by Rick Baker
On Jul 28, 2011
Most of the successful Leaders we have met with feel the ooze of abundance.
They are inspired by competition. They are solution-oriented. They are optimistic.
The Leaders who have an abundance mindset really stand out. They tell some amazing stories of how they have done things that many folks find counterintuitive.
Their businesses operate in no-bad-mouthing zones.
Some folks are born with a tendency toward optimism and their life experiences taught them how to keep their optimism within realistic bounds. When compared to pessimists, these realistic optimists have a far greater chance of seeing the world as an abundant place.
As a Leader you will employ optimists, pessimists, and other folks who fall between the two extremes.
Given a choice you will want to help some of those people become more optimistic...you will want to help them feel that ooze of abundance.
How might you do that?
Feeling the Ooze of Abundance - the 4 major steps:
- Self-Assessment,
- Setting clear rules,
- Communicating those rules so they are sticky, &
- Leading by example
- Self-Assessment: you will need unbiased outsider help to do this. It isn’t a huge time-consumer but you must be a little tough on yourself. Better to air on the tough side than the lax side. That’s why unbiased outsiders are helpful.
- Setting clear rules: Depending on how strongly you feel about abundance mentality, this could be one of your “Master Rules”: the major rules that cannot be bent at your business. [refer to our Spirited Leaders’ Workshop #4]
- Communicating those rules so they are sticky: don’t just ‘tell’…inspire your followers. Describe your most-interesting real-life abundance experiences and how they have caused you to feel the ooze of abundance.
- Leading by example: as they say, ‘talk the talk and walk the walk’…and when the heat of major business stresses is burning down on you….run the run. If you slip up and fall into scarcity talk or scarcity action, and that may happen from time to time, remedy your error quickly and with full force.
by Rick Baker
On Jul 28, 2011
Sales Tweet #269 Ernest Seller took his dear old Dad to an antique auction. Five elderly ladies bid on him.
The Thinking Behind the Sales Tweet
OK. That’s a bit of an exaggeration. Maybe it was only 3 of 4 elderly ladies. But, that’s not the point. The point is Ernest is a chip off the old block. In fact, that’s true figuratively and literally. His dear old Dad’s given name is Block. Block Seller…now there’s a guy who could sell. Why, he could sell ice cubes to Eskimos...he could sell Lego to Civil Engineers...or bricks to a lumber yard. That's Ernest's dad, Block Seller. And, good looking? You bet! And - a sharp dresser to boot. Block Seller wore plaid jackets, paisley ties and white shoes long before they were haute fashion for the sales elite. So, let’s not be too harsh on those elderly ladies.
by Rick Baker
On Jul 27, 2011
You know that K.I.S.S. Principle - Keep It Simple Stupid.
Now, isn’t that an annoying little saying!
People are not stupid…they just have more Bad Habits than you would like.
And, I am sure you can accept it’s their Bad Habits that make you a whole lot less interesting to them than you would like.
So, do not underestimate or pooh-pooh the intelligence of others. Do not assume people are stupid. Do not make light of intelligence or make light of yourself by using the word stupid when you describe what you are doing [and why you are doing it].
Instead, assume you better crank up your interestingness a bit and, even better, you better provide tools that will help people do the actions you desire as accurately, quickly, and painlessly as possible.
At our business, we use "1-Page Tools".
Design a terrific 1-Page Tool and give it to your people. They will use it.
While they may not give you a huge pat on the back...they will appreciate the effort you have made to minimize the disruption in their already-too-busy lives.
I hope you will now take the K.I.S.S. Principle and throw it in the garbage where it belongs.
Replace it with the K.I.S.L. Principle…
Keep It Simple…Leader
Develop Good Habits:
- for communication
- for ‘sticky stories’
- for expressing ‘rules’
- for goal setting
- for task assignment
- for 1-Page Tools
Remember
It’s a double-edged sword:
People ain’t stupid…you just have more Bad Habits than they would like.