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This week’s theme is the customer experience. Namely, customer happiness!

Today let’s focus on the user interface of your business. The easy way to think of this is touchpoints. Sit down and make a note of every touchpoint your business has with a prospect or customer.

Over the past few weeks, you’ve heard me talk a lot about becoming a better human being. I did that because it’s how I see the world and our place in it. We owe it to ourselves and to each other to be better people. Kindness. Compassion. And all the other things that go with being a good person are critical to our business ownership and leadership. I believe that.

Yes, I know miserable people who are financially successful. They win at the expense of most people they interact with and they do it without shame. I know others who are poor humans because they have a wife and children, along with a handful of mistresses around the country. I know money is agnostic about how good or bad a person is. That’s why drug dealers are wildly financially successful. Money doesn’t care.

But people do. God does. The world does. And you do, too. Because you’ve got to live with yourself.  So does your family. Those are all compelling reasons to work harder to become better.

Now, back to touchpoints with prospects and customers. Let me define the term for you – it’s every point of contact you make with them and every point of contact they can make with you.

For most of us it starts with marketing and sales. Examine the first touchpoint, which is likely going to be advertising of some sort. That’s you reaching out to touch prospects so you can convert some of them into customers.

I realize that’s a full-blown discussion – advertising – but look at it through the prospect’s eyes and feelings, not your own. What’s the goal of your advertising? You have to know. Otherwise, you won’t know if it’s working or not.

Turn of the century merchant John Wanamaker is credited with saying, “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.” That was likely very true in John’s day. He died in 1922. But today most of us can structure advertising in such a way that we can measure the effectiveness.

Are we looking for leads? Sales? Sign-ups? What are we hoping to gain from the advertising? I’m looking for the specific thing you want the ad to accomplish.

This touchpoint is critical because it’s how you present yourself to the market and it costs you money. You have to get this more right than not. Be critical about this touchpoint. Ask every question you can think of. Scrutinize it 8 ways to Sunday and be relentless to get it more right all the time. The bottom line is that this touchpoint should deliver big returns that you wouldn’t otherwise get.

Your list of touchpoints might include things like:

• How the phone is answered
• How the website looks (and how users navigate, including on mobile devices)
• How the emails look
• How problems are handled
• How “thank you” is delivered after a sale
• How follow-up happens
• How invoices look
• How billing challenges are executed
• How marketing makes people feel

We’re talking about every single contact you make and every single contact your prospects and customers make. What does it look like? Is it presenting your business the way you want? Is it ideally serving the people it intends to serve? Or is it ridiculously cumbersome?

“May I have your phone number please?” You give it. Five questions later you have to give it to them again. “But I just gave it to you,” you blurt out. You know why that happens. The person on the other end of the phone is going through a series of screens, forced on him by the computer program, and it doesn’t auto-fill your first answer. So the poor guy has to ask it again. And you’re hacked!

Don’t do that to your customers! Fix that stupid stuff. Right now.

Too often we assume all these touchpoints are happening exactly as they should. And we’re also incorrectly assuming they don’t make or break our success. But they do.

Get every single touchpoint right. Then keep working to get it even more right. Don’t ever take your eyes off it. Because when you do, it’ll slip. And that slippage will the sound of your customer base eroding.

No interaction is too small or insignificant. Every single one matters.

Gather your leadership brain trust and review them all thoroughly. Test them. Improve them. Train them. And hold everybody accountable for their perfect execution.

Think about your own lack of tolerance for a poor interface. If things don’t work the way you expect, how does that make you feel? How long do you tolerate it? How happy are you?

And that’s what we’re after – customer HAPPINESS. Not satisfaction!

Be well. Do good. Grow great!

RC

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Yesterday we talked about figuring out what you want to change about yourself. Today let’s focus on where you want to go.

I’m not assuming that where you are currently isn’t where you want to be, but I will assume it’s not where you want to stay. I’m not advocating feeling dissatisfied, discontented or unhappy with your current position. You may be those things – and that’s okay if you’re not close to your ideal, but it’s not going to be profitable to dwell on it without taking action. So the bottom line for today is the goal of figuring this out so you can do something about it.

What do you want to be known for?

That’s the deal. It’s the culmination of figuring out where you want to go.

When people think of you, what do you most want them to think? 

These get to the heart of what’s important to you.

A person who wants to be known for something behaves in ways congruent with BEING that. And it doesn’t matter what IT is.

When I was in college I remember reading quite a lot about writing and writers. Somewhere along the way I read something profoundly simple, but the more I thought about it the more I realized it spoke to any activity. It was a two-word sentence (and I’d happily give attribution to whoever wrote it, but it was far too long ago to remember)…

Writers write.

I thought about that for a long, long time. I still think about it because it’s ridiculously accurate.

Writers write. It’s what they do. It’s what they’re known for. It’s what people think of when they think of them.

I’m not saying it’s all-encompassing and that people don’t think of anything else about them, but it’s likely the primary thing.

Now apply that sentence structure to where you most want to go – the thing you most want to accomplish. Start by going macro, big picture. Drill down to the micro and go as deep as you’d like, the details.

Leaders lead.

Bosses boss.

Painters paint.

Musicians play.

What do you do? Mostly?

You’ll quickly discover that this is largely about your identity. It begins with how you see yourself. From there, it morphs into how others see you. That’s a big part of figuring out where you want to go…coming to terms with how you most want to see yourself.

All week there’s been this underlying focus on a very important element of self-awareness and your personal growth. It’s your self-respect. Being comfortable in your skin because you like who you’ve become. You agree and approve of what you’re trying to become. Sure, you know it’s a journey but so far, so good. You’re pleased with the direction and the progress. Mostly.

Or you’re not.

In either case, you can do better. We all can.

It’s about feeling good about the effort. Last week I talked about why happiness may not the very best goal because it’s a moment we’re chasing. Joy may be a better representation of what we want because that’s long-lasting.

Let’s focus on the effort of figuring out where we want to go because it’s active, not passive. We have to do something other than merely thinking about it.

Writers write.

So once again, what do you DO?

What do you most want to do?

If those are different, why? Are you sure you know where you want to go? Are you sure it’s where YOU want to go and not where somebody else wants you to go?

When I was a kid there was a TV show on called, “This Is Your Life.” Here’s an episode featuring Betty White, the actress.

The host of the TV show would surprise the celebrity and walk them into the studio where the show was produced. Along the way, he’d tell their story and surprise them with people from their past and present. It was considered a big honor and most shows were filled with emotions.

This is your life.

Nobody else will account for YOUR life. You answer for it. Just you.

We’ve already stressed the importance of accepting responsibility for your own choices, decisions, behavior, and actions. So this is on YOU. May as well make the most of it. May as well accept it as fact…because it is fact.

When people think of YOU and who you are, they’re thinking of YOU. They may associate you with others, but you are you. So, like we said yesterday, let’s own it all. Every bit of it.

Where are you right now? It’s perfectly fine – likely beneficial – for us to examine how far we’ve come. You’ve learned some things. You now understand some things. You’ve grown. Take some time to reflect and give yourself credit.

Give thanks. Be grateful for where you are. Count your blessings.

Where do you want to go from here? This is the heart of figuring out where you want to go. Sure, it’s partly an ideal you may be chasing long-term, but it’s largely some things you’re unhappy with about yourself. Don’t go too many days in a row not liking yourself (there’s that self-respect again). Start being more true to who you most want to be by defining your direction more precisely.

I call you up to come get me. I text you the address where I’m at, “2024 Easy Street.” You could go to 2024 Easy Lane and I won’t be there. You could go to 2025 Easy Street and still not find me. Close isn’t on target. It’s not precise enough to get the job done so stop being too general in figuring out where you want to go.

Think. Then do.

Put in the work that your ideal self would put on. When I was young I wanted to write. So guess what I did? Yep, I started writing. A lot.

Don’t wait until you think you’ve reached the destination. That’s not how you’ll find me at 2024 Easy Street. You’ll have to get in your car and drive there. You can’t instantly teleport yourself there…you have to take the actions necessary to take you there. Ditto for figuring out where you want to go.

Lean in hard to the verb, GO. And do it.

Be well. Do good. Grow great!

RC

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Today’s show is brought to you by The Peer Advantage by Bula Network, a professional paid peer advisory group – a mastermind group – for small business owners from around the United States. Find out all the details at ThePeerAdvantage.com.

Today we’re continuing our series on self-awareness by focusing on accepting responsibility for ourselves. All of ourselves. Every bit of it.

Isn’t it ironic that most of us want more control over our lives, but when we’re faced with accepting control we sometimes would rather defer to something else, or somebody else? Right now we’re going to do our best to change that. We can at least get started and if we keep it up, we can make this a permanent change.

That doesn’t mean we’re isolated, alone or solely responsible for everything. It’s not the minimization of others. Truth is, it’s doing right by others because it helps us stop blaming others for things we can (and should) control.

Years ago a guy here in Dallas, William Oncken, wrote a book entitled, “Management Time: Who’s Got the Monkey?” It’s really a book about delegation and getting things done, but there’s an underlying subtext of ownership. Taking ownership of the work can kill our ability to delegate. On the flipside, when it comes to our own lives, we must take ownership. In this case, delegation is tantamount to believing we’re the victim so we give ownership or our problem to somebody else. The problem? That means we surrender ownership of changing our situation to somebody else, too.

“In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.”  – Eleanor Roosevelt

“If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble, you wouldn’t sit for a month.”  – Theodore Roosevelt

“The final forming of a person’s character lies in their own hands.”
– Anne Frank

Step 1  You Must Be Done With Excuses

This is an enormous variable in our lives. Some of us hit a point quickly when we get sick and tired of being sick and tired. Others of us delay and embrace being sick and tired.

Seems to me one of the distinctions between the two – and something that can contribute to how long we stay comfortable with our excuses – is the value or benefit derived from living with excuses. The notable value I see is attention. Some people garner more attention (because they seek it) for suffering. They enjoy the sympathy others express toward them. If that sympathy stops, they forge ahead into some new problem that can stir up new sympathy. They’re hooked on the attention so they fall in love with their excuses. Without those, the sympathy river dries up.

Ask yourself, “Do I want to be seen as a victim or as a person in control of their life?”

Victims even answer it as you’d expect. We all want to be seen as people in control and command of our lives. But…

With victims it’s conditional. When things go well, they want credit. When they don’t, they need an excuse.

This is hard because logic and reason don’t often enter into it. Emotions take over. Feelings, which we’ve likely had for a long time, are hard to change. That’s why I’ve urged us all to change what we’re doing in order to help change how we feel – and what we believe.

Question: What value do YOU provide others by embracing your excuses? How do your excuses make you bring higher value to the people who surround you?

Finish it. For once, be brave and answer it as fully as you can. Here’s what you’ll discover. Your excuses serve somebody, but they don’t serve everybody. Only one person derives anything from them. And even though the excuses feel like a positive because people feel sad or sorry for us, they’re damaging us every time we get sympathy.

Excuses are selfish. It’s the mountain top of selfishness. It’s where world-class losers reside.

Everybody suffers. Everybody loses. You lose the most because you believe external circumstances solely determine the outcomes of your life. You’re just a blob of flesh with strings attached to the universe, who can pull them at will. What’s the point in even having a brain if you’re only going to use it to suck sympathy from everybody around you?

Don’t think entrepreneurs are capable of this behavior?

Just ask a dozen small business owners about how sales are? Good or bad doesn’t matter. Now ask them why? Brace yourself ’cause you’re not likely going to be hearing empirical evidence. You’ll be hearing the excuses they’ve learned through the years.

“People aren’t buying because the weather has been dreadful.”

“Business is strong because people got their tax refunds.”

What you’re not likely to hear are things like…

“Business is awful because we’ve done a pitiful job of buying what people want.”

“Business is great because we did an excellent job of buying exactly what people want and we managed to negotiate great deals giving us strong profits.”

See how subtle it all is?

Find a place where you can just be done with it. Kick excuse-making to the curb. Divorce yourself from the habit.

Step 2 Find Pride In Owning Your Own Outcomes (it starts with owning your own behavior)

Few things are as empowering as realizing that our brains – head trash – stand in the way of our reaching greater heights. We’re the enemy of our own achievements, accomplishments, and performance.

What happens if I own it all? The good, the bad, the ugly, the success and the failure? What does that look like?

Confidence soars. That’s one thing that happens. Increasingly we feel in control. And when we’re not in control we accept the things we do control.

What can I do about this?

It’s not a question, “Can I do anything about this?” What if we accept the fact – the truth – that there is something we can do? Maybe it’ll be the correct thing. Maybe it won’t. But we’re still in control of doing something – whatever we decide to do.

Courage is key.

The courage to act and the courage to readily accept the outcome.

We’re now at the heart of learning, understanding and growing. LUG happens only when we’re able to face the realities that this is our life and we’re fully in control of what happens. Being fully in control doesn’t mean we’re in 100% control of our lives. It means we’re 100% in control of our decisions, behaviors, actions, and choices. What we choose to do with a circumstance that we had no part in is totally on us.

Find pride in accepting and recognizing that a failed outcome was because you got it wrong. But, now – armed with this new data – you’re confident you’re closer to getting it right because you now know more than you did before. Thanks to the failure. It’s one of the biggest things you can do to elevate your confidence, which is the feed your courage needs to move forward.

Contrast that with the shrinking demeanor of a victim constantly in search of sympathy. Stop exhausting others trying to get them to feel bad for you. Stop feeling bad for yourself. It’s better to feel pride in the outcome, knowing you’re working toward success and achievement.

Pride trumps sympathy. As usual, this is largely about how we can put in the work to feel better about ourselves. Self-respect is impossible when you’re a victim. It’s automatic when you’re the commander of your own life.

Be well. Do good. Grow great!

RC

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 10:30 — 13.2MB)

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This week’s theme is self-awareness. I landed on this theme due to the many people I encounter who spend way too much time comparing themselves. It’s why I intentionally built the foundation last week focused on your mental health. Now we’re going to work at getting very real with ourselves. It’s not about who or what you want to become, it’s about who and what you are right now. Sure, we’re all subject to growth and improvement – which means we can change, but I want to push you to consider innate strengths, talents, and abilities. I also want you to think about your beliefs, convictions and character traits. It’s time to look deeply into the mirror.

Randy

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We’re talking about you. Your self-awareness. Your beliefs. Your decisions. Your actions. Changes YOU need to make so you can improve.

It’s not about what other people need to do. Or what you think they need to do. This week we’re being selfish in that we’re looking into the mirror so we can grow. We want to become better human beings.

New flash: It may appear to have anything to do with your business. But it does.

You may wonder how being a better person can serve you at work. Well, let me offer up a few pieces of evidence – proof of why you should put in this work.

The Pacific Gas and Electric Co. continues to be in the news for bad behavior. Well, if you think criminal behavior is bad. And I do.

Uber’s rocky road toward an IPO was commented upon by TechCrunch. The company has a history of bad behavior from the top down.

Boeing may have known about the safety issues with the 737 Max before that fatal crash last year.

Daily big companies and small companies make the news because of illegal, immoral or questionable behavior from the C-suite. Nevermind that many other companies don’t make the news for doing good work, behaving honestly with high integrity. But the pursuit of business success is a strong siren call that lures many founders, CEOs and executives to ignore whatever character and moral compass once defined them. Others were likely scoundrels from the get-go. It just took some time before they were found out.

Still think being a good human has no correlation with growing great at running a business?

John isn’t his real name, but John is the CEO and founder of a software company that has passed the $100 million mark. He’s a programming fool. Gifted. A skill beyond my comprehension really. Forget computer languages, I’m still trying to master English, my native tongue.

John is hard-charging and proud of it. He has no reservations in being a jerk. Or being considered a jerk. I joke with him that he’s read too many stories about Steve Jobs. But I suspect it’s true.

He churns through developers with a rapid clip. Ask him and he’ll admit he’s constantly surrounded by inept people, incapable of crafting clean code. Maybe he’s right. I just know his tactics aren’t serving him. Or the business. At least not serving either of them to grow great.

I’m patient with John though because he realizes he’s learned this behavior. Those early years of having to do most of the coding himself taught him what it took to succeed. And it also taught him what it would take to fail. But he refused to fail.

Privately, John hates it. He hates “having to be like that.” That is being a jerk, berating people, exhibiting intolerance for even the slightest error. “Man, I just don’t know any other way,” he says. We work mainly on finding out if he’s capable (which means finding out if he’s willing) of believing his life can be far better – and it’ll make his people and his company better, too.

At first, he had doubts. But he was hopeful.

Now, he believes it. So he’s putting in the work to figure it out. I’m trying to help him do that. Not by doing it for him – which is impossible – but by helping him see some things he’s never seen before. So far, so good.

This week we’ve talked about beliefs, convictions, and character because experience has taught me how valuable those are to our growth. John isn’t entrenched with the belief that in order to build a high performing company he has to be a leader with a bullwhip in hand. Yes, that’s how he behaved, but after a while the toll of that behavior on the company and on John personally was apparent. He’s a smart guy.

“What does it mean to be a good person?”

I ask John. I ask other people, too. It’s often similar to what others might say, but not always. I drill down. A more personal question.

“Describe what it would look like for you to live your ideal life.”

Paint me the picture of your ideal version of yourself. This isn’t who or what you are right now. It’s who and what you’d most like to be but avoid including things like skills, talents or interests. For example, it’s out of bounds for me to say my ideal version of myself would be somebody who loves being in big crowds. Fact is, I don’t. And nothing is likely going to change that. Best I accept that truth about myself and create my ideal version of myself around that aspect. So if you’re doing this exercise at home (and I hope you are), then accept those innate things that make you, YOU.

Now let’s amp it up. Every single bit of it.

For most of us it starts with the things in our life – the qualities or components of our life that irritate us, irk us or make us unhappy with ourselves. No, we’re not going to spend time berating ourselves. We are going to spend time recognizing that there are some things (maybe many things) that we really do need to change so we can be better people.

Jeremy is an effective executive, but he admits a lifelong habit that drives him crazy. He’s not able to use “NO” as a complete statement. It drives him crazy. He’s “always telling these small lies to protect myself.” Making up excuses. Figuring out things to say to other people. Compelled to give reasons when no reasons are necessary. Seems small, but it’s a daily nagging aggravation for Jeremy. Besides, lying – even lying about seemingly small or insignificant things – isn’t helping Jeremy become a better person. He’s learning to say, “No” or “No thanks” and leaving that as enough. Says Jeremy, “It’s much nicer to feel a bit uncomfortable doing that than living with how I feel about myself by making something up.”

No change is too small. No change is too big.

Figure out what you think your ideal self would look like. How would your ideal self behave? How would your ideal self talk? How would your ideal self make decisions? How would your ideal self work with others, manage the work and lead people? Figure that out. Write it out if you like. Paint the most detailed picture possible.

Now, figure out how to get from where you are to this ideal that YOU created. Don’t fret about getting there in a single step, but commit to making a step (just one) in the right direction. You want to make the change and you want to feel better about yourself for putting in the work.

Don’t worry about what people will say or think. You have to live with yourself. The things you’ve always hated about yourself should likely be the top things on your list. Stop accepting bad behavior as being who you are. That’s the toxic danger of self-resignation. “Well, I just lie because I don’t want to be that candid.” No excuse. You’re eroding your self-respect. And that’s the bottom line to this work. We’re trying to elevate your self-respect. We’re trying to put in the work so we’re feeling good about the effort we’re making to become a better person every single day. No matter what!

Be well. Do good. Grow great!

RC

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 9:20 — 11.2MB)

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This week’s theme is self-awareness. I landed on this theme due to the many people I encounter who spend way too much time comparing themselves. It’s why I intentionally built the foundation last week focused on your mental health. Now we’re going to work at getting very real with ourselves. It’s not about who or what you want to become, it’s about who and what you are right now. Sure, we’re all subject to growth and improvement – which means we can change, but I want to push you to consider innate strengths, talents, and abilities. I also want you to think about your beliefs, convictions and character traits. It’s time to look deeply into the mirror.

Randy

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Beliefs are tough to categorize. There are the beliefs you have which determine how you view the world and your place in it. These beliefs are how you see other people – and circumstances and events – and how you judge them (and I don’t mean “judge” in some critical fashion, but how you discern them). For example, some of us are optimistic and others not so much. That belief – whichever it may be – impacts how we go about life.

There are religious or spiritual beliefs. Even people who don’t believe in God or any higher power have a belief – and that’s their belief — that there is no God. Then there are those of us who do believe in God, so much so that we make that a priority in our lives. I’m unashamed that I fall into that camp. I confess knowing firsthand how much that impacts all my choices, decisions and behaviors (well, at least when I behave as I should). 😉

Then there’s the belief I’d like to start with today – the belief we have in ourselves.

Everybody believes in themselves. The question is, “What do you believe about yourself?” What do you believe in when it comes to YOU?

Confidence. That’s how most of us put our self-belief in context. But there’s more to it.

There are many more things that you believe about yourself that have nothing to do with confidence. Confidence is merely a catch-all that doesn’t catch it all.

We’ve all seen those infamous people of Walmart pics of people who actually leave their house and go shop at Walmart in some of the wildest outfits ever. All of us are thinking the same thing, “What were they thinking?” I can tell you. They thought, “This looks good.” At the very least they thought, “Yeah, this is fine.” Proof of their beliefs about their appearance.

How else can you explain all the duck lipping and other things that the collective knows looks bad, but many individual people still leave the house looking rather absurd? The obese lady in those yoga pants believes she looks good. She’s unaware that she looks like a tuna in a tube. We all know it, but her belief is what’s driving her behavior. It’s driving mine and yours, too.

The thing about self-belief is how prone we can be to get it wrong. Colossally wrong sometimes. Yet we believe it so it’s right. Well, a truer statement would be if we believe it, then it’s our reality.

Figuring out what you believe about yourself is required work if we’re committed to learning, understanding and growing. When I was younger I’d spend time trying to convince people of what I believed FOR (or about) them. Somebody would express some dream or idea. We’d bounce it around and I’d get excited because I could see it happening. I could see them succeeding at it. I’d grow frustrated knowing they didn’t believe in themselves or their idea as much as I did. It took me years to realize that it didn’t matter what I believed. What they believed was the only thing that mattered.

The backside of figuring it out includes changing it. That’s the real deal for most of us, but it’s impossible until we know what it is we’re changing. Discerning the status quo of what you believe is mandatory.

Enter a debate people sometimes want to engage with me.

“But what if you believe something that isn’t true about yourself?”

I say, “It depends.”

For instance, figuring out what you believe – especially about yourself – may be easier than you think. Look at your behavior. Look at your actions. Look at your choices.

Belief isn’t disconnected from actions. So back when I used to try to persuade or convince people they could do something – because I believed they could – I figured I might be able to influence them to take action they mostly never took.

That’s why last Friday’s episode was focused on changing how we feel by changing our actions. Guess what? It works. And it goes even deeper into helping us change our beliefs. Largely because we prove to ourselves new truths about ourselves.

Entrepreneurs, business owners, executives, and leaders make decisions. It’s what we do. Sometimes we do it well by getting it right. Other times we don’t do it so well because we get it wrong.

What do you do when you get it wrong? Berate yourself? How long do you dwell on it?

Recently I heard a young entrepreneur give some great advice about what should happen when things don’t go as planned, “Unhook it.” That instantly made sense to me. Unchain yourself from it and turn the page.

I’m a hockey fan. Here we are at the conference championship phase of the Stanley Cup playoffs. To win the Stanley Cup a team has to win 16 games. There are four rounds of playoffs, each round determined by the best of 7 (four victories mean you advance to the next round). It’s a grind for teams who play just about every other day. As you’d imagine momentum can shift quickly within a game or a series. And in a sport where one position is far more consequential to the outcome – the goaltenders – these players must have sports amnesia. That is, they have to unhook it when they give up a goal, or when they lose a game. Translation: Forget about it and move on.

I bring this up because I encounter too many leaders who live in the past. But it’s not restricted to losses or mistakes. It’s also true of wins or successes. We may falsely believe that we’re a superstar and thanks to our leadership, that success happened.

Let me wheel back around to character (something I’m talking about more and more) and why I think it’s so important. Character strengths are what you most believe. Doing the right thing – honesty – is a character trait. Just the other night 60 Minutes did a piece on big pharma price fixing. Evidently, there are plenty of crooks at the top. They likely believe it’s okay or they believe their company profits trump moral uprightness. I don’t know exactly what they believe but I know honesty, transparency, and fairness aren’t among them.

I’m ending on this note because I believe that great leadership starts with being great human beings. Want to improve your leadership and grow great? Then look deep inside yourself and figure out what changes need to be made so you can become a better – a great – person!

Be well. Do good. Grow great!

RC

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 7:50 — 10.1MB)

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This week’s theme is self-awareness. I landed on this theme due to the many people I encounter who spend way too much time comparing themselves. It’s why I intentionally built the foundation last week focused on your mental health. Now we’re going to work at getting very real with ourselves. It’s not about who or what you want to become, it’s about who and what you are right now. Sure, we’re all subject to growth and improvement – which means we can change, but I want to push you to consider innate strengths, talents and abilities. I also want you to think about your beliefs, convictions and character traits. It’s time to look deeply into the mirror.

Growing up in retail and spending decades serving the public taught me the importance of outward focus. It was an enormous business-building educational advantage. I bring that up because I think it’s important for us to be outward facing when it comes to providing value. Life isn’t all about you. It’s not all about me. It’s about THEM – those we want to impact. Those we want to dazzle. Those we want to influence.

However, for us to truly deliver the highest value – we have to be inward facing. We have to be more fully in touch with who and what we are. And it’s not an easy thing for most of us because outside influences press on us to dream or imagine being something we’re not. Or loving something we may naturally hate.

I’m kicking off this week’s theme with figuring out what you love for three reasons. One, it’s a more positive viewpoint than to approach it by concentrating on what you hate. Two, it’s more difficult to really figure out what you love. Three, it’s more impactful to your long-term success than a focus on what you hate.

Let me encourage you to flip negatives into positives. I’m not opposed to the high value of negatives. They can serve us. Parents say “no” to their kids an awful lot because kids can be stupid and make dumb decisions. And because parents love their kids and want to teach them. “Don’t cross the street,” isn’t negative advice. It’s a negative statement – don’t – aimed at keeping the child safe.

The problem is we learn to implement it throughout our lives. Be more thoughtful to flip it when you’re able. For example, how many times do you apologize for relatively minor offenses? “I’m sorry I’m late,” is a common one.

Flip it into a positive that puts the attention on the other person, in a good way. “Thank you for waiting for me. I appreciate it.”

Doing hard work as opposed to the easy work is a habit that’s good for us. To think of what you love is way harder than thinking of what you hate. You instantly know what you hate.  “I hate cauliflower” is an easy statement for lots of folks. “What’s your favorite vegetable of all time?” is a bit harder.

When we’re looking in the mirror – at our true selves – it’s insanely harder to land on what we most love. But the practice of doing it equips us to grow better at getting it done.

So it’s about a lasting impact. Long-term success and achievement. We’re not interested in some quick fix that won’t last. Sustainable growth is our objective.

Concentrate on the things you do daily inside your organization. Make note of the ones you truly love. The ones that fuel you. The ones that boost your energy just thinking about being able to do them.

The noise of business or organizational culture can ruin your ability to see accurately. For instance, culture gives so much wind and attention to the “start up” and “entrepreneurship.” People talk about starting a lot. It’s glorified.

But what if you don’t love the start? What if you know you’re not really good at the start?

True confession. I hate the start. I’m not good at the start. Meaning, launching isn’t easy for me because I hate that part of the process.

I know people who love nothing better than the start. But no sooner is the launch underway, they begin to lose interest. They so love the start, but they hate what comes after.

I’m the opposite. I hate the start, but once it’s underway – all that stuff in the middle, the building to get momentum – I love it. I love the middle.

Knowing that helps me. It can serve to keep me from trying to be something I’m not, or from saying “yes” to an opportunity that would likely not be fun or productive for me.

“To thine own self be true,” isn’t just some Shakespearean saying. It’s true.

But in order to be true to yourself, you have to come face to face with what you love. And you have to do it for one simple reason (although I’m sure there are plenty of others): you need energy for the grind.

When you love it you stick with it. When you hate it, you’ll accept any reason to quit.

Sure, it’s also highly probable that whatever you love is something you’re pretty good at. Better than something you hate.

I’m introverted. I enjoy being around people, but I don’t love being in crowds. I love being in a smaller group setting though – where conversations can go deeper than small talk (which I hate). What difference does it make in knowing (and facing) such truths? All the difference in the world if being at a bunch of events with lots of people is part of what’s needed to build my business. I’d be better served finding a person who loves that and delegating those activities to them.

So it’s not just what you love (and are likely pretty good at), but it’s knowing who and what you need to surround you in building or growing your business. The Jim Collins’ metaphor of putting the right people on the bus is true enough, but you need to be able to best figure out who they should be. I’m suggesting you focus on what you – and any potential teammates – love!

Besides, it’s lots more fun. And as much time as we spend working we should make it as fun as possible.

Be well. Do good. Grow great!

RC