Is your self-fulfilling prophesy

destroying your business?

• “Harry, you look terrible. How do you feel?”
• “Oooooooh, terrrrrrible.”
• “Terrible, huh? That’s too bad. How’s business?
• “Oooooooh, terrrrrrible.”

~~~~~~~~

• “Hey, Marian, what’s up?”
• “Not much. What’s up with you?”
• “I just saw Harry.”
• “Oh, and how is he?”
• “He’s terrible.”
• “Really? That’s a shame. I thought he was doing okay. In fact I was just on my way to him to put in a big order, but maybe I shouldn’t be doing business with him anymore. If he’s as terrible as you say, and he’s not doing well, then he’s not selling much, and his inventory must be getting awfully stale.”
• “Oh, I’m not sure about his inventory, but he looked terrible, and when I asked how he was, he said ‘terrible.’
• “Yeah, well that’s enough for me. I can just as easily deal with George down the street. He doesn’t seem to have many customers, but he always says that things are terrific, and he always acts bright and cheerful. I have to believe his products are always fresh.”

~~~~~~~~

     Have you looked  in a mirror lately? I mean REALLY looked? Have you tape-recorded and listened to yourself talking to customers (employees, vendors, anyone?) on a recent phone call? Are you choosing for the lousy economy to creep into how you represent yourself and your business to others? 

     Do you know — beyond any shadow of doubt — that you are consistently projecting the power of positive thinking? Does your voice and do your posture and facial expressions exude enthusiasm? All the time? Uh, ALL the time? A~L~L the time?

     Do you think you can  just put on an act from 9 to 5, or just on Thursdays? Is your brain programmed to think “TGIF” every Friday morning, and then slow to a standstill by noon, getting ready for the weekend?

     Do you still think of Wednesday  as the “hump” day to get past so you have a clear path to TGIF? Do you own or run a business? Maybe you should read this post one more time. Have a great TGIM week starting Monday (or even start a little today?)

     Oh, and guess what the fringe benefit is?  Besides that you’ll increase sales:  You’ll feel happier and be healthier! It’s a proven fact that forcing yourself to project a positive attitude consistently, even when you don’t feel positive, will end up turning upsetting negatives into positives and make you happier and healthier. What have you got to lose?

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Leaders who fail this

exercise fail as leaders

     As the leader  of your organization, department, division, constituency, team, troop, household, office, clinic, crew, institution, property, building, club, store, or factory, you have and will form a number of prejudices in your lifetime.

I can tell you  that these feelings are your choice and you should choose something else, but it won’t make a difference. If you truly intensely dislike some segment of society, odds are the feelings are so deeply rooted that a BandAid isn’t going to heal the gaping wound.

     You CAN,  however, take some time (and, yes, it is worth it) to examine more carefully what it is exactly that tips your scale into tiltsville. At least you will have narrowed down the ugly feelings enough to have the good sense to know when to walk away from a potentially volatile situation, vs. setting yourself and others up for an explosion.

     First of all,  and this is important, remember that you need not like somebody to do business with her or him. Of course it’s nice to enjoy a customer or prospect’s company because it makes the sales process (Oh, yes, leadership IS sales, because leading IS persuading, right? But you know that of course!) more pleasant.

     But, you know what?  For some peculiar reason I’ve never figuired out, odds are that the biggest and most important leadership (sales) accomplishments have occurred with people who you are not particularly fond of. So…

Half the battle is knowing what prompts you to think the way that you think before the circumstances arise that prompt you to think that way!

Can you look in the mirror and give yourself honest

one-word judgments/assessments of these 46 types:

Men? Old men? Young men? Middle-aged men? Women? Old women? Young women? Middle-aged women? Children? Infants? Toddlers? Adolescents? Teenagers? Black people? White people? Blondes? Brunettes? Redheads? Bald-headed people? People with wigs? Toupees? Beards? Mustaches? Tattoos? Face piercings? Tongue piercings? Pierced Ears? Indians? Pakistanis? Mexicans? Frenchmen? Muslims? Jews? Irishmen? Asians? Fast talkers? Slow talkers? People who don’t look you in the eye? People with bone-crusher handshakes? People with fish fillet handshakes? Rednecks? City slickers? Tree huggers? Overweight people? Underweight people? Handicapped people? Athletes?   

     Here’s my best guess on scoring: 

• If you dislike/distrust more than 10,  you have a problem that you should confront and deal with because it’s keeping you from being successful in your leadership role.
• If you dislike/distrust more than 20,  you’ll be happier as a hermit than as a leader. Cash in your assets and head for a cave.
• If you dislike/distrust more than 30,  please run, don’t walk, to the nearest psychotherapist and beg for help (and until you get help, keep yourself locked up at home watching Animal Channel)!  
• Ah,  did we raise some consciousness here? Good! Happy Week! 

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It’s your business to keep

healthcare a business!

     Successful businesses  run on management that’s charged with taking responsibility to match authority. Yet we continually empower politicians to assume authority without making them accountable for taking responsibility.

     We elect and empower  people who are not business leaders, and they in turn appoint and empower other people who are not business leaders. And then we sit back and expect business leadership? You know what? We’re just not getting it.

     This whole healthcare fiasco  is proof of the pudding. It is impossible to dictate success because success is in fact determined by exercising the ability to rise above dictatorship.

     Federal Government  mandated healthcare cannot succeed because it will break what little is left of our economy’s backbone. And all of us will pay for that failure with our hard-earned tax dollars! 

     If you think $3-$4 per gallon regular  fuel costs are bad (and it was $2.75 today and rising in Eastern Pennsylvania), and you think healthcare insurance is outrageous, and that there’s a real shortage of good, qualified doctors available to choose from, think again!

     You may indeed  want to reconsider rushing to endorse the proposals our UN-businesslike Federal politicians are trying to ramrod into existence by emptying our wallets!

     If healthcare cannot be promoted  and run as a free enterprise competitive system and administered on a state-by-state basis, it doesn’t stand a chance of surviving… and the government’s feeble attempts to throw tax dollars at the auto industry will pale by comparison because the crash of healthcare will be paid for directly out of our own pockets for decades to come.

     While we’re at it,  by the way, education is the next explosion waiting to happen. Getting government hands off of healthcare will go a long way to getting government hands off of education.

     And if you’ve ever had a dream for yourself and your family, it should be for both of those events to occur. Why?

     Because when all is said and done,  NO one knows your and your family’s healthcare and education needs better than you and your family, and those needs are different in Delaware than they are in California, or Maine or Texas!

[Note: For what it’s worth, besides having seen Pennsylvania’s gas prices myself today (!), I have decades of experience as both an educator and as a healthcare management consultant. What’s offered above is NOT a matter of loose, unfounded opinion; but if you doubt, do your own homework!]

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Our beloved “geek” 

gets married today!

     After something like 18 years  of loyal service, including middle of the night emergencies, our beloved computer guru, Michael Todd Infusino, is embarking on a new life with his marriage to (God Bless Her!) Naomi “Nomie” Nomura.

     Nomie is the sweetest thing  that’s ever happened to Michael, and we are so happy for them both that they have found each other! (It’s like Pepperoni Sushi!)

     Michael is the genius  responsible for creating and maintaining this great blog site, as well as my business site www.TheWriterWorks.com. 

     Michael has been a gift from the heavens  because — without Michael to kick around — there would be no blog!

     Just imagine:  you would be staring vacantly at your screen wondering what else in the world you could possibly find to replace this wonderful “boost your butt and your business” site six days a week! (Of course you would find nothing; it’d be like your favorite TV show going off the air… maybe 30 seconds of respectful silence? Aaah, but this isn’t about blogs!)

     What this is REALLY all about is that Kathy and I are headed off to Michael and Nomie’s wedding,  and we just wanted the rest of the world to know what truly fine human beings these two young people are, and that we’re very proud of them and pleased for their decision to share one another’s strengths.

     It’s been a pleasure to know them as individuals, and it will be an even greater pleasure to know them as husband and wife (wife and husband? Hmmm.)

CONGRATULATIONS MICHAEL & NOMIE!

WE WISH YOU GREAT HEALTH AND HAPPINESS!

Hal & Kathy

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RIP Police Officer Chad Spicer

Tonight’s blog post is dedicated to the family of Georgetown, Delaware, Police Officer Chad Spicer, 29, who was killed by gunfire last night in the line of duty during what was an attempted speeding vehicle stop after an apparent drug deal had gone bad. Officer Spicer leaves a wife and 3 year-old daughter. Another officer was wounded. Two suspects were apprehended; a third is still at large as of this writing. Details and family donation information are available at www.wgmd.com Rehoboth Beach radio.             

     It is a sad day indeed on Delmarva Peninsula.  Once again, we live through the senseless murder of a brave American who gave his life to protect those of his neighbors. One thing’s for sure, he never imagined leaving his family and friends behind like this when he woke up yesterday and reported for duty.

     If the odds for not surviving  another day haven’t crossed your mind lately, let this terrible incident be a reminder. We live lives too short as humans to devote our energy, time and attention to all the business stresses that run through our minds and shudder through our bodies every day.

     We may think that the older we get,  the closer we move to death’s door, but death makes so such exception when the suddenness arrives unannounced. When that moment is here, will we want to have spent our years and months and weeks and minutes being worried about business events that haven’t yet come… and may never?

     Will we want to have spent our time on Earth  dwelling on past business events that are over and done with, and about which we can do nothing to change? Just because we own or manage a business, do we use that responsibility as an excuse for mistreating ourselves and others, or even for wishing ill-thoughts?

     As our businesses go, so go opportunities to grow and help ourselves and others to better appreciate the riches of all that surrounds us every day. It’s easy to bitch and complain, to make excuses and blame. But “easy” is not part of being human. Genuineness is. Love is. Caring is. Hard work is. Service to others is. A sense of humor is.

     Business is our tool.  Let us use it to lead others to cultivate life by thinking and acting positively in all that we do. It may not always be possible, but it’s always possible to try.   

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Mandated national healthcare

means mandated

national poverty!

There is only one solution  to dealing with U.S. healthcare costs escalating faster than inflation:

Business competition through privatization on a state-by-state basis.

The sooner  the government gets this and takes REAL steps in this direction, the quicker we’re going to see healthcare that’s both meaningful and affordable! 

There’s no longer any doubt  about it. Just listen to the experts. Look into the heart and soul of your own business experience. Small business simply cannot survive the financial crush of a mandated, dictated, universal healthcare plan for all citizens!

If you own or operate a business,  and you are not all-out crusading for healthcare delivery through business competition and privatization on a state-by-state basis, you are living in fantasyland.

Your business will  positively surf into the poorhouse on the next big wave. You and your business have one chance to survive, and only one…

That single chance rests squarely on your shoulders. It may require you to take steps you’ve never taken before.

It requires you to  contact your elected representatives and tell them that you do NOT want dictated, mandated healthcare because it will break what’s left of the economy’s back, bankrupt small businesses everywhere, and lead to exceptionally LOW quality professional care.

After all, do you  really want some know-nothing politician from 2o States away dictating what doctors you can and can’t see for a sick or injured loved one, or for yourself?

Are you ready and willing to put your life decisions  in the hands of someone with no healthcare knowledge, and who doesn’t even understand the business of healthcare, and then –on top of all that– end up with an inferior, low-grade, poorly-trained care provider?

We have decision-makers who lack even basic business knowledge and experience but who are making business decisions about our healthcare that are impacting all of our lives.

We (all of us who own and operate our own businesses) need to barge into this  the same way we would if some unknowledgeable, inexperienced upstart arrived at our doorsteps tomorrow morning and tried to wrest control of our businesses from us.

These are,  after all, the circumstances that are in fact headed for our doorsteps right now.

Will YOU speak up  to protect what you have built and created and what is rightfully yours, or stand aside and let uninformed outsiders rush in to re-set your business stage with fantasy props and the underpinnings of bankruptcy?  Call. Write. Email. Today. 

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Is Your Business Jogging In Place?

Accountants and lawyers  (UGH! What a combination!) will quickly tell you that your company is a legal entity that needs to be thought of as a separate and distinct individual.

So, okay,  why should a company be any different than a person when it comes to cultivating and maintaining good health? Like, what could possibly be better for your business than to feed it nutritious meals?

  And while you’re at it,  make sure it gets a good night’s sleep as often as possible… but minus the pills; just turn out the lights. You might also see to it that it does the prescribed number and reps of bench presses, and that it jogs a couple of miles and swims a few laps every day.

  Some good head-clearing  cross-country runs beat jogging in place, by the way, and the swimming? Hey, it’s the best total exercise there is, with no pressure on backs, knees… or computers, file cabinets, copy machines and elevators.

Of course you also know,  while we’re on this subject of general health—-the ubiquitous variety, not some empty-suit czar called “General” —-that certain bad habits can do in even the most fiercely determined health and fitness efforts. You do know this. Stuff like smoking and alcohol or drug dependency will knock the greatest Olympian out of competition.

Sooooo,  why would you allow your business to develop destructive dependencies? Just because you hear other business owners moan and groan about the econ0my doesn’t mean you should be tossing in the towel anymore than that you should take up heavy drinking and drugs because your business is a couple of blocks away from a rehab center.

     Your business needs exercise!

Take it for a walk,  play Frisbee with it (no computer games; those babies are already over-burdened), go bowling. Air the place out. Periodic housekeeping is a good thing. Overhauling policies and procedures is an invigorating experience. Changing hours, suppliers, responsibilities, terms, and hats are all events that represent a clearing of the decks.

When new business  isn’t in your face, you need to be getting ready for it. Your company needs a little tree -shaking to let the nuts fall out. Sure, tree-shaking is good exercise. Anything you can do to work up a little sweat…

# # #  

Hal@Businessworks.US or comment below.

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals!

So you had bad toilet training

as a child. So what?

     Imagine what this world would be like  without hidden agendas. Okay, maybe you can’t change the world. Imagine what your business would be like without hidden agendas? Your life?

“Man is not totally at the mercy of either his heredity or his environment, He can modify both.” It starts with increasing “a person’s awareness of the real power he has to direct his own life, to make decisions, to develop his own ethical system, to enhance the lives of others, and to understand that he was born to win.” 

Excerpts from the Preface of BORN TO WIN by Muriel James and Dorothy Jongeward

     Here’s the deal:  Psychological “game-playing” (often unconsciously provoked) has been defined by psychology icons Dr. Eric Berne and Dr. Frederick Perls as a series of transactions or communication exchanges (often repetitive) with a hidden motive or agenda.

     These “game” exchanges,  which may seem innocent and perfectly rational on the surface, can have extremely destructive mental and emotional consequences. “They prevent honest, intimate and open relationships” at home and on the job, say author/therapists James and Jongeward.

     They go on  to point out that we “wear many masks and have many forms of armor” that keep our true selves confined and unknown, even to ourselves. The possibility of encountering our own reality–learning about ourselves– can be “frightening and frustrating.”

     Many of us,  say James and Jongeward, “expect to discover the worst” when we set out on a path of self-exploration, “and a hidden fear lies in the fact that we may also discover the best.”

     To discover the worst  means we must “face the decision of whether or not to continue in the same patterns” of behavior, they say, and “To learn the best is to face the decision of whether or not to live up to it.”

     Because either discovery  may involve change, it is anxiety-provoking, which can be good or bad, depending on how we use the information and exercise the change.

     It all comes down to  making a conscious choice to learn more about what makes you tick so you can minimize game-playing, recognize it in others and not play, be better able to generally run a healthier more productive business… and experience a healthier and happier personal life in the process.

     What have you got to lose?  Finding out you had bad toilet training when you were three years-old? So what? Choose to make the reality of your present moment your focus, and watch the joy that comes to the surface, and stays! 

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Input aways welcome: Hal@TheWriterWorks.com (”Businessworks” in    subject line) or comment below. Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals, good night and God bless you! halalpiar  

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 Did you let somebody

down this week?

Did someone have expectations that you would do justice to her or him, or to the task at hand…that you would turn in a stellar performance? And you bombed out?

By any chance, was that “someone” who anticipated greatness from you…was that you?

Regardless of whether you did yourself in, or let someone else down, the point is that you flubbed it, right? Badly? So badly that you hate reading this right now because just thinking about it gives you the guilties?

Step back. Get out of your own way for a minute. Take a deep breath and clear your brain. Now look at this again. We’re taught to aim high. Nothing wrong with that.

But if you screwed yourself, figuratively speaking of course, maybe it’s because you weren’t leaving room to be flexible about achieving an outcome?

Maybe you lost sightof the reality that you choose your behavior, that you choose your pursuits–even that you choose to feel guilty. Hmmm, that’s worth choosing to think about.

You didn’t fail anyone else because others don’t have the right to judge you based on expectations. Yeah, well, sounds good, I know, but it’s done every day, probably every minute of every hour. Reality says that more likely than not, it just seems that way.

So, how can you pull the rug out from under faulty assumptions? First don’t make any yourself! You already know about “assume” making an “ass” out of “u” and “me.” Recognize that expectations (which are usually based on assumptions) breed disappointment.

Unless you work at not having expectations and at not making assumptions, you will do both. Then comes failure to rise to the occasion. Then comes disappointment and then along comes guilt. You remember guilt?

      THE FIX:

• Keep conscious control of your unconscious mind by focusing on the present here-and-now moment each passing moment as much as you possibly can.
• Don’t waste energy dwelling on past fantasies that cannot be changed and don’t wast energy worrying about future fantasies that haven’t yet come, and may never.
• Do lots of deep breathing to relax muscles and make your mind more alert.
• Withhold judgements as much as possible. (And remember everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle!)
• Remember that assumptions, expectations and guilt feelings are all CHOICES, and that it’s just as easy to choose a positive attitude as it is to choose a negative one.

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 Hal@TheWriterWorks.com or 931.854.0474  Thanks for visiting. 

Go for your goals, good night and God bless you!

Economic Tsunami?

 Don’t fight it. Float on it!

     There’s no doubt about it, financial stress can overwhelm even the best of business leaders. It takes an unwavering, cock-sure, impenetrable. positive attitude to stand tall while the walls are crumbling.

     Every business owner has been there. Some are getting it for the first time thanks to the economic environment, and–for those–the experience is numbing. How can it be? I’ve worked so hard. We deserve better than this?

     Probably true, but reality dictates that it doesn’t matter. Reality can be awfully cruel and horribly harsh, but reality is where we have to live if we are ever to turn things around. Fantasy is where the losers go.

     First and foremost, when the economic tsunami strikes your business, stop worrying about arranging the beach chairs. Get on anything that floats and plan to ride it out. Focus every waking moment’s energy on where you are, not where you’re going, or even worse, if you’ll get there.

     The more you pay attention to anticipating the other shoe drop, the more you are diverting productive energy and resources away from the places they are most required to ride out the storm, to innovate, to create new revenue streams, to smack yourself in the side of the head and start thinking in new ways.

     The more you worry about the other shoe, the less time, attention, effort, energy and positive forward motion you’ll have available to activate. This will result in the other shoe finding it’s way to thump on your ceiling lickity-split! 

      STOP draining your resources and energy with worry about future fantasy (It’s not here yet, and may never come). STOP draining your strength with dwelling on past screw-ups and who did what to whom (It’s over and past and there’s NOTHING you can do to change it).

START TUNING IN TO THE PRESENT HERE-AND-NOW MOMENT, EVERY PASSING MOMENT, AS MUCH AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN. IMMERSE YOURSELF IN THE PRESENT. LEARN FROM BABIES AND PUPPIES. 

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Hal@TheWriterWorks.com or comment below.

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals, good night and God bless you!