Have you ever thought about the power of the watermelon seed?
This tiny little seed has the power of creating a fruit that is 200,000 times its weight. It draws whatever nutrients it needs from the dirt and sun and colors a unique spherical, almost psychedelic rind by smearing various tones of green, and then creates a white rind inside and within that a crunchy, juicy succulent red center, thickly inlaid with black seeds, each one of which in turn is capable of yet another fruit that’s 200,000 times its weight. If an itsey, bitsey teeney, weeney seed can draw that much power from a handful of dirt, imagine what we can do.
Sometimes we get in the rut of thinking that we need more of something to grow, to be better, to be happier or more successful. We know, from working with people from all over the world, that we have all we need to be 200,000 times more that we are today. We have the power of the watermelon seed to create a magnificently unique and outstanding individual.
Here’s a way to get started. Get a handful of dirt and put it at your desk and know you have everything you need to be truly great!
Several weeks ago we spoke to a group of realtors about using Social Media to build their business. We shot a video using a Flip Video Camera, uploaded it to YouTube and to a Landing Page on our website and sent an email to prospects inviting them (the realtors) to view the video and attend our meeting. We expected them to show up with great excitement.
They showed up.
During our talk the look on their faces was more “deer in the headlights” than “excitement.” In a world that is demanding that we change at an ever increasing pace or simply die a very slow and painful death, these folks were choosing death. Most of them appeared to want change as long as everything remained the same.
Following the meeting one of the realtors told us about an agent who was criticized by his broker for “fiddle fooling around with his computer on all this social media stuff.” “Fiddle fooling around?” C’mon. So, what did the guy do? He left the company and is now killing his business through social media connections. “Fiddle fooling around!” Now, there is an enlightened broker who needs to update his internal conversation.
Speaking of updating the conversation, who among us doesn’t need a reboot now and then. So, here is our suggestion. Conduct your very own WIDA Test (pronounced “wee-dah”) Test. It stands for “What I DO Audit.” It’s simple.
1. Sit down and make a list of all the things you do during the course of a day.
2. Pick three of the activities that need updating
3. Narrow your WIDA list to one
4. Give yourself 30 days to update the activity.
a. This may include getting rid of the activity completely. Or, like the “enlightened broker” it may mean selecting one of the social media and getting started with it and posting everyday for 30 days.
b. It could also mean changing the way you currently do that activity. Sometimes we get so emotionally invested in what we do and the way we do those things that change becomes an excruciating experience. So, make a little change for 30 days.
Take it from someone who has been highly resistant to change. You can change, you can change with more frequency, and you can change with less angst. It just takes practice. In the end, it’s better than dying.
Leaders normally learn leadership development, communication, and sales rules, principles, and techniques during training or while reading a few leadership books.
There are as many rules as people to declare them, and under this scenario, I wonder… which of all the rules are the best? Well, probably none, so you do yourself a great favor and ignore them.
Yes, the truth is that everything is a lot simpler than you think.
I am a leadership speaker and coach, and have discovered through personal experience, how simple selling is when you forget about the rules.
The reality is that every leader is in sales. We leaders are trying to sell something to someone every single day, all day long. To our kids, we sell the idea of doing well at school; to our colleagues, we sell projects that are meaningful to us.
Through a lot of the observation and coaching experience, I have discovered that the traditional sales process only gets people to wish they could yell, “Pleeeeaseeee! Stop selling to me and let me buy!!!!”
Their faces say it all, because no one likes to be sold, no one. So, let’s stop selling!
Yep, you read right, we have to stop selling, because when it comes to leadership, communication and selling, we have been completely deceived.
Our general notion is that we have to convince and persuade. We have been deceived.
We have been told that great sales people follow certain rules, that there are crucial principles and techniques we must learn, and we have even been given scripts to follow.
According to the rules, we have to take control early on in every sales conversation; we must qualify every prospect, isolate objections, close, isolate, and close again. We have been deceived.
The truth is that to be a great leader in sales you must be a great communicator, and to be one, you must stop selling. Why? Well, simply because PEOPLE DON’T WANT TO BE SOLD.
Analyze the difference between these two activities:
- When people buy, THEY are in control. Being in control feels great; THEY have the power.
- When we sell, people are pushed to agree to being sold something. People don’t like being pushed; it is uncomfortable and they feel vulnerable.
In view of this, the best way to sell something is not selling it; it is slowing down so that you can listen to what people have to say about what THEY want, and after listening, repeat what they said back to them so that they know you heard them.
If you consider that almost no one listens to others nowadays, when someone does, people feel special, and the barriers for great communication come down.
We have been deceived about leadership, communication and sales. The secret is to simply begin with someone other than ourselves in mind… Instead of selling, help people buy.
A GIFT FOR YOU-
Beverly and I are about ready to re-launch our eBook More Sales, Less Selling with updated information on using social media. The book is an entertaining, easy read with practical, proven and effective techniques. To get 2 FREE chapters just complete the form below and submit.
It is amazing how much energy we spend in criticizing and whining about our bosses.
So much so that by judging by the large percentage of posts on the web, one would bet that every boss out there is an idiot, a dysfunctional jerk, an out-of-touch loser, or simply craps.
Of course we understand that the only way to improve someone’s management and behavior is to observe what that person is doing wrong; however, the majority of posts and comments are written in such a way that confirms their only goal is to whine, very much like a child complaining about how mean dad or mom are without actually grasping the point.
Well, it is about time for all of us to grasp this:
If you behave like a victim, bathed in self-pity, or act as if you deserve better, you are in for something bad, and you may end up getting fired or seriously harming your career.
In order to avoid this creepy scenario, here’s a lousy boss’s reality check:
- Confront your boss face to face and you will lose
No matter how mistaken your boss is and how bad he may look in a given situation, he can, and probably will, fire you if you challenge him directly.
- You do have a choice, make it
This is a free country, and if you don’t agree with your boss’s character, you can quit.
“But, I love my job and most importantly, I need it!”… Ahhh! Then, put your pride aside and exercise your patience.
It is your choice.
Equally, you can go over your boss to HR, but it may end badly for you. Remember that your boss may be highly respected in the company.
- What if the problem is you?
Have you observed your behavior towards your job and boss?
Maybe your boss has a lot to say about your attitude and performance too, because if something is certain in the business world, it is that lousy employees are out there in the millions.
So, observe yourself and your actions at work before acting emotionally. Remember that when something about someone else bothers you deeply it is because that something lives inside you as well.
- There are only so many bridges one can burn
When you’re young, you don’t consider that the choices you make and your behavior will follow you later.
If you burn all your bridges, at some point you won’t be able to cross anywhere. Sure, you will have no boss, but also no job!
What’s the point then? The point is you DON’T go against a lousy boss.
Of course all of us, even the best leadership speaker and coach, have had crappy bosses, and we understand what an employee who is exposed to such a boss feels like, but this is no excuse for acting without a clear perspective, because it can only get worse for you.
If it gets truly unbearable, exercise your right to choose, and quit.
True leaders know there is no such thing as job security anymore, that job opportunity should be their focus, and that to find job opportunities, they must take responsibility for improving their own leadership value in the market.
Robert Hargrove, author of ‘Masterful Coaching’ stated, “Most Olympic athletes get coaching and feedback for hours a day for years.” They struggle, train, and make unimaginable efforts to gain milliseconds of competitive advantage.
In view of this, the question is: As a leader, how much do you invest in yourself?
Your leadership development is not the company’s responsibility, even though it will invest in leadership programs to help you grow in order to facilitate an outstanding return on investment, higher sales, or lower costs.
The reality is that your leadership development is primarily YOUR responsibility.
For example, a leadership speaker and coach reads a book such as ‘Masterful Coaching’ because his job is to help business leaders solve leadership challenges. He helps leaders become better leaders, they discuss the different behavioral styles of the staff and how effective they are, they work to understand how to communicate and motivate to boost effectiveness, they talk about obstacles to success and how to overcome them, and they talk about what kinds of leadership training will help teams become more effective.
To be a good leader, he must be dedicated to his coaching role, and this takes time. True, mot leaders don’t have the luxury of a lot of free time; nevertheless, each leader must take the time to improve himself.
If, as a leader, you don’t take care of yourself, who will?
Who is going to ensure you get the leadership training, coaching, and personal growth opportunities that you need to become great?
Take the time to care for yourself, make time for the coaching you need, to read the leadership books you need, and to learn more about the world and about yourself.
Success nowadays requires that you take positive steps every single day to make your dreams a reality, and in this regard, contagious leaders are the experts.
Here are the 6 actions that will make you succeed in tough times, following the example of the best contagious leaders:
Love the ones around you
In the struggle to survive tough times, too many people neglect their employees and current customers, making them feel abandoned, confused, and afraid about their future, when in reality they should love them more than ever.
If you want to bloom in tough times, open the lines of communication with your people like you haven’t done before, because your people may be the only reason you succeed. So, acknowledge them, reward them, and thank them for being loyal, for understanding, and for being committed.
In the same way, many businesses set to find new customers while neglecting their current ones, making them feel like a pebble in their shoe. It is amazing to see how these companies are blind to the fact that when customers feel loved they bring many more customers on board.
Focus
In tough times, you must stop doing what you used to do to succeed, and must start analyzing every strategy and every activity you used in the past.
Thoroughly study everything you do every day and the return it produces, and then focus on the top 20% of activities that create impact and income.
If you need help to focus, consider talking to a good leadership speaker and consultant.
Develop your network and build your net worth
Quality relationships add value and confidence to your company.
It is normal during tough times to crouch, to play it safe, to spend less, to do less, and to be more careful; however, contagious leaders see hard times as an opportunity to expand their network and build their networth; these leaders become a SAGE:
-Seek out people. They go out and meet people, they go online and are active every day in sites like Facebook or LinkedIn, and they interact with people who think alike all over the world.
-Ask questions. They ask quality questions and focus on the other person, not on themselves.
-Get Involved. They are curious about others; they keep the conversation centered on the other person by getting involved in his or her life’s story.
-Enrich lives. People don’t care what you know until they know you care.
Be unforgettable
To be unforgettable you must be distinctive and indispensable in everything you do, this is, you have to stand out and be valuable in everything you do.
When you’re unforgettable, your work and financial security multiplies and your competitive advantage magnifies. When you’re ordinary, you’re destined to fail.
To be unforgettable:
-Analyze what others are doing and do the opposite.
-Become an expert in something.
-Put yourself in a place where you can look at things from a different perspective, forget about what you do and how you do it. Look at how others have become unforgettable.
-Acknowledge the good work and efforts others do. There is no better and more inexpensive way to motivate people.
Surround yourself with optimism
Remember what Oscar Wilde said:
“Some people cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go.”
Each employee chooses if he or she wants to be a giver or a taker; ensure your company has more givers than takers.
Stop feeding fear
Ask yourself: “What am I doing that adds to the fear and confusion caused by this crisis?”
Then:
-Stop doing those things.
-Get clear about your vision for your company and communicate it intensely and frequently.
-Eliminate as much drama as possible from the work place.
-Establish big goals.
-Create an action plan, begin executing, and hold people accountable.
Each week, we will be highlighting someone we think demonstrates the actions, thoughts and mindset of a Contagious Leader. This week’s spotlight is on Dori Wittrig.
Our Contagious Leader of the week is Dori Wittrig owner of Sonoran Lifestyle Real Estate and a person who knows how to seize opportunity!
Dori had the unexpected good fortune to go out on her own. She had been in real estate with a substantial developers and was quite remarkable in how she packaged properties. Well, when she opened her real estate company in 1991, she packaged it in a robe of excellence and crowned it with the intention of cultivating an attitude of possibility in everything they created.
In the same spirit, when Real estate hit a rocky road, especially in Arizona, she saw the possibility of showcasing foreclosed properties in a big way. Today, the Sonoran Lifestyle over-the-top executive limo bus escorts eager buyers to preview a lineup of foreclosed properties. She saw the possibility and took action and now dominates the market!
If you would like to nominate someone, feel free to send us an email by clicking here, and we would love to consider them! Please tell us a bit about them and what makes them Contagious in their leadership.
There is no room for excuses in a culture based on leadership, sadly, in ours, there is.
In our culture it is acceptable to “not have the time because I’m swamped” or to “just be too busy” to make sales calls, to face challenges directly, to be on time for appointments, to change when it is necessary, or to simply get the job done.
To make up excuses means giving up and abandoning responsibility. A company full of employees that at every level only make up excuses generates apathy, and passiveness and detachment kill leadership.
True leaders don’t tolerate excuses because these excuse no one. There is no such thing as a valid excuse for being late, for not contacting a client, or for not changing to improve a company.
However, excuses have become acceptable, are seldom questioned, and have turned into a cycle where effective feedback and leadership coaching are not welcomed.
Contagious leaders and their staff never focus on excuses; instead, they have an unobstructed vision, meaning they focus on a clear picture of the desired outcome. In their case, it is very rare that a distraction or excuse will become more important than the desired result.
But, how do they do it? Well… contagious leaders generate engaged and productive employees who in turn create involved customers.
Here we give you the 3 strategies that contagious leaders use to permanently ban the excuses cycle from their organizations or departments:
1. They commit to their company or department’s leadership goals and vision. They get passionate about them, believe in them, and visualize the result. This brings more excitement than thinking up excuses.
If an excuse clouds their vision, they acknowledge it and find the way to get rid of it.
2. They practice vibrant communication every day. Contagious leaders believe that the attitude of employees and customers is a result of communication, because when one feels involved and understands the direction the company is taking, in other words, when one writes, speaks, and lives in that direction, one makes better and more productive leadership choices.
3. They practice meaningful permission mentoring. They offer their staff thoughtful and straightforward feedback, they speak out their people’s greatness, and extend a helping hand to get people out of the excuses cycle.
Show your concern if you perceive the cycle of excuses in your organization because it is a sign of defeat, and instead… make your team remember the Nike leadership slogan: JUST DO IT! Every good leadership speaker and coach does…
Each week, we will be highlighting (or “spotlighting”) someone we think demonstrates the actions, thoughts and mindset of a Contagious Leader. This week’s spotlight is on Jeff Eschliman.
Jeff Eschliman, Director of Construction for Maracay Homes in Scottsdale, Arizona, has been a student of Contagious Leadership since 2005. He recently reached out and asked me to connect with him on LinkedIn. I agreed, mentioning in a return message that I was looking forward to getting to know him better. He took this as a green light and sent me the following email through LinkedIn; “I’d love to buy you lunch some day and get more insights into Contagious Leadership. I just received the book (Creating Contagious Leadership) and I’m looking forward to diving in.”
That’s initiative!
During our lunch Jeff mentioned he has been practicing Recognize 5, our program for the Habit of Involved Recognition. We immediately invited him to do a video interview that will be shared with other Contagious Leader Coaching Club members.
Jeff Eschliman is a true Contagious Leader for a number of other reasons:
In an industry that has been hard hit by the economic challenges of recent years, Jeff works at staying positive
He continues to build his inventory of talents for the future by practicing the leadership habits he learns.
He faithfully practices Recognize 5 week in and week out without expecting accolades from the employees he works with or his superiors.
He has recent;y committed to deep and lasting changes in his personal life in the areas of fitness and exercise.
Yes, Jeff Eschliman is a true Contagious Leader, our Contagious Leader of the week. He is also our new friend.
If you would like to nominate someone, feel free to send us an email by clicking here, and we would love to consider them! Please tell us a bit about them and what makes them Contagious in their leadership.
It is amazing how much energy we spend in criticizing and whining about our bosses. 
True leaders know there is no such thing as job security anymore, that job opportunity should be their focus, and that to find job opportunities, they must take responsibility for improving their own leadership value in the market.
Each week, we will be highlighting someone we think demonstrates the actions, thoughts and mindset of a Contagious Leader. This week’s spotlight is on Dori Wittrig.
Jeff Eschliman, Director of Construction for Maracay Homes in Scottsdale, Arizona, has been a student of Contagious Leadership since 2005. He recently reached out and asked me to connect with him on LinkedIn. I agreed, mentioning in a return message that I was looking forward to getting to know him better. He took this as a green light and sent me the following email through LinkedIn; “I’d love to buy you lunch some day and get more insights into Contagious Leadership. I just received the book (Creating Contagious Leadership) and I’m looking forward to diving in.” 
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