Are you able to help others grow and improve?

Do you coach a sports team, lead a business unit or manage sales professionals?  This short two minute video will explain the four things you can accomplish in any coaching situation and help you take your development skills to the next level.

(Note from Mark: I am always delighted to learn of companies and organizations using The Fred Factor philosophy and principles. Cherry Crest Adventure Farm is an example. I asked Brian Waltman, Director of Education, to share with you how they used The Fred Factor.)

“E-I-E-I-O” is the popular refrain from an old kid’s melody about Old MacDonald and his farm.  A new twist of the song has Cherry Crest Adventure Farm in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania spelling customer service “F. R. E. D.”

Cherry Crest Adventure Farm is a Agritainment (combining agriculture with entertainment) facility with over 100,000 visitors annually.  Centered around a corn maze, Cherry Crest features over 50 authentic farm fun natural attractions that keep families busy for hours.  While Cherry Crest knows first-rate attractions are a key to a successful operation, superior customer service is also an essential ingredient for attracting returning customers.  This is where Fred enters the farm scene.

Two years ago as the Director of Education, I introduced Fred to the staff as a practical way of fleshing out our customer service culture.  Cherry Crest refers to their training process as “Fredification.”  The Fred concepts are clearly spelled out in the employee handbook, routinely visited  in morning staff meetings, reviewed in email updates and Fred often shows up in daily conversations among staff.  This past year CCAF went one step further by incorporating Fred in each staff’s annual performance review.  Their revamped employee evaluation had all the typical elements such as “meets job performance standards” and “follow company policies.”  But a new element was added to include “Demonstrating Fredness.”   Each employee was rated on a 4 point scales in regards to their Fred-like qualities of making a positive difference, building relationships, adding value and reinventing themselves.  CCAF even designed and created a lapel pin to award to employees who scored a 4 in each of the four categories.

CCAF intentionally seeks to hire, develop and reward Fred’s.  The return on this investment has been huge.  CCAF continually receives volumes of positive feedback from customers raving about their farm experience and in particular their hugely positive interactions with CCAF staff.    Thanks Mark, for putting Fred’s story in writing.  Fred continues to make a positive difference – even down on the farm.

If you are interested in more information or discussion about Cherry Crest’s “Fredification program,” please contact Brian Waltman  at BWaltman@cherrycrestfarm.com.

My friend Rory Vaden is an example of driver, determination and discipline. After a spectacular time selling for the famed book company Southwestern, he launched their consulting business. He is an accomplished speaker and has written a terrific new book on using discipline in your life to achieve your dreams and goals. You can download a free excerpt here.

I asked Rory to share his three favorite principles from the book (all seven follow Rory’s picks):

The Paradox Principle of Sacrifice: The short term easy leads to the long term difficult while the short term difficult leads to the long term easy. I love this one because it strikes the core fundamental premise of the book that self-discipline does not mean a harder life – it means an easier one! Problems that are procrastinated on are only amplified yet most of us lean towards indulgence, distraction and temptation because it seems easy in the short term. Yet we don’t realize that distraction is a dangerously deceptive saboteur of our goals and when you appropriately account for the consequences of our choices compounding over the length of our lifetime you can see that the easy things in the short term (buying on credit, eating junk food, slacking off at work, sexual temptation, substance abuse, etc) create a much more challenging life in the long term. The illustration of this is similar to the time value of money in how it compounds over time except it is looking at the time value of our choices and evaluating each decision through a long term perspective rather than a short term one.

The Perspective Principle of Faith: Our ability to have peace is directly proportionate to the term of our perspective. All other 6 strategies of the Take the Stairs mindset have to do with achieving success but this one is my favorite because it helps us understand what to do with failure. There have been times in our lives where we feel like we have been disciplined and done everything in our power and we still failed or there have been times where bad things seem to happen to us for no reason. What do we do with that? The way of the escalator world is to use failure and tragedy as justification for not bothering with discipline because “it might now work out anyway” but that is one of the points of difference between average people and successful people. Without exception every single successful person has failed over and over at something and it was those failures that were the very things that made them great. And there are things that happened to us that were negative at the time but now looking back we can see why they happened that way and are often grateful that they did. Successful people again have a longer term perspective knowing that less the ability to see the entire future we aren’t entitled to evaluate why bad things happen today. That perspective gives them peace from knowing that the difficult things we are dealing with today are often shaping us into who we will need to be at some point in the unforeseeable future. Having the appropriate perspective also gives a Take the Stairs person peace because they do everything in their power to be successful and if it doesn’t work out then they know it is because it was supposed to happen that way and even though they might understand it now they know its for a greater glory later on. Other people don’t have that benefit because when things don’t work for them in their life they don’t know if it was meant to be that way or if it was because they didn’t show up and put in the work. The payoff of perspective is incredible peace.

The Rent Axiom: Success is never owned, it is only rented; and the rent is due everyday. At the end of every keynote presentation I give people say “okay Rory so if I take on your ‘Take the Stairs’ mindset and start doing things I don’t want to do and start making sacrifices and paying the price…how long do I have to do that for?” Hilarious! The truth is that we never get to stop paying the price because of the truth of the rent axiom. Financial security is never owned, it is rented and the rent is due every day. Being in great physical health is never owned, it is rented and the rent is due every day. A happy marriage is never owned, it is rented; and the rent is due everyday. But even though the rent axiom might sound like bad news at first; it is the greatest and most freeing truth of all as it relates to self-discipline. When we let go of the escalator world’s diet mentality, the 30 day program, the 90 day routine, the 2 years same as cash, 60 days no money down, the get rich quick garbage and embrace the rent axiom as truth: a dramatic transformation takes place. When we realize that discipline isn’t a short-term fix but a long-term choice and philosophy to live our life by then the unexpected benefit that happens is our appetites begin to change. Just as our appetites for food can change so can our appetites for choice. And the activities that were once a great challenge to get ourselves to do later become the very things that are bodies crave! And the things that were once sacrifices to give up later become things that are even temptations for us! Our appetites change, our new actions and choices become easier and easier, we have new habits, and a new easier life – full of freedom, peace, wealth, health, and happiness!

Rory added, “We live in an escalator world where we are constantly bombarded with deceiving messages about what will make our lives better. Yet the truth about success is so obvious that it has become completely elusive in these days of major marketing: that success comes from doing the things we know we should be doing even when we don’t feel like doing them. This book helps make those choices easier for you. It will allow you to succeed in making changes where you may have failed in the past. It helps you to breakthrough to levels you never thought possible. It validates what you already know intrinsically about the uncomfortable truth to achieve freedom and success in your life – that it takes discipline. The book makes that process more bearable. The most important reason someone should buy this book is for the people they love and care about because as you start making more disciplined choices you will start seeing real change in your life and you will contagiously impact and inspire those around you to live a life that is better for them. That is what the Take the Stairs Tour is all about!”

Watch a movie trailer and get a preview of the free live events Rory is doing for the Take the Stairs Nationwide Charity Bus Tour here.  Maybe we can talk more about that later but until then I’ll see you in the “stairwell”!

The 7 Principles of a Disciplined Life

1. The Paradox Principle of Sacrifice – The short term easy leads to the long term difficult while the short term difficult leads to the long term easy.
2. The Buy-In Principle of Commitment – The more we have invested into something the less likely we are to let it fail.
3. The Magnification Principle of Focus – Focus is power.
4. The Creation Principle of Integrity – You think it, you speak it, you act, it happens.
5. The Harvest Principle of Schedule – Focused effort is amplified by appropriate timing and regimented routine.
6. The Perspective Principle of Faith – Our ability to have peace is directly proportionate to the term of our perspective.
7. The Pendulum Principle of Action – It doesn’t matter what we say we believe our real beliefs are revealed by how we act.

The Rent Axiom – Success is never owned, it is only rented; and the rent is due every day.

I skim, read and study hundreds of books each  year. Here are seven that will improve your leadership in various ways:

Ross Shafer has written a short but provocative book called Grab More Market Share. Read it if that’s what you want to do.

A classic I’ve referenced before and still in print is Fred Smith’s You and Your Network. Get it, read it and share it with your kids when they enter the world of work. It is packed with wisdom (I’ve given away dozens of copies).

Think work ethic is dead? And what can you do about it? Pre-order Reviving Work Ethic by Eric Chester. (I’ve read an advance copy.)

Do you get tired of boring meetings? Or are you guilty of holding boring meetings? Read Jon Petz’s book Boring Meetings Suck. It provides lots of ideas for  making your meetings better.

Bob Burg and David Mann have written It’s Not About You. This leadership fable reinforces key leadership principles I believe in.

The Mackay MBA of Selling in the Real World was just released by Harvey Mackay and if you sell, or lead sales professionals, you’ll enjoy this story-driven book of advice.

And my last “favorite” is from Joe Calloway, Work Like You’re Showing Off. This is a fun read that will most likely reinvigorate you.

What do you do when customers call with feedback?

I offered feedback to a local restaurant operator last year. He happens to be one of the most thoughtful manager/leaders I know. He thanked me for my suggestion and, more importantly, took it seriously enough to address. Recently he sent me this note:

“I had to share the recent  fulfillment of a vision you gave me about a year ago.  You shared with me last year how difficult it had been to purchase food at the store on a busy Saturday.  Chaos is the word that describes our counter when we are busy.  I have often worked on ways to make the counter less chaotic but nothing seemed to work all day, everyday.  Your kind sharing of a continuing frustration for you and other customers prompted me to dig deeper for an answer.  Through a series of events and various attempts to improve things we have arrived at a wonderful solution.  We have a queue system in the store that brings order to chaos ….. and it’s ultimately because of you and your willingness to share about your experience at the store. I’m pleased to tell you I receive many compliments on organizing the chaos at the counter. Thanks for being willing to offer me a ‘carefrontation’ after your visit many months ago.”

It is easy to complain but it takes effort to give a service provider feedback they can use. I’ve found it powerful to offer positive and negative feedback, and not always at the same time. Because I’d made it a point to offer positive feedback to this operator in the past, he knew my intent when I  pointed out an ongoing frustration. He accepted it as an opportunity and looked for  a solution.

It takes both useful feedback and a receptive listener to improve. Carefrontation, as my friend calls it, is powerful

Joel Garfinkle is a new friend in the professional development profession. I first became familiar with his work when I received and endorsed his latest book Getting Ahead: Three Steps to Take Your Career to the Next Level. Joel is recognized as one of the top 50 coaches in the U.S., having worked with many of the world’s leading companies. You can view his books and FREE articles at his Executive Leadership website.  You can also subscribe to his Executive Leadership Newsletter and receive the FREE e-book, 40 Proven Strategies to Get Promoted Now!”:

Why is influence important in leadership? Before learning how a good leader armed with influence can create massive change in an organization, let’s take a closer look at what influence really is. The term influence is defined in Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary as “the act or power of producing an effect without apparent exertion of force.” The definition suggests that the true meaning of influence is to get people to take action without any sort of force or exertion.

If you as a leader practice influence—staying true to its core meaning—you can really make a difference. Influence is an indispensable leadership quality that gives you the ability to sway just one individual or a large crowd, take initiative to undertake a massive project, make crucial decisions and create monumental change in your organization. Influential leaders do what others believe to be important.

Warren Bennis, Distinguished Professor of Business Administration at the University of Southern California, talks about the power of influence saying that, ‘‘the basis of leadership is the capacity of the leader to change the mindset…of another person.’’

So how can you actually do that? How can you become a leader of influence?

First, understand this:  Influence is NOT reserved for managers, presidents, CEOs, and others with a title.

No matter where you are in your organization right now, YOU have the power to influence change. Think back to a time when you voiced your opinion, which led to altering or changing a situation. That’s influence. If you’ve had a hand in influencing the outcome of something by improving it or have made an important decision that had impact, you’ve practiced influence.

Here are 5 key questions you can ask yourself to determine and gauge how influential you are in your company:

• Have you received credit from your seniors or upper management on an idea you put forth that was well received and acted upon?
• Do your employees trust your judgement and promptly carry out any requests and tasks you assign them?
• Can you convince clients to buy into your projects and successfully close the deal?
• Do your colleagues respect your decisions and agree to come on board with your ideas?
• Do you often take the team lead position and pilot projects and direct tasks?

If you answered yes to most of the above questions then you carry some weight in your organization and have the ability to influence people. If you answered no to most of the above questions, you have some work to do BUT with keen determination and a few tips you’ll be on your way to becoming more influential.

Have you ever heard the phrase, “Leaders are made, not born?” The same goes for influence. Influence is a learned art and you too can learn how to do it right. Next time you’re in a board meeting, take the initiative to take the lead. Don’t be afraid to put forth some of your ideas, and pay close attention to how your ideas are received. You might be pleasantly surprised. The more people actually start listening to what you have to say, the more confident you’ll become.

Once you get to a position where you know you have the power to influence people, realize that the key to influential leadership is to bring your ideas, skills and voice into your organization without stepping over others. Be fair and honest and don’t undermine, intimidate, and take credit for others’ success. These are certainly NOT the traits of an influential leader.

As you’re climbing the leadership ladder, always remember to ask yourself, “How can I positively influence and support others?” And more importantly, “How can I develop other leaders to improve my company’s bottom line?”

Strive to become an influential leader. I guarantee that you will not only mature both professionally and personally but you develop the executive leadership skills necessary to lead your organization to positive growth and make the most of your inherent potential.

Manifesto (def): A public declaration of policy and aims.

What follows are my views about and commitment to work based on 30+ years of being employed and being an employer. These are philosophies I subscribe to and that I desire in those I work with and encounter in the marketplace. MHS

I work because I need to and because I want to. There is satisfaction in work well done. Good work produces value and isn’t just a means to an end but an opportunity to be a productive, contributing member of society. Work helps give life purpose and structure.

I don’t like everything about the work I do but understand that is the nature of work. Work often requires that we do what needs to be done as well as what we like to do. Doing great work is a choice I make; to do less cheats not just my employer and customer but myself.

Impediments to work are temporary. If my place of employment blocks my ability to be productive in an honest and ethical way, I will not sell my soul to continue working there. If my boss doesn’t understand the concept of a healthy work environment I will actively look for a different boss or organization that does. My current situation may not allow me to switch jobs or employers immediately but I refuse to resign myself to a work life of misery. I will endure for the short term with the goal of prospering in the long term.

How I do my work makes life a heaven or hell for others. How I treat colleagues and customers makes their lives better or worse. Neutrality is a myth as any attempt to disengage will appear to others as indifference, and that indifference is an insult to others.

I will not actively or passively inflict pain. While the bad behavior of others might make it tempting to do so, I will choose to play by a higher standard. I will do what I can to make working with me enjoyable.

I do not control how others act, but I completely control how I act. When others act inappropriately to me, I will respond professionally but will not accept and thereby condone the inappropriate behavior. I will politely but directly address the inappropriateness.

I understand that others come to me for solutions to problems and that is what I am paid for. Therefore problems, as difficult as they can be, are not an impediment to my work but often they are my work itself.

I will take responsibility rather than place blame. If I can’t fix it I will either live with it or leave it. There are no other rational options.  I understand there is no perfect workplace, but refuse to make where I work worse by my own apathy or lethargy. I won’t let the poor attitudes and behaviors determine my own choices. I know that I often succeed at work not because of but in spite of undesirable circumstances.

In a time when not all who truly desire work have that opportunity, I am grateful for the work I have.

Note to readers: If you were to summarize your views on work, what would your personal manifesto say? What would you add to what I’ve written? What would you change?

My background is in sales. I started selling as a part time job in College and today I regularly speak at National Sales meetings. Over the years I’ve met many extraordinary sales professionals. I find the best–the sales leaders–never leave anything to chance. They use time proven strategies and tactics to succeed.

Many years ago I worked with a client to develop a four-step system for converting a prospect into a buying customer (or for getting a customer to buy more). Here is that strategy that  you—and everyone on your team—should remember and use for successfully completing the sales process. Whenever you engage a prospect or client:

Meet—establish rapport by being genuinely interested. If you don’t spend time getting to know your prospect (and letting them get to know you), you’re jumping over the first critical step in the sales process.

Image via Wikipedia

Analyze—what does the prospect need and how can you help? Many salespeople move into presenting solutions too quickly. Your value is your ability to meet the specific needs and solve the particular problems that your prospect faces. As the old saying goes, prescription without diagnosis is malpractice.

Present—offer your solutions based on the analysis you’ve done. Demonstrate that you’ve heard and understand the prospect by showing how your products and/or services will meet their needs. Make your presentation interesting and compelling.

Sell—check the prospect’s reaction to your presentation and ask for the order. If you’ve done well in the first three steps the fourth step will enable you to make the sale. If you meet resistance, go back to analysis and find out what you missed.

Selling is rarely easy but that doesn’t mean the process isn’t simple. Use MAPS as a checklist for making more sales.

(Of the books I’ve written, The Encore Effect is the most powerful for sales professionals. It is packed with ideas you can use to become the kind of sales pro that customers want to buy from again and again. Learn how to become irreplaceable by clicking here.)

The term virtual reality might seem ultra-modern in our technology-driven culture, but it’s not just about using computer software to create three-dimensional experiences that look, feel, and sound like the real thing. The roots of virtual reality, in fact, go back about 60 years to a team of “imagineers” who helped develop Disneyland.

When Disneyland opened in 1955, it transported visitors into a virtual world that they could see, feel, hear, touch, and taste. As the sign says at the entrance to the park, “Here You Leave Today, and Enter the World of Yesterday, Tomorrow and Fantasy.” The imagineers created something so distinctive that it transformed the theme park industry, and current imagineers continue to keep Disneyland on the cutting edge when it comes to creating value through virtual realities.

Cover via Amazon

The Imagineering Field Guide to Disneyland (Disney Editions, 2008) lists eight basic principles of imagineering, including what the imagineers call “plussing.” It was born from Walt Disney’s “penchant for always trying to make an idea better. Imagineers are continually trying to plus work, even after it’s ‘finished.’”

That’s exactly what we need to do with the value we create if we want to survive the storms that come our way and maintain the success we achieve. We have to continually innovate — improve our value — because status quo is a myth. Instead of settling for “best practice,” we have to strive for “next practices.” That includes the processes we use in our work and the distinctive value we create for the products and services we provide.

Value equals expectations plus education plus something extra, or V=E+E+SE. Disney creates value that’s filled with “something extras,” and its “best practices” are almost always ahead of those of its competition. It operates in the sphere of “next practices.”

When you look at your life — your work world and your personal world — as well as your organization, what is your something extra? What’s your distinctive?

This blog is based on content in my latest book, Up, Down, Or Sideways. It is available wherever you buy great books. Click here to learn more about the book or click here to order it from Amazon.com.

Ever dance the tango?

For novices, it can intimidate with its seemingly complicated precision and timing that moves a couple in a graceful but formal and crisp flow around a dance floor. It only takes one lesson, however, to learn the basic steps. It takes lots of practice to become great at the tango, but only 30 or so minutes to learn enough to survive it.

Two things I know about how to make the tango look good: One, the male lead must provide a strong upper-body frame, especially with his right arm. Two, the couple takes the basic steps belly-to-belly.

If we want to succeed regardless of the external circumstances around us, we can learn a few things from the tango, because the tango is all about a creating a relationship — a connection — that achieves its objective (grace, style, pizzazz, all within a prescribed structure).

It starts with support, a strong frame. In other words, how are you supporting the people who are important to you (friends, family, co-workers, customers, et al)? Do you give them something they can hold tightly and with confidence? Do you lead with authority and confidence? Do you move them without aggressive force or pressure?

Next, it requires closeness. You might not want to be belly-to-belly with everyone in your life, but you want to create trust and appropriate levels of transparency. You want to be approachable, even in more formal relationships. You want to connect in non-physical ways.

Creating and caring for the connections in your life prepares you for success regardless of the circumstances that come your way. I cover more of the basics for doing that in Up, Down, or Sideways, because I’ve learned that the basic steps become the foundation for a truly remarkable dance.

Do you know anybody who could benefit from “dance lessons” when it comes to making and  keeping connections? How well do the people on your team do with customers and vendors? With each other? And do you have any room for improvement?

This blog is based on content in my latest book, Up, Down, Or Sideways. It is available wherever you buy great books. Click here to learn more about the book or click here to order it from Amazon.com.