For it’s through the losses…

…that we find the path to success.

My Dad was a great encourager.  I had failed miserably at an academic endeavor.  He could see my pain and the doubt I was experiencing.  That’s when he said “It’s a temporary setback.  What are you going to do now?”  It was all the encouragement I needed.  I quickly established a plan and followed it to great success.

Over the years as “failures” and disappointments challenged my resolve, his words echoed in my mind “It’s a temporary setback.  What are you going to do now?”

As I’ve studied the lives of those who have achieved exceptional success, I’ve noticed that they don’t just have a solid methodology for overcoming their temporary setbacks, they position themselves to experience those setbacks.  Why?  Because it’s through challenging themselves beyond their current capabilities that they learn how to become better at whatever it is they do.

If we don’t position ourselves to lose we cannot grow - personally or professionally.  Of course we need to be prudent in how we position ourselves for loss.  We don’t want to bet the farm when we’re positioning ourselves for that next growth spurt and the initial loss we’re likely to experience.

There is another advantage to positioning ourselves for loss.  The more frequently we experience temporary setbacks, the less likely they are to rock our world.  The more of them that we experience, the more mentally and emotionally tough we become and the easier it is for us to overcome adversity.

It’s counter-intuitive, but if you want to be incredibly successful, regularly position yourself to lose.

The 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE program is designed to help you see more effective ways of doing business – ways that dramatically improve your bottom line while making your life easier.  In today’s blog I used Step 1, Contributory Negligence, and Step 5, Contrarian Mindset, to demonstrate how our natural avoidance of “losing” limits our success.  For more information on the 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE visit www.furtwengler.com/7steps.htm.

If you’d like to receive a weekly email reminder with a link to The Invaluable Leader blog or if you’d like me to address specific topics, please send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com.  Please share your experience with our readers by posting a comment.

Productivity enhancer…

…or creativity killer?

Over the years I’ve heard conflicting advice about rituals.  People who employ them, without exception, tell me that they achieve their goals more quickly.  That’s why people who:

• build time for exercise into their schedules, enjoy good health
• devote some time each day to personal reflection, enjoy greater self-awareness
• spend as little as 15 minutes a day reading, expand their knowledge

I’ve also been told to:

• take different routes to and from work
• mix up my daily routine
• do things for the sheer enjoyment of doing them

The latter advice is purported to help me avoid boredom, enhance my powers of observation and creativity.

So which is true?  Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz in their book, The Power of Full Engagement, say that “Far from precluding spontaneity, rituals provide a level of comfort, continuity and security that frees us to improvise and to take risks.”

What Loehr and Schwartz are suggesting is that, once we’ve established a ritual, our subconscious minds take over allowing our conscious minds the freedom to deal with whatever we’re facing.  By freeing the conscious mind we are able to respond more quickly and creatively to any challenge we’re facing.

As I reflect on the wisdom of their words, I realize that rituals help us avoid wasting time and energy by limiting the number of choices we make each day.  If I’ve built time for exercise into my schedule each day and have made it a ritual, I don’t waste time or energy trying to decide whether I should be exercising, making a few more phone calls or writing next week’s blog.  The decision is already made.

It’s counter-intuitive, but rituals allow us more time and energy to devote to creative pursuits because they’ve taken the decision making out of things that should be daily routines

The 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE program I offer is designed to help you see more effective ways of doing business – ways that dramatically improve your bottom line while making your life easier.  In today’s blog I used Step 6, Eclectic Education, to gain insights into how Loehr and Schwartz help world-class athletes and performers enjoy even greater success through rituals.

I also used Step 5, Contrarian Mindset, to demonstrate that the common belief that rituals (routines) limit creativity is a myth.  For more information on the 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE visit www.furtwengler.com/7steps.htm.

If you’d like to receive a weekly email reminder with a link to The Invaluable Leader blog or if you’d like me to address specific topics, please send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com.  Please share your experience with our readers by posting a comment.

Are you having a difficult time closing sales?

Do you feel guilty because you know you can help the prospect?

If so, you’re problem lies in your inability to say “No” to people. This tendency could be the result of:

• a sense of scarcity
• a passion for helping others
• a desire to please others

A sense of scarcity makes you look hungry during the sales call. Buyers sense your need and naturally withdraw. Who wants to work with someone who is struggling?

A passion for helping others often causes you to overlook the prospect’s desire to change. Just because you know that you can help someone doesn’t mean they’re interested in being helped.

If you’re a pleaser, if your goal is to make others happy and you’re willing to do whatever they ask, you’ll cave to the prospect’s demands - often to your detriment. Again, buyers sense your need and take advantage of your nature causing you to do a lot of work with little compensation and even less customer satisfaction.

Regardless of the reason, your inability to say “No” sends mixed messages to the market. If you’re experiencing scarcity, buyers sense that and find it difficult to believe that your offerings are as great as you say they are. When your passion for helping others causes you to say “My offering can help anyone,” buyers become skeptical - they know that there are no panaceas, no one-size-fits-all. If you’re a pleaser and you keep changing your offerings to accommodate buyers, you cause then to question the value of your product or service.

What’s the solution? The secret is to say “No” to people who don’t value what you have to offer. You know which of your customers bring you great joy and which drive you bonkers. Discover what those delightful customers have in common and use these characteristics to define your ideal customer. Then learn to graciously say to the others “I don’t think I’m the right person to meet your needs.”

Indeed, you can take this one step farther by telling prospects, in the sales call, who your ideal customer is. Amazingly, when I use this approach, some people have asked “Do I qualify?” This simple question allows me to have a candid conversation with the prospect that allows them to participate in a self-evaluation that helps them and me make a more informed decision about whether or not we should move forward.

It’s counter-intuitive, but if you want to:

• attract more business
• close more sales
• become more effective in serving your customers

learn to say “No.”

Buyers want to do business with people who:

• demonstrate confidence and success by their willingness to walk away from business that doesn’t make sense for them
• have a clear understanding of who their ideal customers are and communicate that information clearly and effectively
• who aren’t willing to compromise the value of their offerings to please others

The 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE program I offer is designed to help you see more effective ways of doing business - ways that dramatically improve your bottom line while making your life easier.

In today’s blog I used Step 1, Contributory Negligence, combined with Step 5, a Contrarian Mindset, to demonstrate how our inability to say “No” makes us less attractive in the marketplace. For more information on the 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE visit www.furtwengler.com/7steps.htm.

If you’d like to receive a weekly email reminder with a link to The Invaluable Leader blog or if you’d like me to address specific topics, please send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com. Please share your experience with our readers by posting a comment.

How can one individual become a World Champion in both chess and Tai Chi Chuan?

More importantly, how can his insights help you?

Josh Waitzkin, a world-renowned chessmaster and Tai Chi Chuan Push Hands champion, in his book, The Art of Learning, says:

“A key ingredient to my success in those years (his youth) was that my style on the chessboard was a direct expression of my personality.”

Later in the book Josh often references how he adjusts his approach to Push Hands competition to reflect both his personality and his physical capabilities.

What does this have to do with social networking?  Today’s latest craze has spawned a plethora of “experts” who tell us exactly what we need to do to attract opportunities using the overwhelming number of social networks available to us.  Each, of course, has enjoyed great success with his or her model.

Personally, I have wrestled with this advice.  Logically, it has merit.  Emotionally, I find myself resisting the effort.  What’s going on?  The advice I’m resisting doesn’t fit my nature!

As soon as I read Waitzkin’s words, I knew what I had to do.  I had to embrace those bits of advice that felt good to me, adapt them to my nature and run with them.  The other advice, while good, won’t help me because it drains my energy.  It doesn’t feel good so I’m not going to make a worthwhile investment to make it work.  Armed with that knowledge, I know I’ll get much better results with activities that fit my nature.

It’s counter-intuitive, but when you’re getting advice, regardless of what that advice is, if it doesn’t feel right, don’t do it - even though what you’re hearing makes perfect sense.  Instead, examine the advice you’re getting to determine:

1. What makes sense about this advice
2. Why you are resisting it - what is it that you’re not likely to do?
3. How you can adapt the approach to fit your style
4. What alternatives exist, if you can’t adapt the approach to your style

Success is a function of clear, concise and consistent effort.  You can’t achieve any of them if what you’re expected to do goes against your nature.  Be true to yourself and you’ll enjoy greater success.

For more information on Josh Waitzkin, visit www.joshwaitzkin.com

The 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE program I offer is designed to help you see more effective ways of doing business - ways that dramatically improve your bottom line while making your life easier.  

In today’s blog I used Step 6, Eclectic Education, to gather insights from a World Champion chessmaster and Tai Chi Chuan master, and combined it with Step 4, Seeing Similarities, to demonstrate how to overcome the challenges many of us face in dealing with the explosion of social networking tools available to us.  For more information on the 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE visit www.furtwengler.com/7steps.htm. 

If you’d like to receive a weekly email reminder with a link to The Invaluable Leader blog or if you’d like me to address specific topics, please send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com.  Please share your experience with our readers by posting a comment.

If you’re like me you understand the importance of a niche…

…you’re just not sure what it is or how to find one.

The Nametag guy, Scott Ginsberg, to the rescue!  In his latest book, Stick Yourself OUT There (actually it’s two books in one),  Scott describes two types of niches:

1. Niche expertise
2. Niche market

Here’s how Scott defines these niches:

1. “Niche expertise means you know a LOT about a SPECIFIC TOPIC that applies to a WIDE AUDIENCE.”
2. “Niche market means you know a LOT about a SPECIFIC GROUP OF PEOPLE to whom you apply many topics.”

What’s fascinating to me is that I’ve often been told that I need to find a niche market when I’m really a generalist.  I’ve worked with people in defense contracting, toxic waste disposal, railroad sidings, professional organizations, fast food, automotive suppliers and rubber extruders to name just a few of the industries I’ve served.  

Not only do I enjoy the variety being a generalist affords, I find that I can port ideas from one industry to another for my clients’ benefit.  That’s why I found the idea of a niche market so puzzling.  Thanks to Scott, I realize that I’m employing the “niche expertise” model.  

It’s counter-intuitive, but, whether you are a specialist or a generalist, there are niches available to you.  If you, like me, have been wrestling with the concept of a niche and losing the battle, follow Scott’s sage advice.  For those of you who would like more information about Scott check out his website at www.hellomynameisscott.com/landing.aspx

The 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE program I offer is designed to help you see more effective ways of doing business – ways that dramatically improve your bottom line while making your life easier.  In today’s blog I used Step 6, Eclectic Education, in the form of Scott’s message and Step 1, Contributory Negligence in exploring my contribution to the problem of identifying a niche to help guide me, and hopefully you, toward even greater success.  For more information on the 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE visit www.furtwengler.com/7steps.htm. 

If you’d like to receive a weekly email reminder with a link to The Invaluable Leader blog or if you’d like me to address specific topics, please send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com.  Please share your experience with our readers by posting a comment.

Can we prevent future occurrences?

If so, how?

In his April 1, 2009 Wall Street Journal article, Preventing ‘Too Big To Fail’ Isn’t Easy, Sudeep Reddy noted that Gary Stern, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, had repeatedly warned regulators of allowing banks to get too large.  He also quoted Former Fed Chairman, Alan Greenspan, who said “Knowing when the crisis will happen is not possible for human beings.”  

While I agree that we may not be able to predict the exact time that a crisis will occur, we can certainly get early warning signals that we’re creating one.  Certainly Mr. Stern had that ability.  The key is that the earlier we can identify that an effort is going to fail, the smaller the crisis we’ll face when it does occur.  How can we avoid the “too big to fail” mistake in the future?  There are two questions that I find particularly helpful in discerning whether or not a merger or acquisition will fail.  

The first comes from Juli Niemann, Smith Moore & Co.’s resident economist who asks “Are they investing cash?”  Juli says that managements make more prudent investments when they’re using their company’s cash than when they’re borrowing the money from others.  We need only recall our youth to validate her statement.  Who among us wasn’t more frivolous in our spending when our parents were footing the bill than when we had to cough up the money ourselves?

• The second question is one that has served me well both in my personal investments and my client work.  The question is “What’s in it for the customer?”  An industry leader acquiring a relative newcomer to the industry can significantly increase customer value if:
• the newcomer has offerings that the industry leader does not
• those offerings are valued by the industry leader’s customers
• it would take years for the industry leader to develop comparable offerings
• it would take the newcomer years to build the name recognition and gain the level of customer confidence the industry leader possesses
• there are markets in which the industry leader has a presence that the newcomer doesn’t serve

Had these questions had been asked prior to the Bank of America/Merrill Lynch and Wachovia/A.G. Edwards mergers would the regulators have approved them?  We’ll never know for sure, but three things that are obvious is that all four companies had:

•  stellar reputations with strong brand recognition
• wide distribution channels which made them readily accessible to customers and prospects
• a wide array of offerings designed to satisfy virtually any customer need

From that vantage point, was there really any reason for those mergers to occur?  

It’s counter-intuitive, but these two simple questions:

•  Are they investing cash?
• What’s in it for the customer?

can provide regulators with the insights they need prevent a recurrence of the “too big too fail” fiasco we’re currently suffering.

The 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE program I offer is designed to help you see more effective ways of doing business – ways that dramatically improve your bottom line while making your life easier.  In today’s blog I used Step 1, Contributory Negligence, to demonstrate how simple, inexpensive and easy to implement solutions can be when we break problems down and begin to look at them from the standpoint of what we did to contribute to them.

I also used Step 5, Contrarian Mindset, to look beneath the level of complexity most people see to the lowest common denominator(s) that drive the challenges we face.  In this instance, two fairly simple questions serve as powerful indicators of how to avoid “Too Big To Fail.”  For more information on the 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE visit www.furtwengler.com/7steps.htm. 

Please share your experiences and wisdom with Invaluable Leader readers by posting your comments.  If you’d like to receive a weekly email reminder for The Invaluable Leader blog or if there’s a topic you’d like me to address, please send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com.

How a world-class musician viewed his talent…

…and what it can mean for you.

Concert pianist Artur Schnabel said “The notes I handle no better than many pianists.  But the pauses between the notes - ah, that is where the art resides!”  

It’s the pauses that give listeners a chance to savor the notes - to enjoy them leisurely rather than racing on to the next note, to reflect on them and enjoy the emotional reaction they elicit regardless of whether the emotion is joy or sadness.

In a similar vein authors Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz in their book The Power of Full Engagement, tell us how they help world-class athletes in golf, tennis, speed skating and basketball dramatically improve their performance.  How?  Not by focusing on the skills associated with the sport, but by educating them on how to use the time between shots, plays and events.  Why?  Because it’s the downtime that allows these athletes to recover from the strain of competition and intensify their focus for the next shot, play or event.

Are you building pauses into your schedule?  Are you using pauses to help you:

• Savor your success?

• Reflect on a skill you acquired and how it can be applied or enhanced?

• Recover from the strain of competing in one of the most challenging environments ever created - the world of business?

• Intensify your focus for dealing with the next growth opportunity or misstep on your way to greater success?

If you’re not, you’re positioning yourself for failure.  It’s counter-intuitive, but it’s the pauses between our activities as much as the activities themselves that help us enjoy greater success.  That’s what Artur Schnabel, Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz are all telling us.  That’s what has driven their success.

Based on the wisdom of these three gentlemen, I’ve begun building into my day, a 10 to 15 minute break for every 90 minutes I work.  What has it done for me?  Exactly what you’d expect.  I accomplish more in less time than I did previously without feeling exhausted.  

Give yourself the gift of frequent pauses.  The more that you think “I don’t have time for a break”, the more essential it is for you take one.  You’ll find that you’re enjoying greater success, less fatigue and greater joy in living your life.

The 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE program I offer is designed to help you see more effective ways of doing business - ways that dramatically improve your bottom line while making your life easier.  In today’s blog I used Step 5, Contrarian Mindset, to show you how to pauses are as essential as the activities in which we engage.  I’ve also employed Steps 4, See Similarities, and Step 6, Eclectic Education, by using the disciplines of music and sports to demonstrate how universal these concepts are. For more information on the 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE visit www.furtwengler.com/7steps.htm 

Please share your experiences and wisdom with Invaluable Leader readers by posting your comments.  If there are topics you’d like me to address, please send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com

An often overlooked advantage of specialization…

…staffing 

I recently spoke with Tim Rosenauer, Business Development Manager, with Account Resolution Corporation (ARC).  These folks provide an array of services in the field of medical collection.

When I asked Tim what distinguished his company from his competitors, he told me his practice management clients appreciate the fact that ARC specializes in medical collections.  ARC’s collectors know the idiosyncrasies of medical billing and are able to assist practice managers with billing and adjustment codes.  They also are more adept at helping delinquent customers understand the services they received and the value of those services.

This specialization allows ARC to:

1. focus on a narrower set of skills and experience when hiring staff
2. limit the amount and types of training necessary to enhance employee skills
3. create a more flexible workforce because all collectors possess similar knowledge and experience
4. monitor changing practice management needs
5. adapt more quickly to that changing environment

What about the employees?  How do they feel about ARC’s strategy?  ARC touts one of the lowest employee turnover rates in its industry.  Why?  Imagine that you’re a collector and you’re considering offers from two companies, one that specializes in one industry and the other who represents customers from a variety of industries.  On the surface, the company that serves multiple industries might seem attractive because it offers more variety in your job.  But once you’re on the job you realize that this “variety” also adds a great deal of complexity to your job.  How?

Each industry/profession has its on idiosyncrasies, its own language and its own preferred practices.  This not only makes your initial orientation more difficult, it makes keeping current on changes within each industry/profession more difficult.  This complexity typically slows collections at the same time that you’re being evaluated on your ability to collect quickly.  Is it any wonder that the better collectors migrate to firms that specialize?

While many business owners may view this kind of specialization limiting, the reality is exactly the opposite.  It’s counter-intuitive, but specializing allows your firm to:

1. gain a greater understanding of the customers you serve
2. monitor the ever-changing environment in which they work
3. provide higher levels of service to those customers
4. charge premium prices commensurate with the higher service levels
5. recruit, retain and reward staff more effectively

Take a page from ARC’s playbook and specialize.

The 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE program I offer is designed to help you see more effective ways of doing business - ways that dramatically improve your bottom line while making your life easier.  In today’s blog I used Step 5, Contrarian Mindset, to show how industry specialization can work to your advantage.  Contributory Negligence, Step 1, was used to show how we often inadvertently complicate our lives and add to the cost of doing business by trying to serve multiple markets.  For more information on the 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE visit http://www.furtwengler.com/7steps.htm

Please share your experiences and wisdom with Invaluable Leader readers by posting your comments.  If there are topics you’d like me to address, please send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com.

If not…

…how reliable is history?

Our pastor made the comment that memory is a function of history?  Is it? 

In his book, Stumbling on Happiness, Daniel Gilbert shares scientific studies of memory that show that, contrary to popular opinion, our memories aren’t full-length features stored in exacting detail.  Instead they are more like holograms where what’s stored are the key elements of the story.  The details get filled in as we recall the episode.

Professor Gilbert goes on to say that “the least likely experience” is often the “most likely memory.”  Why is that?  Because the least likely experiences trigger emotional reactions.  Indeed, it’s the emotional reactions that we have to the situations we face that determine what memories we retain.

If you doubt that think of your last trip to the grocery store.  Was it memorable?  If not, there were no surprises; nothing that triggered an emotional reaction.  Conversely, if it was memorable, it’s likely that someone allowed you to go ahead of him in the checkout line, shared a kind word with you or raced to get ahead of you in line.  Each of these actions triggers an emotional response that forms a memory.

Why is this important?  Because, as Professor Gilbert notes, this natural tendency can “wreak havoc with our ability to predict future experiences.”  If our primary recall is of unusual experiences, how accurate is our historical perspective?  How well can we predict future outcomes if we’re focused on the least likely results?

It’s counter-intuitive, but memory is not an accurate historical perspective.  That’s why, when predicting an outcome, it’s wise to recall:

1. The last relevant experience you had
2. What emotions were triggered during that experience
3. Whether this was an isolated instance among many other similar, yet less memorable, experiences

Then ask yourself, “Is this memory an accurate predictor of what I can expect?”  This simple approach will help you avoid creating unrealistic expectations and improve the historical accuracy of your memory. 

The 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE program I offer is designed to help you see more effective ways of doing business - ways that dramatically improve your bottom line while making your life easier.  In today’s blog I used Step 3, Suspend Judgment, to show you that emotions trigger memories and influence our expectations for the future. Then I used Step 1, Contributory Negligence, to demonstrate how we contribute to the outcomes we get - favorable or unfavorable - by our penchant for using “least likely experiences” to predict the future.  Finally I used Step 5, Contrarian Mindset, to show you how to overcome this natural tendency.  For more information on the 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE visit www.furtwengler.com/theinvaluableleader/

Please share your experiences and wisdom with Invaluable Leader readers by posting your comments.  If there are topics you’d like me to address, please send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com.

What can neuroscientists and athletes teach us about reality?

How to choose more effectively!

Nobel-prize winning neuroscientist, Dr. Gerald Edelman, says “we must look at all acts of perception as acts of creativity.”  In other words, we create the reality we’re facing by the way we choose to perceive what’s happening.

Neurobiologist William Calvin, in his book, The Cerebral Symphony says “We create the world we see: We surely modify it with experience, but it’s an invented world.  How we emotionally react to something may, in turn, affect how we see it in the future.” 

World-class athletes echo these themes when they say that their greatest asset is a “short memory.”  These athletes quickly forget both their successes and failures.  They realize that flawless performances and failed attempts are both merely fleeting moments in time.  Dwelling on either their successes or failures can only accomplish one thing - limiting their future success. 

How do these athletes develop a short-memory?  The answer lies in William Calvin’s quote above; it’s the word “emotionally.”  It’s not that these athletes are devoid of emotion.  Indeed, anyone who has watched a sporting event knows how high emotions run before, during and immediately after the game.  The key to these athletes’ success is that they are able to quickly set aside those emotions and focus their attention on the next shot, the next play or the next game. 

Conversely, many of us behave as if we are bipolar when it comes to dealing with our emotions.  We’re reluctant to let go of the emotional highs we experience when things go well.  We find it equally difficult to pull ourselves out of the throes of disappointment when our attempts fail.  In essence, we create realities of incredible joy or staggering disappointment.

Now imagine what your reality would be if you chose to view your successes as affirmation that you’re on the right path and your failures as guideposts directing you back onto the path.  Wouldn’t life be a lot more enjoyable if you could consistently maintain these mindsets?  Isn’t that a reality you’d choose for yourself if you simply knew how?

It’s counter-intuitive that, while we can’t avoid emotional reactions, we can limit the amount of time we spend in any given emotional state.  How?  By first recognizing that we are being emotional, then choosing to set that emotion aside so that we can focus our attention on the next thing we need to do to enjoy even greater success.  This simple two-step process helps you choose a reality that minimizes the periods of self-doubt, fear and anxiety all of us experience and replaces them with a “can do” mindset that makes life a lot more fun and exciting.  The choice is yours.

The 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE program I offer is designed to help you see more effective ways of doing business - ways that dramatically improve your bottom line while making your life easier.  In today’s blog I used Step 3, Suspend Judgment, to demonstrate how emotions form judgments which, in turn, determine the reality you experience.   I also employed Step 6, Eclectic Education, to offer insights from two different disciplines, neuroscience and sports, to support my point.  Finally, I used Step 4, Seeing Similarities, to show how two different disciplines reach the same conclusion.

You can learn more about the 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE program and how it can help you deal with the business challenges you face by clicking on http://www.furtwengler.com/7steps.htm

Please share your thoughts, whether you agree or not, by posting a comment.  If there are topics you’d like me to address, send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com.