People don't buy from people they don't like

People don’t buy from people they don’t like unless they absolutely have to.

They will go out of their way to buy from people they do like.

Are you likable?  What would others say?

Are your salespeople likable?  What are your customers saying?

Trust is glue

Trust is glue for teams.  Without it, they fall apart.

Everything you do will either build trust or break it down.

The leader can do things and say things that team members can’t.  They have the freedom from rules or policies or getting fired.  They can also make decisions others can’t.

What leaders do with this freedom and power is being scrutinized all the time by their teams.

Do you have a high-trust culture?

Do your people trust their leaders?  Do they trust each other?

Sincerity is not the same as being right

Sincerity sells.  People know when someone else really believes a thing.  Confidence is contagious.  

But most of us are very sincere in beliefs that are not true.

A business owner and friend of mine was certain a part of his business was working well.  He was very certain and sincere. A month later he said he was eliminating that part of his product offering because it wasn’t working – he was very sincere then too.

It’s hard to argue with a person who is sincere.  They are selling you on their idea and you don’t want to argue – you are sold.  But a fool can be quite certain, until they are proven wrong.  Sometimes we are the fool.

As leaders we need to be quite careful of the ideas we commit our resources to.  Be alert.  There is a difference between being sincere and being right.  Even with ourselves.

A vision or a hallucination?

Humans have the ability to see what is not there.  This is an awesome power we use to create things – we see them first in our mind, then try to construct them.

It can also be quite unhelpful – like seeing ghosts or monsters, or imagining things that are unworkable.

If we envision a situation, future or ideal that won’t work and we don’t know it, we can spend years chasing or building something that will cause us heartbreak and disappointment – and even steal our ambition and time to try again.

How do we avoid the misuse of our imagination?

Knowledge and facts are the raw materials our imagination uses to construct visions.  We must learn all we can about the subjects, core and peripheral, that we are “dreaming of”.  And we must not believe untruths just because they serve a pre-decided belief.  “Education” is filled with opinions, depending on where you get it from.  Surely, educators have opinions, and they can’t educate you on what has not been done yet.

Inadequate information or believing in the wrong information is the source of many failures.

The right mix of lots of valid education/knowledge and enlightened visions of a new future (for you or everyone) will increase your chances that your dreams are not just hallucinations.

Then of course, you must take action, fail, learn, adjust, take action, fail, learn, and repeat – over and over again.

Being a success is not easy sometimes.

A dealer of mine told us about a disappointment and frustration he has.  In the last three years his life has changed quite a bit.  You see, he has become very successful compared to the many years before that.

What’s the problem?  His friends have become quite judgemental and envious.  They’d tease him jokingly that he was a “big shot” now, that he was a “rich guy” and many versions of the same theme.

Let’s take out the possibility that he may feel like he is better than others and talk down to people or differently to them.  This would be a mistake on his part, but  I don’t think it’s what is happening here.

The reason people would act differently towards you when you become successful is that your old friends liked you the way you were.  People like people who are like them.  Now, with their old friend presiding over a much bigger business, they assume you are different than they are.  Their jokes about you becoming a big shot are partly jokes and partly envy, jealousy, and rejection of what they do not understand.

Becoming a “success” when you weren’t before is not easy.  There is what it takes to get there, and what it takes to adjust to being a different kind of person.  Some others around you will not adjust, and you may have to find some new friends who like the new you or who aren’t all awkward about it.

Sometimes others just need to get used to it.  When they find out you are still the guy they knew and you haven’t changed because you are successful now, they will settle down and accept you with your new and better condition.

The worst thing to do is to self-sabotage and throw away your success because others around you, and you yourself, could not accept a more prosperous you.

Try it

To find the right solution or a better one, often the best way is to just try it.

What is the worst that can happen?  You fail, learn something, and adjust accordingly knowing what you now know.

“Fail, forward, fast.”

“Try. Fail.  Try again.  Fail better. Keep trying.”

In a rush to hire?

Has this ever happened – A key position is open and you need someone to fill it fast, and you rush, and fill it with a “pretty good” warm body?

Of course, it’s not the right person and they are in a key seat.  Their mediocrity holds the company back and you have another awkward and important problem.  

Are you willing to leave a key seat open long enough to find a spectacular person?

Leaders – "have their backs"

“In great armies, the job of the generals is to back up their sergeants.” – Colonel Thomas Wilhelm

Your department managers and front-line leaders should not be worried about you finding them doing something wrong or your criticism.  They should know you have their back and will remove obstacles for them, invest in them, and that you will not let them fail.

Then they will be worried about not letting you down.

Is that how you lead?

Training is a capital investment

Training is a capital investment, not an expense.

Let’s say you had a building and you remodeled it – you’d call that a capital investment.

In my business that building may cost 2% of your revenue annually.  But payroll – that would be 40% of your revenue.

Human capital.

So investing in training to make get those people to operate at a higher level, make fewer mistakes and rework, and be more confident and cheerful employees really is a great investment. 

We have a small army of people dedicated to training, including much of my time.

What about you?

For the want of a nail

“For the want of a nail, the shoe was lost.

For the want of a shoe, the horse was lost.

For the want of a horse, the rider was lost.

For the want of a rider, the message was lost.

For the want of a message, the battle was lost.

For the want of a battle, the war was lost.

For the want of a war, the kingdom was lost.

And all for the want of a nail.” -13th century proverb.

(Those are also lyrics to a great song by Todd Rundgren.  Check it out.)

What is the nail in your business? 

Listening?  Training?  Caring?  Asking?  Humility?  Marketing?  Your Brand?