Accelerating Sales by Vince Poscente

What would happen if we eliminated all the drama out of a sales organization?

Let's fantasize for a moment... that happy place in corporate la-la land.

What if a sale's manager's job was not managing people? What if his or her sole focus was just on improving sales. No damage control on who hurt who's feelings, no fragile egos running to the managers office to complain about stuff, an entire office of people 100% accountable for their actions and results.

Instead of managing people, the sales manager would entirely concentrate on improve sales.

Don't jump out of the dream just yet. Stick with me.

Imagine a sales manager that could spend his or her time as follows:

* 35% on generating leads for the sales people
* 35% on improving efficiency of sales operations
* 20% on internal effectiveness initiatives like less paperwork
* 10% on protecting the rebels and their wellspring of innovation

How would that accelerate your organization's sales?

You might be fortunate to be part of a well-oiled, highly accountable sales division. You might be part of a semi-dysfunctional sales group. Or you might be suffering in a sales organization that is like an adult daycare.

Whatever your situation, the sales team can always improve. Be a part of finding ways for everyone to own their own problems and find the quickest solutions. Do this and your sales numbers will accelerate.

Until next time, it's full speed ahead.
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Vince Poscente
Author of The Age of Speed
Business Consultant, Keynote Speaker, Olympian
www.VincePoscente.com

10 Smart Ways Leaders Can Bring Out the Best in Others By Doug Smart

In a sense, everyone is a leader. You lead every time you influence others to do what you want. It's a skill that starts at birth (doesn’t a newborn baby run her house?). As a smart adult, you have refined your natural leadership skills in order to influence others to willingly do what you want.

Here is a list of 10 smart ways leaders can bring out the best in others. See how well developed your leadership skills are. Give yourself 1 point for each that you already do.

1. Instead of SAYING you care, SHOW them.

2. Have a vision and inspire people by staying true to your vision.

3. Be passionate when talking about your vision.

4. Clearly communicate to others how you expect them to fulfill that vision.

5. Listen to their concerns.

6. Communicate how following your vision benefits them.

7. Surround yourself with people who are "wind beneath your wings" and, as best you can, eliminate or minimize contact with people who bring you down.

8. Delegate tasks that help others discover and maximize their talents.

9. Show appreciation -- a sincere, written "thank you" can be a major (and no cost) motivator.

10. Keep your word.

I hope you are a perfect 10. Practicing these 10 smart ways leaders can bring out the best in others will encourage people to do what you want. And your actions will cause them to remark that you are a natural-born leader.
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Doug Smart is the author or co-author of 25 books. He makes it easy for people to identify and make the most of their natural talents. For a free subscription to the WORK SMART / LIVE HAPPY newsletter, visit DougSmart.com. Hear Doug's free podcasts at SmarterByTheMinute.com.

Leadership: C's Skillsets Drastically Changing By Howard Putnam

As you prepare yourself to take on more responsibility in your organization, it is important to track the changing skill sets that are going to be required for senior positions.

Technology, a global market, security and a renewed emphasis on ethics and honesty in corporations, due to increased corporate governance, are creating a need for C's with multiple talents. A "C" can be a: CEO, COO, CIO (Chief Information Officer), CFO (Chief Financial Officer), CAO (Chief Accounting Officer), and the list goes on.

It is no longer enough to just have general managerial skills to rise to the top of an organization. It is necessary to have multi functional and international experiences. The Sarbanes Oxley legislation after Enron and Tyco corporate ethics failures in the USA have added to the intensity of a "C" position.

According to a recent Spencer Stuart analysis, CEO's today need skill sets that are greatly different than just a decade ago for some of the above reasons. These are skills "in addition to" traditional leadership talent, operational knowledge and communication.

C's are staying in their positions fewer years because of the pressures and added complexities. Finally, private equity firms over the past three years have increased their buyouts of publically held companies. Their timelines and horizons for "return on investment" are much shorter.

Prepare yourself for these changes and value propositions if a C position is in your flight plan.
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Howard Putnam speaks on leadership, change, transformation, customer service, teams and ethics. He is the former CEO of the highly successful Southwest Airlines and the first CEO to take a major airline, Braniff International, into, through and out of Chapter 11, getting it flying again in less than two years. Howard authored "The Winds of Turbulence". Visit www.HowardPutnam.com or email Howarddp@aol.com.

To Develop Others, Start With Yourself By Marshall Goldsmith

April 2007
Leadership Excellence
www.eep.com

All leaders want their people to grow and develop on the job. When you work hard to improve yourself, you encourage the people around you to do the same thing.

Listen to what General Mills CEO Steve Sanger recently told 90 of his colleagues: “As you all know, last year my team told me that I needed to do a better job of coaching my direct reports. I just reviewed my 360-degree feedback. I have been working on becoming a better coach for the past year or so. I’m still not doing as well as I want, but I’m getting a lot better. My coworkers have been helping me improve. I’m pleased that my scores on ‘effectively responds to feedback’ are higher this year.”

While listening to Steve speak so openly to coworkers about his efforts to develop himself as a leader, I realized how much the world has changed. Twenty years ago, few CEOs received feedback from their colleagues. Even fewer candidly discussed that feedback and their personal development plans. Today, many of the most respected chief executives are setting a positive example by opening up, striving continually to develop themselves as leaders. In fact, organizations that best develop leaders tend to have CEOs like Steve Sanger who are directly and actively involved in leadership development. That has certainly been my experience.

This has also been confirmed by research led by Marc Effron at Hewitt Associates, who put General Mills on his latest list of the top-20 companies for leaders.

Hewitt finds that these organizations tend to more actively manage their talent. They identify high-potential people, differentiate compensation, provide the right development opportunities, and closely watch turnover. Vital to these efforts is CEO support and involvement.

One of the best ways top executives can get their leaders to improve is to work on improving themselves. Leading by example can mean a lot more than leading by public-relations hype. For example, Michael Dell, whose company made the Top 20 list, could have an attitude that says, “I don’t really need to develop myself.” However, Michael sincerely discusses his personal challenges with leaders across the company. He is a living case study from whom everyone at Dell is learning. His example makes it hard for any leader to act in arrogance.

Johnson & Johnson, tied for first on the top-20 list, has successfully involved its executives in leadership development. Its CEOs, formerly Ralph Larsen and now Bill Weldon, and top executive team regularly participate in various leadership-building activities. Having a dialogue with the CEO about his business challenges and developmental needs makes it a lot easier for employees to discuss their own business challenges and developmental needs.

Executive candor can even help turn around a troubled company. For example, Northrop Grumman CEO Kent Kresa inherited a company that had a poor reputation for integrity, a battered stock price, and reputation as one of the least-admired companies. His leadership team reversed the company’s poor image and engineered an amazing turnaround. From the start, Kent led by example. He communicated clear expectations for ethics, values, and behavior. He was evaluated by the same standards that he set for everyone else. He consistently reached out to coworkers. He didn’t just work to develop his leaders—he created an environment in which other leaders were working to develop him.

In the same way that CEO support and involvement can help companies nurture leaders, CEO arrogance can have the opposite effect. When the boss acts with arrogance and tells everyone else they need to improve, that behavior is copied. Managers then point out how others need to change. The end result: No one gets much better.

The principle of leadership development by personal example applies to all management. All leaders want their people to grow and develop on the job. When you work hard to improve yourself, you encourage the people around you to do the same thing.

Excellence in Action: Start developing yourself.
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Marshall Goldsmith is co-founder of Marshall Goldsmith Partners. Visit MarshallGoldsmithLibrary.com, email Marshall@MarshallGoldsmith.com, or call 858-759-0950.

Plan on Opposition to Your New Ideas. It’s Not You, It's Normal By Doug Smart

Lets face it, no one enjoys rejection. But the reality is, a new idea starts getting negative assaults within three seconds and thirty percent of people will readily oppose a new idea without even taking sufficient time to find out if the new idea is good or not.

Whether your idea is convincing your friends to try a new place for lunch or getting the advertising budget doubled, it can be an uphill battle.

As a knee-jerk response, its normal for people to say: that's dumb, we tried that, it costs too much; it will never work, you don't understand, etcetera!

German philosopher, Arthur Schopenhauer, observed that a new idea goes through three stages in becoming "the norm":

* First, it's ridiculed.
* Second, it's violently opposed.
* Third, it is accepted as self-evident

Take disposable diapers, for example. First test marketed in 1961 in Peoria, people scoffed at the idea of paying for a one-use diaper. Many sneered they were a needless extravagance. Some wanted them outlawed as wasteful. But attitudes changed and now disposables are indispensable. Over ninety percent of North American parents prefer them and think living without them would be a return to the Dark Ages.

How can you get your great new ideas accepted?

Refuse to be put off by people rejecting your idea. It is guaranteed to happen. Let them have their say. Gently persist. Line up supporters. Then let fence-sitters know who supports your idea. Get your facts ready for the few who will disagree or even argue with you. Let everyone know how your idea can benefit them, the customer and the organization.

My friend, Debra Gould, says, "Persistence beats resistance every time." She's right. Stick with your winning idea and eventually people will agree, "You were right all along!"
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Doug Smart is the author or co-author of 25 books. He makes it easy for people to identify and make the most of their natural talents. For a free subscription to the WORK SMART / LIVE HAPPY newsletter, visit DougSmart.com. Hear Doug's free podcasts at SmarterByTheMinute.com.

Integrity In Business -The Secret To Increased Sales By Bob Davies

Imagine David Letterman is on the streets of New York City with a microphone in hand. He has one question to ask those who happen to pass by, "What is the purpose of being in business?" What do you think the most common response will be? I would guess that almost everyone, if not everyone, will answer that the purpose of being in business is to make money.

I'm going to suggest a different way of looking at this question. Imagine for a moment that the purpose of being in business was to Grow People! What would be different? How about, everything would be different and you would make more money as well!

I rented a movie the other day about industrial technology. I loved these lines from that movies main character;

"Lately I've been reading about some of our great entrepreneurs, Dupont, Rockefeller, Ford. Their ability to create great new wealth depended on the fact that they worked out on the edge, the leading edge, the frontier. It can be a scary place...but once you've stepped out onto the edge, it's impossible to come back.

I welcome the challenges of the frontier. Institutions never create anything, individuals do. We are the thinkers, the planners, and the visionaries that will shape the future. It is our destiny not only to change to make people community, but to change the way people think."

It is my vision and quest to travel throughout the United States and abroad and speak the code. If individuals and groups would live their lives with integrity, the world would be a safer, more vibrant, healthy, and fulfilling place.

I do understand that this is a new way of thinking. However, all of the research that I have conducted points to similarities between those companies that are considered to be visionary versus those that are not. Companies such as Citicorp, Ford, Marriott, Nordstrom, Wal-Mart, and Walt Disney all share a common code of integrity. I will give you my interpretation of that shared code.

These visionary companies live a culture, a belief system that is shared by every level of the organization. One of these shared beliefs is that the purpose of being in business is to grow people. How do you grow people? You do this through coaching and a principle based organization. The following are the guiding principles that I believe are necessary for a company to be living in integrity.

Three Core Principles:

1) I do what I say I will do.

2). I can't do it by myself. I am far better off as a part of a team than I can ever be by myself.

3) Accountability-I am the source of all that I experience.

Core principle #1: I do what I say I will do.

This is a fundamental principle. If an individual does not hold this as important, the entire system of core values fall apart. I support this principle by blasting the following myth:

I am better off by committing high and falling short, then committing lower and falling short.

Please understand that this is a myth, and is not true. One is not better off by unrealistically committing to big audacious and hairy goals. If an individual commits to an artificially high goal then the moment they start to question their ability to reach that goal, their motivation begins to dramatically decrease. The "pull" of hope no longer is present.

Replace that myth with MLO's. Minimum level objectives. This concept embraces the first principle of living with integrity; I do what I said I would do. What is the minimum level you give your word you will do and falling short does not exist.

I have been in the training and coaching business for over twenty years. I can't tell you how many times I have heard an individual say that they were committed to reach some goal and then not take the intended actions. They all had viable reasons, stories, priorities, unscheduled interruptions, and excuses. They all also didn't do what they said they would do!

When you use MLO's, you call upon Newton's' third principle of physics, "inertia". "Any body in motion will remain in motion unless acted on by an external force" With huge unrealistic goals, the external force preventing the continuation of momentum is fear. Once individuals see "evidence" that they can't do something they immediately buy into that evidence as being true and they live their lives in resignation. I've heard it said, "its' the starting that stops most people"

If an individual had set a smaller, more realistic goal, then they would still maintain hope, and the chance to be successful and honor principle #1, I do what I said I would do. This goes against accepted ways of being such as, I should set big goals. I'm not against setting stretch goals. I simply request that you also give a bottom line that you give your word you will achieve no matter what. Try it!

Core principle #2: I can't do it by myself. I am far better off as a part of a team than I can ever be alone.

Elite performers will never argue with this. They know that they must surround themselves with others. By doing so they create the atmosphere where learning, discovery, clarity, and accountability can occur.

Try this simple experiment. Take thirty seconds and write down as many green vegetables as you can think of. Next, get a partner, and together, come up with one list of green vegetables in thirty seconds. In almost 100% of the cases, your list will be greater with a partner than it was by yourself.

Core principle #3: Accountability-I am the source of all that I experience.

The opposite of this principle is blaming. This principle is a source of strength for people. It doesn't allow them to become a victim. This principle embraces the concept that human beings are very powerful at creating results in their own lives. These may be dysfunctional results however! Someone who is thirty pounds overweight has created a miracle of a result. How would they know how to regulate their intake and expenditure to gain thirty pounds? They are exactly where they are in their weight because that is exactly what their point of view supports. We are very powerful at manifesting our dominating thoughts.

Likewise, someone who has financial difficulties has exactly what they should have given their current financial point of view. If they want to have different results, it is not what is going on around them, the environment, the marketplace, etc. The answer lies in their own dysfunctional point of view. If they want to change the results they are experiencing, they must first change their point of view. After all, they are the source of all that they experience.

How do you change your point of view? That is actually a simple process. Decide first what you want. Next, what do you need to do to have what you want? Then, what will you do over the next seven days? This declaration needs to be very specific, observable and measurable.

The process is not complete until you have a structure for accountability in place. This must come from someone outside of you. Another person is needed to hold you accountable and to check back with you at the end of the week to see if you actually did what you said you would do.

This is the elite performance system that I have traveled throughout the United States and abroad teaching with tremendous results for all of those individuals who were not satisfied with who they were or what their accomplishments were in life. For those who wanted to be more fulfilled in their health, business and personal lives, this is the formula.

Try it on. Make a specific declaration to another person and then set out to execute for the next seven days. Design some type of a reward or punishment with that person and watch how your perception shifts. Now, because you have this dynamic of accountability in your life, instead of just seeing how busy you are and all of the reasons why you can't do what you said you would do, you will see the opportunities to handle whatever comes your way and still honor what you said you would do.

Put one week after another together like this and you will have a miracle and magical year. Good luck!
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For keynote speaking engagements or personal coaching, contact Bob Davies, M.Ed, MCC
info@bobdavies
www.bobdavies.com
949-830-9192

Leaders Are Made, Not Born By Brian Tracy

The Key Leadership Abilities
Your ability to negotiate, communicate, influence, and persuade others to do things is absolutely indispensable to everything you accomplish in life.

The most effective men and women in every area are those who can quite competently organize the cooperation and assistance of other people toward the accomplishment of important goals and objectives.

Everyone Is Different
Of course, everyone you meet has different values, opinions, attitudes, beliefs, cultural values, work habits, goals, ambitions, and dreams. Because of this incredible diversity of human resources, it has never been more difficult and yet more necessary for diplomatic leaders to emerge and form these people into high-performing teams.

Do What Other Leaders Do
Fortunately, leaders are made, not born. You learn to become a leader by doing what other excellent leaders have done before you. You become proficient in your job or skill, and then you become proficient at understanding the motivations and behaviors of other people.

As a leader, you combine your personal competencies with the competencies of a variety of others into a smoothly functioning team that can out-play and out-perform all its competitors. When you become a team leader, even if your team only consists of one other person, you must immediately develop a whole new set of leadership skills.

Focus On What's Right vs. Who's Right
Whenever you have problems, misunderstandings, or difficulties within the team, you reexamine your values, your goals, your activities, your assignments, and your responsibilities. You are more concerned with what’s right than with who’s right.

Leaders are more concerned with winning than with not losing. High-Performing teams run by excellent leaders, are determined to perform in an excellent fashion. All members know that their ability to work together in harmony and cooperation is the key to the success of every one of them.

Aim At a Common Goal
The wonderful thing about becoming a leader in your work and personal life is that you can practice the skills of influencing and persuading others toward a common objective. You can promote the principles of excellent teamwork by establishing your values and goals, determining your activities, and then leading the action. And you can improve yourself by continually evaluating your performance against your standards.

Only Compare Yourself With Yourself
One of the marks of excellent people is that they never compare themselves with others. They only compare themselves with themselves and with their past accomplishments and future potential. You can become an even more excellent person by constantly setting higher and higher standards for yourself and then by doing everything possible to live up to those standards.

The more proficient you become at getting the results for which you were hired, the more opportunities you will have to get results through others. And your ability to put together a team and then to lead that team to high performance will enable you to accelerate your career and fulfill your goals faster than ever before.

Action Exercises:
First, think about specific things you can do to work more effectively with the different people on your team.

Second, set high standards for yourself and for each person and then dedicate yourself to achieving those standards.
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Brian Tracy is one of the world's leading authorities on personal and business success. His fast-moving talks and seminars are loaded with powerful, proven ideas and strategies that you can apply immediately to get better results in every area. Visit the Brian Tracy web site.

Why Leaders Fail By Mark Sanborn, CSP, CPAE

Donald Trump, paragon of the real estate world, files for bankruptcy. Richard Nixon, 37th U.S. President, resigns the presidency over the Watergate scandal. Jennifer Capriati, rising tennis star, enters a rehabilitation center for drug addicts. Jim Bakker, renowned televangelist, is convicted of fraud.

In the recent past, we've witnessed the public downfall of leaders from almost every area of endeavor -- business, politics, religion, and sports. One day they're on top of the heap, the next, the heap's on top of them.

Of course, we think that such catastrophic failure could never happen to us. We've worked hard to achieve our well-deserved positions of leadership -- and we won't give them up for anything! The bad news is: the distance between beloved leader and despised failure is shorter than we think.

Ken Maupin, a practicing psychotherapist and colleague, has built his practice on working with high-performance personalities, including leaders in business, religion, and sports. Ken and I have often discussed why leaders fail. Our discussions have led to the following "warning signs" of impending failure.

WARNING SIGN #1: A Shift in Focus

This shift can occur in several ways. Often, leaders simply lose sight of what's important. The laser-like focus that catapulted them to the top disappears, and they become distracted by the trappings of leadership, such as wealth and notoriety.

Leaders are usually distinguished by their ability to "think big." But when their focus shifts, they suddenly start thinking small. They micro manage, they get caught up in details better left to others, they become consumed with the trivial and unimportant. And to make matters worse, this tendency can be exacerbated by an inclination toward perfectionism.

A more subtle leadership derailer is an obsession with "doing" rather than "becoming." The good work of leadership is usually a result of who the leader is. What the leader does then flows naturally from inner vision and character. It is possible for a leader to become too action oriented and, in the process, lose touch with the more important development of self.

What is your primary focus right now? If you can't write it on the back of your business card, then it's a sure bet that your leadership is suffering from a lack of clarity. Take the time necessary to get your focus back on what's important.

Further, would you describe your thinking as expansive or contractive? Of course, you always should be willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done, but try never to take on what others can do as well as you. In short, make sure that your focus is on leading rather than doing.

WARNING SIGN #2: Poor Communication

A lack of focus and its resulting disorientation typically lead to poor communication. Followers can't possibly understand a leader's intent when the leader him- or herself isn't sure what it is! And when leaders are unclear about their own purpose, they often hide their confusion and uncertainty in ambiguous communication.

Sometimes, leaders fall into the clairvoyance trap. In other words, they begin to believe that truly committed followers automatically sense their goals and know what they want without being told. Misunderstanding is seen by such managers as a lack of effort (or commitment) on the listener's part, rather than their own communication negligence.

"Say what you mean, and mean what you say" is timeless advice, but it must be preceded by knowing what you mean! An underlying clarity of purpose is the starting point for all effective communication. It's only when you're absolutely clear about what you want to convey that the hard work of communicating pays dividends.

WARNING SIGN #3: Risk Aversion

Third, leaders at risk often begin to be driven by a fear of failure rather than the desire to succeed. Past successes create pressure for leaders: "Will I be able to sustain outstanding performance?" "What will I do for an encore?" In fact, the longer a leader is successful, the higher his or her perceived cost of failure.

When driven by the fear of failure, leaders are unable to take reasonable risks. They want to do only the tried and proven; attempts at innovation -- typically a key to their initial success -- diminish and eventually disappear.

Which is more important to you: the attempt or the outcome? Are you still taking reasonable risks? Prudent leadership never takes reckless chances that risk the destruction of what has been achieved, but neither is it paralyzed by fear. Often the dance of leadership is two steps forward, one step back.

WARNING SIGN #4: Ethics Slip

A leader's credibility is the result of two aspects: what he or she does (competency) and who he or she is (character). A discrepancy between these two aspects creates an integrity problem.

The highest principle of leadership is integrity. When integrity ceases to be a leader's top priority, when a compromise of ethics is rationalized away as necessary for the "greater good," when achieving results becomes more important than the means to their achievement -- that is the moment when a leader steps onto the slippery slope of failure.

Often such leaders see their followers as pawns, a mere means to an end, thus confusing manipulation with leadership. These leaders lose empathy. They cease to be people "perceivers" and become people "pleasers," using popularity to ease the guilt of lapsed integrity.

It is imperative to your leadership that you constantly subject your life and work to the highest scrutiny. Are there areas of conflict between what you believe and how you behave? Has compromise crept into your operational tool kit? One way to find out is to ask the people you depend on if they ever feel used or taken for granted.

WARNING SIGN #5: Poor Self Management

Tragically, if a leader doesn't take care of him- or herself, no one else will. Unless a leader is blessed to be surrounded by more-sensitive-than-normal followers, nobody will pick up on the signs of fatigue and stress. Leaders are often perceived to be superhuman, running on unlimited energy.

While leadership is invigorating, it is also tiring. Leaders who fail to take care of their physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual needs are headed for disaster. Think of having a gauge for each of these four areas of your life -- and check them often! When a gauge reaches the "empty" point, make time for refreshment and replenishment. Clear your schedule and take care of yourself -- it's absolutely vital to your leadership that you continue to grow and develop, a task that can be accomplished only when your tanks are full.

WARNING SIGN #6: Lost Love

The last warning sign of impending disaster that leaders need to heed is a move away from their first love and dream. Paradoxically, the hard work of leadership should be fulfilling and even fun. But when leaders lose sight of the dream that compelled them to accept the responsibility of leadership, they can find themselves working for causes that mean little to them. They must stick to what they love, what motivated them at the first, to maintain the fulfillment of leadership.

To make sure that you stay on the track of following your first love, frequently ask yourself these three questions: Why did I initially assume leadership? Have those reasons changed? Do I still want to lead?

Heed the Signs

The warning signs in life -- from stop lights to prescription labels -- are there for our good. They protect us from disaster, and we would be foolish to ignore them. As you consider the six warning signs of leadership failure, don't be afraid to take an honest look at yourself. If any of the warnings ring true, take action today! The good news is: by paying attention to these signs and heeding their warnings, you can avoid disaster and sustain the kind of leadership that is healthy and fulfilling both for yourself and your followers.

(c) Copyright 2007, Sanborn & Associates, Inc.
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Mark Sanborn, CSP, CPAE is a professional speaker published in the areas of leadership, change management, customer service and teamwork. He works with business organizations who want to reach the next level of success and individuals who want to perform at their best. You can email him at Mark@MarkSanborn.com, call him at (800) 650-3343 or visit his Web site at www.MarkSanborn.com.