Nobody buys anything on an elevator....Seth Godin

“One, Two, Three…Three Man Movers. Tom Britton with Three Men Movers.”

That’s how Tom Britton with Three Men Movers gives his 10 second introduction in a networking meeting.

If it’s a 30 second intro he’ll sometimes blow a whistle and add “give us a call.”

In a 45-60 second, Tom will input something like “we moved 30 thousand Texas last year" before he blows the whistle.

Real simple. Nothing fancy. Just a slow, very purposeful marketing message. When you hear someone like that, pay attention, studying them, watch what else they do, 
- how they show up to meetings
- how they show up online
- how they handle themselves
- how they're dressed.

Notice what ALL makes them standout.

Pick up the phone, by Darren Hardy

Running the numbers

How much do you think it comes down to the numbers? Not just "know" or just being aware, but really thinking into the results of the numbers.  

Running the numbers.

I know, it's not ALL about the numbers. It is about how you get the numbers. But it is about the numbers because you need the numbers to get to the results you want.

Right? Right. Argue with me, but don’t reject me until you’ve worked yourself through the process. Don't reject me until you understand what I'm talking about here. I know it’s also about how we get the numbers. But if we aren’t thinking into the results…..purposeful thinking into our results…results we’re getting and results we want…if we aren’t thinking into the results really well, we tend to forget about the numbers and just go through the motions.

What's Best Next: How The Gospel Transforms How You Get Things Done

This might be the best book on the Theology of Work I've read yet...here's an insert from the What's Best Next blog -

If You Only take 5 Productivity Practices Away from This Book

Learning and especially implementing productivity practices can be hard. It is easy to forget what we learned or forget how to apply it. One remedy is to keep coming back to this book (of course!). But to make this as simple as possible, if you can only take away 5 things from this book, they should be these: 
 
Foundation: Look to God, in Jesus Christ, for your purpose, security, and guidance in all of life.

Purpose: Give your whole self to God (Romans 12:1-2), and then live for the good of others to his glory to show that he is great in the world.
I've read the book twice and will continue to gain nuggets for a long time to come.

Guiding Principle: Love your neighbor as yourself. Treat others the way you want them to treat you. Be proactive in this and even make plans to do good.

Core Strategy: Know what’s most important and put it first.

Core Tactic: Plan your week, every week! Then, as things come up throughout the day, ask “is this what’s best next?” Then, either do that right away or, if you can’t, slot it in to your calendar or action list that you are confident you will refer back to at the right time.


To that end......

Perception: Reality or Relative?

A friend and client called me yesterday about a problem he was having and wanted my perspective. 

In his telling of the problem, he called it a challenge, he mentioned how unhappy he was with his and another person’s attitude during a sales conversation.

I asked him what he was comparing that emotion of happiness to, to which there was a long pause.
I’ll call him John. John, after the pause, replied “I’m really asking for help here and I don’t appreciate you turning this back on me by getting philosophical.” To which I replied, “John, I’m asking this question so I can understand what’s causing your unhappiness because, right now, I don’t get it and if I don’t get it I can’t give you any advice.”

Our discussion continued for another 20 minutes or so discussing what he was comparing his unhappiness to and in the end, he had a different perception of the matter…his unhappiness.

Perception.

I used to believe “perception is reality.” But it’s not; perception is relative.

Your perception is relative to what you’re comparing it to.
 
I asked Cathy one time if she’d consider going to Russia on a missions trip and she emphatically said NO.

The conversation then went something link this….

“But what if you did?”

“I don’t.”

But what if you did?”

I don’t.”

We continued on through that for a few more minutes but I didn’t get anywhere with her. She’d been through this before and she knew that if she started thinking about what it would be like “if she did,” then her feelings could change!

Perception - is – RELATIVE.

What are you not wanting to do?

What if you did want to do it? How would that feel? What would you do?

How would it feel to do it?

To that end...

Change. If it was easy, everyone would do it.

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.

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

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

To that end....start and finish 2015 STRONG.

And it'll be hard.

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

Not just 2015, but 2014, 20 and 40.

What VISION do you have for your business, your life? Do you have them tied together?

Reflecting on 2014, I ask "how did that match up with my dream (vision) I have for the rest of my life?

Taking pages from three favorite sources (Michael Gerber, John Maxwell and Michael Hyatt), I think about how I want my life to look like in 25 years.....

Right now...think into that for a minute...before you move on. Were your 2014 goals a reflection of your 2040 dream/vision?

How do your goals for 2015 reflect forward into 2020? 2040? I'll be 85 years old in 2040 and I'm really paying attention to what I'm doing today and tomorrow and in 2015 to insure, with God's blessings, that my 2040 is some version of today's dream.

In "Put Your Dreams to the Test," Maxwell shares Hyatt's vision for Thomas Nelson books (back when Hyatt was the division leader). Here's part of that vision statement -

A baby's hug

A story from an unknown author -

"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.

Roadblocks and blind spots, and an assessment's view

I wonder about what's blocking me from reaching my potential and it's unnerving to think there's things in my way I'm not aware of! The whole "what-I-don't-know-that-I-don't-know" syndrome can cause the deep ponderer some real problems.

But....it should also cause one to search the matter out, to ask questions, to go deeper.

Do you try to think into your results? Think about it, if you believe the Bible you have to wonder about these statements -

You are made in the image of God.

Seek out the kingdom within you.

I do believe the Bible is relevant and the period-the-end Word of God, but....I also believe all the truths are not readily apparent. This that causes me to really wonder what I'm missing? How do I bring out that image in me? What am I missing that's causing me not to move on? What character flaw do I not see? What competence do a strengthen and what weakness do I just drop? What I'm I not seeing that others see? What's keeping me from getting past a recurring problem? What's.......

To see something in your blind spot, you have to either move around, or, have someone point it out to you. Otherwise it's not a blind spot. Correct? Normally, I need someone to point it out to me, or to utilize some sort of device.

A device to eliminate blind spots, and roadblocks, are good assessments. I've been using assessments for over 20 years. This began when I read an article about the top 20 loan officers in the U.S. and was struck by all the commonalities. Not necessarily in their marketing and customer base, but other aspects of the people themselves. The search for those commonalities led me to the utilization of over 3,000 assessments as I've worked to help individuals and teams increase their performance and results.

A good assessment will help.....

• give a clear and accurate depiction of where the individual is today
• prepare the individuals for the path and create a map to insure the individual's success
• identify key areas in which the individual needs development
• an individual choose or change careers
• equip teams to function at a highly collaborative level
• manage employee development
• leadership development
• with job fit (whether you're looking for a job, or interviewing others)
• succession planning and talent management

What an assessment is not - an assessment doesn't put you in a box. An assessment helps you learn the talents, attitudes, skills and knowledge already in your box. That realization can then be used to improve and get better results in the years ahead.

To that end...... what "lid" is keeping you from rising to your potential?

What blind spots have kept you from your potential in 2014?

What blind spots will keep you from your potential in 2015?

Pushing a rope. But then there's the prize

I've been in a head down, not-so-much smiling, but dialing mode lately. Cold calling.

Cold calling, and it's not my sweet-spot. Actually, I spend a lot of time getting ready to call, and getting ready to get ready.

It's a bit like when I finally KNOW I have to get my taxes done...a lot of other stuff seems to get done first. I'll do almost anything to keep from doing my taxes. All kinds of stuff seems to become not-so-hard.

And then, I see this..it's a tip I get weekly from Marcus Buckingham's Standout program. The tip is spun off an assessment I did a couple of years ago.

Now, it's not that I didn't already know that, but it sure helps!

Do you know what I mean? Here I've been making the calls, and it is like pushing a rope, but part of the prize is getting the appointment and getting in the room.

And at the end of a not so good in the results category day, I see this.

Great reminder. Tomorrow's coming!

Follow Well to Lead Well

A leader leading leader is not the only one leading. A leader leading leader attracts people that follow and lead well and empowers both to take action.

Courageous Follower: pg 35 - "leaders want their staff to assume more responsibility, initiate ideas, and take action of their own."

Some positive examples this week of a leader leading leader; Curtis staying after me for a meeting (it took 2 tries to get me in the meeting) about settings on a new piece of software that we're trying to implement, Jamie going beyond her normal responsibilities to get a problem fixed, and Austen developing a new market awareness program.

This is type of work that energizes a leader and leaves him refreshed at the end of a hard day instead of worn down.

We must all learn to do the job we're hired to do and accept that the job is not all laid out on a policy or a checklist. We have to think and take action; ask questions, insure we have the knowledge and keep asking ourselves and others questions until we do.

Don't be the weakest link, take action and be a leader leading leader.

This is also a great example of good Character, Competence and Chemistry as described by Bill Hybels in Courageous Leadership and Dan Cathy of Chic-Fil-A.


Follow well.

This is a partial repost from 7/29/2009

Trust. It's even profitable.

Trust is to success as influence is to leadership. You can't have one without the other. Stephen M. R. Covey, in his book Speed of Trust, tells us that we'll get deals done faster as our trust increases; us trusting others and others trusting us.

Covey outlines trust as Character and Competence.

Character is made up of Integrity and Intent.

Competence is about Capabilities and Results.

As he further breaks each of these down he identifies Integrity, Intent, Capabilities, and Results as the four cores of credibility.  Increase each of these and "deals" will get done faster. Increase the speed of getting business done and expenses go down. We know that as expenses go down, profits will go up.


The more you're trusted, the more you'll profit.

Simple. Huh?

The 3 C's of Success

Working with a client this week and discussing the qualities they were looking for in a new hire, the "3 C's" came up in the discussion. I was reminded of two men I highly respect - Bill Hybels and Dan Cathy. Both have built incredible organizations and use the qualities of Character, Competence and Chemistry in their selection process for new hires, associates and in Mr. Cathy's case, owner/operators of Chick-Fil-A stores.

Margins are the space needed to stay sane.

Margins are the space needed to stay sane.

-        Someone

The unbridled-driven person keeps adding things to their plate. Yet, rarely does he leave room for problems and confusion sets in. Confusion can lead to frustration, and frustration to a sincere desire to quit.

Does this describe or you? Or are you the recipient of a driven’s drive?

A good leader will leave margins in his schedule to handle the problems. Then, when problems come up, and they will, when confusion sets in, and it will, it isn’t compounded by not having enough time. 

Seriously…why would anyone care about growth?

Who cares about growth? Seriously…why would anyone care about growth?

For one………growth can be painfully slow.

Who wants to think about growth?

That can be so agonizing. Maybe I'm just thinking about it in relationship to how fast things seem to be happening these days.....that might be an age thing (?!)

Looking in, out and up: made for stewardship

Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear

fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can

you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

- John 15:4

Attending a mastermind group focused on John Maxwell's book The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth, John Griffin, a Maxwell certified coach and trainer, gave us assignments to bring 2 questions about the next Law to the next meeting. While these 7 weeks together doesn't give us time to do more than hit the top-of-the-waves, the book and Griffin's poking caused me to dig, as I was hoping. Yet, I wasn't necessarily expecting the digging to be in regards to work.

How much are you rationalizing your own failures?

I've been thinking. LOL. I know the joke, "That's a bit scary!"

My brother Randy says I think too much. What he probably means is I over-think things. And he's probably right except what I'm probably doing is……….what I'm probably doing is……

I'm trying to rationalize. I think.

Transparency. Stephen M.R. Covey, in his book Speed of Trust, defines transparency as "telling the truth in ways it can be verified." That's transparency!

Just write. Whatever pops up, just write.

I try to journal every morning and yesterday I found myself writing about values. Like most of my journaling, with pen in hand I start off giving thanks, stating my purpose for journaling and will ask myself a few questions. Ideally, the words start coming to my mind and I write.

Just write. Whatever pops up, I write.

Yesterday was one of those really good days. I'd started off as usual and after probably 15 minutes I realized I'd been writing about values. Looking back I realized I'd asked myself "what do I value?" and had at first answered the normal stuff like honesty, integrity, family, God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, friends…

But then, and this is where authentic journaling really kicks in, I wrote about what I was thinking about, where I was spending my time, my goals, my dreams, my fears, my thoughts, my ideas. I was writing about what I really valued.

When realized what I had been writing about I thought "Huh? What's this?" And I looked back and realized…….

It’s a great day, Danny Smith

If you call me, you'll notice that's the how I answer my phone.........It's a great day, Danny Smith. It's also part of my voicemail greeting.

It’s not just on my voicemail, it’s a new voicemail I record every morning, weekdays at least!

Why do I do that?

Renewable Referrals by DeChambeau, Perry, Stec, Taylor, Hernandez, and Westerberg

A profitable read. I was intrigued when I first read heard about this book because it's written by 6 coach/consultants trained by marketing guru John Jantsch. Ha! It was worth the read just to see what 6 such people would agree on!

Well done. A good read. A very good read.

My two biggest take aways the first two times through -

1. Pages 18, 19 "With referrals you'll lower you costs of sales." That's a simple, true and brilliant statement. Unconsciously, everyone knows that, but we need to be aware of it every day. Great daily focus for me moving forward.

2. Pages 95-97 "Now's the time to start getting it all on paper."

I said TWO points, but I'm adding a third; page 99-101 "This is the moment of truth."

Thanks Debbie, Ray, Jeff, Rosie, Kelly and Dawn. Great job.

Creativity breeds clutter. Let it be!

I've been moving pretty fast and hard the past few weeks and this morning I noticed that I'm much more organized! Meaning, there's less clutter all around me.

That's much better than back in 2012 when I wrote the following post -

"The clutter rushed in late yesterday. Actually, it snuck in and slapped me. Some things I'd rushed on 2 weeks ago started coming apart, I overbooked myself late in the day (knowing I was doing so) and when I finally decided to shut down last night my desk was a mess. Maybe that's the way I just function."

NO!

I'm more energized when the clutter is gone, when I'm creating (we were created to create) and cleaning.

I woke this morning thinking how much of a "lid" this is to my ability to really get things done. Reflecting back over the past few days I'm not only accepting, but understand, (Maxwell's Law of the Lid).
So, today is like everyday; practice the process of creating, cluttering, de-cluttering

And pay attention to Cathy when she says "focus. Hey! FOCUS."

To that end....I pray "Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change and bring others along side me that can fill those gaps that can be filled, give me the courage, strength and energy to make a positive impact where I can, and wisdom and discernment to know the difference. Please Lord, give me my daily bread, living not just one-day-at-a-time, that can be too long, but one moment-at-a-time, putting one foot in front of another - trusting you with each step. Amen"

Ha! Another realization - I've got Someone that can help.

To that end......let it be said you've been #SpeakingGreatness

Re-Purposing Purpose

There's a lot of "stuff" going on about Purpose, Mission, Vision and Calling. What one means to you can be quite different than mine. Subsequently, Mission to me has been the same as Purpose or Vision how you've used it.

Just trying to explain the confusion is confusing. I'm reminded of an English 101 course I took through the University of Hawaii during my Navy stint. I used "drinking" in a paper and while I was referring to "drinking alcohol," the Professor had no clue. In her culture drinking was drinking; pouring a liquid down one's throat. I received a F.

To that point, I'm re-purposing my terminology to be more specific and hopefully achieve congruency. Simply put....

1. I'm dropping any official use of Mission

2. Vision: a present view of the future.

3. Calling: how "I'm called according to God's purpose."

4. And finally........Purpose; whether an all-in/life-plan Purpose, or the Purpose for setting down to write this blog post. Purpose. What's my/your Purpose for "x."



Simply put.


To that end...........be Purposeful about what you're doing in the present.

Don't accept these phrases

Thanks to Jeff Boss at Entrepreneur Magazine for this great article.

Here are MY favorites from......

10 Phrases Seal Teams Don't Accept, and Neither Should You

#1. I can't do that

#2. Sorry I'm late

#4. I'm going to HR

Click her to read the entire article on Entrepreneur

All 10 are good, but these 4 have a special place in my heart!

 

Free Lesson Tonight on Purpose, Vision and Goals

It’s a great day! If you’ve ever called me, you know that’s something I say every time I answer the phone…

“It’s a great day, this is Danny Smith.”

I started saying that in 1991 because Zig Ziglar told me to. Seriously, he pointed at me and said “if you want things to change, you need to change and it might start with something as simple as the way you answer the phone.”

Ok, I’ll admit that I was one of 40,000 in the Hoosier Dome but I swear he pointed RIGHT AT ME. He really did.

Rivers, lists and someday is today

Cathy’s gone for a few days on a mini-retreat and if you know Cathy you just went WHOA! because you know she doesn’t do retreats. But nothing Earth shattering. By “mini” I meant just her and a friend.

I’m with her though, not at her retreat but with the whole retreat thing….not for me either. Yet, as I wrote this, I remember it was at the only retreat I’ve ever been to (1990) where I heard Dr. Chris Thurman speak on his book “The Lies We Believe” and my life was changed. Seriously. There have been a small handful of books that have made a profound difference in my life and this is one.
 
I recently finished up the study of John Maxwell’s book “The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth” (it is also in that handful) with a lunch and learn group.

This is my 11th time through the 15 Laws with groups of people but it’s by far the most meaningful. Not just because I’ve come to each time through different than times before, which is true, but because we took our time (1 law/chapter per week) AND the group has been very engaging.

The last lesson was on The Law of Contribution; Growing Yourself Enables You to Grow Others. John talks about being a river, not a reservoir, questions that identify who can encourage us, being grateful, not letting stuff and people own you, and to keep growing you need to keep giving.

The chapter also talks about success being defined as sowing, not reaping.

Tim Hawks, my pastor at Hill Country Bible, is leading us through a series of sermons the past few months titled “Life to the Full,” “Waiting for Someday,” and now “One Mission.” They’ve been about Rivers, Someday is Today, and Generous Giving….at least that’s what I’ve gotten from them........

.......contributing, living abundantly, being purposeful and having the right mindset.

Back to Cathy being on a retreat…..when your spouse leaves for a few days, does she/he leave you a list of things that need to be done? I’m not talking about honey-do stuff, but a checklist for each day: feed Bubba x amount, Cats x this and x that, fresh water in dishes………?

Cathy does. And you know what? I love it. I don’t have to think about what I need to do because I have a list and you know what else? I’m much more likely to get things done. She’s managing me! Now that’s a lesson out of another great book, E-Myth – every visionary needs a manager and the visionary’s life becomes a better flowing river.

To that end…..make today someday and live life as an abundance filled river,

Some things I just do..everyday (even if I miss a day)

I ran across an old blog post that reminded me of some changes I've made to my Daily/Everyday To-Do List.

There are certain things I need to do everyday, though I do miss a day here and there.

1. Journaling; authentic style
2. 5-10 minute review of yesterdays calendar, emails and phone log. I do this with a pen in hand expecting to remember things about interactions/engagements with people
3. Emails to people I've met recently. Note - I normally wait 2 or 3 days after meeting them for the 1st time (see Stop-Wasting-Handshakes resources for more detail)
4. Add/Update to database (CRM)
5. 15 minutes of social media posting. Schedule post for the day, week and month. Retweet/share post of those in my spheres of influence
6. Write 5-10 minutes of a blog post. 
7. Look at today's calendar, flagged emails and tasks
8. Add to To-List; no more than 6 real to-do items for today 
9. Emails

And I'm now prepared for the day.

These are not all habits, but choices I make to eventually develop habits and build myself out in front of my business so I can have the freedom to live life and not live "in" my business.

Quick tips on blogging

Last night's Stop-Wasting-Handshakes Mastery class was about writing and sharing content across multiple platforms. Primarily, Blogging and LinkedIn's Long-Post Publishing. Content is essential.

Here's some quick tips (from the not-so-quick class) for writing Blog posts you can easily share on other platforms such LinkedIn and Facebook -

1. Keep posts to 200 - 300 words. Break-up longer posts into parts

2. Keep sentences and paragraphs short.

3. Use bullet points

4. Use numbered lists

Keeping everything short allows easy reading and easy sharing.

Responses vs Answers, and old friends

I love hearing from old friends and one showed up in my inbox recently. Roy Whitlock replied to a blog post I wrote about roadblocks and blindspots where I stated “Perfectionism or Getting ready-to-get-ready (anything worth doing is worth doing poorly until you learn to do it well).”

Now, to begin with, I can see Roy walking into my office and asking “I understand getting past roadblocks - but how does one find one's own blind spots? For example, #10 - how do you determine the point where "Getting Ready" becomes "Getting Ready to Get Ready"? And if something is worth doing, isn't it worth doing well? Won't doing it poorly start to reflect on your service delivery?”

Roy and I used to have some really good conversations. LOL……As to his plethora of questions (he never had just one and I’m surprised he only asked about one of my points)….here’s my response  -