surveys.

RP2 Development has a number of High Impact training classes you can take to stand out as a manager and leader. Here are 15 of those classes -
  • Building an Elite Workforce
  • Effective Communications
  • Motivating Employees
  • Goal Setting
  • Group Decision Making
  • Time Management
  • Priority Management
  • Employee Motivation
  • Generational Differences
  • Problem Solving
  • Ethics and Values
  • Conflict Resolution
  • Corrective Counseling
  • Building Effective Teams
  • Coaching Managers to Coach
Most of these classes are available in classroom, online training and collaborative focus groups. You can choose a combination of online and classroom settings. The classroom settings are 2-7 hours in length while the online training classes are 6-8 hours. The online classes are on-demand and can be taken in multiple settings.

Stephen M.R. Covey states "don't assume today's knowledge and skills will be sufficient for tomorrow's challenges. Getting better, continuously improving and increasing your capabilities is a must."

Working smart is a mandatory characteristic for getting and staying ahead. To learn more about these classes, contact Danny Smith at 512-773-6528 or danny@DannyLSmith.com. Our web address is http://www.dannylsmith.com/ or http://www.rp2development.com/.


RP2 stands for Right People / Right Place and when you have the right people in the right place and they are always getting better, you will get Results.


Life Isn't a Straight Line, But a Series of Circles

We've just completed 4 months of the new year and I'd bet good money that few people you ask have thought much, if anything, about their goals. I've tweeted the following statement and the responses have been mostly sighs and gulps.

What are you doing in May, 2011, to accomplish your October, 2011 goals?

Setting goals is one part of achieving good results. Achieving good results is about aligning values, setting good goals, establishing plan and strategies, determining measure points, putting forth the work and having a robust evaluation and correction process.

The #1 reason goals are rarely achieved is the lack of alignment to a person's T.A.S.K.S. (time, attitude, skill, knowledge, style). #2 is an understanding of what it takes to properly setting goals to begin with.

Working through and clarifying your values is the first stage of a solid foundation for goal setting. To properly set a goal, the goal must be reasonable and must be set in accordance with a person’s time, attitude, skill, knowledge and style (TASKS); a goal can be set to increase or strengthen any of these T.A.S.K.S. points.

Goals can and should build upon each other and you have to have the necessary T.A.S.K.S to achieve those goals/results. If you don't have the time, attitude, skill, knowledge and/or style, then you need to getter better. Sometimes you'll set goals with an action plan that includes the necessary training, other times it will be through your evaluation and correction process that you'll realize you, and/or your team, do not have what is needed. That is time reset the goals and/or timeline.

Another key component to a solid foundation for achieving goals is recognizing your Core Ideology; comprised of your vision, mission and your values. During life’s triumphs, struggles and day-to-day living your Core Ideology is what helps ground your behaviors and thoughts so that no matter what path you find yourself engaged on, you stand true. It’s vitally important to not only define your mission and values but to put them both in writing, commit to these statements, and recognize when you find yourself detouring.

Put this written document in front of you, share with someone that cares, develop and write the big and small actions steps and take it one-day-at-a-time. Don't take big bites.

The more you evaluate and correct, the more you keep go around these circles, the more you'll succeed. The faster you go around the circle, the faster you'll achieve the goals.


To that end.....be purposeful and keep circling back to your goals and actions steps.


Blessings,


Danny

The Power of Words

Think twice before you speak, because your words and influence will plant
the seed of either success or failure in the mind of another.

- Napoleon Hill



Mark Hairston and I were on a Guerrilla Marketing coaching call this evening and the subject of the importance of "words" came up. Thanks Mark for remembering this YouTube.

Mark is a branch manager for AmericaHomeKey Mortgage in Austin and owner/trainer of Texas Mortgage IQ.


To that end....

Danny