How much data do you need to make a decision? How many angles must you assess a particular problem from, in order to feel comfortable that you've made the right decision? What is the 'right' decision, anyway?
Too often, we get caught up in endlessly turning the data over, delaying the decision.
Anything in life that is worth something – anything that you might consider novel, pioneering, valuable, game changing, beautiful – wasn’t achieved without effort. Whether by an individual, a group of people or an organization, hours of toil as well as both mental and physical anguish, were important ingredients in its creation.
There's a common perception that successful sales executives are extroverted personalities. Loud. Gregarious. Walking with a swagger. Slick. Polished. Bling-laden. This is the stereotype. When I see new (and sometimes old) salespeople, many believe in this persona and feel that that's what they need to be to succeed.
In any relationship, you will get as much trust as you give.
This is true in personal relationships but equally as true in commercial relationships such as those between a customer and a supplier. But in many commercial relationships, this isn't a practiced reality. Why is that
There's a common perception that the job of the sales person is to get to "Yes".
But often, a true sales professional - someone who isn't simply selling, but rather is helping their client solve a problem - must be willing to say "No".
That approach won't get you to your end goal because...
There is a school of thought that suggests that we are in an age in which we are losing the mentality of “Excellence”. An age where people are just phoning it in because they have either been beaten down by cynicism caused by their betrayal by ‘The Establishment’
In college, when it came time to decide which business major to pursue, the administration organized a town hall session where the heads of each department came together to explain what their discipline was about, the type of real world value it delivered and why we as students should consider a major in their field.
When we're kids, we're limitless. We're idealists. We believe.
Fireman. Musician. Actor. Astronaut.
As we get older, we mature, we grow, we learn. We develop new skills, we focus, we get practical.
The great thing about getting a general business education is that it pushes you to look at business issues from multiple angles. Strategy, Marketing, Finance, Operations, Organizational Behavior, Human Resources, etc. That's valuable. No business question is uni-dimensional
The curate (clergy who are assistants to a parish priest) is eating breakfast at his bishop's house.
The bishop says to him, "I'm afraid you've got a bad egg, Mr Jones."
The curate does not want to offend his host (and ultimate boss), responds,
I once read a Warren Buffet interview where the reporter asked him what the best thing about being so rich was. For many of us, the answer would have been something along the lines of independence, freedom, personal control, etc. Good, valid answers, for sure.
Back in my consulting days, I led a project where our task was to help a client restructure their legal department. Over the course of this project, I had the chance to work closely with a legal expert and, over the long nights and weekends, we developed a good working relationship.
Presentations are a part of life, something we all need to get used to doing. Whether it's for 2, 200 or 2,000 people, the basic principles are the same.
It's all about storytelling.
"You're a lot better off being scared than bored."
Harvey Mackay wrote those words more than 25 years ago in his book "Beware The Naked Man Who Offers You His Shirt" (you gotta love that title!). His intent was clear. In life, you have to take risks.
The thing about learning guitar is that it’s up to you what path you take to develop your ability. You could learn “by rote”, meticulously absorbing theory, scales, chords, and then recreating famous songs in intricate detail.
