You want to increase sales with greater productivity so you leave the office earlier to do what you love with those you love, right?
The “Receive” core practice of a Work Positive lifestyle in which you do just that involves the ethical dynamic of your business. You understand you Receive a ... Views: 1073
I recently returned from a week of speaking engagements to awaken the next morning to a case of vertigo. I woke up, rolled out of bed as usual, and the floor rose up to whack my head. It was kind of like being drunk on a rollercoaster ride.
Over the next several days, I was in bed or in my ... Views: 1070
The St. Louis Cardinals defeated my favorite team, the Atlanta Braves, on the last day of the regular season to make the National League play-off series.
The Phillies were supposed to sweep the Cardinals in the league championship.
The Cards beat them.
In the World Series, the smart ... Views: 1069
Study after study in which we say “Thank you” to our customers reveals that they both spend more money with us and tell their friends about the exceptional service and products we deliver. Volumes of books chronicle how employee productivity zooms skyward when appreciation is expressed. (The ... Views: 1055
Last week, I spoke to a group of State Farm agents and team members in the Houston area about how to Work Positive in a Negative World. During the workshops, I interviewed selected agents as positive examples of the five core practices.
One of those agents, Corey LeJeune, serves The ... Views: 1054
Has your to-do list grown overnight?
Yes, it’s “the most wonderful time of the year”…and yet many of us miss the wonder of it all due to the overwhelm at work that accompanies the holidays.
Here are 3 ways to cure your holiday overwhelm at work starting today:
Focus on Positive ... Views: 1046
You discovered your productivity trigger and transformed your first hour to be more productive. The third question to answer as you increase sales and achieve greater productivity so you leave the office earlier to do what you love with those you love is this:
How do I limit technology’s ... Views: 1040
You discovered your productivity trigger. You are more productive in that all-important first hour of your day. You set boundaries around technology intrusion on your productivity.
You are well on your way to doing more in one hour than most business professionals do in a month. But there is ... Views: 1035
I enjoyed some quiet time early one morning before the demands of my day started. All of a sudden, a bird began squawking just outside the window. At first I ignored it, but it loudly persisted so I got up.
As I stepped out on the porch, I saw the bird squawking at Maybelle, our cat, who sat ... Views: 1009
How’s your New Year’s resolution working out?
How would you like to SWAP your resolution for something more successful? Think of SWAP as an acronym and Work Positive to transform your chosen target of change into productive results using these three proven methods:
S - Song
Resolutions ... Views: 1007
Our attention this week in the U.S. focuses on celebrating the life and accomplishments of noted civil rights leader, Dr. M.L. King, Jr. Dr. King positively led a movement in the midst of much adversity.
What can you learn from him about how you can positively lead in business while ... Views: 1006
You have read story after story of random acts of kindness. The person at the drive-thru window who pays for the coffee of the person behind them, who then pays for the coffee of the next person, and so on for up to 27 customers. The same type of generosity occurs at traffic toll booths.
You ... Views: 1000
Daylight Savings Time starts this weekend in most of the U.S. We “lose an hour” to supposedly gain more sunlight at the end of the day.
So how do you deal with this lost hour? And all the other lost hours of productivity at work?
Here are 3 Ways to Positively Gain Time:
Priorities
Dr. ... Views: 997
Has your to-do list grown overnight?
Yes, it’s “the most wonderful time of the year”…and yet many of us miss the wonder of it all due to the overwhelm at work that accompanies the holidays.
Here are 3 ways to cure your holiday overwhelm at work starting today:
Focus on Positive ... Views: 992
Positive salespersons sell 56% more than their negative peers. Positive leaders see team productivity increase by more than one-third.
So if you want to increase sales with greater productivity, be positive, right?
The question is, How? How do you Work Positive in such a negative ... Views: 991
In the last few months, our team has run up a steep learning curve in developing a new product line and the means to administer it. We’ve experienced a great deal of change and discovered as we’ve run this race that exceptional customer care is an integral part of a successful process.
Here ... Views: 991
At times we allow the negative noise of the flat economy to drown out any positive, on-key music in our businesses.
Soon the negative noise has an effect on you. You become filled with:
Fears about finances—“The bank called. Surely they’re not calling in my note.”
Suspicions about an ... Views: 988
Your stomach rolls at the first mention of it in your staff meeting. “Well,” someone says, “we need to plan the holiday office party.”
And running through your head, thanks to John Lennon, is “Imagine there’s no office party…”
So it’s planned and you’re going. But it’s more obligatory ... Views: 988
You will get all you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want.
Zig Ziglar
In a financially-strapped economy like this one, a common response to suggestions to grow business is negative.
“I can’t afford to advertise.”
“I have to cut marketing ... Views: 975
Nearly all of the trees on our farm had dropped their leaves by last month except for one maple tree. This one maple tree held on to its leaves like a kid hanging on to his blanket when mom says it has to be washed. Finally it let go of its leaves.
The other trees were gray and looked like ... Views: 973
My Grandfather told me stories of getting up at 4:30 a.m. to bring in the wood, put it in the cook stove, and light the fire so his mother could prepare breakfast. A sister gathered in the dark eggs laid by the hens. A brother prepared the pig months earlier. The flour ground from their corn was ... Views: 973
Shoppers will crowd the super centers and malls this weekend following Thanksgiving in the U.S. In fact, over the next several weeks, retail stores will do 50% or more of their business for the year.
So where will you go? And who will you do business with?
If you truly want to create a ... Views: 968
To succeed in today’s economic environment, check your ego at the door and embrace a new way of doing business that is about more than what you can control and manipulate. That’s your ego talking.
The Ego Economy is dead.
Welcome to the We Economy.
This rising tide of the We Economy ... Views: 962
The major activity in college athletics last week saw universities realigning their conference relationships. It’s a growth industry in a down economy and they’re seizing financial opportunities that emerge from positive associations with high fan-base institutions.
The PAC-12’s announcement ... Views: 961
The relationships we have with our customers are the most important assets we possess.
Easy to understand and take care of, right?
Nope.
As I travel, I encounter a great deal of customer service and disservice. Last week, I learned 3 Ways to Give Positive Customer Service from some ... Views: 960
How do you walk the red carpet at work and up onto stage to accept the Academy Award for increasing sales with greater productivity so you get out of the office earlier?
Here are 5 Ways to Positively Win an Oscar at Work:
Focus on the Part
As talented as you are, you have one part to ... Views: 951
I was putting up some fencing around our horse pasture. Like most men, when I get involved in a project, a trip to the home improvement store becomes necessary. And I have to look around and make sure there’s nothing else I need, especially if power tools are involved.
Well, I bought what I ... Views: 951
Super Bowl 47 will best be remembered as, “The Night the Lights Went Out in N’Orleans.”
Adversity happens at the most inconvenient times in unexpected ways, and not just at the Super Bowl, but in business, too. Everything from product outages to a teammate goes out or a vital system fails. It ... Views: 945
As I left our home and drove around the mountain, fog enveloped me quickly. Unexpectedly. There was no sign of fog when I pulled out of our garage.
The business environment changes that quickly, also, particularly with what influences our customers’ and clients’ lives.
For example, the ... Views: 941
Last week you discovered your productivity trigger. I found mine standing around a family member’s grave, watching dragon flies and remembering their 30-day life spans. A new focus emerged for me in doing business, one that defines success by my clients’ success. My to-do list is better now—more ... Views: 939
When the alarm clock radio has awakened me for the past few weeks, the sun was getting up and it was light. I like that.
This morning, it went off and the sun was still asleep and it was dark. I don’t like that.
Welcome to the first workday of Daylight Savings Time.
Sure, I’ll enjoy an ... Views: 937
It was a routine attempt to block a three point shot. But when University of Louisville sophomore guard Kevin Ware landed, his tibia compound fractured.
The unthinkable happened.
The next 30 minutes plus the rest of the game was a lesson to us all when dealing with life or business.
As ... Views: 932
You’ve had numerous conversations about your ROI—the Return on Investment—your company achieves.
But what about your RROI—the Redefined Reality on Investment—you achieve?
Think of your RROI as what’s different—new and improved—about your business and lifestyle since you started your ... Views: 928
Positive productivity is more difficult for most business persons these days. Persevering and achieving your business dreams in the midst of a negative world is increasingly challenging. The uncontrollable negatives from bombings to an unfamiliar economy that just won’t correct assault us ... Views: 921
The deck was stacked against me that morning…
I moved my daughter over the weekend which involved driving a truck and trailer for 17 hours, moving more stuff than I care to remember, and wrestling a bear of a refrigerator to the point of physical exhaustion and sleep deprivation…
My alarm ... Views: 903
Most of the stories my grandparents told were about how hard just making a living was during their growing up years in the Great Depression. Their stories always left me with a certain sense of financial uncertainty, of “Whew! Glad I didn’t grow up back then because I would have had ... Views: 898
I have a friend who worked in the family business for most of his adult life. Sure he operated as a business owner, but his father started the business. It was his father who spent sleepless nights worrying about making payroll and whether his suppliers would extend credit again. My friend was ... Views: 896
What do you believe about your business?
Your business beliefs are the core values of your “how” in leading your relationships and managing the details. Have you ever taken four minutes and written them down?
Make sure you include these three things you gotta believe about your ... Views: 862
So here you are sitting in your office, staring at a couple of weeks left in the month, and wondering how you will finish up 2011. The holidays are nice and all, but depending on what kind of business you’re in, you’re either overwhelmed and just trying to keep up or underwhelmed, worried about ... Views: 840
You are interested in buying a new vehicle. You go to the dealer’s lot and look at a white Honda Accord. You test-drive it. You really like it, but the salesperson won’t get the price right.
As you turn out of the dealer’s lot and drive down the street, guess what you see? A white Honda ... Views: 830
Shoppers will crowd the super centers and malls this weekend following Thanksgiving. Friday and Saturday are really busy shopping days in the U.S. In fact, over the next several weeks, retail stores will do 50% or more of their business for the year.
So where will you go? And who will you ... Views: 820
Around this time of year, we take some time away from work. At least those who have jobs…
For those of us who own the business, such time away seems elusive.
Here are some reactions I receive when I coach entrepreneur owners to positively take time away from work and my responses:
“I ... Views: 708
My grandmother gave me a chocolate bunny every spring when I was a child. I always looked forward to getting it, but there were some chocolate bunnies I liked better than others.
Some years she gave me a hollow chocolate bunny. Now I really liked the chocolate, but when I bit into it, there ... Views: 702