Small Business Leadership and Sales Blog

"It is in surviving defeat that our true character grows and develops!" - Marvin                    

Business leaders, recall the times that you "fumbled" in your execution, not last year, but possibly JUST THIS WEEK.

It happens to everyone.  We make commitments and fail to deliver on them. We may have promised to get a project done and were not able to complete it on time.  

Perhaps you got a very hard earned referral and then somehow fear and excuses took over and you never followed up. 

If you failed to execute you need to own it and learn from it.  

How can you learn from it?  How about realizing the timing around your failed executions?  

Start now for 2012.  January, is half over and many people have not set goals for this year. Many of us are very quick to blame others and extremely slow to take ownership for our own shortcomings.  

Here is something to ponder, in the wake of Monday's LSU loss many people are disappointed, some even are saying the season ended poorly.  When you look at the numbers 13 out of 14 games were won, 92.8% of the season was done RIGHT.  What percentage of your YEAR did you get right?  I am willing to bet it wasn't 92.8%! 

If you are not working on yourself, then you are working on the WRONG PROJECT.  

If your group need to be inspired, if you need private coaching or perhaps your sales team need to upgrade their skills.  It is time to contact our team.  

My goal is to help you get it right 92.8% of the time! 

Peace, Love and Gumbo! 

Marvin LeBlanc LUTCF, CNP

As you’re running your business on a day-to-day basis (yes including all the dirty work, meetings, client calls, hassles, heartaches and headaches)… do you ever stop and wonder if there’s an easier way?

Does the thought occur to you – as it has to me oh so many times – that this whole work and business thing should simply NOT be this hard.

Finally, has it occurred to you to ask the key question, “How can I make it easier on my team – my customers – and myself?”

Animals can teach humans so much if we simply observe. Take a flock of geese for example. 

The small business smarts of geese:

1. They fly in a V-Shape formation for a reason. It reduces wind resistance by 67%.
2. They all honk for the leader but they are always changing out the leader so that the leader can rest & they honk just as loudly for the next leader in line.3. When one of the geese gets shot down, another goose will stay with him until he dies or until he is able to fly and rejoin the group.

Ponder these questions about the small business leadership lessons of geese:

1. In our workplace, do we work to reduce resistance within our team and “fly in formation” -- or do we create unnecessary resistance with our colleagues and customers?
2. Are you a “honker” – an encourager, team advocate and a builder of people?
3. Are you taking steps to ensure everyone on your team is ready to excel in leadership roles as needed?
4. When one of your team members is having a bad day or is “shot down,” do you help them until they can “fly again”?

If you’re not 100% sure of some of your answers to these questions, let’s have a virtual cup of coffee or bowl of gumbo and talk about how you and your team can lead smarter, sell more effectively, and have a lot more fun in business.

Much has been written about the power of tapping into your personal passion in business and in life. Whether the message is around small business leadership or small business sales, as a professional speaker on both those areas of expertise, I have a surprise for you - passion is overrated. And we're often passionate about the wrong things at the wrong time.

In essence, what I'm talking about is a Passion Trap - and you may find yourself stuck in it more often than even YOU might realize.

Now here's another curve ball in exploring the passion trap, marvelous people - As you mature and develop, your passions change. What you FELT was so important in your 20's is no longer that central to you in your 30's. You can do the math for your 40's, 50's and 60's too. And passions don't only change over the decades - they can change over a matter of years, months, or even weeks.

Remember to be patient with yourself when your passions & interests change.

You are an ever evolving being, so it is only natural that your passions & interests will evolve – as you do so, many people will find fault with your ideas, your plans, and the chosen “movement” you've decided to start. Maybe it's a movement to make the world better, safer, cleaner, healthier, better managed, more innovative... there are as many "movements" as there are small business owners, professionals, and corporate leaders to lead them. You start thinking and talking too big - and yes, my friends, there will always be someone (usually more than you expect) ready to shoot you down or label you as a "dreamer" or a "rebel" or a "nut."

Why? Because your movement affects their social or financial well-being, because they may be more fearful of change, because they'll lose something in their relationship with you because of your transition.

Your personality may see this change as exciting and it might make you feel alive with new perspectives and experiences. Their personalities might view you as a fool or as a risk-taker. "Why would you change careers when you already know how to do well in this one? Why would you innovate a new sales process when we've always done it this way? Why would you invest in becoming a talent-driven organization when we're hurting for money as a company right now?"

Here's my final tip about harnessing the power of passion: People really don't care how passionate you are about your products, your services, your job, your company, or your career. You know what beats that out by a mile? Tapping into what THEY are passionate about. If you can deliver on the value where those two passions meet, look out - marvelous results are in your very near future!

For all businesses, employee performance is the integral factor and perhaps the building block that leads to their success. Employee performance can be greatly improved with the right kind of leadership.

Here are the 5 fundamentals I believe are essential for building performance.

All leaders must practice the following fundamentals with unyielding determination:

• Commitment to showing others their due respect. Leaders always value the opinions of their teams and followers. Why? The answer is that it gives them a sense of contribution and a feeling that they are important members of any team.

• All successful leaders put in hard work and long hours more so than everybody else because they have a greater calling i.e. a responsibility to make sure everyone is on the right path and working towards goal achievement. The leadership goals to effectively manage a team like, planning, organizing, directing, controlling, and administration take a lot of perseverance.

• Individual goals take a backseat in relevance with the goals of the team because it is only through teamwork i.e. cooperation and co-ordination can organizational goals be achieved. The basic goal of a leader is to ensure that everyone is working in harmony towards the achievement of the organizational goals rather than individual tasks.

• A leader never slacks off. Leaders never make excuses not to do a work or for not having to fulfill an objective. They work relentlessly day in day out until they have achieved what they had set out to do. And that is the key to successful leadership. Not giving up and ascertaining goal achievement is bred into the minds of leaders.

• Leaders take full responsibility of whatever they direct their teams to do and however they plan to carry out tasks for goal achievement. They are willing to be held accountable for any consequence of the actions that they prompt, and that in fact is what inspires their team to follow them unquestioningly.

Peace, Love and Gumbo, 

Marvin LeBLanc, LUTCF, CNP

Hello Marvelous People!

As many of our longtime subscribers know, I’m not an encourager of you wasting too much valuable time obsessing about what is being said in the “news”. Because if you haven’t figured it out yet, the “news” is about shock value & ratings. Your chance to receive real value comes much later, assuming it ever arrives at all.

Sadly, but not shockingly the “news” recently released a story that a Senior Executive at a prominent insurance Company was summarily dismissed from his job duties.

Details: the skinny of it was that he was having a “couple of drinks” after a business session when his Tongue began to Waggle about his discontented feelings about his boss. There are different versions of the story but several people within earshot picked up one of his ill planned snippets. Something to the effect that his boss was a “F------ Ass!”

The real point I wish to emphasize is not that this man was fired, but that this man failed to remember the Jerry Stovall rule:

“Remember who you are! Remember who you represent!”

See folks, when we lack the ability to resist the “waggling tongue syndrome” about a frustration that you have with your boss, your co-worker, your vendor, your friends, your neighbors or your relatives, two things inevitably happen.

1. It forever serves to destroy, but it constructs NOTHING. (Lose/Lose Proposition)

2. There is no gain & all you can lose is character. (Lose/Lose Proposition)

3. My daughter has heard these words so many times:  “Taylor, it takes much more character to say NOTHING when you are frustrated and you want to “just tell somebody off”. That’s not how you win. You are so much more than that.

Here’s my suggested call to action for you.

· Stand guard at the Gateway of your Mouth.

· If you can’t drink, don’t drink.

· Don’t forget what your parents or grandparents hopefully told you.

· If you don’t have something good to say, don’t say it at all.

People are more sensitive & amped up with their egos today more than ever before in my life. I was brought up in a household that enjoyed a whole bunch of bantering and light hearted sarcasm. But these days the “light hearted” sarcasm is now “heart felt” sarcasm & it’s just not a road on which you wish to travel.

Thank you for sharing your time & your life with us.

Make Your Marvelous Happen for You today.  Please, drop us an email. You inspire us.

Social Media, Where to Begin?

With over 500,000,000 plus (not a typo) users worldwide Facebook has gone from college campus cool to wow my 83 year old grandma has a Facebook account. If you’re not on Facebook chances are you most of your customers are, even the ones who you think aren’t probably are. So where to start? That is the question I get a lot from small business owners looking to engage their customers in social media.

The easiest place to start is to start with a personal page and start learning the lingo, feel, and pace of social media on a personal level before jeopardizing your business reputation. Once you get involved you will quickly realize how fast paced social media is, and the power of the Facebook platform. So if you are going to make a mistake make it first with personal friends and family, and not your customers.

After you start reconnecting with friends and family on Facebook I suggest you start to seek business pages you have an interest in. If you work in insurance start seeking carrier pages and watch what they do and start to form an opinion of what you like and dislike about how they present information. Along with “liking” carrier pages seek out insurance agents, trade associations, and other local businesses. Once you have monitored these pages and you feel comfortable with Facebook, the jargon and speed of it all then launch a business page.

Finally, keep in mind once you start in social media for your business you have to maintain the relationships you are trying to build. That means posting regularly, giving value in your posts, and responding to both positive and negative comments left on your page (responding to comments is a whole another blog post, stay tuned.) The best small businesses in my opinion use their Facebook page as a community resource bulletin board highlighting, community involvement, the value their business brings to the community, and the local events they sponsor. Facebook is not a place to “sell” it is a place for engagement just like the local coffee shop.

The Author: Brad Heutmaker, MBA, is a Regional Executive for a National Internet Marketing & Insurance Lead Generation firm in the United States. He personally works with some of the largest insurance carriers and agencies in the country. You can follow Brad on Twitter @bradheutmaker or “Like” his Facebook Page – Brad Heutmaker SPEAKS

Hello beautiful people. Let’s discuss today’s topic, which is “Lessons from Edison.” I get a little bit annoyed when people tell me, “Marvin, you’re working too hard” or “Marvin, you’re a workaholic.” Usually that advice is coming from someone who is currently employed by someone else on someone else’s payroll. In my mind I usually classify these people as non-dreamers, they are probably going nowhere extremely fast.

When faced with these types of comments the best thing to do initially is to consider the source. Are their comments and advice even worth listening to? I do think it is important to address the issue of “being a workaholic.”

Consider for a moment Thomas Edison. He lived to be 84 years old. As you know, Thomas Edison was was a great inventor. Did you know he was also a successful salesman and frequently worked more than 40 hours straight? Notice how long Edison lived. The reason he probably lived that long is because he worked instead of resting. The whole concept behind resting is overrated. Don’t buy into the myth that work kills, it just isn’t true.

Resting is overrated. I can prove it to you. When you get home, lay down flat for five straight days. On the sixth day you will need to be admitted to a hospital for all of the newly created illnesses and ailments you have. Even though you rested five days in a row, you are not doing your body any good.

What kills a person is unfulfilled work. What kills a person is uninspired work. In my opinion, nothing kills faster than indecision, laziness, mediocrity and the attitude of entitlement. If you spend a lot of time focusing on yourself and not focusing in on the benefit that you can share and be significant in other people’s lives, you will be unfulfilled.

If you spend too much time on yourself, you may find yourself getting lazy. Don’t fall for it, stay away from being mediocre. Stay away from the attitudes of entitlement. The things that matter for you most, are the things that you have to struggle for. Remember the “Lesson of Edison.” Everything comes to him who hustles while he waits. Forget Success, Focus on Significance.

Peace, Love and Gumbo!
Marvin LeBlanc, LUTCF, CNP

An Excerpt from Every Day is a Gift
by Barry Gottlieb

"If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be
happy, practice compassion."
-The Dalai Lama

What does "True Abundance" mean to you?

According to Wikipedia, the definition of abundance is "the opposite of scarcity." I believe true abundance is not measured by what you have; rather, it is measured by what you give.

In our culture, it seems that most people are caught up in their "need for greed." Perhaps this is why so many people struggle to find their happiness, and why over 25% of the people in our country suffer from anxiety. We live in a culture where we are taught to judge a person based on what they have, rather than on who they are and what they contribute to society.

I was very fortunate to have met a professor that changed my whole way of thinking. I was one of those people with a, "What's in it for me" attitude when I started his class. By the end of the semester though, my philosophy and my attitude had changed. Forever! This is what I learned:

"You can have anything you want in life, if you will just help enough other people get what they want." -Zig Ziglar

I challenge you to focus on this philosophy for an entire month! Here are some action steps that will help you stay focused on this incredible gift:

ACTION STEPS

Gratitude. Every night before you go to sleep, recite aloud at least ten things for which you are grateful.

Forgive. Let go of the past. Forgive those who have hurt or angered you. Stop carrying this poison around with you every day.

Love. Be sure to tell those people in your life who mean so much to you that you love them and appreciate them.

Donate. Go through your closets. Anything you haven't worn or used in the past year, box it or bag it and take it to a place where those who are less fortunate will benefit from your donation. Get your children involved!

Praise. Make time to praise. Look for and recognize the good in others.

Peace, Love and Gumbo!

Marvin LeBlanc, LUTCF, CNP

Hello Marvelous people!

Today we wish to share some fresh perspective on the value of embracing social media. I first came to hear, know & then work with EMerge about a year ago. The value & insights that are shared in this article needs to be applied to what you are doing in your industry. So, just because you may not be in Real Estate, the prinicipals in this article will give you the direction on, "WHAT"S NEXT?" in how we must market
to stay in front of the clients we wish to serve.
 
For those of you who's been patiently waiting to order my new book, "COME HELL OR HIGH WATER" -- you can now do so. Just click on the book cover to the right of this article & order it today. Thank you for all your feedback on the types of subjects you seek to learn about. Keep your feedback coming to Marvin@MarvinLeBlanc.com  Yes, I really do read every one of them myself.
 
Marvin LeBlanc, LUTCF,CNP
Chief Dream Catcher
 
 
http://rismedia.com/2011-07-06/the-long-song-of-technology-does-your-voice-make-the-cut/

Hello Marvelous People!

Our guest blogger is Tyler Winner – President of Dale Carnegie Training for Middle Louisiana and East Texas. His article today on Team Member Engagement offers great tips to use in your next team meeting. Let us know how his ideas help move your team forward at MarvinLeBlanc@aol.com.


7 Ways To Foster Team Member Engagement

As a leader at your business, you have considerable impact on employee engagement, and whether that engagement remains sustained or not.  Because employee engagement is so critical to the success of your business, affecting such areas as communication, development, contribution and employee morale, it becomes a necessary responsibility for all leaders.

Team Member Engagement Directly Impacts The Success Of Your Business.

Businesses with engaged employees benefit from having fewer absences, excellent customer service (acknowledged by their clients), stronger internal communication and employees who are generally more enthusiastic about their jobs and, thus, more productive.  To help you create the sort of dynamic work environment that team member engagement generates, we put together the seven tips below.

7 Ways To Foster Team Member Engagement:

#1. Talk To Your Team: Communication is a two-way street, but someone has to put the keys in the ignition and get the car started, and that someone has to be a leader.  If you want your team members actively communicating with one another, you need to lead by example.  Throughout the day, talk to them about what is happening in the business, about work in the team and about their personal interests.

#2. Get To Know Your Team: Developing a rapport with your employees works in tandem with talking to them.  By genuinely getting to know your team members — their likes, their dislikes, their passions, their goals — you will gain a better understanding of what makes them tick, and in the process help them feel like unique individuals as opposed to human-shaped representations of their job function.

#3. Make Time For Your Team: As a leader at your business, it is important that you are available to the members of your team when they need you.  If you come off as unavailable or detached from the main body of your team, you will create a barrier between them and you.  This will lead to a serious disconnect and inevitable breakdown in communication, directly affecting your business’ success.

#4. Promote Fun At Work: “Fun” in this instance has less to do with fun in the sense of “fun and games” and more to do with employees being enthusiastic about their jobs.  When employees are having fun at the workplace, they are considerably more productive and contribute to a positive energy that influences the success of your business.

#5. Actively Support Your Team: Feeling supported by the rest of the team and the leaders at a business is an important aspect of team member engagement. Said leaders need to look for ways to help their employees grow and attain their business goals in order to combat complacency and prevent employees from growing disheartened with their job and their role in the company.

#6. Provide The Tools They Need: If you want your team members to perform at the top of their game and deliver the very best they can produce, you need to supply them with the right tools for their respective jobs.  Expecting employees to make due with what they have in essence cripples them, and can leave employees feeling that their job is far more of a struggle than it ought to be.

#7. Be Flexible: Ruling with an iron-fisted “my way or the highway” mentality stifles growth and development and creates a static, unchanging, complacent work environment — the antithesis of innovation and design (read: success).  Strong leaders know when to admit their weakness and when to concede to employees who may know more about something than they do, in the process engaging the employee by acknowledging their experience and relative expertise.

Executive Summary: Team member engagement, for any business — no matter what you do or what your size — is absolutely crucial.  As a leader at your business, it falls on your shoulders to take the first steps towards engaging your team members.  It may take a bit of effort, but in the end, the payoff is immeasurable.  Engagement motivates employees, creates a work atmosphere charged with excitement and energy, better communication and so much more. Bottom line: Team member engagement improves your business in every way.

Your Next Step: If you want to find out more about how Dale Carnegie Training can make your business more effective, or need more information on this subject, please send us an e-mail at tyler_winner@dalecarnegie.com.

Make it a great day!