Add More Torque To Your Organization.

What’s torque? It’s a measure of the turning force on an object such as the pushing or pulling of a wrench handle connected to a nut or bolt. It produces a torque (turning force) that loosens or tightens the bolt. If you elongate the wrench handle (by adding a long pipe) you increase the torque, or turning force on the bolt.

Cars have torque too - it’s your gear system. In first gear, you have the most torque on your drive train (which ultimately moves your wheels) and you can climb any incline. But as you move up the gears (2, 3, 4, 5, and 6), you use less torque and your car can go faster and faster and faster.

I feel like Tim Taylor from Home Improvement right now.

Let’s talk about your career.

How can use less torque to what you do? To go faster and faster with less effort? How can you add a pipe to that wrench to effortlessly loosen the bolt?

The funny thing is, you probably know what ‘torque-related’ elements there are in your career or business — but you’re just not using them. They’re sitting in your toolbox, gathering dust.

Let me list some of the elements and their corresponding tools:

• Promotion/More Pay — Deliver faster, better, get other key execs to recognize you. Ask for more work, exposure, or the ability to work on your boss' projects.
• More Clients — 80/20 rule - who are your best clients? Go find out where the 20% live, meet, and congregate. I promise you there will be more of them waiting for your services. Let the underperforming 80% go away (for the time being).
• Efficient Team — Find out what motivates, energizes and leverages their strengths. You won’t believe what they can do once you initiate these levers.
• Technology — You can do it yourself, learn how to do it better, or get someone to do it for you. Guess which one moves you the fastest?

Get where I’m going? Go out and start shifting into 4th/5th/6th gear or find a pipe to turn your wrench. Don’t just stand there and say “I can only move in one gear” or “that bolt will never loosen”.

You have a complete toolbox to choose from. It’s inside you.

What your favorite tool in your toolbox you use to move faster?

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?

How To Overcome Your Speaking Jitters.

I present to audiences all over the world. In college, I took a communications course which made me stand up and give presentations each week to the class. Most people developed very serious talks. One topic the instructor assigned was to pick a person in our life who helped us cope with the craziness of childhood, most of my peers chose their grandfather/grandmother, mother, father, etc.

I chose Batman. I kept it light, funny, and focused. I spoke about how he helped me learn to read (comics) and gave me a basic ethical structure in relation to crime. He also taught me about how to correctly throw a Bat-a-rang. I got an ‘A’ from the professor.

Rule #1 If you have to speak, be comfortable with your topic and materials.

Most people stand up and keep their topic and presentation style very formal and impersonal. That’s probably why they feel uncomfortable and usually, their presentations suck. Your presentation has to be YOU. They need to see you built it, crafted it, and are delivering it from your personality, your experiences, and your knowledge. Anything less . . . it probably won’t work.

I also took the Dale Carnegie Class (12 weeks/3 hour meetings) and had to stand up each meeting and give an impassioned speech with no notes, no Powerpoint, for a specific amount of time. It was difficult and fraught-ridden with failure.

Rule #2 Speak from your heart to capture their hearts and minds.

Emotions are tricky things to manipulate and master. Candidly, all presentations are ‘Broadway‘ — it’s partially the content, but the real discriminator is the delivery. If you REALLY believe in your topic and transfer all emotions in your talk, you'll have your audience in the palm of your hand.

When I was a young executive, my boss and I worked weeks to develop a speech he was going to give at a major tech expo (1000+ attendees). The morning of the speech, he and I were going over it, and he said, “Rich, I think YOU should do it. It would be a good opportunity for you to really broaden your experience in front of a large crowd,” I was nervous, but I did it, and I hit it out of the park.

Rule #3 Forget about screwing up, the crowd, the pressures — just do it.

This might sound flippant, but everyone I’ve coached and trained in public speaking all agree once you are up there speaking, most (if not all) your ambivalence disappears.

It’s the build-up to the event that terrifies you. You tell yourself stories, develop worst-case scenarios, and mentally watch yourself fail in front of thousands of people.

You also have to practice, practice, practice. Know your material cold. Check your timing, transitions, and ability to handle a basic set of questions.

Once you get up there, a large percentage of your jitters and shakiness evaporate and any lingering insecurity is managed by your focus on the topic and delivery.

How do you shake off your speaking insecurities?

How To Say No.

It's one of the hardest things to do in business.

If you're an executive, you never say no to your boss and you're afraid to say no to your peers. Your team, it's easy — except if you're a pushover.

If you run a business, you never say no to your clients and you're afraid to say no to your vendors/distributors. Your team — again, pushover.

But using the word 'No' effectively puts you in the driver's seat — it allows you to make faster decisions on what you have planned to do. If you let someone else pop in with a request, change, or demand and it throws off your plans — it's frustrating.

So here are some proven techniques to say 'No':

• Say 'Not Now'. You're not saying 'No', you are acknowledging their idea/direction, and you probably see the reason behind the request. But you just can't do it NOW. "Let's look at it in a few weeks, months, and hopefully years." Because most requests have a tinge of self-esteem built into them — you have to keep it up while letting them down easy. "Susan, I have to say, this is an incredible idea. I am blown away you spent a lot of time on it and I want us to take it forward. But, not now. We are in the middle of launching our new nuclear-powered client service system and we just don't have the focus or manpower to do it at this time. Do you see where I'm coming from?"
• Say 'Yes', but with stipulations and the ability to change it radically. Some ideas have merit and some have a little spark of genius wrapped in a ball of unimportant busywork. First, give them acknowledgement for a great idea and say 'Yes', but then dissect their suggestion/demand and pick out the parts which really have merit. "Tom, I see where you're going with this and I'm really interested in accelerating this one small section ASAP into our project line. Are you up to running it? By the way nice work. We can then review the rest and see what is feasible moving forward."
• Say 'Yes', but change their request around so it better suits you and the direction you're traveling in. Often, bosses, peers, clients, and even your team try to throw ideas or '180° turnarounds' to slow you down, jumble up the works, or stop progress entirely. Sometimes they do it unwittingly and sometimes with malice. In any event, you need to acknowledge their tennis serve and return it back with a lot of spin on it. "Igor, your idea of moving the development team to Fiji is well-thought out — I am intrigued by your idea of moving the team to get better work out of them. Your strategy of mixing up the work environment is a good one — let's redecorate their offices."
• Say 'No'. There are times when you just have to say 'No' and take the consequences. But let them down gently and quickly — again, a lot of their self-esteem and work is bundled up into the idea — and it will take a major hit. Take their emotions into account but follow your 'No' with FACTS. Refer to why you can't do it and what elements are out of your control, etc. "Fritz, I'm going to have to pass at this time on your idea. It's not that it's bad, I do see some hard work here, but for this company at this time, I will have to say 'No'. Do you understand where I'm coming from?"

When have you had to say 'No'? What happened?

Creating A Life Plan . . . Today.

Many of my clients ask how can they apply our session learnings to their personal life. I say it's easy — you just have to take the first step. My life plan system is comprised of four areas:

1. Create A Purpose Statement. Why do you want to do this? "I want to see the world and meet new people." What do you want to change? "I want to spend more time with my kids." What do you want to add? Get out a big sheet of paper and begin thinking BIG. Use a huge Post-It notepad with markers. You want lots of room, lots of ideas - this is going to get messy! You are going to change often during this process - hone down ideas, think of new ones, and throw some out the window.
2. Set Clear Goals. What are the specific goals you want to reach? Not "have more happiness" - where? And back to Purpose . . . Why? Take one sheet per goal and start to see how you can transfer your purpose to specific goals.
3. Define Steps & Activities. Articulate each step you'll need to take. Who needs to help you? What will you need to do? What will you stop doing? What other resources do you need to help you move through each step? Get messy on each page - list all the steps then begin to put them in order. Then add completion dates to each activity.
4. Take Action. Just Do it. Pick the first step - and get it done this weekend.
5. Refine As Needed During the journey, life will get in your way. You need to be resilient and stick to the plan. Or make subtle changes as you accelerate or decelerate.

You either have to do it by yourself or have a spouse, partner or friend work with you. The better communication that you have with them (or yourself), the more successful you'll be.

In addition, having someone to do it with makes it that much more fun and powerful. And you will stick to it.

First Impressions Define Your Success.

Okay, I lied. Many things define your success. But one of the more important elements of initial and continued success are the ways other people perceive us. I've broken it down into five elements, so here goes:

Approach

How do you comport yourself? Do you slug along with your shoulders down, leaning on tables, head facing down? Try to change that - walk just a little bit faster wherever you go. Pick up the speed a little bit — a good measure is to move 20% faster, not a run, just a quicker pace.

Adjust your posture, don't stand straight up like a soldier — align your ears, shoulders, and hips — and your spine will relax into a natural 'S'. Try not to lean on tables, desks, cubicles — it communicates fatigue, laziness, boredom. If you don't feel like standing straight, then do something — look and act busy.

Handshake

Handshake is critical. The other day, a person pulled me aside and complimented me about my son's handshake. He was impressed how firm his shake was for a 14-year old boy. Understand, this is probably the only time you will touch another person and the tactual, kinesthetic action is very important to set a first impression. You need to practice it frequently — if it's too weak (clammy) or too strong (vise-like), you'll immediately set the wrong perception.

Facial Expression

Next time you have 1/2 hour and a cam in your laptop, record yourself working. When you review your recording, you might be surprised — most people's resting facial expression is one of anger or unhappiness. So if someone is looking or approaching you — you might not realize that you are actually presenting yourself with a less than appealing demeanor.

Try smiling more often — it takes less muscles and studies have shown that it makes you feel happier and gets the happy hormones flowing!

Dress

I'm not a fashion consultant — but I do know good choices of clothing and bad ones. When you first look at a person, the face is important, but your clothed body makes up a larger remainder of the perceived person. Dress nicely and if you want to, add an element of flair to your wardrobe — a scarf, a sharp tie, a cool belt, cool shoes. Make sure the scarf is not wrinkled, the tie is in-style and clean, your belt is shined with no visible scuff marks, and your shoes are in very good to excellent condition.

I'm also not going to get into the Boomer/Millennial argument about clothing. You know your environment, you know the people that you are trying to interact/reach out to/impress. Dress accordingly.

Let me let you in on a little secret: Years ago, when many offices made the decision to move from suits to casual dress, most employees sprinted into polo shirts and jeans. What did I do? I watched what all of my superiors were wearing — and guess what? I wore what they wore — sharp shirts and expensive slacks. Who got the best projects, the largest teams, the raises, and the promotions? ME.

Hygiene

Pay attention to your body - make sure your hair is perfect (mine is easy), that your smells are not too over-powering — shower, antiperspirant, a little cologne/perfume.

For you older folk, pay attention to hair that appears in strange places (nose/ears/face/hands) — I get more scared as I get older and see my hair migrate from my head to the Twilight Zones of my face. Pretty soon, I'll need hedge clippers from Black & Decker.

Also, good dental hygiene is important too. If you can, brush your teeth after lunch to get all the errant spinach from the crevices of your front incisors. At the very least, check your teeth with a mirror or give them a quick wipe with your napkin. Breath is all important — chew gum if you have too. Mr. Garlic or Mrs. Onion is not welcome when speaking one-on-one.

Hope these have helped. You probably do most, if not all of them. But I find that even I need a refresher course on how we present ourselves to deliver the best first impression.

Are You A Super-Connector?

Keith Ferrazzi uses a term in his book, Never Eat Alone, called the 'Super Connector'. His definition (paraphrased from his book & site):

"Super Connectors are people who maintain contact with thousands of people in many different worlds and know them well enough to give them a call. Restauranteurs, headhunters, lobbyists, fundraisers, public relations people, politicians, and journalists are the best super-connectors because it's their job to know EVERYONE."

If you want to rocket your career upwards or grow your business exponentially, you need to begin reaching out to these people, become friends, and leverage their talents. I do . . . all the time.

But just knowing a lot of people or knowing the 'right' type of people is only one side of the coin. The other side is how you help connect them to each other — 'get your connections to connect with other connections'.

This is where the rubber hits the road — and where most people stop being connectors. They don't want to volunteer their good friends, colleagues, and clients to other connections. Why? It might not go well, people are very concerned about their time, they might not like the person you connect them to — it could go in a million bad directions.

In addition, we tend to hold onto our connections like a deep, dark secret, never letting anyone know who we know. Guess what? You are sabotaging your own evolution to become a super-connector. If you don't share, the natural symbiosis of contacts never happens.

Here's a simple tool I use to not only connect strangers together, but it ensures both parties immediately connect with one another and if something goes awry, no feelings are hurt. I call it the RICH GEE VIRTUAL INTRODUCTION. Here it is:

Oprah & Phil - I think you both should meet. Why?

Oprah - Phil is a good friend and a rare personality in the world. He's helped many celebrities just like you and his name came to mind when you mentioned your situation with the beef industry.

Phil - Oprah is also a good friend. She has a multi-billion dollar media enterprise and she influences millions of people every day. She makes things happen.

From my point of view, it never hurts to introduce respected professionals - you never know who can help who, who knows who, etc. I love to have these encounters myself all the time. No one is selling anything, no one is looking for a job - the result: good business and marketplace conversation! You never know, you might help one another!

Oprah Position, Company

Address, City/State/Zip

Direct Phone Number

Email

Phil Position, Company

Address, City/State/Zip

Direct Phone Number

Email

If I have erred in any way, let me know. I have introduced you to each other with the highest of ethics and earnestness. You are both nice people and I like to make opportunities happen between friends and colleagues.

Have a great day! Regards - Rich

I've probably used this template thousands of times in my corporate and coaching career. Guess what? It's NEVER backfired — no one ever got their feelings hurt — no one ever called their lawyers.

Try it — one day (in the very near future) you might become a super connector too!

The Best Way To Grow Your Business & Career.

Ask someone. That's it. Go out there into the world, and ask people what they think. Sounds too simple, doesn't it? It's called Voice of the Customer.

But most people don't do that. They're afraid that they might be told something that they don't want to hear. Or they'll be talked out of their dream/strategy. Or that stronger personalities might co-opt their idea, mold it, and it will look totally different from when they started. So they just stop and talk to no one.

Let me help you — go talk to people. People that have done it before. People that have used your service. People that might have great ideas. Yesterday, I ran into a great Reddit question (if you don't follow Reddit, you should):

"I own a liquor store and want to know what type of things do you look for when you shop at your local liquor store? What would make your shopping better?"

Here are some of the responses — pure gold if you ask me:

• I love how one of my local movie rental stores have handwritten notes recommending certain dvds. Why not do the same for liquor? A note that says: "Goes great with: xxx, xxx, or xxx" could be great for people trying new liquors and wanting to switch things up.
• I think that 'employee picks' would be pretty cool. Just like you see in an independent bookstore - just a little note under the product with a name and a short blurb about why it's great.
• Liquor of the week - slightly discount something obscure each week and sell at the counter. It would give people a reason to try new things.
• Offer customers the option of making their own six packs from our selection for a flat rate.
• Free bag of ice with purchase (a store back home used to do this. I went there all the time because of it.)
• Lemons, limes, common mixers (e.g. Tonic, soda water, cola).
• Know your regulars - They often order things for my husband and I that they don't usually carry. Whenever we go in they make a point of telling us about anything new they've gotten in to try. We almost always take the suggestion and buy it. The owner, who is usually there, will even remember what it was and ask us how we liked it. I'm sure we spend a lot more money there due to the extra attention. I don't expect the guy to remember our names, but it's nice that he remembers what we like to drink.
• Solo Cups, Ping-Pong Balls, Playing Cards, Poker Chips, etc., etc. You know if there is a college near by.

You get the idea. One question in the right forum and you get gold from customers.

In Corporate — If you have an idea for a new project at work, run it by some people you trust — talk to mentors outside of your company. Want to make a move — start talking to people, dip your toe in the water. Reach out to industry insiders and ask their opinion.

You might be VERY surprised.

Are We Experiencing A Technology Tsunami?

Over the past 25 to 30 years, technology has been zipping along the mainframe to desktop route and the entire tech institution has been riding along with it (and profiting greatly from it). Lately, I find as each month progresses, I am leveraging the old basics of business and office technology less and less.

Some examples:

1. I never load software anymore - in fact I don't even use my CD/DVD player. With the advent of the App Store this week, I see it going away.
2. I carry my laptop less and less. I use my iPhone and look forward to the iPad2.
3. I can carry most key files I need on my 64GB Flash Drive (duplicates of course).
4. I don't have as many problems/issues/blowups as I used to with tech even 3-5 years ago.
5. More (if not all) of my tools and files are on the cloud, not on my laptop.
6. I hardly print anymore. Thus, no files or file cabinet.
7. Email is slowly going away for me - I text message and call more often.
8. Hardware is getting cheaper by the minute. A $500 backup HD a few years ago is $99 today.

I parallel this change in my life (and business) with the car industry. When I was growing up, cars broke down frequently — there were repair shops all over the place fixing almost every part on a car. Nowadays, it's rare to have to fix your car (maintenance excluded - I have Hondas/Acuras). Engineering, design, materials, and service just got better.

Is the same thing happening in the tech industry and all ancillary organizations who attach themselves like barnacles to tech? If so, what is the impact on the industry? What's the impact on organizations like Symantec (virus), Gartner/Forrester (advisory), HP (printing), and Microsoft (operating systems)?

How is technology changing for you? Is it getting cheaper? More efficient? Concentrated? Expanded?

I run my own business and own all Apple products. All of this is happening very quickly and I fully embrace the change. In fact, I lease all my equipment — by the time the lease runs out, the tech is obsolete anyway.

Do you see corporate tech shops getting smaller as more and more systems are simplified and delivered via the cloud? As moving parts disappear (CD's, Software, Wires, Hard Drives) do the systems, personnel, costs, support and focus also decline?

Open disclosure: I worked for Gartner for six years and was a client for seven.

$17.14 Can Change Your Thinking. Guaranteed.

As I frequently say, most business books SUCK. But there are some that matriculate to the top and it's my job to keep up on the constant volume of new tomes shoved out into the marketplace and decide who makes the top 5%. Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation by Steven Johnson makes that cut.

I stumbled into this book back in October/November when it was published and just got around to finishing it over the holidays. Candidly, I'm blown away.

First off, I had to read it with my trusty highlighter in hand as each info nugget popped out and provided insight into past or current challenges around creativity and problem solving. It's chock full of great strategies and ideas - this is not a boring 'this is my opinion' self-help book.

Johnson's book is written in an easily accessible style that makes you forget that you are reading theory. It's more like reading a conversation. His ideas are thought-provoking, even for people who don't choose to agree with him. This book helped stimulate a lot of discussion in one of my mastermind groups - likely the tone of the book does this. Rather than being confused about what was being said or what the theories were, it enabled all of us to have a discussion around the ideas and philosophy of the book. A stimulating and refreshing read.

I'd recommend it to anyone who's ever had bursts of inspiration and wondered why they haven't been able to replicate those circumstances, or anyone who wants to innovate at all. Go out and buy this book today.

Finally, here's a great 'RSA Animate' video that gives you the jist of what Mr. Johnson espouses. Enjoy!

There's No Such Thing As A Free Lunch.

"There's No Such Thing As A Free Lunch." A powerful quote by Milton Friedman, a prominent American economist in the 20th century. I first heard this saying at my freshman introductory orientation at Ripon College with Dean Harris, Dean of Men. He was speaking to the entire male freshman class (the ladies were in another room in a similar talk with the Dean of Women — boy would I have liked to have been a fly on that wall!). Dean Harris was a wonderful man who reached out to me at different junctures of my college career — giving me sage advice (and reprimanding me when I stepped over the line). He's a special person in my life.

To this day, I can't think of a month that goes by when I either think or speak these words. As a successful corporate executive and coach, what does it mean to me?

1. If you work hard, results and rewards will follow.
2. Odds are, if someone gives something to you, it will probably cost you something in the end.
3. Don't expect anything to happen, plan and ensure that it does.
4. Don't go through life thinking everything will be easy.

Those are MY definitions. What are yours?

Oh, by the way, here's a great corollary to the Friedman quote:

“The small businessman is smart; he realizes there's no free lunch. On the other hand, he knows where to go to get a good inexpensive sandwich.” - Adam Osborne

Do You Deliver Good Or Bad Customer Service?

Two things happened to me during the time between Christmas and New Year's Eve that clearly defined what I call Good & Bad Customer Service. I bought a really cool Arc'teryx Winter Jacket for my wife. I was so excited I found the perfect color (she loves Arc'teryx - she has a few of their tops). The service at our local store was helpful and got me in and out ASAP. It's a high-end establishment, most of their prices are top dollar (even the sale items), but I like going there because they always have the best clothing.

Unfortunately, on Christmas morning, when my wife tried on the jacket, it was a bit too big. So we brought it back within a few days of purchase with the receipt. Guess what happened? The clerk immediately said, "We cannot give you a refund because it was a sale item. See the small (size: 5-point) print on the bottom of your receipt?" No I didn't and it wasn't elaborated during the initial sale.

To make matters worse, my wife and I went through the store looking for a suitable replacement, but it was virtually empty due to the holidays. I wanted my money back - I had the receipt, I had the merchandise in perfect condition, and virtually everything in the store was on sale at that time.

So what the store was really saying to me was, "NO! Bad Customer! You must play by our rules!" So I put on my best Rich Gee smile and politely asked for the manager. After 5-10 minutes of terse negotiation and haggling, he finally gave in and refunded my money.

The Result: I will never purchase anything from that store again.

New Year's Eve was a different story. Every year, I take my family out for a hike during the day (even in bad weather) and then we go home, shower, and dress up for a night at a local, but highly rated Indian restaurant (our favorite food). Now you probably know most (if not all) restaurants jack-up their prices for New Year's Eve or have 'special party menus' which are the same items for much higher prices.

Not this restaurant. In fact, they had the same pricing they always do, but in addition, they offered free dessert for my whole family — no charge — wishing us a very happy new year. So what the store was really saying to me was, "YES! We love you! We appreciate your business!" Now, how much did those desserts really cost the restaurant? To be honest, with all the food and beverages, I spent almost $200 for our meal (and we had leftovers for the next two days!).

The message I'm trying to illustrate and convey is this:

When you interact with your clients and customers, is there any time during the relationship where you say, "NO"?

And more importantly, do you find yourself setting up opportunities to say, "YES"?

It's sometimes the difference between a very happy and satisfied customer and no customer.

What do you do in your business to deliver delightful customer service?

P.S. Arc'teryx is still a great product, we will just purchase it at a different store.

How To Start Fresh In 2011.

We humans are a wily bunch nervous animals. We sometimes let our thinking and facts guide us and other times we let our gut and emotions guide us. At this time of the year, many of us look back at the preceding year and become very critical of our status, behaviors, actions, and results. We kneel and shake our fists to the sky and promise we will change for the better.

And then we start our regular journey — we stick to our new way of life for a little while — a few days, weeks, or months. And then something trips us up — an external influencer, a forgotten promise, or our old friend . . . procrastination. At that moment, all of our fortitude, our plans, and our dreams of change suddenly disappear in an instant. And we replace them with condemnation, past thinking, and surrender. We begin to hate ourselves and think we 'lost our chance' to change in 2011.

Let's change that this year.

I teach this system to my clients every year and most of the time (even I'm not perfect) it works. Enjoy!

1. Make a clear decision on what you're going to change in 2011. Be honest and focus on what really needs changing. Start cutting out pictures of the new you — your new career, your new body, your new situation.
2. Set parameters of your journey. Get a piece of paper and write down where you are and where you ultimately want to be. When you start a trip, you always have a starting point and a destination. You need to do the same thing — make a "AAA TripTik" for your journey.
3. Break up your trip into easily attainable segments. If you are losing weight, set to lose a small amount each week. If you are going after prospects, set your number at what you usually hit each day and then increase it slightly. If you are looking for a new position, begin by targeting and scheduling lunches with key contacts.
4. Build in buffers. This is important — and where most people trip up. Life comes at us quickly and we might forget or drop the ball. Or as I say, airplanes are off-course most of the time, the pilot continuously reorients them back on course. Schedule areas/times if we miss our target, we have the ability to jump right back on board.
5. Track, Track, Track. This is the final step - monitor and measure your progress. If you go below what you plan or even forget, don't get frustrated and quit. Use one of your buffers and get right back on track. The secret is always moving forward — if you drop off, just begin again.

Congratulate yourself — you are taking the first step to change something in your life. Understand, there are going to be a lot of detractors out there trying to talk you out of your behavior, your actions, your beliefs. It always seems they pop up just at the right time when your are at your weakest and they prey on your insecurities to make fun of your plan or progress. Smile and stay on course.

Consistency is the key to your success. Like the ocean, there are soft waves and hard tsunamis, but the water still flows in and out. Keep going, stay true to your course and you will amaze yourself!

Want To Be The Best? Study Pixar.

Ask one of my clients. Or one of my friends. I can't stop talking about Pixar. From their first movie, Toy Story, in 1995, to their latest, Toy Story 3, in 2010, ask yourself, has any filmmaker or filmmaking collective had a run as glorious and uninterrupted as Pixar's? They've never missed. Never. Why?

In my observable opinion, because of a few rules:

• They take their time. Most of their films take three years to make.
• They look at the whole movie - not just the story, or the characters, or the voices, or the technology - they make it all work.
• If it doesn't work, they revamp and make it work (like Toy Story 2 or Ratatouille).
• They speak to all generations in their movies, not just kids. I've never laughed as hard, or cried (yes, cried) at their movies.
• They don't insult the intelligence of their audience.
• They do the BEST that they can. All the time.

So I have a present for you this new year — a young Brazilian filmmaker spent 11 days watching Pixar's assorted films, painstakingly selecting the more than 500 clips that make up this touching ode to the house that Toy Story built.

Leandro Copperfield is the burgeoning 21-year-old filmmaker who assembled these clips. And, for the most part, it's a moving testament to Pixar's technical artistry and emotional facility. (I say "for the most part" because of one or two ill-advised missteps: Did we really need a split-screen between Ratatouille and Goodfellas? No, as it breaks the spell that Copperfield was so effectively casting.)

When you are watching it — see how these business rules apply to your situation? Use Pixar as an exemplar to how you manage your people, strategize new initiatives, and grow your business.

It's the most magnificent seven minutes you will ever experience (watch it in HD1080 and full screen, you'll thank me).

What's Wrong With Your Life?

There is a 'must-see' movie coming out in February 2011 called 'I Am', by director Tom Shadyac. It centers around his journey to answer two simple questions: "What's wrong with our world?" and "What can we do about it?"

He meets and interviews a variety of thinkers and doers — remarkable men and women from the worlds of science, philosophy, and faith. Here's the trailer:

I suggest you ensure that you grab as many people as you can and go see it in February. It will probably change your life.

Now this isn't a Rich Gee blog post until I pose a tough questions to my readers:

"What's wrong with your life?" and "What can you do about it?" Oh yes, and one more: "Who can help you?"

Yesterday, my post focused on your 2011 goals (it's right here) and one of the questions was, "What sucked in 2011?" I hoped my solutions helped you construct a plan to make those specific, sucky items go away.

But today I'm asking a more philosophical question — "What's wrong with your life?" What are the more global things that keep your success off-kilter, off-balance, or in Tom Shadyac's vernacular, 'wrong'?

And I don't want to hear, "I don't know". You know. You know exactly what it is — you're just afraid of saying it out loud. Today, tomorrow, sometime this year . . . I want you to shout it out. Loudly.

And then I want you to think of two things:

1. What can you do about it?
2. Who can help you?

Don't just sit there and wallow — 2011 is your manifesto to change it. To take action. TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

And the best part is — there are people that can help you. Your friends, colleagues, family, and yes, complete strangers that you haven't even met yet.

So 2011 is your manifesto to get out there and get back in balance. "The Shift is about to hit the fan."

P.S. As this year comes to a close, I want to say thank you so much for making my blog and my business an unbelievable success in 2010. Thank you and buckle up for some more fun in 2011!

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.

3 Ways To Believe In Your Ability To Succeed.

Well — Do You? My family and I just watched the film, 'The Polar Express' last night with Tom Hanks. It’s a wonderful movie — great story, wonderful animation, and the acting is top notch.

One of the themes is the main character’s ability to ‘Believe’ in the existence of Santa Claus. It’s all focuses on hearing one of the sleighbells from Santa’s sleigh . . . oh  . . . I’m getting off-course here.

Do you listen to Radiolab? It’s a radio show and podcast from NPR that delves into the areas where the boundaries blur between science, philosophy, and human experience. It’s a cool show.

A few months ago, they did a show on how we deceive or lie to ourselves and how that benefits an athlete's performance. Their ‘elite belief’ in a sport requires a mental focus and intensity that is different from the way that many others approach tasks.

So to push themselves — they lie.

In fact, I've seen people become very successful in the business world because of their ability to self-deceive. Their positive attitude and confidence sometimes cloaks their lack of competence, but they can go far if their subordinates perform well and make them look good.

Even in situations where these executives or businesspeople fail, they are more likely to bounce back quickly because they do not dwell on failures and, in fact, do not even recognize they have failed. It's fascinating to watch, and for others, frustrating, because they do not have this trait and too often question their abilities and dwell on setbacks too much (do you do this?).

All this builds up to your ability to believe in your success. Here are some ways you can bridge that gap:

1. Next time you have that errant negative thought about yourself, an action, a project you’re working on, say to yourself, “Is this negative thinking moving me forward or backward? What thinking will rocket me forward?”
2. Next time someone says to you, “You can’t do that.” or “That’s not the way we do things around here.”, immediately question their beliefs and motives. I’ve found that THEY are usually WRONG.
3. Next time you are questioning yourself about an action, just do it. In my 20 years of corporate life and 10 years coaching, I’ve found it’s better to ask forgiveness than permission. Take action.

And BELIEVE in yourself, your abilities, and what you can do. YOU can move MOUNTAINS.

How do you believe in yourself? Do you 'fool' your thinking? What techniques do you use?

3 Steps To A Perfect Presentation.

I'm asked frequently by clients and colleagues alike how I construct my presentations (see a typical slide to the right). Here's my secret (I keep it simple and direct):

Step One: Who Is Your Audience & What Do You Want Them To Take Away

This is the most important step that most executives and speakers forget. The usual process is to pick a topic and brain-dump into Powerpoint until you hit the requisite 75 slides. You’re done!

Not so fast. You first need to begin by clearly stating:

Why you are speaking? What information are you trying to deliver? What is the outcome — what is the real reason you are speaking? Convince a group? Make money? Get clients? Get this down first — it impacts everything else you do.

Why does the audience care? Why are you an expert at this? Have you done it before? Successfully? Audiences need an immediate expectation that what they are going to hear (and learn) works. I usually tell a story that give them the assurance that I've been there/done that.

What do they really want? Build to your audience. Are they going to take a lot of handholding or are they on-board immediately? Keep your presentation flexible to accommodate both audiences. You can prepare while building the presentation or handle while speaking to them. I do both. They also want 'Broadway' - be funny, engaging, empathetic — feel their pain, but have fun.

Oh . . . and never build slide that look like this (no bullets) ➝ ➝ ➝ ➝

What are the main ‘packets’ of info they can grab and run with? What is the end result? What items can they take home and try? Develop action steps for them to use immediately after the presentation. This is key — most speakers just give info — you need to deliver action steps for success.

Step Two: Structure - Build The Framework

• Intro - Set the stage, get them to agree with your premise immediately.
• Energy - Get them active, wake them up. Yell "Good Morning" or get them to stretch.
• Story - Qualify your position with a real-life situation. People LOVE stories.
• Contents - Tell them what you are going to present. This is how adults learn.
• Info Block #1- Structure ideas in blocks - Intro, Steps, Wrap-Up
• Info Block #2- Intro, Steps, Wrap-Up
• Info Block #3- Intro, Steps, Wrap-Up
• Action Plan - Give them homework and get them to agree to do it.
• Questions - Take 2-3 questions from the audience.
• Connection - Get them to take the next step with you.

Step Three: Assertive Editing — Less Is More

Don’t kill them with slides. Build the presentation and then try to cut it in half. How?

• Streamline - make some slides shorter, simplify some ideas.
• Incorporate - put two slides together, merge ideas.
• Retire - throw out non-essential slides, don’t trash them, just hide them (you might need them later).

Remember — for every slide there is talking. Talking takes up most of the presentation.

The worst thing you can do is to start running out of time and then flip through the remaining slides like a madman. It’s easier to buffer slides with speaking, not the other way around.

How do you structure/build your presentation to make it sing?

How Do You Coach Your Team?

I'm a coach. I've been working with executives and business owners for over 10 years. Prior to that, I managed large teams in Fortune 500 companies throughout the nation. I found early in my career that it was easier to motivate my staff with carrots rather than the stick. Get them to see the big picture, how they are contributing to it, and how together, we can best leverage their strengths and talents.

Today, when I coach clients, I use something I call the "Three P's". They are:

1. Push — I push you. I am there to get you to step out of your comfort zone. To get you to take action. To get you to stop procrastinating on those things you know you need to accomplish. Not a hard shove, but a gentle push.
2. Partner — I partner with you. I am here to brainstorm, help with obstacles, think clearly about opportunities, handle rejection, and help you think factually without all the emotion. I also help people with their blind spots that they might not see.
3. Plan — I help you plan. When you go on a trip, you have a destination and a route. You should have the same process for your career. What do you want to accomplish (what are your goals?) and what steps/activities/tasks do you need to do to get there? Not 20 pages, just one page. Keep it simple and actionable.

That's it.

What kind of techniques do you use that are especially effective to coach your team to do their best?

Why Networking Is Dead — Part One.

Look, everybody does it. It's the hard and fast rule of business — to succeed in the marketplace, you need to get out there and shake some hands. Motivate the masses. Network with the crowds. Well, I say that's wrong.

Networking is a very impersonal, awkward, and most of the time, unsuccessful process professionals go through to meet someone and get something from the person they meet. Whenever I hear the term 'networking', I think of a slimy used-car salesman in a seersucker suit, white belt, and white shiny shoes. Yuck!

I like to CONNECT. What's the difference between connecting and networking?

Networking: Ingratiating yourself into someone's space, telling them all about you, and asking for help, an item, or service from them.

Connecting: Meeting someone (preferably with an introduction), asking questions about them, listening to their response, asking more questions, and then offering help, an item, or service TO them. While asking questions, you find a subtle (or overt) area to make a connection —where they live, what they do, where they went to school, anything. Connecting happens in the moment.

The difference? You Ask Questions, Listen, and Give Them something. Not the other way around. It's called Seeding. You plant seeds when you connect — they germinate and grow, and someday that person will be doing something for you. It's not deceptive, it's reciprocal. You do something for them, they do something for you.

What's the biggest reason why you should Connect and not Network? When you network, once the person realizes that the conversation is all about you and what they can do for you — a wall of glass goes up. The person immediately knows that you want something from them. And they endeavor to slowly extricate from the interaction. I see this happen ALL the time. It used to happen to me.

In addition, the fastest way to connect with that person is to turn the conversation towards them, learn more about them, understand their situation, their needs, and their problems/obstacles. You are then in a prime position to focus in on their needs and deliver a personalized solution.

Tomorrow, in Part Two, I will show you HOW to connect. It's easy, simple to do, and best of all, FUN.