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Here are some excerpts…
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Valley of Indecision
What happens if you love what you do but you can’t do it anymore? Doesn’t seem to matter if you are the best at the skill.
Continue reading Valley of Indecision article.
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You Can’t Wing it as a Wingman
A wingman is a trusted person that helps you. It could be in business or your personal life. It doesn’t matter. If someone considers you his/her wingman, you are someone that fulfills the top 5 characteristics:
Continue reading You Can’t Wing it as a Wingman article.
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Aspiration
I aspire to be as good a speaker (better) than Jeffrey Gitomer, Seth Godin, Steve Jobs, and Randy Pausch in their prime. Pretty high aspiration, don’t you think? It’s achievable. It’s not a fantasy. The difference between a fantasy and aspiration is action. That is why I know it’s achievable. I take action on this aspiration EVERY day. Every day, I get closer to reaching my goal. Continual practice illustrates persistence. Persistence has more to do with success than any other trait.
Continue reading Aspiration article.
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Customer Types
If you love animals, I recommend that you attend one Pet-Themed Trade Show. No where else will you see aisles of dog collars, poodle hair dye, cat toilets, and cages. These shows are as big as many technology trade shows…but a lot more fun.
Continue reading Customer Types article.
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What’s Age Got To Do With It
My mother is the youngest of seven children. All of them grew up during the Great Depression. The oldest girl, my Aunt Alice, was the matriarch of the family. She did not go to college…she, like her siblings, worked to put her oldest brother through medical school. She married but lived longer than her husband and two sons. In other words, she saw her share of hard times. Yet, she still was one of the most optimistic people I’ve ever known. Aunt Alice is still one of my biggest influences in who I am today.
Continue reading What’s Age Got To Do With It article.
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Finding Your Motivation
Why do you work? What gets you out of bed every morning? What pushes you to work through a bad attitude to create a good one? What is the core of your motivation?
Money is a reward but not a motivator. Sure, it pays the bills and fills your pockets. Yet money is actually a de-motivator. It doesn’t provide you with satisfaction. It only is a measure that you may use to judge your success. Keeping money as a motivator puts most people in a mediocre mindset: “How little can I do to get enough money.” Once anything goes wrong, you start looking at “What little can I do” instead of becoming remarkable by thinking “What value I can provide.”
Continue reading Finding Your Motivation article.
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Working Around the 1:100 Worst
Earl Nightingale, speaker on the audio titled The Strangest Secret, starts out by explaining that out of 100 men at the age of 25 only 1 out of 100 becomes rich by the age of 65. Five out of 100 becomes financially independent. Mr. Nightingale goes further to say that the other 94 individuals do not succeed because of one common trait. These unsuccessful individuals are conforming to the wrong group…the unsuccessful people.
Continue reading Working Around the 1:100 Worst article.
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Assembling The Best Team
“What is your greatest weakness?” The interviewer for a new client asks.
I think “Can’t you be more creative than that?”
My response: “Chocolate!”
Heck, my answer was as valid a response as any.
Continue reading Assembling The Best Team article.
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Should You Write A Blog
I read a must read book Naked Conversations by Robert Scoble/Shel Israel. After reading chapter 4, I walked away with a basic question that I’m still pondering. Do blogs really build relationships? This question came to me after reading a quote from Sun’s Schwartz (pg 52): “Good bloggers are chatty and are into relationships.”
Continue reading Should You Write A Blog article.
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What Is A Favor Worth
If you can, take a small metal (eg. stainless steal) bucket and drop one penny in it. Did you hear that sound? Drop another penny and really listen. Now take a quarter and do it. Did you hear a difference? The quarter made a louder sound. Do it again and appreciate the difference. Now throw a penny and then the quarter. Do you have the different sounds in your head? Great! Now I can explain the difference.
Continue reading What Is A Favor Worth article.
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Morally and Ethically Right
Moral and ethics. Are they synonyms? Let’s look at the verb-tense of morally versus ethically. Would you say they are the same thing? Your answer should be “yes.”
If you looked up the definitions, both moral and ethics would refer to: Being in accordance with the accepted principles of right and wrong that govern the conduct of a profession or Arising from conscience or the sense of right and wrong.
Continue reading Morally and Ethically Right article.
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Colonel Harland Sanders
Yes, I’m talking about the initiator of Kentucky Fried Chicken. He held, according to their website, a variety of jobs, including: farm hand, streetcar conductor, army private in Cuba, blacksmith’s helper, rail yard fireman, insurance salesman, tire salesman and service station operation for Standard Oil.
Continue reading Colonel Harland Sanders article.
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Walk In My Shoes
A young, well-educated, gentleman named Mark joins a firm as a marketing assistant. About four months into the job, he is told that he is being assigned to work with IT on a new project that will help the sales and marketing department. Being on the low-end of the totem pole, he is told that he must participate on the project and ensure that all of marketing needs are met. Mark dutifully attends all the meetings, reviews strange looking diagrams, and corrects any meeting minutes. The project goes in…late, over-budget, with only some of the requirements being met.
Continue reading Walk In My Shoes article.
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What’s The Objection?
Ever try to convince someone to do something or buy something or take an approach and hit a brick wall? Ever have someone try to convince you to do, buy or change directions and you put up a brick wall? Every one has been on at least one side of that equation … if not both. There is a simple solution but it takes work to overcome. It’s not compromising or negotiating…its understanding the emotional-based objection. Let me explain by providing a personal tale.
Continue reading What’s The Objection article.
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Listeners Last Longer Than Most
I read in the book You, Inc. by Harry and Christine Beckwith that if you watch reality shows, you will notice that the person that sits up and listens to the other contestant’s problems, such as stresses, missing of family members, etc., that they are among the last to be voted off.
Continue reading Listeners Last Longer Than Most article.
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Ebenezer’s Three Ghosts
From Wikipedia: A Christmas Carol is a Victorian morality tale of an old and bitter miser, Ebenezer Scrooge, who undergoes a profound experience of redemption over the course of one night. Mr. Scrooge is a financier/money-changer who has devoted his life to the accumulation of wealth. He holds anything other than money in contempt, including friendship, love and the Christmas season.
Continue reading Ebenezer’s 3 Ghosts article.
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The Me-To-You Message
Do you have a Me-To-You relationship strong enough with your business contacts? “Me-To-You” describes a relationship that only the two of you have. The stronger the relationship, the stronger the Me-To-You message can be.
Continue reading The Me-To-You Message article.
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Do You Write?
Notice I didn’t say do you write well. I asked if you wrote. I don’t care if you write in a journal or a blog. I don’t care if your spelling or grammar would pass the grade. The important thing is to write.
Continue reading Do You Write article.
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What is Your Commitment
Life is full of commitments. It requires time, effort, and devotion. It requires that one be accountable and responsible. It is a big deal! It is a commitment from which others benefit but it is really only for yourself.
Commitments define you. They illustrate your work ethic, your personality, your trustworthiness, and your belief in your self. Your commitments to yourself are always visible by the business community and management. They ALL take notice.
Continue reading What is Your Commitment article.
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Form Your Own Parade
What are parades? They are an event where you have organizers, participants, and watchers. It has a lot of: fan fairing, clapping, cheering, and spotlighting on the participants. It also brings out the best and worst in people.
Some people don’t see any reason to attend a parade. They ignore and avoid the entire event.
Continue reading Forming your own parade article.
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Finding 15 minutes a day
If you were suddenly given 15 minutes of free time, what would you do with them? Do you take advantage of the additional time or waste it?
Taking advantage of 15 minutes a day works if you have a dream that you believe in. Once you have that, you will be able to set goals for yourself. Goals are reached with a plan of organized tasks. When 15 minutes suddenly becomes available, you’ll use them wisely.
Continue reading Finding 15 minutes a day article.
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A Simple Handshake
When you walk into a meeting, do you shake a person’s hand every time? Of course, that means that you are on time…meaning at least 5 minutes before the meeting is scheduled to start.
This is the perfect opportunity to build individual bonds. Be bold, shake everyone’s hand in attendance. Firmly, without striving to break the person’s fingers.
Continue reading A Simple Hand shake article.
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Not All Light Bulbs Want To Be Changed
How many Therapists does it take to change a light bulb? One, but the light bulb has to want to change!
Continue reading Not All Light Bulbs Want To Be Changed article.
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You are Always Center Stage
Every actor, whether they are the lead, supporting actor or just have a cameo appearance prepares for his/her part. Each strives to be his/her best. Why? Because they do not know who is in the audience. They do not know who is watching. They never know where this part they play will lead. Someone in the audience may just think of them for something they are working on today or five years from now.My husband received a general eMail requesting if anyone knew where the author of a particular report was working. They could not find the person in the company directory. They knew that the report was old (actually 5 years old) but had a great deal of information that was still valid today. They were hoping to talk with the author in hopes that they had the information they could use to update the report.
Continue reading You Are Always Center Stage article.
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OMG The Network Is Down!
Oh, My Gosh! The Network is Down! What do I do with my time?This is what I heard at a client’s office where the network crashed. That included all connectivity, including telephones (VoIP). In fact, the entire NYC block was down. It happens. It wasn’t a blackout, but it did affect the workers attitude during the two hours it was down.
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Your Share of the Profit
There’s an old Manufacturer’s rule of thumb. A product should be sold at the retail price six times the cost of making the product. This way it covers advertising, accounting, legal, and all other incidentals that eat away at the potential profit that keeps the company alive.
Hmmm, this gives me pause. Let me ask you this basic question.
a href=”http://sbdi-consulting.com/RoE080708.shtml” target=”_blank”>Continue reading Your Share of the Profit article.
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A Photographer’s Eye
I recently lost a friend to cancer. Reflecting on his life and the 6 years that I knew him, I realize how much he had changed my life. He changed my point of view on life. Lester Pfeffer turned my view of life insights into a positive one.
Continue reading Photographer’s Eye article.
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Player Coach
I had never heard the term “Player Coach” before the sudden passing of Tim Russert. However, when Andrea Mitchell used the term to explain the role that Tim Russert played as Washington Bureau Chief, it made complete sense. It refers to a person that is a colleague who is also a mentor to his team.
Continue reading Player Coach article.
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Learn Ten Points From A Master
I attended a Boot Camp by who I consider to be the number one presenter about sales (and life) alive today. Jeffrey Gitomer (Gitomer.com) gave a 3-day workshop that was advertised as “personal, one-on-one coaching.” I registered immediately. I then called and asked how many people would be attending. “Oh, about 200.” I almost cancelled the class. I couldn’t see how anyone could give one-on-one coaching to a group of 200 people.
Well, he did!
Continue reading Learn Ten Points From A Master article.
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Curiosity Trumps Knowledge
Everyone in this business that knows me well, knows that I have a strong contrarian view on what a techie needs to know about the business. I attribute this to when the Big 6 (when there was 6) accounting firms started an Information Technology Consulting arm. Time and time again, they won a contract because they had “the business knowledge” as well as the technology knowledge. They were business know-it-alls as well as technology strategy, direction, and implementation know-it-alls.
Continue reading Curiosity Trumps Knowledge article.
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Memory is NOT consistent…it fails more often than you realize
“Your face is so familiar.”
A person’s name is personal. Everyone wants you to remember his/her name. Remember your business contacts name AT A MINIMUM.
Continue Reading the Memory is NOT consistent article.
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The Sports Talk Ritual
I once sat in a bull-pen-styled work setting between two avid sports fans. Every Monday, during hockey season, I literally kept my head down as they threw verbal and sometimes physical blows (throwing paper or hand/arm slaps) at each other. New Yorkers can understand. John was an Islander Fan and Scott was a Ranger fan. Two rival teams that exceeded any emotion two could have (yes, more than Yankees vs Red Socks). At this time, a new hockey team was forming and beating the shin guards off of the other two teams … the New Jersey Devils. Being from NJ, I tried to join in on this Monday ritual. I was denied entry for valid reasons.
Continue reading the Sports Talk Ritual article.
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You’re Stuck On An Airplane for Hours…
You are sitting on an airplane for 2-1/2 hours waiting for the plane to be next in line for take off. Your flight is going from New York to Singapore (approx. 21 hour flight). Who would you like to be sitting next to?I would imagine that you would like someone that is intelligent, polite, respectful, and good humored. After so many hours waiting to take off, I suspect that intelligence would no longer be your first priority. Polite, respectful and good humored would be more valued traits.
Continue reading the You’re Stuck On An Airplane For Hours article.
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Will cloning really make the difference?
I see many teams and development organizations get stuck in a pattern of “tunnel vision”. They think they need help with skills that exactly match their own. Only then can they really help them get things done more quickly.
B I G M I S T A K E !
Continue reading the Will Cloning Really Make A Difference article.
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Engage with Storytelling
I have a friend that is a master storyteller. I always (and many others) accept his call because he always has a story to tell. Of course being a father of four all under the age of 16 does provide a great deal of material. But there are a lot of individuals that fit that category and can not captivate an audience.
Continue reading Engage with Storytelling article.
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The 5 out of 100 Rule..which one are you?
Earl Nightingale in his recording, The Strangest Secret, talks about how only 5 out of 100 people are successful. I listen to this recording at least once a week. Every time I get something new out of it because I really listen to the lessons and apply them to life. What Mr. Nightingale states is that only one in 100 people become rich. Four out of 100 are not dependant upon others for financial support. That means that only 5% of the population succeeds. Scary, isn’t it!?!
Continue reading the 5 of 100 article.
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Customer Service…That’s You!
Starbucks gets it. They know that it is the experience that matters most. Sure, you may be able to go somewhere else and get a cheaper cup of coffee. Your place may provide great service sometimes. Your special place may even know your name and have a sense of community. The Starbucks difference is that Starbucks teaches every person to do it, how to do it, and to do it every time. Consistent customer service rules!
Continue reading the Customer Service article.
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When Did The First Impression Occur?
“Hey, you look familiar.”
Has this ever happened to you? I bet many of you are answering, “Don’t know” or “I never noticed.” If I received a dollar for every instance I said it or someone had said it to me, I’d be an extremely rich person.
Continue reading the First Impression article.
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Which Comes First: Technical skills, Process or Relationship
Ask any technologist what comes first in building quality systems and the answer will be technical skills, process and (maybe) business relationship. After interviewing several CIOs and Business Applications Executives, they will tell you the same thing. They were successful because they used the latest technical skills while following a process to deliver the system.
Continue reading the Which Comes First article.
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