"Transfer Power to Someone"

del e gate – verb  transfer power to someone

“Kevin, from now on you’re in charge of ________. You need to make the adjustments necessary and work with the _______ team to keep this number below ______. Each day I want you to check ______ and once a week, on Monday, give me a quick report by email. The report just has to give these two numbers and it should not be longer than two sentences. You don’t have to talk with me about it unless there is a problem you can’t solve. Okay? Do you have any questions? Thank you for doing this Kevin. It’s important. Remember, you’re in charge.  I’m counting on you and I know you can do it!  Thank you.”

Was that so hard?

Making room

Your day is full…but, of what?

Often improving your business or results involves doing something more.  But how is this possible if your days are full already?

Carve out all the less important, not necessary and delegatable things.  This process allows you to take on new things, and continuously transform your job to higher and higher value activities.

Go ahead – reinvent today.  What’s out?  What’s in? 

Afraid of Heights

Some people are afraid of success.  How could that be?

If you think it means that many more problems, that’s scary for you.

If it means having to get smart people around you, that’s scary for your ego.

If it means having to work harder and longer, that’s scary for your spouse. 

Are you afraid of success?

What if you’re wrong, and it didn’t mean those things?  Would you still be afraid?

The perils of "I know…."

If you had a choice to be the kind of person that doesn’t know but thinks they do, or the kind of person that knows but thinks they don’t, you’re better off being the latter.

When you think you know, you act on false beliefs and make costly mistakes.  

Even when you know, keep asking questions and learning.

"Did you do it for the money?"

“So tell me about your journey to go for your dreams and make a million dollars”, said the interviewer to the successful entrepreneur.

“That’s not what I did”, she said.

He looked puzzled for a moment and said, “Well it must be, because that’s what you did, right?”

“No”, she said a bit firmly.  “In fact, starting a business just to make a lot of money hardly ever works.”

“Why not?”, he said, feeling he shouldn’t push his original point for fear of being made wrong by his guest.  He could see by her body language that she was not going to yield on this point.

“A few reasons.  The market will not reward your love for profit. Customers only care about what your product or service will do for them.  You making a lot of money is not their interest. Secondly, you have to love the work and what you are building, because if you don’t, you won’t be good at it.  If you’re in it for the money and don’t love what you’re building, your competitors who do love it will eat your lunch.”

The interviewer was intrigued, but hesitated.  His list of prepared questions was now out the window.  He thought of what to say next.  “Well, why did you start your business then?”

“Because I believe that what I envisioned needed to exist in the world.  I felt called to make it so.”  She sat straight up, looking directly at him, waiting for her next question. 

Empathy in Negotiating

Normally negotiating is one person defending their position, and the other person defending theirs.  Once tempers go up, rational thinking goes down; so that’s not a good approach.

Negotiating is not fighting; not for a professional.  When you negotiate with someone you have to take their position.  Listen, understand them, and step into their shoes.  Make their case verbally for them so they know you understand them.  

Then you can lead them to a solution or compromise.

Do you love it?

When you are starting and building your business you have to have a passion for it; there’s got to be something about your business that you love doing. There will be a long difficult road ahead and you’ll need enthusiasm for it when times get tough to carry you through so you don’t quit.

Do you love your business?

Be the cause

For every effect there is a cause.  What causes the results you want?

You need to be that cause.

"I don't quit!"

Most people who did not succeed did not fail, they quit before they won.  Once you quit, you’re done.

Not that you want to do the same thing the same way over and over, waiting for a day when the results come out differently; instead you want to reinvest what you learned about yourself and getting to your goal to cause things to come out differently.  Keep doing that.

And don’t quit.  Ever.

Are you an optimist?

You really have to be to be a successful entrepreneur.  After all, you are trying to create something where there was once nothing, and signing up for this almost guarantees you some hard times.

Being an optimist means you have faith in your ability to make it all work and that tomorrow it will.

Are you an optimist?