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Can you remember a specific event in your life where, unexpectedly, someone said something positive to you that will forever be etched into your mind? I want to share such an event that happened to me on a recent business trip.
As I pulled up to a streetlight, I glanced at the clock and realized I was going to be about 20 minutes early to my meeting. As I turned to my left, I could see the building where my meeting was to take place. It was such a perfect weather day and the building stood out against the rich, blue sky. I decided to text my wife a picture of where I was meeting.
Below is her response:
Nine words of encouragement that were simple, succinct and spoken from the heart of my champion. Words forever etched into my mind.
And so, I wonder. If I could meet your employees, team members, family or friends, would any of them tell me they feel like you’re their champion? Or, are you like some of the people I meet as a consultant who tell me they cannot wait for you to go away and not come back because you seem to live for speaking of things that tear people down?
Experience has shown me that reaching your goals is best achieved by consistently seeking opportunities to offer encouraging words and honest feedback to your team. Encouragement lasts a lifetime, but fear lasts only as long as we give it permission. Words of encouragement, spoken in truth, ultimately make you a champion and convey the powerful message: “you got this”. As I work with businesses in distress, I find that much of what I do is centered on promoting the “you got this” mentality. If you think about it, to be an effective turnaround professional you have to move hearts and minds from “it’s over” to “you got this”. Anything short of achieving that and, well, it probably is over.
So, I encourage you! The next person you talk to, be a champion and speak words of encouragement into their work and life. The very words you speak may last a lifetime.
Please allow me to introduce to you Lydia. Yesterday, I sat in a hotel lobby working before I left for my meeting. I was sitting in a quiet corner of the lobby on a couch with my laptop in front of me. There were high back chairs across the coffee table and another to the right. As I sat there in my own little world, comfortably typing away on my keyboard and enjoying my Earl Grey hot tea, I saw someone in the corner of my eye walk up behind the chair to my right and I could smell the heavy odor of burnt cigarettes in an ash tray. As I turned my head to identify the smell, Lydia took a seat on the edge of the chair, legs together, hands holding her Pall Mall Cigarettes and she said in a motherly voice any son would recognize, “sir……..do you know how much water and a sandwich would cost in this place?”.
Exactly eight days earlier, I was at another Hotel in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado standing in front of an audience giving a speech about this exact moment in time. The objective of that speech was to persuade every person to help others in distress because of three benefits. While there are many, I chose to discuss three. They were:
Today, I was given a gift from Lydia. It came in the form of the three benefits above. Before she left to eat breakfast in the Hotel, we talked and I listened to her for about 15 minutes. We discussed her medications, the homeless shelter she sleeps in at night, where to go and get the best food off the dollar menu. By the way, Lydia loves donuts. She told me about her son and daughter, the challenges that the fights against everyday and she was especially proud of the necklace she is wearing which has a pendant heart with an arrow through it. She enthusiastically told me that she bought it out of the candy machine and it only cost 25 cents! As our conversation concluded, Lydia gave me permission to pray for her health, safety, family and any other provision that is needed as we sat in the lobby of the hotel. We shook hands, shared a smile and Lydia disappeared around the corner into the breakfast area. I went back to work.
As I stared at my computer screen, I reflected on the conversation and hoped that Lydia experienced some type of relational repair from the distress she is living in. As we spoke to each other her initial anxiety evaporated and she began to smile and share her story. Equally important, we both left with the gift of blessing each other’s life. Unfortunately, Lydia was dealing with extreme distress. We are all one bad decision, accident or surprise away from extreme distress although we move through our weeks of life as if it will never happen to us. I hope you will join me in helping people you find in distress and experience the gifts of assisting others. There is always more than one day in our life when we will desire to be the recipient of assistance in our distress. Is there someone you can help today?
J
Just returned from Scorre Conference (www.scorreconference.tv) in Vail, CO. Strongly encourage you to check it out and attend. Conference is led by Ken Davis (www.KenDavis.com) and Michael Hyatt (www.MichaelHyatt.com). That’s Michael above.
Here are some important teachable moments from the conference.
1. Your communication should be about a single dominant idea or objective. If you don’t do this, the audience will assign one.
2. You should be able to sum up your dominant idea or objective in a single sentence.
3. Always speak from the truth to positively change peoples lives. It’s not about you.
4. Professionals play at a different level than amateurs. Stop acting like an amateur and you will become a Professional.
5. Always visualize your outcome. You cannot get there until you see it.
6. Invest in yourself to get the best return on investment.
View from the the Hotel.
Whatever personal mountain you are climbing, don’t stop! With each step your elevation is changing. Struggle well with the rest of us reaching for the summit.
All the best, Scott
How many times in your life have you thought, “If I could just get (fill in the blank) I would have all the happiness and fulfillment I need in life”? And how many times has your fill in the blank answer been something like money, a new car, a job promotion or some other material possession? If we’re honest with ourselves, we’ve all been there and done that. There was a time in my life where I bought into the lie that I could find true happiness and fulfillment in travel, possessions, a high-flying social life and pursuit of things that, like castles in the sand, were in a constant state of decay. I refer to this as The Black Hole Syndrome.
Think about it.
The endless pursuit of things in a constant state of decay simply means you will always be left wanting more as those things eventually sink into the Black Hole. If you can’t find happiness and fulfillment exactly where you are, then gaining anything, at any place and at any time, will never satisfy you. I truly believe everyone can experience joy and happiness in their lives, which will ultimately lead to a sense of fulfillment and contentment. I won’t argue that in today’s world of conflicting messages, finding that peace is not always an easy task. But, I’ve got a couple of suggestions that might help make it a little easier. They certainly have helped me.
My first suggestion is to stop making decisions based primarily on what you think others will think. Too many folks tie their identity, confidence and satisfaction to how they believe they will be perceived and virtually no action is taken without first considering the benefits or losses of what others may think. These folks, without fail, will eventually fall victim to the Black Hole Syndrome.
Then, instead of being so concerned about what people think of you, I suggest aligning yourself with those people who define themselves by the quality of their relationships with others. You know these people just as well as you know those with Black Hole Syndrome. When I have run across these folks either personally or professionally, I’ve noticed some common traits. They are almost always unassuming and direct, yet tactful. They are content and steady, but not rushed. They are articulate, reasonably focused, patient and peaceful in demeanor. They are unlikely to gossip and genuinely desire to know about you on a personal level. They rarely engage in discussions on the material aspects of life. These are the kind of people I prefer to be around, especially in business.
If you find yourself suffering from the Black Hole Syndrome, take comfort in the fact that there is a “return policy” where you can turn away from the lie and focus instead, on the relationships in your life. It’s only through quality relationships that true happiness and fulfillment can be achieved.
The best people and companies I encounter are those who develop authentic relationships. And isn’t every genuine success built first on a relationship?
I encourage you to start building quality relationships today with your family, friends, neighbors and business associates. The success, happiness and fulfillment you seek at work and at home are right in front of you every day. Start right now!
“Before you decide to follow someone, you may want to determine what they believe in and where they are going before they lead you into harm’s way.” Scott Lackey
Monday morning “The Anatomy of Business Failure “Part 2”
Throughout our life we all face moments when that voice in our head tells the lie “you cannot do”…fill in the blank. For some, it is a quite whisper, others a condescending yell, maybe a deep seeded feeling or just a calm voice that carefully states the lie ever so convincingly. Shortly thereafter, the subtle onset of fear begins to contaminate our thinking and not long thereafter, we cast out our ideas to a corner of our mind where we dare not tread. For me, the voice of defeat that I hear is “you’re just not qualified!” If you repeat that to yourself with some attitude with the voice of a smart aleck with a sprinkling of a snobbish tone you would hear what I hear on occasion. It is an absolute that the voice of defeat has crushed more dreams, business ideas, apologies, relationships, marriages, inventions, books, research papers, advanced degrees and millions of other opportunities because we listened to that LIE of defeat.
When you think about that new business idea, expansion plan, promotion, invention, service project, the book you thought about writing, the business to start, the next great idea for your boss, how many times has that lie entered your mind that “you do not know how to do that so stop before you fail and embarrass yourself” or as I have heard for myself “you’re just not qualified”
So I guess that begs the question “At what point do you become qualified”? As you can guess, I have been wrestling with this and I feel the need to explain what I mean by qualified. I do not want this topic to be confused with “I just received my certificate and now I am qualified”. Quite the opposite, the qualified description I am referring to are those men and women we come into contact with throughout our life where we know standing in their presence they possess great skill and wisdom and you want what they have. I have been fortunate in my life to cross paths with several men and women of great qualification and wisdom. In one such case, my advisor and I traveled to China, India and in the U.S. on various trips where I learned a lifetimes worth of skills from him. To this day he is listed in my cell phone as Yoda. No name necessary, just Yoda (as in the Star Wars character) A man of such great wisdom he changed my life path. I do not recall him ever telling me what to do, but he was full of questions, encouragement and ideas.
As I have thought about my life experiences and experiences with men and women of wisdom, I have concluded that the real truth is NONE of us are qualified until we do “it”, and do “it” so many times “it” becomes second nature and even then we may never be regarded as qualified or imparted with wisdom.
With that said, I hope you will realize that no two situations are the same although many are similar and you will stop deflating yourself and your ideas based on other peoples success in your area of interest. In fact, my hope is that you “struggle well” with the rest of us by daily carving out successful inches, yards and miles and deploying infrastructure to preserve your progress. When, (not if) the dry spells come, and the voice of defeat rises up like a bright sun in the sky, keep calm and carry on……..struggle well. When you here that negative voice tell you the lie, “you are not qualified and you will never be wise,” you should immediately and appropriately apply the following business prescription. “You can shut up, you’re not in charge, get back in your corner and be quite because I am not interested in listening to you”. You are the voice of authority YOU listen to.
The Anatomy of a business failure and “What should I do?” When you begin to dissect businesses that are in a state of decline, I find that most management teams cannot point to the defining moment(s) that led them to their current crisis.
Looking at the illustration above it indicates that at a moment in time something went wrong and BAM…….the business is in decline. The CEO reports to the Board of Directors that he/she believes the downward trend is a temporary cycle. The CEO rallies the management team and tells them there the best the company has ever had and they need to stay on mission, be more efficient, closely monitor expenses, focus on sales and soon enough we will bend that arrow back to “sustain” and eventually “growth”. Unfortunately, for many companies the curve away from steady decline never comes and the entrance into a state of decline is almost never the result of a defining moment. Rather it is a slow fade, when what was black and white has turned to shades of grey.
Following are the four most common reasons companies fade into the danger zone of total business decline.
With these bullet points let’s re-read the CEO’s mantra “The CEO rallies the management team and tells them there the best the company has ever had4 and they need to stay focused on doing the right thing2, be more efficient3, closely monitor expenses2, focus on sales3 and soon enough2 we will bend that arrow back to “sustain” and eventually “growth3”. You can see every element of the most common reasons companies fade into business decline.
During the course of meeting with clients and prospective clients, some will tell me “I am so tired of getting the same result over and over, just tell me what to do and I will do it”. In other cases, it is out of pure fear of bankruptcy they get focused on the solutions. In fewer instances it does not matter what you do for the client they are dead set that the financial cliff does not exist and they will never go over something that does not exist. I will always tell them “you don’t know where you’re going…….. but you are going to get there really fast!”
What am I supposed to do?
Know this about your business. It does not matter how small or big the company, you can move from any phase listed above straight into “decline”. Take the time to evaluate your business in the framework of the four most common reasons company’s fail. Establish written plans and measure your company’s performance. If you’re not getting the results – modify plans, execute your revisions and monitor the results and repeat as necessary. Equally important, a positive attitude is great, I have one, but don’t tell yourself that you’re better than you really are. Unbridled pride can lead to a humbling and dangerous slide down the mountain of decline.
What can you do this weekend that keep your company from the slow fade into decline?
Copyright 2013 Meridian Performance Group, LLC
Look for the Post tomorrow – It will give you something to think about over the weekend.
Is your business headed for the cliff? Tomorrow we will talk about the “why” and answer the question “What am I supposed to do?”
How many consultants actually share with you how bad they screwed up versus always pretending to have the right answers at the right time all of the time? If your answer is “never”………..then read on and I will gladly share a war story. In addition, I hope that this cautionary tale will put over $100,000 in your bank account versus keeping it out.
Let’s start at the beginning. I met with a potential client and we both quickly recognize that we can accomplish some meaningful financial objectives together. The two face to face meetings establish we like each other, can work together, I am qualified and we have similar business beliefs. The potential client wants me to give them a proposal to specifically accomplish three specific goals over four to six months. After a week’s worth of work, a draft proposal is prepared. Thereafter, two telephone calls discussing details and an email was sent for additional clarification. Notably, in the last telephone conversation, the potential client says that they would like to get moving on Step 1 right away. After some fine tuning of the proposal, the final email was sent with enthusiasm.
There are two words you never want to hear someone yell in the Army “booby trap”! (For the non-military, a booby trap is basically a device like a landmine, intended to harm when unknowingly triggered by the presence or actions of a person) In other words, you think you’re on safe ground and as you apply weight to your next step, you hear a “click” sound and your instincts kick in and say, “ohhhh that did not sound good.” My click came a week after the proposal was sent on a follow up telephone call when the voice on the other end of the call says “we have been really busy, people are traveling and we have not had a chance to really dig into the proposal.”
To fast forward and get to the point, the client had no idea what their requested grand plan was going to cost, so they ran with the consultant all the way to the finish line. The consultant generally knew how much it was going to cost and thought that the quality conversations and the company size surely meant that the potential client generally knew how much this would reasonably cost. Wrong……..”Booby Trap!”
I stepped on a business land mine. The potential client had NO IDEA. They were only mentally prepared to spend around $30,000 and went into cardiac arrest at $137,500. Yes, yes yes……I hear what some of you are saying right now, because I have said it to myself. As a business person, we must always remember assumptions and generalized conversation will likely lead to troublesome waters with our fellow employees and potential clients. In the aforementioned example, the client would have spent $30,000 without a second thought and that would have reasonably likely led to the completion of the entire project worth around $137,500. The math is simple, anything between $30,000 and $137,500 is always better than $0.
I know some of my readers are thinking there has to be more to it than that, and unfortunately the brevity of my newsletters has left out additional details that would confirm, it is just that simple. Sticker shock, a generalization and poor cost qualification can destroy any proposal and potential for future business.
After reading this, I hope that your sales team members are not running aimlessly through the minefield of outside sales yelling “hey boss, I’m about to land the big one” only to find out it’s a booby trap. A few of those and your company will be with the sales team trapped in a financial minefield. If you feel that way or want an evaluation of your sales team, Meridian Performance Group can quickly help. We know what NOT to do. Equally important, as the President of Meridian Performance Group, I hope you take the transparent and candid message above to heart. Our imperfection and willingness to share is strength to you. Others who profess perfection are actually the most dangerous. Call on a company you can rely to be your trusted advisor in all matters. Meridian Performance Group, LLC – www.Meridian-Consultants.com (Copyright 2013)
Meridian Performance Group 