Mentalsidewalk

Just the other day, I was watching one of my friends set up her new computer. She had studied computer science and had done exceptionally well in school. What I found surprising was she knew her way around technology and yet she was still struggling with the file transfers. Suddenly, in exasperation, she exclaimed, “This is not one of my strengths!” followed by some more colourful language.

She had simply worked hard and invested a lot of time and effort into overcoming one of her weaknesses while neglecting her people skills that came so naturally to her.  I had to wonder how much more effective she would have been if she had put her investment into maximizing something that came easily to her.

Let’s take a look at a prime example of excellence — my favorite golfer, Tiger Woods. Playing golf was one of his natural talents.  The main reason why Tiger Woods is one of the world’s best golfers is because he put countless hours into developing that talent and honing his skills in golf; not in making his own wood furniture or in drafting international policies. Yes, working in those areas would have made him what we consider to be a “well-rounded individual”.

Is it not better to excel at what you enjoy and are good at and make a strong impact on the world? Become a specialist in your own work and personal life. That is not to say that you ignore your areas of needed improvement. Those can be managed while you put your energy into your own excellence.

There are some steps you can take to structure your life and accomplishments from a strong vantage point. You can identify your strengths, recognize your area of improvement and then develop the strengths while managing the areas of improvement.

Identifying your own strengths

•    Is the activity you’re doing increasing your energy?
•    Are you excited and eager to get to it?
•    Do you often lose track of time while you are doing it?
•    Does it feel effortless to you?
•    Is this something you loved to do as a child?

Working with your strengths should feel natural and easy. It is a gift and that’s why it feels so effortless for you. That same task is likely to be a challenge for someone else, so accept the gift and multiply it.

Recognizing your areas of improvement

•    Do you dread doing this activity?
•    Do you procrastinate?
•    Do you feel drained and mentally exhausted afterwards?
•    Do you get the urge to kick the neighbour’s cat every time you have to go to work?

Then chances are those activities you are doing are not in your areas of strength. It doesn’t matter if you’re good at doing them. Skills can be learned and that’s likely what you have done. You have learned skills in order to overcome your weaknesses.

Develop strengths and manage weaknesses in 5 steps

1.    First, understand and accept that you cannot do everything, and certainly not do everything well. Einstein was great at physics; not so great at hair styling.
2.    Ask yourself: Is this task important?  A simple way to find the answer is to stop doing it and see if anyone cares.
3.    Find someone who gets energized by the activities you dread and delegate to him/her. This way you can free up more time to focus on becoming exceptional. At the same time, you are encouraging someone else to work on what they love.
4.    Partner with someone complementary so you can each work in your areas of strength and become exponentially more effective.
5.    Choose 5 activities that you already do well, and focus on doing them better. Once you can do those activities better and you derive a sense of satisfaction from them, go for being exceptional in those same activities!

So, whether you are a “people person” or a techno-geek, whether you prefer to work with words or with numbers, whether you naturally crave the spotlight or the darkroom, you have the ability, or maybe even the responsibility, to own your talents and craft them into excellence — at home, at work or at play.

Stand up and accept your trophy for being the best you can be. … And hope Tiger Woods doesn’t take up basketweaving.

Fred Sarkari 

How easy do we have to make it for some sales people to do their job? We hand them the sale on a silver platter and somehow we (the clients) still have to spoon-feed it to them. Sometimes the sales staff can be the biggest detriment to an organization.

It just so happened the other day that I was looking for a photographer—not that I had accidentally lost one behind the sofa, mind you—but more that I needed a new photographer for a project.

I did my homework, figured out exactly what services I needed, and even got referred by people who knew the photographers. Then I called them. I was ready to buy and I made that obvious, at least it would have been obvious to someone with the right sales training or intuition.

What they all did next was quite astounding—absolutely nothing!

Not one of them followed up on such an easy sales lead. Two of the three said they would get back to me the next day and I have yet to ever hear from them. One of them never responded at all. Oh! Did I mention that two of them were referred to me and I was sure to tell them that? I’m not sure how I could have made it any easier for them to have my business.

Survey: Here are some fascinating numbers according to the National Sales Executive Association:
2% of sales are made on the 1st contact
3% of sales are made on the 2nd contact
5% of sales are made on the 3rd contact
10% of sales are made on the 4th contact
80% of sales are made on the 5th-12th contact

Did you catch that? 80% of sales are made somewhere between the fifth and 12th contact with the client!

The follow-up is a critical step in making a sale. Quite often we think we’ve done our follow-up when we haven’t. And of the times we do it, most of the time we don’t do it well at all. It boggles my mind to think of how much business we lose from a lack of effective follow-up.

Making the follow-up an important part of your process is one of the easiest ways to boost your company’s sales and make the most of your team’s efforts. Now, have you ever wondered why we call it “follow up” and not “follow down”? Makes you think…

So, how do we make the sale over all the other contenders? Whether we initially approach the client or the client comes to us with checkbook in hand, it’s important to finish strong by following up. It may not happen the same day,but that sale will happen if we are willing to persevere into that 80% zone. Let the others quit after only 10%.

3 Things to keep in mind:

1. What will you do to improve your sales process?

2. Create a system to make sure that your contacts and leads don’t fall through the cracks?

3. Invest the time to keep in touch with clients and potential clients after you’ve spoken to them the first time?

Now, where did I put that photographer???

Fred Sarkari

Last night I went to the gym for a workout and ran into Jesse Miles, a world champion Muay Thai kickboxer. He asked me if I’d like to throw some punches with him and of course, I said, “YES!” Would I miss an opportunity to learn from the best?

I jumped in that ring expecting to pick up some new skills and burn some energy but the lesson I got was quite a different matter.

Jesse asked me:

What was my reason for taking that step forward? I don’t know.
Why did I move my left arm back? I don’t know.
Where was that punch intended to land? I don’t know.

What Jessie wanted me to understand is that every movement must have a purpose. Otherwise it is merely wasted time and energy. Have a clear intention of what you want to achieve with every move you make.

DO EVERYTHING WITH INTENT

And that’s a lesson we can take out of the boxing ring and into business.

It is amazing how we have refined this skill of keeping ourselves busy. Every move you make must be made with a specific intent. Even seemingly random acts must be designed with a clear purpose. That is, the purpose must be something other than to be busy for the sake of being busy.

In business, just like in the boxing ring you will get worn out, burned out and knocked out—and you won’t need a kickboxing champion to do it for you, as you will do it all yourself.

Before your business or organization does anything, always ask yourself:

Why are we doing this?
What are the implications of doing it vs. not doing it?
Are the intended results worth the time and energy?

Then choose your actions accordingly. Even shadow boxing has to be done with the clearest of intentions.

3 consistent rules in business and boxing:

1. Do everything with a specific intent.
2. If you do not know why you are doing it, stop and invest the time into understanding the purpose of your actions.
3. Most importantly, in business just like in the boxing ring, do not lose sight of the basics.

Fred Sarkari

Leadership is about doing the right thing even when it’s…

Many of us would not readily admit to doing the wrong thing. We could, however, see our way clear to admit we did nothing. What is the difference between doing nothing and doing nothing wrong? Inaction is not the same as choosing to do what we know is right.

I was reminded of this the other day as I was watching the movie “Radio”. While a whole town turned a blind eye to the well-being of a mentally challenged young man, the high school football coach decided to do something, get him involved on the coaching team. When the school principal asked the coach, “Why do you do it?” Coach Jones replied, “It just seemed like the right thing to do.”

Sometimes we must find the courage to do what we know in our hearts to be right, even if we must stand alone in our convictions. These could be heroic acts like spearheading a public campaign against injustice, or changing company policy to protect the environment.

And sometimes doing the right thing requires small acts of kindness like giving your lunch to a homeless person. Professionally, it could be as simple as giving credit to the office clerk who made the brilliant suggestion — even if no one else would know. Yes, you could close your eyes and fill your own belly. You could allow your colleague to go unrecognized by doing and saying nothing. That would be the easy route.

Making the conscientious choice isn’t always convenient, easy, or popular but it is the right one if it makes the world a slightly better place.

Become aware, look for opportunities to do the right thing. Ask yourself in the ed of every day, did I take the opportunity to do the right thing today?

Fred Sarkari

To create results in our lives, we must have the guts to jump off the…

Whenever I visit my parents, we usually end the evening with a movie. On one of these occasions, we picked Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life.

In one particularly nail-biting scene, Lara Croft, finding herself cornered on top of a building, jumps off the edge wearing a webbed suit. My dad, who has the keen ability to look at situations from the simplest view points, took the opportunity to comment, quite astutely, “You could have all the fancy gadgets and toys in the world, but in the end you still need the guts to jump.”

That was a profound observation, and also the simple answer to some of the questions we ask ourselves often:
What does it take to be a great leader?
What do I need to learn in order to grow my business?
How do I motivate myself to start doing what I know I need to do?
and many more…

Too many times when we ask those questions, we look for very complicated answers. Sometimes, once we’ve planned ourselves into a corner, all we need to do is jump.

How often in our businesses do we acquire every gadget imaginable; conjure up every strategy towards success; and spend countless hours planning out the most elaborate execution plans? In the end, all of those preparations have no value without the guts to take the plunge off the building. Sometimes we spend too much time and energy planning and not enough executing.

Next time you feel you are backed into a corner, take a deep breath and jump right off the roof-top.

Simply put, once you see the path you want to take, jump! Jump and have faith that your parachute, wings or webbed suit will open.

Fred Sarkari

Two men sat in a coffee shop. One of them, Richard, was looking considerably happier than when he entered. He dug around in his briefcase while the other man sipped at his coffee.

Soon Richard produced a Blackberry and prodded it with enthusiasm. “Let’s make another appointment,” he said. “Then we can figure out how I solve my business problem and get my career in order.” The other man had been telling Richard about the benefits of coaching, and Richard saw how it could turn his life around.

“Slow down a bit there,” said Coach. “I’m glad you’re excited. But now that you know the benefits of coaching, it would be helpful to know the process too. There’s a process good coaches must take their clients through — one involving analysis of your circumstances, goals, and values as well as a strategy for achieving them. You discover the behaviors that influence your choices and the philosophy that will get you where you want to be.”

Richard frowned. “How is any of that relevant right now? I realize coaching can be applied to a lot more than business, but I want to start changing my life by fixing my business problem first…don’t I?”

“Coaches can’t help you get the life you truly want by just dispensing advice and handing you a new goal. It’d be like dropping you in a huge city you’ve never been to before, giving you directions to a particular Starbucks, but not telling you where you’re starting from.” Coach tapped his finger in the middle of a napkin. “I’d be handing you a map with the ‘You Are Here’ missing from it.”

He paused to take a sip of his coffee before continuing. “We would walk through 5 key elements in the coaching journey, experiencing them together.

The first thing I’d do for you as a coach is show you where you’re at—First element of the journey. Awareness always precedes effective change. When you’re struggling to get that clear, unbiased view of the challenges you face in life, your coach helps you clarify the issues and gain the perspective you need. It is imperative that we are aware of the key issues at hand and not just the symptoms affecting your over all life. You learn much more than what’s wrong with the immediate situation. You look at your life as a whole and figure out what’s holding you back from maximizing your potential.”

Richard nodded. “Okay, that makes sense. What’s the next step?”

“Second element of the journey is to know where we want to end up not only in the aspect of what we want to achieve but more importantly discovering who we are and who we want to become as a person. We create direction in our lives when we define our values, goals, mission, vision, and purpose.

Coach took another sip and continued. “Your values, goals, mission, and vision come from knowing what you want out of life. This is the most important part of the second element: it’s the starting point of establishing purpose for your life.

Richard frowned again. “That sounds pretty big—‘purpose for your life.’ My purpose is to achieve my goals.”

The Coach replied, “try seeing it through the eyes of the third element of the journey. Why do we do what we do?

Setting your destination is one of the easy steps. Knowing why you are committed to reaching that destination is more challenging, you must remain true to your purpose, true to your values. An efficient leader lives everyday by being true to themselves and the things that they believe in.

Steven Spielberg, a leader in the motion picture industry, was once asked how he knows what kind of movies his audience wants to see. He said: “I don’t. I just know what kind of movies I’d like to see, and those are the ones I make.” This is an example of a leader listening to his heart.” The best reason for doing something may simply be because it’s something you love to do.
What could be more inspiring or provide justification for a course of action than that?

Martin Luther King Jr. changed a nation because people knew his reason for his actions.

Through this process I will help you link your goals to purpose so they can last for the long term for a goal is only a marker or milestone along the way.”
Coach took a business card and began writing on the back. “Here’s something I remind my clients of when I follow up on their action plans. If you take anything from our meeting today, it should be this.” He pushed the card across the table. On it was written:

Goals are external – purpose is within us.
Goals are milestones – purpose is everlasting.
Goals leave you thirsty – purpose is happiness.

Richard took the card and read it. “Once you know your purpose,” Coach continued, “you easily complete the third element of the journey, which is having clarity in why we want what we want.”

A coach’s job is to steer their clients toward this desired lifestyle, help set goals for getting there, and then empower them to complete the action plan they’ve created.”
“Yeah, you said something about action plans before,” said Richard. “I take it that’s when I work out how to reach my goals?”
“Exactly,” replied Coach. “That’s the forth element of our journey together: becoming responsible for your desires through a specific action plan. Your coach helps you create a strategy for achieving those specific goals you’ve developed. But more importantly, your coach helps you implement your strategy, addressing the obstacles and helping you through the fear and discomfort of going through the transition phase of change. We will support you through direction, encourage you to visualize your passion and assist you in obtaining your purpose.
Richard, who had been squirming at the mention of action plans, raised his eyebrows. “That doesn’t sound too bad,” he said.

Coach nodded and continued. “And that support carries over to the 5th and last element of the journey: Following up and refinement. Like I said, we’re with you in making this exciting transition into a more satisfying life. It makes sense—if we’re both going to the trouble of creating an action plan, we want to make sure it actually happens. I would be checking on your progress and guiding you throughout the process. The critical part of the fifth element is for us to refine the journey on an ongoing basis; in essence to see what is working best for you and how to optimize the journey to meet your desired results.”
Richard sat back and gave a low whistle. “Again, wow. I had no idea coaching was so in-depth.”

“It is. And many highly successful people hire a coach with the goal of gaining an extra edge to attain success in a competitive world.” Coach folded his hands on the table. “Do you think this is something you’d be interested in?”

“Let’s make that next appointment,” said Richard.

5 Critical Elements of Coaching:

1. Become aware of your present life situation
2. Discover your desired outcome
3. What is the main purpose of this journey
4. Create a specific action plan and implement
5. Refine the journey on an ongoing basis

Fred Sarkari

Using Emotions to Make Decisions: Care for a Starbucks Latte or an iphone?

I was walking by a Starbucks today and the next thing I knew I was spending close to $5 on a latte. That may seem like a daily routine for most but quite honestly I am not even a coffee drinker.

So why is it that at times I will not only drink something that I do not truly enjoy the taste of but pay for it as well. The answer to that is very simple. Logically it does not make sense but that is irrelevant in the decisions that we make on a daily basis as every decision we make are linked to emotions.

Starbucks is not in the coffee business, they are in the ‘emotional experience’ business.

That leads me to my undying urge of believing I truly need an iphone in my life.

One thing Apple has always done well is to appeal to their clients emotions when it comes to promoting their products. I keep asking myself why is it that I want this new technology that is flooding the market place all over the world; the iphone.

Is it the black berry that I currently have not effective enough for my business? Maybe the iphone has functions that could get me more sales, help me become more organized and make me even more efficient in my everyday life?

The truth of the matter is, yes the iphone can make me more effective and efficient. That being said, the real question I must ask myself is; the technology that I currently have, am I using it to its potential? Could my blackberry make me more efficient in my everyday life as well? The answer again is definitely yes.

Technology could be our best friend or our worst enemy. Technology implemented effectively can be seen as magic to our everyday business activities. At the same time, we can easily get caught up with new and upcoming technology that can be decremental to our business.

If we fall under the illusion of the newest is the best mentality we could end up purchasing technology that we really would not need in our business and in turn it being detrimental to us.

There are always new technologies arising in the marketplace;, better, faster more efficient way of doing business. We end up jumping from one to the next. In turn wasting a lot of time, money and potential that we already had access to in our hands.

Implementing new technology without accessing exactly how it will benefit us is as bad as continually hiring the wrong person and paying the cost and the loss of potential growth due to turnover.

Next time you get the urge to buy and up garade your technology, ask yourself a few critical questions:

1. Are you upgrading for business or is it just in order to have the next best thing?

2. How can you use your current technology more effectively?

3. What specifically does the new technology have that the current does not?

4. How specifically will it benefit you?

5. What are the implications of having and not having the new technology?

On that note, the iphone is a great new toy.

The attached article is a great read if you are considering the iphone for your company.

Fred Sarkari

Doc. my wife and I seem to be banging heads lately. We cannot seem to see anything eye to eye.

The doctor replied; I am a medical doctor so I cannot advice you on that. But I know what I do when I need to clear my head.

I go for a run everyday. Why don’t you go for a 10 km run for the next 5 days and then call me in the end of the week and tell me how you feel.

A week later the man called the doctor back and said; “Doc. I took your advice to heart, I ran 10 km a day for the last 5 days and now I am 50 km away from my wife and I feel great.”

Being aware means being true to our self. Change will occur no matter what we do but in order to create effective change in our life we need to become aware of our present situation. In doing so we need to be true to our hearts, as hard as the truth might be at times.

In any Martial arts it only takes a minute to teach what you need to do. But you have to practice it 10,000 times for your mind to be able to use it in the real world.

Efficiency in martial arts is only 10 moves practiced over and over again.
Most businesses and salespeople will do 4000 things at the same time without taking anthing to the point of efficiency.

It is amazing to watch Thai Kick boxers train in Thailand. Here are people that have had over 200 professional fights and still everyday they spend time practicing the most basic punches and kicks that a person would learn the first week of starting the sport.

We need to become aware of the basics and the foundation of what makes our business successful. Without this awareness you will always have turn over, technology issues, budget issues, relationship issues, always a reason why something is not going your way. Mean while you will not be able to put a finger on it but spend a portion of every day complaining about it.

Happy Selling

Fred Sarkari