Small Business Leadership and Sales Blog

One day all the employees reached the office and they saw a big sign on the door on which it was written “Yesterday the person who has been hindering your growth passed away. We invite you to join the funeral in the room that has been prepared in the gym.”

In the beginning, they all got sad for the death of one of their colleagues. But after a while they started getting curious to know, who was this man who hindered the growth of his colleagues and the company itself? The excitement in the gym was such that security agents were ordered to control the crowd in the room.

The more people reached the coffin, the more the excitement heated up. Everyone thought, who was this guy who was hindering my progress? Well at least he died. One by one, the thrilled employees got closer to the coffin and when then they looked inside it they suddenly became speechless, they stood nearby the coffin shocked and in silence as if someone had touched the deepest part of their soul.

There was a mirror inside the coffin. Everyone who looked inside it could see himself. There was also a sign next to the mirror that said, “There is only one person who is capable to set limits to your growth. It is you.”

Your life does not change when your boss changes, when your friends change, when your parents change, when your partner changes, when you company changes. Your life changes when you change, when you go beyond your limiting beliefs.

Examine yourself. Watch yourself. Don’t be afraid of difficulties, impossibilities and losses. Be a winner. Build yourself, and build your reality. It’s the way you face life that makes the difference.

Peace, Love and Gumbo~

Marvin LeBlanc

Immediately embrace “REVERSE MENTORING”.

What in the world is “REVERSE MENTORING”?  It is the concept whereby you as a business owner or team member makes a conscious decision to embrace the need to have a mentor that is much YOUNGER than you are.  No matter how open minded you are to technology and change and new ideas, the perspective that you can gain from a YOUNG, FRESH MIND and how they process information is very different from you. Why? Because how they learned in their formative years is fundamentally different.  How they receive information is very different.

Ask any college student and they will show you how most of the notes they take and most of the exams they take, are all done electronically. I’ve been an Insurance Entrepreneur since 1986 and I’ve been honored by several young entrepreneurs to be asked to mentor them. So, usually we either have a phone appointment or we have a cup of coffee monthly.  What I quickly realized is that after they had asked me questions that pertained to where they were getting stuck in their career – I found myself taking notes. And when I left the appointment I realized it was I that was being mentored. The attitude of reverse mentoring has helped me immensely better connect with my clients and my team members. Who do you know right now that is a “Young Gun” that can mentor you?  Contact them now.  It’s as important as any resolution that you’ve recently considered making.

Look for Rule #3 coming shortly. And remember, MAKE MARVELOUS HAPPEN!

(If you’ve not already done so, please click the RSS Feed Subcribe button – right up there next to Marvin’s picture – so that you will be immediately notified of his most recent blogs as they are posted.)

Marvin LeBlanc is a left-handed, right-brained, fun-loving Cajun that is obsessed with Life Performance and Overcoming Adversity. He is an entrepreneur, writer, speaker and founder of Marvelous Performance Systems. Marvin is available for business retreats, keynotes, breakout sessions, workshops, & individual coaching programs. His book “COME HELL OR HIGH WATER” will be available in the Fall of 2011 through New York Publisher www.BloomingTwig.com. To rent Marvin’s brain, contact him at www.MarvinLeBlanc.com and request a FREE, FUN Conference Call.

Attention You Good People out there in a Managers’ Role!!!

May I suggest the following points worth considering if you want to know what your people want you to provide them as their leader.

1. A leader that they can be PROUD of.  Proud of?  You know what I’m talking about. They don’t want to make excuses to protect you. They want you to be reliable, consistent and predictable.

2. A leader who exhibits POSITIVE and PRODUCTIVE behaviors.   Example: Not being rude to waiters, clerks or manual laborers. Behaviors like showing up on time & having as few meetings as possible. Or better yet, have meetings with agendas that are adhered to – that start on time and more importantly – END ON TIME!   After all, don’t you want your Team Members to PERFORM?  Well, they can’t perform for your customers if their eyeballs have to be pealed on you while you grandstand in your own boring meetings of self-importance.

3. Team Members watch everything you say & do.  Or DON’T DO!  If you’re a leader, don’t stop for one second and ever think you & your behavior are not constantly being observed. Work toward transparency. You might think you look good and smell good, but you are not smart enough to maintain two images. The image you think you should be and the image you are. Being transparent scares weak managers because they fear that their vulnerabilities will be exposed. They’re right! So embrace it and decide to recommit to constant personal growth. It’s the only way you’ll be able to save yourself from yourself.

4. Team Members want DIRECTION and Structure. Every step of the way. PSST!  They actually need it more when they try to convince you that they don’t need direction & structure. This is how you’ll know you need to provide more of it. Oh by the way, did you know most leaders can mutually benefit from the same direction and structure they provide others. Example: Think hard before you send a stinking, interrupting email to your Team Member during work hours. Haven’t you discovered the “DELAY” feature in OUTLOOK email software? If not, stop reading now and go find out. But, don’t interrupt anyone.  This idea alone will make you send this blogpost to every person in your organization. HINT!   (marvinleblanc.com)

5. A leader that is REAL. Yep, that’s right. I said it.  REAL. But Marvin, I am real. Really, well if I  privately asked all your Team Members and/or all your Direct Reports, “Are you REAL or are you a COPY?”, would you be confident that 100% would say you are REAL? Because, if it’s not 100%  then you’ve got problems. You see, the answer is simple. Either you have to improve to earn “REAL” with them or you have someone that’s not aligned with you & the company values and does not believe in you as a leader. So, they need to go. Respect them and their opinion and allow them to go find something or someone they can believe in.

By the way, did you know that real leaders don’t have to look perfect, be perfect or even pursue perfection. Perfection is a crock.  Real leaders know that it’s far more practical to pursue EXCELLENCE, knowing that the pursuit of perfection only stalls progress because the projects never get initiated fast enough. (You’ll see me revisit this notion in a future blog. So stay subscribed and share it with 100 of your best friends. They’d like to become better leaders too. Besides, aren’t you tired of those  friends calling you to bitch about Team Members that aren’t following their lead? Now you know why.)

6. Team Members want to WIN!  They better darn well want to win. Otherwise, why do you have them on the TEAM?  Not because you want them to help you LOSE MORE.  I’m not joking. Think about this. The business climate is difficult enough when all TEAM MEMBERS are pulling on the same rope in the same direction. To have someone pulling against you is suicide.  It’s far better to run with a LEAN TEAM that is pulling together than a LARGE TEAM with people that are just collecting checks. It’s too hard to maintain the driftwood. Let them float. How do you find the winners? Well, here’s a hint. You’re not going to find them when they show up at your door with a resume’ in their hand. You have to go find them happy & engaged & gainfully employed somewhere else. So go find the winners and help them to win. WITH YOU!

If you enjoyed this content, go to your group emails and share it with people so that the material will have a chance to move their organizations toward Marvelous Performance.

I start off each day with a daily checklist.  Every day needs a certain routine, and I’ve got about six or seven things on my daily checklist.  The reason why I am covering this right now is that I often see entrepreneurs, business owners, and team members not having a clear daily checklist written down to be followed.  And they get blown around all day long like a candle in the wind.  In my particular example, I start my day with email subscriptions from people like Jim Rohn, Timothy Ferriss, Malcolm Gladwell, Seth Godin, Warren Buffett. HINT: what you read is who you are.

Start your day with something positive. Don’t let the news media throw up all over you first thing in the morning. You’re smarter than that. You and you alone are the controller of the input you receive from the outside world.

I then go into my old trustworthy appointment calendar. If you love electronic calendars, then use those. But don’t get hung up on “WHAT” you use, just get hung up on the need to “USE SOMETHING”. So a 20 second glance and  I know what the events are for that day.  I still have a paper file for papers one through 31.  Days one through 31.  And so whatever day of the week it is, I certainly go into that file and clear that day’s work of paper.  I also go into my company’s Outlook e-mail for that day, and either the work is being completed by someone else in my office, I’m deleting unnecessary e-mail or I’m delegating that e-mail, or I am working that e-mail.

Then, there’s three questions that I always ask my team members – and your questions might be different but this will give you a good start.  Touch base with your team members with these three questions.  1) What did we sell yesterday?  2) What is in the hopper for today?  3) And how can I help?

Just some simple thoughts that start your day, and get them organized so that you can have maximum effectiveness.

Marvin LeBlanc is a left-handed, right-brained, fun-loving Cajun that is obsessed with Life Performance and Overcoming Adversity. He is an entrepreneur, writer, speaker and founder of Marvelous Performance Systems. Marvin is available for business retreats, keynotes, breakout sessions, workshops, & individual coaching programs. His book “COME HELL OR HIGH WATER” will be available in the Fall of 2011 through New York Publisher www.BloomingTwig.com. To rent Marvin’s brain, contact him at www.MarvinLeBlanc.com and request a Free Personal Coaching Session.

1.  Avoid the meeting totally.  Yes, I’m serious.  Never have a meeting that could have been more briefly &  more clearly covered in an email.  Almost never is a need for a meeting as urgent as perceived.  Never have a meeting just because, “we always have a  regular weekly meeting”.   If it’s not substantial enough to put on an agenda, then it should be covered in an email.

2.  Always have an agenda.  It’s not a meeting without an agenda.  In our  organization a  meeting without an agenda is called a “HUDDLE”.  Just like a football team “HUDDLES” to call the next play. “Huddles” are quick, spontaneous and mostly last less than 5 minutes.  Never over 10 minutes.

3.  Get the agenda out prior to the meeting.  Even when you do have a meeting, it will not be an effective meeting if all parties attending the meeting didn’t get the agenda at least 1 day prior.  Why?  Because they will not BE PREPARED with thoughtful contributions.  And who can blame them when the person calling the meeting did not give them respectful consideration.

4. Make darn sure the meeting has a START & END TIME!  Your meetings will be more effective when the participants know:  a)what the agenda is  b) that there will be no “small talk”  c) that the meeting will have a set time to end.  If topics are still not covered and the END TIME has arrived, stop the meeting!! And schedule the next “tentative” meeting.  Why did I just say, “tentative”?  Because you’re going to repeat step 1.  Meaning that those unfinished items can very well be completed via email &  AVOID another meeting.

5.  During the meeting, never forget to ask & probe for clarity.  So many times I’ve left meetings only to have participants approach me individually asking for additional clarity.  Have you ever had a meeting with 5 people and later feel that they were all attending a different meeting?  Hello!!  That’s a sure sign that more clarity should have been sought while the meeting was still taking place.

6. At the conclusion of the meeting, everyone should know “who” is completing “each” follow-up action.  Remember that the purpose of the meeting is to move the organization forward.  Nothing can possibly move forward without a follow-up action plan.

Author:  Marvin LeBlanc, (LUTCF, CNP)

If you feel this blog was valuable, then USE IT & tell others. If you feel it could be better, then TELL ME.    I don’t have the corner on every great idea.

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Marvin LeBlanc is an actively engaged State Farm Entrepreneur and  the founder of Marvelous Performance Systems.   MPS is a “customer centric think tank” of ever evolving Best Practices.