For years, I’ve conducted new employee orientations and have shared with new-hires the core values I’ve observed that make for a stand-out person. I believe operating by these principles with bring you a higher level of influence, impact, and satisfaction.
So here goes … “Dave’s Top 10 Traits of Success”:
1. Diligence. Work hard. Exceed expectations. Go the extra mile. Give more than you take.
2. Initiative. Don’t wait to be told what to do. Look for the need and meet it. Find ways to increase your value. Be a problem solver.
3. Resourcefulness. Find alternative ways around the mountain. Be an independent thinker. Figure things out on your own.
4. Humility. Don’t take the glory for yourself. Share your success with others. Recognize your dependence on God and others. Live in reality.
5. Be teachable. Stay open to new ways of doing things. Don’t rely on past experience alone. Your way may not always be the best way.
6. Believe the best in others. Be a “glass half-full” kind of person. Look for ways to affirm others. Be an encourager. Assume the best in people.
7. Choose not to be offended. Don’t let others’ actions, opinions, or attitudes derail you. Don’t live with an offense, and don’t pick up another’s offense. Move on.
8. Stay motivated. Find ways to stay charged up. Set goals and move toward them. Don’t wait for circumstances to be ideal in order to remain positive.
9. Have integrity. Keep your word. Do what you say you’ll do. Be trustworthy with responsibility. Keep confidences. Don’t gossip. Show up on time.
10. Don’t depend solely on yourself. A person who understands his or her need for God and looks to God for direction is wiser and stronger than the person trying to prove something to others. Even Jesus did what he saw his Father doing and lived to bring glory to God.
Well, there you have it. Dave’s top 10 traits for success. I hope you found something of value to chew on. Until next time . . .
A colleague of mine introduced me to a phrase a while back that hit home with me. He talked about suffering from a condition he called “money weakness.” That’s an interesting phrase. What is it?
Essentially, money weakness occurs when an individual or organization is afraid to charge a fair, value-based price for their product or service because of an internal fear rather than a market-driven reality.
It’s charging less than what the market is willing to pay because of an internal fear of what the customer will think if you charge more.
Here’s what happens.
You determine an initial price for your product or service. Let’s say it’s $1,000. Then you go to a conference where you meet a sharp businesswoman who does essentially what you do but charges $10,000. You know your business costs are about the same. How can she get away with selling it for ten times your price?
The answer is that she’s based her price on the value it brings to her customer.
She wasn’t afraid to charge what the service was worth to the actual customer. As a result, her company is healthier, can attract better employees, pay better benefits, and upgrade their services more easily because they’re not cash-strapped.
Is her company price-gouging and ripping people off? Of course not. They simply haven’t succumbed to money weakness. They’re confident in the value they bring to their customers and price their services accordingly.
So step back and take a look at your pricing structure. Do you have symptoms of “money weakness”? There’s no magic pill you can take to get over this ailment, but the good news is that the condition is curable!
Bring incredible value to your customers, and communicate that value today with confidence.
I recently came back from a financial success seminar hosted by two clients we serve, Ryan and Jamie Smith. It was three days filled with wit, wisdom, and tons of practical insights on wealth-building strategies for these tough economic times.
But what has stuck with me the most is a simple phrase Ryan shared in one of his talks. He said, “You serve others to make it, and you give to others to keep it.”
I like that.
In our pursuit of the security, peace, and comfort that money can provide — and we all know that money, in and of itself, is not the true source of those benefits — it’s important to keep that “others view” in focus.
We were put on this earth not merely to look out for ourselves, but to serve others. In fact, serving others must be at the core of our motivation to succeed. Sometimes I think it’s good to be reminded of that.
Your motivation to write, to produce, to dream, and to accomplish — when rooted in the value of serving others — will bring you the peace you seek.
If you are waiting to be financially secure in order to start giving to others, you probably won’t ever start. The time to give, to serve, and to be charitable is now. To quote a book by Pat Williams and Jay Strack called The Three Success Secrets of Shamgar, “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”
So today, who can you serve? How can you serve? Lift up your head and see the “others view” that needs to be your focus.
This morning, a friend of mine was telling me about a recent visitor that came knocking at his front door. Apparently, someone from a local church was going door-to-door inviting people to their church. They had a slick brochure that outlined all the church’s core theology, what they believed about the Bible, what they believed about the end of the world, etc. This got me thinking. The people in that church probably thought they had produced a really compelling and attractive brochure that would entice people to try their church. Maybe, maybe not. But it occurred to me that whoever did that brochure made sure they put on the flyer all the things that were important to them. But my question is, were those theological positions really important to the buyer? The “buyer” presumably would be a non-church-going person that the church presumably wants to woo to their services.
But if you want to reach people, you have to appeal to them by promoting what’s important to them, not what’s important to you. Maybe they were looking for security, peace of mind, a place to make lasting friendships, a place to find answers to the troubles of life. I suspect the church could offer value in all those areas – and yet they chose to take up space on their flyer talking about their theological positions.
So whether you sell widgets or financial services, make sure that before you start writing promotional copy about what you have to offer, you take time to think through what it is that your customers really want from you. What is it that you are selling? If you are in financial services, are you selling mutual funds and stocks? Not really. You’re selling the hope of a secure future, the ability to experience some of the pleasures of life that money in the bank can buy. You’re selling peace of mind and the good feeling that comes from knowing you are responsibly managing your finances.
Believe it or not, it takes some work to get out of your head and into the head (and heart) of your audience. If you ran UPS or Fed Ex, what is it that you are selling? Is it on-time delivery? That’s a start. But don’t stop there. I contend that what you are really selling is peace of mind or perhaps confidence. Your customer doesn’t care how many planes you have or how neat your driver’s uniforms are…those things are all part of the company’s brand image to assure their customers that when they place their packages with them, (which may contain their futures, their careers, their livelihood), they can trust that those packages will arrive when and where they are supposed to. They’re selling confidence. They’re selling peace of mind!
Now, if you personally happen to be similar to the target audience you are seeking to attract, then understanding what motivates you to respond will not be that hard for you to address. But if you’re a 50 year old Hispanic male and your target audience is a 17 year white female, well, you will have to do some market research to truly understand what motivates your audience to respond.
Take the time to listen and learn the “view” of your audience!
I recently came back from a financial success seminar hosted by two clients we serve, Ryan and Jamie Smith. It was three days filled with wit, wisdom, and tons of practical insights on wealth-building strategies for these tough economic times.
But what has stuck with me the most is a simple phrase Ryan shared in one of his talks. He said, “You serve others to make it, and you give to others to keep it.”
I like that.
In our pursuit of the security, peace, and comfort that money can provide — and we all know that money, in and of itself, is not the true source of those benefits — it’s important to keep that “others view” in focus.
We were put on this earth not merely to look out for ourselves, but to serve others. In fact, serving others must be at the core of our motivation to succeed. Sometimes I think it’s good to be reminded of that.
Your motivation to write, to produce, to dream, and to accomplish — when rooted in the value of serving others — will bring you the peace you seek.
If you are waiting to be financially secure in order to start giving to others, you probably won’t ever start. The time to give, to serve, and to be charitable is now. To quote a book by Pat Williams and Jay Strack called The Three Success Secrets of Shamgar, “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”
So today, who can you serve? How can you serve? Lift up your head and see the “others view” that needs to be your focus.
“Story is the promotional currency of the new millennium and millennial thinkers.”
That’s a phrase our team is probably starting to tire of hearing me say. But I keep saying it because it’s true.
We are all aware that technology is pushing our society to change, to adapt at an ever-quickening pace. We are connecting with more and more people through ever-expanding social networks, and yet our relationships seem to be getting shallower and more superficial.
As more media and more images bombard our senses, it becomes harder and harder for any one message or any one voice to stand out or get noticed. This is the world in which we live.
So how do you publish, promote, and market in this environment?
I contend that story is the answer.
Think about it. Whether you’re at a cocktail party or listening to a sermon in church, you tend to “zone out” and not retain but a fraction of what you hear . . . that is, until someone begins to tell you a story.
People love stories. They gravitate to them. Why is that?
In part, it’s because stories create emotion.
Whether you are a left-brain analytical thinker or a right-brain creative thinker, you are still an emotional creature and you respond to emotion.
Any good salesperson will tell you that most all sales are made on emotion or at least emotion is involved. So when you can take your central message and present it in a story, well, you’ve got a MUCH greater chance that your message will be heard.
Of course, your story needs to be authentic. It has to be told in a way that resonates with your audience.
As publishers, that’s a large part of what we do. We help people tell their stories. But as marketing experts, we also help people sell their stories. In fact, we are in the process of launching an entire new division of our company to work with organizations and individuals to help them compellingly define, align, tell, and sell their story.
Maybe you don’t think you have a story. But you do.
And with some creative coaching, you’ll be amazed (and maybe even impressed) with just how cool, how unique, and how moving your story can be to the audience you want to reach and serve.
Image credit: umjanedoan
