28 Truths About Business

I'm sure I did not capture them all, and they are not in any order, but here is a great list to start with. I have gained this knowledge through 6 years of learning and teaching others. After 35 years in the corporate world, I had many self-limiting beliefs that I found were just not true. We all have these and they hold us back but the truth sets us free.

1. Not all long held beliefs are true, many are lies that hold you back.
2. Knowledge is the area where Truth and Belief overlap.
3. You cannot solve a problem unless you take ownership of it.
4. The thing you dread doing the most is usually the exact thing you need to be doing.
5. You have a choice - you can think like an owner or you can think like a victim.
6. You cannot manage time, you can only manage what you do in the time you have (rocks, action).
7. Again you have a choice - think like a victim and allow the urgent to consume your day, or think like an owner and make sure part of your day is working on the important.
8. What you commit to is already done.
9. You are your most important customer (see #6 above).
10. What you focus on grows.
11. What you measure and post on the wall - improves.
12. Always be recruiting (build a virtual bench).
13. You cannot develop friendly and good attitude, you have to hire it.
14. Success is doing the right things, in small amounts, over a long period of time.
15. Action melts Fear (Nike - Just do it).
16. Managing people is impossible - coach them.
17. Stop answering questions - have them bring you their solution.
18. Core purpose and core values are not warm and fuzzy things, they are critical components to a successful, smooth running business/team.
19. Every result (good or bad) has a perfect process for producing it, if you want to change the result you must change the process.
20. The overriding problem in every business is lack of follow through and execution.
21. To solve #20... A rhythm of weekly huddles with goal measurement and personal dashboards are vital (new process).
22. Goals without Action are Dreams, Action without Goals is Chaos.
23. Truly successful companies can say they have the Right People, Doing the Right Things, Right.
24. People don't buy when you are ready to sell them, only 3% of any market is ready to buy in the next month or so.
25. 80% of sales happen between the 5^th and 12 ^th contact/touch, only 10% of companies follow up more than 3 times.
26. Good relevant content, videos, articles, tips needs to go out on a regular basis to build trust and be on their mind when they are ready to buy.
27. If you want to be the best in the world, make your world smaller.
28. A great marketing message starts with their pain, the best solution and then and only then, why you are the best solution provider. It is not about you, it is about them.

Hey what have I missed? Take a second and let me know and we will do a follow up on your truths.

 

The Power of A Routine

"It has been my observation that most people get ahead

during the time that others waste time."

-- Henry Ford, Ford Motor Company Founder

The following is from Steve Chandler but it reinforces everything I work with my clients on. The processes and habits that turn a company from one that is under performing and unable to execute, to one that follows up and executes - takes action and stays with that action until it is ingrained.  More Time, More Money and a Better Team.

"The clients I coach sometimes tell me that they have had a bad week or a bad month because they were "down" or discouraged or burned out.  

They want to know how to change their attitude or mindset.  

But attitude is not what's missing.  

What's missing, (when bad weeks or months occur) is a routine.     

The beauty of a ROUTINE, a practice, a committed amount of time I devote to something no matter what is that it does NOT rely on enthusiasm or "feeling like" doing it or the spirit moving me.

The routine of building a small business through conversations with clients is simple and it works. The only problem people have is with stopping. They do it for a little while and then get distracted.  

If you want your practice (or any venture) to grow, design a routine. Then follow it. Don't stop because of a feeling. Don't stop for anything.

Like my colleague Dusan Djukich says, if you want to succeed, stop stopping."

- Steve Chandler 

 

I Quit! - The Solution

"When you have a "virtual bench" in place, every "people" conversation, issue or decision is approached with an entirely different mindset."

- Rick Wallace

I got so much feedback on the first "I Quit" a couple of weeks ago I had to follow it up with the solution.

The most stressful time as a business owner is when someone walks in and says "I'm moving on". The second most stressful is when you have to fire someone for cause. The third on the list is every time you walk by that C Player, the one that drags the team down, and those C Players who actually poison the team with their attitudes and habits, and think about (dread) having to recruit someone to take their place. It is stressful because we usually "settle" with what we have.

Notice it is all about people. There is a solution to the stress this all causes - build a "virtual bench". A bench to draw from just like a sports team, but in this case filled with A Players waiting to get into the game.   

I took a couple of hours and prepared this webinar (25 minutes) to lay it out for you. It is titled "Always be Recruiting" and the process takes 2 hours a week of focused, committed time which will have an ROI like nothing else you can invest your time in. Hope it helps!