BE IMPECCABLE WITH YOUR WORD Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.
You can't start the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading your last one
DON'T MAKE ASSUMPTIONS Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstanding, sadness, and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.
DON'T TAKE ANYTHING PERSONALLY Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering.
ALWAYS DO YOUR BEST Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgement, self-abuse, and regret.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Sunday, September 18, 2011
20 Things NOT to do on a Sales Call By Geoffrey James
#1. Flirt with the admin. It may seem tempting, but unless you’ve got soap-opera-quality looks, chances are you’re only going to annoy (or even alarm) the admin, who will tell the boss. Instead: Stay polite, friendly and respectful.
#2. Talk more than you listen. Initial sales calls are all about relationship building and gathering information, which you can’t do if your mouth is moving. Instead: Get curious about the customer and ask questions.
#3. Comment on the memento. The last 372 people who came into that office remarked about the signed baseball on the desk. Ho-hum… Instead: Research the prospect and ask about the prospect’s job.
#4. Pretend to drop by. Who are you kidding? Do you think that it’s going to cushion the rejection if you pretend that it’s not a sales call? Instead: Have something important to say or sell that justifies your presence.
#5. Answer your cell phone. Ouch! Ouch! What were you thinking? How could any telephone call be more important than a real live prospect? Instead: Turn it off and leave it in your briefcase.
#6. Overstay your welcome. Your prospect has hundreds of other things that he or she could be doing, rather than spending time with you. Instead: Set a time limit for the call.
#7. Let the meeting meander. This isn’t the time for a wandering conversation that slowly gets to the point or a long series of complicated questions. Instead: Provide brief agenda of how you expect the call to proceed.
#8. Argue with the customer. If the customer doesn’t agree with an important point, arguing is only going to set that opinion in stone. Instead: ask the customer why he holds that opinion; then listen.
#9: Discuss politics or religion. Such subjects are almost always a trap into opinionated quicksand that’s hard or impossible to get out of. Instead: keep the discussion on business or neutral ground.
#10: Dive into your product pitch. Sure you’ve got something to sell, but if you pitch too soon, you’ll get pitched out the door. Instead: Ask questions to understand needs, before you pitch.
#11: Arrive late to the call. If you don’t arrive on time it tell the customer clearly that you don’t give a damn about them or their time. Instead: Always arrive 15 minutes ahead of time. If you drive to calls, get a GPS.
#12: Appear flippant or sarcastic. A good-natured laugh at a joke might be taken personally by someone watching out the window, without hearing the context. Instead: Watch your demeanor at all times.
#13: Lack requisite product knowledge. The prospect doesn’t want to hear “I need to get back to you about that”…over and over. Instead: make sure you’re trained on your current products and policies…before the call.
#14: Fail to plan the call. Sounds simple, but trying to close when should be qualifying (for example) is a lost sale. Instead: Never enter a door without first thinking about what you plan to accomplish.
#15: Be too business-like at first. Remember you’re building bridges with another human being, not just a notch in your sales gun. Instead: Smile and be friendly… but don’t get too gushy.
#16: Show up with a crowd. If you bring too many people, it will draw customer’s comments about why your costs so high Instead: Use webconferencing when you need to include additional resources.
#17: Fail to check your appearance. Don’t show up with something amiss that a quick stop in the client’s bathroom could head off. Instead: Make a quick pit stop - with a look-over - before the call.
#18: Forget the customers’ names. What could be more embarrassing than actually forgetting whom you’re talking with? Instead: Write down the names down of everyone in the room with a small table diagram.
#19: Be rude to the admin. No flirting, of course, but if you act all arrogant and superior, you’ll just antagonize the help. Instead: Be friendly and respectful of the staff - admin and otherwise.
#20: Ask personal questions. You may think that the customer is your friend, but you can easily screw up if it gets too personal. Instead: Keep the conversation focused on business issues, especially the customer’s needs.
#2. Talk more than you listen. Initial sales calls are all about relationship building and gathering information, which you can’t do if your mouth is moving. Instead: Get curious about the customer and ask questions.
#3. Comment on the memento. The last 372 people who came into that office remarked about the signed baseball on the desk. Ho-hum… Instead: Research the prospect and ask about the prospect’s job.
#4. Pretend to drop by. Who are you kidding? Do you think that it’s going to cushion the rejection if you pretend that it’s not a sales call? Instead: Have something important to say or sell that justifies your presence.
#5. Answer your cell phone. Ouch! Ouch! What were you thinking? How could any telephone call be more important than a real live prospect? Instead: Turn it off and leave it in your briefcase.
#6. Overstay your welcome. Your prospect has hundreds of other things that he or she could be doing, rather than spending time with you. Instead: Set a time limit for the call.
#7. Let the meeting meander. This isn’t the time for a wandering conversation that slowly gets to the point or a long series of complicated questions. Instead: Provide brief agenda of how you expect the call to proceed.
#8. Argue with the customer. If the customer doesn’t agree with an important point, arguing is only going to set that opinion in stone. Instead: ask the customer why he holds that opinion; then listen.
#9: Discuss politics or religion. Such subjects are almost always a trap into opinionated quicksand that’s hard or impossible to get out of. Instead: keep the discussion on business or neutral ground.
#10: Dive into your product pitch. Sure you’ve got something to sell, but if you pitch too soon, you’ll get pitched out the door. Instead: Ask questions to understand needs, before you pitch.
#11: Arrive late to the call. If you don’t arrive on time it tell the customer clearly that you don’t give a damn about them or their time. Instead: Always arrive 15 minutes ahead of time. If you drive to calls, get a GPS.
#12: Appear flippant or sarcastic. A good-natured laugh at a joke might be taken personally by someone watching out the window, without hearing the context. Instead: Watch your demeanor at all times.
#13: Lack requisite product knowledge. The prospect doesn’t want to hear “I need to get back to you about that”…over and over. Instead: make sure you’re trained on your current products and policies…before the call.
#14: Fail to plan the call. Sounds simple, but trying to close when should be qualifying (for example) is a lost sale. Instead: Never enter a door without first thinking about what you plan to accomplish.
#15: Be too business-like at first. Remember you’re building bridges with another human being, not just a notch in your sales gun. Instead: Smile and be friendly… but don’t get too gushy.
#16: Show up with a crowd. If you bring too many people, it will draw customer’s comments about why your costs so high Instead: Use webconferencing when you need to include additional resources.
#17: Fail to check your appearance. Don’t show up with something amiss that a quick stop in the client’s bathroom could head off. Instead: Make a quick pit stop - with a look-over - before the call.
#18: Forget the customers’ names. What could be more embarrassing than actually forgetting whom you’re talking with? Instead: Write down the names down of everyone in the room with a small table diagram.
#19: Be rude to the admin. No flirting, of course, but if you act all arrogant and superior, you’ll just antagonize the help. Instead: Be friendly and respectful of the staff - admin and otherwise.
#20: Ask personal questions. You may think that the customer is your friend, but you can easily screw up if it gets too personal. Instead: Keep the conversation focused on business issues, especially the customer’s needs.
How much do you get others to do the work?
This is probably one of the least publicized weapons of mass destruction in business model design. What could be more powerful than getting others to do the work while you earn the money?
In the bricks and mortar world IKEA gets us to assemble the furniture we buy from them. We do the work. They save money. On the web Facebook gets us to post photos, create and participate in conversations, and “like” stuff. That’s the real value of Facebook, entirely created by users, while they simply provide the platform. We do the work. They earn the sky-high valuations of their shares.
Previously mentioned Redhat crafted another smart business model based on other people’s work. Their entire business model is built on top of software developed by the open source software development community. This allowed them to substantially reduce their development costs and compete head-on with larger companies like Microsoft.
A more malicious business model in which others do the work is the one practiced by so-called patent trolls. In this model patents are purchased with the sole intention of suing successful companies to extract payments from them.
In the bricks and mortar world IKEA gets us to assemble the furniture we buy from them. We do the work. They save money. On the web Facebook gets us to post photos, create and participate in conversations, and “like” stuff. That’s the real value of Facebook, entirely created by users, while they simply provide the platform. We do the work. They earn the sky-high valuations of their shares.
Previously mentioned Redhat crafted another smart business model based on other people’s work. Their entire business model is built on top of software developed by the open source software development community. This allowed them to substantially reduce their development costs and compete head-on with larger companies like Microsoft.
A more malicious business model in which others do the work is the one practiced by so-called patent trolls. In this model patents are purchased with the sole intention of suing successful companies to extract payments from them.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Thats my Fish
The Japanese have always loved fresh fish. But the water close to Japan has not held many fish for decades. So to feed the Japanese population, fishing boats got bigger and went farther than ever. The farther the fishermen went, the longer it took to bring the fish. If the return trip took more time, the fish were not fresh. To solve this problem, fish companies installed freezers on their boats. They would catch the fish and freeze them at sea. Freezers allowed the boats to go farther and stay longer. However, the Japanese could taste the difference between fresh and frozen fish. And they did not like the taste of frozen fish. The frozen fish brought a lower price. So, fishing companies installed fish tanks. They would catch the fish and stuff them in the tanks, fin to fin. After a little thrashing around, they were tired, dull, and lost their fresh-fish taste. The fishing industry faced an impending crisis!
.
But today, they get fresh-tasting fish in Japan .
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How did they manage? To keep the fish tasting fresh, the Japanese fishing companies still put the fish in the tanks but with a small shark. The fish are challenged and hence are constantly on the move. The challenge they face keeps them alive and fresh!
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Have you realized that some of us are also living in a pond but most of the time tired and dull? Basically in our lives, sharks are new challenges to keep us active. If you are steadily conquering challenges, you are happy. Your challenges keep you energized. Don't create success and revel in it in a state of inertia. You have the resources, skills and abilities to make a difference.
.
Take a Risk, take a chance. Put a shark in your tank and see how far you can really go!
.
But today, they get fresh-tasting fish in Japan .
.
How did they manage? To keep the fish tasting fresh, the Japanese fishing companies still put the fish in the tanks but with a small shark. The fish are challenged and hence are constantly on the move. The challenge they face keeps them alive and fresh!
.
Have you realized that some of us are also living in a pond but most of the time tired and dull? Basically in our lives, sharks are new challenges to keep us active. If you are steadily conquering challenges, you are happy. Your challenges keep you energized. Don't create success and revel in it in a state of inertia. You have the resources, skills and abilities to make a difference.
.
Take a Risk, take a chance. Put a shark in your tank and see how far you can really go!
Ek Din
Ek din aisa bhi aana hai dono Ke do mein se ek ne chale jaana hai. aisle jeena seekh le ke jeene mien taqleef na ho.
The immortal romantic lines, love beyond life. If man and woman were made for companionship why do they have to live alone once the other dies. Another one of life's wonders. I wish I was superman and could change this
The immortal romantic lines, love beyond life. If man and woman were made for companionship why do they have to live alone once the other dies. Another one of life's wonders. I wish I was superman and could change this
Thursday, August 18, 2011
10 Things Great Managers Do By Steve Tobak
There’s all sorts of rhetoric about what good bosses should and shouldn’t do these days. I guess that’s a good thing. Unfortunately, most of it’s pretty basic, generic fluff that sort of blends together after a while.
Even worse, a lot of it’s, well, utopian. It panders to what employees want to hear instead of giving truly practical and insightful advice on what makes a manager effective in the real world where business is everything and everything’s on the line.
This list is different. It’s different because, to derive it, I went back in time to the best characteristics of the best CEOs (primarily) I’ve worked for and with over the past 30 years. It’s based entirely on my own experience with executives who made a real difference at extraordinary companies.
Some were big, some were small, but all were successful in their respective markets, primarily because of the attributes of these CEOs. Each anecdote taught me a critical lesson that advanced my career and helped me to be a better leader. Hope you get as much out of reading it as I did living it.
10 Things Great Managers Do
Maintain your cool and sense of humor, especially during a crisis. When our biggest customer - and I mean big - thought I leaked a front-page story to the press, I offered to resign to save the relationship. My boss, a great CEO, gave me this serious look, like he was thinking about it, and said, “You’re not getting off that easy.” Then he broke out into a big smile.
Tell subordinates when they’re shooting themselves in the foot. Sometimes I can be pretty intimidating and I’ve had CEOs who shied away from giving it to me straight when my emotions got the better of me. Not this one guy. We’d be in a heated meeting and he’d quietly take me aside and read me the riot act. He was so genuine about it that it always opened my eyes and helped me to achieve perspective.
Be the boss, but behave like a peer. I’ve worked with loads of CEOs who let their egos get the better of them. They act like they’re better than everyone else, are distant and emotionally detached, or flaunt their knowledge and power. That kind of behavior diminishes leaders, makes them seem small, and keeps them from really connecting with people. They’re not always the most successful, but the most admired CEOs I know are genuinely humble.
Let your guard down and really be yourself outside of work. You know, teambuilding is so overrated. All you really need to do outside of work to build a cohesive team is break some bread, have some drinks, relax, let your guard down, and be a regular human being. When you get to be really confident, you can be that way all the time. That’s the mark of a great leader.
Stand behind and make big bets on people you believe in. One CEO would constantly challenge you and your thinking to the point of being abusive. But once he trusted and believed in you, he put his full weight behind you 100 percent to help you succeed. He’d stand up for you even when he wasn’t sure what the heck you were up to. And he’d give you new functional responsibilities - something up-and-coming execs need to grow. Okay, he wasn’t perfect, but who is?
Complement your subordinate’s weaknesses. I often say it’s every employee’s job to complement her boss’s weaknesses. The only reason that’s even doable is because we’ve all only got one boss. But I actually had a CEO who did that with each and every one of his staff. For example, I’m more of a big picture strategy guy and he would really hold my feat to the fire by tracking my commitments. It felt like micromanaging at first, but I eventually realized it helped me to be a more effective and strengthened the entire management team.
Compliment your employee’s strengths. It takes a strong, confident leader to go out on a limb and tell an employee what they’re great at. Why? I don’t know, but I suspect it’s hard for alpha males that primarily inhabit executive offices. Anyway, it’s important because we can’t always see ourselves objectively. Twenty years ago a CEO identified how effectively I cut through a boatload of BS to reach unique solutions to tough problems. Today, that’s what I do for a living.
Teach the toughest, most painful lessons you’ve ever learned. As a young manager at Texas Instruments, I once asked my boss’s boss for advice about a promotion I didn’t get. He told me a candid story about the hardest lesson he’d ever learned, the reason he was stuck in his job. He made himself indispensible and didn’t groom his replacement. It was painful for him to share, but it opened my eyes and made a huge difference in my career.
Do the right thing. Just about everyone says it, but I’ve only known one CEO who both preached and practiced it to the point where it became a big part of the company culture. You’d walk the halls and hear people say it all the time. He meant two things by it. When he said it to you, it meant he trusted you to do just that. He also meant it regardless of status quo or consequences. He had extraordinary faith in that phrase. Now I do too.
Do what has to be done, no matter what. It’s a rare executive who jumps on a plane at a moment’s notice to close a deal or gives an impromptu presentation when a potential investor shows up unexpectedly. It’s even more rare when he does it without asking questions or hemming and hawing about it. He just does what has to be done. That kind of drive and focus on the business is relatively common with entrepreneurs in high-tech startups - but it shouldn’t be. It’s the mark of a great manager who will find success, that’s for sure.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
The Story of Dhyan Chand by Rajesh Kalra
I have been bemused by the recent clamour that the rules for awarding Bharat Ratna be modified to include sportspersons too so that our batting sensation Sachin Tendulkar can be awarded the nation’s highest civilian award. Given the way some of the national civilian awards have been devalued in recent years, especially Padma Shri, with all sorts of people with doubtful integrity and accomplishments getting selected, considering Sachin for the nation’s highest award would easily seem one of the most merited.
I too am a fan of Sachin who has provided joy to millions of Indian, indeed the world, cricket lovers with his supreme batting displays. Even more than that, I marvel at the manner in which he has handled himself while being scrutinised so closely for well over two decades. Not a shred of allegation on his personal and professional behaviour. Of course, the way he has managed to retain the passion for the game that would do men half his age proud is something folk stories are made of.
However, despite all these great things attributed to Sachin, I am still unconvinced that if indeed the rules of the game are changed to include sportspersons, Sachin should be the first in the line to get the award.
The one name that comes to mind immediately is that of our hockey great Major Dhyan Chand. Whether you are a hockey lover or not, anyone who claims to be a sports lover would, or should, know about Dhyan Chand. He was instrumental in the country winning three successive Olympic Gold medals in hockey - 1928, Amsterdam; 1932, Los Angeles and 1936, Berlin. Such was his mastery when the sport was indeed India’s national game, that there are tales of people travelling from different countries to just watch him play a game of 70 minutes.
And while Sachin’s feats may still be getting there, Dhyan Chand’s accomplishments and stories are already part of the sporting folklore. Consider the following:-
At Berlin Olympics in 1936, when India played its first game, word went around that a wizard was at work on the hockey field and it drew spectators from other venues. A German newspaper carried a headline: The Olympic complex now has a magic show too. Posters were put up all over Berlin asking people to watch a show like never seen before.
At one occasion, a lady spectator said if he was such a wizard, could he play with her walking stick. Dhyan Chand did, and scored goals, with the walking stick.
Apparently in 1935 at Adelaide, Australia’s hockey capital, Dhyan Chand and cricket great Donald Bradman came face to face. After watching him play, the Don remarked: He scores goals like runs in cricket.
And of course, the most celebrated story of how Hitler, after watching his stupendous performance at Berlin Olympics, offered him the German citizenship and also a promotion in the German army. Of course, Dhyan Chand refused.
And this is just a sample of stories around the man, whose exploits on the hockey field with his team mates, especially his elder brother Roop Singh, are enough to write a book on. Honestly, do you think Sachin’s exploits, amazing though they are, come even close?
As I said, I hold Sachin in extremely high regard but there is yet another major difference between Sachin and Dhyan Chand. When Dhyan Chand played, it was the golden age of hockey with several great players, but Dhyan Chand’s stature was unquestionable. He was unparalleled. However, while Sachin too is considered great, there are his contemporaries who, depending on who you speak to, are considered as good, if not better. Internationally, these would include those like Brian Lara or Viv Richards, and at home, easily the redoubtable Sunil Gavaskar and India’s man for all seasons, Rahul Dravid. Of course, how can one not mention the Don, but there has rarely been talk of Sachin being greater than him.
In Dhyan Chand’s case, however, there was no one who came close. In terms of stickwork at least, there have been the likes of our own Mohd. Shahid or the Pakistani duo of Hassan Sardar and later Shahbaz, but absolutely none had such a mesmeric influence over the game as Dhyan Chand.
So, back to the debate on whether Sachin should get the Bharat Ratna or not? Yes, most certainly. As I said, he merits it ahead of a lot of others who keep getting national awards these days. But should he be the first one? I most certainly think not. Dhyan Chand it should be.
I too am a fan of Sachin who has provided joy to millions of Indian, indeed the world, cricket lovers with his supreme batting displays. Even more than that, I marvel at the manner in which he has handled himself while being scrutinised so closely for well over two decades. Not a shred of allegation on his personal and professional behaviour. Of course, the way he has managed to retain the passion for the game that would do men half his age proud is something folk stories are made of.
However, despite all these great things attributed to Sachin, I am still unconvinced that if indeed the rules of the game are changed to include sportspersons, Sachin should be the first in the line to get the award.
The one name that comes to mind immediately is that of our hockey great Major Dhyan Chand. Whether you are a hockey lover or not, anyone who claims to be a sports lover would, or should, know about Dhyan Chand. He was instrumental in the country winning three successive Olympic Gold medals in hockey - 1928, Amsterdam; 1932, Los Angeles and 1936, Berlin. Such was his mastery when the sport was indeed India’s national game, that there are tales of people travelling from different countries to just watch him play a game of 70 minutes.
And while Sachin’s feats may still be getting there, Dhyan Chand’s accomplishments and stories are already part of the sporting folklore. Consider the following:-
At Berlin Olympics in 1936, when India played its first game, word went around that a wizard was at work on the hockey field and it drew spectators from other venues. A German newspaper carried a headline: The Olympic complex now has a magic show too. Posters were put up all over Berlin asking people to watch a show like never seen before.
At one occasion, a lady spectator said if he was such a wizard, could he play with her walking stick. Dhyan Chand did, and scored goals, with the walking stick.
Apparently in 1935 at Adelaide, Australia’s hockey capital, Dhyan Chand and cricket great Donald Bradman came face to face. After watching him play, the Don remarked: He scores goals like runs in cricket.
And of course, the most celebrated story of how Hitler, after watching his stupendous performance at Berlin Olympics, offered him the German citizenship and also a promotion in the German army. Of course, Dhyan Chand refused.
And this is just a sample of stories around the man, whose exploits on the hockey field with his team mates, especially his elder brother Roop Singh, are enough to write a book on. Honestly, do you think Sachin’s exploits, amazing though they are, come even close?
As I said, I hold Sachin in extremely high regard but there is yet another major difference between Sachin and Dhyan Chand. When Dhyan Chand played, it was the golden age of hockey with several great players, but Dhyan Chand’s stature was unquestionable. He was unparalleled. However, while Sachin too is considered great, there are his contemporaries who, depending on who you speak to, are considered as good, if not better. Internationally, these would include those like Brian Lara or Viv Richards, and at home, easily the redoubtable Sunil Gavaskar and India’s man for all seasons, Rahul Dravid. Of course, how can one not mention the Don, but there has rarely been talk of Sachin being greater than him.
In Dhyan Chand’s case, however, there was no one who came close. In terms of stickwork at least, there have been the likes of our own Mohd. Shahid or the Pakistani duo of Hassan Sardar and later Shahbaz, but absolutely none had such a mesmeric influence over the game as Dhyan Chand.
So, back to the debate on whether Sachin should get the Bharat Ratna or not? Yes, most certainly. As I said, he merits it ahead of a lot of others who keep getting national awards these days. But should he be the first one? I most certainly think not. Dhyan Chand it should be.
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