The Right Way Works! - jeff korhan

Grow Your Business - Stick to What Works

Today Sergio Garcia captured his first "major" golf tournament, the lucrative and prestigious TPC at Sawgrass.  How did he do it?  He went back to the putter that worked for him eight years ago.  It's a simple concept - stick to what works.  Or as I've said many times in one of my keynote presentations - Grow from What You Know!  We know what works for us but we are often encouraged to try the newest flavor of the month.  The truth is life is full of things we can't control.  Sergio and the other PGA players had their hands full this week with the windy conditions on the challenging TPC layout, but he was able to prevail.  Somehow that putter gave him the confidence when he needed it most - especially on his final putt of regulation play.

When you are in a business situation you need to know what works FOR YOU.  When you need to get the results you are seeking, isn't CONFIDENCE the best thing to have on your side?  Growing a small business requires the confidence that everything will work out today, despite...the competition...the current conditions of the marketplace.. or whatever you think may be holding you back.  Having the right mindset is vital.  That is everyone's challenge.  We all have to do what only we know will work for us. 

So, here's my question.  What gives you confidence when you are doing what you do best in your business?  Isn't it the knowing that you've been there before and succeeded - or you are working with a team that has mastered similar challenges - or you are serving up the product or service that is the best solution to your prospects needs?  Your mindset has to be fortified with confidence - anchored by what produced that confidence in the first place.   Think about what got you here.  I guarantee it will take you where you want to go!  Stick to what works in your business.  Life (and business) doesn't have to be complicated - just do what works and stick with it.

The True Nature of Mastery

Last week I was watching Jay Leno on the Tonight Show.  Normally, I just watch the monologue.  For one thing, it's always nice to end the day with a few good laughs.  Though, as a professional speaker, I also enjoy watching to learn how a master like Jay presents and responds to the audience.

On this particular evening, I stayed up a while longer as Bill Cosby was going to be the first guest.  I figured, why not?  Let's see how another master works his craft.  I was not disappointed - the timing, the facial expressions, he makes it all look so effortless.  But  we know he has practiced, and practiced, and practiced.  After his short bit, Mr. Cosby moved over to the couch to chat with Jay.  They relived some of their experiences from the 'old days' when they were both doing stand-up.  This is when Bill revealed the true nature of mastering your craft as a comedian, which also applies to virtually any other profession, whether you are in sales, marketing, or customer service.

Mr Cosby described a particular evening when he was to do two 30 minute performances at a jazz club here in Chicago.  It was a venue that he had eagerly anticipated getting booked for.  He was all charged up and ready to go, but as the first performance grew closer, some doubts about his abilities crept into his self-talk.  He then proceeded to give a 34 minute performance in 18 minutes.   He bombed!  He told the producer he wasn't coming back for the second performance, to which the man replied, Good! -  we don't want you back.  But could you do me a favor, he asked?  Please make sure BILL COSBY shows up for the 2nd performance - because he's good!  And that's what happened.  The real Bill Cosby showed up, relaxed and engaging, and displayed the mastery that he's known for.  What a great lesson - just show up and be yourself!  Now, that's the right way to do it.  And if it works for the masters, then I'm certainly going to give it a try.  How about you?    

Right Actions - Get Out of the (Twilight) Zone

I remember this Twilight Zone episode where a box is delivered to a couple that lives in cramped, one bedroom apartment.  A note explains that if they unlock the box and push the button, someone they don’t know will die and they will receive $200,000. (I guess that was a lot of money back then!)  Anyway, they anguish over this for days until finally, they push the button.  Sure enough, a man delivers $200,000 and takes the box back.  What now happens to the box, they ask?  The man calmly responds that it will be reprogrammed and the same offer will be made to another couple. -- Oops!

Imagine if we made choices based upon complete information about the consequences of our actions?  How could you possibly make the wrong choice?  The environmental issues we face today, as an example, would not exist.  The best part of taking the high road is your actions are sustainable.  You don't need to worry - like the couple that pushed the button probably did!  That's how life works.  There is an energy that works to sustain those actions that are in the best interest of everyone.  It's a simple formula to comprehend.  We just have to challenge ourselves - to remind ourselves - to listen to that voice inside that helps us with the proper execution.

 

 

Can't Get No Balance at Work? - Measure It!

I was recently asked to write an article on work-life balance for Snow Business Magazine.  If you have any knowledge of the snow business, you know this is an unpredictable, high-intensity business.  It's a business where the best laid plans - well, they get buried under the relentless, ferocity of the next storm.  Yet, it is a highly profitable business if you can manage to keep your head, whether the storm is 'perfect' - or as Bob Dylan once said - 'outrageous!'

The snow business tends to attract those individuals who thrive on the adrenaline rush of doing battle with mother nature.  In some ways, it's like climbing a mountain.  If you are daring  - there just ain't no mountain high enough to keep you from your mission -- until you hit the wall from fatigue.  This fatigue reminds you that you are not in control of many things - your work, your free time, the needs of your family, and so much more.

How do you find balance between your work and personal life in any business?  The first step is knowing who you are and being sure you are doing what you love.  I'm reminded of The Rolling Stones tune Satisfaction.  You can get a lot of outside signals that .. 'tell you how white your shirts can be' (when you're) 'doing this and signing that' .... in short, you have to do the right work for you in a way that works for you and your family.  Only you know what is going to work in your individual situation - because these situations are as different as each one of us. 

Some of us love our work so much it can be a drug - it's an energizing rush!  But of course, any drug should  be taken in moderation.   You build up a tolerance to the drug until eventually the results just aren't there.  It's up to you to communicate your needs with everyone you work and play with to arrive at the best solution.  That's how you find balance - a balance that's different for each of us.  I suggest you write down what those things are and make sure you are mindful of them - even measuring them.  Measure how much time you devote to your children, your spouse, your health.. to whatever is important to you in achieving balance.  As they say in business, if you don't measure it, you are saying it's not important.   Most of us measure profits, but do we measure balance?      

The Green Thread - It Works!

Everybody seems to be talking about green these days.  What does it really mean to be green?  Well, start by just looking around.  Green is the most predominant color in the universe- and therefore, it is an overriding energy that connects all of us.  From basis physics we all learned colors vibrate at different frequencies - and therefore have different energies.  So you could say there is a green 'thread' that connects all of us - an energy that we all share.  Does this sound too 'woo-woo?'   If you spend any time in nature at all you know it energizes you - it gives you creative thoughts - it nourishes you.  I just can't believe this is an accidental thing. 

We ARE creatures of nature and when we become more aware of that we realize green is about awareness.  It's about who we are, what we do during our short time on this planet, and why we are doing it.  Green is the awareness that we have a responsibility to ourselves and everyone that is connected to us, which is why the current green movement to save the planet may just work.  The trick may just be all of us making the effort to maintain the connection and not break that thread.  It can work!

Right Way Selling

One of the most valuable tools in selling is knowing your customer.  When you engage with your customer on a regular basis, you learn their habits, mannerisms, and generally what they are like as a person.  Yesterday I gave a presentation to the Snow and Ice Management Association.  One of many excellent questions I was asked was how you know how to make the right response with a customer.  For an instant, I thought of Bill Murray - aka Carl Spackler in the film Caddyshack when he makes a decision to kill the gophers on the golf course - he says - "My enemy, my foe, is an animal. In order to conquer the animal, I have to learn to think like an animal. And, whenever possible, to look like one"  --  Of course, it does help if we learn to think like our customers, but we certainly don't have to look like them! - which was one of the old school tricks.

In my corporate days, I was taught to 'mirror' your customer.  If he leans forward, so do you.  If he sits back, so do you.  It often became this hilarious game where I'm sure my customer was wondering what the heck I was doing.  Don't do this!  Sales isn't a game - unless you consider relationship a game.  That's manipulation.  People see through this because it becomes apparent that you aren't being yourself.  Today, we are surrounded by reality television.  What's that telling you?  That you need to be real!  You need to be open and honest with your customer.  To the best of your abilities, you need to always try to do the right thing - the right thing for your customer, for you, and for the company you represent.  There's nothing difficult about this.  All that's required is a preparation, full attention and awareness on the verbal and non-verbal communication used by the customer, and the natural response will likely follow.  If you don't make the right response, no problem, your customer will usually give you the opportunity to make it right -- if you have built up trust with them.

Sales is dealing with people on the most human level you know.  This is how most of us want to be sold - this is right way selling!

Grow Your Business The Right Way

A few nights ago I was sitting in my screened porch enjoying the scents and sounds of the evening rain storm.  When I wandered inside to the pantry for a snack, I was struck with how many products today are labeled 'organic' - from chips to raisins to even wine and more!  I wondered if organic really means something or if it's the latest 'flavor' that is being marketed to us consumers. 

When I think of organic I think of things that happen naturally - almost without effort.  Organic growth, whether in nature - or in business, such as internet search engine optimization (SEO) - implies that organic is a better way because it's more sustainable in the long term.  I'm an educated consumer, so I know, for example, that wild salmon is better than salmon raised in farms where cholorinated products are used to control the undesirable growth of pathogens.  For some reason wild salmon doesn't even cost more.  At least that has been my experience.  I do know that organic SEO is cheaper and more effective than pay per click.  Organic is really taking a natural approach.  I suppose natural has connotations that don't work as well in commerce today and we need a descriptor that does.  Enter Organic.

What we are really after is results.  If you want to get the right results, you can achieve them in many ways.  But if your approach is the right one - the natural way - then you are most likely in harmony with what sustains that result.  This applies in nature as well as commerce.  Interesting, isn't it?  This takes me right back to my rainstorm.  You can't replicate that.  Something is lost when we don't follow the right or natural path for obtaining desired results.  I'm suggesting that organic is more about "the way" and less about the product."  If you want to acheive the right results in your business - sustainable sales, service and customers -  you need to think about "growing" your business organically - which simply means doing the right things in the right way.  Your value system will give you clues to the right way - then you just have to 'grow from what you know.'

Market to Yourself - and Get What You Want!

Are there things in your life that you are having trouble achieving?  Maybe you should consider getting the message out to the one person that can help you most - you!  If you are going to make something happen in your life, you have to keep your attention on that goal.  I've blogged about The Secret before - which of course isn't a secret at all.  It's simply a matter of focus and attention.  However, there is one secret that I'd like to share that made the difference for one person.

My son Zak was having trouble making the grade in his high school Honors History class.  I won't reveal what his grade was at mid-term, but let's just say it was substantially below average.  We discussed the situation.  We talked about study habits and advanced preparation.  He even had a one hour session with a tutor to see if we weren't missing anything.  You guessed it, he is very likely going to get an A --  a massive improvement in a couple of months.  In fact, because it's an honors class, an A is actually an A+ in the grading system.  So what's the secret you ask?  We recently discovered the secret -- and it was right before our eyes.  It was Zak's secret.  In his re-organization effort, he had printed a new cover for his binder and appropriately titled it "Honors History."  Though we only recently noticed that lying just beneath that title, in quite large, yet, very, very, very faint letters, was a subtle message.... "A+" - exactly what he wanted!   There really is no secret - just know what you want - set your "marketing" plan in motion - and don't be surprised at the results you achieve!

What Matters is What's Right

The Dalai Lama recently visited the Chicago area and suggested that we all let go of anger, hatred, and all of those things that don't matter.  I couldn't agree more.  Destructive emotions and the pursuit of things that don't matter get in the way of living in a way that works for us.  This morning I remembered his words and averted a melt-down while trying unsuccessfully to register online for a conference because the system wouldn't accept my user ID and password.  "Why can't they just keep things simple, I thought!"  Then I realized it didn't matter that I register today and I'll do it another day when I have more time. 

What does matter?  What matters is what's right.  This is important in life and in business.  If you aren't clear about your personal mission in life, how can you work congruently for the mission of your employer?  I am, of course,  presuming your company has a clear mission - you know, what they believe in and promise their customers.  If you don't give much thought to what matters to you, it's difficult for you to attract the right customers.  This is vital if you are going to "make that cash register ring."  The marketplace rewards clear purpose becauses customers align themselves with those companies and their people that will take them where they want to go - help them have what they want to have - and do what they want to do.

The right thing - what matters - is what's right for everyone involved in any transaction, whether that transaction is personal or commercial.  We engage and build relationships with people that understand us and share our views and beliefs with how things should be.  We can't expect to align ourselves with everyone, only those that share our views and beliefs about what's right.  Taking this concept a step further, the Dalai Lama also points out that all religions matter because "just as we all need different medicines to be healthy, we need different views."  It seems clear that what matters most is first what's right for you, then what's right for everyone you live and work with, including your customers.  We all know that when everything works it has to be right! 

Entertain Your Market

Having commented previously about American Idol, I just have to weigh in on the Sanjaya debate.  First, with all due respect to Simon - It's not a singing contest!  While a given amount of talent is necessary, that is not what makes the difference.  This show is about marketing yourself to an audience.  It's about marketing - and marketing is, among other things, about being likeable.  I say kudos to this kid for being original, especially considering this is the most unoriginal group we've seen to date. 

The misunderstanding is the singing is the product.  It isn't.  This is about being someone the audience can relate to and to some extent, wants to be like.  Who doesn't want to let their hair down (or whatever in Sanjaya's case) and and get crazy once in a while?   Who doesn't want to prove the naysayers wrong? 

Isn't American Idol supposed to be a "reality show."  This IS reality!  You can't have a reality show with rules.  What Sanjaya has proved is you can beat the system by following your true nature.  I say good for him and I hope he goes as far as he can with this.  He is giving all of us a great lesson - be yourself, have fun, and don't worry about what anyone else says.   The marketplace is obviously saying they agree.