Today’s post is the second in a five part series on Dog Days. There’s an old saying, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” If that’s true, then one secret to learning new tricks is …
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Of course, we can’t control that in a physical sense. But that’s of less importance than keeping ourselves young in mind and spirit.
We must rediscover that sense of wonder we had when we were young.
We were thinking about mentors and coaches recently. In our discussion, we defined them as follows:
A mentor is an informal advisor. A coach also offers advice, but in a more formal way because you’re paying for their services.
We’ve both had a number of mentors and coaches in our lives. Both have been immensely valuable! That’s what prompted our discussion.
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However, since we don’t pay for the services of our mentors, we don’t talk to them as much. After all, we don’t want to abuse the privilege. We’ve talked with our coaches much more frequently, usually every week in fact. It’s part of the agreement we had with them when we signed on for their services.
We love the quote by Bill McCartney, former coach of the University of Colorado. He said,
By Bigg Success Staff
07-29-08
Bigg Success in Business
If you believe the statistics, an overwhelming majority of people dream of owning their own business. For many, it’s because they have a romantic view of working for themselves. Owning your own business means answering to no one. You’re the man (or woman)!
But that’s the problem for many … being THE one. It really can be very lonely at the top.
You’ll hear all kinds of opinions about your business and your plans. You have to develop an intestinal fortitude like never before. You need to have the courage of your convictions, to press on even when others tell you that you’re crazy.
At the same time, you have to learn when it’s time to change your strategy based on new evidence. To abandon what you thought was the right course for some new direction.
They adapt. As they gain new market information, they respond to their customer’s needs and wind up in a completely different business.
But there’s another pitfall. Does the opportunity align with your passion? There’s a reason you started a business in the first place. If the required strategy takes you into an area in which you have no interest, you might be better off with a regular job.
If this discussion dissuades you from going out on your own … good! It’s better to learn now than after you’ve invested time, money, and emotions in a new venture. Starting a business is tough for everyone, but it’s much harder on anyone who’s not fully committed to it.
On the other hand, if it excites you even more, you may be ready to start your own business. So it’s time to take the important first steps.
… get started. A lot of people TALK about starting their own firm, but that’s as far as it goes. Nothing will ever happen unless you get started. Even if getting started means doing more research, then get going!
… get a support network. This includes your professional advisors. However, you also need people who have lived what you are going through – fellow entrepreneurs, mentors, coaches. They will help you when the load seems unbearable and keep pushing you when things are going well.
… your next step! Every day in an entrepreneur’s life is a challenge with all the noise. You have to filter through it all to do what’s most important to move your business one more step ahead.
Focusing all your energy every day on what’s most important doesn’t guarantee success. However, it does make the odds a little bit better.
3 Hear today’s lesson and laugh on The Bigg Success Show. ]
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We've been thinking about customer service lately, inspired by a trip and a book.
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I was in Chicago recently and I had to use the restroom. I saw this little hot dog place. I thought that I could grab a dog for lunch and use their bathroom. As I approached the door, I saw a sign. The sign said, “No Public Restrooms.” So I stopped, looked around, and noticed a McDonald’s down the street. So I went to McDonald’s.
I could see a business limiting the use of their facilities to patrons, because some people will just use the bathroom and leave. But to not even let your customers use it … that seems a little extreme to me.
I learned this lesson the hard way. One of my earliest businesses was a Ben Franklin store – the old “five and dime.” We didn’t let the public use our bathrooms. There was one particular day every year when the town held a huge community sale. We got tons of traffic on that day, many needing to use the bathroom. People would come in and walk out because we said, “No”. Why wouldn’t they? We hadn’t served their immediate need. So we changed our policy – and most people who used the restroom did buy something.
This makes me think of the book, Our Toilets are Not for Customers by Floyd Coates. He tells the story about shopping for light fixtures. His house had been severely damaged by a tornado. He had to buy lights for his new house, so he went to a lighting store. He was about half done with his list – having already selected about $2,000 worth of merchandise – when he got the call of nature. He asked a clerk where their bathroom was. She said, “Our toilets are not for customers.” She went on, “There’s a place a couple of blocks down the street.” So he left … and he didn’t return – they didn’t get a dime out of him.
One of my professors, who became one of my mentors, said that most policies are created for 3% of the people – the exceptions – rather than the 97% who are responsible for the success of the business.
#1 – Create policies for 3% of their customers
The hot dog place in Chicago is the perfect example of this. Would more than 3% of the people who walk through the restaurant’s doors do their business without doing business with the restaurant? Yet all of their customers are affected by this policy.
#2 – Create policies for 3% of their employees
The renegades, you might call this 3% of employees. But the other 97% suffer for it. This results in lower morale among all the employees – especially the ones who did nothing wrong. Lower morale leads to lower productivity.
What’s that sound? Oh, that’s the sound of money getting flushed down the toilet!
This 3% rule is a good thing to think about before making any policy decision that affects customers or employees.
We’ve given one example, but there are so many more. What have you seen – as a customer or an employee? How do businesses flush money down the toilet?
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(Image by Leo Reynolds, CC 2.0)
The Indy 500 is this weekend. Now we’re fans of racing, but if you think about it, these drivers are just racing in circles. They drive around the same circle again and again. The fastest one to do it 200 times … to drive 500 miles … is the winner. But they haven’t gone anywhere. They finish in the same place that they started!
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But the winner gets to drink milk!
Of course, winning races does take you places. But outside the racing world, if we just go racing in circles, continuing to do the same things, over and over again, we end up in the same place that we started.
Then we wonder why?
So we try working harder. However, we’re still doing the same things, so we just get back to the same place faster. But the problem is – we’re still in the same place! We haven’t gone anywhere.
So we just keep racing in circles, over and over again. Never making any progress. We have a lot of activity, but very little (if anything) to show for it. We can’t move past this one spot.
Speaking of over and over again, here’s a statement to read over and over again until you have it memorized …
If I continue to do what I’ve always done,
then the best I can expect is what I already have.
#1 – Get out of your comfort zone.
Don’t be afraid to try something new. If you never push yourself beyond what you already know, you’ll never grow.
#2 – Identify what’s holding you back.
This could be your work place, certain relationships, personal habits, negative thinking, or any number of other things. What’s busting your dreams? What’s crushing your spirit?
#3 – Do the right things.
You know where you want to go. Everything you do should take you in that direction. Anything that doesn’t … doesn’t need to be done.
#4 – Work smarter.
Think about how you spend your time. It’s the most precious resource you have. Find ways to do the things you do more efficiently.
#5 – Get help.
Be it a coach or a mentor or some other advisor. If you’ve tried everything you know to try, bring in support. Don’t be afraid to pay for this investment in yourself.
Our BIGG quote today is by Barbara Sher:
“Real obstacles don’t take you in circles. They can
be overcome. Invented ones are like a maze.”
So to get to the winner’s circle, avoid the obstacles you create yourself.
Next time, we ask, “Are you A leader or THE leader?” Until then, here’s to your BIGG success!
Direct link to The BIGG Success Show audio file | podcast:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/biggsuccess/00140-052308.mp3
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