We are all in sales. Whether it's selling our idea of a great vacation to our wife or selling a Ford Pinto to a bizarre classic car enthusiast. We are all buying something, too. It can be your 3 year old's proposal to have a cookie before dinner or the ill-advised, 3,000 calorie loaded potato skins at Hooligans. Qualifying is the key to make the most of our time (and effort) for selling and buying. A key goal is to get to 'No' quickly. So you can know whether the prospect … [Read more...]
Can you afford ‘No’?
April 29, 2013 by
Hierarchical leadership is a permission machine. The machine is primed to respond with "No". People's work becomes figuring out how to override the default response ... moving the machine to "Yes". And then doing it again. And again. Working with the mysterious machine to get permission to move things forward. Managers might exist simply to push at the levers ... trying for the right combination to produce a "Yes". Other managers might exist simply to increase the volume … [Read more...]
What Could You Achieve With Crushing Authority?
April 25, 2013 by
Rob started telling me about the cool stuff he was producing at work. His team is building things that would cost millions to buy. I was impressed with what his team accomplished. I asked him his secret. His team saw problems. They created solutions. Rob's job was easy. Just say "Yes." No one told them to do it. They just did it. Rob let them. More than that... he encouraged them. Rob didn't try to manage his people (or their tasks). He led his people and their … [Read more...]
Do You Inspire Others? And Why It Matters.
April 22, 2013 by
The opposite of inspiring is uninspiring. Brilliant observation, I know. What does being inspiring look like? Passion, commitment, perseverance. What does being inspiring create in others? Engaged emotions Provoking new thought Motivated behavior What does being uninspiring look like? Indifferent, undecided, yielding. What does being uninspiring create in others? One of three things: Nothing ... if we're lucky. Being uninspiring becomes … [Read more...]
There better be an good reason you don’t read this!
February 1, 2013 by
Sometimes I get stuck in traffic. You, too, huh? I'll start thinking to myself, "There better be an accident up there!" When I'm really twisted, I think "Somebody better be hurt!". Sometimes the situations different. Maybe it's bad service at a restaurant. I let the manager know. Then I think, "They better knock something off my bill!" or "I better get dessert for free!" Like I need a dessert ... "The DVR better record that show!" "The light better not turn red!" "The … [Read more...]
Are You a Time-aholic?
October 19, 2012 by
Hi. My name is Eric. And I'm a time-aholic. I have a time problem. I abuse time. Afterwards, I stumble through a time hangover, blacked out wondering what I did for the last few hours. It's easy to let time slip away when you haven't identified how you want to invest it. It's hard to know how you want to invest it if you don't have investment goals. Our investment goals define how we invest our money. If we're retiring soon, we might work to preserve what we have with a … [Read more...]
What are you thinking!?
October 11, 2012 by
The world changed. Work is different. Companies are different. The economy is different.Knowledge is different. Buying is different.Childhood is different. Learning is different. Family is different. Friendship is different. Liking is different. A lot is different. Are you still thinking the same? Related articles The Power of Negative Thinking Why Data Will Never Replace Thinking How to Make Huge Decisions … [Read more...]
4 Keys to Amaze Your Customer
October 1, 2012 by
Last week, Jen "asked" me to donate it. The time had come. I had to say goodbye to my old friend. The 98 Lincoln. It had 260,000 miles on it. And it had a few issues. Some larger than others. The Lincoln had sit in front of the house for a month. I hate to say goodbye. I called the Dallas CAN Academy. They support education for students who struggle in traditional learning settings. One way they do this is by taking donated cars. They provided one of the … [Read more...]
What would you say?
July 27, 2012 by
"Well, what I would say is..." I caught myself. I groaned quietly. I thought to myself, what's it mean to say, "What I would say is..."? Of course you would say it. You're saying it! Why do we add it? Are we weakening what we're about to say because we don't want to commit? Are we showing deference or sensitivity to our listener? Are we avoiding conflict? "I'm not really saying this... but if I were to say something, this is what I'd say." I stopped. I … [Read more...]
Ask, Don’t Tell?
June 12, 2012 by
My friend's team was filled with some ridiculously smart people. They were smart with technology. They just weren't people smart. He was telling me about the challenges they had working together. I had lunch with another friend a couple of months ago. He told me how he had learned to make people be part of the plan. The people make the plan happen. They might be inconvenient to work with. But nothing happens with out them. The team with the smart people struggle mightily … [Read more...]
