Leadership Inspiration – Achievement and Enthusiasm

StrategyDriven Inspirational QuoteNothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson
(1803 – 1882)
American essayist, lecturer, and poet

What Business Superstars All Do Alike

There might be a ton of things that distinguish those who are successful and those who miss the boat, but I also do notice one common denominator… “Drive”: a willingness to succeed… and to fail. That’s right, I said to fail. I notice a few things that fuel this drive, activities they do that foster success and here they are:


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About the Author

Eric LofholmEric Lofholm is a Master Sales Trainer, author, business success guru, communications expert and lauded speaker who has presented his proprietary, proven sales and success systems to Titans of Industry and thousands of other professionals world-wide. He founded and serves as CEO for Eric Lofholm International, Inc. — an organization that professionally trains achievement-minded individuals and employee groups on the art and science of selling. Connect with Eric online at www.SalesChampion.com.

The Big Picture of Business – Corporate Cultures Reflect Business Progress and Growth.

Organizations should coordinate management skills into its overall corporate strategy, in order to satisfy customer needs profitably, draw together the components for practical strategies and implement strategic requirements to impact the business. This is my review of how management styles have evolved.

In the period that predated scientific management, the Captain of Industry style prevailed. Prior to 1885, the kings of industry were rulers, as had been land barons of earlier years. Policies were dictated, and people complied. Some captains were notoriously ruthless. Others like Rockefeller, Carnegie and Ford channeled their wealth and power into giving back to the communities. It was an era of self-made millionaires and the people who toiled in their mills.

From 1885-1910, the labor movement gathered steam. Negotiations and collective bargaining focused on conditions for workers and physical plant environments. In this era, business fully segued from an agricultural-based economy to an industrial-based reality.

As a reaction to industrial reforms and the strength of unions, a Hard Nosed style of leadership was prominent from 1910-1939, management’s attempt to take stronger hands, recapture some of the Captain of Industry style and build solidity into an economy plagued by the Depression. This is an important phase to remember because it is the mindset of addictive organizations.

The Human Relations style of management flourished from 1940-1964. Under it, people were managed. Processes were managed as collections of people. Employees began having greater says in the execution of policies. Yet, the rank and file employees at this point were not involved in creating policies, least of all strategies and methodologies.

Management by Objectives came into vogue in 1965 and was the prevailing leadership style until 1990. In this era, business started embracing formal planning. Other important components of business (training, marketing, research, team building and productivity) were all accomplished according to goals, objectives and tactics.

Most corporate leaders are two management styles behind. Those who matured in the era of the Human Relations style of management were still clinging to value systems of Hard Nosed. They were not just “old school.” They went to the school that was torn down to build the old school.

Executives who were educated in the Management by Objectives era were still recalling value systems of their parents’ generation before it. Baby boomers with a Depression-era frugality and value of tight resources are more likely to take a bean counter-focused approach to business. That’s my concern that financial-only focus without regard to other corporate dynamics bespeaks of hostile takeovers, ill-advised rollups and corporate raider activity in search of acquiring existing books of business.

To follow through the premise, younger executives who were educated and came of age during the early years of Customer Focused Management had still not comprehended and embraced its tenets. As a result, the dot.com bust and subsequent financial scandals occurred. In a nutshell, the “new school” of managers did not think that corporate protocols and strategies related to them. The game was to just write the rules as they rolled along. Such thinking always invites disaster, as so many of their stockholders found out. Given that various management eras are still reflected in the new order of business, we must learn from each and move forward.

In 1991, Customer Focused Management became the standard. In a highly competitive business environment, every dynamic of a successful organization must be geared toward ultimate customers. Customer focused management goes far beyond just smiling, answering queries and communicating with buyers. It transcends service and quality. Every organization has customers, clients, stakeholders, financiers, volunteers, supporters or other categories of ‘affected constituencies.’

Companies must change their focus from products and processes to the values shared with customers. Everyone with whom you conduct business is a customer or referral source of someone else. The service that we get from some people, we pass along to others. Customer service is a continuum of human behaviors, shared with those whom we meet.

Customers are the lifeblood of every business. Employees depend upon customers for their paychecks. Yet, you wouldn’t know the correlation when poor customer service is rendered. Employees of many companies behave as though customers are a bother, do not heed their concerns and do not take suggestions for improvement.

There is no business that cannot undergo some improvement in its customer orientation. Being the recipient of bad service elsewhere must inspire us to do better for our own customers. The more that one sees poor customer service and customer neglect in other companies, we must avoid the pitfalls and traps in our own companies.

If problems are handled only through form letters, subordinates or call centers, then management is the real cause of the problem. Customer focused management begins and ends at top management. Management should speak personally with customers, to set a good example for employees. If management is complacent or non-participatory, then it will be reflected by behavior and actions of the employees.

Any company can benefit from having an advisory board, which is an objective and insightful source of sensitivity toward customer needs, interests and concerns. The successful business must put the customer into a co-destiny relationship. Customers want to build relationships, and it is the obligation of the business to prove that it is worthy.

Customer focused management is the antithesis to the traits of bad business, such as the failure to deliver what was promised, bait and switch advertising and a failure to handle mistakes and complaints in a timely, equitable and customer-friendly manner. Customer focused management is dedicated to providing members with an opportunity to identify, document and establish best practices through benchmarking to increase value, efficiencies and profits.


About the Author

Hank MoorePower Stars to Light the Business Flame, by Hank Moore, encompasses a full-scope business perspective, invaluable for the corporate and small business markets. It is a compendium book, containing quotes and extrapolations into business culture, arranged in 76 business categories.

Hank’s latest book functions as a ‘PDR of business,’ a view of Big Picture strategies, methodologies and recommendations. This is a creative way of re-treading old knowledge to enable executives to master change rather than feel as they’re victims of it.

Power Stars to Light the Business Flame is now out in all three e-book formats: iTunes, Kindle, and Nook.

How To Reach One’s Full Potential

Learning to use my struggles through drug addiction, PTSD, and alcoholism as sources of empowerment rather than letting them keep me from moving forward in life, I was able to reach success and fulfillment by founding my life coaching program Existing2Living. I came to the realization that it is impossible for one to overcome challenges without finding their full potential. With this in mind, I was able to achieve my goals, coming to see that this would not have been possible without taking conscious action to change my way of thinking.

Life is full of hurdles that may prevent you from getting where you want to go, but it is up to you to overcome these challenges. In order to begin the journey of reaching your full potential it is most important to recognize that no matter your past, a hopeful mentality can change the future. With the endless abilities and skills that each individual holds, reaching this potential can bring long awaited success. Looking back at the obstacles that I have faced in my life and realizing that I was capable of finding my way through significant struggle has allowed me to understand that everyone who is willing to do the work can reach their full potential, even if they have to fight to get there.

When working to build an understanding of yourself and what your potential is, it is important to follow the tips below, which have changed my life and the lives of every person I have worked with.


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About the Author

Akshay NanavatiAfter struggling through drug and alcohol addiction, as well as PTSD, Akshay Nanavati learned to embrace his struggles in order to achieve success. A trained coach by ICF accredited institution, Accomplishment Coaching, Akshay founded his life coaching program, Existing2Living. For more information on Akshay Nanavati, please contact Eliza Osborn at 877 841 7244, or email [email protected].

The Heart of Sales

Sales could easily become a spiritual practice, bring in far more revenue, and make sellers Servant Leaders.

For decades, I have been a proponent of, and keynoter in the field of, Spirituality in the Workplace. In my work life, I have focused on the sales profession, as I believe (as the very foundation of business), it offers the capability of making each person, each interaction, and each company, based on true service.

Unfortunately, with the focus on profit, solution placement, timelines, and commissions, the potential for true servant-leadership has been overlooked. Indeed, it’s possible to make money AND make nice.

Selling and Serving

The sales job focuses on needs assessment and solution placement. Of course this is necessary – but only as the final stage of issues buyers have to address. Sales overlooks the off-line, behind-the-scenes decision issues that buyers must face privately before they get the buy-in to make a purchase.

But this is where the true servant-leader connection is: imagine having the capability to serve folks by first helping them discover all of the internal, values-based decision issues they must address, and being a support for them in the process. And once this is done (and it makes the sales process about 600% more efficient), then we can sell.

But we can’t continue to use our positions merely to influence others. Let’s look at what we’ve been doing until now.

Sellers, unfortunately, have a belief that if by offering the right data, in the right way, to the right demographic, or use the right incentives/push/pitch/influence, that people will buy, or acquiesce, or agree. Yup: I’ve got the important data that you need – now let me tell you about it and explain to you why you need it.

But that premise is false: sales only closes 5% of prospects. And that’s an average. What makes the sales model so unsuccessful? Because it’s based on information push, the needs of the seller to make a sale, and biased conversations meant to convert buyers it ignores the buyer’s underlying values and internal systems issues – the people and policy issues that comprise the status quo and have been in place for some time – that people must manage before they are willing or able to make a purchase.

People don’t require data to make decisions until their internal values/criteria/beliefs have been considered and there is a willingness to buy-in to change. There is no such thing as an emotional decision, even if it looks that way to an outsider. We do not choose to do something that goes against our values, so all behavior is a rendition of our beliefs in action, even thought it might be unconscious. And the sales model ignores this primary piece of the puzzle.

When we create data-driven vehicles for marketing and sales, we have no idea if the mode, the message, the presentation, or the verbiage might go against a buyer’s internal criteria – regardless of whether or not they need our solution. We also have no idea where along the change management/decision path they are in their buy cycle. As a result, we have no idea how our message will be received. That means, we’re either lucky or we’re unlucky. Bad odds: with the best solution in the world, we are dependent on luck for our results. Not to mention that we are missing opportunities to connect with, and serve, another person.

There is a Way to Influence with Integrity

But there is a way to help buyers discover how to make the decisions and manage the change (and every purchase – indeed every decision – is a change management issue) by using their own values.

It’s possible to help buyers:

  1. assemble the appropriate Buying Decision Team members.
  2. define the criteria they must ultimately meet.
  3. explore every opportunity to resolve their issues with familiar resources (like current vendors or by fixing current.
  4. get necessary buy-in from whoever, whatever touches the final solution.
  5. operate with the new solution without facing major disruption.

Buyers need to accomplish all of these things anyway, with us or without us. Sellers sit and wait while they do them. We can continue to wait to make a sale, or become a true Servant Leader and lead our buyers through these decision points. It’s not sales – it’s change management – but it will afford an opportunity to serve, and buyers will fold the seller in to the decision, with no objections.

I’ve developed a new type of question (Facilitative Question) to help people uncover their unconscious criteria to make new decisions, address the necessary systemic change and fallout that a new solution would entail, or re-weight old beliefs. It works alongside my Buying Facilitation® model as a decision facilitation tool to manage change. Questions like:

  • How would you know when it was time to add a new skill set to the ones you’re already using successfully?
  • What would you need to trust to recognize that by facilitating buying decisions and entering the buying journey earlier that you can close more deals and make more money?
  • How would you know that adding a change management skill set would be good for business, and enable a true collaboration of trust and respect?

Until or unless people choose to reconsider all of the elements within their status quo, and can find a way forward that doesn’t disrupt their status quo irreparably, they will do nothing.
Start the buyer/seller relationship by helping buyers manage the idiosyncratic Pre-Sales decision issues they must address internally. Then, once they’ve determined their route, you can sell. It’s a good way to help people get to the very core, the very heart of the matter and create real change. And it gives us the opportunity to truly serve by leading the change.


About the Author

Sharon Drew Morgen is a visionary, original thinker, and thought leader in change management and decision facilitation. She works as a coach, trainer, speaker, and consultant, and has authored 9 books including the NYTimes Business BestsellerSelling with Integrity. Morgen developed the Buying Facilitation® method (www.sharondrewmorgen.com) in 1985 to facilitate change decisions, notably to help buyers buy and help leaders and coaches affect permanent change. Her newest book What? www.didihearyou.com explains how to close the gap between what’s said and what’s heard. She can be reached at [email protected]