Leadership Lessons

At a recent event, it was my job to greet and check everyone in.  This was a scrapbook event where I also get to be the MC.  To add some fun, I was wearing blue fairy wings and blue "Cindy Lou Who" hair extensions.  Across the street from our event, was a job fair. Now picture a man in a shirt & tie, about 40ish, looking me up and down and slowly asking, "Is this the job fair?"  Really?  Did he think I was the job fairy?  Although we do have some great opportunities available, you could see that he was relieved when I told him that the job fair he was looking for was across the street. What a difference a few words make.  Had he asked, "Could you direct me to the job fair?" or simply, "Where is the job fair?" it would not have seemed so absurd. Think about how you phrase things.  Think before you speak.  E-mails & texts give you the opportunity to stop and review what you are saying (although without conveying emotion or tone). In...

Everything has a price.  Now before you dismiss this topic as one only for direct sellers, think about the services you and others pay for, or the personal cost of time, if you lead volunteers or family. So let's talk about the cheapest price.  Is it you?  Is your product or service the cheapest around?  Chances are "no". So what do you sell besides price?  Anything?  How about your response time?  Your customer service?  Your personal attention?  Your time-savings?  Your dependability?  Your personal commitment?  Your VALUE? You will never win on price (unless you're the size of WalMart). Look at your VALUE.  What do you offer that makes price less important?  You've got to know what you have to offer besides the cheapest price or you'll end up closing up shop.

I've been reading a blog by media guru Jen Fong ( http://www.jenfongspeaks.com/ ) who used a quote yesterday by Mary Kay Ash …"picture everyone with a sign around their necks saying ‘Make me feel important.'"  In it, Jen encourages leaders to friend their teams on Facebook.  This can help leaders keep connected to their teams and gives opportunity to offer support & recognition in a most timely way. So it made me think... What signs do you see? "I'm confused." "Do you even know my name?" "Spinning my wheels." "Losing my enthusiasm." Replace every one of those signs with "Make me feel important."  Then do it. And don't think you're off the hook because no one seems to see your sign.  All the more reason to do it.  You can look at it as "pay it forward" or just what you're supposed to do.  But do it. What do you do for others to make them feel important?

Have you ever thought about how a small action can create a huge (and sometimes unexpected) reaction? Take a moment to watch this video by OK Go, "This Too Shall Pass".  It clearly illustrates this point. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qybUFnY7Y8w Pretty cool, huh?! So much happened because of one push... or did it?  Imagine the preparation that went into this video.  Imagine the testing of props (did you notice the pile of crashed televisions in the background?).  Imagine how many times things didn't work.  Imagine the team effort required to ultimately achieve this feat. What would your video look like, right now? A few dominos falling over? Maybe a few coordinated events? Dusty dominos that were knocked down some time ago? A blank screen? Whatever is holding you back - this too shall pass.  Help it along.  Set up your dominos.  Knock them down.  Do it, again.  Add some more.

Have you ever been in a slump?  Maybe the market is down, your industry has changed, your company is having "issues" or you've had personal changes (birth, death, divorce, move, etc...).  Whatever the reason, you've been in a hole and you just can't seem to get out. It can take just one thing to turn everything around.  Oh- you want to know what that "one thing" is?  Sorry- there is no magic answer because it's different for everyone.  In business, it tends to be an increase in productivity.  You're starting to meet some people, schedule appointments and you can see that things are starting to happen (even if you're not reaping the rewards, yet).  Several years ago, as a realtor, I heard it said that "Realtors don't die, they just become listless."  That same thing applies to most business.  People with appointments on their calendars don't quit.  They just don't. What do you need to do to fill your calendar?  Do calls...