How To Reach The Right People At The Right Time.

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If you aren’t targeting the right people, you aren’t playing the game correctly. Unfortunately, many businesses try a broad-brush strategy to try to attract everyone. And it always fails. Here are four quick tips (and a resource!) to help you target your best prospects:

ONE - Who are your targets? Who are the RIGHT people?

I want you to THINK BIG here. Don’t think small — if you’re going to go after the right people - go big or go home. If you shoot for the stars, you might land them. If not, you will quickly learn how to get the smaller ones.

You need to define who are your best clients/customers - who are they, what makes them your best, where can you find them? 

Once you define your best client/customers - who are people just like them? If they look, act, and buy like your customers, they would probably make great ones too.

TWO - Who knows who?  How can you find people who know them?

The HUNT! This is my favorite part. I actually have an excel sheet to work on this. I get as much information about the company and the right person as I can. My goal is never a cold call. 

Use LinkedIn then start reaching out to your close friends who might know the person. They may have knowledge as to your guess if this is the ‘right’ person to speak with. 

Create a strong trail to the person - understand who they are and what they do - a logical trail. You will need to use this for tip #3!!!

THREE - How do you get them to see the connection between the two of you? How do you ENGAGE them?

This is where you need to do a bit of work. You have to learn/research/understand/build connections between your business and their business.

What are their pain points? What do they worry about? Where do you see their blind spots? Don’t just approach them and say “Please buy my product!” -- you have to get them to NEED you. Figure out strategies to get their attention, get them interested, and then go in for the kill.

You then pick the right mediums to get their attention - email, direct mail, FedEx, social media, in-person, phone call, introduction.

FOUR - What happens if they don’t respond? What if they do?

This is all about timing - now might be the right time. Were you truly prepared to speak with the person? Was there enough connection? Get back to work on your sheet!

Continue to grow a stronger connection among their friends. They will be able to ‘meet’ at their pace. Ask that mutual friend for a ‘no pressure’ get together. They need to know you first.

Bring them into your sales funnel so they are aware of what you are doing. Your job is to land that meeting so keep at it. Persistence is key — don’t give up.

RESOURCE - Little Red Book of Selling: 12.5 Principles of Sales Greatness - By Jeffrey Gitomer 

We all hate to read — That's why Little Red Book of Selling is short, sweet, and to the point. It's packed with answers that people are searching for in order to help them reach prospects and customers.

I probably read this book at least five times and riffle through certain parts throughout the year. It’s a valued resource in my library. Pick it up!

There's No Going Back.

“Things won’t change as much as they will accelerate. While other crises reshaped the future, this crisis is making the future happen faster.” — Scott Galloway

You see it happening all around you. The impact of new tech, new thinking, and new behaviors are changing the way we work, buy products, have fun, move around, etc.

At the end of the day, some people will accept, absorb, and move forward. The rest will be left behind wondering what happened. How do you keep up?

Acknowledge that change is happening all around you.

It will dramatically affect where you work and what you do. The old rules are slowly eroding and are being wiped away with the new realities. Work at home, work anywhere, management, leadership, and productivity are all changing the old behaviors of work.

We’re seeing this happen at higher education right now — the world of college is quickly imploding. The era of parents spending ungodly sums of money for the ‘college experience’ is now revealed as a nostalgic romp that we all have tried to hold on to. A new way of learning is going to emerge (emerging now) and it will eviscerate the idea of a $60K/year academic ride.

Once you embrace that change is happening all around you and you need to get ON the wave and not to FIGHT IT, you will begin to see the myriad of options and opportunities open to you.

Develop an unlimited mindset.

You have to have an open mind to all possibilities when it comes to the world around you. An unlimited mindset will fuel a new, consistent behavior of focused confidence. People who embrace an unlimited mindset will emerge from any crisis better off than when they entered.

We’re seeing this happen with Wall Street and Tesla — the old guard has been trying to denigrate and demolish the idea of EV transportation for years. “It’s a failed technology, they’ll never turn a profit, they can never compete with the ICE monopoly.” Time and time again, the analysts and speculators who went against the tide and shorted Tesla stock have awakened to a new reality (watch this).

To develop an unlimited mindset, you have to open your mind to what is happening and where you really are going. This takes an extreme amount of confidence, new knowledge, and vision. Stop playing tennis with the same players and start running to where the ball is going to be (read this).

Start Taking Action.

Finally, you need to get off your butt, develop a new plan, and start taking ACTION — don’t be afraid. There will be a lot of people out there that want everything to go back to normal — but that’s never going to happen. Smart people realize the rules have changed and the old Monopoly board we’ve been playing on is now three-dimensional, turbo-charged, and the banker is no longer in charge.

If you’re currently employed (or in transition), start learning who are the REAL movers and shakers at your company, competition, and industry. Who are the stars who are blazing a new trail, taking chances, and growing a small group of ardent followers? If you own your own business, what has changed in the past six months? What is happening to the behaviors of your clients, customers, (and competition)?

Wrapping It All Up . . .

There are two realities that are diverging and I am valiantly working with all my clients to help them better understand each one:

Reality #1 — Keep doing what you’re doing. Hope to the heavens we will all come out of this crisis unscathed and all will go back to normal. Good luck with that one.

Reality #2 — Acknowledge that massive, structural change is happening all around you, develop an unlimited mindset, and start taking focused action.

It’s your decision.

A 5 Step Action Plan to Require of Colleges.

This is a powerful article from my good friend, Hans Hanson — a National College Advisor who helps families save college costs and win admissions. It was so spot-on, I had to re-publish it on my site. Enjoy.

The predictable behavior of college has shown itself in full force over the last week. It all started with Brown University President Paxson broadcasting to the country “reopening colleges in the fall should be a national priority.” 

To provide a simple translation, what she is saying is- America, it is in your interest to allow us to continue in our golden-goose business model, our luxurious lifestyles, our prestige perception, and our high salaries.

Had she said it was their top priority, I would completely agree, but no, it’s not a national priority. You see, this is not a Covid-19 problem, rather it’s a problem that’s been caused by the very colleges themselves. Sure, Covid-19 has exposed the problem of colleges. What’s the problem?

For the past 20 years, colleges have done some very good things, such as expanding the breadth of college majors, study-abroad opportunities, and research development. Our Colleges are among the best in the world at delivering and extending (oh my) education, but not at delivering jobs! Imagine the hypocrisy of having the number one weighted factor that goes into college rankings as the 6-year graduation rate! Why isn’t it based on four years?

So, to begin with, college goals are not in alignment with student-family goals. That’s a serious business problem. Let us not forget, parents are the customer, the buyer. Colleges are the service provider, the seller.

With that in mind, during the worst recession that we have personally experienced, colleges have managed to double their price. We now have thirty colleges or so approaching the $80,000/ year cost. We have twenty state universities with a cost of $60,000/ year for out-of-state students. The national average cost of state universities for in-state students approximates $30,000/ year…all paid for with after-tax dollars.

Over the past five years, we’ve seen an overwhelming number of colleges convert their University Need-based Aid (the aid that does not have to be repaid) to student loans. I call this the Financialization of College. And they have the nerve to call loans financial aid as a way to trick the parents into buying what they have to sell, which is the Grand Illusion. They sell the illusion of grandeur, prestige, status, privilege, and obligation all designed to facilitate the emotional-purchase of a parent desperate to support their child at any cost.

During this past 20 years, colleges have spent billions of dollars to build up the Grand Illusion. They have invested mightily in fabulous sports facilities, luxurious dorms, gourmet cafeterias, and overall campus beauty. In doing so, they have become completely reliant on parent’s willingness to pay their ever-increasing price. Herein lies the answer to the question- what is causing the college tilt?

It’s not the coronavirus, rather, it’s the parent’s unwillingness to pay for the illusion any longer. It’s the shift in the mindset of parents who have been running scared of colleges for many years and all too willing to pay for the privilege of their association. As the summer of 2020 draws near, parents will take a stand against the college stance that everything will continue as normal, when in fact it’s not normal. Parents will not be willing to risk their family finance and retirement without greater assurance of achieving the end goal—JOB OPPORTUNITY.

The college tilt worsens each passing week. College dorms, cafeterias, and classrooms sat empty for the last two months, but that doesn’t worry me. Most colleges received sizable stimulus-package payments to cover it. Texas A&M received nearly $40,000,000. Harvard, a college with a $50 Billion endowment fund received nearly $10,000,000 as if they needed a penny. Couldn’t this money have gone to the local restaurateur, gym owner, or hairstylist who’s been shut down for the same two months?

Speaking of Harvard though, a prominent professor from there tweeted this week- “We can’t charge Harvard fees for a University of Phoenix education.” That’s refreshing to hear!

Now that the standard deadline for enrollment passed, several hundred colleges have announced an extended period for which an accepted student can enroll. The colleges will posture it by saying they are doing us a favor by not imposing their deadlines upon us, the general public. Of course, that’s false. Rather, the only reason they would extend the enrollment deadline is due to not having sufficient enrollments.

Colleges are trying their hardest to hold onto their golden-goose business model, to act as if everything will be back to normal in 3-4 months. Texas A&M just announced their plan to be open in the fall with their fill of students on campus and a plan to play football games in front of packed crowds.

Texas A&M Athletic Director Bjork just said yesterday- “The social distancing in a 100,000-seat stadium ... that could be challenging.” 

Bjork thinks filling their College Station Football Stadium in four months will be challenging. How about impossible, irresponsible, and reckless?

The college-tilt will continue in its downward spiral as we move through the summer and close in on the fall semester ahead. Their realization that freshmen enrollments are way down; the freshmen no-show rate will skyrocket; the student-return rate will plummet; and, international students may not have flights available. It’s all in the response of parents who want answers, assurances, solutions, and outcomes more now than ever before.

What scares colleges the most is they don’t have a clear sense yet how strong the parent-fortitude is at this time.

They have thrived on parents willing to give-in on this well-constructed perceived rite-of-passage known as college.

Colleges will underestimate the new parent-fortitude!

The colleges will spend more time dodging, defending, and deferring than planning, preparing, and adjusting. As a result, many known colleges may shutter in the next few years. The future existence and relevance of each college will depend on their immediate responses and decisions, which are lagging right now.

A classic example comes from a northeastern college (I’ll protect the name) having 2,000 students; an application acceptance rate of 77% (very high) to go with an enrollment rate of 11% (very low); an endowment fund (their reserves) of $150M; and having just spent $140M on a new high-rise dorm with the prospect of low attendance ahead. How are they feeling right now? 

Although I love college as it’s been my work and passion for these same 20 years, let’s not be mistaken here, colleges have it coming. The game they’ve known and loved will now change forever and for the good of America’s youth.

This is indeed a national matter of interest to the parents of young children who would’ve never been able to afford college otherwise. Hope is on the horizon for young families with the glass-ceiling of college cracked.

If colleges are to resume operations in the fall, it will not be normal as they wish it to be, but rather, it will begin to reflect college-in-the-new-normal. It will reflect the time that parents take back the power-position and assert their interests as a marketplace of buyers, onto the colleges as a source of educational services. Parents are in control.

Let’s start with the upcoming fall semester. For colleges to resume operations in the fall in a safe and affordable manner for their client-families and students, these are my 5 Step Actions to Require of Colleges.

Step # 1- The 50 / 50 Rule 

My rule calls for 50% of the students to study on campus in the fall while 50% remain at home for taking online classes. In the spring, it reverses. This rule provides every student with experiencing one semester on campus while studying online (off-campus) in the other semester.

This will appease the students to some degree as they are now fearful of spending the entire next year at home… something of which the parents are also fearful. It also gives the colleges a stepping-stone year to prepare and plan for the new-normal college environment that lies ahead.

To go along with this, colleges must provide a 50% tuition-rate discount to students for the semester they spend off-campus studying online. This has to become a non-negotiable outcome. Colleges will work very hard to deflect this eventual policy, but in the end analysis, it is fair and reasonable for both sides.

Tuition rates must be capped for the next five years at a rate not to exceed the 2019 school-year rate. Parents have to insist upon this for safeguarding their own personal interests. It too is fair and reasonable for both sides.

An unfortunate result is that international students will automatically default into the Spring semester for their on-campus studies. The necessary safety procedures for providing an isolation-style quarantine of students upon arriving from out-of-country cannot possibly be in place by August. Most international student-families will see this as a suitable alternative to taking a year off or studying online at home for the year.

Step # 2- The Housing on-Campus Rule 

With half the students studying on campus, the colleges should require all students to live in a dorm on campus.

To go with this, the college must provide a free meal plan for all dorm residents.

Room & Board rates need to be locked in and capped for five years based on the 2019 school-year rate.

This rule serves twofold: one, it limits exposure to the outside elements by keeping the students better contained on campus; and two, the free meal plan is a necessary cost discount for appealing to the families. 

Step # 3- Eliminating the “Non-Essential” 

When you think of college, can you identify and draw a line between essential versus non-essential activities?

I can. All education-related activities are essential. Therefore, by default non-educational activities are non-essential.

For the fall semester, it is necessary to eliminate non-essential activities. Unfortunately, this includes canceling all college sport team activities, such as games, practices, and group meetings. This will help preserve social-distancing matters as you just can’t have the close contact that comes with sports. It also eliminates the unnecessary health-risk exposure of teams and fans traveling between colleges.

In conjunction, visitors of the college need to be limited to people deemed to be "essential". This would limit visitors on campus to be either direct-family members or service-vendors.

To stick with the theme here, marketing mail is flooding student’s home mailboxes. It’s all generated upon a student’s SAT registration. Colleges buy the lists and begin with their mail. That’s a non-essential practice costing colleges millions of dollars each year without providing an ounce of educational benefit. It must come to an end. The money saved there would be much better utilized if spent on developing a Job-Resource Center…brilliant!

Step # 4- A Testing Policy 

This action-step calls for the mutual participation and commitment of colleges, parents, and students to form a responsibility-alliance. It requires the college to perform adequate testing and screening of everyone on campus while monitoring, restricting, and tracking activities both on and off-campus.

There must be a unified understanding of responsibilities among the college, its students, and their parents. Each party must be able to rely on one another. Full compliance must be required by all involved.

Students and parents will need to sign a “Responsibility, Compliance, and Acceptance” document complete with certain legal waivers designed to prevent class-action lawsuits.

The testing-policy must include a consortium-arrangement among all colleges (by region) providing a collaborative effort for ensuring consistent application and full compliance among the various colleges.

Absent of an effective testing-policy, colleges would subject themselves to becoming a community “hot-zone”.

Should there be a Covid-19 breakout on campus, an entire community would be greatly affected. If this were to occur, massive lawsuits would follow. The only way to prevent this is to have a comprehensive testing policy accompanied by a signed document of “Responsibility, Compliance, and Acceptance.”

Step # 5- A 5-Year Plan, a 3-phase approach

Phase 1. College costs must be capped and restricted from further increases for five years. This will actually serve the college well to rid themselves of costs associated with non-essential activities and non-relevant programming.

It will facilitate the eventual outcome no matter of their immediate distaste for it.

Phase 2. College degree-programs need to be streamlined by eliminating general-education and non-relevant courses. Some courses can be pushed back onto the high schools, some can be flatly eliminated. This plan has the potential of turning the traditional 4-year degree into a more-directed streamlined 3-year degree…saving parents thousands on college costs.

Phase 3. Colleges need to develop career-specific degree programs that would act as a double Master of Science program. It would be a 3-year, 60-credit program with the middle-year used as a co-op job-training year.

The outcome here is designed to turn colleges into job-resource centers converting non-essential expenses into job-essential activities. It will substantially decrease the cost of college to parents across America. It will deliver improved outcomes. And certainly, graduate-level programs can continue to exist.

Overall, I’m not suggesting for a moment that colleges have any level of willingness to go down this path. But in typical Economic Supply & Demand fashion, businesses eventually have to comply with market demands if they are to remain in business. Just because colleges don’t pay taxes doesn’t mean they’re not a business. Rather, they are very big businesses who are masters at carrying out their business model often to the detriment of their consumers.

It has now caught up to them. Their glass-ceiling has been cracked. The College World is in full tilt.

I have polled dozens of parents who have all insisted that they will not pay full tuition in the fall for their child to be at home taking online classes. Colleges need to hear that message clear in order to compel their officials to make the right decisions in making college affordable and accessible to the general public once again. 

In constructing this complete plan, I’m giving parents a framework to follow which they can use for taking appropriate action. Parents across America are united in their desire for this course of action to materialize. It is on every parent’s mind who has a child in college or preparing for college. It is of great interest to every parent with grade-school children and younger.

Here’s my message to Brown University President Paxson- 

Making college accessible again to mainstream families across America is a national priority. 

Learn more about Hans Hanson at http://www.mycollegelogic.com
CollegeLogic, LLC, hans@mycollegelogic.com, 203.470.3704

The New Rules Of Working At Home.

Work-At-Home — we’ve done it sporadically, but now we have to do it full-time to help ourselves and our neighbors.

You might be finding it hard to stay focused on the job when you’re doing your job at home full-time. Here are seven tips to help you be a bit more productive, spend more time with your loved ones, and not venture into overwhelm.

1. Develop a tight schedule — The more you lock in each task, activity, and errand, productivity will be so much easier and you will feel so much better. Use a virtual/manual calendar and track ALL your activities — from the time you get up/take a shower to the time you go to bed.

2. Communicate often — Your boss and your team need you — keep them updated frequently (check-in twice a day) with progress, to-do items, and emergencies.

3. Kill the big shoulders — Don’t try to manage/shoulder too much. Take on only what you can handle — during times like these, we tend to try to hold onto everything. Make sure you’re delegating effectively to your team and letting your boss know about your workload.

4. Wax On/Wax Off — Working at home is different from working in an office — you have additional responsibilities to pay attention to at home. Don’t work solidly from 7 AM to 7 PM — you’re going to burn out quickly. Try the Pomodoro Method, work for 45/50/55 minutes straight and then take 5/10/15 minutes off to spend time with your family, take a quick mental break, or go outside and enjoy the spring weather. You will come back to the task at hand with renewed vigor and focus.

5. Ask for help — If you get truly overwhelmed, reach out to the people who can help you. Start with your boss, it’s their job to solve problems for you and to monitor your workload. Try to work with your direct reports to see if they can come up with a strategy to help you with your issue (they love doing this by the way). If the weight gets too heavy, ask for professional help.

6. Don’t worry and project too far into the future — When we are thrust out of our day-to-day routine, we tend to get very anxious. That’s normal. It’s when we start to extrapolate our anxiety into irrational fears and start to develop many multiple what-if scenarios. Don’t do that — you might think it will help you, but it will exhaust your energy and have you running mentally into too many rabbit holes.

7. Find ways to diffuse the pressure — In times like these, we tend to forget to take advantage of our mental ‘release valve’. Exercise, read, cook, spend time with your loved ones, listen to music/podcasts — do something that not only relaxes you, but also grows you mentally and physically. I listen to Tara Brach often — check her out.

Stay home, stay safe, and stay well. All the best - Rich

The New Rules Of Leading Virtual Teams.

Your entire team is working from home — this has never happened before.

• How do you keep the engine running?

• How do you keep the productivity up?

• How do you manage them so they will stay energized and focused?

We have two solutions:

1. Read the rest of this article . . . or

2. Listen to our latest podcast: Managing From Afar: How To Stay Connected With Remote Employees

Lead in a different way.

Let’s be honest, some people will be more productive and some will be less productive. It’s the nature of managing a team — surprisingly, some people will work better at home than at the office — so you get an increased dividend.

Figure out what’s best for each team members’ special needs — everyone is different. Some people have kids, older parents and other responsibilities. Be patient — this is the new normal.

Usually, most people won’t goof off (that is every manager’s fear). It will take them a few days to acclimate to the new altitude, but they will realize that they have basic tasks, activities, and projects to work on.

To that end, give your people discrete tasks with close deadlines. Break up big projects into smaller projects.

Finally, you are the motivational engine of your team — you need to give them energy and enthusiasm to keep focused on the job at hand. It’s very easy to get distracted with family and the news.

Set a routine.

Just like your kids came home with a schedule from school (hopefully), you need to develop a schedule for your team. Manage expectations, schedule regular contact windows, and be open to questions/issues that might crop up.

Currently, you might loosely use a calendar — step up your game by closely tracking every day and the days of your employees/clients. If you do this religiously, you’ll develop a work rhythm that will keep you, your team, and clients on track.

Hyper-connect with every employee/client.

We suggest two status meetings a day — one in the early morning and another in the late afternoon. You need to touch base with them frequently - texts, emails, calls, Slack, etc. Keep the communication flowing — you need to replace in-person with online.

Some members of your team won’t need frequent handholding — but the others will. Make sure EVERYONE makes the two status calls each day. Why?

Your better performers need to be acknowledged in front of the team not only to motivate them but to also use them as an example to the other members of what required performance really is.

If you do have a team member who is not performing well, you need to hyper-connect with them to diagnose the situation, develop a number of solutions, and track their progress.

Finally, don’t forget anyone! You need to treat everyone equally — in times like these, some people might feel alone and ignored — it’s your job to make ALL of your team feel wanted and important.

When things start hitting the fan, you need to manage the expectations of your team and clients.

If you have a crisis plan, you will have a section on when your key employees get ill. Now is the time to not only to personally review it but to review it with your direct reports and key clients. If you don’t have one, don’t worry - start laying out what you think needs to happen — make a list — prioritize it. Get input from your direct reports and professional resources. Then get everyone’s buy-in on the next virtual meeting.

Make sure you sustain a consistent contact behavior with everyone. Communicate, solve problems, offer solutions, and most of all stay in contact. The worst thing people can do is limit their contact or go offline. Be approachable via text, email, phone, or webcam.

BJ Flagg (my podcast partner) and I both wrote this article -- we also recorded a podcast. Enjoy!

The New Rules Of Virtual Meeting Etiquette.

If you find yourself sequestered at home and have to either attend or manage a number of virtual meetings, here are some effective and much-needed tips to ensure your meeting is a successful one:

1. Logistics - When sending out the meeting appointment/email, include the link to access the meeting with any additional info that might be needed — start date/time, access code, alternate phone numbers in case their audio is off, and your direct line to text you if they run into issues.

2. Close All Other Programs - Many programs are background bandwidth hogs and could affect your system’s speed (email is the worst offender). Close all programs except for the ones you might share during the meeting. Inform your family too — online games and tv streaming also take up a large fraction of bandwidth.

3. Lighting - Make sure your face is well-lit — too many people are in a shadow, out of focus or askew with the camera. A bright, clear image presents professionalism and understanding of the medium.

4. Look At The Camera - This is a hard one — most people tend to stare at the screen and not the little webcam dot on their laptop, especially when speaking. Take a Post-It note and tear it into two small 1-inch pieces — on one draw a smiley-face and on the other, the word ‘SMILE’. Place these two bits of paper on either side of your webcam lens. Focus on the smiley-face as if you’re talking to a person. The ‘SMILE’ reminder encourages us not to have an angry resting face and smile when speaking with others.

5. Mute Yourself - When you’re not speaking, ALWAYS hit mute to ensure any extraneous noise isn’t sent over the entire meeting. This is one of the biggest pet peeves of virtual meetings. Learn the keystrokes to mute/unmute quickly and to ensure you can speak up when asked.

6. Don’t Eat/Don’t Multitask - Eating is just plain unprofessional - unless it’s a lunchtime meeting, don’t eat (drinking is fine). Also, don’t check your email - we can all see when the screen brightness changes on your face - so we know you’re not focusing on the meeting at hand. Don’t check your phone either - we can see you look down - it’s rude and unprofessional when people are speaking.

7. Wear earphones/airpods - Most virtual meeting systems are great with feedback and echo/reverb, but some systems might not work well with your hardware when listening to attendees through your speakers. Wear earphones/airpods to ensure no echo/reverb explodes over the call. It seems every webinar I hold, there’s one sad individual who has this issue.

8. Dress professionally - Too many people look like they just got out of bed when they log into their virtual meeting. Take a shower, comb/style your hair, and change out of your pajamas. You don’t have to wear a business suit, but look presentable — it connotes that you’re on top of things.

9. Avoid Distractions - Ask your family to stay away for the time being and sequester your pets. Even though you might be on mute, visual distractions (like people walking behind you) are just as jarring. Try to have your back to a wall to ensure no movement in the camera lens.

10. Frame Your Face - Don’t let your body/posture be askew with the camera image — everything from missing foreheads, no mouth, or too far left/right in the frame. Center yourself, make sure the cam presents your entire face with a bit of body. Again, you look professional and ready to manage the meeting.

11. Login Early - Start your meeting early to allow participants to show up and gab a bit before you start the meeting. It will get it out of their system so you can all focus on the challenges of the day.

12. Speak Clearly - Ensure your microphone is transmitting your voice optimally and don’t mumble — keep your voice clear and speak slowly. Sometimes people miss what you just said and you don’t want to have to repeat it.

13. Keep It Short - No one likes a two-hour virtual meeting. Send out an agenda prior to the meeting and stick to it. If you get off-topic, bring it back to the agenda and tell the worst offenders to take their discussion/issue offline. You are a virtual drill sergeant — keep them on point, marching in a straight line, and people will look forward to your online meetings.

14. Stay On Afterward - If you are managing the meeting for your staff, stick around after attendees are logging off for any questions from your team. You will be able to chat with them quickly and solve an issue/question while the topic is fresh.

15. Test, Test, Test - Be prepared — way before the actual meeting (especially with a large group), make sure all elements are in place: connection, lighting, planned topics, agenda, camera positioning, noise, distractions, etc.

I might have forgotten one - feel free to contact me with new ones I might have missed.

In Times Like These, We All Need To Help.

The world is grappling with an issue of enormous scale and human impact, and our hearts go out to all who have been affected by the outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19). At Starbucks, we believe it is our role and responsibility . . .

You’ve probably received one of these messages and now it’s serious. I’m not here to instruct you on precautions, washing your hands, or hoarding toilet paper —

If you need someone to bounce strategies/ideas and get advice on a business/career issue/situation — text, email or call so we can schedule a time to talk. No charge, no-obligation, no kidding. We will fit you into my schedule.

Times like these tend to put us on edge and pull us apart — I’d like to help any way I can.

All the best - Rich
203-500-2421
richgee@richgee.com

8 Reasons Why You Need To Hire A Coach.

“When it comes to building your personal brand, a coach can be a powerful resource who can help you get out of your own way, stand out, and take action to achieve the things that are truly important to you.”
— Forbes, 2019

It’s hard in today’s business world to jump and remain on the path to success. Crazy bosses, mercurial clients, and dumpster-fire management impact your career and business. You need help.

In the past 3 months, I’ve helped 5 clients:

• Get their dream job with a 300% raise in salary and bonus. Yes, 300%.

• Effectively raise product prices across the board AND get more clients.

• Land a key promotion and generous raise. They keep moving up every year.

• Develop a stronger and closer relationship with their manager. They no longer worry about their job disappearing.

• Move from corporate to a new startup — they’re much happier and making a lot more money.

A coach can help you:

1. Get clear about your goals - track progress and hit deadlines.

2. Identify blind spots - we solve those forces holding you back.

3. Be accountable - we become your accountability partner.

4. Focus your development efforts - we grow your career with no obstacles.

5. Gain a competitive advantage - play chess while others play checkers.

6. Acquire leadership skills - a one-on-one teacher who cares about YOU.

7. Increase engagement - develop a focused mindset and take-action attitude.

8. Feel happier - a healthy work/life balance delivers positive dividends.

Simply put, a coach will help you stoke your success. How much is that worth to you? If you are stuck in the same position, making the same money, and hate your job/life, we need to talk.

I offer a no-obligation, complimentary coaching session (45-60 minute free session) where you and I will diagnose the problem and develop a personalized action plan.

All you have to do is CLICK HERE.

P.S. Give me a call (203-500-2421) and I’ll tell you about my clients’ success.

How To Turn A Manager Into A Leader.

After 20+ years in corporate management positions and coaching high-performing executives, I've seen it all. Bad managers who can't make up their mind, who vacillate quarterly based on wind direction and managers who manage by fear, non-information, and deception. They flail constantly fearful of the future, frustrated and angry with their situation, and are secretly guilty about their past failings. We've all worked for one of them.

Or you have a new manager who still focuses on doing — they either micromanage their team because they don’t trust them to do it right OR they keep picking up their tools to do it themselves. Leaders don’t do this.

As a leader, you have three basic responsibilities to your people — if you get them right and stick to only these three, you will be hitting home runs all season long.

1. MOTIVATE THEM.

You need to find the fuel that will energize your people. Most leaders manage everyone the same way and wonder why some people don't resonate or act recalcitrant to your requests. It's because you're not finding what motivates THEM. What is that spark that gets them going, focused, and productive.

No one likes to come to work and be bored, ineffective, and sidelined. They want to be involved, excited, and active to various challenges that tap into their talents and grow their abilities.

2. COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY.

To walk the talk, you need to hone your talk. Most leaders don't care about what they say and how they say it. They've worked diligently for years to get where they are and rely on past abilities to keep them in their present role. That's a big mistake that usually bites them on the butt.

You need to speak in their language — make it easy to consume your message. Stop the annual 'president's letter' — get out of your office and speak directly to your people - in small groups, one-on-one, and informally. Drop by and say 'Hi!'.

Communication also includes LISTENING and UNDERSTANDING. This is where most leaders fail — they become loudspeakers of canned company propaganda and don't take the time to listen and understand their people — their wants and needs, how they can work better, how they solve problems, what they hear from customers, etc.

3. EDUCATE PASSIONATELY.

Your people are starving for new information, tools, and efficiencies to help them perform better and grow in their position. You are in your position because of what you've done, how you did it, and what you used to get there. Most people don't know what you know.

Step out of your self-imposed cocoon and give people the tools and knowledge to help themselves grow. Make lunch & learns a regular event, go offsite to different locations and bring your people with you, make it a point of ALWAYS grabbing some staff and introduce them to your clients and vendors. Encourage and finance increased education at all levels and most of all, make conferences, books, magazines, etc. mandatory and paid for by corporate.

If you do these three behaviors — and only these three when you lead, you will be remembered by your people as one of the greats.

14 Years In, What I’ve Learned.

I met with a close colleague at Starbucks the other day and while we were reminiscing, I realized I’ve been coaching for 14 years — time flies when you’re having so much fun.

Looking back, I thought I’d reveal a few of the lessons I’ve learned running a successful coaching practice (top 5%) since 2006. Buckle your seatbelts.

It’s frequently harder than corporate, but much more fulfilling.

I was in corporate for 20 years and busted my butt for every boss I had. I put in the late hours and traveled across the globe. The thing that was missing — I could never declare full ownership of my work — someone else always had their hand in it mixing up the pot. And I won’t get into the crazy politics, bosses, and people I was forced to work with every day.

With my coaching practice, I work hard. I put in a lot of hours — BUT — it’s MY business. Everything I do is directed by ME, brainstormed by ME, and the fruits of my efforts all go to ME. So there’s an internal furnace that keeps me going because I am in charge of MY destiny.

Suggested reading: The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future

The majority of my clients are phenomenal, but there have been a few problem children.

Over the past 14 years, I’ve coached over 22,000 hours (see Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000 hours). 99% of my clients are wonderful, but there’s that 1% who cause problems — I call them the chaos bringers. 

Every business is going to have a small percentage of problem customers — don’t let them get you down, ruin your day, or even worse, question your efficacy. That’s what chaos bringers do — since they are looking for a fight, or someone to bring down — they target you. My opinion — deal with them and move on. Forget about them.

Suggested reading: How To Win Friends And Influence People

Plan for the ups and downs of work and money.

Learned this in my first few years of business — clients flood in and clients disappear. You need to prepare, plan, and save to weather the ups and downs of your budget. Come up with a revenue number that you must hit each month — if you’re over, save. If you’re under, you can grab additional funds from your account.

Hire a bookkeeper, a tax accountant, and an attorney — they will keep you honest and solid financially.

Suggested reading: Small Business Finance for the Busy Entrepreneur: Blueprint for Building a Solid, Profitable Business

Fail often, fail forward.

OMG — how often I’ve failed. But then I take that failure, that frustration and turn it into something else that benefits my business. A huge company in CT wanted to license my entire sales training platform, I presented it and got to the top . . . and then, they decided to go in another direction (lost funding).

Boy was I frustrated. What did I do? Did I shut down? No. I pitched it to their competitors — and they bought it.

Most of all — keep trying. Failure is usually based on follow-through — you don’t go all the way to see fruition. Stick to it — make modifications, shift your direction — but keep moving forward.

Suggested reading: Failing Forward: Turning Mistakes Into Stepping Stones for Success

Keep making friends. All the time.

People are the currency of any successful enterprise. You might have a good idea, but you need friends to make it a reality.

Get out and meet people on a regular basis. Build it into your weekly schedule — set up a lunch, meet someone for coffee, or have drinks after work. The more people you meet, the more opportunities will reveal themselves. And, the phone starts to ring more often.

Suggested reading: Never Eat Alone

Try to turn any obstacle into a challenge.

Work is solving a series of problems. Most people look at that situation negatively (I call them ‘Just Jobbers’) and trudge through their life disappointed and frustrated. On a more positive note, many people look at work as a series of challenges to overcome. They get energy from the process and are happy and engaged most of the time.

When you have your own business, shit happens. You can either say, “Oh woe is me” and shut down or understand that life is going to throw a lot of obstacles and challenges in the way. It’s your job to assess, propose a solution, and take action. And then move on. 

Suggested reading: Make Your Bed & The Obstacle Is The Way

It’s been a wild ride and I’m ready for the next 14 years!

Are You Killing Your Career?

You’re probably familiar with Newton's First Law of Motion — “An object at rest tends to stay at rest unless acted upon by a sum of physical forces.”

This is the behavior of an average employee at work today. As long as they have a job, they usually won't take any risks, cause any controversy, or raise their hand at a meeting to disagree or propose a new idea.

They are an "object at rest". And this employee/object will remain at rest (meaning - no movement - no raises, no promotions, no new projects, no GROWTH) until "a sum of physical forces" are acted upon it.

What are those forces? Your industry, your customers, your investors or YOUR BOSS. They will be the force that will make the decision "act upon you". Most likely, if you have been "at rest" for a very long time and these forces are negative (lost customers, no profits, reduction in staff), they are probably going to look at the "objects" that aren't doing anything substantial (like hiding in their cubicles).

How do you solve this dilemma? START MOVING. Don't be that object at rest. Here are some suggestions:

• Start asking for more work. Any boss would love the help and it would clearly define you from the rest of your peers. And don’t ask for the ‘same old stuff’ — ask for more complex work and projects that will expose you to new people.

• Start connecting with key players outside of work. Get out there and see if there is something better than what you currently have. Choose people that are leaders in your area, people who you’d LOVE to meet.

• Start brainstorming. This is the time to come up with game-changing strategies or ideas to help your company. Don’t be afraid — most great ideas come from lowly beginnings.

• Start thinking about your future. Where are you? Where do you want to go? How do you get there? Make a plan — add steps, activities, and tasks. No successful journey ever started without a roadmap.

Bottom line: It’s the beginning of a new decade - so many companies and managers will be looking at their troops to see who will make a difference. Don't be an object at rest - start MOVING!

Do You Work At A Toxic Company?

More often than you would expect, I find competent, hard-working people trying to survive in dysfunctional organizations.

Organizations that:

• Hold them back professionally by doing the ‘same old stuff’ every day.

• Frustrate them continuously with bad managers who make bad decisions.

• Impact their self-esteem and confidence with unhealthy management practices.

And ultimately, hurt and hinder their career dramatically. As a coach, they hire me to extricate them, develop powerful options, and deliver them to a much healthier environment.

Most relationships, especially ones with organizations, exist on a spectrum or range. 

View fullsize

Here are the five areas:

AVERAGE

This is a normal, healthy work atmosphere where you have daily challenges and tasks to move your position and department forward. When you’re in this area, you’re happy, industrious, learning, and most of all GROWING. Many healthy organizations contribute to this environment with motivating managers who communicate frequently and ensure that you move out of your comfort zone on a regular basis.

BUSY

This is an infrequent state at companies where an emergency, new launch, or mistake occurs and you will have to pick up the pace with your associates. Our current work world exhibits these manic episodes due to a number of client, vendor, and business situations. If they start to occur weekly or daily, your environment might be moving towards Insane.

INSANE

This is the regular, manic environment of certain startups, industries (e.g., hedge funds), and badly managed organizations. It’s okay to move from Busy to Insane once in a while, but if your environment is consistently Insane, you’re working in a toxic atmosphere. These situations will ultimately burn you out, teach you bad habits, and hurt your chances of moving up or out. Many of my clients get ‘hooked’ on these situations like a drug and it takes us a few months to wean them off and venture to healthier work environments that will help them grow their career.

SLOW

This is also an infrequent state where the pace slows down a bit from the Average rhythm of work. Like the Busy state, you don’t want it to stick around too long — it will cause you to become lethargic towards work, hinder your upward growth, and ultimately make you ‘unsellable’ to other organizations. You will find Slow states happening during the holidays and summer months — this is the best time to recharge, look for new opportunities, and teach yourself new tricks.

DYING

The truth is — there are many established companies and organizations that are slowly Dying. You probably know of them and you might work for one. Symptoms of a Dying company are:

• No real change in your job, department, or culture.

• Less and less to do, even though there are frequent layoffs and department reorgs.

• Management is dysfunctional — up is down, left is right — and they keep you guessing.

• You see that the Titanic is heading for an iceberg or slowly sinking — it’s every person for themselves.

You might be comfortable now — but soon you are going to feel the sharp pain of a knife in your back (layoff) and you will have to go out into the cold, cruel world to find a new job. Unfortunately, I get a client like this and have to tell them the truth about their situation — the world has passed you by and you have to start running at breakneck speed to catch up. It’s a hard truth, but not impossible to overcome.

WHERE ARE YOU RIGHT NOW?

It’s January 2, 2020 — a new decade. Take a hard look at your organization, department, and career — is it slowly Dying? Exasperatingly Insane? Or are you getting sick and tired of the Average-Busy-Slow cycle and it’s time to find greener pastures?

THIS IS THE BEST TIME OF THE YEAR TO MOVE.

Get out there. Meet new people. Connect with new organizations, Target new opportunities. There are so many hungry companies just waiting for you to contact them.

Just like many people this time of year will join a gym and start working with a personal trainer to change their body — many people search out a coach (like me - shameless plug) to help them move faster, better and to a much better environment.

IT’S TIME TO MOVE.

How To Make Your People Feel Special.

One of my favorite stories this year is A Christmas Carol, By Charles Dickens — and my favorite part is the end:

But he was early at the office next morning.  Oh, he was early there.  If he could only be there first, and catch Bob Cratchit coming late!  That was the thing he had set his heart upon.    

And he did it.  The clock struck nine.  No Bob.  A quarter past.  No Bob.  Bob was full eighteen minutes and a half, behind his time.

Bob’s hat was off, before he opened the door; his comforter, too.  He was on his stool in a jiffy, driving away with his pen, as if he were trying to overtake nine o’clock.

“Mr. Cratchit!!” growled Scrooge, in his accustomed voice, as near as he could feign it. 

“What do you mean by coming here at this time of day?”

“I am very sorry, sir,” said Bob. “I am behind my time.”

“You are?” repeated Scrooge.  “Yes.  I think you are.  Step this way, sir, if you please.”

“It’s only once a year, sir,” pleaded Bob.  “It shall not be repeated.  I was making rather merry yesterday, sir.”

“Now, I’ll tell you what, my friend,” said Scrooge, “I am not going to stand this sort of thing any longer.  And therefore,” Scrooge continued, “I am about to raise your salary!”

Bob trembled, and had a momentary idea of calling to the people in the court for help.

“A merry Christmas, Bob!” said Scrooge, with an earnestness that could not be mistaken, as he clapped him on the back.  “A merrier Christmas, Bob, my good fellow, than I have given you, for many a year!  I’ll raise your salary, and endeavor to assist your struggling family, and we will discuss your affairs this very afternoon, over a Christmas bowl of smoking bishop!  Make up the fires, and buy another coal-scuttle before you dot another i, Bob Cratchit!”

Scrooge recognized how awful he treated a valuable part of his business and changed appropriately.

How do you treat your staff? How do you make them feel special? Wanted?

A small comment from you could change their world. A quick email of thanks, a mention during a staff meeting or a word in front of management will make them so excited to be working with you.

I made it a point of calling my employees at home after hours (usually around 8 PM). Their spouse would answer and run to get them. They would pick up and ask, “Rich, is there anything wrong?”

I would say, “ Nothing is wrong. I was going through my files and realized what an impact you’ve been making in our department. You’ve been knocking it out of the park lately and I wanted you to know not only do I appreciate it, but you are also a powerful part of our team. Keep up the great work - we’re going to have a lot of fun next year.”

How do you think they felt when they got off the phone? Like a million bucks. Special communications just like that one MOVE people. As a leader, your job is to motivate, educate, and communicate. This does all three.

P.S. — if you want to see this scene, here it is. (I love YouTube!)

My Gifts To You.

At this time of year, I ask my clients to step back, relax, reflect, and re-fuel. Here are some of the best resources I used in 2019 to do just that. Enjoy!

BOOKS & AUDIBLE:

How Music Works By David Byrne
This book teaches you all about BUSINESS. It’s an enthusiastic look at the musical art form — Byrne taps deeply into his lifetime of knowledge to explore the elements of music, how it shapes the human experience, and reveals the impetus behind how we create, consume, distribute, and enjoy the songs, symphonies, and rhythms that provide the backbeat of life. Byrne’s magnum opus uncovers ever-new and thrilling realizations about the redemptive liberation that music brings us all.

12 Rules For Life By Jordan Peterson
Humorous, surprising and informative, Dr. Peterson tells us why skateboarding boys and girls must be left alone, what terrible fate awaits those who criticize too easily, and why you should always pet a cat when you meet one on the street. What does the nervous system of the lowly lobster have to tell us about standing up straight (with our shoulders back) and about success in life? Why did ancient Egyptians worship the capacity to pay careful attention as the highest of gods? What dreadful paths do people tread when they become resentful, arrogant and vengeful? Dr. Peterson journeys broadly, discussing discipline, freedom, adventure and responsibility, distilling the world's wisdom into 12 practical and profound rules for life. 

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones By James Clear
No matter your goals, Atomic Habits offers a proven framework for improving--every day. Clear reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results. If you're having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn't you. The problem is your system. Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don't want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change. You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems. Here, you'll get a proven system that can take you to new heights. 

How to Be a No-Limit Person By Dr. Wayne Dyer
One of my favorite audible books, I’ve been listening to it since I graduated from college. It is also one of those rare programs that have universal relevance and appeal. No matter what age you are, what you do, or where your interests lie, Dr. Dyer will have you nodding your head in recognition and laughing out loud even as you feel your outlook changing, your options multiplying, and your capacity for living positively and purposefully expanding by leaps and bounds.

PODCASTS:

The Knowledge Project with Shane Parrish
Powerful topics every week. Named by Apple as one of the best listens of 2019, the Knowledge Project has garnered the attention of those who want to better understand themselves, others, and the world around them. Together with host Shane Parrish, you’ll uncover the timeless ideas, mental models, stories, and life lessons that help you master the best of what other people have already figured out.

Pivot with Scott Galloway & Kara Swisher
My favorite podcast. Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway offer sharp, unfiltered insights into the biggest stories in tech, business, and politics. They make bold predictions, pick winners and losers, and bicker and banter like no one else. After all, with great power comes great scrutiny. 

The Portal with Eric Weinstein
Eric brings life to subjects that would be a complete bore in most academic settings. I love that he challenges his audience with material depth. Eric has brilliant guests and is devastatingly intelligent. Listening to his podcast is a good reminder of how much smarter than me many people are — I am always blown away by the new things I learn. Eric is promoting something crucially lacking from the world of today, intellectually honest conversation of the highest quality. 

The Joe Rogan Podcast
With over 1400 episodes and counting, the JRE has been running for almost 10 years and is one of the most listened-to contemporary podcasts. The majority of the episodes have a long — up to 3 hours — continuous live-streamed format which enables an in-depth conversation with wide variety of topics and guests, ranging from celebrities and entertainers to scientists and athletes covering everything from existence of aliens to psychedelics — each episode having multiple millions of listeners worldwide and offering an alternative and competitive program to the mainstream media. 

Two Heads: Brand Marketing & Strategic Coaching for Today’s Marketplace
You need to listen to this podcast because . . . it’s mine. BJ Flagg and I have over 118 podcasts covering many timely issues impacting your career and business every day. The best part? Each episode is only 12-15 minutes long. We’d love to hear from you.

Let’s close out an incredible 2019 and let’s welcome an unbelievable 2020! - Rich

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.

Now Is The Time To Plan For 2020.

December is the perfect time to start laying out your plans for the new year. 

First, I'd like you to revisit 2019 to better understand where you are and where you need to go. Answer these questions (I will break out each section for business owners and corporate executives to make your planning a better fit for your profession):

1. WHAT WENT RIGHT IN 2019?

Businesses: What behaviors, habits, initiatives or projects were a success? Were they easy to do or did they take a lot of work on your part? What kind of ROI did you see from them? 

Corporate: Who did you meet that gave you a tremendous leg up within the company? What areas grew in 2019? What projects were a big hit to upper management and customers? Where did you find efficiencies in your day-to-day activities?

2. What Went Wrong In 2019?

Businesses: What did you expect to happen and it didn't? Where did you spend a large amount of time or money? Did any of your feeder or prospect lines dry up this year? Did your competition do something that you're not doing?

Corporate: What areas of the company or people were a waste of time? What projects failed or were put on hold, eliminated? Where are the weak areas of your department/division? How's your boss doing?

Looking back gives you a great foundation to start planning for 2020. You should continue what went well and make hard decisions to possibly stop those areas that went sideways in 2019.

3. Set New Goals.

Now for 2020 - where are you now at the end of 2019 and where do you want to be in 2020? 

Businesses: 
Financially: 10%, 20%, or 25% rise in revenue?
Clients/Customers: 20-40% increase? Better customers? Faster paying?
Work/Life Balance: Spend less time worrying? More time away?
Better Feeders: More qualified referrals?
Hire Staff: Your first hire? More staff? Better qualified?

Corporate: 
Financially: A bigger bump in salary/bonus?
Work: Better, more high-profile projects?
Connect: Meet the movers and shakers in the company?
Move On: Time to go?

Use the SMART method to ensure success for each goal:

Specific: Is the goal clearly written?
Measurable: How many/much and how often?
Achievable: Is it a realistic goal? Need support?
Relevant: Does it make a significant difference? 
Time-Bound: Clear & specific completion date?

4. Lock-In Your Goals With Deadlines.

If you don't measure it, it will never get done. It's that simple. Take each of your goals and do three things:

a. Define the sub-activities and tasks that have to occur to deliver the goal on-time.
b. Place each task in your calendar and list all the people/resources required for you to complete it. Use a GANTT chart if needed.
c. Set a hard deadline when you want to see it DONE. Be reasonable and honest with yourself.

Don't wait until January to start your planning. Do it today.

How To Play Politics With Political People.

I'm bad at politics. Most of us are. 

If you experience evil political people at work or in your business, this article is for you. 

Political people suck - in the everyday business world, we call them 'empty suits'. In Texas, they call them 'All hat, no cattle'. They are a natural predator of the business savannah and we probably bump into them every day, in a meeting room where they hone their craft.

I've come up with 5 rules to help navigate around these scoundrels effectively:

1. Be Switzerland. Be neutral. Political people try to snare you into a political cage of their thinking - and then try to turn it on you. Don't play their game - don't take one side or another - act matter-of-fact and don't play the game — walk away.

2. Be nice to the person who gives you money. Never gossip about your boss or clients to ANYONE. It always has a way of coming back to bite you where it really hurts. In today's business world, inside information is currency and unfortunately, you can't trust anyone. So keep your comments to yourself. If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.

3. Don't gossip. We all love to gossip — for some reason we like to hear about other's failings, misfortune, and travails (there's actually a word for that - schadenfreude). Candidly, it's NONE of your business. Stop focusing on other people and better understand the reason why the person gossiping is telling you - they probably have an angle or ax to grind. And they're probably gossiping about you too.

4. Communicate often. In a highly politicized environment, you need to regularly and effectively communicate/document your activities, accomplishments, and ideas. Political people love to fold reality - you need to fight back with facts. Make a regular process to communicate frequently with your boss/clients with weekly updates to 'CYA' any possible future misrepresentation of your activities.

5. Do your BEST work. The easiest way for a political person can take advantage of you is to stab you in the back when your defenses are low. It's usually when you rushed something or didn't complete it within a stated timeframe (and you slipped it through). They will be there with a shiv at the right moment and announce it to everyone. The best way to combat this is to work efficiently, effectively, and if you do drop the ball, let your boss/client know ASAP before your enemies storm the gates.

6. Extra Credit - Stand up to bullies. Let's face it - political people are assholes. They thrive and bank their careers on pointing out other's misfortune, and manipulating the facts for their advantage. Sometimes we need to stand up for ourselves and take them to task when they hurt you. One way is to meet with them one-on-one and vehemently point out you know their game. Be calm but be stern, most low-level politicians will slink away and never darken your doorstep again. Higher-level politicians need a light to be focused on them (during a meeting). The best way to do that is to use incontrovertible FACTS and keep hammering their wishy-washy statements until they wither and die. Stand your ground.

Political people and organizations suck. But they are a reality of business - if you do all five (six) rules I've presented, you'll be happier and work more effectively around these stinkers.

November/December: The BEST Time To Start Your Job Search!

You think I'm crazy. 

Most people are powering down their searches for Thanksgiving and hibernating for the holidays. They will rocket out of their cave on January 2nd with vim and vigor to attack the marketplace.

That's crazy. It will be too late. Why?

1. A cast of thousands. You'll be just commencing your search again, with thousands of other aspiring job searchers. The competition is fierce where you will be seeing hundreds of applicants for the same job. You need to start earlier to escape the onslaught.

2. Now is the time to act. In a healthy economy with low unemployment, many people come back from the holidays with renewed energy and a fresh focus. They might not like their job — so they will be getting their materials organized and out looking for a new one in January.

3. Meet new people. It's easier to get a coffee or lunch with a potential target now instead of January. Most organizations tend to start slowing down at this time of the year, final sales have been made, everyone is more relaxed and waiting for the onslaught of holidays and parties. They're more approachable — they know they have a budget next year to hire, why not meet with potential applicants NOW?

4. Plan now. If you're just beginning or revising your job search, Nov/Dec is the best time to start getting a plan together, refreshing your resume and LinkedIn profile, and start targeting new companies. It's going to take a few weeks working with a coach to get all your ducks in order before you hit the streets.

5. You have the time. Over the next 4-6 weeks, you're going to have a lot of holiday buffer to prepare all the materials required for a powerful search. This rarely happens at other times of the year.

6. You're a slingshot. Psychologically, this will be the time for you to start pulling back on the band and stretching it as far as it can go. When January 1st hits, you release the slingshot and rocket off into the marketplace with your best suit on prepared to dazzle your interviewer.

7. It's the smart thing to do. If you need help with a Job Search coach, Resume-writer, or LinkedIn expert, NOW is the time to get one and help you gear up for 2020.

And if you're interested in working with a Job Search Coach to accelerate your search, give me a call at 203-500-2421 or email me at hello@richgee.com. Or just check out my site at richgee.com and see all the other clients I've helped find great positions during the year. 

Happy Holidays!

5 Steps To Motivate Your Team (and you).

In How To Motivate People, Fran Tarkenton, professional quarterback for the NFL and TV personality, offers a focused motivation system — "People don't change their behavior unless it makes a difference to them to do so." The first area I'd like to tackle in my "Are You A Catalyst?" series is Motivation.

Fran focuses on three immutable rules:

1. Good behavior that is reinforced by positive consequences tends to continue or to improve.

2. Behavior that is demotivated by negative consequences tends to decrease.

3. Good, productive behavior that goes unnoticed tends to decrease over time.

It all comes down to the right rewards — and Tarkenton uses a simple system to ensure correct behavioral principles — P R I C E.

Pinpoint

Focus on the behavior you are trying to influence, then set precise objectives of what needs to be done, by whom, and by what date. Objectives must be realistic, easily understood, meaningful, and the result of every member of the team getting together to set them.

Recording

Keeping score is a motivator in business as it is in sports. Keep score of performance during a critical project, customer service, production, sales and any other performances that can be measured. Post or communicate the scores publicly — tie results to positive consequences such as bonuses and promotions.

Scorekeeping lets the individual and group know how they're doing and how their performance ties in with the organization's. In addition, when it comes to tangible consequences such as bonuses, people gain the satisfaction of knowing they have contributed to a winning team.

Involvement

Move from the old school mindset and get your people to play an engaged role in their work. It takes time for a participative approach to get off the ground (have patience!), but it does work and the benefits of getting the most from your team extends to other departments throughout the company (great advertising for you!).

Consequences

This is where you start to change behavior. At this point, you can provide positive, negative, or no reinforcement. The last is the most typical situation and unfortunately, the most useless. Poor behavior doesn't change and positive behavior that goes unnoticed may change dramatically for the worse.

Tie consequences directly to performance improvement. When someone does something right, let them know immediately that you've noticed and appreciate it. When you want to change the behavior, proceed just as quickly. Focus on the behavior and not the person, and make it clear that change is a must.

Evaluation

Determine whether what you tried worked. Did you pinpoint the right behaviors that were holding you back? Were you on target with recording, involvement, and consequences? Keep fine-tuning your system until it hums.

Remember, the most successful managers will be those who can motivate to win because they understand what gets people off their behinds and energized.

What do you do to motivate your team? How do you motivate yourself?

How We Sabotage Our Success.

Let me take you through a simple business process and show you how we all sabotage our success every day with subtle procrastination behaviors:

I had to FedEx a letter to a prominent executive last week to connect with them. Pretty easy? Not on your life (in fact, I use the same process I leverage with my clients everyday — same template, same process, same delivery).

The funny thing is, you wouldn't believe the myriad of ways fear, uncertainty, and doubt took over in my mind to stop me from doing this simple task. For instance:

1. When composing the letter, it took me HOURS to decide on a template (design). Not too fancy, should I use my logo?, how should I sign it?, what should I say?, is it too much (too funny/clever)?, etc.

2. Working with FedEx Online was fun. Just as I set up my account and answered all their questions, I lost the whole thing three times. If that doesn't frustrate you, I don't know what will.

3. Getting the letter in an envelope. What to put outside? A Post-It? A formal label? What!?!?!?!?!?

4. Transporting the letter to the nearest FedEx location in time to ensure the date on the letter is reasonable. With a schedule like mine, it's hard to make a major detour, especially with Mr. Procrastination rearing it's ugly head.

5. Deciding on what FedEx level to send. There are probably 25 different permutations from cheap (slow) to outrageously expensive (fast).

6. Seeing an imperceptible spot on the envelope and canceling the entire process and starting all over again.

You get the gist of it. I threw up so many stupid, mental roadblocks in my way that I almost didn't send the letter. A letter. A simple letter. Do you do this? What are the subtle behaviors you have that knock you off course?

The only thing that got me through it is just telling myself the old Winston Churchill quote: "Never, never, never give up."

And I didn't. Now I have to call the guy tomorrow. Wish me luck.

P.S. I tracked the letter - mailed it in Shelton, it went to Memphis and then back to Westport. You gotta love FedEx traffic!