Are You Making a Difference in 

Someone’s Life Right Now?

. . . Is Your Business?

Most people, it seems to me, share a whole myriad of negative goals. Things like: Stay away from jails, surgical procedures, lawyers, courtrooms, politicians, ER’s, dentist drills,and food poisoning.

There is, though, at least one positive goal that most all of us appear to share –at least in conscience if not in deed:

To make a difference.

It’s something like the moral of the story deal. You know, as in: “Hey! You’ve taken me through all this, so now what’s the lesson I’m supposed to have learned?”

No one wants to get to her or his deathbed without feeling like life has been worthwhile, or that he or she has helped make life worthwhile for someone else — that the Earth has been left a slightly better place than it was to enter.

It does sometimes feel like technology has taken over, like privacy has been violated and values have been led astray. Yet those who care about those they live with and near, about those they work for and with, about those they celebrate and mourn, persevere in their pursuit of happiness. Because the pursuit alone IS happiness.

Entrepreneurs get it. I’ve always thought the “P” in “Entrepreneurs” stands for “Pursuit,” and that the “s” stands for “seek.”  

We seek to make a difference in life, in our businesses, in the industry or profession each of us is involved with. We seek to make a difference in the lives of our parents and children, and grandchildren (and, yes, our pets!). . . in the lives of our associates and employees, in our communities and neighborhoods . . . and on our fragile planet. 

We like to think that others do, or can, or will benefit by the examples we set, the charitable deeds we do, and the authenticity and good cheer with which we approach our work and day-to-day existences.

The intensity of purpose that embraces these kinds of positive pursuits inevitably grows as we grow older and more aware of who we are and where we are and what we’re doing.

Growing older moves us ever closer to the fabled moments in time that “dwindle down to those precious few.”

And the calendar pages turn and the clock ticks on relentlessly.

What’s that about “time and tide”?

Is it too late?

Is it ever too late for anything, except perhaps enjoying ice cream once it’s melted?

Thinking and acting like it’s too late to change course, to make a difference for yourself, for others, is a choice. If you’re still alive, you still have a choice.

Is your business still alive? If you are, it is. 

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www.TheWriterWorks.com or 302.933.0116 or Hal@BusinessWorks.US

“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!”   [Thomas Jefferson]

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You.

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

If you’re not in the toy business,

 and play games with people  

who act like children

 . . . you lose!

Government in virtually any form is hardly a showcase for business leaders. Time and again, and especially with the current Administration, government has proven itself incompetent of thinking and acting prudently or productively. This latest round of childishness that the White House and the Democratic union-vote sheep in Wisconsin are displaying, is pathetic and irresponsible.

Just imagine employees in your company deciding they don’t agree with your hard-line stance against raises at a time when the very survival of your business is at stake and, instead of sitting down to talk about it with you, they pile onto buses and leave town.

Are you kidding me?

Does that sound like a three-year-old temper tantrum or what?

God Bless you, Governor Walker for having the courage to stand up against this intimidation and lunacy. Wisconsin will rise again, but only after those who choose to play child’s play grow up and face the reality that they are part of the problem and not part of the solution. Those who you represent should be proud of your stance. You are trying to save your State from economic catastrophe.

You are 100% correct that the people of your State come first, and that they will decide, not the greedy unions or Mr. Obama’s thugs. There isn’t an entrepreneurial American business on Earth that wouldn’t agree. 

• We know from almost all forms of psychotherapy that when those you are trying to communicate with as adults will only respond as children, you can get down into their playground mentality, become one of them, and accomplish nothing.

• Or, you can rise above them and act parental, which will create added havoc and ignite either explosions or implosions.

• Or, you can stay persistently adult until they finally come full circle, accept their foolish waste of time and energy as an aberration, and join forces, or at least agree to disagree, and move on. And, this is the only avenue that holds promise of productive solutions.

Union mandates are far beyond the point of reasonability and the infantile attitudes of it’s-my-ball-and-I’m-taking-it-and-going-home-Wisconsin-State-Legislators (who have fled from their responsibilities to parts unknown) must both be quashed.

Governor Walker needs to continue to stand firm, and deserves the support of all 30 million of America’s small business owners and operators.

If Wisconsin’s radical leftist and union leader demands succeed, and added State financial support is handed over to e.g., $90,000-a-year-salaried teachers at the cost of collapsing the State, everybody loses.

Can it possibly be that partisan politics is more important than the well-being of Wisconsin families and businesses? Is building a Democratic power base more important than Statehood survival?

Please, those of you who provoke fights and then run from them: Stand up for those who have supported you, not those who give you pretend pledges!

Reality is that your State, like many, is in serious trouble. Meeting union demands is not a solution. Acting like adults and thinking like entrepreneurs will at least get you to the solutions table.

Stop worrying about losing votes and losing union support, and start realizing you hold the key to your childrens’ and grandchildrens’ future. You’ve made your points, now turn it around.

NOW turn it around.

Wull you give the rest of the country reason to applaud you

or cause to spit on an empty trail that you’ve left behind!

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“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!”   [Thomas Jefferson]

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You.

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

How loud or quiet are

your community relations?

LOUD (high profile) community relations development counts most for:

• Educational and healthcare-based facilities and organizations (e.g., schools, hospitals, libraries, rehab centers)
• Professional practices (especially doctors, dentists, therapists, lawyers, and accountants).
• Retailers of every variety, size, and description (from restaurants to auto showrooms to department stores)
• Real estate professionals and all affiliated services
• Religious-based organizations
• Consumer transportation and shipping businesses)

These entities and individuals need to make positive community involvement impressions because their business interests are community-involved in direct consumer ways. They can achieve this by designing PR programs that support those communities that support their business and professional interests.

It’s called “enlightened self-interest” and it’s a good thing.

It means “enlightened” as to the perceived needs of key communities, neighborhoods, and regions, and taking a leadership posture that will produce good deeds which will ultimately produce some return on the investments of time, money and energy.

This is not the same thing as opportunism.

There is no selfishness involved.

Enlightened self-interest simply means following the awareness that the more good a business can do for the communities it serves, the more that appreciation for those good works will surface, and the more return can be realized, which ultimately allows the business to channel and contribute even more.

It’s all about demonstrating a sense of charity and coming at it from a position of strength which, in turn, makes even more charity possible. It’s hard to give meaningfully from a position of weakness. There’s nothing at all wrong with doing that; it’s simply limiting.

QUIET (low profile) community relations development counts most for:

• Manufacturers, fabricators, and distributors
• Home improvement services
• Online businesses
• B to B services (except media)
• Personal and family services (e.g., counseling, funeral homes, home care)
• Industrial and professional transportation and shipping businesses

These types of businesses have less need for public exposure in the community relations efforts they undertake, but no less of a need to be actively involved.

Both LOUD and QUIET community relations serve important purposes for all involved.

They can be achieved by ongoing and consistent efforts of groups, teams and individuals engaged in activities that benefit the welfare of others through guidance and participation in events, programs, sponsorships, news releases, and public stances on community-benefit positions.

There is never any shortage of needs your business can provide. Set budgets and terms for participating with matching dollar donations . . . and/or contributions of cash awards, products, services, time, facilities, contacts, equipment, and leadership.

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931.854.0474 or Hal@BusinessWorks.US

“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!”   [Thomas Jefferson]

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You.

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

Do You Hate

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www.TheWriterWorks.com or 302.933.0116 or Hal@BusinessWorks.US

“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!”   [Thomas Jefferson]

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You.

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

30 MILLION STORIES.

Does that sound like

the stairway to heaven?

No, the other kind of 

stories, as in tell me a…

It’s been widely reported that there are an estimated 30 million small businesses in the United States. This number includes sole proprietorships (which the government refuses to acknowledge as small businesses, and which therefore account for a smaller small business total in Washington’s eyes, though interestingly, not out of IRS sight!).

Why should this matter to you?

There’s barely an entrepreneur alive who doesn’t know that new small businesses create virtually ALL of the new jobs in this country –and always have– and that job creation is the ONLY solution to reversing this still plummeting economy (which, all the great funeral service and State of the Union campaign-style oratory cannot cover up with political blankets).

Just look at skyrocketing gas prices,

unemployment, and boarded up storefronts 

for proof of the still plummeting economy.

Every business that’s alive and breathing today has avoided shutdown and rollover by owner, manager, and employee guts and gumption.

Discovering and pounding away at a unique product or service differential; consistently thinking and acting beyond creativity into the gravitational pull of innovative orbits; delivering value, integrity, and overkill customer service is what spells s~u~c~c~e~s~s!

This means, among other things, that your business has a story. With 29,999,999 other stories floating around out there (not counting government and corporate media dominance and control), your business story may seem small and insignificant. But it is not. Your small business story is that you are here . . . and how you got here, and where you’re going. And that story is real and valuable.

YOUR story needs to be told. Do it yourself, or get someone to do it for you, but don’t shovel it into obscurity. Part of your value on this planet is to inspire and motivate others by sharing what you’ve learned along the way. If you don’t believe this, you shouldn’t be wasting your time on this site. You need not be Bill Gates or Oprah before giving something back. Teach by telling your story.

In the process of growing your business, what is it that you’ve learned the hard way . . . what do you wish someone had clued you in on before the eve of destruction?

What would have made a difference for you to hear when the going got tough?

How hard is it for you to choose to reach out to others in your family, your company, your industry, your community, and share some of your ups and downs in a way that might help someone else? Have you offered to teach a local high school or college or adult education course? How about initiating a business round-table group or discussion series at your church or community center?

(Practicing such enlightened self-interest, by the way, can only enhance your own business reputation in the process.)

Have you called a local school (or trade or professional show program director) and asked if you could arrange a guest talk, or guest lecture, or guest workshop, or seminar participation? (Some of the world’s best employees are also recruited at such sessions.)

What’s holding up your call? Are you thinking you have nothing important to say? If you are where you are, you have important things to say about the process that got you there. OR that didn’t get you there — What are some NO-NO’s you’ve learned? People DO want to know these things. You did yourself at one time. Remember?

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Hal@BusinessWorks.US

“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!”   [Thomas Jefferson]

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You.

Make today a GREAT day for someone! 

Shakin’ in your boots?

In business, we often (sometimes even every hour –or minute– or two) find ourselves in a position of needing to deliver something under duress . . . a product, service, idea, proposal, message, estimate, document, presentation, bank balance, operational failure, employee or customer or supplier problem. And delivery is always in Eastern, Central, Rocky Mountain or La-La Land Crunch Time.

Anxiety, says Webster, is the painful or apprehensive uneasiness of mind over an impending or anticipated ill, or concern or interest . . . abnormal and overwhelming sense of apprehension and fear often marked by psychological signs (such as sweating, tension, and increased pulse) . . . and by self doubt. Not the stuff of entrepreneurs, you say?  Contraire mon fraire!

Sure entrepreneurs are self-confident and self-motivated and filled with burning desire, but they are also basket cases when it comes time for delivery of the goods — a business plan to investors, a loan app to the bank, a new operating system.

Why is that”?

Entrepreneurs are uniquely suited to have more at stake with every decision than any corporate or government manager.

Period.

Not very unlike the mindsets of our military heroes, entrepreneurs put their very (life, home, and family) existences on the line with virtually every decision every day.

Although no one in our present top level of American government has yet to acknowledge this truth or taken steps to capitalize on it: entrepreneurs are, when all is said and done, the movers and shakers of society.

Entrepreneurs are the catalysts of job market creation and employment opportunities — they are the only viable resource to tap for reversing and strengthening America’s economy. That’s a lot of angst to carry around.

Okay, so the conquering part:

•  Take some deep breaths.

• Recognize that anxiousness is a behavior and that behaviors are choices so why choose agita when you can just as easily make up your mind to instead choose calm self-control?

• Focus on the here-and-now present moment as much as possible because everything else (since it’s not here, now) is pure fantasy!

• Learn as much as you possibly can about your SELF and the things that make you come together as a person, as a leader, as an innovator.

• Surround yourself with positive people, positive events, positive pursuits, and a positive environment as often as possible.

• Don’t be afraid to seek out professional reality or Gestalt therapy or group guidance if you feel yourself drifting too far into the past or future too often. It doesn’t mean you’re losing it; it means you’re smart enough to recognize your shortcomings and to do something about them. It puts you in the top percent of enlightened human beings on this planet (which you clearly are if you’re reading this! Thanks for being here. Come again.).

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Hal@BusinessWorks.US

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You.

“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” [Thomas Jefferson]

Make today a GREAT day for someone! 

When what goes on day to day

brings to mind a certain

old song or two . . .

I know, I know, you’re not the first one to tell me I’m crazy. Just because I think of different business people and situations whenever I hear certain old tunes doesn’t mean I’m ready for that big nuthouse in the sky.

But it IS interesting to think about how parallel some favorite lyrics can run to the good and bad fortunes of your business. No, not “The Eve of Destruction.”

Consider, just as an example, the three plays in a row I heard recently on Sirius 33:

James Taylor:

“I’ve seen fire and I’ve seen rain…sunny days that I thought would never end…lonely times that I could not find a friend…” 

Bob Seger:

“Wish I didn’t know now what I didn’t know then…I’m older now, but still running against the wind…”

and Jackson Browne:

“Running on empty.”

All three of those sets of words have applied to my business and many clients’ businesses many times over the years. Some, in fact, hold varying amounts of truth today. (You think Jackson Browne had some premonition about gas prices?)

Then, how about that great old inspirational song from that great old group, AMERICA:

This is for all the lonely people, thinking that life has passed them by . . . don’t give up until you drink from the silver cup and ride that highway in the sky!” 

 

Music, it seems to me –considering it in both a business context and the reality of life– has a funny way of opening up some of the wounds it heals and healing some of the wounds it opens. Does that make sense? You don’t have to be a shrink to see the truth of that. 

This observation is not limited to pop music, by the way. I think the dynamic of stirring up old emotions and creating new ones applies equally to classical music as it does to rap or jazz or any other style of creative musical expression.

Why else do we tap our feet and fingers, hum along, and sometimes just drift off into the mental or emotional space that music suggests?

Certainly, advertising jingle and commercial background music producers plus cinematic music specialists  know the heartstrings-tugging value of an oboe, a violin, or a wailing tenor sax, and how to make it play to trigger emotions.

These people are also acutely aware of the importance of maintaining some denomination of 80 beats per minute to best coincide with the average human heartbeat, and use that tool to help reach the unconscious mind through the ears and absorbed vibrations. 

Is there music in your workspace? Does it help or hinder productivity? Inspire creativity? Innovation? Is it the same music you listen to when you’re not on the job? (HA! Are you ever not on the job? Hey, YOU chose to be an entrepreneur.)

Anyway, dredge up some happy stuff (there actually is a little of it out there!) and sing away. That action alone is a terrific stress reducer, and we can’t have enough of that as we plunge onward into 2011.  

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www.TheWriterWorks.com or 302.933.0116 or Hal@BusinessWorks.US

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You.

“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” [Thomas Jefferson]

Make today a GREAT day for someone! 

“But I have

promises to keep

     and miles to go

      before I sleep . . .”

— ROBERT FROST

NOTHING is more aggravating to a business professional than assurances from others that prove empty, guarantees that don’t deliver, and boxes full of promises with false bottoms.

These games waste time and money, drain energy, and create havoc for the person or organization on the receiving end.

I recently witnessed a guaranteed $1 million sale that ended up costing a great deal of anxiety and money to discover that the “sale” was a hoax.

Maybe a million dollar sale is hard to relate to, so here’s one I’m sure you’ve experienced:

An on-again, off-again client (Sam) once assured me my proposal to manage a very major (big fee) project was acceptable and that we should meet to wrap it up early the following week.

He asked me to call on Friday morning to set a time and date when we could meet and I could pick up a check.

With some overdue bills on the desk, that was a welcome thought. The accompanying feelings of relief were quickly muffled. On Friday morning, Sam was unavailable so I left a voicemail and doubled up with an email that I could be available to get together on Monday or Tuesday. Sam never responded. It was a long weekend.

I called again on Monday and had to leave another voicemail. I sent another email. Still no response.

In the meantime, the two teleconferences originally set for Monday that I had moved to Wednesday so I could be available for Monday or Tuesday were suddenly on the firing line. I tried Sam’s number to no avail three more times that day. At the end of the day Tuesday, Sam called to apologize for being very busy and wanted to meet on Wednesday.

I explained I had conference calls set up, and Sam then suggested connecting on Thursday. He had my check ready. I asked if he could put it in the mail so I could get started, and he said he needed to meet personally with me first to “go over a couple of minor points and sign off on the project.” 

One of the Tuesday conference calls (involving a dozen people) was last-minute rescheduled –you guessed it– to Thursday.

Sam, as it turns out, was “called out of town at the eleventh hour” on Thursday and didn’t bother to let me know until his email arrived two minutes after the rescheduled conference call that I was supposed to be in, was completed.

He sent me an email on Friday saying he promised he would be at my office first thing Monday. I took a deep exhale and shuffled my Monday schedule around so the morning would be clear.

Sam called at noon Monday to say he was sorry for not getting to me earlier, but assured me he would be stopping in later that afternoon, at 2pm. At 2:15pm, an email arrived announcing that the week had just become “too crazy” and would the following Monday afternoon be okay to meet. You know when you can feel the meltdown is on the way?

I politely told Sam to take a hike. I had to run double-speed to make up the lost time and attention to other clients and pay the overdue bills. This is of course all in addition to my churning stomach and missed sleep.

I know, I know, I did a lot of stupid things , but only because I start with trust, and expect people to keep their word. 

It’s happened before. It will no doubt happen again. I would never dream of being what I consider to be so “insolent,” so I have a hard time accepting that some people out there really don’t care about honoring their commitments.

“Promises are made to be broken” they might say. Well, I’ve learned the hard way to be more suspect of people who assure me of anything. It’s really not hard–especially these days– to communicate, unless a conscious choice is being made to confuse, confound, annoy, not deliver, take the high road, or pretend to be too busy to be concerned about other’s commitments. 

Show me. Don’t talk about it.

And when you miss the first shot and don’t call . . . don’t call! I’m not interested. Sam ruined it for both of us! Here it is: Demonstrate respect and follow through with what you assure others of, and you’ll never lose credibility, or business. And you stand to gain: a high-trust reputation. 

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302.933.0116    Hal@BusinessWorks.US

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You.

“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” [Thomas Jefferson]

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

 “I read a blog today,

Oh Boy!”

[With thanks for the unconscious melody, to The Beatles]

Contrary to a blog post I just read, MOTIVATION does NOT come from inside you!

It is DESIRE that lodges itself deep within each human being (and of course most animals).

Motivation is an influence that’s exercised and exerted from the OUTSIDE.

It is what activates or triggers desire.

To say someone is “self-motivated” simply means that person is in touch with her or his desires, and that some external things or events (or other person or people has) have activated, stimulated, or triggered those desires, increased awareness of them, and brought them to the surface.

This little bit of wisdom is as important to marketing strategists, sales professionals, and online content writers and designers seeking to trigger emotional buying motives, as it is to business owners and managers.

• We’ve chatted here often about the practical motivational applications of Maslow’s Theory of Needs Hierarchy.

Decades later, it is still a constant and still the most valuable motivational tool for business and organization leaders.

It requires leaders to pay ongoing attention to what things most make themselves and those around them “tick,” and recognize that needs can change instantly. 

• Herzberg’s research adds yet another dimension of reality that we often assume that we know what other’s needs are, but are frequently wrong . . . and that financial and job enrichment rewards are important, but in motivating for true job satisfaction, gaining some sense of achievement is what really matters most.

Okay, now that we’re past all that textbook stuff, let’s take a closer look at leadership. Motivating and inspiring others to perform optimally is a primary challenge and responsibility.

Whether the prompts to action are directed toward problem solving or innovating (or producing innovative solutions), or selling (which may of course combine all of the above), there is an over-riding need to turn on the reality spotlight!

The point is if you are out there on the front lines of sales and/or management–and aim to be successful–you’re not likely to have the time or patience to mollycoddle (cool word, huh?) a bunch of theoretical approaches about how to do your job.

Theory talks. Reality walks.

Now, here’s the killer: if you don’t do the reality booster-shots hourly or daily, your leadership effectiveness stands to suffer big-time.

Remember those on-the-job moments when a boss expected you to be internally-motivated and told you to do something “by the book” that turned out to be dumb, wasteful, irrelevant, insensitive, or ineffective (maybe all?)? Just a small example.

What about the boss who got you excited about doing something that you always wanted to try or to learn, but thought you’d never get the chance? THAT is external motivation of your internal desire! Also just a small example.   

How can you reach inside those you are responsible for leading, to locate and push those magic buttons that ignite their rocket launchers?

One good answer: 

Igniting people’s individual rocket launchers requires full understanding that the strength of your role performance as a leader is determined by how well you can get to know your SELF and others’ individual selves.

Your ability to make great things happen depends on how effectively you size up other people’s qualifications, energy drives, interests, instincts, capabilities . . . and desires!

The more you can know yourself, the more easily you can know others. When you know what others want and need, you’ll know how, when and where to reward and challenge them most productively.

But keep it on your back burner that a personal crisis or even minor oversight on your part or on the part of any of those you lead, can change the dynamics of the relationship and the tasks at hand overnight or within the hour, even within the minute! And that can change what you need to do to help others make a difference. 

# # # 

www.TheWriterWorks.com

302.933.0116  Hal@BusinessWorks.US

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You.

“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” [Thomas Jefferson]

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

Hey!

Did j’hear the one about…? 

# # #

www.TheWriterWorks.com  

302.933.0116 or Hal@BusinessWorks.US  

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You.

 “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” [Thomas Jefferson] 

Make today a GREAT day for someone!