Your Role In History As An Entrepreneur

H U M A N   C A P I T A L

Adapted from the book 30 DAYS TO THE NEW ECONOMY by Peggy Salvatore

I’ve heard some people say that they don’t like the term “human capital” because it sounds cold and impersonal. Actually, when I first heard it years ago, I liked it for exactly the opposite reason. Human “capital” describes the value of workers to an enterprise. Whereas labor is typically counted as a cost, capital describes an asset.

Without knowledge workers

in the New Economy,

a business has no valuable assets.

On DAY 23, we discussed the importance of enterprises as learning organizations since knowledge and information are growing exponentially by the minute. In a knowledge-based economy, humans are the most important resource.

The knowledge-based worker turns the idea that machines displace workers on its head. Workers who tend machines or build widgets that can be assembled by robots are underutilized. One study by the Martin School at Oxford predicts that 48% of American jobs alone will be lost to robotics in the next 20 years. This is good news because as the New Economy grows, workers grow in importance and stature. Rather than being displaced by machines, knowledge workers are freed for higher level tasks, tasks that use more of their innate abilities and engage their interests. Higher level tasks in a knowledge economy move workers closer to full actualization of their potential.

A 2015 Gallup Poll

found that 70% of

 Americans hate their jobs.

I am going to guess that statistic can be pretty closely correlated anywhere on the planet. Being freed from loathsome employment is the joy of Internet Joe and the people on his team. As the lowest, ugliest jobs disappear, the entrepreneur and his creative staff can enjoy serving a growing global online market of potential customers who will consume vast amounts of innovative human resources.

Worker displacement by machines has always resulted in raising the living standard of all despite fears of laborers during the period of dislocation. The accelerated process in a rapidly-expanding knowledge economy should be no different.

So, “human capital” it is.

 Hiring Knowledge Workers

Internet Joe is building his online empire on the shoulders of knowledge workers. Deep knowledge workers. Highly specialized people who may be in his employ or may be supplying services as a vendor.

The human capital resources needed by the entrepreneur in the New Economy are the best available in the world, literally in the world, serving the world. Knowledge workers as human capital are always learning because growth is joy.

As an entrepreneur, you will be supporting workers who find fulfillment in what they do. That kind of leadership will require a different brand of guidance than leadership in the past that was focused on motivating workers to perform repetitive or onerous tasks. Entrepreneurial leadership in the New Economy is more about clarifying the vision than motivating your employees.

Knowledge workers on your team will sometimes lead you, and that is a perfectly acceptable turn of events when you are working with highly valuable human capital.

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C’mon back TOMORROW 10/12 for Day 26  —

You got the spunk. You got the ideas. You got the

money. You got the marketing. You got the contacts.

But do you “Got The People”?

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 SPECIAL   A N N O U N C E M E N T

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———-

For more information on Peggy Salvatore’s book: 30 Days to the New Economy [© Peggy Salvatore 2015. All Rights Reserved.] click on ENTREPRENEUR NEWS or visit ow.ly/RysnP for the E-book

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Hal@Businessworks.US      Peggy@Businessworks.US

Open Minds Open Doors

Thanks for your visit and make today a GREAT day for someone!

Your Role In History As An Entrepreneur

I  N  T  E  G  R  I  T  Y

Adapted from the book 30 DAYS TO THE NEW ECONOMY written and published by Peggy Salvatore

First of all, without integrity, you can stop reading right now. Don’t waste your time trying to lead an organization—or even yourself—because if you do not have integrity in all you do, you cannot perform any of the necessary actions required to grow and lead a successful organization.

INTEGRITY. Is it more than not cheating on your expense account? More than not pocketing stuff in a retail store? More than lying on your taxes or to your partner or associates? Your landlord? Your family?

Integrity is all-inclusive. Maintaining integrity half the time is like being half-pregnant. Integrity has to do with your treatment of all people all of the time.

It includes all of your communications and the commitments you make – written (including texts, emails, blogs, and site content) and oral (including personal meetings, telephone calls, and electronic transmissions).

If you say one thing to one person and another thing to someone else, don’t expect anyone to listen to you or follow you. They cannot follow you because you have proven that you cannot be trusted; if they follow you, they don’t know where they’ll end up.

If there is any incongruity in your actions or words, you will lose the respect and trust of your employees and everyone else who knows you, including importantly (especially if it’s your own business) your customers.

The reality of  this thinking applies not only to all your business dealings, but all your dealings in life.

 You cannot effectively be one person in your public life and another person in your private life.

Without integrity, you have (or will likely end up having) nothing.

An individual with Integrity is one who is wholly integrated. All pieces of that person’s life line up and make sense. A fully integrated person acts from the same core of values in her or his actions, at work with employees, at home with family and friends, at the gym, in the restaurant, on the phone . . . standing in line.

Integrity is about trust and consistency.

When others let you into their world, whether on a screen, or through a product or service, deserve a certain basic level of trust. And people with Integrity are honest in all cases, which is a demonstration of respect for others.

People who are used to treating others with respect can be expected to treat customers with respect, too. It’s a behavior that comes naturally.

People with Integrity have nothing to hide.

What you see is the actual sum of the man or woman. This is important for several reasons. Generosity tends to accompany Integrity. People who are fully integrated are free to be open and that means they are free to share their ideas, their friends, their lives and their resources.

As a corollary to generosity, people with Integrity usually have an abundance mentality. They aren’t hoarders. This openness is a prerequisite to have a giving personality, one that believes there is enough to go around. An open hand gives and receives in a virtuous cycle.

Another quality of people of Integrity is their outward focus. The natural integration of their lives means that their business is a member of the community it serves. In the Internet world, some entrepreneurs have a global focus, so that community can be near or far.

An Internet entrepreneur may be the leader of a company of one as a solopreneur, or may lead a company of hundreds. But the same rules apply. As the leader of your organization, Integrity is the make-or-break personal quality.

Integrity is the foundation of success in any
venture and is particularly critical to
long-term successful leadership
at any level. Entrepreneurship is no exception.

Let’s close this discussion by pointing out that this is not a sermon. None of us is perfect. We are, after all is said and done, humans. That requires us to each have faults. The intent of this post is to serve as a reminder that—as motivational guru Brian Tracy so aptly paraphrases: “We become what we think about most of the time.” Thinking more about integrity helps us to gain more of it. And that’s as good for our businesses as it is for ourselves and for those around us every day.

For more information on Peggy Salvatore’s book: 30 Days to the New Economy [© Peggy Salvatore 2015. All Rights Reserved.] click on ENTREPRENEUR NEWS or visit ow.ly/RysnP for the E-book

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Hal@Businessworks.US     

Open Minds Open Doors

Thanks for your visit and make today a GREAT day for someone!

Your Role in History as an Entrepreneur

PRODUCTS IN

THE NEW ECONOMY

Adapted from the book 30 DAYS TO THE NEW ECONOMY written and published by Peggy Salvatore

Whether you are a young entrepreneur, a mid-career professional right-sized out of a corporate job or a boomer taking the slow road to retirement, there has never been a better time to strike out on your own.

You have the freedom to live the life you want to live in ways that were unimaginable even a half century ago!

By building this life for yourself, you are also making similar lives possible for people everywhere because you are contributing to building the web of commerce that is becoming the New Economy.

Online businesses provide virtually everything – virtually. Even most physical products have online availability or an Internet gateway. At times, I risk belaboring the obvious but I do so to build a foundation for you who are reading this book-adapted blog post to appreciate both the pace of change and the promise of this accelerating opportunity.

If something can be had, it can be found,
purchased and delivered using the Internet.

With this kind of limitless opportunity, it is clear that the Internet entrepreneur can carve out a niche for her or himself no matter his or her background or experience. Do you garden? Blog, write an E-book, post photos, host webinars, offer online advice.

• Were you a marketing executive before your company was acquired and you were offered a severance package? Your skills are very valuable as you apply your expertise to the new products, services, customers and markets opening up.
• Are you a mechanic specializing in vintage cars? Start a YouTube channel where you demonstrate restoration techniques, sell parts, host a forum and do it all behind a pay wall where car enthusiasts buy a membership to access your exclusive group members and your expertise.
• Spiritual gurus, leadership mentors, management experts, personal coaches and business development educators are growing a large consulting niche to aid entrepreneurs finding their way as business owners in this environment.

If you want to know how to choose a product or service to offer for sale, how to package it, where to find customers, how to appeal to them and how to set up the mechanics of a virtual business, there is an army of experts who have developed models you can adopt.

Because the New Economy is truly a frontier right now, many of the opportunities are exactly in the kinds of products and services needed to build the model.

The business model itself is not yet established.

When colonists set out for the Western American frontier in the mid-19th Century, they set out from several specific points of departure where merchants had set up stores that specialized in the goods they would need for their travel. You found blacksmiths and dry goods grocers, wagon makers and tool suppliers.

This particular point in time is the same kind of point of departure for the New Economy – it is not a physical location but a virtual one, reflecting the nature of the venture and adventure.

Rack servers, website designers and content creators are the kinds of businesses you will find at your point of departure as you venture out into the Internet frontier.

It may at times feel like we have already arrived. But don’t be fooled. Given the possibilities envisioned by futurists with a solid grounding in technology, physics, chemistry and biology, the actual destination of this trek is not visible from our vantage point. When we think we’ve arrived because we encounter a huge market, let me suggest it is the Mississippi River, not the Pacific Ocean.

[For non-US readers, the Mississippi River is a wide body of water that is considered to divide the United States in half geographically. When you’ve reached it, while it appears impressive, you’re not quite halfway across the continent.]

With most of the opportunities still undiscovered, as you decide the products and services you can offer as an Internet entrepreneur, let your decision be guided by your imagination.

Trust your instincts.

Study the terrain. Steadily roll along. You will discover what lies ahead and be among the first, even when it doesn’t seem that you are.

And, above all, stay close to your customers! They will tell you what’s up ahead. Think of your customers as expert guides, and trust what they do and say and request because they will lead the way.

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C’mon back TOMORROW 9/17 for Day 8 and what will likely be your first trip–ever–to INFINITY!

When you need some personal, one-on-one coaching beyond the Internet offerings, give us a call. (Direct line numbers on masthead above.) In the meantime, follow us HERE for FREE for the next 23 weekdays to see what others think, and discover some of the surprise findings we have in store for you—new and proven “mental apps” to apply to your own entrepreneurial and business development!
———-
For more information on Peggy Salvatore’s book: 30 Days to the New Economy [© Peggy Salvatore 2015. All Rights Reserved.] click on ENTREPRENEUR NEWS or visit ow.ly/RysnP for the E-book

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Hal@Businessworks.US           Peggy@Businessworks.US

Open Minds Open Doors

Thanks for your visit and make today a GREAT day for someone!

GOTCHA!

The other day, I received a “How Your LinkedIn Posts Are Doing” email and was curious enough to click it. I was fascinated to learn that YOU (yes, YOU!) are among those who sometimes follow my ramblings, and that when I put all the clues together — I gotcha! I actually know who you ARE.

I examined the subject matter detail lurking beneath the surface of some of my targeted posts and came up with a description of YOU. Uh huh, YOU. (Isn’t this better than your favorite suspense movie?)

In fact, if you’re still reading, you’re certainly getting more revved up from the intrigue of what’s to come than what may have been prompted by news of the latest tech discovery: that a new device can now “read your iris and identify you FROM 40 FEET AWAY!” Good Grief! Do we even want to imagine what’s next?

So back to who YOU are. Let’s start with some good adjectives that definitely describe you, at least in part. Stay with me now. We’ll work up to the good magical stuff in a minute.

Let’s see — by every indication, I have determined (and for the paranoids: no, this is not psychoanalysis!) that on numerous occasions you are: rambunctious, risky, frisky, focused, frenzied, ingenious, inventive, innovative, impatient, volatile, excitable, rebellious, and welcome growth over stagnation. How we doing so far?

Well, if even just some of that sounds familiar, I will venture to guess that you have a strong urge to change things up, but that your forward motion thinking has had a tendency to get somewhat muffled, distorted, stuck, or obscured along the way. Yes? Okay, so it’s get-back-on-track time, or not? Seriously? Of course!

Oh, almost forgot . . .

here’s what I deduct about you:

YOU ARE:

A “FEARLESS” 40-50-something

salesperson (or salesy person)

who’s hooked on SHARK TANK!

You might even be an entrepreneur!

 How’s that? Look at it this way, you likely visited at least part of one or more of the following LinkedIn posts . . .

• You’re 40-50 Years’ Old?  (11/25/14)
• FEARLESS: Broadway-Bound  (1/15/15)
• FEARLESS Creativity Wake-up Call  (1/29/15)
• You’re 40-Something and trapped!  (2/5/15)
• FEARLESS SELLING  (2/17/15)
• FEARLESS Strategic Planning  (3/2/15)
• TANK SHARK TANK  (4/28/15)
• FEARLESS DAMN MARKETING  (5/10/15)

. . . and/or you probably visited one or more of the hundreds of posts at www.BusinessWorks.US on the subjects of sales, salesmanship, entrepreneurs, and entrepreneurship.

SO . . . On target or way-far-away? If it’s on target, you are at least thinking like an entrepreneur, and maybe even acting like one. You might actually be one! If it’s way-far-away, you are probably way-far-away too (!), and lack the lightheartedness to even read the last two paragraphs — you might consider just clicking off this post now and finding some calmer, more regimented (like government?) career recruitment site.

You’re still with me? I hope so. Because if you are, you’re also tough and stubborn — great entrepreneurial indicators. Now make it all come together for yourself (that’s “for your SELF”) and make your ideas work! It just takes commitment and acceptance of the fact that your behavior is your choice.

You already have whatever else there is that it takes! Not sure? Throw a few business words in the www.BusinessWorks.US Search Window (Some non-business things like: “Are You Breathing?” work well too!) and check your SELF out! Go for it! Oh, and keep reading my posts, thank you very much.

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Hal@Businessworks.US    931.854.0474

America Needs

Entrepreneurial Leadership

It’s time for another Teddy Roosevelt/Harry Truman/Ronald Reagan to step up to America’s leadership challenge. History has shown us that “more of the same” leadership style following in the “too big for your boots” footprints left behind by prior leadership has produced either a false sense of progress and security, a lethargic aura, and/or a cavernous hole “too big for the planet’s britches.”

The days of corporate, governmental and politician “muckity-mucks” and their analysis paralysis approach to problem solving have long passed. This is 2015 and “We the people” can no longer endure those we elect to represent our interests wrongfully.

As a country and as American citizens, we simply cannot any longer tolerate elected representatives of the thinking that literally stomps on and casually pushes aside adhering to the very tenets of the Constitution that has made America great . . . the same feeble-minded political-payoff-and-payback representatives who then proceed to excuse their behaviors with shoulder shrugs and palms-raised declarations that “I tried! And, besides, it’s someone else’s fault!”

We are far beyond the point of receptivity we’ve naively granted to those who challenge and undermine our Constitution.

We are long past acceptance of those who see fit to substitute their own delusional self-indulgent needs in exchange for that which binds and ensures us of the rights to freedom of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We are weary of the lies, deceit, blame, second-guessing, unresponsiveness, societal repression, citizenship indignity, false-alarms, and global disrespect that now shrouds our nation.

So where can we turn for restoration, reconciliation, and re-kindling of spirit?

Let’s consider the perceptive, “say-it-like-it-is” and “Git R Done!” attitude of an entrepreneur. Let’s face it: we have no other worthwhile choice at this point in history — not if we are serious about the survival of our children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.

Small business owners and managers understand this need to untangle ourselves perhaps best of all. It’s called adaptability, tackling priorities, turning problems into opportunities, moving forward– entrepreneurial leadership! Business owners and operators who fail to do this, fail.

The truth behind the old expression: “Words do not cook rice” is something every entrepreneurial thinker/doer knows from experience. Certainly our Congress (and, in varying degrees, every government agency) fails to understand that revitalization time is here. Now. There can be no better nor more effective force to drive the realization of filling this need than a proven entrepreneur, one with the fortitude and courage to walk the talk.

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Hal@Businessworks.US    931.854.0474

Every career success requires

this entrepreneur discipline:

No matter your career, you need this. Whether you’re a corporate muckity-muck, teacher, politician, healthcare specialist, secretary, retail clerk, telemarketer, athlete, stylist, cowboy, sales rep, business owner, logistics manager, IT guru, pilot, media mogul, entertainer, writer, lawyer, pastor, government administrator, student, or a stay-at-home Mom (or Mr. Mom) . . . or add your own description: ________________.

No matter your career, you need this entrepreneur discipline.

Well, sure. You’re reading this, so you already have a commitment to learn and grow. You’re already motivated to achieve. Odds are you have some degree of integrity—doing the right thing even when no one else is watching! And you likely have some entrepreneurially-embedded sense of urgency.

Entrepreneurs are also willing to take reasonable risks and adapt readily to change. But risk-taking and adaptability are not always reliable measures of career success. You work hard at making the most of your communication skills by listening and observing carefully and tenaciously. Well, that’s a good thing, and may even be worth a few points toward achieving the magical level of success you crave.

But all of these assets—and many more you undoubtedly possess aren’t worth a hill of beans without a highly developed sense of vigilance. Huh? You thought that was a discipline relegated to the military or research scientists.

Well, here are a couple of not-too-shabby practitioner/advocates:

• Henry David Thoreau, the noted American author, philosopher, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, historian, and environmentalist who urged followers to “be forever on the alert.”
• And how about Thomas Jefferson: “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!”

So how does vigilance fit here? What makes it so special? Why should those who aspire to some measure of success really care? What’s the deal? What’s in it for me?

The answer: Vigilance is as Thoreau described, being forever on the alert. Alert to what? Alert to opportunities, market changes, society changes, world changes, job changes, personal and family changes . . . and assessing the impact of each, based on HOW (not why) you do what you do, HOW (not why) you use what you have, HOW (not why) you make the most of the skills you’ve developed.

It is all about being continually focused as much of the time as possible on the realistic present “here and now,” instead of the fantasy-filled past and future. Vigilance occurs in the present. How much of your life and success pursuits are in the present? The more they are, the closer you get to where you’re going.

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Hal@Businessworks.US    931.854.0474

GET YOUR GLOVE.

GET IN THE GAME!

We’ve all read inspirational quotes from the likes of Einstein, Edison, Disney, Ford, Mother Theresa, Jobs, Gates, Gloria Steinem, Lincoln, Knute Rockne, Billy Graham, Reagan, Oprah, Churchill, Mary Kay, Dyer, Denis Waitley, Brian Tracy, Fritz Perls, Zig Ziglar, Vince Lombardi, JFK, John Glenn, Mr. Rogers, Helen Keller . . .

We’ve read hundreds (thousands?) of different interpretations of “THE” 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 “WAYS” “METHODS” “STEPS” “KEYS TO” “RULES” “COMMANDMENTS” “TIPS” or “BEHAVIORS” we must follow, or “SINS” “MISTAKES” “ERRORS” or “TRAPS” we must avoid “TO SUCCEED.” They headline endless online posts, each proclaiming more author-self-anointed-authority that the next.

We know from our observations of friends, family, and associates that “10 or 20 years of career experience” is often simply one year of do-nothing actions repeated over and over for 10 or 20 years.

And from all of this—and more—we’ve learned to smile and sit up straight, to not “make waves,” to “hold our tongues,” and to “accept the life (and struggles) that have been given to us,” to “be patient and wait out the storms,” and—when in doubt—put together a committee to study the question. Sure, you may feel like you have to play the hand that’s been dealt to you, but you chose to get in the game, and you can choose to get out!

It’s worth remembering that every sunrise—yes, including today and tomorrow, and the next day, and the next—is a wakeup call to action, a new opportunity for each of us to do the best we can do, be the best we can be . . . make a difference with our lives.

And since all humans have imperfections, it’s hard (and probably impossible) to even try to do and be better every day without a daily assessment of where we are at the moment and how (what was the process we used) to get where we are right now.

How can we change what we don’t know exists? Or when we don’t know how it got that way to begin with? How can we get where we’re going if we don’t know where we’ve been? How many of us can take apart a faulty machine-engineered appliance we have no working knowledge of, repair it and put it back together?

How can we change (Yeah, I know, a link to “10 Steps.” Sorry ;>) something without thinking through the steps of how we got there in the first place (i.e., what are the how-to’s, NOT what are the reasons)? Taking a quick daily personal inventory is one answer. Even heavily-experienced, well-trained pilots review checklists prior to takeoff.

The practice of daily checkups is the foundation for the attitude that drives every entrepreneurial mindset . . . that every problem is an opportunity! Trust yourself!

“Get busy livin’, or get busy dyin’. . .
If you’re not moving forward,
you’re moving backward.”

– Reid Hoffman, Cofounder/Chairman- LinkedIn (From the 2012 bestselling business book, the start-up of YOU, by Hoffman and Casnocha)

SO GET YOUR GLOVE,

AND GET IN THE GAME!

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Hal@Businessworks.US    931.854.0474

When it’s time to eat grass,

get out of the mud and weeds!

You’ve been bustin’ butt to get where you are, and you can’t even find the tunnel, never mind light at the end of it! That’s the nice way to say you’re feeling spent and discouraged. But the truth is — guess what?– you are CHOOSING to feel spent and discouraged! “Spent” and “discouraged” are behaviors, right? And since all humans are born with free will (although some undoubtedly approach dubiousness), humans (yes, even entrepreneurs) all CHOOSE their behaviors.

So now you think you’re going to get lectured? Don’t choose to think that. Choose instead to enlighten yourself. The choice is just as easy, and it’s light-years  more productive. We make choices every minute of every day — from when to wake up to when to go to sleep, and everything in between. HA! And you thought it was just a matter of eggs or cereal for breakfast . . . or whether to sneer, snort, scowl or smile at someone else who chose to be bitchy.

Nope. No lecture here. Just shared awareness based on being an entrepreneur, and working with 2020 entrepreneurs. The bottom line is that the vast majority of entrepreneurs I’ve experienced haven’t a clue about the right time to make their move out of the weeds and into the sunshine-filled pasture, where healthy grazing beats hanging around in mud and weeds infested with mosquitoes. And I won’t even mention the malaria word here. OMG! So many choices!

So, seriously, where does your business live? When will you choose to move it? Where? How?

Our choices are conscious or unconscious. Sometimes the consequences pop up years later. Goal-setting can spare us a lot of “choice” surprises! Are your goals legitimate? They meet all five essential criteria? They are specific, realistic, flexible, due-dated, and in writing? If they are not all five, you don’t have goals; you have a meaningless, nonproductive wishlist. Why would you choose fantasy when choosing (meaningful, productive) reality is just as easy?

Choosing when and how to get your business out of the mud and weeds is not a matter of betting the farm. Entrepreneurs take only reasonable risks. It is a matter of what I call “Opportunity Vigilance.” When you keep focused on making your idea work and on taking advantage of opportunities that represent growth, you are choosing to put yourself and your business in a position of readiness to head for the sunshine-filled pasture where work becomes fun again.

Unless, of course, you’re a FAKE Entrepreneur?

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Hal@Businessworks.US    931.854.0474

If you’re

IN business, get OUT of Facebook.

Like every other niche in life, undoubtedly, there are those dwelling in and passing through the halls of business who will be quick to dismiss this post (especially Facebook employees). But as Shakespeare once said: “The truth will out!”

And the truth is: If you own and/or manage any** business, and you’re actively involved with Facebook:  you are wasting your time and energy. And lost opportunities are probably costing you more money than you would want to believe. [**any except perhaps retail]

Facebook does appear to serve as a meaningful distraction for government, corporate and academic employees. And given the boredom of that typically committee-cluttered, no-sense-of-urgency career existence, the attraction/diversion is understandable. But for entrepreneurs, Facebook is an unproductive addiction. It is simply not worthy of your attention, or even your interest, never mind your active indulgence. It literally eats up your clock!

“Yes, but,” I hear some say, “it’s the only way I can find out what my kids/grandkids are up to!” Then settle for it being a weekend addiction. Going to Facebook ANYtime between rise-and-shine Monday and nighty-night Friday is like a visit to the dentist for business owner/ manager Facebook fanatics. They too often end up holding their numb jaws while the Novocaine wears off when the reality comes home that time and energy and money has gone a-wasting.

“Okay, so Twitter is better, right?” Is there any difference in being obsessed with Twitter for any reason other than to promote your business interests (which is likely to be far better accomplished, btw, on LinkedIn) . . . or with being obsessed with the news (unless you’re in the news business)?

Bottom line: If you’re a genuine entrepreneur, you’re not spending spare time with anything other than your health and spiritual well-being–whatever that may be for you–and loving and growing your family and a few select friendships–whatever that takes.

Slice your pie the way you see fit. It’s your pie. It can be big, small, flat, mountainous, firm, gloppy, round, square, multilevel, whatever works for you . . . but don’t pretend it’s not a pie! We choose our pie. We choose our behavior. We choose our stress by choosing to set ourselves up for it. Think hard about the last time you didn’t feel 100%. What were you doing/thinking/saying shortly before you lost sleep/felt edgy/got sick?

When the stress becomes DIStress–with never enough time in the day for your pie, your family, your health–don’t react. Respond. Ask yourself HOW you choose or chose your stress? Then make a different choice. Maybe it’s time to change the way you see or slice your pie . . . or the way you breathe?

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Hal@Businessworks.US               931.854.0474

OPEN  MINDS  OPEN  DOORS

Many thanks for your visit and God Bless You.

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

Thank You to FEARLESS, the musical [www.fearlessthemusical.com] for the last three words and some of the clout of this post!

While some political leaders may doubt that FEARLESS Strategic Planning (FSP) is what the U.S. Government needs to be doing more of right now, it is certainly what every professional salesperson needs to be focused on at least once a week—and more likely, every morning!

FSP is partly back to that old adage for success that we can only ever get to where we’re going when we have a map or, as present day technology dictates, a GPS or mobile map app. But the difference is in the name. It must be a FEARLESS map and we must follow it fearlessly.

Sales professionals have a tendency toward squeamishness, avoidance, nay-saying, and self-doubt when they head off into what constitutes new or uncultivated territory . . . or when they need to circle around and come back to the doorstep they once left feeling inadequate, defeated or threatened.

The solution to these mental roadblocks is to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, take a deep breath, smile like you mean it, and get back on the horse that threw you (or whose clomping, stomping, snorting, glaring, and big teeth have kept you jittering at a cautious distance).

First off, no customer or prospect knows more about you, or your product or service or concept . . . than you! Secondly, anyone (or group) putting out defensive arm-folding or “I think I know more than you” pyramiding of fingers, is simply afraid of making a bad buying decision, so take these as signals that your job is to help them feel more secure about where you’re leading them. Back out of your pitch long enough to break down some of these resistant postures. Tasteful humor helps.

Thirdly, and most important: you got to where you are because you have a gift for knowing the right things to say in any sales situation. Rely on that. Trust yourself. Reach inside and appreciate what the real you is all about. Then, put it to work. Being FEARLESS means being authentic.

When you plan your weekly and daily strategies, plan them with a positive attitude and an air of authenticity. When you dig into your areas of strength and build energy and genuineness (vs. boredom and phoniness) into your words and actions, you are being authentic . . . FEARLESS!

How to get to that point? Work at it. Stop giving up on yourself. Cultivate everything you can think of that builds and rebuilds your sense of determination, gumption, fire. Never stop learning. Every problem is an opportunity. Strategize from your mind, but act and speak fearlessly from your heart!

Every day you begin with FEARLESS Strategic Planning will bring you increased health and happiness and success. Your words and behaviors are always your choice. Choose to be FEARLESS. Choose to make it easy!

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Hal@Businessworks.US          931.854.0474

Open  Minds  Open  Doors

Many thanks for your visit and make today a GREAT day for someone!