Experts
Don Yaeger, Experts - Tuesday, June 11, 2013 9:30 - 0 Comments
Don Yaeger: Greatness Made Special
Many of my best days these days, at least professionally, involve getting the chance to talk about the 16 consistent Characteristics of Greatness I’ve witnessed in great winners. This past month alone, my speaking engagements included travel to Los Angeles, Louisville, Costa Rica, and Puerto Vallarta. However, there’s one date on the calendar that ranked higher than all else. A tiny adjustment to my schedule allowed for a coast-to-coast flight, a dynamic lesson about Greatness, and a memory that will resonate with me for the rest of my life. I was able to make it to my four-year-old son Will’s final T-ball game of the season. There was no way I was going to miss that!
This is a team with so many young characters and concepts of baseball that the only thing uniform about it might actually be the black and orange team uniform. When the season began, there were kids who would make contact with the ball and cheer instead of running to first base. There were kids who knew to run after hitting the baseball, but didn’t realize that third base wasn’t the desired option. My son Will—normally dressed in his team jersey with his cap pulled down over his eyes –soaked in all the antics of his teammates.
He also witnessed a remarkable head coach by the name of J.R. Long. Coach Long is actually a Tallahassee real estate guy who took up the challenge of teaching young four- and five-year-olds how to play baseball. I was impressed, but it went deeper than his patience and ability to deal with the challenges of a baseball team rich with young emotions. At the end of every game, Coach Long gathered the team together in a circle. Sometimes it was on the infield dirt; other times it was near the benches. It was during this postgame circle that Will’s T-ball experience went from good to Great. Continue…
- Worried That You’re Boring Your Audience? Demand Interesting Questions!
During the Australian Open Tennis Championships in 2011, when she was ranked No. 1 in the world, Caroline Wozniacki got wind of the fact that the media found her press conferences boring because she always gave the same answers. “I find it quite funny because I always get the same questions,” she told the press [...]
- Why the “Right” Answer May Not Be Your Answer
Are you looking for the “right” answer or your answer? As children we are well-trained to find the right answer. We are rewarded for A’s, the honor roll and acing the test. Our education trains us to follow the rules and deliver the expected answers. When we do, the stickers, accolades and congratulations follow. Yet [...]
- Great Resilience in Challenging Times
Each week, it seems the sports world captures our attention and sends us on an emotional rollercoaster worth the price of admission. But this week’s thrill ride inspired me to focus on perspective. Under what lens would you view emotional moments of failure, tragedy or triumph? If you were Baylor’s 6-foot-8 women’s basketball sensation Brittney [...]
- Shark Tank: 7 Questions to Answer Before Starting a New Business
Becoming a business owner and an entrepreneur is an adventure into new, exciting territory. It takes a special blend of dreams, business sense and looking within for what matters most to you. If you watch Shark Tank, you know that entrepreneurs go in front of the expert panel looking for funding. It’s great entertainment, but [...]
- 10 Favors You Can Do for Yourself Every Day
“If you didn’t have a great experience in high school, it’s your fault.” I recently attended a high school graduation where the valedictorian shared her message to the graduating class. Did I hear that correctly? There was a murmur in the crowd. Let’s just say her message didn’t resonate with all of the high school [...]
- Secret to a Happy Marriage: Put Your Spouse First
Recently, the E! reporter, Giuliana Rancic, said putting her husband first, and the baby second is the secret to her happy marriage. I couldn’t agree more. As you might suspect, a nuclear meltdown happened online as women who put their kids first came out on attack. I was invited to appear on Good Morning America [...]
- Don Yaeger: Super Bowl Siblings
The storyline has gotten a lot of attention these last couple of weeks, but as most anyone who follows sports knows, this weekend’s Super Bowl will be the first ever pitting two brothers against each other as head coaches of the competing teams. Jim Harbaugh’s San Francisco 49ers are slight favorites over older brother John [...]
- Don Yaeger: Lombardi Time
As the NFL Playoffs continue to take us further from the regular-season routine and closer to Super Bowl dreams, I can’t help but tap into my appreciation for the iconic figure who won the very first Super Bowl in NFL history. Back in January of 1967, Green Bay Packers head coach Vince Lombardi captured the [...]
- 12 Ideas for Shaking Up 2013
You’ll notice I didn’t use the word “resolution.” I asked some friends about setting New Year’s resolutions and heard responses like, “I don’t do them anymore”; “I still feel guilty about last year’s resolutions”; or “They’re called New Year’s resolutions because they only last through January!” Even if resolutions strike fear in us, it’s the [...]
- Make a Commitment for Commitment Day
Entrepreneurs are wired to be committed. If you don’t do the work, you might not have a business—or at least not a financially solvent one. Yet even the most committed among us can sometimes struggle with keeping those commitments. Even if you have the best of intentions, it’s often easier to rationalize or make excuses [...]
- Rudolph: One of the Great Leaders of All Time!
The holiday season merrily provokes the decking of halls and the jingling of bells. There’s something about Christmas that programs our brains to focus on questionable sweater patterns and multicolored light decorations. Beyond Yuletide carols and roasted chestnuts, the Christmas spirit gives us the chance to tap into the purity and passion of our childhood [...]
- Don Yaeger: “Today, I’m going to pinch myself.”
Naturally, the holiday season takes our busy lifestyle and revs it into a new gear. We’ve pre-ordered this and re-ordered that… We’ve probably even started dropping hints to loved ones about a desired gift or two. But I want to urge you to reserve some of your time for pinching this holiday season. No, I’m [...]
- Are You Undecided?
Not making a decision can be a pretty big decision in itself. I hear there are still undecided voters in the presidential election, but where are these coveted citizens? They must be hiding because I have yet to meet one. Let’s be honest, making decisions can be hard – especially important ones. There have been [...]
- Don Yaeger: Be Perfect On EVERY Play
Decisions are the frequent fabric of our daily design. Studies show the average person makes at least five decisions per minute. Given the ideal goal is eight hours of sleep each night–although since becoming a father to young Will and Maddie, that appears to be more fantasy than a realistic goal– the average person is [...]
- Don Yaeger: 5 Things We Can Learn from the Downfall of the Boston Red Sox
My grade school teachers severely undersold the lessons on compound words. While “downfall” fits the grammatical parameters of a compound word, its definition in the business world is complex mostly because it is often the result of a series of compounded mistakes. I often look to sports for lessons that can be useful across a [...]
- Committing to Great Change
Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to meet and interview many of the world’s top athletes and champions. While their greatness had more to do with their inner characteristics than their ability to touch their toes, I’d be out of touch if I completely overlooked the physical conditioning of the great ones. To this [...]
- Freytag: My Five Favorite Fitness Apps
Managing your time effectively is essential to being productive. Too often, one of the first things to fall off a busy schedule is exercise and, ultimately, your health. In this age of apps for everything, you can take advantage of technology to stay fit on the go. Check out my favorite fitness tools for working [...]
- Are You Getting in Your Opponent’s Head?
College football has once again intercepted a powerful life lesson in the quest for greatness. This week, the value comes with one glance at the Top 5 Associated Press rankings. Alabama is the top-rated team in college football, followed by LSU, Oregon, Florida State and Georgia–a list of powerhouses that are dreaded matchups for every [...]
- Taking Advantage of Second Chances
The U.S. Open at Flushing Meadows gave me the chance to have a true New York City experience, filled with stars and one of the city’s most historic sporting events…. Where else can you go in the Big Apple where backhands, smashes and faults aren’t followed by flashing lights and police sirens? While I admit [...]
- Political Conventions: Taking the Stage, Ready or Not
Everyone has a different definition of readiness. Readiness is a relative term. In the political world, ready or not, there are rare events that make careers. A political convention is one of these “every four year” events. While the presidential and vice-presidential candidates are the convention stars, they can matter even more for the future [...]
- Never Out of It
Life has once again given us a crystal-clear reminder that competition reigns supreme… and that you’re only out of a game when you decide you are (or the buzzer sounds!). Every summer the Little League World Series showcases the best of the best on both the domestic and international fronts. Pre-adolescent baseball players take their [...]
- The Sweet Brand
College football is ready to kick off another year loaded with opportunities for greatness. But the countdown to kickoff goes beyond the usual sell-out crowds or the frequent clashing of helmets and shoulder pads. For the last five years I’ve had the opportunity to work with a number of college student-athletes, discussing with them the [...]
- LeBron’s Leap Year
The closing ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics capped off an athletic celebration of more than 40 world records being etched in history, and more than 100 Olympic records being shattered. In a span of 17 days, thousands of the top athletes on the planet showcased what had been, in most cases, at least four [...]
- Doing the Right Thing All The Way to The Gold
Through my experiences writing about some of the greatest athletes the sports world has ever known, I’ve learned that greatness doesn’t happen by chance. Sometimes it’s the ability to do the “Right Thing” at the “Right Time” that makes one truly great. Take Olympic gymnast Jordyn Wieber for instance; at age 17, she defined greatness [...]
- A 4-Year-Old’s Question That You Need to Answer
I’ve decided that our 4-year-old selves were on to something. Remember the questions that unlocked everything at that age? Why and Why Not? We asked them in rapid succession about anything and everything. They were the key to making sense of our life. Why is the sky blue? Why do we have to get shots? [...]
- A Moment of Reflection
Last Saturday, my wife and I were in Salt Lake City with thousands of others to attend the memorial service for Stephen Covey. Covey was one of the most influential business authors of our generation, having penned the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People in 1989 and then watched as the book sold more than [...]
- How to Develop Success Habits
If you want success as an entrepreneur or success in trimming your waistline, the strategies are the same. Your success is ultimately determined by the decisions you make daily, otherwise known as your habits. Develop successful habits with these specific techniques and achieve the goals you set. Set clear, specific goals that are important to [...]
- Thinking Your Way Out of a Slump
Former Yankees catcher Yogi Berra once said, “Baseball is ninety percent mental. The other half is physical.” Yogi, one of the best interviews you could ever imagine, was clearly not a math major. But he did have a point. Mental strength is a huge differentiator between winners and losers. How many times in your life [...]
- On the Road with Tory Johnson
Recently I told a group of wide-eyed friends about my travel schedule as I tour the country for my Spark & Hustle conferences. Monday: Fly to Tampa and prep for our event there. Tuesday: Lead hundreds of women in our Tampa event, then fly to Los Angeles. Wednesday: Tape a segment about Spark & Hustle [...]
- Success Through the Eyes of a 90-Year-Old
Helen Johnson was a big success, though you’ve never heard her name. She was my mother-in-law and the beloved matriarch of a large, close Texas family. Like Nora Ephron, who we just lost, Helen believed in “being your own heroine.” Helen passed away unexpectedly at 90 years old last week. You may ask how this [...]
- Have You Thanked Your Competition Today?
I had a speech last week in Nebraska and before I caught my flight home, I made my way over to the US Olympic Swimming Trials in Omaha to catch up with two of the greatest competitors on the planet. Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte have established in the pool what Jack Nicklaus and Arnold [...]
- Exercise and Happiness: Finding Flow
Do you ever go out jogging and feel completely in a groove? You are in a zone and feel like you could run forever. Or you get so enthralled with your yoga class that your stressful day melts away, time disappears and you are surprised when class is over? While that feeling may not happen [...]
- Five People You Need On Your Dream Team
The NBA Finals are some of the highest-rated games yet. The young, fast Thunder, led by Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, take on superstars Dwyane Wade & Lebron James from the Miami Heat. While these stars get the media attention, basketball is a team sport and the winning team will get a big contribution from [...]
- My Dad’s Unwritten Letter to My Children
While celebrating with my two little ones on Sunday, I read a dozen or so wonderful Father’s Day tributes on the Internet. Many of you probably did the same. A couple were from famous men writing notes to their grandchildren. That afternoon I sat down and imagined what my father, who passed away in 1999, would [...]
- What Shaq and Warrick Dunn Have in Common
Warrick Dunn is one of the most exceptional people I’ve ever met. Warrick played 13 years in the NFL, becoming the smallest player in the league’s history to carry the football more than 10,000 yards. While in high school, his mother, a police officer, was killed during a robbery at a bank. When Warrick made [...]
- Changing the World, One Pencil at a Time
One of the greatest parts of my work as a speaker is getting to watch other presenters at events share their amazing stories. A couple of weeks ago, at a celebration of one company’s top performers, I met Pencils of Promise founder Adam Braun and it was a jaw-dropper. I couldn’t wait to join in the standing [...]
- 7 Ways to Have Kid-Like Energy
Remember when you were a kid and your energy was boundless? Days seemed long and you could run around all day—literally! As an adult, you have probably experienced a time when you have lacked energy. If you have lost the pep you used to possess, you can refuel with these tips. 1. Remember, junk in. [...]
- Coach Jimmy V: Find ‘Happy’ and Stay There
Last weekend in Sarasota, Fla., the most recognized voice in college basketball, Dick Vitale, gathered 900 of his closest friends to make a difference. The gala was to raise money to cure pediatric cancers, and the night was a celebration of Vitale’s one-time broadcasting partner, Jim Valvano, affectionately nicknamed Coach Jimmy V. Valvano was the [...]
- Tory Johnson: Find Your Spark
Music boomed, hands swayed to the beat and headliners rocked the stage. This wasn’t a concert. It was my small business master class Spark & Hustle that kicked off the nationwide, 20-city tour in New York last week. 500 current and aspiring women entrepreneurs took tips from some of my favorite business rockstars, including Vera [...]
- 7 Ways to Ruin Your Meeting
Meetings really have a bad image. It’s not surprising since often they are too long, there’s no clear plan, too many people are invited and they dominate our work schedules. “Too many meetings” was the No. 1 time-waster at the office, cited by 47% of 3,164 workers in a recent Salary.com study. Research shows that [...]
- High-Fiving Your Way to a Championship
With the NBA playoffs in full bloom, I’m looking for something a little different as I try to assess who might win this year’s title. I’m looking for high fives, butt pats and chest bumps. During last year’s championships, The Wall Street Journal wrote about a study done by researchers at Cal-Berkeley. The VERY academic [...]
- Leadership Lessons from Summer Camp
It’s time again to sign the kids up for summer camp. It’s the highlight of most kids’ summers—no mom or dad, wearing the same clothes three days in a row and candy every night before bed. What could be better? Last summer when we were at parent pickup, I realized that they are doing some [...]
- What A Presidential Campaign Teaches Us About Leading Change
Let’s set aside politics for whom you support in the 2012 presidential election. You can learn a lot from presidential campaigns about how to lead change in your team or organization. A presidential campaign is designed to convince voters that their candidate is the one you should choose on Election Day. Likewise, in organizational change [...]
- Check Your Ego at the Door
Every Saturday during the college football season, millions of fans tune in to ESPN’s College Football GameDay. On the set are four of the most well-known faces in all of college football. Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, former Heisman Trophy Winner Desmond Howard and Lee Corso entertain fans from their traveling desk—usually at the best game [...]
- Conference Confidence: No Wallflowers (or Gossips) Allowed
I have a confession: For years, I attended countless conferences and industry functions. Only after dozens and dozens of events did I start to wonder why I wasn’t getting anything out of them. I did a little analysis and realized I’d always bring someone with me—a crutch—and we’d stand in a corner talking about everyone, [...]
- Don’t Let Others Take You to Where They Are
Full disclosure: This was not one of my finer moments. I was in New York recently for meetings and walked to Starbucks for my morning “starter.” As I was standing in line, a call came in from someone I had been trying to connect with for a few days. I took the call. Two minutes [...]
- “Man, I’m under a lot of pressure.” Really??
To the casual fan flipping channels, Sunday in Major League Baseball must have appeared confusing. EVERY player on EVERY team was wearing the same jersey number: 42. This was the fifth year that MLB has celebrated April 15 as the day that Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in what was then the most popular [...]
- Competitive Easter Egg Hunting: A Tell-All
Sure, I know it was the first full weekend of the Major League Baseball season. And I know that National Hockey League teams are fighting for the opportunity to make the playoffs. And yes, there was that little golf tournament over in Augusta called the Masters… but I watched the Friday night news and braced [...]
- Baseball Opening Day… Who Starts the Wave?
It’s time for hot dogs, fresh cut grass and the sound of the ball on the bat. Opening Day is finally here, baseball fans! And as a Texas Rangers fan, the sting still lingers from last year’s World Series. We were one strike away from winning… twice. Yes, twice. Thankfully, there is always next year [...]
- How to Eat Just One Chocolate Bunny Ear
With the bright colors of spring come the allure of bright Easter candy—and the chief temptation of the chocolate Easter bunny. How can you enjoy the sweets of this holiday without adding inches to your waistline? Here are some tips to cope with all the candy: Skip deprivation. As a fitness trainer, you ‘d think I’d [...]
- The Blessings We Take for Granted
In New Orleans last weekend, I had the opportunity to celebrate former Louisiana State University basketball coach Dale Brown for his lifetime of achievement in basketball. Before Dale stepped up to accept the crystal, Tim Brando of CBS, a TV legend in his own right, introduced Dale. Brando noted that he had been a young [...]
- Beat the 7-Minute Attention Span with These Tips
Do you manage your day efficiently? Or do you, like most people feel stressed by the unfinished projects and tasks in your life? Take a quick honest assessment of your life: When you look around your office, do you see physical clutter: stacks of paper, file folders, torn pieces of paper with phone numbers you [...]
- MLB’s Chipper Jones: Lessons From My Mom
Chipper Jones, the amazing third baseman for the Atlanta Braves, announced last week that this would be his final season in Major League baseball. This 19th year – all spent with the same team – will lead him “into the sunset,” he said. He is taking that rare opportunity in sports to retire on his [...]
- Why March Madness Pits David Against Goliath
It’s my favorite sporting “event” of year. March Madness, the NCAA Basketball tournament, is in full force. Some call it the Big Dance and one reason is that some of America’s smallest colleges get to appear at the ball like Cinderella. You get to pull for teams with mascots like Greyhounds, Jackrabbits, Racers, Catamounts, Zags, [...]
- Peyton’s Place: How One Person Can Elevate A Team
I’m sad to see it end, but so glad it was handled with such class. Last week, the incomparable Peyton Manning, after sitting out a year with injury, was released by the Indianapolis Colts. His exit press conference, with the team owner that was cutting him standing just feet away, should be the standard for [...]
- Tory Johnson: Why Aren’t You Reaching Your Goals?
Good Morning America’s workplace contributor Tory Johnson asks SUCCESS Start Small Win Big entrepreneurial contestants an important question.
- Start Small Win Big 2012: Your Wk 8 Action Plan
Your Week 8 Action Plan For Week 8 (March 12), read the March 2012 issue for Step 8: Don’t Reinvent the Wheel. Then check your inbox for the March 12 Start Small Win Big newsletter. This week’s assignment is about being inspired by what your competitors do well. This week’s assignment is to do some snooping. Let’s [...]
- When a Loss Doesn’t Have to Be a Loss
With all due respect to my friends in Alabama, it is “The greatest rivalry in all of sports.” That’s how Dick Vitale refers to the legendary tussles between Duke and the University of North Carolina basketball teams and I agree with him. You have a private school in Duke less than fifteen miles away from [...]
- How a Homeless Man Reminded Me of My Why
In the discussion about chasing greatness, there really is a starting point. Anyone who is in the pursuit of a champion’s life has to know their “Why.” No one has ever sustained Greatness without a strong sense of why they were driven to it. Week in and week out, I will tell you some great [...]
- Tory Johnson: What Exactly Do You Do?
You’ve been there before, at a party or picnic or whatever: Ask a stranger what he or she does and 10 minutes later you’re still listening, but your eyes have glazed over because you still don’t have a clue. All you want to say is, “See ya!” If you do that in business — if [...]
- Tory Johnson: Are You More Madonna or Gaga?
Yes, she has a gigantic ego and many people find the faux English accent on this Michigan girl a wee bit pretentious, but you have to hand it to Madonna. Once red hot—less so now—she never stops. Not ever. At 53, she rocked Sunday’s Super Bowl like a singer half her age, is up for [...]
- Tory Johnson: Secrets of High-Achieving Entrepreneurs
Ever have those days when you wake up determined to tackle specific challenges? You have the best intentions about all you’re going to accomplish and you can feel the sense of elation that you’re sure you’ll experience. Then the phone rings, the dog barks, someone needs you to drop everything to help with the unexpected. [...]
- The Step-By-Step Guide to Amping Up Your Business in 2012
It’s time to take your small business to the next level. SUCCESS magazine has teamed up with Good Morning America‘s Tory Johnson to host the Start Small Win Big Entrepreneurial Challenge–a free 12-week, 12-step program to help your small business grow and win prizes for entering. Why you should enter: Is your small business where [...]
- #MonsterinLaw Live Tweetchat
Movies, sitcoms, and horror stories are written on the subject —terrible in-laws. SUCCESS’s own Mel Robbins tackles this controversial subject with her new show on A&E TV, Monster-In-Laws. Airing Mondays at 10/9pm central, Mel attempts to open lines of communication, understanding and a deeper sense of love for the families involved. Want an insider’s take of [...]
- The Compound Effect and A Healthy Life
“People are either motivated by something they want, or something they don’t want.” – Darren Hardy Profound success is the result of small, smart choices completed consistently over time—and it applies to every area of your life, whether it’s your work, relationships, finances or your health. That’s the theory behind The Compound Effect, a book [...]
- Winning People Over: Persuasion & Influence (2 of 4)
"No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness." —Aristotle
No discussion on the topic of influence and persuasion is complete without a few words on Aristotle's famous dialectic on what he calls the three levels of persuasion: LOGOS, PATHOS and ETHOS.
In each installment I will boil it down to a single action item for you to walk away with in order to make this new knowledge have power in your own ability to persuade and influence others.
Let's start with LOGOS—which can be understood as simply logic.
So the first form of persuasion has to do with convincing others through the use of logic. I interviewed Dave Lakhani recently (grew up in a cult, now best-selling author of Persuasion: The Art of Getting What You Want). Here is how he put it: "Persuasion is helping people come to their own most logical conclusion which happens to be one we share." He goes on to say, "Persuasion is about being a more effective communicator and getting the best outcome for everyone involved."
"Persuasion is helping people come to their own most logical conclusion which happens to be one we share."
So, in LOGOS, we use logic and reasoning to persuade others to see things in a new way.
Let me give you an example; this is how I lay out the argument for why someone should… CLICK HERE TO READ REST OF POST
- You’ve Got 16 Weeks
I was on the phone yesterday discussing sales projections and strategy with one of my coaching clients, and he said something that startled me, “but Mel, there’s only 16 weeks left in the year.” 16 weeks?! The kids just went back to school! How is that possible? That’s not a lot of time. I have [...]
- Winning People Over: Persuasion & Influence (1 of 4)
Eat or be eaten. Influence or be influenced. Someone is always selling and someone is always buying (consciously or not).
If you open up your medicine cabinet, or your dresser drawers, your pantry or your garage… or just look around the room you are standing in right now, each item you see is a war trophy, representing somebody’s or some company’s victory—who got you to trade your hard-earned money for their product.
How did they do that? What tools did they use?
That is what I will teach you in this four-part blog series—the all-important skill of influence and persuasion.
Make no mistake. There are legions of influence agents operating around you everywhere, all day. Sometimes it’s in the form of a TV commercial, or a phone solicitation, or grocery store announcement, bus bench or billboard, and other times it’s in the form of a solicitation or request by a child, spouse, employer, priest, friend or co-worker.
A friend of mine once tried to count the number of direct attempts to control his thoughts and behavior that he encountered in a single day. This included people requesting him to do things, forcing him to do things, asking him to buy things, telling him to pay for things, showing him where to stop and when to go, suggesting how he should think about things, offering him slogans to repeat, songs to remember, attitudes to change, and ideologies to believe. He doesn’t even read the newspaper, listen to radio or watch TV! He gave up by 10:30 a.m., as he lost count somewhere around 500. Research calculates that the average person receives more than… CLICK HERE TO READ REST OF POST
- I Want to Rename This Magazine
As a society, I think we often misunderstand the word success. Our society celebrates those who obtain fame, wealth, power and celebrity, no matter the means—ethical or not—and we call them successful. Success is often equated to an achieved status, rather than to a measure of value or contribution.
We are taught early in life to strive for success, to achieve the status—win the trophy, get the notable degree, land the big position, win the impressive title, acquire the bigger house, bring back the enviable vacation photos and collect the cars, boats, jewels and big bank account. And when we are waving from the mountaintop, having finally achieved these trappings of “success,” we often feel a stark emptiness inside. What’s wrong?
We might have acquired everything we ever wanted, except the one thing that really matters—significance. We want to know that our lives meant something, that we’ve had a positive impact on the lives of others. And only significance provides that; success by itself cannot.
The interesting thing is you can be successful and not significant, but you cannot be significant without being successful.
In 2007, when we took over the stewardship of this legendary magazine, we decided not to change the name. Instead we have attempted to change the definition of success. We see success as… CLICK HERE TO READ REST OF POST
- How to Be a Loser
Why do you want to learn how to be a loser? you ask. We learn from both examples and warnings. This post provides you both.It’s good to know how to be a loser so, 1) you could do the opposite and 2) you can check to be sure you aren’t doing those things yourself.
I remember Jim Rohn saying that it’s too bad failures don’t give seminars. He would say, “If you meet a guy who has messed up his life for forty years, you’ve just got to say, ‘John, if I bring my journal and promise to take good notes, would you spend a day with me? Tell me how a good-looking guy like you with a beautiful family, everything going for him messed up his life so bad. What did you do? What do you read? What do you eat? What type of people do you hang out with? What do you do with your free time? What TV programs, newspapers, and radio programs do you spend time with? Wouldn’t that information be valuable? Find out and then DON’T DO those things.” Great strategy.
Here’s some loser training tips to get you started:
Take it day by day. Don’t bother with setting goals, making plans and preparing. Just wake up each morning and figure out what you want to do then.
Seek comfort. Growth and progress requires work, stress and struggle. Forget it. Stay comfy instead.
Don’t believe in anything. It’s easier to be… CLICK HERE TO READ MORE
- THANKS-Giving Challenge
I want to issue you a challenge.
One that can make a profound difference on your year… and your life.
How do I know? Because it did on mine… and now hundreds of others (that I know about) who have emailed, posted on Facebook, tweeted or told me at an event how much this simple activity totally transformed their marriage, relationship with a child, parent, friend, boss or colleague.
Tomorrow (Aug. 24) is exactly 3mos until Thanksgiving 2011 (Nov. 24). If you start tomorrow (Friday at latest!), you can collect 90 days of thanks-giving thoughts about someone you care about… and then you can give them the collection of thoughts and gratitude on Thanksgiving Day. I promise that it will be one of the most special gifts they will ever receive.
Below is pulled directly from my book The Compound Effect
Thanksgiving Year-Round
It’s easy to point fingers at others, isn’t it? “I’m not getting ahead because of my lame boss.” “I would have gotten that promotion if it hadn’t been for that backstabbing co-worker.” “I’m always in a bad mood because my kids are driving me crazy.” And we’re particularly gifted in the finger-pointing department when it comes to our romantic relationships—you know, where the other person is the one who needs to change.
A few years back, a friend of mine was complaining about his wife. From my observation, she was a terrific lady, and he was lucky to have her. I told him as much, but he continued to point out all the ways she was responsible for his unhappiness. That’s when I shared an experience that had literally changed my marriage… CLICK HERE TO READ REST OF POST
- Your Competitive Advantage: REST
Refueling the jets… Learning to Value Time Off
By the time you read this I am off on my 10-year wedding anniversary vacation trip through the South of France and Italy. In that honor I am republishing an article I wrote on high-performance productivity a few years back. Enjoy!
How does America regain its supremacy in the productive world?
How do YOU improve your personal productivity?
ANSWER: Go on vacation.
438 million. That is the number of vacation days Americans failed to take in 2007, according to Harris Interactive research group—more than any other industrialized nation.
Here is the result: America ranks No. 1 in depression and mental health problems. Americans are experiencing burnout, reduced productivity, diminished creativity, failed relationships, stress or stress-related ailments such as depression, heart disease or stomach ulcers in record levels. Our entrenched puritanical conditioning, being valued on how “hard” we work, fear of being replaced or left behind, and our addiction to always being “busy” are actually not only destroying our mental and physical health, but also destroying our creative productivity.
This is especially true in our new global economy, where our advantage and future is… CLICK HERE TO READ REST OF POST
- Mastering THE BOUNCE
"I'm going to give you a little advice. There's a force in the universe that makes things happen. And all you have to do is get in touch with it, stop thinking, let things happen and be the ball."
That was actually a quote from Ty Webb, played by Chevy Chase, in the movie Caddyshack. (I've always wanted to use a Caddyshack quote in one of my letters!)
Welcome to our special Comebacks issue of SUCCESS, which features those companies, entrepreneurs and leaders who have experienced a bit of a fall from grace. When down and out, they could have easily stayed there, given up hope, given up on their dreams and given up on themselves, but they didn't. Instead of collapsing, they bounced. And they came back stronger, better and and more equipped to achieve greatness than ever before.
That is why I want you to "be the ball." In this metaphor, however, I want you to be the tennis ball. You see, life will smack you around like a tennis ball in a match point between Nadal and Federer. To win in the game of life you will need to "be the ball" and learn The Bounce.
To bounce: To fall rapidly, hit bottom suddenly with impact and rebound decisively.
According to that definition, there are four distinct phases of The Bounce… CLICK HERE TO READ REST OF POST
- The Overachiever vs. The Superachiever (4 of 4)
Just joining us? Be sure to read Installment #1 and #2 and #3
WARNING: There is kryptonite all around you!
There are great traps you will have to overcome to execute and stick to your five-point plan each day. These are three great warnings to look out for.
WARNING No. 1—“Yes” You will have to become a master at saying “no.” This is one of the greatest distinguishing features of superachievers—not what they do, but more important what they don’t do. Their ability to keep the main thing, in fact, the main thing and not get mired in weeds of minor tasks is their genius. They major in the major issues and don’t major in minors, as many of the rest of us tend to do.
As Brian Tracy said, you need to develop “Won’t Power.” The power to declare and stick to all the things you won’t do, in order for you to stay focused on the things that matter the most to the accomplishment of your BIG hairy audacious goals.
WARNING No. 2—Being reactive instead of creative
Monitor and calculate your time between being reactive (reacting to communications, inquiries, requests and needs of others) and being proactive or creative—the time you are spending being productive and on target with your key priorities, not the priorities of others. Think about it: email, texts, the phone… you are mostly reacting when you are on these devices. Don’t let them yank you around all day as if you were on the end of a string where someone else is your puppet master. Instead, be sure the lion’s share of your time is spent being creative and focused on YOUR few and high-value priorities.
WARNING No. 3… CLICK HERE TO READ REST OF POST
- How to Find a Child’s Missing Shoe (and Other Entitlement Issues)
What is the antidote to entitlement? Ownership. Here is a story to illustrate the problem of what happens when kids perceive no ownership: One day, our son, 8-year-old Jason (name changed to protect the not-so-innocent), came home from school on an early spring day, and he was missing an article of clothing. You might guess [...]
- The Overachiever vs. The Superachiever (3 of 4)
Just joining us? Be sure to read Installment #1 and #2
Here is a simple (but don’t let the simplicity fool you!) but PROFOUND plan to immediately multiply your productive output many times over your current rate. I’m not talking about activity (more work, more time). I said productivity (results, money, accomplishment, goal attainment)… all the while, living much more stress free and carefree existence (more time for family, fun and hobbies!).
Let me outline a 5-point Superachiever Productivity Plan for you… this is what I do.
No. 1—Plan tomorrow today. Jim Rohn taught me, “Don’t start your day until it is finished on paper.” And the best time to do this is the day before.
This is an important and many times not so easy-to-keep discipline. The last thing I do before I shut down for the day, by routine, is to review and complete the plan for the following day. The entire process takes less than 10 minutes. What you don’t want to do is wake up and then figure out what you should be doing—it’s way too late by then. Chances are the rest of the world will have decided what it wants you to do and it will control your day, instead of you. You will be reacting instead of creating.
Let me take you through that simple planning process, since the key to brilliant execution is always brilliant planning…. CLICK HERE TO READ REST OF POST
- The Overachiever vs. The Superachiever (2 of 4)
If you want to know what we’re up to, be sure to read Installment #1.
After interviewing hundreds of superachievers, many of whom you have seen grace the cover of SUCCESS magazine, I have found about a half-dozen key distinctions of superachievers.
In this series I will outline one of the BIG strategies and a 5-point plan to dramatically increase your productive output, while significantly lowering your stress and schedule burdens.
Superachiever Distinction No. 1: It’s NOT what the superachievers DO that separates them from everyone else…
I am constantly asked, “What do Richard Branson, Steve Jobs, Warren Buffet and the like DO that makes them so successful, productive and wealthy?”
What’s supremely interesting is that what they DO has little to do with their extraordinary success. It has more to do with what they DON’T DO.
Steve Jobs: When asked what is the thing he is most proud of what he and Apple has created, this was his answer: “I'm as proud of what we DON’T do as I am of what we do.”
Warren Buffet: When asked for the No. 1 key to his success, this is his consistent answer, “For every 100 great opportunities that are brought to me, I say ‘NO’ 99 times.”
Isn’t that interesting?! You see, saying “yes” is easy.
Yes I have a minute
Yes I’ll take the call
Yes I’ll take on that project
Yes I’ll come out for happy hour
Yes I’ll have another drink
Yes I’ll have dessert tooSaying “no” is much harder.
And I have learned it is the… CLICK HERE TO READ REST OF POST
- The Overachiever vs. The Superachiever (1 of 4)
If busyness, long hours and hard work equaled success—I’d be wealthier and more successful than Richard Branson, Tony Hawk and Donald Trump.
I KNOW I put in more hours, take fewer vacations, play less golf, get in less beach time and spend far less time with kids, family and friends than they do.
And yet, in a world where all four of us have exactly the same 24/7/365, I produce nowhere near the results they do. What’s worse, I am not even allowing myself to enjoy as many non-work-related joys of life as they are.
I have to confess, this really ticks me off!
And the only person I have to be mad at… is me. All four of us started out this journey relatively the same—a couple of them in much more difficult circumstances than me—and yet, I’m getting my butt kicked.
I think I’ve finally figured it out a critical distinction of how they are accomplishing so much more than me… and probably you too.
Overachiever
You see, I have always been an overachiever. If you read The Compound Effect you know I was raised by a university football coach, single dad. And the way you got love and an ‘atta-boy’ in our house was to achieve. Do well in school; you get to go to the ice-cream parlor to celebrate. Don’t do well and you’re left home. Hit a home run at Little League and we stopped at the pizza parlor on the way home. Collect a day of strike-outs and it was a cold, quiet car ride—straight home.
Looking back, this is why I think I am… CLICK HERE TO READ REST OF POST
- You ARE Influential…
…For Better or Worse
What do Jesus Christ, Charles Darwin, Adolf Hitler, Martin Luther King Jr. and Vladimir Lenin have in common? Each is deemed one of the 100 Most Influential Persons in History in Michael Hart's 1978 book. Interesting, isn't it?
You don't have to like what their influence was or what they influenced people to do—that's beside the point, and well, also the point. Each of these people influenced millions of others to do as they envisioned and directed.
The key point is: Influence is powerful, and the same qualities and charisma that can influence people toward human enlightenment can also be used to influence people to destruction and great inhumanity.
Another vital understanding of influence is: You don't have to be standing on a mountaintop speaking profound parables or pumping your fists on a lectern while shouting madly into a microphone in front of legions of people to be influential.
It is crucially important to know that we are all, at all times, influencing people and the environment around us.
We are energetic beings. As we enter every room, mix with any group or converse with any other living being, we are either bringing enlightenment or we are darkening the world around us.
Additionally, we come to understand ourselves by… CLICK HERE TO READ REST OF POST
- Eyres: Dissecting a child’s entitlement
We love our SUCCESS audience because of the great feedback we always get to our blog posts here. You are THINKING parents and you are looking for real answers to the challenges that face your kids today.
You have concluded, most of you, as we have, that ENTITLEMENT and the lack of motivation to earn and save and experience delayed gratification is a core problem for kids today, and you have admitted that it is mostly the fault of parents! (See the reader poll in our last two blog posts.)
We are going to make the audacious claim that we can help you (and your kids) overcome the problem of entitlement attitudes!
But before we start spewing out ideas, we invite you to think with us a little more about the problem itself, and about the changing nature of raising kids today.
In other words, let’s think a little harder about the questions before we start trying to state the answers. Here are some queries that we hope will challenge you:
Are you letting your kids fall into a trap that can make their lives (and yours) miserable?
Instead of giving our kids a sense of responsibility, are you giving them… CLICK HERE TO READ MORE
- Take the Path of MOST Resistance
In The Compound Effect I explain how the results in your life are rooted in one single factor—your choices.
Like it or not, good or bad, your accumulated choices have added up to your current waistline, business success, relationship strength and bank balance.
Your choices created your problems and the only way out of them is to start, and stick to, making new choices.
But then you ask, How do I know what the right choices are?
Here’s a simple formula:
When in doubt, just do what you don’t want to do—that’s usually exactly what you should do. Take the path of MOST resistance.Put it this way: If you are disappointed in any area of your life, whatever choices you have been making aren’t working.
Definition of insanity:
Doing the same things you’ve always done and expecting different results.Here is the force you are fighting: You and your brain are creatures of habit. You simply talk yourself into taking the easy, low resistance and comfortable route. Like the pull of a rushing river, your unconscious habits continue to take you downstream in the wrong direction. To change your direction you will need to… CLICK HERE TO READ REST OF POST
- Behind the Scenes on The Today Show
Life moves fast when you are busy. Each new day is an opportunity. When you are on TV, your opportunity may come in the form of three-minute segments. For the first day of summer, I was on The Today Show with Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb, demonstrating some circuit moves from my 10lb Slimdown on Exercise TV and how to get a beach body fast by combining strength training and cardio.
To help set the scene, The Today Show has multiple studios in its stacked, vertical offices. Kathie Lee and Hoda have frequent wardrobe changes. Assistants help them as they go up and down stairs between studios—taking off their jewelry for one segment and putting on lab coats for another.
People were everywhere. While on set, I saw LaToya Jackson, Donny Deutsch and Natalie Morales amid the staff and producers, who were prepping me for my upcoming segment. After they whisked me away to the Green Room, I thought about these takeaways from behind the scenes:
Be prepared to get creative. Producers of the show told me ahead of time they wanted some original moves—not exercises everyone knows. I showed them some unique moves—like shoulder flies where you lift hand weights like you are opening a newspaper, and a move where you look like you are stirring a pot with hand weights while doing a ballerina plié.
Be organized. Producers, camera men, featured guests and show hosts, are all in studios not much bigger than an average… CLICK HERE TO READ REST OF POST
- Mining the Millennials
Millennials, also known as Gen Y-ers (80 million, born between 1980 and 1995), were raised by overly doting parents who coddled their self-esteem like fragile Fabergé eggs. They played in little leagues where the score wasn't kept and where everyone was a winner and everyone got a trophy for just showing up.
Having hired, worked with and trained many, I had concluded that millennials were simply lazy, undisciplined, unmotivated, over-entitled and disengaged, with the attention span of goldfish.
Then I joined the Board of Directors of an organization called Invisible Children, founded by and made up entirely of millennials. I was quickly humbled to the fact that it is not that they are unmotivated, inattentive or disengaged—they were just unmotivated, inattentive and disengaged in working for ME!… CLICK HERE TO READ REST OF POST
- Are You Building SUSTAINABLE Success?
This past week my wife Georgia and I spent some time touring the 116-year-old Biltmore Estate in Asheville, N.C. This 175,000-square-foot home on 8,000 acres still emanates its founder's–George Washington Vanderbilt's–illustrious grandeur… and it remains (remarkably) privately owned.
Of course my inquiring SUCCESS mind wanted to figure out how. Although much of the robber-baron wealth of his grandfather Cornelius Vanderbilt (earned through shipping and railroads in early 1800s) has dissipated through his heirs, Biltmore Estate continues to thrive because it was founded on a vision of sustainability. While many of the Gilded Age estates have been reduced to rubble, taken over by the state or sold to nonprofit entities, Biltmore remains a privately owned, for-profit working estate.
Sustainability is the capacity to endure; to be diverse and productive over time; exhibiting the potential for long-term maintenance and well-being.
George Vanderbilt's vision wasn't only to build the largest private home in America (which it is still today 100+ years later) but to also have it be self-supporting.
In addition to the grand estate, George also had built… CLICK HERE TO READ REST OF POST
- The Biggest Kid-Problem: Entitlement
Many SUCCESS readers answered our poll asking what is the biggest problem or challenge faced by kids (and their parents) in today’s world. (click here if you missed it).
The results were quite remarkable! Of all the parents who participated in the poll, the clear majority were most worried about the sense of entitlement that kids seem to have today. Take a look at the top six vote getters:
- A Sense of Entitlement (53%)
- Excessive Technology and Gadgets (16%)
- Peer Pressure (14%)
- Drugs and Substance Abuse (8%)
- Bullying (7%)
Readers could only vote for one problem and yet “Entitlement” still gets 53% and wins as the biggest problem by a landslide. And the second-place finisher (with about 16%), “Excessive Technology and Gadgets,” is really about entitlement too—kids who think they are entitled to all things electronic.
Combine those top two answers and we have…Click Here to Read More.
- Gershbein: What’s Your Next Move on LinkedIn?
The LinkedIn IPO on May 19, 2011, put the globe on notice that the business of social networking is alive and well. LinkedIn has broken the plane and has boldly gone where no other social media website has gone before. No longer viewed as a passing fad, LinkedIn has clawed its way into the collective awareness of the professional community.
Only one issue remains: What’s next?
As an independent LinkedIn business consultant, I am being asked this question with more frequency. My greatest challenge is keeping current with an ever-changing medium and communicating those changes to others in usable, relevant pieces of information. This is a responsibility that I embrace and carry out with due diligence and great reverence. I’m as excited to see what comes down the pike as anyone.
Those who operate on LinkedIn daily have undoubtedly noticed the company’s commitment to an enriching, empowering user experience. Despite the occasional glitch, the site has come a long way since its inception in 2002, regularly introducing new features for content management, and offering time-strapped professionals unprecedented opportunities to build brand. Click Here to Read More…
- Why Your ‘Why Nots’ Are Lame
Most people only live a fraction of their potential. You do what you CAN do… but are you doing what you COULD do? I know that sounds like a tongue twister but read over it again, slowly. Most people do what they CAN do, but not what they COULD do. Most people accomplish what they can accomplish and are usually satisfied with that. But there is a whole other world of possibilities out there that most of us don’t even let ourselves think about.
The larger question we need to ask ourselves is: Can we reach a greater potential than we have ever imagined?
In fact, if you stop and think about it, What could you do? I mean if you weren’t afraid to fail, or if you decided to quit coming up with reasons to not do something, what COULD you actually accomplish?
As a psychotherapist I was always intrigued by the stories that people told about themselves. These stories often detailed where and why they were stuck in life. We ALL tell ourselves stories to legitimize our fears. Listen to your stories (excuses) about why you didn’t do something. Not to be rude, but odds are good that your stories about the “why nots” of your life are lame at best. We can do so much more if we just choose to do it.
Your potential, your possibilities, are far bigger than you can imagine.
Joey Boring, a stockbroker with Edward Jones, was an average performer until he got a vision of WHAT he COULD do. Within two years Joey became one of their top performers, winning vacations and bonuses for his performance. In fact, during the global financial crisis, his performance was up 43%. Why? Joey decided not to limit himself. He said, “I realized that I could do more than I ever thought I could do” and he did! During a time that could have easily been the worst financial period in his career, he chose to view it as an opportunity and began to focus his efforts on ways to better serve his existing clients. And the really great part is that this new attitude that was developed during a time of crisis continues to make Joey even more successful in the good times.
A young friend of mine, Ashtyn VanVooren, sprained her knee pretty badly. As a 14-year old she had a gymnastics event and decided that she could tell herself that it was too much, too hard and too painful—or she could tell herself that she was strong enough and good enough to do it. That day, she received the highest all around scores at the State Level Competition. She COULD do more than she WAS doing. Did it hurt? I am sure that it did. But often our greatest achievements come out of our greatest challenges.
I wonder what limits you are putting on yourself today. Perhaps we are only held back by our own limited thinking.
I was visiting last week with a friend of mine, Mike Mullane, an astronaut with NASA who has the name “Rocket-Rider” embroidered on his space suit. I loved something that he said: “When I was a kid, the sky was the limit. Then I became an astronaut. I don’t really know where the limits are anymore.” I certainly don’t want my thinking to set the limits.
Maybe if we let ourselves do what we COULD do, like Mike, we COULD be living a life without limitation and may even become “rocket-riders!”
- The Industrial REVELATION: A New Kind of Revolution
The revelation is this: The way we were… is over.
As you know, we are living through an era of unprecedented change. Over the last decade, we began hearing the death rattle of a bygone era. The corporate structure and system has begun to crumble. The global marketplace has been flattened. Innovative, fast-moving and nimble competition has risen from nearly all corners of the planet. Technology has wired us all directly to each other. Now every manufacturer or marketer has immediate and direct access to everyone, everywhere, destroying heavily controlled and highly valued distribution channels.
All this deconstruction and loss of control by the few, the behemoths, the entrenched, spells freedom… and opportunity for the rest of us.
As entrepreneurs and individual achievers, it is our time to thrive!
But you also have to adapt. The traditional yellow brick road to success and financial security has been… CLICK HERE TO READ REST OF POST
- You Can Be Right or Happy…
…Usually not both (particularly in your marriage).
It was Friday night (Date Night!) and I was flying home after a long exhausting week on the road. My wife, Georgia was picking me up from the airport and she had made reservations for us at this new restaurant in downtown San Diego we were excited to try.
To make it special, earlier in the week I called ahead to see if they stocked our favorite French champagne. They did not, so I arranged to have a bottle shipped to the sommelier at the restaurant to be presented at the table as a surprise (along with another small gift I picked up on the road).
Georgia had arranged a surprise as well, knowing I would be coming off a long flight she had bought me a new shirt, had it pressed and waiting in the car when she picked me up. Oh boy, this was going to…
- Recruiting Great People (Part 3 of 3)
We have been discussing the critical importance of recruiting great people (read Part 1, Part 2), no matter if you lead a small sales team, a charity, a sports team or if you are the leader of a big enterprise.
Organizations with the best people win. Get good at recruiting.In this installment I’d like to give away one of the greatest strategies on how to get people to tell you how to sell them.This is by not selling, but asking. Not by talking, but by listening.People will tell you what is important to them, what they are looking for in life, what their hopes, dreams and aspirations are—if you let them. But one thing is for sure: You won’t learn this by moving your mouth.The question acronym outline I use to this day is FORM:F=Family and FriendsO=OccupationR=RecreationM=Money and MeaningRecruiting
Script ExampleA conversation might go something like this (O): “What do you do?” Whatever their answer, my response is, “Oh, you must LOVE that!” People are contrarians by nature, if you suggest they must love it, then they will tell you everything they hate about it.If you would have said, “Oh, that sounds tough or terrible.” They will then tell you everything the like about it.So even if they tell you what they don’t like, ask, “What aspects of it do you like?” They are there for a reason, there is some value or need it is filling, it is important to discover that.Then ask, “What are some of the things you like the least or wish were different or you could change?” Now they will tell you all their needs, wishes and desires.Then if we are on the business conversation I will jump to M and say, “Well you must make a ton of money doing that.” They will now tell you what? Yes, all their financial dissatisfaction.I’ll follow up, “Is this something you always wanted to do; was it an aspiration since you were young?” 99 times out of 100 it isn’t.Then I ask, “What was it you wanted to do when you were young or wish you were doing now?” More hopes, dreams and values revealed.Then if I need more there is always, “What do you like to do when you aren’t working? Do you get to do it a lot? Why don’t you?” Etc.On the first encounter I won’t make a recruiting solicitation at all. The mistake most people make is they go around like a hormone filled 18-year-old boy trying to close in the first three minutes of every conversation (you’ll end up like an 18-year-old boy-with bupkis!).In that first encounter, and maybe even a few others after it, all I want to do is to create a relationship and collect information to discover what THEIR wants, needs, pains, frustrations, hopes and desires are.
Then later I will… CLICK HERE TO READ REST OF POST - Recruiting Great People (Part 2 of 3)
In Part 1 of Recruiting Great People, we talked about key philosophies when it comes to recruiting. Now we'll discuss the finding the ideal match.
As a leader I believe you have three main functions:
1) Think. Set the vision. Architect the strategy. Make decisions.
2) Recruit and retain (culture development) the BEST talent you can.
3) Inspect what you expect – keep your eye on the vital signs of the organization.
And really, if you only master No. 2, the rest will probably get done too.
That makes recruiting and retaining talent your most important job as a business owner, entrepreneur and leader; thus, worthy for us to spend some quality time on it here.
Finding Your “Ideal Match”
I interviewed one of the most successful professional executive recruiters in the country today, Harry Joiner, to pick his brain and take a look into his grab bag of tricks on the topic. Harry used the analogy that we should approach recruiting like dating.First, ask yourself the questions to determine what your “ideal match” would look like. He also said to know the key initiatives for your new team member needs BEFORE you look for them so you know how to qualify your “ideal match.”
Four key questions to identify the criteria of your “ideal match”
1. What’s the role?
2. How will success be measured?
3. What attributes are needed to succeed?
4. What attributes are needed to gel with rest of team and culture?
Here is what I have always done.
When I am looking to recruit someone, the first thing I do is…CLICK HERE TO READ REST OF POST
- Gershbein: Stand Behind your Brand Promise on LinkedIn
I regularly speak about personal brand as our greatest asset in business. In today’s wired world, clarifying, managing, and protecting it should be Priority One. There’s a fine line between credibility and damage control. As we advance on foot in the real world, we are also leaving a digital footprint that allows others to form their own opinions about our products and services—and our ability to provide them. These sentiments find their way into online conversations and, whether you’re actively involved or not, they’re taking place.
Internet Wars are raging, and the competition for mindshare is cutthroat. It all comes down to—somehow, anyhow—getting noticed, asserting your value, and making memories about you, your company, and your product or service. The search engines are congested. Content is in abundance. It can be a challenge—and an expensive one at that—to operate above the fray. More and more professionals are taking the leap of faith and exploring the upside of a robust LinkedIn presence, a Facebook company page, a Twitter following, a blog, video marketing, and a vehicle that integrates the content.
LinkedIn achievers are superb micro-managers of their brand. Knowing that the slightest nuance can influence the ways in which they are perceived, they carefully orchestrate every E-mail, blog post, tweet, phone call, and face-to-face meeting. As content marketers, they go to extremes to ensure that they are not compromising their value proposition and are living up to their brand promise every day. Click Here to Read More…
- Vote on the Biggest Parenting Problem
When speaking to a large group in Southern California, just for fun, we began by saying “Nominations are now in order for the toughest challenge faced today by kids (and by their parents).”
There were seven strong nominations from the audience:
- Peer Pressure
- Excessive Technology and Gadgets
- Bullying
- Entitlement
- Drugs and Substance Abuse
- Sexual Experimentation
- Sibling Rivalry
Then we gave everyone a chance to vote—just one vote each—for the single greatest challenge that parents (and kids) face in today’s world. Today is your chance to vote, too—by taking the reader poll below.
It’s interesting to look at the list and think about which challenges have always existed and which are new (or greater) to this generation of kids.
Certainly peer pressure is a problem that kids have faced forever. But is the kind of pressure and its intensity greater today than ever?
No. 2 is clearly new isn’t it? Perhaps the problem
