If you own a business and have been noticing online marketing such as Facebook and Twitter popping up from your competitors, it might be time to take the step for your business. 1 Day Marketing MBA is a one day conference designed to help you understand and utilize social media, email marketing, guerilla marketing and more. For many owners, social media is a new and unfamiliar territory. The truth is, it can be a tool, a very successful marketing tool when used effectively.
Facebook

• Businesses create a Fan page and Facebook users “Like” the pages to view the information, photos and updates posted by the business.
• Users find out about company pages via the site’s search engine, friends on their personal page and through the company itself (in store and online.)
• Businesses can post updates as often as desired (although less is more,) and can also host Facebook only promotions and contests for their fans.
• Facebook should be used to connect and engage with loyal and potential customers.

Twitter

• Create a Twitter page so that those who like your business or who are looking for more information regarding your business can “follow” you.
• “Following” is the term used to refer to the twitter action similar to a subscription. If someone “follows” your business, every time you post something, it appears on their Twitter feed (Twitter home page.)
• Users can reply to any post that they see, so this is a great way to engage fans.
• Posts must be 140 characters or less. The posts need to be short and sweet to capture your followers’ attention.

LinkedIn

• Businesses or business owners can create an account and import your contacts from your outlook, Apple mail or Gmail accounts.
• Using these contacts, you can begin to network via the site and start groups to interact with them regarding your business and services.
• Through these contacts and groups, the business receives professional recommendations.
• Owners can also use the site to recruit potential employees and business partners.

Each time one person on a social media network engages with you, their entire friend base on that site is notified. Business owners across the globe are recognizing the power of social media marketing. While these tips are a great start to understanding how these sites work, there is so much more to learn. Engaging your fans might not be as easy as you think; and if you are new to social media personally or professionally, it will be a bit more difficult. This by no means is a reason to shy away from this marketing tactic. You can reach fans locally and around the world with Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. The 1 Day Marketing MBA conference will guide you through social media. In addition to learning to put these tools to use for your business, you can also learn how to develop a powerful mission statement (great for your social media bio,) email marketing and face to face marketing. The next 1 Day Marketing MBA Conference & Expo will take place in Cherry Hill, New Jersey in November.

Call me at 732-617-1030 ext. 114 or email me at Eric@EmpowermentGroup.com if you’re business needs more qualified leads and online exposure.

I’d be happy to discuss social media marketing strategies and lead generation strategies and how they can help you grow your business!

What Are You Going to Change?

Dear High Achiever,

In last week’s newsletter I asked you –

“What’s your pledge and promise

to make 2011 Your Best Year Ever!?”

That’s a BIG question.

And it takes some serious thought and consideration.

The answer may not have come easily to you.

Here’s why: Change can be a challenge. It can be damn hard.

I know firsthand. I have rituals and habits, some I’ve had for more than two decades. So, when I posed the same question I asked you to myself, I had to think long and hard about what habits and rituals are not supporting my efforts to achieve my goals.

I had to decide what I need and want to change right now.

The reality is –

Nothing will change, unless you and I change.

Change means you need to think about things in a new way. You may need to enroll other people to help you create the change you desire.

Inevitably when I talk about change I have to mention the word “WHY?”

Why do I want to change? What’s so important that I have to make a wholesale move personally or professionally? Or, perhaps I want to change and create a movement?

The word “WHY” — coupled with my passion, pain and/or positive energy — drives my actions and my new way of thinking.

FYI ACTION TAKEAWAY: If you are committed to changing your world, or “the” world, you need to answer the question “WHY?”

I recently watched a video of Seth Godin speaking at TED Conference in February 2009. His talk inspired me to think about a lot of things in a different way. It made me think about the radical changes we’ve experienced over the past few years and will continue to experience.

I’m sharing the link to Seth’s talk in this FYI because I think it’s worth your investing 17 minutes of your life. As you watch, consider some of his ideas and how they apply to you, as you strive in Mastering Your World … designing your life … and thinking about what you need to change to make 2011 Your Best Year Ever!

I welcome your thoughts and feedback.

Here’s the link…

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/seth_godin_on_the_tribes_we_lead.html

Make 2011 Your Best Year Ever!

Eric Taylor

Eric Taylor is the Founder & Chief Inspiration Officer of New Jersey based Empowerment Group International. He delivers more than 100 energized and interactive keynotes, workshops and seminars each year to corporations, associations and tradeshows in the areas of Sales, Marketing, Leadership and Employee Motivation. He is the co-creator and co-author of Mastering the World of Selling www.MasteringTheWorld.com and the Mastering the World book series published by John Wiley & Sons. He is also the co-creator of www.SalesTrainingMastery.com a comprehensive online sales training portal. Eric can be easily reached by calling 732.617.1030 ext.114 or Eric@EmpowermentGroup.com.

What’s Your Promise & Pledge to

Make 2011 Your Best Year Ever?

Dear High Achiever,

First, I want to wish you an extremely happy, healthy and prosperous 2011. I hope last year brought you the best of everything you wished and worked for.

Second, I want to thank you for your support in helping make my first book Mastering the World of Selling one of the Top Five Sales Books of 2010.

Third, I want to thank my friend and writing partner Geoff Steck for creating and delivering the FYI/TGIM message to you every week for virtually all of 2010.

It was an exciting year as I learned the ups and downs of getting a best-selling book published, compiling my second book Mastering the World of Marketing and launching www.SalesTrainingMastery.com a comprehensive online sales training membership site, all simultaneously.

Much of the year was very successful; some less so. But even then, it’s wonderful how from our failures we can gain our most valuable lessons about business, other people, ourselves and life — if we are open to it.

Like many of you, I used the end of 2010 and the holiday break to reflect, evaluate and finalize my plans for massive success in the New Year ahead.

FYI (For Your Information & Inspiration): Here’s one of my Most Important Takeaways:

You may have noticed I used the word “extremely” when offering you best wishes for the New Year in the opening sentence of today’s FYI. I did that to emphasize my point for today’s message.

My personal “Promise & Pledge” is to go to the “Extreme” in business, health, family, spirituality, service and wealth this year. I strive to never accept mediocrity in anything I do; it’s a personal vow and commitment.

2011 FYI Challenge: What “Promise & Pledge” will you make to “You” this upcoming year? What decisions and actions are you going to take to make 2011 Your Best Year Ever?

Of course I know you’re a fan of motivation, success and inspiration.

But I don’t know if you’re a football fan … a Florida Gator fan … a Denver Bronco fan … or if you’ve ever heard of quarterback Tim Tebow. So I’m sharing the link below to 41 seconds of Tim’s inspirational speech titled “The Promise” which he gave at a press conference in 2008 after the Gators loss to Ole Miss. I think you will find it uplifting as you begin your quest to become the best you in 2011.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sGv2Zw-WQw&feature=related

How hard will you work and push yourself this year to be your best? How effective will you be at leading your team, your company and your family in 2011? Make the commitment today to go to the “Extreme” in everything you do throughout the year.

And remember…

“Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson said that.

Geoff and I appreciate your support and we promise to “go to the extreme” as we continue to bring value and enthusiasm while helping you in your business and life throughout 2011.

Make 2011 Your Best Year Ever!

Eric Taylor

Eric Taylor is the Founder & Chief Inspiration Officer of New Jersey based Empowerment Group International. He delivers more than 100 energized and interactive keynotes, workshops and seminars each year to corporations, associations and tradeshows in the areas of Sales, Marketing, Leadership and Employee Motivation. He is the co-creator and co-author of Mastering the World of Selling www.MasteringTheWorld.com and the Mastering the World book series published by John Wiley & Sons. He is also the co-creator of www.SalesTrainingMastery.com a comprehensive online sales training portal. Eric can be easily reached by calling 732.617.1030 ext.114 or Eric@EmpowermentGroup.com.

THANK GOODNESS IT’S MONDAY

TGIM #282

TAX REFORM 2011

BEN SAYS: YOU CAN PROSPER

Four decades ago I began my career in publishing in the Executive Reports Division of the world’s (then) biggest textbook publisher, Prentice-Hall, Inc.

We created and sold by direct mail over a dozen business skill-building and business-centric legal compliance newsletters, as well as updated-regularly-by-subscription-supplementation Manuals and Guides in these areas.

And we were responsible for the biggest bestseller no one ever heard of: The released-annually Federal Tax Course.

So every year at about this time: We would crash into production and ship a 1,000+ page volume to businesses, accountants and attorneys “to help you easily handle the many newly effective Tax Law changes – to help you avoid new pitfalls and save time, trouble and money.”

And, every year just prior to this shipment: We would sweat every little move by the legislators in Washington D.C. as they fretted and fussed and fidgeted with down-to-the-wire changes in the Tax Code.

Just like today.

So as we wait and wonder and worry about pending Tax Law action from the current Congressional crowd, I’d like to share with you some TGIM-Worthy Wisdom from another great publisher of ages past who had some firm ideas and sound strategies for citizens to implement in the face of “taxing” changes.

I could retell it. But I would be doing the author a disservice; so most of the balance of this TGIM will consist of his 18^th Century observations, spiffed up for the 21^st Century digital delivery with some editing and highlighting by me.

Even with 2011 Tax Law changes pending: Here’s a wealth of wisdom “to help you easily handle the many newly effective Tax Law changes – to help you avoid new pitfalls and save time, trouble and money” from –

Benjamin Franklin

In The Way to Wealth (1758), the classic essay summarizing his advice from several decades of publishing his annual Poor Richard’s Almanac, he said:

Courteous Reader,

I stopped my horse lately, where a great number of people were collected at an auction of merchants’ goods. The hour of the sale not being come, they were conversing on the badness of the times; and one of the company called to a plain, clean, old man, with white locks:

“Pray, Father Abraham, what think you of the times? Will not these heavy taxes quite ruin the country? How shall we ever be able to pay them? What would you advise us to?”

Father Abraham stood up, and replied –

“If you would have my Advice, I will give it you in short; for A word to the wise is enough, as Poor Richard says.”

They joined in desiring him to speak his mind, and gathering round him, he proceeded as follows.

“Friends,” said he, “the taxes are indeed very heavy, and, if those laid on by the government were the only ones we had to pay, we might more easily discharge them.

“But we have many others, and  much more grievous to some of us.

We are taxed twice as much by our idleness

… three times as much by our pride

… and four times as much by our folly

And from these taxes the commissioners cannot ease or deliver us.

However, let us hearken to good advice, and something may be done for us; God helps them that help themselves, as Poor Richard says.

Sloth, like rust, consumes faster than labor wears; while the used key is always bright, as Poor Richard says.

But dost thou love life, then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of, as Poor Richard says.

How much more than is necessary do we spend in sleep, forgetting, that The sleeping fox catches no poultry, and that There will be sleeping enough in the grave, as Poor Richard says.

If time be of all things the most precious, wasting time must be, as Poor Richard says, the greatest prodigality; since, as he elsewhere tells us, Lost time is never found again; and What we call time enough, always proves little enough.

Let us then up and be doing, and doing to the purpose; so by diligence shall we do more with less perplexity.

Sloth makes all things difficult, but industry all easy; and He that riseth late must trot all day, and shall scarce overtake his business at night; while Laziness travels so slowly, that Poverty soon overtakes him.

Drive thy business, let not that drive thee; and Early to bed, and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise, as Poor Richard says.

“So what signifies wishing and hoping for better times?”

We may make these times better if we bestir ourselves. Industry need not wish, and He that lives upon hopes will die fasting.

There are no gains without pains.

He that hath a trade hath an estate; and He that hath a calling, hath an office of profit and honor, as Poor Richard says; but then the trade must be worked at, and the calling followed, or neither the estate nor the office will enable us to pay our taxes.

If we are industrious, we shall never starve; for At the working man’s house hunger looks in, but dares not enter.

Nor will the bailiff or the constable enter, for Industry pays debts, while despair increaseth them.

Though you have found no treasure, nor has any rich relation left you a legacy, Diligence is the mother of good luck.

Work while it is called today, for you know not how much you may be hindered tomorrow. One, today is worth two tomorrows, as Poor Richard says; and further, Never leave that till tomorrow, which you can do today.

If you were a servant, would you not be ashamed that a good master should catch you idle?

Are you then your own master?

Be ashamed to catch yourself idle, when there is so much to be done for yourself, your family, your country….

It is true there is much to be done, and perhaps you are weak-handed; but stick to it steadily, and you will see great effects; for Constant dropping wears away stones; and By diligence and patience the mouse ate in two the cable; and Little strokes fell great oaks.

Methinks I hear some of you say, “Must a man afford himself no leisure?”

I will tell thee, my friend, what Poor Richard says, Employ thy time well, if thou meanest to gain leisure; and, Since thou art not sure of a minute, throw not away an hour.

TGIM ACTION IDEA: I will tell thee, my friend, “Let us then up and be doing, and doing to the purpose,” as Ben Franklin says.

And, Courteous Reader, let’s hope our elected officials can do the same.

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com

P.S. “The only thing that hurts more than paying an income tax is not having to pay an income tax.” Often attributed to Lord Thomas R. Dewar (1864–1930), whiskey distiller and marketer.

P.P.S. Another not-taxing way to prepare for prosperity in 2011 is to employ the wealth-building secrets and strategies revealed in Mastering the World of Selling!

This holiday season give yourself – and everyone else who can improve your bottom line – the gift of razor-sharp sales skills. Your #1 resource: 2010’s most-praised compilation of 21^st Century thinking from 88+ World Class Sales Professionals: Mastering the World of Selling – the Ultimate Training Resource from the Biggest Names in Sales. Do not let another day pass without its valuable guidance. Act now and reap the benefits immediately! To add it to your personal and professional library and start immediately reaping the benefit of all the bonus sales-training audios, e-books, podcasts, interviews and special reports available to TGIM readers, CLICK HERE.

You can find the latest Empowerment Group International goings on at the new-look website by clicking HERE.

GEOFF STECK leads Alexander Publishing & Marketing, a company he formed in 1986. The core AP&M mission: To create and publish leadership, sales mastery, self-improvement and workplace skill-building resources and tools. The focus: Areas such as business communication, staff support, customer care and frontline management. Geoff also puts his corporate and entrepreneurial experience, independent perspective, and skills as a catalyst to work for other firms (ranging from multinational corporations to more modest operations), not-for-profits, and individuals who have conceived or developed programs or initiatives but are frustrated in getting them implemented.

THANK GOODNESS IT’S MONDAY

TGIM #281

LET’S GET TOUGH & LET’S GET GOING

For many TGIM readers there’s still a great deal of evidence of a less-than-robust climate in the days immediately ahead.

That’s true for matters both business and personal.

It’s evident when you look at your P&L, compare notes with your business colleagues, read the news, go shopping (not to mention holiday shopping), or just talk with your neighbors.

Still, times change. And somewhat predictably so.

Any economic prognosticator can produce charts showing that things financial rise and fall in cycles. Granted, just where in the cycle you or your company or your family might be at any particular moment is often a highly speculative matter. But there’s still –

The universal given: Hard times will end – eventually.

TGIM Takeaway: Although no one knows exactly when the upturn will come for any particular segment, it will come earlier for you when you put some preparing-for-prosperity strategies in action today.

Bonus factor: If you’re one of the individuals or companies already prospering, if any ideas in this roundup are above and beyond what you’re already doing, implementing them in these harder times should prove extra valuable as the situation brightens for all.

Let’s talk post-Thanksgiving turkey: Resist the urge to coast into the New Year. There’s plenty to do starting immediately that will pay off immediately and in the more prosperous fiture.

Here’s a roundup of –

Preparing-For Prosperity Strategies

That Make Sense Now

● Keep it up. To be there at the recovery you must survive now. If you’re reading this, the odds are good that you’re at least doing something right. Keep at it. Keep striving. Keep an optimistic outlook.

● Challenge assumptions. Resist the urge to play everything safe by becoming ultra-conservative. Clearly nothing is carved in stone these days. So nothing can hurt a business or personal situation more than continued reliance on old assumptions that are now proven unreliable.

TGIM ACTION IDEA: Failure to be open to new ideas will trap you in a dead end. So, even in difficult times (maybe especially in difficult times) test established “truths” for your life and your business.

Result: You’ll either prove that they’re still true or you’ll begin to discover today’s better way.

● Be guided by numbers. Numbers are emotion-free indicators of where things were, are, and may be headed. Even if you’re more of a “people person,” it’s now more important than ever to use numbers to plot, compare, and analyze the effectiveness of decisions.

Caution: This is not a call to cut and chop and freeze and slash prices, expenses, and people across the board when things like budget numbers don’t work out to the penny.

● Put on bifocals. Don’t neglect the need to look long while you look short. The challenge is to objectively assess the current health of your situation, then conform the actions needed to pull through the immediately difficult times with those necessary to keep moving toward long-term goals.

TGIM ACTION IDEA: When short-term results aren’t satisfactory, don’t counter simply by freezing up or knee-jerk reacting in the next short term. Instead, study and attack the underlying problems and plan to cure them for the long term.

● Don’t undervalue advertising and marketing. Because immediate results from investments in these “promotional” areas are sometimes hard to measure, they often get short-changed when money is tight. Yet this may well be precisely the time when enhancing a product or an image becomes more important, not less. Dramatize your unique aspects and make them known and, at least, you’ll gain top of mind awareness.

● Attract and keep good employees. The future belongs to those who are ready to seize it. It’s practically a universal truth that there’s a shortage of skilled workers for any job worth doing. So putting a little effort into acquiring and motivating good employees or “partnering” relationships now is hardly a risk.

Good folks are out there now. And they’re looking for good partners. Be proactive in your outreach. On the other hand, not letting valued partners know, by word and deed, that you understand how their success and yours success is linked most definitely is a mistake.

● Trim fat, and then toughen muscle. No business or individual can survive in tough times (or good times) supporting people or relationships that aren’t doing the job. But that doesn’t mean you should cut more than the marginal performers (who should be set free in any circumstances).

TGIM ACTION IDEA: Set standards and stick with them. Don’t leave room for poor performance. Tell people, “Let’s get tough and let’s get going.”

● Build skills. Now, when you may have the time, make productive people more productive. Make the most of their existing talents. Work at keeping engaged and keeping morale high. Give people the training they need to build a solid base of skills for future expansion. Make everyone more sales minded and customer conscious. Build discipline and leadership skills across the board.

● Add to your skills. Use any slowdown to personal advantage. Skills and knowhow you acquire now, while you have more leeway with how you structure your time, will enhance your success when business activity begins to build again.

TGIM ACTION IDEA: Add to your existing strengths but also allow some time for shoring up weaker points. But most of all, keep current with evolving new technology. The future belongs to those who are prepared to live in it.

● Lead yourself first – and you automatically prepare the way to leadership in a prosperous tomorrow.

Getting tougher. And getting going.

See you in the winner’s circle.

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com

P.S. “[Good men] should not shrink from hardships and difficulties, nor complain against fate; they should take in good part whatever happens, and should turn it to good. Not what you endure, but how you endure, is important.” Seneca the Younger (5? BCE – 65 AD) suggested that in a treatise of Moral Essays as translated by John W. Basore in 1928, another period of particularly difficult times.

P.P.S. Another key preparing-for-prosperity-in-2011 skill you can certainly start honing immediately: Mastering the World of Selling!

This holiday season give yourself – and everyone else who can improve your bottom line – the gift of razor-sharp sales skills. Your #1 resource: 2010’s most-praised compilation of 21^st Century thinking from 88+ World Class Sales Professionals: Mastering the World of Selling – the Ultimate Training Resource from the Biggest Names in Sales. Do not let another day pass without its valuable guidance. Act now and reap the benefits immediately! To add it to your personal and professional library and start immediately reaping the benefit of all the bonus sales-training audios, e-books, podcasts, interviews and special reports available to TGIM readers, CLICK HERE.

You can find the latest Empowerment Group International goings on at the new-look website by clicking HERE.

GEOFF STECK leads Alexander Publishing & Marketing, a company he formed in 1986. The core AP&M mission: To create and publish leadership, sales mastery, self-improvement and workplace skill-building resources and tools. The focus: Areas such as business communication, staff support, customer care and frontline management. Geoff also puts his corporate and entrepreneurial experience, independent perspective, and skills as a catalyst to work for other firms (ranging from multinational corporations to more modest operations), not-for-profits, and individuals who have conceived or developed programs or initiatives but are frustrated in getting them implemented.

THANK GOODNESS IT’S MONDAY

TGIM #280

CELEBRATE THANKSGIVING

LIKE A WAMPANOAG

As we know, the Mayflower Pilgrims celebrated their “first” Thanksgiving with their indigenous neighbors — the Wampanoag — who lived in villages along the coast of what is now Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

This tribe was part of the Algonkian-speaking peoples, a large group that was part of the Woodland Culture area.

Welcome to the neighborhood. It has been documented that modern day Wampanoag live on the lands their forbears have occupied (called Aquinnah on the island of Martha’s Vineyard) for at least twelve thousand years.

Leaders of the Algonquin and the other dominant native group in the area, the      Iroquois people, were called “sachems.” Each village had its own sachem and tribal council. That leadership is represented in some of the Indian names we know from the traditional Thanksgiving story; Squanto, Samoset and Massasoit.

Political power flowed upward from the people. Any individual, man or woman, could participate, but among the Algonquin, more political power was held by men. Among the Iroquois, women held the deciding vote in the final selection of who would represent the group. Both men and women enforced the laws of the village and helped solve problems.

The details of their democratic system were so impressive that about 150 years later Benjamin Franklin invited the Iroquois to Albany, New York, to explain their system to a delegation that then developed the “Albany Plan of Union.” This document later served as a model for the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution of the United States.

But I digress. So let’s “talk turkey” (so to speak), and get back to considering some TGIM Takeaways for this year’s Thanksgiving celebrations.

Guess what? The Wampanoag have a tradition and way of giving thanks that began much, much earlier than the harvest home festival the Pilgrims and Wampanoag shared in the 1620s.

Read what tribal elder Gladys Widdiss has to say about the Wampanoag and Wampanoag thanksgiving:

“Every day (is) a day of thanksgiving to the Wampanoag . . .(We) give thanks to the dawn of the new day, at the end of the day, to the sun, to the moon, for rain for helping crops grow. . . There (is) always something to be thankful for. .. Giving thanks comes naturally for the Wampanoag.”

Gladys Widdiss goes on to further explain the importance of this thanksgiving:

“With Native Americans you do not separate the spiritual from the rest of your life. You’re very involved with who you are, where you came from, and where you are going. We have special holidays or festivals, but every day is a day of thanksgiving.”

In addition to daily thanks there have always been set times for celebration that coincided with changes of season and harvests times.

• Wampanoag New Year comes at the spring planting time.
• Summer is celebrated with Strawberry Thanksgiving, at the time when the first wild berry ripens.
• Green Bean Harvest and Green Corn Harvest come at mid-summer.
• Cranberry Harvest celebrates the ripening of the last wild berry.
• A ceremony is held around the time of Winter solstice as well.
• Harvest celebrations are held after the work has been completed.

Wampanoag celebrations have always also included singing, dancing, and the sharing of food throughout the community.

These celebrations of thanksgiving, held at these different seasons of the year, are times of reflection and thanks for sustenance provided to all people in the Tribe. They continue today.

The sweep of history tells us: The tradition of giving thanks for a good harvest or a variety of other reasons is an ancient one, both for the Wampanoag, as well as for most people who are not Native American.

There’s even a new historical account, Making Haste From Babylon, that maintains the first Pilgrim thanksgiving took place a year before the event that serves as a basis of our contemporary holiday.

Author Nick Bunker identifies it as a prayer of thanks that the Pilgrims said on their first arrival in the New World and he suggests that that prayer has its origins in a Jewish ritual rooted in biblical traditions.

It’s called birkat ha-Gomel. It’s performed after crossing a wide expanse of dangerous territory such as a desert or ocean and it commonly involves a festive meal!

TGIM Takeaway: No matter the cultural source, the universal tenets of Thanksgiving celebration are still relevant – maybe even more so when times are tougher.

Thanksgiving Day is not a religious holiday. Although in the USA most of us reference its Puritan origins, it is a national holiday. But while crowds will gather for a parade or to experience a football game in a stadium, the spirit of the day is realized as most of us gather together on a more personal scale around a harvest home table and Give Thanks.

What are you thankful for? The Pilgrims and the Wampanoag were (and are) grateful for the many things that give life meaning and joy … the things that matter no matter what our economic or social circumstances … the things that bind us together as –

A human family. I trust this Thursday you will find some of the culture-crossing Thanksgiving spirit — no matter how difficult current circumstances seem. I certainly don’t imagine most of you will busy yourself with e-mail.  So I’ll take this TGIM opportunity to –

Thank YOU, one and all: I hope this message finds you far from want … that life is always plentiful for you … and that once again on Thanksgiving Day you will use the occasion to resolve to be thankful every day of the year.

Thankfully,

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com

P.S. “Thanksgiving comes to us out of the prehistoric dimness, universal to all ages and all faiths.  At whatever straws we must grasp, there is always a time for gratitude and new beginnings.” Historian and author J. Robert Moskin said that.

P.P.S.  I also want to thank you for your generous acceptance of these TGIM e-mail messages. Thanks for forwarding the ones you like best to folks you think will enjoy them or benefit from them. We’re pleased to make their acquaintance.

And thanks for your feedback, both critical and favorable. Eric and I appreciate your views and the effort you make to convey them. We learn from what you have to say and hope that we can continue to be a conduit for sharing that wisdom and understanding.

You can find the latest Empowerment Group International goings on at the new-look website by clicking HERE.

GEOFF STECK leads Alexander Publishing & Marketing, a company he formed in 1986. The core AP&M mission: To create and publish leadership, sales mastery, self-improvement and workplace skill-building resources and tools. The focus: Areas such as business communication, staff support, customer care and frontline management. Geoff also puts his corporate and entrepreneurial experience, independent perspective, and skills as a catalyst to work for other firms (ranging from multinational corporations to more modest operations), not-for-profits, and individuals who have conceived or developed programs or initiatives but are frustrated in getting them implemented.

THANK GOODNESS IT’S MONDAY

TGIM #279

BRAINSTORMING: WHAT IT REALLY IS

AND HOW TO DO IT RIGHT

“Let’s brainstorm that idea.” It seems as if everyone says this these days.

But what most people think of as brainstorming isn’t.

At least it’s not what Alex Osborn, the father of brainstorming (also the “O in the legendary BBD&O – the advertising agency cited as the prototype for the cable TV hit show Mad Men), envisioned.

While it seems he used brainstorming effectively for years inside BBD&O, it gained widespread use when Osborn shared it with the world in his book Your Creative Power, published in 1948.

The 21^st Century version of brainstorming seems to be to gather a bunch of people in a room … toss out a problem … then go at it, debating, criticizing and compromising until either the loudest or most senior person prevails.

Or no one does. Clearly that kind of combative atmosphere won’t inspire many innovative ideas.

That’s why Osborn proposed a kinder, gentler system with just a few –

Brainstorming Basics

#1: No one is permitted to criticize an idea.

#2: The “wilder” the idea, the better.

#3: A large number of ideas is the goal. The quality of any one idea is not of immediate concern.

#4: Whenever possible, each brainstormer should advance from the idea of another brainstormer, building on it or combining it with his or her own ideas.

Following these rules, Osborn believed, allows one person’s idea to stimulate the thinking of the other brainstormers so they can come up with –

More ideas. The more connections that are made, the better the chance of hitting a solution.

Sounds pretty wild, right? But Osborn also stressed that brainstorming isn’t a “call everyone together at the last minute” thing.

TGIM ACTION IDEA: Good, spontaneous ideas take preparation. Say you decide to brainstorm for solutions to a problem you feel can’t be resolved alone. Here’s what to do:

● Be sure the problem is precisely spelled out. If the problem is too broad, the ideas generated will not be specific enough to produce a solution.

● Determine who will participate in the session. Ten to twelve people is the suggested size. Ideally the group should be balanced with people who have first-hand knowledge of the most intimate details and generalists with a broader understanding of what’s involved.

● Ensure that brainstormers come properly prepared. Along with the carefully phrased challenge, supply participants with material relevant to the topic.

● Instruct brainstormers to open their minds and free up their imaginations as they review the material. Even before the meeting they should jot down what comes to mind. Before the session these notes should be handed in for the guidance of the facilitator who will oversee the brainstorming.

Once the brainstormers are convened, the facilitator’s questions set the direction and keep things rolling.

Example: “We want sales to grow 20 percent a year for the next three years. You all reviewed the sales history. What would you focus on?”

As ideas are put forward and further brainstorming is encouraged, a full-time idea collector writes down each idea for all to see.

Low tech works. A plain vanilla flip chart can be sufficient. When a page gets filled up, peel it off, tape it to the wall and keep recording on the next sheet.

Watch this: The facilitator and the recorder don’t offer ideas.

According to Osborn, the leader’s job is to make sure that no one dominates the group and to encourage additional solutions, perhaps stimulating idea flow by resurrecting suggestions forgotten-and-unaired, gleaned from the pre-meeting notes.

The recorder’s primary function is to capture the freely flowing ideas quickly and accurately.

A few more guidelines and considerations to hone the process to razor sharpness:

● Make sure everyone understands and is satisfied with the central question before you open up for ideas.

● Begin by going around the table or room, giving everyone a chance to voice their ideas or to pass. After a few rounds, drop the order and open the floor.

● More ideas are better. Encourage radical ideas and piggybacking.

● Suspend judgment of all ideas.

● Record precisely what is said. Clarify only after everyone is out of ideas.

● Don’t stop until ideas become sparse. Allow for late-coming ideas.

● Eliminate duplicates and ideas that aren’t relevant to the topic.

● When the pace of the ideas finally slows, the brainstorming session should end.

And you’ve got? A brainstorm starts with a clear question and ends with a raw list of ideas. That’s what it does well — give you a raw list of ideas.

Some will be good.

And some won’t.

But if you try to analyze or evaluate ideas in the brainstorming session, it can ruin the session.

So wait.

The penultimate step: Have the recorder compile all the information on the flip-chart sheets and make it available for a later meeting. At that gathering people – preferably those not from the brainstorming session – should sort through the ideas, discussing, analyzing and criticizing them and choosing the best ones.

The ultimate step: Take action on the steps you endorse. And acknowledge the contribution of all whose effort took you in that direction.

Wishing you a “perfect storm” of more and better ideas, now and in 2011.

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com

P.S. “It is easier to tone down a wild idea than to think up a new one.” Alex Osborne (1888 -1966) said that.

P.P.S. Here’s a not-so-wild idea: Share the single best source of sales and selling best practices and thought-starters with everyone on your team. Get each of them copies Mastering the World of Selling – the Ultimate Training Resource from the Biggest Names in Sales. Then gather for a weekly “brainstorming” session of sorts, concentrating each meeting on just one of the insightful chapters penned by the 88+ World Class Professionals represented in the book. Big Bonus: Order HERE and tap the power of the added-value sales-training audios, e-books, podcasts, interviews and special reports available to TGIM readers.

You can also find the latest Empowerment Group International goings on at the new-look website by clicking HERE.

GEOFF STECK leads Alexander Publishing & Marketing, a company he formed in 1986. The core AP&M mission: To create and publish leadership, sales mastery, self-improvement and workplace skill-building resources and tools. The focus: Areas such as business communication, staff support, customer care and frontline management. Geoff also puts his corporate and entrepreneurial experience, independent perspective, and skills as a catalyst to work for other firms (ranging from multinational corporations to more modest operations), not-for-profits, and individuals who have conceived or developed programs or initiatives but are frustrated in getting them implemented.

THANK GOODNESS IT’S MONDAY

TGIM #278

HOW TO OVERCOME

FAILURE TO FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS

By failing to follow instructions employees (and consumers) flush millions of dollars down the drain every year.

Case in point: A new herbicide was failing in the marketplace. Some farmers were complaining that it did not control weeds. Other famers complained that it worked too well, killing crop plants along with weeds.

The chemical company that made the herbicide could find nothing wrong with its product.  Officials knew it worked perfectly well under test conditions.

So what was the problem? Well, today’s TGIM headline gives you the big clue: The farmers were –

Not following instructions. Sure, they were plainly printed on the herbicide containers. The problem was that simple.

But the solution?

Not so simple.

Farmers … and consumers of all types … and employees … and family members everywhere sometimes seem incapable of understanding and executing thought-out, tested, and laid-out procedures.

What can be done?

Here are three very human reasons why people fail to follow instructions and some proven-in-the-real-world Action Ideas to set things back on course:

#1: Often instructions are not understood. That puts the responsibility on the instruction giver to understand why they’re not understood and to facilitate the understanding. (Understand?)

Consider this: Did you get a big, starting-at-square-one instruction manual with your latest computer purchase?

Of course not. There’s an assumption that everyone has some fundamental knowledge of what’s involved in getting started. And, as manufacturers determined long ago when they did a pack monster-sized instruction manual with each shipment, people found them dull and dry and didn’t bother to read them anyway.

So, In this evolved digital age, things are designed to be mastered intuitively and more information is available in the ether for those who wish to seek it out.

But not everything is planned that way. And for a wide range of reasons – age, cultural references, level of education — people differ in ability to comprehend the little information that is at hand. Plus, they are more or less experienced and/or intuitive.

So we just have to suck it up? No, but rather than wring our hands and moan that nothing can be done in advance, we must use what we do know to everyone’s advantage.

For example, sometimes language skills are at the heart of the problem.

True story: A shop foreman finds a worker taking a cigarette break near a container clearly marked “Flammable Liquid.” Undoubtedly the smoker did not know the meaning of flammable.

Alarmed, the foreman told the man to extinguish his cigarette immediately. The fellow promptly lit another and handed it over, evidently thinking “extinguish” meant “light” and that the boss intended to join him for a smoke.

TGIM ACTION IDEA: To the best of your ability, put yourself in the mindset of the folks you are instructing. Allow that your experience is not theirs. Phrase instructions simply. Check for understanding.

Still another reason instructions are often misunderstood is that they are vague or incomplete.

Case in point: A shipping supervisor was told to make sure that some heavy electronic equipment was “good and secure” in containers destined for Australia.

Clear enough? No.

During shipment the containers were severely jostled in high seas and some of the equipment broke loose, dashed against the container walls and was damaged. The shipping supervisor did not know that “secure” meant extensive cross bracing. But his boss should have stated that specifically.

Speaking of language skills: The Germans have a word for it: Idiotensicher.

We say: “Idiot Proof.

TGIM ACTION IDEA: Make your instructions idiot-proof by striving to anticipate everything that could go wrong. Be specific when giving instructions if you have a specific action in mind.

Further idiot-proof your instructions. Engage in “Show & Tell.” Ask the instructed to tell you – in their own words – what you said. Have them show you they get it by making a dry run of the procedure with just your oversight, not your hands-on involvement. When they can do it step-by-step without your participation then you know they’re good to go.

#2: People don’t see the importance of the instructions. Sometimes people understand instructions perfectly, but intentionally violate them because they don’t see why they matter to them individually.

TGIM ACTION IDEA: Sell self interest. Good instructions include good personal reasons for them to be followed. Unless they can see why your way is better for them, most people will do things their own way, not yours. But you can’t count on ESP. You must tell and sell them on how they will benefit.

TGIM IDEA IN ACTION: The instruction “Clean it thoroughly first,” is not as likely to be followed as the slightly better instruction “Clean it thoroughly first, because if you don’t the paint will blister and peel.” But the best instruction in terms of self-interest is “Clean it thoroughly first, because if you don’t the paint will blister and peel and you will have to do it over on your own time.”

#3: People resist instruction because they resent authority. The farmers who bought the herbicide were not following the instructions for a very interesting reason. Interviewed by an “independent” organization, they said, referring to the manufacturers –

“What do they know?” They resented being told how to run their farms by what they envisioned were white-coat scientists in far-off laboratories.

TGIM ACTION IDEA: The less “authoritative” the instruction, the more likely it is to be followed. Stress peer success. Most employees, for example, would rather follow the lead of their successful coworkers then obey commands from on high.

Outstanding in the field. The chemical company was advised to change the wording of their instructions. The new directions read, “Most farmers get the best results if they use X amount. Below Y amount, they find weeds aren’t controlled. More than Z amount and their crops are damaged.” When farmers were held up as the authorities, their problems with authority vanished.

TGIM Takeaway: Plain and simple from the outset is the key to effectively giving instructions. Assume very little. As you instruct, watch and assess the level of comprehension. Silence is not golden. Be sure you have conclusive evidence that everyone “gets it” before you step aside.

Concentrate your biggest instructive effort at the outset to send people off in the correct direction, fully prepared. Your early investment and deliberate, earnest, and early focus will pay off time after time in time, money and effort-saving compliance.

Bonus outcome: Everyone feels good as they reap the reward of more easily reaching a successful conclusion.

Hope these instructions on giving instructions were instructive.

Feel free to instruct me otherwise.

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com

P.S. “You can expect what you inspect.” W. Edwards Deming (1900-1993), said that. In his heyday Dr. Deming was perhaps best known for concepts such as Quality Circles and his influence in refocusing Japanese industry . And although the expect/inspect observation emphasized the importance of measuring and testing input, process and output in a production setting, it applies to instructing people and boosting their performance, as well.  Concentrate on the input/instruction phase and the next steps will go more predictably and produce the desired outcome with less expense and effort.

P.P.S. I expect you might want to inspect all the sage sales instruction available to TGIM fans in Mastering the World of Selling – the Ultimate Training Resource from the Biggest Names in Sales. To add this most worthwhile compilation of 21^st Century thinking from 88+ World Class Professionals to your resource library and start immediately reaping the benefit of all the bonus sales-training audios, e-books, podcasts, interviews and special reports available to TGIM readers, follow this instruction: CLICK HERE.

You can also find the latest Empowerment Group International goings on at the new-look website by clicking HERE.

GEOFF STECK leads Alexander Publishing & Marketing, a company he formed in 1986. The core AP&M mission: To create and publish leadership, sales mastery, self-improvement and workplace skill-building resources and tools. The focus: Areas such as business communication, staff support, customer care and frontline management. Geoff also puts his corporate and entrepreneurial experience, independent perspective, and skills as a catalyst to work for other firms (ranging from multinational corporations to more modest operations), not-for-profits, and individuals who have conceived or developed programs or initiatives but are frustrated in getting them implemented.

THANK GOODNESS IT’S MONDAY

TGIM #277

4 THOUGHT-PROVOKING WAYS

TO KEEP YOUR MIND ALERT

Did they pass a law recently requiring that every sector of the public media publish at least one article arguing that doing crossword puzzles and brain teasers are required brain fitness exercises?

It sure seems that way.

Well, this TGIM is NOT one of those. Instead I’ll float your way some thoughts on thinking that I find personally useful.

#1: Boost your memory power. Afraid you can’t remember everything like you used to? Guess what?

No one can.

So quit telling yourself you’ve got a poor memory, then proving it by trying unsuccessfully to name who you sat next to in sixth grade or which of the Disney version of Snow White’s Seven Dwarfs didn’t have a beard.

Just remember this: The answers to questions like these are simply not that important. Besides, if you really had to know –

You could easily look them up. Isn’t that what Internet connectivity is all about? And so, to keep you on board with this TGIM and prevent your clicking away for the answers to the questions I’ve posed, I’m going to give them to you now.

The Snow White answer is “Dopey.”

And, if you sat next to me, that may be the answer for the sixth grade seatmate question as well.

TGIM ACTION IDEA #1: Select only the important things to remember. Some you may leave in machine-searchable places on your computer or in the electronic ether. Relegate the non-public “other” part to secure to lists and files. Then all you need to remember is where you left the list or filed the file.

Here are some more thought-provoking ways to keep your mind alert.

#2: Know the warning signs of flabby thinking. Do you hear yourself saying, “As I always say …”? Or do acquaintances interrupt you with, “Oh, yes, I think you mentioned …”?

Then it’s time for fresh thinking.

TGIM ACTION IDEA #2: Get new input. Try to break away from the limiting loop of work-family-social routine once in a while.

TGIM IDEA IN ACTION: Go to the library, pick a random stack, then pick up and read the first book you come across with, say, a mostly blue jacket. Or: Close your eyes, put your finger on a map of the world and find out about the people who live near where it lands. Or: Reexamine the cultural activity you like the least – opera, cowboy movies, abstract sculpture; you know what it is for you. Then mix these experiences into your conversation and actively listen to the response of others when you do.

#3: Dealing with distractions. Don’t you find that concentrating on concentrating seldom helps get down to brass tacks?

“I’ve got to get this done,” you keep repeating to yourself. “”I can’t let the weather … the lack of sleep … the traffic noise … whatever … interfere.”

TGIM ACTION IDEA #3: Beat distractions to the punch. A better routine might help.

Say, for example, creating the annual budget is your bête noir. And, as usual, 15 minutes after settling down to productive work on it; you’re distracted by activity outside your office.

TGIM IDEA IN ACTION: Work on the budget someplace else. Sure, you realize that it’s your hang-up about budgeting — not the distracting activity — that lets your mind lose focus. So make it easier to not use that excuse.

#4: Fence in a wandering mind. Sometimes it’s a useful, break-out-of-the-box exercise to let your mind wander. But sometimes it’s a way to avoid dealing with the present.

Worry is the chief culprit in such cases. You lose your grip on the task at hand when you begin to worry about how the whole thing will turn out.

TGIM ACTION IDEA #4: Don’t set yourself up for a breakdown. Break it down instead. Treat each piece of a project as an end in itself, then take the one-step-at-a-time approach.

And soon you’re done.

Just like today’s TGIM.

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com

P.S. “Thought is behavior in rehearsal.” That’s a thought-provoking quote attributed to Sigmund Freud (1856-1939).

P.P.S. Thanks again to TGIM fans and all the folks who showed up at the Barnes & Noble store in Freehold, NJ and walked away with signed copies of Mastering the World of Selling – the Ultimate Training Resource from the Biggest Names in Sales. Continue to the blog and you’ll see some pictures from the event. And, of course, if you were unable to attend, you can check out this most worthwhile compilation of 21^st Century thinking from 88+ World Class Professionals. To add it to your resource library and start immediately reaping the benefit of all the bonus sales-training audios, e-books, podcasts, interviews and special reports available to TGIM readers, CLICK HERE.

You can also find the latest Empowerment Group International goings on at the new-look website by clicking HERE.

GEOFF STECK leads Alexander Publishing & Marketing, a company he formed in 1986. The core AP&M mission: To create and publish leadership, sales mastery, self-improvement and workplace skill-building resources and tools. The focus: Areas such as business communication, staff support, customer care and frontline management. Geoff also puts his corporate and entrepreneurial experience, independent perspective, and skills as a catalyst to work for other firms (ranging from multinational corporations to more modest operations), not-for-profits, and individuals who have conceived or developed programs or initiatives but are frustrated in getting them implemented.