YOU’RE 40-50 YEARS OLD?

There goes your past. Here comes your future. But
it’s only this minute—this very split second as you
read this sentence—that counts!

Popular observations about your age:

YOU’RE 40-50 YEARS’ OLD

Now you’re getting serious about life. You cut your hair and consider the economies of a wig vs. hair transplants vs. shaving your head. You buy your first wrinkle cream and think about Botox. It doesn’t take more than a backache or two to realize you’re no longer the superwoman / superman you thought you were, but you will no doubt continue trying to prove otherwise—switching perhaps to “softer athletics” like pinball, slot machine pulls, darts, bathtub backstroke, and computer solitaire.

You’re still haunted by being covered with lettuce, smothered in mayonnaise and stuck like a pickle in the middle of the parents/kids sandwich . . . trying to break through the crust and please the whole world as you get chewed first on one side and then on the other. You probably thought you were over the hill when you were thirty, but now, well, “It’s the real thing!” . . . You worry more.

When you lose a close friend or family member, it gives you cause to pause. You rethink your job, church, life, love, yourself as well as where the hell you’re going, and how long it’s taking to get there. Retirement planning? Nah! That’s a long way off.

Earning a decent living has turned out to be harder than you ever imagined. Maybe you should do that year-with-a-yogi-mountaintop-meditation deal? Marriage or roommate relations get rocky. Your own or parent health issues command the stage center spotlight.  Healthcare insurance options suck! You sleep less. You start eating more yogurt and granola, but struggle with the booze, coffee, anything chocolate, bread and butter. Sometimes you feel like you’re playing football on a chess board. Try answering this: “What Sport Is Your Business?”

Having your own small business is looking more attractive. You decide to test the waters with a weekend garage-based product business or bedroom-based consulting service. The startup costs are staggering. You consider seeking investors or a rich partner. Somewhere you learn that when two partners agree on everything, one is not needed. Two investors you speak with want 65% of your business. No way! Way! No way! Way! No way! You go it alone and sweat it out. Welcome to entrepreneurship! Are you spontaneous enough?

REALITY IN LIFE AND BUSINESS:
Now is the only time!
How thankful are you to be who you are,
headed where you’re headed?

WATCH THIS BLOG  FOR THE NEXT 3 WEEKS
FOR YOUR AGE COMMENTARY~~~ NEXT WEEK: 50-60
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Hal@BusinessWorks.US   or 931.854.0474 or comment below

OPEN MINDS OPEN DOORS

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

Make today a GREAT Day for someone!

YOU’RE 30-40 YEARS’ OLD?

There goes your past. Here comes your future. But
it’s only this minute—this very split second as you
read this sentence—that counts!

Popular observations about your age:

YOU’RE 30-40 YEARS’ OLD

It’s inconceivable that those under 30 consider you older than dirt, so you do everything mentally and physically possible to prove yourself otherwise. You get a little achy-breaky once in awhile, but–after all–you still feel invincible enough to beat yourself to a pulp on the athletic field, go cliff-climbing, hang-gliding, whitewater rafting, buy a horse, and race jet skis. Maybe you’re a late bloomer, but you fall in and out of love 15 more times, then soul-mate with one of your original 25, from when you were (aaaaah!) in your twenties.

You gloat at being able to buy your first house, then quickly realize—as nasty things go wrong that require hiring contractors—that you’re in over your head. But now, for the first time, you at least have your own neighbors and your own on-the-job friends (and a soul-mate) to commiserate with. You try a couple of churches. You drink a lot of fancy-brand beer.

If you weren’t having young children and old parents when you were 20-30, you’ve probably got both now, and you feel like you’re in the middle of a sandwich, ready to be eaten up by stress and time pressures, especially with so fewer opportunities for self-indulgence. Getting your fingers burned and knuckles rapped as you learn the politics of career pursuit, you think about starting your own business. You Google a lot.

Approaching 40, you own up to the fact that maybe you don’t actually know as much as you thought you did when you were ten years younger. You trade your Camaro for a minivan to get the kids to baseball, soccer, dance lessons, Cub Scouts, Brownies, fast-food spots. You love your spouse, but the minivan . . . Your smartphone keeps you connected to the world, but you somehow still feel disconnected. The kids anchor you to living in the present. These years are all about making and spending money, getting promoted, researching startups.

In your heart, you know there’s hope for you yet. It’s true. Just choose it. Oh, and hang in there, Kiddo! Time Heals.

Business Life Reality: Now is the only time!
How thankful are you to be who you are,
headed where you’re headed?

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WATCH THIS BLOG THE NEXT 4 WEDNESDAYS FOR

YOUR AGE COMMENTARY~~~ NEXT WEEK: 40-50
# # #

Hal@BusinessWorks.US or 931.854.0474 or comment below

OPEN MINDS OPEN DOORS

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

Make today a GREAT Day for someone!

YOU’RE 20-30 YEARS’ OLD?

There goes your past. Here comes your future. But

it’s only this minute—this very split second as you

 read this sentence—that counts!

Popular observations about your age:

YOU’RE 20-30 YEARS’ OLD

Likelihood is that you think you know it all, and shrug off what you don’t as if it didn’t matter. Physically, you act like you’re invincible and indestructible because somewhere deep inside, you actually believe you are. Your wiseguy/smartass attitude gets you in trouble more often than you care to admit.

When things go wrong, you slink off and sulk or get angry, or high, and pretend to be beyond reproach even when you know you’re at fault. You grow lots of hair, work at keeping in shape, and give up church.

You are excessively self-indulgent when it comes to pleasure or idleness, and probably only think of others when others think of others. You are obsessed with your smartphone and all gadgets techie, but regard talking on the phone or acknowledging voicemails (if you even listen to them) as a fate worse than death. You got the car you always wanted, but it makes you broke… so maybe you settle for a junk heap.

Old people—over 30(!)—are constantly in your way, in your space, in your face, and challenge your skills to get around or over or through or past them. You think they’re all dumb, obnoxious and weak-willed. Rules and laws are made to be broken… until you join (Thank you for your service!) or toy with the idea of joining the military, which puts rules and laws in clearer perspective. You fall in and out of love 25 times. Somehow, you live to see yourself as 30-something. Congratulations on making it over the hill!

Business Life Reality: Now is the only time!

How thankful are you to be who you are,

headed where you’re headed?

WATCH THIS BLOG EVERY WEDNESDAY FOR 6 WEEKS

 FOR YOUR AGE COMMENTARY~~~ NEXT WEEK: 30-40

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Hal@BusinessWorks.US or 931.854.0474 or comment below

OPEN MINDS OPEN DOORS

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

Make today a GREAT Day for someone!

FAKE Entrepreneurs

Listen to all the politicians toss the “E” word around, and it will be transparently clear that they haven’t the foggiest idea of what Entrepreneurship is all about. How do YOU stack up? Here are some solid clues and checkpoints:

FAKE Entrepreneurs indulge in constant chatter about how great their business ventures have been, and will be, instead of being focused on the present “here and now” moment, as real entrepreneurs tend to be most of the time.

FAKE Entrepreneurs waste time, energy, and opportunities by whining and complaining about what didn’t “go right.” They instead need to follow real entrepreneurial thinking which calls for learning from the process and adjusting it, then moving on to make their ideas work.

[We’ve all heard the famous comment from Thomas Edison in response to questions about his 10,00 attempts to invent the light bulb, and how he felt at having failed 10,000 times, that he said he instead learned 10,000 ways to not make a light bulb!]

FAKE Entrepreneurs talk nonstop in convoluted terms about big money deals they have made and will soon be negotiating, instead of real entrepreneurs who pay tenacious attention to their current cash flow.

FAKE Entrepreneurs react instead of respond and blame others (predecessors, parents, partners, competition, the economy, climate change, and childhood) for costly business errors and decisions, instead of accepting—as real entrepreneurs—that the upsets are the result of a conscious or unconscious choice that they made now or in the past, and getting on with life.

FAKE Entrepreneurs consistently “take entrepreneurial risks” without remembering to put the word “REASONABLE” in front of “risks.” Real entrepreneurs don’t bet the farm. Real entrepreneurs take more risks than corporate and government managers, but the risks they take are always reasonable and realistic.

FAKE Entrepreneurs refuse to set goals because they fear failure, and refuse to learn proven goal-setting criteria which include “flexibility” as a key determinant. Real entrepreneurs set goals and routinely change them as they go forward because A) Nothing is in concrete, and B) times, people, and circumstances often change at the proverbial drop of a hat.

[Reality dictates moving or adjusting the goalpost or the terms initially determined for getting into the end-zone. Real entrepreneurs know they don’t need to stay on someone else’s measured field or inside someone else’s stadium in order to score a touchdown!]

FAKE Entrepreneurs mask what they’re doing behind closed doors or armies of hungry lawyers, out of fear someone will steal their idea and beat them to the punch (and that, by the way, can happen easily while ego-feeding with those few, well-disguised, bad-news investor and business lawyer vulture-types!).

Real entrepreneurs understand that seeking trustworthiness in associates is paramount among desirable qualifications, and that proprietary rights, copyrights, patents, trademarks are important, but that the time and energy of appropriate types of attorneys must be carefully shopped for and firmly (and appropriately) channeled.

[With cautious judgment, real entrepreneurs will usually embrace competitive overtures (and sometimes offer some). Many businesses maximize success for themselves by clustering, or joining forces with, or bartering with other like-minded entities… often a mainstay of retailing to stimulate consumer shopping and even realize cost savings with co-op advertising and promotion events.]

 How do YOU stack up?

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Hal@BusinessWorks.US      or 931.854.0474

OPEN  MINDS  OPEN  DOORS

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

Make today a GREAT Day for someone!

The definition of a consultant: someone from over 100 miles away who jumps hurdles and carries a briefcase—but it’s, oh, so much more!

The Way to Get Consulting

  Clients is to BE a Consultant!

• Ask any sales pro! It’s the truth! You want to be a great baseball player? Stop thinking contracts and play baseball! You want to be a great consultant? Stop thinking contracts and BE a consultant!

• Oh, and don’t bust a gut trying to be a lawyer. (Great lawyers are great actors, not great thinkers!) You’ll grow old fast trying to draft a contract for every prospect. Besides, odds are that even if you make the sale, the contract will be broken, which creates the need for lawyers!. [Save contracts for major corporate and airhead government clients.]

• Smart rule of thumb: If a handshake’s not acceptable to a prospect, the prospect’s not acceptable as a client, even (and probably “especially”) when you’re broke!

• Pull-ease: STOP WRITING PROPOSALS! Don’t be a proposalaholic! It NEVER pays! You’ll waste a gazillion hours. Everyone wants a proposal so she or he can decide if you’re worth it, and to use as a guideline for hiring someone else who’s closer or less expensive. Some will take it and follow it and do the work themselves, or hand it off to a staff person to do it in-house. “BAM” (with thanks to Emeril!)…screwed again!

• “Well, I charge for proposals,” a consultant once told me. Seriously? Good luck with that. Yeah, seriously.

• Don’t waste time sending out emails trying to schedule in-person appointments. Just get on the damn phone and make the appointment!.

Okay, now that we’re past the preliminaries, consider this: The only efficient and surefire way to get clients is to start from the very first minute of discussion to serve the decision-maker AS IF YOU WERE ALREADY the consultant. In other words, BE a consultant.

Don’t worry about giving away your services on a first/second visit. Worry about not getting the business because you failed to demonstrate how much value you can contribute (which btw, does not translate into overwhelming your prospects). Focus instead on making pinpoint airstrikes.

Ah, and remember there are always three decision-making entities involved (sometimes one person with three different hats): The CEO, the CFO and the COO, or (depending on your expertise) the VP of Sales and/or marketing. A “sold” CEO may yield to the money-manager. And, the purpose of every first sales call is not to make a sale; it’s to get another sales call!

Great consultants (and great salespeople) listen 80% of the time. They suggest with questions–have you considered…? Great consultants call on practical and directly-related examples of experience or knowledge-base. Great consultants ask for examples and diagrams and opinions, and then weigh it all before offering recommendations.

When you demonstrate your thinking approach and knowledge base, and do it in a passionate but gracious and understanding manner, you are clearing a path for a prospect to experience how you’ll work and what you’re all about right from the git-go. Consider it a “test drive.” Consider how different the consultant model was just five years ago!

Instead of asking endless stupid questions, ask enough to find out the biggest surface problem and make simple, straightforward, practical (but not know-it-all attitude) suggestions. Express these as what you BELIEVE (not “think”) might be the most productive or meaningful or rewarding solution direction (What has the prospect suggested as a goal or pursuit direction?)

Here’s the thing. If you can’t sit on the same side of the table physically, sit on the same side of the table mentally. And you may not like hearing this because you may think it’s “old-fart” stuff, but you should know it is the truth: What all of us buy all of the time is TRUST. So put yourself in the other person’s shoes. Period.

Happy Consulting!

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 Hal@BusinessWorks.US or 931.854.0474 or comment below

Birthing Healthcare Business

Until you’ve worked on the front lines of a medical or therapeutic group practice, a private healthcare facility, or on a pharmaceutical or medical device core management team, you’re not likely to ever appreciate that healthcare entrepreneurship is a radically different beast.

Non-healthcare business entrepreneurs—minus the excessive regulatory compliance baggage—can afford to be more freewheeling than their healthcare provider-based counterparts.

Healthcare entrepreneurial ventures can carry astronomical price-tags for R&D. The accompanying array of complicated startup legalities, convoluted tax restrictions, partner negotiations, branding and marketing (Healthcare is NOT about smiling doctor billboards!), recruiting and interviewing, position statements, community relations, and building a referral base is enough to confound many dedicated providers who lack even basic business training or experience.

So what? Who cares? You might ask.

This is not to trivialize the amount of hard work and suffering that accompanies the launch of non-healthcare entrepreneurial enterprises—particularly those ventures giving birth to non-healthcare-related hi-tech products and services. It is simply that healthcare has it harder!

Initial non-healthcare-related business investments are often from friends and family who are happy to just get their initial money back.

But healthcare investors are often professional investor outsiders with no knowledge of your business, who want unrealistic return on investment, who are not interested in your sweat equity, and who want to own controlling interest in exchange for the funding they provide.

These wealthy individuals often seek to be “part of the action” and are willing to pay for it, but who will not let business founders off the hook if things fail — and, curiously, many who fit this description seem always to appear at the moment when you most need it.

The #1 underlying message here is DON’T NEED IT! When you most need money, you can be sure you’ll be communicating it without even a word, and that’s like blowing a game-starting whistle to send in the circling sharks. You think TVs “Shark Tank” name has no basis?

Underlying message #2 is STAY FOCUSED ON MAKING YOUR CORE BUSINESS WORK INSTEAD OF LOOKING FOR A QUICK FIX BY EXPANDING OR EXTENDING IT TOO PREMATURELY . . . TRUST YOURSELF AND BE REALISTIC.

So, if you have a choice between starting up a decorator windshield wiper blades company and establishing a business that aims to produce anti-bacterial clamps for micro-surgical openings, or starting up an orthopedic group practice, avoid healthcare pros money woes and go for the wiper blades! (But don’t think a year of that qualifies you to be in the windshield business, the windshield washer fluid business, and the rearview mirror business—or to think a 500-unit order means you need to break ground for a monster manufacturing plant!)

Just in case that thought crosses your mind, go back to the #2 message above, and if you do it right, you’ll be accommodating the #1 message without even trying. Because? Because you won’t need money because you’ll be too busy building your business and blowing out the walls of your garage!

If you’re truly “locked in” to a healthcare business startup, step carefully, listen carefully, speak and write carefully, and don’t let any amount of cash infusion take control out of your hands unless you have something else ready to put your hands on, and can (and are willing to) walk away comfortably. And remember–above all else– that Healthcare Leadership can mean only one thing . . . and it’s not Obamacare or “Lean” Management!!

Greetings Business Owners,

Entrepreneurs and CEO’s!

Here’s “what’s in it” for YOU!

” What’s in it for you?”

First, if you’re not answering this question for every one of your customers and investors and supporters –every day, in everything you decide, do and say– you’re either not serious enough about your business interests to continue reading this (Thank you and goodbye!), or you’ve lost touch with reality (Hang in here for a few paragraphs and restore your awareness!). Hopefully, you practice rewarding those who keep you in business with more than they ever bargained for.

Reality Check: You only came here because you thought there was some benefit for you, right? There is. Read on.

Just in case you think I’m being too smartass, realize that none of us are open to new ways of thinking without being jostled. Some require more of a jolt than others depending on one’s state of mind at any given moment. A blog post doesn’t leave a lot of room for niceties when the subject matter revolves around boosting business results and the dynamics of attitude adjustment (and, no, I’m not talking about it being 5 o’clock somewhere!).

That leaves us with a choice between mollycoddling or being in your face. Pampering gets us nowhere. Spirited confrontation without physical or verbal abuse consequences, though, is not always bad. If we respect one another, we can disagree and still respect and learn from one another.

Okay, let’s get to the part about what you get for reading this far. Here–for you to chew on and digest– is some new revelation food for your business brain that I guarantee you will make a positive difference in moving you rapidly closer to your deepest personal goals in life . . . the tasks you want to achieve to make a difference on Earth:

1) There is no such thing as time management.

2) There is no such thing as stress management.

You can manage what you do, but if you’ve learned how to manage time, call me; we can make a fortune together! You can manage how you respond to stressful situations, but if you can manage stress sources, call me; again, we can make a fortune together. Oh, and on either of these pursuits, yes, you may need me. Yes, if you want to call me on that point (my number is below), I’ll be happy to explain.

Here’s the bottom line: You cannot manage time or stress, but you can manage how you choose to deal with time and stress restraints. When you choose to consciously control the ways you behave so that you respond to stress instead of react to it, you will be be happier and healthier and be far better at growing your business. You will be getting more done in less time.You will be choosing to make the most of the time you have left on Earth.

Personal productivity comes from being constantly aware that all behavior is a choice and that you can just as easily choose to make your self more in control of internal and external stressful sources an easy thing to do as you can choose (or continue to choose) to make it a hard thing to do. Be aware that consistently choosing these key ingredients of self-control and self-confidence cannot solve all problems because we are all sometime-victims of bad choices/decisions we intentionally or inadvertently chose in the past. When that happens, don’t compound your struggles by throwing CHOICE out the window. Buckle down instead and restart your meter!

SUCCESS is what’s in it for you, and you will get there by choosing to be in control of how you respond to stress and by choosing how you can best use the time you have available . . . remembering, of course, that SUCCESS is the journey not the destination, and that all of life is an interruption!

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I

You’re on the threshold

of a presentation.

Are you “overkill” ready?

I once worked for an “overkill” boss. It took me awhile to figure this out because he constantly gave me the impression he thought I wasn’t up to snuff with reality, until I discovered that he was simply an OCD  poster boy . . .

“Did you key up the audio so it’s loud enough for those with hearing disorders? Is it timed to come on just as I say ‘New campaign’? Is there a crisp, clean unused legal pad and new pen with keyboard access in front of every chair at the meeting table? Who’s escorting them into the room?

“You’re wearing pinstripes, right? And plain dark suit? No crazy neckties. And kill that erring! Did you check the thermostat? You’re sure the agenda board is 100% perfect and visible from every seat? Their limo is ordered? What time’s their flight? Lunch arrangements? What about lunch arrangements? “

Of course that was just the beginning of his diatribe checklist. He would go on to the exact type and amount and freshness of the tuna salad and bread and veggies and dip and chips and cheese and crackers and fruit, and juice and soda to be served. “What’s the dessert? Who’s making it? Have you tried it?” and on and on. You’d have thought our ad agency sales pitch was a White House attempt at negotiating a global war peace treaty. “WHO,” he would always ask, “is in your pocket?”

BUT WAS HE WRONG?

I’d be interested in your thoughts, but I can tell you this much: While I never became the fanatic he was, I learned to respect the value of being fully prepared ahead of every client and potential client interface — in person, on the phone, and on the computer screen. While I agree that his cage-rattling directives were often excessive, over-the-top, I have come to realize that –in fact– he had a point: You can never be TOO prepared!

And perhaps most important: being fully prepared –including having some contingency plans– helps build self-confidence as well. Why? Because it leaves your mind clear to deal with the person(s) in front of you and adapt to he/her/them and/or the circumstances. If you’re not fully prepared, you may be too preoccupied with fumbling to notice nonverbal responses or room temperature or your own agenda . Sales, remember, are made in “the here and now“!

What is business (and professional practice) all about after all? The customer/client/patient/prospect . . . RIGHT? What else could it possibly be about? So if you think on this a minute or two –or a lifetime’s worth– you will undoubtedly come to the conclusion that your entire career existence is dependent on your’s and your organization’s abilities to attract and keep, and grow your customer base. What else is there?

Even if you work for a nonprofit, and think you exist to make the world a better place, you’ll never succeed without developing a base of supporters. So how does one maximize the odds of attracting and keeping and growing a support base of any kind? With as accurate and perfect and communicative a presentation as possible at every opportunity you get to make a point. You need not become an OCD basket case or a pushy salesperson to make this happen.

You must quite simply put yourself in your audience’s (of one or one million) proverbial shoes and present information at his/her/their level wrapped around expressed needs and interests. Oh, and that can ONLY happen if you listen carefully (at least 80% of the time) to what each and all of them have to say. If you’re unsure or can’t feasibly do this, hire a firm that will do it for you with surveys or focus groups or whatever methods work for your industry or profession.

Otherwise, you’re you’ll find yourself

working inside a box 

that you’ll never learn to think out of!

Need more of a call-to-action? Click here:  86400

When  Are  You

  SPONTANEOUS?

Entrepreneurial instincts require a range of attributes we’ve discussed here many times (Try the Search window. under the book cover on right) — passion, determination, innovativeness, reasonable risk-taking, etc. Rarely, though, do small and startup business venture gurus address one of entrepreneurship’s most basic anchor needs: spontaneity. . . being able to “turn on a dime.” Or, in 2015, “turn on a text message.”

By its very definition, being an entrepreneur is all about being a person of action. That translates to taking steps on one’s own behalf as well as taking steps, observing what happens, making adjustments, taking more steps, observing what’s happening, making adjustments, taking more steps, observing what’s happening, making adjustments — for as long as it takes to make an idea work!

Okay, so you know you need to incorporate more of this kind of thought process and practice but you’re not sure where or how to start? While there really is no better way to initiate more action in your day-to-day pursuits than to simply do it, it sometimes helps to have a prompt of some sort. Here are a couple of thoughts in that direction:

For just a few days– let’s say a week– put 10-20 sticky notes around in the places you most often look: car dashboard, cell phone, bathroom mirror, refrigerator door, coffee pot, wristwatch, pillow, computer screen, light switch, socks and underwear drawers, soap dish, add a few more of your own here. Each note needs to ask the 6-word question:

CAN YOU DO SOMETHING

DIFFERENTLY TODAY?   

So, that’s something tangible you can do that will help trigger or unearth from it’s hiding place, your sense of spontaneity. Those reminders should prompt you — for example– to think about and try: driving a different route to work or, starting your shower by scrubbing under your left arm instead of the usual right arm or, consciously smiling every time you step into and out of your workspace or, taping yellow caution tape around your bedroom doorway as a reminder to not talk business once you cross that line or, you got the idea.

Here’s something INtangible to keep in mind and prompt yourself with (same locations as above), but THESE sticky notes will (instead of a question) simply show the number “86400” and to get the complete picture of what 86400 means to you, try clicking on this:

86400

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  THE FIVE PROVEN STEPS TO

  ENTREPRENEURIAL SUCCESS

  THAT MAKE IT HARD TO FAIL

1.

BE passionate about your ideas and make them work with the help of others. This means, of course, being emotionally committed to what you’re doing 24/7. By doing that, odds are you’ll never have to solicit and recruit others to your crusade. They will see a place for themselves and gravitate there on their own.

When that happens, others’ commitments will be more solid and grounded than if you had gone out hunting for them and then had to talk them into joining forces. It’s a proven fact: When people make their own decisions about what they want to do, they are happier, more dedicated to achieving results, and they do a better job!

2.

Often ACT first and plan second. This does NOT mean rashly jumping from the frying pan into the fire. It instead suggests that over- indulgence in evaluating, assessing, diagnosing, and long-term planning (I call it “analysis paralysis”) wastes time, money, energy, and opportunities.

Entrepreneurial leaders take action, make adjustments, act again, make adjustments, and act again. Except for formal loan and investor-required formal business plans, they limit their planning to the short term — hour, day, week, month. And even those plans are temporary and flexible. Not unlike being too focused on one’s goals instead of the path that leads there, watching the finish line causes stumbling and falls.

3.

Always RESPOND instead of react. A key ingredient in the success of this pursuit is stress management. Bottom line: If you always respond instead of react, you can never over-react. If you never over-react, you will be faithfully followed. Built snugly into this thinking is this important awareness:

HOW you respond to someone who

(or something that) is out of control

. . . IS WITHIN YOUR CONTROL.

And we know this because? Because every behavior — yours, your employees’, your customers and prospects — is a CHOICE. It’s just as easy to choose to make a situation easy as it is to choose to make it hard. It may require some conscious stress management effort but, in the end, leadership is measured by ability to gain results through control and responsiveness!

4.

LEARN as much as you can about yourself –your SELF– may be the single most important determinant of entrepreneurial leadership because it is the foundation, the cornerstone, of each of the above criteria, and of any others you might add to the list. Without knowing what makes you tick, you cannot pretend to understand others enough to be a true leader. TALK TO YOUR SELF. Oh, and remember to listen!

5.

USE hands-on specifics. Keep a journal. Date every entry every day. Separate facing pages into “What Happened” on the left and “How I felt” on the right. This discipline helps sharpen your skills to separate fact and observation from opinion and feelings. Write, draw, diagram, paste photos, spit, whatever floats your boat. It’s YOUR journal.

Attend group and individual “personal and professional growth and development”-type discussion and counseling sessions. Take advantage of local adult education programs that focus on self-expression — from giving speeches and stand-up presentations to writing or painting or photography or music or handicraft courses. DISCOVER YOUR SELF!

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