First and foremost…Happy New Year! I know I’m a little late, but I didn’t want to miss out on wishing you a great 2012. With the holidays behind us and the New Year underway, it’s important to make sure we have the proper planning in place to set ourselves up for a great 2012. With these thoughts in mind…
I recently read an article about Jordan Romero after he successfully completed climbing to the summit of the seven tallest mountains on Earth’s seven continents. Jordan began his journey at age 10 when he climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa. In 2010, he became the youngest to climb Mt. Everest (the world’s highest mountain, at 29,035 feet) at age 13. And just before Christmas, he completed his journey by successfully ascending Mt. Vinson Massif in Antarctica. My question to you (and to myself)…if Jordan can achieve such a great feat before he’s able to legally drive in most states, what can I set my sights on and accomplish in 2012 (or the next 3-5 years)?
What’s your Everest? That is, what GOALS will you achieve to make it a great 2012? In his book, Focal Point, Brian Tracy writes about the power of FOCUS + GOALS or your Focal Point. Here’s a brief excerpt: “This simple story illustrates and summarizes the most important single principle of success, achievement and happiness in life. Your ability to determine where you put the “X” in each part of your life is the critical determinant of everything that you accomplish, or fail to accomplish. This “X” is your focal point. This is the one thing that you can do, at any given moment, to get the very best result possible for you in that area. Your ability to choose the correct time, place and activity to place your “X” has more of an impact on your life than any other factor.”
We all share some common goals: to be healthy and fit, full of energy and free of pain or illness; to enjoy excellent relationships (psychologists estimate that 85% of our happiness is due to the quality of our relationships); to do work we enjoy, do it well and be well paid for it; and to achieve financial independence, meaning not have to worry about money. Where are you with regards to your life plan…those plans, goals and dreams you had when you exited school, got married, had your first child, etc.? A powerful exercise to help your determine your satisfaction with these key areas in life is called “Diamond Mapping”. It’s a simple gut check on a scale of 1-10 to determine our satisfaction in each of these important areas. First, determine what a “10″ means for you and then mark your current position relative to a “10″. For example, in business, a “10″ might be a revenue level of $10 Million. If you are currently at $5 Million in revenue, then you would probably circle a 5. Do this for each of the areas. (Note: You can also add Spiritual and Personal Growth as categories, although I tend to include these with my health and fitness goals).
So, what will you do in 2012 to move from where you are today on your diamond map to where you want to be?
Take 30 seconds to answer the following 4 questions. Often, our gut reaction is just as accurate as if we had spent hours pondering a question.
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What are your 3 most important business or career goals 2012?
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What are your 3 most important financial goals 2012?
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What are your 3 most important family or relationship goals 2012?
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What are your 3 most important health and fitness goals 2012?
In writing your goals, remember to make them SMART:
- S = Specific. Make your goals as specific as possible.
- M = Measurable. Make your goals measurable so you can tell if you are moving toward your goal or away from it.
- A = Aligned with Your Values. Your goals will be meaningless and temporary unless they are aligned with your values.
- R = Realistic. Set stretch goals, but set goals that are realistically attainable.
- T = Time-Bounded. Always set a deadline for goal accomplishment.
What one action will you take TODAY as a result of reading this? The longer the period between the decision and the action, the less likely you are to get into action. In 2012, do something every day that moves you toward accomplishing your most important goals!
There’s lots to be cheerful about this holiday season…consumer spending is up (a good thing), the stock market is up (a good thing) and unemployment is down (a good thing).
Many believe these trends will continue in the new year. Yes, there’s still uncertainty, but if we keep being filled with HOPE and keep doing the next “right thing” (like striving to grow our businesses), 2012 will be a remarkable year!
As 2011 draws to a close and a new year lies ahead, our thoughts turn with gratitude to those who have made our success this past year possible. It is with this in mind we say simply and sincerely, thank you! We wish each of you and your families the happiest and brightest of holidays!
May the new year bring many blessings, new beginnings and a world of opportunities! Have a great 2012…matter of fact, we hope you make 2012 your Best Year Yet!
Wishing you and yours the safest of holidays and a Happy New Year!
First, I don’t like having a tie around my neck all of the time either and enjoy dressing down just as much as the next person. But, if you are looking to outdistance the competition and put yourself in a position to win, ALWAYS BE MINDFUL OF DRESSING FOR SUCCESS!
Many years ago, I made a decision that I would rather explain being over-dressed than counted out for being under-dressed. This decision came on the heels of a situation where my boss and I went to negotiate a matter with a client. Neither of us had ever met the client or been to their office, but were told by our operations staff that the client was always dressed casually in jeans. Now, we didn’t wear jeans, but we did go business casual, in dress pants and shirt. When we walked into the office, all of the people we were meeting with were dressed in suit and tie. They had won the negotiation before it even started. I’ve never made that mistake again!
Did You Know?
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That upon meeting you, people form 11 impressions (clean, attractive, credible, knowledgeable, responsive, friendly, helpful, professional, empathetic, courteous, confident and professional) about you in 7 seconds and decide if they like you and will do business with you.
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Your appearance is 55% of your message and that you never get a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression.
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Becoming too casual with your customers (or job for that matter) makes you vulnerable to the competition.
So what to do? Well, for starters, as Brian Tracy says, “Dress like a person with a future!” Then:
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Take an honest inventory…have you become too casual or complacent?
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Take a look around…how are the folks who you aspire to be like dressing?
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Develop a personal dress code…how will you dress to achieve the success you desire?
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Invest in your future with an overhaul of your wardrobe!
On your way to success, there are enough hurdles and challenges…don’t let your dress be one of them!
PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY: A measure of the capacity to be answerable for personal actions. Someone who takes ownership of the situation, admits when they’re wrong and lives in solutions!
Statistically, 50 percent of our population is above average in personal accountability and 50 percent is below average in personal accountability. All businesses should seek to hire employees who are personally accountable.
We find that personal accountability is a requirement in nearly EVERY job/position. This illustrates the importance for all hiring managers to totally evaluate each position as it relates to being personally accountable plus making sure that everyone they interview brings personal accountability skills to the job.
People who are personally accountable will do the things necessary to achieve above average or even superior performance. For example, people who are personally accountable and employed in a career that requires them to achieve a “quota” will keep driving for their number until the bell rings. They won’t make excuses. Instead, they’ll find creative ways to succeed. (Sales people who lack personal accountability will fail unless they have a protected area with repeat customers.)
Here are some great interview questions to help you dig deeper into the amount of personal accountability a candidate will bring to a position:
- Tell me about a time when it was necessary to admit to others that you had made a mistake. How did you handle it?
- Give an example of a situation where others had made an error or mistake and you had to take the blame for their actions. How did you feel about doing that?
- What is the worst business decision you ever made? What made it the worst? Would knowing what you do now have helped you to avoid making that decision?
- Give me an example of a lesson you have learned from making a mistake. What did you do differently going forward?
- Give me an example of someone you know whose personal actions led to disastrous results. How answerable is that person for what happened? What advice would you give to that person?
- What person from history do you most admire for taking the blame for a failure? What did taking the blame do for that person?
Note: Candidates that hem and haw, cannot give you examples of the above, can’t relate a previous experience or always seem to blame their mistakes on someone/something else most likely have a low level of personal accountability.
If you ONLY HIRED people who were personally accountable and your competitors hired people who were not personally accountable, you would own the marketplace!
Ready to begin measuring PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY in all of your candidates?
Contact us today and indicate you are interested in learning more about ASSESSMENTS!
According to a recent Harvard Business Article, retail salespeople who subtly mimic customers’ speech and behavior are more successful at selling (based on an experiment by Céline Jacob of the Université de Bretagne-Sud in France). Among customers who solicited salespeople for information about an MP3 player, 78.8% bought such a product from mimickers, compared with 61.8% from non-mimickers. Additionally, customers who had been mimicked were more positive about the salespeople and the store.
That’s why it is critical to learn DISC (which measures an individual’s observable behavior or “HOW” someone does what they do) and how to identify a person’s behavior style. This is a significant “A” Player ability.
Here are the four behavior styles with links to more detail about improving communications with each of the behavior styles:
- (D) Dominanceis a measure of “How” you respond to problems and challenges.
- A High D: New problems solved quickly, assertively, actively. Gets to the bottom-line quickly.
- A Low D: New problems solved in a controlled, organized way. Thinks before acting.
- (I) Influenceis a measure of “How” you influence others to your point of view.
- A High I: Meets new people in an outgoing, talkative manner. Gregarious and emotional.
- A Low I: Meets new people in a quiet, controlled, reserved manner. Emotionally controlled.
- (S) Steadinessis a measure of “How” you respond to the pace of the environment.
- A High S: Prefers a controlled, deliberate work environment. Values security of situation.
- A Low S: Prefers a flexible, dynamic, changeable environment. Values freedom of expression.
- (C) Conscientiousnessis a measure of “How” you respond to rules and procedures set by others.
- A High C: Likes things done ‘the right way,’ and says, “Rules are made to be followed.”
- A Low C: Works independently of the procedures and says, “Rules are made to be bent or broken.”
Invest the time to learn your behavior style and how to communicate effectively with the other behavior styles. I absolutely agree with the article and believe this investment of time will increase your results by at least 20% and probably much more!
Interested in taking a professional DISC profile and having a debrief with an executive coach? Contact us today and indicate you are interested in learning more about DISC!
