Do you like to cold call people?  Most don’t. I learned many lessons through the process of getting really good at it.

The great Zig Ziglar used to give the example of being truly motivated. His scenario was this:  He calls you on a Thursday and tells you that if you can be ready to go Monday morning, he’ll take you and your spouse on an around the world trip, all expenses paid.  All you have to do is be at the airport Monday morning at 9am. You are thrilled and you answer YES! when he asks if you are committed to going. You hang up the phone and then realize all the reasons why you can’t go on the trip and you start to talk yourself out of if.

If you get motivated enough, however, you’ll find a way to make that trip, and so you do.

Read the rest of this entry »

AMERICA! LET’S PUSH THE (CONSCIENTIOUS CONNECTOR) ENVELOPE!

We’ve all heard it before: Ask anyone to name the top five people in their lives who had the most positive influence on them and a Teacher comes up, every time.  Somewhere along the way a teacher spotted you, pushed you, encouraged you, perhaps even prodded you to do better.  And, you responded. You might have been a little miffed at the time, but as you grew up, your opinion of your special teacher shifted to where it needed to be.  All good.

Read the rest of this entry »

Small businesses’ challenges can sometimes be overcome by simply working smarter on your connections.

I recently ran across a list of things that small businesses face, as reported by Business News Daily, a respected online news tabloid which caters to supporting startups and small businesses.  The folks at Business News Daily interviewed many small business owners and their responses probably won’t surprise you. As I looked at the list, I was struck by how small businesses can, with relatively little investment in training their people and with approaching these challenges in a strategic way, improve greatly their future. Read the rest of this entry »

Oxygen For The Lifeblood of Any Business…

“Approximately 2 million new businesses will be launched this year and by the fifth year more than 80 percent will belly up.”

This was one of many articles easily found by simply going on line an asking for stats about businesses and how many of them fail every year.  In particular, this quote was attached to something someone wrote back in 2004, a year that officially recorded just 5.5% unemployment in America, easily half or more of what it is today.

The American Dream of owning one’s own business is still alive and well, however, and I hope it will always be the desire of entrepreneurs of any age to want to strike out and put their individual stamp on a business they wish to run.  Some will start their businesses because they are particularly good at creating something, like special cupcakes or wool throws.  Others will offer special services, or typical services but with their own personal style that sets them apart from everyone else.  And, to a person, every one of them, with few exceptions, will be underfunded by the time they reach year 3.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Conscientious Connector

BOARDROOM

THE LIVES BEHIND THE FACADE: A STORY ABOUT WHAT A BUSINESS CARD CAN’T TELL YOU.

It was like when you were a kid, waiting patiently for the butterfly to land on your arm and you told yourself that if you were quiet, it was just a matter of time until it came to you. I had headed out on my walk that morning, trying to get in some exercise and to also open up to my Guides and Universe for help in finding the right way to convey what I wanted to say to a group of professionals I would be addressing later that morning.   How should I begin? Do I need a Prop of some sort that would help drive home the points I needed to make?   “Be patient,” I told myself,  “Let the answers come to you.”

Read the rest of this entry »