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February 2009 Which of the 2 Rs are you?Peter Thurin greeting you once again, as our 2009 year rolls on. How's the focus? How's the team around you? How are you responding to the challenges, at home and over the globe? Still fanatically focused on your CUSTOMERS? Still seizing the opportunities our rapidly changing world is putting in front of you AS A GIFT? I hope so. Maybe our newsletter this time will give you some more helpful tips. These are exciting times, my friends. Read on, and by the way, don't forget to visit my new blog "be the best you can be"
In this issue:
There are 2 Rs. Pick one
You know what? Most people lead routine lives. They go through the same routines over and over, at home and at work. Relationships with customers – routine. Relationships with partners and kids – routine. Sales teams go through the same routine processes, day after day, month after month. Isn't that just fantastic? It is for YOU, because of all the Rs they could be, most people (and that includes your competitors) choose Routine. But Blackbelt in Excellence people make much better choices than that. Blackbelt in Excellence people choose Remarkable over Routine every time. And that's really the message I want to drive home to you this month. You can choose Routine or you can choose Remarkable. It's your choice. You can live a routine life or you can live a remarkable life. You can do business in a routine way, or your business can be remarkable. Which is what the results in your life will also be. Important thing to understand here, though, is that being remarkable instead of routine is not having to do one big thing. Amazing as it may seem, and this is the really good bit, being remarkable is so much easier than that. To be remarkable, you just have to do the small stuff. It's just an accumulation of little things, leading up to fantastic achievements. I spent most of my book "Be The Best You Can Be" talking about exactly that...small steps over time, one step at a time, one belt at a time, leading up to great accomplishments. Your very own black belt in excellence. Now THERE's a great name for a company! So just get your head around that, and you're on your way to Remarkable success, in every facet of your life. Just keep doing the little things, those 1%-ers that make such a difference, all the things you should do, and watch how it all flows to you. They'll say, "Wow, that person's remarkable". But all you've done is do the things you said you'd do. So, what's your choice? Do you want to go through life being routine? Or Remarkable? I'd love the chance to get face to face with your people and workshop these ideas. Let's brainstorm ways you can function at the topmost level. It's just a lot of little things, done well, done all the time. How about we work on some strategies together?
The Curse Returns - bewareYou might remember an earlier newsletter where I urged you to beware of the curse of the assumption? Here's what we wrote then: In your business life, it's very easy to take stuff for granted, to think that you know this client or that client, that you know what they want to buy, what their budget is, or which of your services would suit them best. But it's very easy to make assumptions about your clients which are horribly wrong, and which could be damaging your bottom line. Here's how easy it is to fall into that trap. I was consulting recently with one of my clients, a national company. The general consensus around the table was that, of all the ways to communicate effectively with their customer base, email was regarded as very low priority. The feeling was that email is far too easily ignored, it ends up in Junk folders anyway, people are too busy to read it, it's not personal enough, etc. etc. etc. So it was overwhelmingly felt that email would not be the go-to strategy the company would use. But here's what happened next. As part of their overall business development plan, I arranged for them to actually sit with four of their very best customers for a 2-day intensive, two days in which those customers gave frank answers to lots of questions about how my client's company could do better, service their needs better, assist them more. And amongst the answers we got was an emphatic one from all four that of all the ways to communicate best with them, their Number One preferred choice to learn about my client's company was EMAIL! Grrrrr. Beware the curse of the assumption. Don't assume. Ask. How can you help anyone unless you find out what's important to them and what is of value? For example, you might assume you can call your clients' decision makers any time. But they may only want to see or speak to, for example, sales people on a Wednesday or Thursday morning. You all may get very excited about a new product or project and invest massive time and energy in developing it, only to find it misses your customers' mark in several key areas. Always consult. Always research, Always ask. Remember our famous acronym – CARE? Customers Are Really Everything. If you CARE, you'll ask the right questions. If you don't, you won't. But the good thing I know is that Blackbelt in Excellence people always C.A.R.E. Right?
FeedbackI can't thank my wonderful clients enough for their positive feedback and glowing commendations. For me personally, it just means that at Blackbelt in Excellence we are doing a good job, doing what we say we'll do, making the difference we promise to make. Many thanks, Matthew Pearce for the accolade: Peter's enthusiasm when I first met him never wavered and the Exhibition Industry's conference was the better for it. Peter threw all his energy behind the day and took the time to appreciate the industry, what it does and why it is so special. This research clearly came through and the empathy he created with the delegates was astounding That was a fantastic day. And Matt, your input was a critical component in setting me up to be successful. Many thanks, and I look forward to next time. And as for you, Elle B...you are absolutely on fire! For 6 weeks, the whole business was me, on my own. In that time, I sold over $2 million in property and listed another 3 properties to start us off for 2009. I am now enjoying a couple of weeks off. For the first time in my working life, I actually believe I deserve them. I even managed to stop thinking about work for a couple of days. That is one of my goals this year – to learn to "switch off" – I'm not real good at that – but obviously I'm getting better. I have listened to your CD over and over, and I am well into reading your book, but I had to stop. I discovered I need to slow down and take each step and map out each journey for each area that I want to achieve in this year – and clarify the phases (or belts) for each. It is such an exciting time now, and I can't remember a time before that I have felt this much excitement moving into the year ahead. I have always been positive, but this is a new level of excitement for me. I have set my goals, personal, family and business – and encouraged my husband to do so as well – which he did. I was so excited (incidentally they matched for the personal/family areas?) as it is the FIRST time ever that he has attempted to do this. Do you know what... I know we will achieve everything! For both of us! Your enthusiasm and inspiration will continue to inspire me & keep me focused toward the achievement of my goals. Elle, that's a fantastic reminder, for those who don't know it, to have a listen to the CD I recorded, called (surprise, surprise) "be the best you can be". It's a one-hour journey through the essentials of my book of the same name. The processes I myself took on my own personal journey to a black belt in martial arts, and how those strategies transferred into my business and personal life, are, I hope, a model for anyone wanting to be the very best they can be. "Remarkable", not "routine". That's what it's all about. You can pick up a copy of the CD, or my book, or both, right here on site. Thanks for the fantastic feedback, Matt and Elle. You guys are stars! The more you are, the more you will. And vice versa.Speaking of my audio CD "be the best you can be", my good friend Peter Byrne, long time radio broadcaster who features on the studio recording of the CD, was talking to me during the week. He's been writing for the real estate industry for a while now, as well as his other commitments. There's one agent for whom he's written up over 1,200 properties. Pete was saying that the more he does the job, the more confident he becomes at it, which means, in turn, the easier it becomes and the better it turns out. And how true is that? If you're unsure of yourself, don't really believe in yourself, it's so easy to put off doing all the things you know you need to do. Fear of failure is the big paralyser. On the other hand, the more confident you are, the more actions you'll take to move you in the direction of your goals. But here's the freaky bit – it works the other way round too. The more actions you take, the more confident you become. So my advice is, keep taking those actions. Keep doing those 1%-ers that will set you apart from the mob. Do what you need to do when you need to do it, and you'll give yourself the optimum opportunity to shine. And the more you do it, the more confident you'll become, and therefore the more you'll do it, and the better you'll do it, and there'll be no stopping you. So, create those opportunities. Do the small stuff. Add value. Build relationships. Make a list. Be specific. What can you do? How will you do it? When will you do it by? And hold yourself accountable. Then you'll discover how much your confidence has grown, and how much BETTER you've become. It's Outstanding Vs. Ho-hum. It's "Remarkable" Vs. "Routine". And it's all your choice. Thanks for joining me again this month. Speak soon, I hope. You're welcome to call any time.
As you know, part of the proceeds of every copy of my book "be the best you can be" go to the wonderful people at ACCYO (The Australian Council for Children and Youth Organisations) which is helping to make Australia a safer place for our children. www.accyo.org.au And if you'd like to book blackbeltinexcellence for your next conference, workshop, seminar or success training, just click here. I'd be happy to talk to you about awe-inspiring ways I can lead you personally and your company forward into the future with confidence, energy and commitment.
And remember, I'm always happy to work one-on-one with you too. blackbelt in excellence specialises in:
To your success. Be the best you can be. Best wishes, Peter Thurin 61 407 568 416 |
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