What’s your word?

Throughout life somewhere along the way, we have adopted a word that describes who we are or how we have achieved the level of success we have today. Right now, if someone were to ask you what’s the one word that describes you? What’s the one word that you believe represents how you’ve accomplished the success and achievement that you have today?

For many entrepreneurs, business owners, CEO’s and business leaders alike, I believe the word persistence shows up quite a bit. Throughout the history books, persistence is always attached to some sort of great achievement.

For myself, persistence is and was my word. It has served me very well throughout my life. However, as I have matured in business and leadership I have adopted a new word that serves a greater purpose. A word, I believe is a step up from the word Persistence. That word to me is Intentionalism.

I’ve learned that we need to become extremely intentional on what we focus on that serves us most in our life and our business. We need to become intentional about who we associate with, the books we read, what we listen too or watch. We need to be intentional about who, what and where we spend our time.

The question you have to ponder is. Are you being intentional with your life? Are you being intentional with who you let into your environment or who you spend time with? Are you being intentional with what you read or don’t read, what you listen to or don’t listen to, what you watch or don’t watch? Are you being intentional with the conversations you’re having with a member of your team, a partner or a customer? Are you being intentional about who and what you focus your time on?

Don’t be the business owner or person that uses the old “I’ve got ADHD”, so I can’t intentionally focus or organize myself. No offense, but that line is a bunch of rubbish and it most certainly doesn’t serve anyone most importantly yourself.

Since time is really our most valuable asset and we need to honor and treasure it, being intentional is actually the best time saver in the world. Why? Because being intentional gets you laser-focused only on what’s important, what most moves the needle forward in your life and business. Being intentional also saves others time as you’re not wasting yours and you most certainly won’t be wasting there’s as you’ll be consistently focused on what’s most important to them and the organization. Intentionalism will also increase productivity which leads to better margins and ultimately increased profits.

I challenge you to get clear on your word. If it serves you well, congratulations. If it doesn’t time to adopt a new word that does. I’ve shared mine in intentionalism. So, What’s your word?

What color is your beach ball

Imagine yourself at a boardroom table where all the important members of your organization are seated around the table. Now imagine a large beach ball directly in the center of the table. Depending on where you are sitting at the table will determine what color of the beach ball you’ll be facing.

On one end of the table could be the President of the organization of which his or her beach ball is blue. The other end is the Vice President of which his or her beach ball is red. Those who are sitting on the different sides of the table may be seeing a green, purple, orange or a yellow beach ball. The color of the ball that you are seeing is all determined by where you are sitting. Even though there are several colors to the ball, you may be only seeing one or two of the colors.

In an organization where there are specific rules or standards that must be adhered to by everyone then the beach ball is simply blue. It doesn’t matter of where you are sitting at the table or what your perspective is if this is the rule to be followed by all. Then the beach ball is blue, period! End of conversation!

Now if you are an organization that is looking to grow the company, a division, a team or just brainstorm ideas to stay ahead of your competition.  In that case, the beach ball can be one of many of the different colors. It can be blue, red, green, purple, orange, yellow or any combination of those colors. This way you will want to be getting everyone that is sitting around the tables perspective, opinions and ideas. As a team of leaders, you’ll be getting a different perspective from every color of the beach ball.

By masterminding in such a way of not being so adamant of what color of the ball you personally are seeing, you begin to see different opportunities, perspectives, solutions or strategies to take your organization, division or team to the next level. You begin to brainstorm ideas to outsmart and outwit the competition. By being open to all the different colors and perspectives of the beach ball you’ll be able to decide on what color or option to choose that is best for everyone and the organization.

In conclusion, if it’s to be a set rule or standard, then the beach ball is blue. However, if it’s a discussion on how to be the best in business. I strongly urge you to consider all the different colors of the beach ball.

You are the ambassador of my quan.

There’s a great scene in the film “Jerry Maguire” where Cuba Gooding Jr.’s character, Rod Tidwell a football player, explains to his agent, Tom Cruise’s character, Jerry Maguire, what “quan” is. He tells him that quan is more than just “coin”. It’s about love, respect and money.  Let me take you back to the scene in the movie of … Read more

Dr. Seuss Sales Persistence

  The debate can go on forever on what the greatest sales book in the world is. We all know there are many of them out there. However, one that may be overlooked and is familiar to us all is an old classic by Dr. Seuss titled “Green Eggs and Ham.” Now, we have either … Read more

Are you consistent?

When building your brand, team, company, and reputation, consistency is the key to your success. Without it, there is no foundation to build on. Changing your logo, message, or branding too often will confuse the customer and they will find another option. In addition an inconsistent behavior with your staff will sometimes result in them … Read more