Be Like Jack LaLanne.

I grew up with Jack LaLanne. I used to watch him, his wife Elaine (yes, Elaine LaLanne), and his German shepherd Happy every morning on TV. Jack taught me a lot of things about life — especially to stay positive all the time.

Why be like Jack? You might know him from his juicer — but he was so much more.

1. Make a bold change.

At 15, he was a wreck — sickly, skinny, and eating all the wrong foods. He realized it was a dead-end and radically changed his diet, behavior, and focus. Where can you make a bold change in your life?

2. Break the mold.

Up until Jack LaLanne, gyms were for men who wanted to box or wrestle. Jack opened the prototype for the fitness spas to come — a gym, juice bar, and health food store. What antiquated molds need breaking?

3. Keep true to your vision (and yourself).

Jack said, “People thought I was a charlatan and a nut. The doctors were against me — they said that working out with weights would give people heart attacks and they would lose their sex drive.” Never ask permission - get out and do it.

4. Think BIG.

Jack then took his idea national — “The Jack LaLanne Show” made its debut in 1951 as a local program in the San Francisco area, then went nationwide on daytime television in 1959. Pick a big dream and take one step closer to it today.

5. Speak to your audience — all the time.

“My show was so personal, I made it feel like you and I were the only ones there. And I’d say: ‘Boys and girls, come here. Uncle Jack wants to tell you something. You go get Mother or Daddy, Grandmother, Grandfather, whoever is in the house. You go get them, and you make sure they exercise with me.’ ” Learn how to better communicate to key people.

6. Keep it simple.

Most of his exercises on TV were done with a chair or broomstick. Don’t over-complexify your life - simplify!

7. Keep fresh with new ideas and offerings.

He invented the forerunners of modern exercise machines like leg extension and pulley devices. He marketed a Power Juicer to blend raw vegetables and fruits and a Glamour Stretcher cord, and he sold exercise videos and fitness books. When was the last time you read a good book?

8. Know when to get out.

Expanding on his television popularity, he opened dozens of fitness studios under his name, later licensing them to Bally. If it isn’t working for you - run away.

9. Be a showoff.

At 60 he swam from Alcatraz Island to Fisherman’s Wharf handcuffed, shackled, and towing a 1,000-pound boat. At 70, handcuffed and shackled again, he towed 70 boats, carrying a total of 70 people, a mile and a half through Long Beach Harbor. Be assertive in all that you do.

10. Walk the talk.

He ate two meals a day and shunned snacks. Breakfast, following his morning workout, usually included several hard-boiled egg whites, a cup of broth, oatmeal with soy milk, and seasonal fruit. For dinner,  a salad with raw vegetables and egg whites along with fish — often salmon — and a mixture of red and white wine. He never drank coffee. Be authentic to everyone you meet.

11. Stay positive — all the time.

He brimmed with optimism and restated a host of aphorisms for an active and fit life. “I can’t die,” he most famously liked to say. “It would ruin my image.” SMILE!

Jack passed away 10 years ago at the ripe old age of 96. He brought a lot of energy, motivation, and happiness to millions of people. I hope someday, I can do that too.

How To Successfully Change Your Game.

In the movie Fight Club (a male perennial favorite like ‘The Godfather’), the lead character works for an auto company and spouts out a formula they use for deciding whether to recall a model of their car or just let it go on killing people:

“Take the number of vehicles in the field, (A), and multiply it by the probable rate of failure, (B), then multiply the result by the average out-of-court settlement, (C). A times B times C equals X . . . If X is less than the cost of a recall, we don't do one.”

It’s a scary formula — but an apt example of how one should look critically at a decision. When I coach my clients, career change comes down to three choices:

1. Do nothing. Keep doing what you’re doing.

2. Do something slightly different. Change the dynamic.

3. Change radically (move or something totally new). Take charge of your life.

You need to stay ahead of the curve. So if you do nothing, eventually the marketplace is going to catch up to you and pass you pretty quickly. If you do something slightly different, you’re just staving off the inevitable, it’s catching up soon.

If you move or change your model radically, you stay ahead of the curve. Although you might be at the burning edge of the marketplace or your career path, you still are 100% in control of your destiny.

Your career or business needs to follow a Sigmoid Curve (above). The secret to constant growth is to start a new sigmoid curve before the first one peters out. The right place to start that second curve is at a first intersection where there is time, as well as the resources and energy, to get the new curve through its initial explorations and floundering before the first curve begins to dip downward (second intersection).

And that’s what it’s all about. Maintaining complete control over what you do, where you go, and what happens to you.

It’s your choice: If you let things happen to you, you are at the whim of management or the marketplace. If you take control and make decisions about your future, you have a little bit more say in the direction of your journey.

“Stop waiting for life to happen to you and begin to direct your life and explore your limits.” - Rich Gee

Extra Credit: Here's a real-life example: Years ago, I worked with one of the most energetic, positive, and professional executives I've ever met. He was a pleasure to interact with, always moving forward, always getting things done. In fact, both he and I won the organization's highest award that year. We were going places — and in less than a few months, he was gone, off to another position at another company. In fact, he's done it successfully throughout his career. Today, he's the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Fancy that.

Me? I do what I love too. Every single day.

I Found Out I Have PMR*.

I came upon a great quote from the Dalai Lama —  "There are only two days in the year that nothing can be done. One is called yesterday and the other is called tomorrow, so today is the right day to love, believe, do, and mostly live."

How often do we feel disappointed/guilty about yesterday and anxious/fearful about tomorrow? Probably a lot.

How do we live in 'today' increments? How do we focus on what needs to happen right now without letting the past and future hold us back?

I use a simple acronym - P M R:

P = Plan — Take 5 minutes to Plan your day. Get real, assess exactly what needs to get accomplished, and write it down. Just the stuff that needs to be done today. Add time increments to estimate how long each will take, prioritize each one, and then plug them into your day calendar.

M = Meditate — Take 5 minutes to Meditate. Clean the cobwebs! Sit back, close your eyes, and clear your thoughts. Start by taking a few deep breaths then use the exhalation to sigh and release the tension. Do it again. And again. I promise you will feel better and energized.

R = Reflect — Take 5 minutes to Reflect on all the good things in your life. Gratitude is an important part of staying in the present. We tend to focus and think of all the bad things, worry, forget, and then start the whole process again. Try to focus on the positive this time — your accomplishments, your family, etc.

Take the rest of the time and get stuff done! Don't be afraid of diving in and accomplishing your action items — in fact, you will feel invigorated. Trust me!

*Just found out there is a disease with the same acronym (there always is) - I do not have it nor am I at all using the acronym lightly.

Pre-New Year Is A Smart Time To Forge Your Career Strategy for 2015.

You’re not happy with your job. Or you might not have a job at the moment. Most people in this position will look at the month of December as a time of rest and relaxation and tell themselves that they will begin their brand-new job search on January 1, 2015. Unfortunately, they will be far behind their competition in the marketplace who are actively looking for a job. Bottom line, you need to develop a career strategy during the month of December to know who your targeting, what you will do, where you will go, when you will do it, and how you will track your progress. We know the ‘why’ — you need to find a new position!

Now you’re probably thinking that I’m suggesting an enormous task for you to accomplish during a month filled with holidays, families visiting, school vacations, etc. You just won’t have the time to even start thinking of a strategy to help you kick off the new year. That’s where you’re wrong.

All I’m asking for is 1 hour a day, five days a week. That’s it. Instead of watching a really bad TV show every weekday night, all I’m asking for is just one hour to plan and ensure a successful job search. So what do you do?

Step One:

Find a quiet place in your home with no distractions or interruptions. This time is for you. Get a notebook to take notes and have your laptop handy to do incremental information searches on the web.

Step Two:

I want you to draw a vertical line down the center of a piece of paper. At the top of the left side write “Energize” and on the right side write “Enervate”. Under Energize, I want you to list all the elements of your last job that you really enjoyed and energized you. Under Enervate, I want you to list all the elements of your last job that you hated and de-motivated you. Now you know what to look for in a job.

Step Three:

I want you to research your industry and better understand who are the big players, where it is going, where they are going and what the future holds. This will give you a better feel for who to target in your job search.

Step Four:

I want you to pick 5-10 organizations or companies you would LOVE to work for. Not just ‘like’ or ‘it would be nice’, I want you to LOVE them. Do a little research on each one, see where they are and where they’re going, find out who are the key people in your area of the organization.

Step Five:

Housekeeping — I want you to clean up your résumé and your LinkedIn profile. Add in any additional info from your current research. These two areas must shine before you begin to look for a position. Also, check all of your current (and past) social media like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Foursquare, etc. You need to clean them up or if you can, make them private. You need to put on a perfect face for potential opportunities.

Step Six:

Begin to plan out a schedule starting on January 1. If you’re currently employed, begin to figure out when you can allocate time to research, contact, and interview new career opportunities. If you are in transition, develop a 40-hour a week schedule that includes research, networking, visits to the library, etc. You need to be busy starting in January, the best thing you can do is be prepared with a comprehensive schedule.

This is just a short overview of what you can do, but it helps you develop a great action plan to kick off the new year with energy and focus. Good Luck!

Rich Gee is CEO of the Rich Gee Group, a career coaching practice located in Stamford, CT. You can reach Rich at www.richgee.com and catch his 700+ articles on career success.

How To Eliminate Guilt About Not Doing Everything.

We all like Shiny Objects. We're attracted to them. Like moths to a flame. Whenever a new product, idea, solution, or strategy comes along, we sometimes catch ourselves getting distracted and focusing a lot of our efforts towards our Shiny Object. We want to get our Shiny Object and place it into our 'Shiny Object Repository'.

The Shiny Object can take many forms:

• A new position.
• A new car.
• A strategy a competitor is using.
• A direction recommended by friends.
• A blog post with a 'new' idea.
• A new tool (especially technology).

It can be anything. In the past, when I worked years ago in Marketing, we used to comment on how upper management would get their direction — we called it "Management by Airline Magazine". If a CEO or President saw an interesting article on one of their flights, they would always barge into my office and exclaim, "Why aren't we doing this?"

Some Shiny Objects are good. Some are bad. Let's talk about the BAD Shiny Objects.

These are Objects which take our eye off our agreed-upon strategy. The ones who allow us to procrastinate. The ones who take us from our Destiny.

Why does this happen? My theory: We develop guilt about not doing everything — we are scared we are 'not on the bandwagon' or 'not using the best product, strategy, or service'.

So we get distracted and jump ship.

It's hard to discern Good Shiny Objects from Bad Shiny Objects. The best way to do it is to have a plan, a direction, and a close deadline.

The longer out you set a deadline (say 6-12 months), the more apt you are to be distracted by external Shiny Objects. I usually keep myself and my clients within a 90-day window — it's long enough to get some meaty stuff done, but short enough to see the end game.

Don't be like one of my past clients who, during each of our weekly sessions, would be regularly distracted by what their competitors were doing and what the 'marketing' sites were saying. They would be intimidated, distracted, unfocused . . . and guess what happened? They NEVER accomplished ANYTHING.

What are your Shiny Objects? How do you acknowledge them?

Are You A Bonus Delivery Officer?

You're not a CEO. Or a CMO, COO, CIO, CTO or any other C-Level title. You're not a GVP, AVP, MVP or VP.

You're not a Senior Director, Partner, Manager, Owner, etc.

You are a Bonus Delivery Officer.

Your primary role in your position is not to deliver on projects, motivate the team, present information, or hob-nob with the hoi-poloi.

You are a Bonus Delivery Officer.

You may ask:

"What is a Bonus Delivery Officer?" It's a person who delivers bonuses to their people — it's that simple.

The problem is most managers — from someone who only has one direct-report to the CEO — do not see themselves as Bonus Delivery Officers (or BDO).

A BDO is someone who ensures via financial planning and sheer determination to reward their staff. With MONEY. Not the phrase, "You're lucky you still have your job." They need to keep their eye on what I call "What's Left" or Revenue minus Costs.

Unfortunately, most companies and their executives are graded by a number of other measures which don't trickle down the MONEY. How many organizations in the past few years have delivered reductions in pay or flat payouts while upper management and major shareholders still receive outlandish payouts and bonuses?

Get where I'm going? What I've described is not a healthy enterprise. And sick enterprises easily control and keep their people during bad times (because there's nowhere else to go), but when times begin to turn around and improve — WATCH OUT.

You're going to see a tsunami of your best and hardest-working people leave to better-performing and better paying positions. And they will never look back.

Why am I so harsh? Because it's the responsibility of the people in the higher echelons to deliver profits — by planning, anticipating the market, understanding the consumer, and managing all the moving parts. But for many years, they have been caught with their pants down and their hand in the till — a "Whoops, sorry" attitude, a "We'll do better next year" attitude, or a "Sorry, I have to do this to YOU" attitude.

No more. The world is changing AGAIN. Get ready for the Tsunami. 

The idea for this post came from a good friend and client — Thanks Lisa B!

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Hitting A Wall In Your Career? You Need A Breakthrough.

It's tough today. It’s difficult when everything is coming at you. Hard to think. Hard to act. Hard to react. As they always say — the first step is always the hardest.

It’s hard when everything is coming at you. Hard to think. Hard to act. Hard to react.

You’re constantly focused on getting the work done — satisfying your boss, your clients . . . just keeping your job!

It’s now time for you to step back and look at the long view:

Where you’ve been

Where you are

Where you want to go

This isn’t time consuming, but it isn’t easy. The only thing I ask is that you don’t give into the “Executive ADD” that creeps in when we try something that is new and difficult.

“Oh, this won’t work” or “Let me just put this down for a second and I’ll get back to it tomorrow.”

Stop doing that. Now.

Like the title to this page says: “Take the first step and let the tide take you.” But do

You’re constantly focused on getting the work done — satisfying your boss, your clients . . . just keeping your career going!

It’s now time for you to step back and look at the long view:

Where you’ve been... Where you are... Where you want to go...

This isn’t time consuming, but it ain't easy. I only ask is that you don’t capitulate to “Career ADD” which creeps in when we try something new and difficult.

“Oh, this won’t work” or “Let me just put this down for a second and I’ll get back to it tomorrow.” Or even the "I've done this before and it never worked."

Stop doing that. Now.

Take the first step and let the momentum take you. But don’t stop.

I have something to help you — I've used it with thousands of clients. And guess what? IT WORKS.

The BEST part? It's FREE. Download Breakthrough right now. It's a life-changing solution.

You're welcome.

Top 10 Reasons Why You're Not Getting A Job.

As a business and career coach, I run into so many different people every day. I attend conferences and events, I run workshops and webinars, and I host team masterminds for all types of professionals. And guess what? When I talk to the unemployed, I've heard all the excuses why you don't have a job. Here are the top ten realities of your job search today:

1. You're waiting for the phone to ring or the limo to pull up to your house and whisk you off to your new position.

This is my #1 pet peeve when I host job-search workshops. People say they are busy, they're sending out resumes, but the reality is they are mentally waiting for a knight in shining armor to whisk them away to a new cushy position. Guest what . . . it's never going to happen. NEVER.

Unless you're a recently fired CEO with massive connections to firms who want to hire you and subsequently ruin their company, no one is going to call and no one is driving up with a black stretch limo. Once you realize you are on your own and only YOU can change your situation, it's time for a mental ass-kick to get your head on straight.

What To Do: You want an mental ass-kick? Start listening to motivational speakers to keep your mental energy level up and constant. Check out Zig Ziglar, Dale Carnegie, Jeffrey Gitomer, and my favorite Bennie Hsu at Get Busy Living Podcast. He's the best!

2. You rarely go out.

You get up at 9 AM, you probably don't take a shower, you get dressed in your old geriatric Adidas sweatsuit, and sit in front of your laptop. WRONG!

What To Do: Get up at 5 AM, go for a walk/run outside, take a shower, and get dressed in real clothes. You don't like it? TOUGH. This is your workday and for the next 8-10 hours, I am your drill sergeant and you will deliver 110% looking for a job every Monday through Friday. Set up a schedule which takes you outside every single day. Meet people for coffee, hit the library, go to the gym, walk around the park. Strike up conversations with people — you never know who you will meet.

3. You check the web for postings, send out a few resumes, and watch Ellen, Rachael, and Jerry the rest of the day.

Unemployment is not a vacation. You have to attack your job search like any project you've ever delivered at work.

What To Do: You have to:

• Focus on the marketplace - What companies are doing well? Where are the growth areas? Who are the movers and shakers?
• Analyze your attributes against your competition - Do a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis on YOU. Figure out how you leverage your strengths and opportunities.
• Develop key targets to go after - Analyze your commuting radius, find out all the potential industries and organizations within your circle, and begin to make a hit list.
• Execute - Go after each one incrementally in a cascade pattern to ensure you are not inundated with tasks, but your search is progressing in a healthy fashion.

4. Your industry has changed.

You actually thought people were going to buy slide-rules FOREVER. Yes, that's right, you're industry is changing. And guess what? Everyone's industry is changing. Some are morphing into other forms, some are merging, many are shrinking, and a lot are just plum going out of business. If you thought you could keep your job or profession for 30 years, I have a DeLorean to sell you.

What To Do: Figure out where your industry is going and either stick around for the very bumpy ride or jump off at the station for the next train. Get to thee library, my dear young minstrel and start understanding what is really happening in the marketplace. Read the WSJ, Medium, BusinessWeek, Fast Company, Inc, and Foundr. Also meeting with industry luminaries doesn't hurt either.

5. You're too old.

Where did the time go? You were having so much fun as an executive in a corner office working on strategy and mergers, you never saw the axe coming for you until it was too late. Now you're 55 and no one wants you. Let me rephrase that — no 20-year old in HR wants you. The minute they do the college graduate math in their head (or on their calculator), your résumé is flying faster than a 767 into the circular file. And the funny thing is you keep doing it.

What To Do: Stop repeating something which doesn't work and expecting something different. You have to get out of the HR/Recruiter trap and move up the ladder and meet/engage/schmooze the hiring managers. Go to industry events, reach out to them via LinkedIn/Twitter, and google their name to get to know them. Then reach out and try to meet them.

6. You're too young.

Where did the time go? You were just in college wowing them with your 4.0 GPA and now no one will take your calls because you have no experience.

What To Do: It's time for you to get some experience! You need to call in every chip on the poker table of life and have them connect you with possible paid intern/entry level positions. Let's get real — you might have a little bit of knowledge, but your don't have the experience to hit deadlines consistently, run a meeting, handle an angry client, manage a boss, or run a complex project. You have to take a small hit position/salary-wise and build up those talents before you really hit the big leagues of life.

7. You're unrealistic about your position and your salary.

"Look, I was Vice President of Strategic Initiatives with a yearly base salary of $275K. Why doesn't anyone want me?"

What To Do: There are a finite number of positions out there which might fit your position/salary requirements, but you will never find them in time. I know, you might run into them, but most likely, NOT. You have to be a bit flexible on the Who/What/Where/How Much in the current marketplace. Try to broaden your scope and see what else is out there. It might not be a VP position, or one drowning in strategy. It might be a bit lower than $275K a year — but then again, it's higher than the $0/year you're pulling in now (great tax benefits though).

8. You have a glass-half-empty mentality.

No one likes a whiner. I just spoke with a prospect this week who could not stop talking about all the bad bosses and decisions they've made in the past 10 years. The first rule of your job search: Never, ever, say bad things about your past. Not only does it cloud anyone's opinion of you, it brings your mental state down into the basement.

What To Do: Start imagining what life would be like if you had that wonderful position RIGHT NOW. Where would you be? Who would you be working with? What would you be doing? How would you get there. Stop thinking and feeling guilty about the past and start preparing for your glorious future. Get your head half-full immediately.

9. You're afraid of Thinking Big and reaching out to the real power-brokers.

No one is going to think big for you (except me). You hamstring your search and actions by being risk-averse. You're afraid of rejection and will never put yourself in a position of actually touching key movers and shakers in your industry. No . . . you will continue to interview with 20-year-old HR reps who text more than they think and wonder why you don't have a killer position.

What To Do: Get a piece of paper and write down what would be your PERFECT job. Now actualize it in your universe — find those companies who fit the bill and reach out to the key people who run those positions. The funny thing is . . . these same people are always on the lookout for new talent. You're just not putting yourself onto their radar.

10. You've given up.

You've tried again and again to get a job offer, an interview or even a solid connection and it seems the cards are stacked against you. It's been years since you've worked and you're draining your savings account to keep your household afloat.

What To Do: You can always try again. Take a different tack, work on an alternate strategy, reach out to new people. In fact, I just worked with a client who was unemployed for two years and within three months, he had a number of offers and took an incredible job. You never know where your next break will occur.

Free image provided by iStockPhoto.

How To Have A Perfect Day, Every Day.

Did you ever have a day not only hit your expectations, but surpass them? Yesterday was one of those days for me. I started out meeting with my sales team (all 45) who were engaged, enthusiastic, and ready to hear what I had to say and what to do next for my company. In addition, one of my dear friends, BJ Flagg, president of Nurenu Brand Marketing, was my guest (her team developed and runs this site).

I then contacted my favorite barbershop - Montana For Men in Stamford and was quickly given a perfectly-timed spot to get a haircut (even though I have little to work with!).

Met with two dear colleagues for lunch — it was an introductory meeting for both of them to see if their businesses might work well together. Guess what? They both loved each other and we're planning subsequent meetings to see how we will work together as a team!

Finally, I had a two-hour, power-hour strategy session with a new client. This not only gets us off on the right foot, it allows me to clearly understand their career and make an impact immediately.

Whew - started the day at 4:30 AM and arrived home at 8:00 PM - a long day, but I'm still energized from it. The hours don't really matter — it's what I accomplished.

WHAT MAKES AN EFFECTIVE DAY FOR YOU?

Think back — when was the last time you were firing on all cylinders? When your day exceeded all of your expectations? Where everyone you worked with energized you?

Now here's the hard part — what elements contributed to that day? Was it the people you worked with? The project? Your scheduling? What was it?

CAN YOU REPLICATE IT?

If it was such a good day — you were effective, efficient, and energized — can you put those pieces into play again and produce another powerful day? And another? And another?

Most of the time — we have a day which stands out — and then we go back to the old grind. I say — BREAK THE MOLD! Or in this case KEEP THE RIGHT MOLD and use it every day.

Try it — you might get addicted.

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Image provided by Alex Talmon at Unsplash.

Thinking Big vs. Thinking Small.

Find yourself thinking small? Too afraid to think big? Think Big: Take chances. Think Small: Take no chances.

Think Big: Meet New People, Target important contacts, Touch Movers & Shakers Think Small: Stay within your current group of contacts and colleagues.

Think Big: Spend money, Invest in your business, Grow your career. Think Small: Don't spend money, hunker down and wait for the issues to go away.

Think Big: Speak in front of people, Go after bigger and bigger groups, Attract influentials. Think Small: Keep your ideas to yourself, Think of writing a book, Never complete it.

Think Big: Take on more than you can chew, Push yourself, Reach higher (and higher). Think Small: Keep things in context, Don't push yourself, Stay within your box.

Think Big: Inspire people, Get their attention, Be a BILLBOARD. Think Small: Do the same things and expect a different outcome.

Think Big: Challenge yourself, Change the game, Make It HAPPEN. Think Small: Be content.

Think Big: Consult with experts, Ask questions, Challenge the status quo. Think Small: You know enough.

Think Big: GROW. Think Small: SHRINK.

It's that simple.

Top 3 Mistakes Made In Family Businesses.

I run Multi-Generational Peer Review Groups — and boy do we have fun discussing many issues inherent with family businesses — especially ones where the younger sons/daughters work for the older parents. And the parents have one foot out the door into retirement, yet they feel they need to keep active and still make decisions. Or they are still working 60-70 hours a week and never delegate key responsibilities to their sons/daughters (I'm going to use the term 'kids' for brevity). Here are some mistakes (and possible solutions) I see frequently:

1. Bad Communication.

Number one mistake made in multi-gen businesses. The parent is un-moveable, disruptive, or sticking to their guns and the kids give up on any sort of constructive communication.

Solution: "You're not going to teach an old dog new tricks." It's the kids job to stay patient (and professional) and encourage healthy communication first. Try to bridge the gap and work with your parent and if needed, wear your heart on your sleeve when speaking with them. It's also the job of the parent to also open their heart and mind to their kids' overtures.

2. Loss of Self-Esteem.

If the kids are constantly reprimanded or berated when they do something wrong by the parent,  not only do they shut down and get resentful, they begin to lose faith in their abilities.

Solution: The parent needs to understand that there is a difference between motivational instruction and berating mistakes. They need to acknowledge that you will make mistakes along the way and they are their not only to catch you, but to encourage you to succeed. The kids need to understand that what took their parents 30-40 years to perfect cannot be learned in 2-3 years. In addition, your parents might not be the best teachers, so you sometimes need to pull information, techniques, and practices out of them for you to grow. It will take time.

3. Allocation of Responsibilities.

As the parent slowly relinquishes certain responsibilities to their kids (hopefully!), how the kids perform their new duties might be different than what the parent expects. So the parent begins to hold back the allocation and then adverse situations result. This especially happens when the kids try a new direction for an old problem (i.e., growing their web presence and killing all phone book advertising) and the parent doesn't understand.

Solution: The parent needs to understand that the kids SHOULD be encouraged to do things differently or at least understand WHY their kids are taking a different tack to solve a problem. The kids need to move slowly and continuously bring their parents up to speed on the whys, whats, and hows of their strategy. You just cannot say 'trust me' - it will only inflame the situation.

Bottom line, they are not going anywhere anytime soon — so assess the problem, come up with solutions, and take action. Making believe that it will go away on its own is dangerous.

If you have any questions or issues with a multi-generational business, feel free to call me (203.500.2421) - would love to discuss and help you find a solution.

Why I Attended My Coaching Session This Morning.

Just received this from one of my oldest clients a few minutes ago — I thought I would publish it verbatim. Enjoy! When I rolled over in bed at 5:45 this morning, my usual weekday wake up time, I began to think about my day and realized I had my normally scheduled coaching session at 7:30, meaning I would have to get out of bed soon.

I was thinking I wish I could just cancel the session and grab another hour of sleep. I felt that the session today was going to be less meaningful than others.  There was no “hot and heavy” issue facing me that needs immediate attention.

Oh well, I thought, I will go through the motions and if it turns out that the session is a bust, so be it.  I decided that I would use the session today to discuss a relatively minor event of the day before that had caused me some temporary angst but passed in short order.

My focus would be to ensure that events like these stayed in the temporary and minor range for me. Wasn’t sure a whole session could be filled with that but would go with the flow.

When I arrived at my meeting, spent the first bit catching up with my coach on personal “stuff”.  While chatting, I found myself staring at the piece of paper my coach always brings to every session, a blank, white sheet waiting to be filled with boxes and circles and lines outlining our discussion.

The sheet even had my name on top today reminding me that I was the focus of the session and needed to figure out what I wanted to go over with him.

My first thought was to go with the outline that my coach provides before every session- what were my accomplishments this week?  That would be easy since I made had contacted two people that were on my list from the last session. My coach provided positive reinforcement for doing this and discussed how the meeting that I had and the one that I was going to have were going to fit into my goals.

Where to go to next for the session, I thought about our prior discussion related to managing people that work for me and that I work with.  It was here I could bring up the event of the other day that I had dealt with. Again, my coach complimented my handling of the situation and offered further thoughts on how to set boundaries and expectations that would help when working with these people.

My coach then reminded me that the conference I was going to attend in two weeks, that I had previously mentioned in another session , would be another potential opportunity to identify additional resources for my business .  He told me to think about possibly inviting out one of the speakers of the conference to breakfast or for a drink.  He said a lot of times the speakers are alone at this type of conference and appreciate someone making an effort to include them in the fold.

As the session was nearing an end, I asked the coach how things were going for him.  He shared with me some of his business ideas he was working on and we chatted further about the potential profitability of these ideas. It got my creative juices flowing always thinking about how it is important to keep coming up with new business ideas to keep your business moving forward and be in the forefront of your profession.

We finished up with  setting up our appointment for the following week and said our goodbyes. As I began to walk to my car to begin my workday I began to smile to myself and though okay today turned out to be a more meaningful session than anticipated.

So why did I attend my coaching session at 7:30 this morning? 

• To hold myself accountable on  a weekly basis
• To feel good about my progress/accomplishments
• To be proactive about my business and continual move it forward
• To have a support mechanism for me and my business (business therapy)

So there it is — my client just made me feel wonderful for the weekend. I owe a lot of what I am today to her. - Rich

How To Sell Anything.

During my 20 year tenure working in corporate management, many times I found myself as a product manager. As Wikipedia states, a product manager investigates, selects, and develops products for an organization. That's what I did. As a product manager, you have a number of constituencies to sell to — it's not only the end user 0r customer, but also the account executive or salesperson. They add the 'voice' to your product and either make it grow or die.

After many months on the job, I saw a subtle, yet clear reality began to emerge. There were three distinct groups of people who were my 'audience' - people who instantly got it, people who were on their way to getting it, and people who were obstacles. Let me explain:

The 'Get-It' Crowd

These are the 'platinum' members to your club. When you present your product to them, they instantly 'get it' and want to sell it to other people. They see the inherent qualities of your product, they understand how it works, and they quickly incorporate it into their product line.

What to do: Keep these people close, shower them with affection and acknowledgement, and ensure you listen to them. They will give you critical information about the reality of your product. You can then modify it as needed to make it sell even faster.

The 'Almost-On-Board' Crowd

These are the people who are on the fence. Why? Usually because of a few reasons:

• They are always unsure of new products.
• They need to be sold.
• They need more information.
• They are not focused yet - they just need to focus on your product.

What to do: Reach out to them, educate them, answer their questions, go out on sales calls with them. They just need that one time to see one of their current clients embrace the product and then they're sold. Once that happens, they are on-board.

The 'Negative' Crowd

These are the people who will NEVER get it. Either they are obstinate and will never embrace your product or they feel they have the right mix of products for their client base. In either case, you not only have an uphill battle to wage, you're fighting on Mt. Everest.

What to do: Honestly — don't waste your time with these people. You have enough blood, sweat and tears to expend on the other two groups. I know it's harsh and there is the group of salespeople who say "You never know . . . " — but in the end, even if you convert one person from this group, you could've converted 5-10 in the 'Almost-On-Board' crowd. Cut your losses and don't bother.

If you use these three strategies effectively, you'll find it so much easier (and faster) to get your products to market and in front of the people that matter — your customers.

Are You Prepared?

Right now, the east coast is bracing for Hurricane Irene to hit. It might be bad. It might be nothing. But it's smart to prepare.

Get everything outside, inside. Batten down the hatches. Extend the leaders from your gutters. Get your generator in order. Fill your bathtub. Radios? Batteries? Prepare a 'big-out-bag' with your important information and necessities — (Go to this site to learn more).

Take the media with a grain of salt — their job is to inform — but sometimes they do their job a little bit too well. It might turn into hype and provide undue stress to you and your family. Pick a trusted information source and stick with it.

Now I'm not the National Weather Service. I'm a coach. So how does this information track to your career or business?

1. Mentally Prepare. This is not the time to lose your mind. If the economy is tough and people are losing their jobs/clients all around you — start to develop contingency plans. The better prepared you are mentally, the better you will react if something bad does happen.
2. Don't Worry — Think — Take Action. Don't get stuck in analysis/paralysis. Once you have a clear direction or strategy in case something does happen, take the appropriate action(s) to ensure you are ready.
3. Don't Get Stressed — Listen to trusted sources of information. Don't play into the myriad of cable channels pushing out the pablum of fear. Click into those outlets who deliver NEWS — and then you develop your OWN opinion.
4. Prepare Your Bug-Out-Bag. Is your resume in order? When was the last time you updated your contact list of colleagues and friends? When did you last connect with your customers? Who are your favorite companies to work for? Who would be a perfect client for you? Start taking action now.
5. Weather The Storm. Keep your cool while things are spinning all around you. Stay flexible and nimble and most of all — keep performing. Don't freeze and hunker down — it's critical you maintain and elevate your performance.

What else can you do to prepare for career/business bad times?

Why You Never See It Coming — Deadly Blind Spots In Business.

There are things you know (e.g., how to run a meeting) and there are things you know you don’t know (e.g., open heart surgery techniques). Then there are things that you don’t know that you really know (how to stay focused and calm during an emergency).

Today, let’s talk about the unknown unknowns. The times where things jump out of nowhere in our business life and bite us right on the butt (and hold on!).

But how do we uncover those unknowns that we don’t know? How do we find something that we don’t know is lost? Perplexing isn’t it?

You fail because you didn’t:

• Read market signals in a certain way.
• See that your most trusted ally is moving to the competition.
• Know about the ‘hidden’ competition eating your lunch.

In the 90's, U.S. sales of Mercedes Benz plunged 24% due to Lexus/Acura/Infiniti imports. Up until that time, their senior management refused to acknowledge the existence of competition.

Up until 1980, internal correspondence at Sears never even mentioned Walmart.

Sometimes, reality is staring you right in the face . . . and you don’t see it.

So how do you uncover YOUR blind spots? Three ways:

1. Stop being so insular and bubbled-up. Open your peripheral vision to what’s happening in the world outside.
2. Encourage your team, your divisions, your entire company to keep their eyes peeled for products and competition that could slowly (or quickly) eat away at your market share.
3. Think outside of the box. Did you actually think we'd be carrying a GPS, Walkman, DVD Player, Menu Guide, Weather Station, etc. IN OUR PHONE?

Ask everyone for their opinion and LISTEN.

You don’t need to act on everything, but if you’re a faithful reader of Michael Porter’s Competitive Strategy, track it, measure it, and address it when the time is right.

What blind spots have bitten you in the past?

How Not To Run Your Business.

Borders is filing for bankruptcy protection and closing 1/3 of their stores. This post is near and dear to me because I used to work for the Reader's Market/Waldenbooks/Borders chain many, many years ago.

The funny thing is, I saw this coming many years ago and knew that Borders would stick their head in the sand.

Inc. Magazine has a great piece on why Borders is tone-deaf.

Summarized, it comes down to six reasons:

1. No future strategy.
2. No real use of customer data.
3. Antiquated operations and supply chain.
4. Carrying the wrong products.
5. In-store experience is bad.
6. Management churn.

Just one can kill a business. Borders had all six. Well . . . that's the marketplace!

Did you see this coming? What is happening in your business?

How To Solve Your Problems With Bananas.

Do you find yourself replicating a process and each time you do it, 50-75% it doesn't work? Not that it fails entirely, but when attempted, it's either fraught with additional challenges, clients may be disrupted, or it becomes such a big mess, it throws your team into a tizzy?

But you still keep doing it because it's the only way you know how to do it — the only way you've been taught?

Do you like bananas? Watch this short video at the end.

Simple. Fast. Clean. I've been opening bananas the wrong way for 40+ years. Suddenly, a buddy of mine sent me this video, I watched it, and my world is forever changed. I was trying to open the banana the exact opposite way a banana should be opened. It blew my mind.

Now apply this example to your job or business. What areas, people, processes, or clients do you continuously run into where it gets messy or doesn't work?

Try the banana method — or what it's officially called, Benchmarking. Benchmarking is the process of comparing one's business processes and performance to best practices from OTHER industries. Improvements from learning mean doing things better, faster, and cheaper.

The key word here is OTHER. You might be opening bananas like me for the past 40+ years and your entire company might be opening them the same way.Why?

"That's just the way it's done." "That's the way we've always done it around here." "There's no better way to do it, because we would be doing it."

Sound familiar? How long have you been opening bananas the same way? It's easier, more comfortable, and less scary than doing something else.

How about looking at your competition? Look at other industries and see how they manage their similar issues. Look at other countries, cultures, or customers to see what they do and how they react.

Step out of your comfort zone and open a banana the right way.

How do you benchmark? Where can you begin to look for new ideas, concepts, and strategies?

Are You On Track For 2011?

Today is January 20th. You’ve had 20 days to kick off 2011 the right way. You know, MAKE A DIFFERENCE. How’s it working for you? I usually get one of three answers:

• Unbelievable! (face it, they’re lying.)
• Still In The Planning Stage (and when ARE you going to launch?)
• No, Life Still Sucks (buy them a BIG drink.)

The good news is: We’re only 20 days into the new year. You still have time.

There's one caveat, your time is running out. If you want to make a dramatic difference in your life, career, or business, you need to start taking action immediately.

Why? This is how I see a typical year (again, this is how I see it):

JAN - FEB - MAR Critical time to launch and catch your management’s or the marketplace’s attention.

APR - MAY - JUN Moving into the passing lane, accelerating forward, making significant wins. Remember, there are some school vacations and holidays mixed in here.

JUL - AUG Dead time. Everyone focused on having fun with the fam or on the farm.

SEP-OCT Another critical time to impact your management or marketplace, everyone ramping up for the fourth quarter.

NOV-DEC Almost everyone is distracted by the holidays, the weather, etc. Begin planning NOW for 2012.

When are you going to get off your butt and make things happen?

2011: What Do You Want To Change?

Buckle Up — this is going to be a fun ride. Answer these three questions with fast, (1-2 word) specific responses . . . don't just write 'work', write 'client calls', or 'Penske Project'. Don't just write 'business', write 'BNI connecting' or 'new website', or 'product expansion'. I'm looking for you to blurt out items without a lot of introspection. I want your gut responses:

In 2010:

1. What was great?
2. What sucked?
3. What surprised you?

Why 1-2 word responses? I want this to be a fast assessment that only you will see. Keeping it short, easy and personalized will ensure you'll do it. If it was any longer or introspective, you probably wouldn't find the time.

You can't plan for the future without measuring where you are currently. It's like going on a trip — you need to have a destination, a route to get there, and a starting point. I like to start my clients with this as a starting point.

Now you know where you've been and what has happened to you, let's begin to plan your new roadmap for 2011.

In 2011:

1. Based upon what was great in 2010 - how can you do more of it this year? How can you expand it? How can you branch out to other areas? Who can help you grow it bigger and stronger?
2. Based upon what sucked in 2010 — how can you do less of this? Was it because you spent a lot of time doing it and it didn't pay off? Did you hate doing it? What else can you do to get the same or similar results? Who can do it for you so you can do other things that leverage your strengths?
3. Based upon what surprised you in 2010 — why did it surprise you? Was it an action or activity delivering much, much more than you ever dreamed? Was it something you've never done before and found it was exciting to do?  What can you do in 2011 to make your successful surprise more powerful?

These simple guideposts will allow you to either toss bad behaviors or occurrences quickly and allow you to easily identify, quantify, and deliver new growth based upon your strengths.

Make 2011 a powerful and defining moment for your career and life.

5 Ways To Make Your Commute Bearable.

Commuting sucks. Anywhere you go, if you are on a parkway, highway, or thruway between 7-9 AM, you're probably swearing. You can blame it on anything — accidents, volume, weather — there will always be traffic congestion. You want to go 55, 65, 75 — but you're currently going 5. And the radio is just making it worse by intermixing the 15 minutes of commercials with a traffic helicopter telling you that there is traffic on YOUR route. My average commute (one-way, without traffic) is one hour — so I feel that I have a good handle on what the typical commuter endures every day. By the way, I totally understand about public transportation (I use it too) — but this post focuses solely on car commuting.

Why not work from home? Not every day. You need a few good ideas to help your commute become a bit more bearable. So here goes:

1. Listen to really good music. Most people I know don't plan their ride effectively when it comes to the enjoyment of music. They either just turn the radio on, grin and bear it through the bad music choices/commercials OR they drive around with the same six CD's in their car for the past year.One strategy is to pre-plan your music the night before — either on CD, Smartphone, or iPod — to ensure that you get a freshness and variety to make your ride fun. In addition, try using the shuffle or genius mode on your player to keep the mix of the songs fresh. Finally, if you aren't acquainted with the app Pandora, check it out — it changed my listening habits forever.
2. Read a book. Whoops . . . I meant LISTEN to a book. I find that I 'read' more than I did in college by using downloadable books. Why downloadable? It's soooo much cheaper. Instead of trying to manage 6-10 CD's, the entire book is neatly stored on my Smartphone or iPod.In addition to keeping the exact place where I left off, it allows me to carry it anywhere. And here's the best part — most audiobooks today aren't read by stuffy, upper-crust, gentry — they are now read by the author who adds so much more energy and information to the original book. Check this one out — you'll be surprised.
3. Listen to a podcast. This is my hidden secret of iPods that most users don't know about. There are millions of people and organizations who regularly post incredible podcasts (extended talkshows) on iTunes. They range from music reviews to UFO's, comedy to history — and they're unbelievable.
4. Brainstorm in the car. Go buy a digital tape recorder or use your Smartphone/iPod and begin talking. I find that I do my best brainstorming, strategizing, and thinking in the shower and in the car. Just turn it on and start talking — you'll be surprised what great ideas come out of your rambling. In addition, you can think up to-do lists, or dictate emails that can be electronically transfered once you hit the office.
5. Leave earlier. I know — some of you probably are swearing at this one. You might not be a morning person or your boss wants you to work late. But this is the one that usually cures all ills when it comes to your commute. I leave at 5:30 AM and get to work (95% of the time) at 6:30 AM.If I leave a bit early or on time, I get in 9.5 to 10.5 hours of work each day (I work through lunches). That's between 47-53 hours of work every week — a healthy amount if the boss starts to complain. I might hit a bit of traffic on my way home, but I can deal with it. And if your boss begins to complain about you leaving early, you need to talk to me, I can help you overcome this ridiculous behavior.

Let me know what ways you use to make your commute more bearable!