Better Than Your Best

Do you have a clear-cut idea of what you expect to be done?

Have you planned what to say before giving the instructions?

Have you taken into account the individual’s preferred communication style and tailored your delivery?

Have you checked your vocabulary for words and phrases the individual may not understand (and eliminated or changed them)?

Do you wait until you and the individual have adequate time and attention to give to the instructions?

Have you planned what to do if the individual is uncooperative?

Do you explain the big picture so the individual understands the “why” as well as the “what”?

Do you ask the individual to repeat the instructions as he or she understands them?

Do you discuss what decisions the individual can make on his or her own and when he or she needs to check with you?

Before you end a meeting, are you sure the individual knows exactly what he/she is to do, how he/she is to do it, and when?

Have you set up interim status reports if appropriate?

Do you give the individual feedback (positive and negative) after completing the project?

Do you assess your instructions and change them in the future if misunderstandings arise?

The following are comments in response to a standing question I've posed to all readers and participants: "What has been the greatest obstacle you have had to overcome on the way to Your Better Self?"

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If all you are looking at is the obstacles in front of you, then you need to widen your perspective. Zoom out! Look at the bigger picture. Stepping back from the rock lets you see the way around it. I'm lazy, really I am. I am not going to hammer through with a jackhammer when I can step back and go around.

I will admit, though, that I've found that my biggest obstacle is often myself. When working in a group I find this a lot, especially when I'm the leader. I get this, "My way or the highway" sort of attitude occasionally, and I forget that the reason I've surrounded myself with the people I have is because they are the best ones to help me get the job done. It pays to listen to the people around you. I've learned that the hard way many times, and I find myself re-learning it. Here are some things I've written down to remember while working in a group (I've found that they are helpful for working in a group whether I'm the leader or not.):

1.) Listen when someone is trying to express their opinion on how best to get the job done. They may not have the best answer, but all viewpoints let you back up and get a bigger picture.

2.) Plan, then be prepared for the plan to fail. Trust your team members to do what they do best as you all pick up the pieces and start anew.

3.) People won't follow a plan/path they haven't agreed upon. Make sure that everyone agrees, or if they can't, that they agree to follow the leader.

4.) This is a team effort, and working as a team is the only way to get the job done. Everyone's skills, no matter how small in comparison to others in the group, should be recognized.

5.) Don't overextend yourself, if your work suffers the whole team suffers. Your failure can cause the whole team to fail.

6.) Don't be afraid to ask for help. It doesn't make you seem weak.

7.) If you must criticize, make sure it's constructive. Criticizing someone viciously is not the way to motivate them. It's entirely unhelpful.

8.)

Did you notice number eight is blank? Well that is because I just know I'm going to learn more later. Recognizing that fact now will, hopefully, allow me to be more open to learning the next thing to come my way.

- Christine Knight

Whenever I hear this phrase uttered, I think not of radical railing against the "establishment" but of what people with power actually look like. People with power are people with poise, purpose and peacefulness. When you possess power, you know it; and you also know how to use it, for that is the prerequisite of power – being the one in the room who knows what to do . . . next.

Power originates in perception and manifests itself within the individual. In other words, when you know what needs to be done for the benefit of others and are committed to getting it done, you are perceived to be powerful by others and are then able to empower them to help you accomplish that goal.

We all need power to get what we want for ourselves. We also need power to give what we want to others. Power is experienced when you know what you want to both give and receive and when you know that what you want is worthy of your better Self.

"Power to the people" is really power through a person to the people. Are you that person in your world? 

“Many people succeed when others do not believe in them. Rarely does a person succeed when he does not believe in himself. “ – Herb True

An Intriguing Story

This true story is about the legendary marketing strategist, Claude Hopkins and the Schlitz beer company. Schlitz was about to go flat in the beer brewery industry. They wanted desperately to break into the top ten American breweries but didn’t know how to do it. That’s when they contacted Claude Hopkins.

Hopkins’ first item of business was to take a tour of the Schlitz facility. Even though the central brewing plant was located on the shores of Lake Michigan with its enormous fresh-water supply, the company had dug five, 4000-foot artesian wells because they wanted the purest water available. Hopkins was shown a special laboratory in which over 2,500 experiments were conducted by company scientists to cultivate the finest mother-yeast cell. He was taken through five different three-foot-thick plate glass rooms where beer was condensed, redistilled and recondensed for purity. The final stop was the tasting room where beer was tasted from five samplings on five separate occasions. He learned that the bottles they used were cleaned and sterilized twelve times!

After his tour, convinced of the company’s commitment to both its product and its customers, Hopkins exclaimed to his hosts, “My goodness, why don’t you let people know about this amazing process your beer goes through?” They replied, “This is the way all beer is made.” Hopkins immediately responded, “That may be, but the first company that tells the public about this will make a fortune!”

What would you have done with Hopkins’ advice? The problem in American business today is not a shortage of good ideas; rather, it’s the lack of implementation of good ideas. The Schlitz company took Hopkins’ advice and became the number one brewery in America within six months!

How did they do it? They simply told the story you just read to all their customers and prospects.

Educate your prospects and customers about what you do, how you do it and why it’s important to them. This is not merely telling how you’re different from your competition; rather, it’s a preemptive strike against your competition by informing the public of what your business and industry actually do. The more information and expert knowledge you can share with prospects and customers, the greater the chances are that they will make an informed buying decision — the one you want them to make.

Here’s the point: The first one to tell the public about the how, what and why of your business and industry — even about “business as usual” processes and concepts — gains a marketing advantage. I call this the “W.Y.K.V.W.O.D.K.A.A. (A.W.)” (Pronounced, “Wick-vee-Wadkah”) marketing principle: “What You Know Very Well Others Don’t Know At All (or “As Well).” Slap yourself in the face with the obvious and tell your customers and prospects about it and you’ll gain the competitive advantage.

How do you tell your customers and prospects about it? Write a report . . . .

Focus on Customers, Not Competitors

What about competitors getting hold of your report? Wouldn’t that be bad news? Chances are they already know much of what you’d be writing about. After all, they are in the same industry. The focus is on your customers and not on your competitors. Giving information to your customers gives them additional reasons to be loyal to your business. And if they remain loyal to your business, where’s your competition? YOU are your own competition: it’s not that others steal your customers, it’s that you don’t do those things that keep your customers coming back to you. One of those things that increases customer loyalty is providing expert information and on-going learning opportunities.

Whatever you do in your business, you’re giving your customers one of two things: a reason to come back or a reason to go elsewhere. – Ken Wallace

But wouldn’t the information in your report stimulate competition? That might happen, to be sure. But the likelihood of it happening is extremely remote. Even if it does, the caliber of competition will be low. Cassette Duplications Unlimited, in the late 1980’s, circulated a report entitled, “How to Produce Your Own Audio Cassette Program” which was amazingly detailed, honest and straightforward. It also contained excellent information about the business of audio duplication and distribution.

A few did use the report as a blueprint to set up their own business and “compete” with Cassette Duplications Unlimited. However, these were small-time operations none of which lasted very long. Most who read the report must have said something like: “Golly, this cassette production and duplication business involves a lot of detail and effort. I never realized it took so much work. Cassette Duplications Unlimited really knows what it’s doing – they’ve got my business!”

This approach contributed to their eventual evolution into the infomercial giant Guthy-Renker International, purveyors of Fran Tarkenton, Tony Robbins and other marketing “cash cows.”

By educating their prospects about how much expertise and work goes into an audio tape program, the company killed two birds with one stone: they discouraged most of their readers from becoming competitors while increasing their customer base from this very same group of readers!

Focus on your customers, not your competition. When you educate your customers, you dilute your competition.

Actions to Take Right Now:

• Make a bullet-point list (like this one) of everything you know about your business and your industry. Become aware of the obvious and ask yourself, “what am I taking for granted regarding my products and services?” It’s these things that your customers are probably taking for granted, too. Remember the W.Y.K.V.W.O.D.K.A.A. (A.W.) marketing principle. This is a significant key to use if you want to lock up additional market share.

Focus initially on processes you use to make and distribute your product(s) and/or the methods used to develop and deliver your services. Proprietary information does not need to be divulged or even hinted at in order to make the report valuable.

• Ask yourself, “Do my prospects and customers know about any of these things?”

Check off those items you think they already know about. This is not to completely eliminate these topics from being part of your report. It may be that some of these “obvious” topics need to be included in order to establish a natural knowledge flow from what is known to what isn’t. That’s the way we learn new information: by relating it to what we already know.

• Make a new list of the items you have not checked (the ones you think your customers and prospects don’t know about) and write a brief statement describing:

• how you do each item

• why it’s important for your customers that you do it that way (but also soliciting their feedback and suggestions on how you can improve)

• steps customers can take to make it easy (easier) to do business with you

• Write your final report (or have someone write it for you) following these guidelines:

Take time to come up with a powerful title. Your title is the sizzle that sells the steak. People are motivated by the potential for gain and/or the avoidance of pain (loss). Your title should create an emotional response toward gain and away from pain (loss). What about the title of this report? Gain is explicit while avoiding pain (loss) is implied. Consider the possible combinations of “gain/pain” in your title. This also holds true for any classified ads you might place.

Some title suggestions:

“How To . . .,”
“Secrets Of . . . ,”
“The Truth About . . . ,”
“A Guide To . . . ,”
“X Ways To . . . ,”
“. . . Made Easy,” or “ . . . Revealed!”
“7 Ways To . . .”
“10 Sure-Fire Tips For . . .”
“5 Big Reasons To . . .”
“The Untold Story Of . . .”
“Tips On . . .”
“Instant . . . Strategies (Tactics) Anyone Can Use”
“10 Deadly . . . Sins”
“You Want To . . . ?”
“Your . . . Is Already Out Of Date!”
“New Methods for . . .”
“Who Knows Why . . .?”
“People Are Saying . . .”
“Now Is The Time To . . .”
“Save Money The Easy Way”

You get the idea . . . .

According to Richard Bayan, author of Words That Sell, the most effective words to use in a title are (in order of effectiveness): You, Your, How, New, Who, Money, Now, People, Want and Why. Check classified ads to see what other words might prove to be effective in creating a desire for your report.

Keep it broad-based and general. Be specific only when you feel it’s necessary and you’re comfortable in doing so. Remember that this most likely will be new information for your customers and prospects, so don’t overwhelm them with too much detail.

Use anecdotes, stories and examples to make your points; use the KISS formula: “Keep It Short & Simple.” To paraphrase a wise author:

“The truly great writer is the one who can give the most to his/her readers while taking the least amount of their time.”

There are at least five effective ways you can distribute your report.

1. Mail it to everyone on your customer and prospect mailing lists with a cover letter that tells them that this information will help them better understand the benefits of doing business with you and why you’re at the top of your industry.

Repeat the mailing every three months. The report should always be included with every mailing regardless of the purpose (discount coupons, special sales announcements, administrative information, invoices, etc.).

2. Take out a classified ad in the newspapers in your market area. The ad could read something like: “The Whole Truth About XYZ Company (or Industry) Revealed! Free report from insiders tells all. Call today xxx-xxxx.” Mail on an “as requested” basis.

3. Place a stack of your reports at every check-out register and entrances/exits in your location(s) for customers to voluntarily pick up and take with them. You can also include a copy of the report with every purchase. As mentioned above, think about including a report with every invoice and other paper you mail. You could even hand them out to people who are inside and/or outside your establishment.

4. Offer your report free on your website. Customers will be able to download it easily and quickly for instant access whenever they want.

5. Publish your reports in the Ezine (Electronic Newsletter/Magazine) you email your opt-in customers and prospects at regular intervals (weekly, monthly, quarterly). Highlight a single section of your report(s) each time you send out an issue to emphasize one of your main points and reinforce its value for the reader. Repetition is the mother of teaching and learning and is the best approach to shaping perception and changing habitual behavior. Repetition is the mother of teaching and learning and is the best approach to shaping perception and changing habitual behavior. It’s true!

All the above methods for distributing your report can be used simultaneously or in any combination you desire. Your customers and prospects will eventually read the information and become better educated about you and your business, specifically regarding:

1. Competence in conducting your business
2. Commitment to your customers
3. Benefits experienced when doing business with you
4. Industry facts and trends
5. Uniqueness of your business within your industry
6. The on-going value you offer to your customers over the long-term

My wife and I have been married almost seventeen years. It seems a much shorter amount of time. It’s been a good time even though times haven’t always been good.

We wrote our own vows, as many do. Even if you used the traditional vows from your religious organization, I’ll bet it has been quite some time since you have re-read them, even if you’ve only been married a short while.

Vows are considered sacred and solemn because they are promises made to another to be a certain kind of person who strives to serve the other in ways that help him/her become his/her better Self. As such, they are freely chosen boundaries within which we pledge to direct our personal growth in tandem with the other.

We live within boundaries. Other-imposed boundaries, like the laws of the land, are often non-negotiable and are established ostensibly to provide for the common good and welfare of all inhabitants. Other “other-imposed” boundaries include, depending on your spiritual perspective, the universal moral law of humanity given by the deity. This, too, can be considered non-negotiable, albeit debatable as to its true meaning and impact on human behavior.

The laws of nature, of course, are non-negotiable with absolute certainty because we have no choice regarding whether or not we abide by them. We cannot choose to exclude ourselves from the law of gravity, or chemistry or the time-space relationship that constitutes the backdrop of any personally-perceived reality.

But the height of freedom, maturity and successful living is to choose your own personal boundaries within which you will direct your thinking and behavior. This is a requirement of human life, whether consciously exercised or not. You may choose wisely or witlessly.

However, choices need to be made. If not done intentionally and with careful and honest deliberation, the necessary realm of self-imposed boundaries will be filled with boundaries imposed by others. More often than not, these boundaries are merely manifestations of their own desires in their relationship with you. Trying to live within the confines of others’ selfish expectations means that you will live as if you were someone other than yourself. This is not your better Self. It is, rather, a “second self” that experiences life more as a spectator than as an actor.

Outside those that are non-negotiable, you must choose those boundaries that define and declare your character or they will be chosen for you. You have the power to channel your energy and focus your personal resources in ways that will manifest your worthy aspirations. If you don’t choose your own boundaries, you will never realize what you most ardently desire.

The vows that my wife and I exchanged are unique in the words we chose to use; but, like your own vows, I believe they express the universal intention to be bounded in certain ways that would build each other up and bring out each other’s better Selves as we journey together through life.

I came across our vows recently as I was cleaning out a “storage” room in our house. As I read them again, I measured my seventeen year performance against those words of promise made long ago. How have I done at living up to them? Have I remained true to both the letter and the spirit of their expression? Has the reality of our lives together fleshed out the intention of the language?

I must say that we have done pretty well. However, by reviewing our vows I have silently, yet firmly renewed them in my conscious efforts to make them even more real and meaningful in our on-going relationship. The distance between promise and reality is as close as the beneficial boundaries you set for yourself that help you choose daily to live by the promises you make.

Here’s our vows. I hope when you revisit yours you will find that you have chosen well both the words and the boundaries that provide the means to make them a living reality within your marriage.

I, Ken/Mary, take you, Mary/Ken, to be my wife/husband
To love with the power of life God has given me.
This day I give you all that I am and all that I will be.
I will help you become what you feel God wants you to be.
I will encourage you to grow and to learn in all you do.
I will be patient and gentile;
I will be honest and trusting;
I will seek to understand you;
I will listen to you because I believe I can learn from you.
No longer will we face life separately, but together.
In our marriage, I will strive to grow in my love for you.
In the name of Jesus.
God is my witness.

In my recent book, “Your Better Self: A Simple Guide to Where You Want to Be,”I cite Benjamin Franklin’s 13 Virtues as being an excellent beginning for your journey toward manifesting your worthy aspirations and becoming your better Self. I’d like to share now Ben’s friend, Thomas Jefferson’s, 10 Rules that helped guide him to the astounding achievements credited to him.

Let me know if you think there is value to how he lived his life. Do you think you can benefit from organizing your life around the following?

1. Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.
2. Never trouble another for what you can do yourself.
3. Never spend money before you have earned it.
4. Never buy what you don’t want because it is cheap.
5. Pride costs more than hunger, thirst and cold.
6. We seldom repent of having eaten too little.
7. Nothing is troublesome that we do willingly.
8. How must pain the evils cost us that never happened.
9. Take things always by the smooth handle.
10. When angry, count ten before you speak; if very angry, count a hundred.

Each week, especially Mondays, brings with it a slew of emotions accumulated from all the weeks and Mondays in the past.

Mondays are usually greeted, if not with a sense of downright dread, then with a less than enthusiastic attitude and a low-grade anxiety. It’s like going through a briar patch – as you travel through it, more and more burrs from the branches stick to your clothing. As you accumulate more “attachments” (physical, mental and emotional) as you go through life, the spiritual speed with which you travel decreases and the goals you set for yourself begin to loom loftier and soon appear to be bigger than your ability – and now your desire – to achieve them.

Monday is your cue to start fresh by casting off your psychological anchors that are weighing you down and holding you back from achieving your worthy aspirations. Every Monday, begin the week with these words: “If it is to be it is up to me.” Sound familiar? Hackneyed? Stale? Only if you’ve never tried it.

After his mother’s funeral, I received a letter from a member of the congregation. In part, it read:

“Earlier in the week while thinking about writing to you, something became clear to me that I hadn’t realized before. In the past, when considering how much to give for a special offering, Mom would ask me how much we were giving. I would suggest a specific amount and she would suggest a larger amount, usually double what I suggested. I just assumed that she thought that we should give more than I suggested. I now realize that she initially was inquiring as to how much I wanted to give, then she was saying, ‘I want to give, too!’ I have already indicated my gift. There’s no doubt in my mind that if Mom was here she would suggest that we give double the amount I indicated we should give. Therefore, I am enclosing an amount equal to what I gave for Mom. She wouldn’t want it any other way.”

What you give (I’m not talking just about money) often becomes the baseline for what others give. If you want others to give more, give more yourself.

The following comes from an annual report of Hewlett-Packard. Succinct and True!

Believe you can change the world.
Work quickly, keep the tools unlocked, work whenever.
Know when to work alone and when to work together.
Share-tools, ideas. Trust your colleagues.
No politics. No bureaucracy. (These are ridiculous in the garage.)
The customer defines a job well done.
Radical ideas are not bad ideas.
Invent different ways of working.
Make a contribution every day.
If it doesn’t contribute, it doesn’t leave the garage.
Believe that together we can do anything.
Invent.

There are six questions you need to ask in making your plans to solve any problems you face and to improve anything about your life. Here they are – and why you need to ask them:

1. Why am I here? This question focuses on defining the problem.

2. What do I want? This question focuses on defining the outcomes.

3. How can I get it? This one concentrates on defining a practical plan.

4. Who else is involved? This questions identifies the other players in both the problem and the solution.

5. When will I get this completed? Define the deadline.

6. Where will this problem be resolved most easily? This question focuses on logistics and identifies the optimal place(s) where the best solutions might arise.

These are the same questions that can be asked in team problem solving endeavors. Soon, your plan will emerge and be worthy of your best efforts.