Trizle

How You'll Beat Your Business Competitors

2009-11-08T10:58:21-08:00

Imagine a frickin gi-nourmous mountain.
Every step that you take gets you higher up the mountain.

Now, imagine racing Schmo.d.bobo up that mountain:

Every step Schmo.d.bobo takes that you don't take gets him 1 step further ahead.
(And vice-versa.)

Business is akin to a game of racing up that mountain to service Customers X at the top.

The more steps you take over Schmo.d.bobo, the likelier you'll pull further ahead.
And take your humongous share of customers.

K. Anders Ericsson, a performance expert at Florida State found through his research that those who excelled at their crafts simply had this distinguishing variable:

They put in more practice time than the rest.

Chessmasters destroyed their competitors because they had more practice time.

The #%@%#@ conclusion? The more time you put into your work, the likelier you'll pull away.

Steps. Steps. Steps.

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How to Hire Team Members for Your Business

2009-11-06T13:09:33-08:00

"I like Chuck, but I don't like working with him."
"He doesn't have the same work ethic as we do."
"But we need him, so let's hire him!!"

As you bring in Chuck, he ruins your entire company's culture.

Your business starts becoming less energized.
The work ethic declines.
You start sucking.

The Hiring Strategy

Try this:

Those who fit your company's values/philosophy/work-ethic/etc. = internal team.
Those who don't fit but are still needed = contractors/freelancers.

Hire internal people who fit your values system -- those who you:

love working with
know won't corrode your culture
see as perfect representatives of your business

Contract the rest.

Those who fit.

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How to Use Business Plans

2009-11-06T12:47:48-08:00

True, business planning sucks because you can't predict the future.

But, here's the gem from a business plan:

You can use it to measure how much actual results differ from that plan.

Without it:

You don't know if you did really well.
You don't know if you sucked-to-the-suck.

You + Goals

For instance, take setting goals:

You set a goal to sell 1000 widgets.
You sell 500 widgets.

Setting that previous goal of selling 1000 widgets let you know that you underperformed by 50%.

"To do better, we must increase our pitches by 50%."
"Or, we must reduce our prices to sell more quantities."

Business plans -- in effect -- let you determine how well you do relative to how well you want to do.

Like an NBA team, you start measuring your wins/losses.

Set a plan. Measure goodness.

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The Power of Embracing Dumb

2009-11-06T13:18:01-08:00

You're gunning for perfection.
You play everything conservatively.

BAM:

Your business doesn't grow.
Your business doesn't reach more people.
You don't find ways to increase bottom lines.

How NFL Players Become Better

During the NFL preseasons, quality coaches encourage players to play with more risks:

Quarterbacks throw more risky passes.
Wide receivers go longer.
Cornerbacks play closer.

They look dumb as they throw more interceptions, drop more balls, and give up more touchdowns -- but they grow much more as football players -- as:

The quarterback becomes better at throwing long passes.
The wide receivers become better at running longer routes.
The cornerbacks become better at locking down receivers.

Play with more risk.

Embrace the power of looking dumb.

You go farther.

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How to Enjoy Work More

2009-11-06T13:07:30-08:00

Happiness is relative.

I'm happier being a KING in a poor land.
I'm sadder being a peasant in a rich land.

Become the big fish at your work:

Keep improving.
You get better.
Your status improves.

People start to talk about you/your-company among your industry.

With the increased status, you become happier.

Keep improving.

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How to Advertise Your Job Listing

2009-11-06T12:54:44-08:00

Bob does this for his business's job opening:

"Let's put our job ad on Craigslist!"
"We'll find our next superstar!"
"OH YEAH!"

He finds good peeps -- but not great peeps.

How do you ensure a successful recruiting campaign?

Take this mindset:

The more people who see your ad, the more candidates you find.
The more candidates you find, the more potential superstars you find.

Have a job that you need filled?

Expose it:

List it on your website's homepage.
Put in every job board that has potential superstars.
Tell every=%#@%#@%#@-one you know.
Seek recruiters.
Give team members incentives (e.g., finders' fees)

The wider you cast your net, the likelier you'll find better candidates.

The numbers game.

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How to Measure Productivity if You're Not an Executive

2009-11-06T13:46:15-08:00

Trizle recently wrote a totally incomplete article that sucked if you're not an executive.

How do you measure productivity if you're not an executive?

In the same manner, do things that matter 5 years from now:

reading great books/articles that give you life-long lessons: WIN
investing in your portfolio/career/side-business: WIN
taking courses to learn X: WIN
building long-term relationships with X: WIN
getting better at negotiating: WIN
building on your business skills: WIN
etc., etc., etc.

Invest in yourself to build a brighter future -- even if that takes 5 minutes out of your every day.

Invest in YO-SELF.

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How to Work With People Who Piss You Off

2009-11-06T12:33:56-08:00

Person X pisses you off.
You can't work with Person X.

What in the %#@%@# do you do?

Give them something.

Provide them a free gift.
Give them a free car wash.
Give them a free meal.
Give them a compliment. (FREE!)
Do something for them.

The power of reciprocity:

You do someone a favor -- genuinely.
That person subconsciously feels more obligated to return the favor.

You get a free gift out of the blue during your birthday/holiday/etc; you feel more inclined to return that gift.

If someone pisses you off, and you're trying to get them to change their ways, do something for them.

If you do it genuinely, they'll return a favor for you.

Give something.

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How to Discover Hope in Anything

2009-11-05T12:47:10-08:00

The happy feelings you get = like a roller coaster:

One day/week, you're on top of the world.
The next day/week, you're down like a downtown-downer-of-the-DOWN.
Then, BAM, you're on top of the world again.

The Happy Cycle

You'll get the happy-sad-happy-sad-happy-sad-happy feelings cycle all-the-frickin-time for the rest of your ridiculous sweeeeeeeeeeeeet life because your mind makes everything relative:

You're sad because you just experienced something so great, so you're comparing the great experience to your not-that-great current experience.
THEN BAM: You're happy again, because you're experiencing the happier feelings relative to the sadder experience you just had.

If you're feeling sad/depressed/downtown-downer, know this:

You'll feel on top of the world again.
Guaranteed.

Wait for it.

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How to Measure Your Productivity

2009-11-05T12:47:16-08:00

Frozillo goes through his entire day answering emails.
...and fighting customer fires.
Frozillo thinks he's productive.

But, Frozillo, you not productive!

How do you measure productivity?

Take a look at your tasks for the entire day.
Then, ask your bad-self: "What percentage of the tasks I've completed will matter 5 years from now?"

For instance:

Teaching Team Member Charlie how to do Tasks A, B, C, D, E, etc. = won't matter 5 years from now.
Creating an operations manual that Team Member Charlie and any other team member in the future can use tomorrow, next year, and five years from now = GOOD.

Ask yourself:

"What percentage of my day did I spend working on things that will pay big rewards tomorrow/next-week/month/year/5-years?"

Make work last.

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