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Lifelong Learners Make Better Lifelong Teachers

Mentioned in today’s show:

The 100-Mile Walk: A Father And Son On A Quest To Find The Essence Of Leadership by Sander A. Flaum & Jonathon A. Flaum

Leadership is not a one-way street.

People need leadership. That doesn’t mean leaders are without their own needs.

Leaders need feedback, information, dialog and instruction. Nobody knows everything. Not even the most accomplished or capable leader.

Fathers have a great deal to learn. Sometimes from their own children.

CEO’s have a great deal to learn. Sometimes from low level, frontline employees (see Undercover Boss).

The compelling reason why I do what I do with these podcasts, videos and blog posts is summed up in a single phrase, “Passing it on.”

It doesn’t mean I’m an expert with nothing left to learn. My ability to teach, to instruct or pass it on is greatly enhanced by my ability to listen and learn. Lifelong learning improves lifelong teaching, and mentoring.

It’s the fabric of legacy!

 

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Trusted Advisors For Your Small Business: Do You Surround Yourself With Good People To Consult With?

Today’s show was prompted by the lead sentence on a story at the Dallas Stars’ Hockey Club website

Talk to many highly-accomplished executives, and they will often point out that a key to their success comes from surrounding themselves with good people to consult and bounce ideas off of.

I’d like to crowdsource some information by asking you to leave me a comment here. Here are some of the things I’m hoping you’ll share:

• Do you surround yourself with good people?
• How do you find or determine who “good people” are?
• Do you talk with them regularly, or only when you feel you need their specific expertise?
• What suggestions do you have for the rest of us?

Thanks in advance for sharing.

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The 2012 Happy Birthday Show

The Podcast: Download Or Non-Flash Playback

A shout out and “thank you” to the three reviewers of the podcast over at iTunes. Thank you! You guys are the first, and I’m pleased.

• building4life
• Edward Enzmann
• Bruce Brodeen of Pop Geek Heaven

Rather than wish me a happy birthday, do me a favor…go to iTunes and leave me your review. I would greatly appreciate it.

Have a great week,

 

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The 5 Faces Of Small Business Problems

I say it too often, but it’s only because I love it so…and because it’s profound. And because it’s more often than not, true!

“Everything is hard until it’s easy.”

Small business owners sometimes find themselves believing that everything is hard, if not impossible. They can easily fall into the trap of believing that it’s just how things are. Despair creeps in when an entrepreneur can’t seem to find a solution.

Enter the word, pivot. When what we’re doing doesn’t work, then pivot, change, do something different.

That’s not always the best solution though. Sometimes our business is on the right track, we’re just misusing the whip on the horse. Or we’re holding the bridle too tightly. Or we’ve got our heels hitting the horse, making him uncomfortable. And slower.

I tend to encounter a handful of issues that slow down small businesses who employ me to help them sort through the maze as they try to fix what ails them. It often results in a sense of overwhelming emotions, the impulse that screams, “We’ll never get all this fixed.”

In my experience, the truth is that many of these problems can be more easily solved than the owner thinks. The hardest part can sometimes be convincing the business owner that a fix is possible. And that it doesn’t require blowing up the joint.

Make no mistake, it is hard. Very hard. But once we come to terms with the reality of our problems, then we can more easily (and clearly) see the possible solutions. Then it gets easier. Not easy, but easier.

Once we determine we’re going to fix what ails us, and we embrace our own tenacity to make it so – that’s when it starts to get easy!

 

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How To Fail In Sales: Act Like A Jerky Daytime TV Talk Show Host

No, I won’t promote him, but his initials are JK. And it doesn’t stand for “just kidding.”

For a few weeks now I’ve seen him on the TV’s at the gym. He’s on every weekday. I’ve never heard the sound, but from 75 feet away I can see his body language and tell…he’s an A-1 jerk (actually, I can think of another J-name that likely fits better). He looms over people who are seated. He sticks his finger in their face. He interrupts them. He badgers them.

I know too many salespeople who somehow believe that they are the center of our Solar System. People should buy from them because they radiate such ingenuity and brilliance. Instead, people think they’re jerks and can’t wait to distance from them. Maybe they need to be on TV instead.

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