Two big news stories came out yesterday. These stories were a perfect opportunity for the media to instill a little confidence in the public if done right. But good news stories don’t sell ratings.
One story told of how retail sales were down to their lowest level in fifteen years during Christmas 2008 compared to December 2007. The truth is most of the decline was caused by skidding car sales (right after the automakers bailout request) and lower gasoline prices (lower world oil prices). Excluding the automotive sector, retail sales were down only 1.8 per cent. But that part was glaringly absent from the news report.
In fact, one retailer interviewed even suggested that in December 2007, it was a stupid buying frenzy. Customers were hungry for anything they could get their hands on and would simply throw money at the retailers. “We couldn’t service our customers this way. It was awful,” he said. That part of the news story was buried.
The second story featured a recent survey by Harris Decima Research which showed consumer confidence in the economy at its best level since August. 27% of consumers felt that they would be better off in a year from now – up from only 20% who felt that way a month earlier. A whopping 41% of consumers felt now is the perfect time to make a major purchase – up from 35% a month earlier. This story wasn’t even featured in the TV news last night. The news outlet chose instead to feature a story about a woman who clips coupons to save money on her groceries – a story they featured as their third story overall. Clipping coupons is a news story? Really?
In fact, even the good news angle of the first story was ignored by the media last night. They chose to focus on the “worst numbers in fifteen years” which is at best a half-truth. The second story about you and me feeling more confidence in our economy was ignored because good news doesn’t sell commercial-time.
Now before you get to thinking that I was watching Fox News, let me set you straight. I watched Canwest Global news.
Canwest Global is in its own predicament right now. If Canwest Global can’t secure a financial lifeline before the end of this month, it will be forced to seek bankruptcy protection. And yet it still chooses to run the “sky is falling” stories which keeps advertisers and investors away. They are forcing their own demise. There’s no news department without money to run it. You’ll never sell advertising time to people while you’re telling them it’s an awful time to be spending money. That is not leadership. That is fear-mongering. And what goes around comes around.
ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT: If you keep telling your customers how bad it is your customers are going to find another company to buy from. What you need to be doing is talking to your customers and your employees about how good it is. You need to be instilling confidence.
Now is a time for leadership. Leaders don’t scare their people to death and expect them to be able to confidently serve their customers well. Leaders look for opportunities while others cower in their corner offices waiting for the sky to fall.
Make sure you’re instilling confidence in your customers and employees. You have two choices: to instill confidence or to instill fear. What is the good news that your organization should be telling your people and customers right now?
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
The Fine-Print Attitude Adjustment
So what do you think would happen if you stood up in a public forum and announced, “Our Company is in trouble and we now need a big injection of cash to keep our company going. If we don’t get the cash injection, we will be forced to lay off a lot of our workers, we will have to consider closing some of our plant locations and our future as a viable company will become tenuous at best.”
Do you think that a public declaration like that would inspire customers to continue doing business with you?
Well that’s exactly what the big automakers did in late 2008. And guess what? The report came out today saying auto sales dropped substantially in December. Now who would have ever thought that people would stop buying cars when the car makers say that they’re in trouble?
Has your organization stopped spending because of the media-induced, economic-crisis hysteria? Many companies say that they have stopped spending but not for things they need. If your computer crashed today you would be buying a new one tomorrow because a computer is necessary to get the work done. So companies are still buying. They’re just ensuring that they get value for their money.
Many companies have ceased their training and management meetings and conferences – yet continue to pay the Meeting Planner on-staff who is planning no meetings. That seems like a senseless waste of a good salary. Ceasing training at this time is just about the most ridiculous idea an organization could follow.
It’s right now that your people need reassurances that your company or organization is solid. It’s right now that your workplace needs a shot of courage and conviction. Many of your competitors have rolled up their sails and are waiting out the “storm.” But there is no storm. It’s a media-induced frenzy. And if you’re buying it, you’re hurting your own bottom-line.
ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT: So what message are you sending your customers? What message are you sending your people? You see, whatever you say to your people is going to be the same thing your people say to your customers.
Let me repeat that one: whatever you say to your people is going to be the same thing your people say to your customers.
So stop catastrophizing (or making up words).
So how bad is it really out there? Well, outside of car sales, retail sales fell 1.8 per cent in December. 1.8 per cent. Are you kidding me? The mass hysteria is about a 1.8 per cent drop in retail sales in December – which is compared to December 2007. That was the month, if you recall, that retailers were surprised by how much we were spending. We overshot expectations in December 2007 and evened it out in December 2008.
Do not let your organization suffer from the media-induced, ratings-grabbing, hysterical headlines. Read the fine print. Get the information for yourself. Pay attention. Don’t panic and for goodness sake, don’t panic in front of your people or your customers.
Now is the time to give your people a shot in the arm – not a kick in the teeth. Now is the time to arm them with confidence – not uncertainty. Now is the time to give them an attitude adjustment on what’s really happening in the marketplace – not rumours and supposition. Now is the time to rise above the cowering competitors and take a bigger market share.
Now is the time for leadership. Leadership is an Attitude.
Do you think that a public declaration like that would inspire customers to continue doing business with you?
Well that’s exactly what the big automakers did in late 2008. And guess what? The report came out today saying auto sales dropped substantially in December. Now who would have ever thought that people would stop buying cars when the car makers say that they’re in trouble?
Has your organization stopped spending because of the media-induced, economic-crisis hysteria? Many companies say that they have stopped spending but not for things they need. If your computer crashed today you would be buying a new one tomorrow because a computer is necessary to get the work done. So companies are still buying. They’re just ensuring that they get value for their money.
Many companies have ceased their training and management meetings and conferences – yet continue to pay the Meeting Planner on-staff who is planning no meetings. That seems like a senseless waste of a good salary. Ceasing training at this time is just about the most ridiculous idea an organization could follow.
It’s right now that your people need reassurances that your company or organization is solid. It’s right now that your workplace needs a shot of courage and conviction. Many of your competitors have rolled up their sails and are waiting out the “storm.” But there is no storm. It’s a media-induced frenzy. And if you’re buying it, you’re hurting your own bottom-line.
ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT: So what message are you sending your customers? What message are you sending your people? You see, whatever you say to your people is going to be the same thing your people say to your customers.
Let me repeat that one: whatever you say to your people is going to be the same thing your people say to your customers.
So stop catastrophizing (or making up words).
So how bad is it really out there? Well, outside of car sales, retail sales fell 1.8 per cent in December. 1.8 per cent. Are you kidding me? The mass hysteria is about a 1.8 per cent drop in retail sales in December – which is compared to December 2007. That was the month, if you recall, that retailers were surprised by how much we were spending. We overshot expectations in December 2007 and evened it out in December 2008.
Do not let your organization suffer from the media-induced, ratings-grabbing, hysterical headlines. Read the fine print. Get the information for yourself. Pay attention. Don’t panic and for goodness sake, don’t panic in front of your people or your customers.
Now is the time to give your people a shot in the arm – not a kick in the teeth. Now is the time to arm them with confidence – not uncertainty. Now is the time to give them an attitude adjustment on what’s really happening in the marketplace – not rumours and supposition. Now is the time to rise above the cowering competitors and take a bigger market share.
Now is the time for leadership. Leadership is an Attitude.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
The 2% Economic Attitude Adjustment
I’m getting fed up with the media hysteria of the state of our economy. Sensationalism and ratings-grabs are leading the news these days and it’s sickening. Companies and their “Chicken Little” CFO’s are buying into the hysteria while sitting on piles of reserve cash. The sky is NOT falling. In fact, we’re perhaps better off than we were two years ago. How so? Think this way: the Canadian economy for the past three years was running too hot. When you run a car too hot, you do more damage to the engine than when you run it at a constant speed within the “moderate” range. When a machine gets too hot, it needs to slow down to allow the engine to cool a little. In other words, what we’re experiencing right now is a simple push of the “Reset” button. That’s how Canadian Business Magazine has described this time in our economy.
Now if you want to witness an economy out of control, let’s go back to Canada in the early eighties. The unemployment rate was over 12%, inflation was 12.5% and interest rates were over 20%. Twenty percent! Compare those figures to today (January 2009): unemployment at 7.2%, inflation at 1.07%, and the Bank of Canada Rate for January was 1.25%.
So, because the interest rates and inflation rates are so low right now, let’s just take a look at just the unemployment rate and talk about it. On average in Canada, for the last ten years or so, the unemployment rate has run around 5.2%, which means that 94.8% of people who wanted to work were working. Today, 92.8% of people who want to work are working. That’s a two percent difference folks. Two percent! How would a drop of two percent affect your business? No really. Seriously answer that question. Is your business on the brink of financial ruin with a drop of two percent in the employment rate? Seriously?
Interest rates are so low that borrowing money is almost free. Inflation is so low that you can almost guarantee that the prices you pay today will be virtually the same prices tomorrow. The market is consistent with its own performance over the past five years for the most part. So what’s with the panic?
Many people think attitude training is hokey and it's a soft skill that you can do without. But the truth is that if your people are quoting chapter and verse from the media about the sky falling and your people end up passing that uncertainty along to your customers, your customers are going to be uncertain about doing business with you. The attitude of your people transfers to your customers.
US President Obama has recently made a commitment to reduce the US deficit of 1.3 trillion dollars by half within the next four years. In doing so, the plan is to stimulate the economy by creating new jobs. When President Bill Clinton did the same in the nineties, he got rid of the deficit. And guess what happened? He produced 24 million new jobs. The US had eight years that were the most successful in the second half economically of the 20th century.
ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT: The truth is Attitude, in this time of economic uncertainty, is far more important than fluff like Time Management. It's the attitude of your people, when they speak with customers, which will make you a winner in a “down” economy. It's Attitude that keeps your people's perspective in check when they hear the media say the sky is falling. It's Attitude that will cause your people to realize that business is in the toilet if you "believe" that business is in the toilet. If your people accept that they can't be successful while times are supposed to be hard, then you may as well close your doors until the economy gets better because you are going to bleed red ink.
Attitude is perspective. Change the perspective and you change the results. You can't do the same thing the same way everyday and expect to magically succeed. But once you change someone's perspective, once you change how they see problems, once you change how they believe things can be, you change results.
There are companies around the world who are succeeding in spite of the "economic downturn." Would you be willing to take the time to find out their secrets? I'll save you the trouble. Companies become successful when they don't allow excuses, reasons or justifiers to stand in their way. The Economic Downturn is nothing more than a convenient excuse for companies doing poorly. That excuse lets business off the hook for being mediocre. That's simply "Attitude" in play.
Leadership is an Attitude. Service is an Attitude. Safety is an Attitude. Success is an Attitude. Winning is an Attitude. Perspective is an Attitude.
None of it is measurable or tangible. But you won't find a single successful organization without it.
If your people are scared when they work or deal with clients, you're doomed. If they've got Attitude, there isn't a single thing that will ever stop them from achieving.
So, what's your next step?
Now if you want to witness an economy out of control, let’s go back to Canada in the early eighties. The unemployment rate was over 12%, inflation was 12.5% and interest rates were over 20%. Twenty percent! Compare those figures to today (January 2009): unemployment at 7.2%, inflation at 1.07%, and the Bank of Canada Rate for January was 1.25%.
So, because the interest rates and inflation rates are so low right now, let’s just take a look at just the unemployment rate and talk about it. On average in Canada, for the last ten years or so, the unemployment rate has run around 5.2%, which means that 94.8% of people who wanted to work were working. Today, 92.8% of people who want to work are working. That’s a two percent difference folks. Two percent! How would a drop of two percent affect your business? No really. Seriously answer that question. Is your business on the brink of financial ruin with a drop of two percent in the employment rate? Seriously?
Interest rates are so low that borrowing money is almost free. Inflation is so low that you can almost guarantee that the prices you pay today will be virtually the same prices tomorrow. The market is consistent with its own performance over the past five years for the most part. So what’s with the panic?
Many people think attitude training is hokey and it's a soft skill that you can do without. But the truth is that if your people are quoting chapter and verse from the media about the sky falling and your people end up passing that uncertainty along to your customers, your customers are going to be uncertain about doing business with you. The attitude of your people transfers to your customers.
US President Obama has recently made a commitment to reduce the US deficit of 1.3 trillion dollars by half within the next four years. In doing so, the plan is to stimulate the economy by creating new jobs. When President Bill Clinton did the same in the nineties, he got rid of the deficit. And guess what happened? He produced 24 million new jobs. The US had eight years that were the most successful in the second half economically of the 20th century.
ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT: The truth is Attitude, in this time of economic uncertainty, is far more important than fluff like Time Management. It's the attitude of your people, when they speak with customers, which will make you a winner in a “down” economy. It's Attitude that keeps your people's perspective in check when they hear the media say the sky is falling. It's Attitude that will cause your people to realize that business is in the toilet if you "believe" that business is in the toilet. If your people accept that they can't be successful while times are supposed to be hard, then you may as well close your doors until the economy gets better because you are going to bleed red ink.
Attitude is perspective. Change the perspective and you change the results. You can't do the same thing the same way everyday and expect to magically succeed. But once you change someone's perspective, once you change how they see problems, once you change how they believe things can be, you change results.
There are companies around the world who are succeeding in spite of the "economic downturn." Would you be willing to take the time to find out their secrets? I'll save you the trouble. Companies become successful when they don't allow excuses, reasons or justifiers to stand in their way. The Economic Downturn is nothing more than a convenient excuse for companies doing poorly. That excuse lets business off the hook for being mediocre. That's simply "Attitude" in play.
Leadership is an Attitude. Service is an Attitude. Safety is an Attitude. Success is an Attitude. Winning is an Attitude. Perspective is an Attitude.
None of it is measurable or tangible. But you won't find a single successful organization without it.
If your people are scared when they work or deal with clients, you're doomed. If they've got Attitude, there isn't a single thing that will ever stop them from achieving.
So, what's your next step?
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Memo From The Customer
I think I missed a memo recently. I must have. The memo I missed apparently stated that if you are a cashier, a salesperson or even a “sandwich artist,” feel free to have conversations with your co-workers, your friends and other complete strangers while “serving” your current customer.
When exactly did the person with the money (the customer) become the least important part of a front-line worker’s day? Recently, it seems that almost every store I have gone into has someone at the front counter who needs to have a conversation with someone else (not work-related) that is more important than accepting my money. How can everything in a cashier’s day be more important than my willingness to exchange goods and services for money? Did I miss that memo?
In response, here is my memo.
Memo to: The front-line staff of all organizations
From: The Customer
Re: Performance review
It has come to my attention that you have been ignoring me lately. Although nothing has been said directly to me, your performance in the role of customer service has become suspect. I wish to address that here.
Your willingness to make eye-contact with me and to acknowledge that I have chosen to part with my hard-earned money has made me feel as though you really don’t care that I am in your establishment willing to purchase something. I am simply asking that, for the few minutes I am in your business, that you keep your conversations focused on what I would like and, most of all, be thankful for my willingness to frequent your work place. I feel compelled to address this issue as I have noticed it lacking of late.
I am becoming incredibly frustrated at being ignored while I am in the midst of purchasing something. I (the customer) am the revenue source for your business. I (the customer) am the guy who keeps the lights on in your business and gives you the revenue stream to pay for silly little expenses like … oh I don’t know … staff!! I (the customer), in this so-called economic downturn, am the difference between your business going down and your business thriving. Unless there is a fire, ask yourself, is there really something more important that you feel you must handle before you handle my transaction?
Do you really need to create conversations with others about how tired you are, how long the day has been or how many minutes are left before you can head to the bar to hang out with your friends? If I were your boss would you ignore me as I stood in front of you so that you could carry on meaningless conversations with friends or co-workers? Well, how about you think of me as your boss – simply in the fact that I pay you indirectly.
ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT: The secret to customer service is to simply be present in my dealing with you. I don’t want to feel like I’m imposing on you when I buy something from you. I want to hear “Thank you.” I want you to mean it when you say it. You can tell me to “have a nice day” or not – that’s really not important to me. A simple “thank you” is all I require.
For this performance review, I need you to improve in only two areas: 1) your attitude of gratitude when I choose to part with my money in your business, and 2) your focus and attention on me for the few moments I stand in front of you.
Failure to comply with these performance issues will cause me to fire you as a company I do business with. You have been warned.
When exactly did the person with the money (the customer) become the least important part of a front-line worker’s day? Recently, it seems that almost every store I have gone into has someone at the front counter who needs to have a conversation with someone else (not work-related) that is more important than accepting my money. How can everything in a cashier’s day be more important than my willingness to exchange goods and services for money? Did I miss that memo?
In response, here is my memo.
Memo to: The front-line staff of all organizations
From: The Customer
Re: Performance review
It has come to my attention that you have been ignoring me lately. Although nothing has been said directly to me, your performance in the role of customer service has become suspect. I wish to address that here.
Your willingness to make eye-contact with me and to acknowledge that I have chosen to part with my hard-earned money has made me feel as though you really don’t care that I am in your establishment willing to purchase something. I am simply asking that, for the few minutes I am in your business, that you keep your conversations focused on what I would like and, most of all, be thankful for my willingness to frequent your work place. I feel compelled to address this issue as I have noticed it lacking of late.
I am becoming incredibly frustrated at being ignored while I am in the midst of purchasing something. I (the customer) am the revenue source for your business. I (the customer) am the guy who keeps the lights on in your business and gives you the revenue stream to pay for silly little expenses like … oh I don’t know … staff!! I (the customer), in this so-called economic downturn, am the difference between your business going down and your business thriving. Unless there is a fire, ask yourself, is there really something more important that you feel you must handle before you handle my transaction?
Do you really need to create conversations with others about how tired you are, how long the day has been or how many minutes are left before you can head to the bar to hang out with your friends? If I were your boss would you ignore me as I stood in front of you so that you could carry on meaningless conversations with friends or co-workers? Well, how about you think of me as your boss – simply in the fact that I pay you indirectly.
ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT: The secret to customer service is to simply be present in my dealing with you. I don’t want to feel like I’m imposing on you when I buy something from you. I want to hear “Thank you.” I want you to mean it when you say it. You can tell me to “have a nice day” or not – that’s really not important to me. A simple “thank you” is all I require.
For this performance review, I need you to improve in only two areas: 1) your attitude of gratitude when I choose to part with my money in your business, and 2) your focus and attention on me for the few moments I stand in front of you.
Failure to comply with these performance issues will cause me to fire you as a company I do business with. You have been warned.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Careless Is Careless
On her fifteenth birthday, my daughter asked me if I would buy her a car on her sixteenth birthday. After I picked myself up off of the floor from laughing, she looked at me and said, “But Dad, lots of my friends have parents who buy them cars.”
“I know Honey,” I replied with caring. “I’ve seen those cars in the parking lot at your school. Most of them really aren’t looked after at all. It’s what happens when people don’t earn their possessions. Look, I’ll pay for your schooling after high school, but I’m not buying you toys. If you want a car, you’ll have to go out and earn it.”
And she did – around seven thousand dollars over the next year. She paid cash for her first car – a real money pit that depleted her savings rather quickly. It was a huge life-lesson for her.
Recently, I spoke to a group of natural gas installers. The focus of my presentation was “Safety Attitude.” Although the numbers of safety incidents as it pertains to working with natural gas were within an acceptable range, the numbers of incidents while driving was up – numbers that the management team wanted brought back down.
Several of the workers in attendance were awarded with five, ten, fifteen, twenty and twenty-five year safe driving awards. But not all of the workers received awards. So it begged the question: what separates a safe driver from a careless driver? My answer is attitude.
ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT: A person who is careless with other things in his or her life will be careless behind the wheel. Careless is careless. You won’t find a person who is careful and meticulous with his or her own personal possessions and be careless behind the wheel of a company vehicle. Carelessness is a personality trait. Safety is an attitude.
Carelessness transcends all things in your life – including driving. If you’re careless and regularly lose your safety equipment, you will be careless behind the wheel. If you’re careless in ensuring that the quality of your work is your best effort always, you’ll be careless behind the wheel. If you’re careless about where you leave your car keys, you’ll be just as careless behind the wheel.
Watch how people treat a rental car and you’ll see similarities in how they drive a company vehicle. When you see a vehicle that is filled with fast-food bags, needs a wash (for a long time) or has several dings or fender crunches, you’ll see that same person being careless while driving the company vehicle.
There’s a sense of ownership and pride that comes with achieving something. When you are personally invested and earn your new car instead of just having it handed to you, you treat that new possession with a little more respect. If you won’t secure your own personal belongings, your own vehicle or your quality of work, you won’t really care about how you drive. It’s simple really. How you do one thing is how you do everything.
If you’re a department supervisor, Health and Safety manager or the CEO and you are considering bestowing a company vehicle on an employee, here’s the simple way to find out whether or not the company vehicle you are about to give to an employee will be treated with respect. Check out that employee’s own vehicle first. If it’s a mess – your vehicle will end up the same way before long. And if your vehicle ends up being a mess, so will the safe-driving record of that employee. How you do one thing is how you do everything. Careless is careless.
So how’s your driving? I’ll bet it’s about the same as your work quality, your own car or your relationships. If it’s messy elsewhere, it’s messy on the road.
“I know Honey,” I replied with caring. “I’ve seen those cars in the parking lot at your school. Most of them really aren’t looked after at all. It’s what happens when people don’t earn their possessions. Look, I’ll pay for your schooling after high school, but I’m not buying you toys. If you want a car, you’ll have to go out and earn it.”
And she did – around seven thousand dollars over the next year. She paid cash for her first car – a real money pit that depleted her savings rather quickly. It was a huge life-lesson for her.
Recently, I spoke to a group of natural gas installers. The focus of my presentation was “Safety Attitude.” Although the numbers of safety incidents as it pertains to working with natural gas were within an acceptable range, the numbers of incidents while driving was up – numbers that the management team wanted brought back down.
Several of the workers in attendance were awarded with five, ten, fifteen, twenty and twenty-five year safe driving awards. But not all of the workers received awards. So it begged the question: what separates a safe driver from a careless driver? My answer is attitude.
ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT: A person who is careless with other things in his or her life will be careless behind the wheel. Careless is careless. You won’t find a person who is careful and meticulous with his or her own personal possessions and be careless behind the wheel of a company vehicle. Carelessness is a personality trait. Safety is an attitude.
Carelessness transcends all things in your life – including driving. If you’re careless and regularly lose your safety equipment, you will be careless behind the wheel. If you’re careless in ensuring that the quality of your work is your best effort always, you’ll be careless behind the wheel. If you’re careless about where you leave your car keys, you’ll be just as careless behind the wheel.
Watch how people treat a rental car and you’ll see similarities in how they drive a company vehicle. When you see a vehicle that is filled with fast-food bags, needs a wash (for a long time) or has several dings or fender crunches, you’ll see that same person being careless while driving the company vehicle.
There’s a sense of ownership and pride that comes with achieving something. When you are personally invested and earn your new car instead of just having it handed to you, you treat that new possession with a little more respect. If you won’t secure your own personal belongings, your own vehicle or your quality of work, you won’t really care about how you drive. It’s simple really. How you do one thing is how you do everything.
If you’re a department supervisor, Health and Safety manager or the CEO and you are considering bestowing a company vehicle on an employee, here’s the simple way to find out whether or not the company vehicle you are about to give to an employee will be treated with respect. Check out that employee’s own vehicle first. If it’s a mess – your vehicle will end up the same way before long. And if your vehicle ends up being a mess, so will the safe-driving record of that employee. How you do one thing is how you do everything. Careless is careless.
So how’s your driving? I’ll bet it’s about the same as your work quality, your own car or your relationships. If it’s messy elsewhere, it’s messy on the road.
Monday, February 09, 2009
New Car Attitude Adjustment
Sales are slumping in the auto sector right now. The big car makers are feeling the pinch of an economic slowdown. Personally, I don’t believe that the economic slowdown is as bad as the media are making it out to be. In fact, I have yet to meet or speak with one person who has directly suffered any hardship at the hands of the economic slowdown (I’m not saying they don’t exist – I just haven’t met any of them).
Granted I live in Alberta and yes, we have a pretty strong economy still. And in the same way that you can’t run a hot engine forever without letting it cool down so you can do some repair and upkeep, we are in a cool-down period right now – as we gear up for the next rush. There are a lot of companies and organizations who are hiring right now. These are the same companies who are thriving in a “down economy.”
If you want to buy into the doom and gloom of how the media is portraying the economy right now, well then that’s your choice. Just remember, that you bring about what you think about.
Do I think you need to rush out and buy a new car to help the economy? Nope. In fact, if you don’t “need” a new car, why on earth would you saddle yourself with extra debt just because it’s on sale or the financing is cheap? I could sell you one of my speeches right now and you would be able to use it (the learning) for years to come but do you have the extra cash just lying around to pay for it?
I was walking across the parking lot of a conference facility last week on my way to my car. Now, let me tell you about my car. It’s a 2001 Hyundai Elantra with 5-speed transmission and a little rust forming around the fenders. It’s not a pretty car. It’s not an extravagant car. It’s a useful car that just happens to look a little weathered. It gets me 47 miles to the gallon on the highway and drives quite well. But it’s a little ugly.
I was asked once, as I was crossing the parking lot of a conference center, which car was mine: the BMW, the Lexus, the Mercedes? I simply said, “the Hyundai Elantra.”
ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT: I guess the perception is, as a professional keynote speaker, I am supposed to be driving a brand new luxury vehicle since I supposedly speak on success. Well, the truth is, I don’t speak on success. I speak on Attitude – Leadership Attitude. Leaders don’t waste their money on cars that they don’t need. Leaders don’t need to impress people – they could care less what others think of them. Leaders do what needs doing and buy what they need.
So here’s the truth of what I do with my car. My car sits for days on end in airport parking lots, hotel parking lots, conference center parking lots and rental car parking lots. The car is ignored and left alone for days on end. The doors get dinged, it’s exposed to elements and little care is given to the car because there are no parking lot attendants. It’s a surprisingly comfortable car to drive and has high reliability ratings.
Knowing that your car is going to be exposed to carelessness and weather, would you buy an expensive car that you would need to “baby” or would you buy something that thieves wouldn’t look at a second time? I still have my car because it’s never been stolen. It’s a little ugly but it’s incredibly reliable. I owe nothing to a bank because I paid cash for it. The car owes me nothing. My car and I have the perfect relationship – it gets me where I’m going safely and I don’t expend a lot of energy worrying about it. Perfect.
Granted I live in Alberta and yes, we have a pretty strong economy still. And in the same way that you can’t run a hot engine forever without letting it cool down so you can do some repair and upkeep, we are in a cool-down period right now – as we gear up for the next rush. There are a lot of companies and organizations who are hiring right now. These are the same companies who are thriving in a “down economy.”
If you want to buy into the doom and gloom of how the media is portraying the economy right now, well then that’s your choice. Just remember, that you bring about what you think about.
Do I think you need to rush out and buy a new car to help the economy? Nope. In fact, if you don’t “need” a new car, why on earth would you saddle yourself with extra debt just because it’s on sale or the financing is cheap? I could sell you one of my speeches right now and you would be able to use it (the learning) for years to come but do you have the extra cash just lying around to pay for it?
I was walking across the parking lot of a conference facility last week on my way to my car. Now, let me tell you about my car. It’s a 2001 Hyundai Elantra with 5-speed transmission and a little rust forming around the fenders. It’s not a pretty car. It’s not an extravagant car. It’s a useful car that just happens to look a little weathered. It gets me 47 miles to the gallon on the highway and drives quite well. But it’s a little ugly.
I was asked once, as I was crossing the parking lot of a conference center, which car was mine: the BMW, the Lexus, the Mercedes? I simply said, “the Hyundai Elantra.”
ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT: I guess the perception is, as a professional keynote speaker, I am supposed to be driving a brand new luxury vehicle since I supposedly speak on success. Well, the truth is, I don’t speak on success. I speak on Attitude – Leadership Attitude. Leaders don’t waste their money on cars that they don’t need. Leaders don’t need to impress people – they could care less what others think of them. Leaders do what needs doing and buy what they need.
So here’s the truth of what I do with my car. My car sits for days on end in airport parking lots, hotel parking lots, conference center parking lots and rental car parking lots. The car is ignored and left alone for days on end. The doors get dinged, it’s exposed to elements and little care is given to the car because there are no parking lot attendants. It’s a surprisingly comfortable car to drive and has high reliability ratings.
Knowing that your car is going to be exposed to carelessness and weather, would you buy an expensive car that you would need to “baby” or would you buy something that thieves wouldn’t look at a second time? I still have my car because it’s never been stolen. It’s a little ugly but it’s incredibly reliable. I owe nothing to a bank because I paid cash for it. The car owes me nothing. My car and I have the perfect relationship – it gets me where I’m going safely and I don’t expend a lot of energy worrying about it. Perfect.
Be Smarter Than The Smart Phone
My friend Brian is a brilliant mind. Every time that I get to visit with him (not as often as I would like), I come away with a few new ideas, a few new opinions and a few new article subjects. I know that Brian is reading this right now so thank you Brian for the contribution to make to my life and the lives of others.
Last week when I was sitting in Brian’s office, he had said something that sparked a great idea (or so I thought at the time). I could take this idea and I would find myself being more efficient and successful. Just as I was beginning to process the thought, my Blackberry went off – an incoming email as well as an appointment reminder. Although I didn’t look at the Blackberry, it chimed away three times for each of the notices.
Although I didn’t look at the smart phone, there was a little piece in the back of my mind that was just curious as to what reminder I was being given. It distracted me. My normal practice for meeting with people is to shut the Blackberry off completely – but this time I forgot. Not only did I forget to turn off the phone, I forgot the great idea that was sparked in my mind from my conversation with Brian.
ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT: There’s a reason that the MC of the conference you attended recently reminds you to shut off your cell phone while you’re in session. It’s so you don’t forget the great ideas that come to you when people who have something brilliant to say speak to you. I learned my lesson.
So how about you take the learning from me on this one and shut the phone off completely when you’re having a meeting with someone or just want to give someone your undivided attention so you don’t miss something important – like I did. Be smarter than your smartphone.
Last week when I was sitting in Brian’s office, he had said something that sparked a great idea (or so I thought at the time). I could take this idea and I would find myself being more efficient and successful. Just as I was beginning to process the thought, my Blackberry went off – an incoming email as well as an appointment reminder. Although I didn’t look at the Blackberry, it chimed away three times for each of the notices.
Although I didn’t look at the smart phone, there was a little piece in the back of my mind that was just curious as to what reminder I was being given. It distracted me. My normal practice for meeting with people is to shut the Blackberry off completely – but this time I forgot. Not only did I forget to turn off the phone, I forgot the great idea that was sparked in my mind from my conversation with Brian.
ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT: There’s a reason that the MC of the conference you attended recently reminds you to shut off your cell phone while you’re in session. It’s so you don’t forget the great ideas that come to you when people who have something brilliant to say speak to you. I learned my lesson.
So how about you take the learning from me on this one and shut the phone off completely when you’re having a meeting with someone or just want to give someone your undivided attention so you don’t miss something important – like I did. Be smarter than your smartphone.
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