August 17, 2009 | Tom Suddes
Last Saturday morning, I watched a marathon of Winnie The Pooh and Tigger. (Disney-On-Demand is amazing.)
I didn’t realize this current ‘series’, Pooh, Tigger, Eyore and all their friends are sleuths. There is always some kind of challenge or problem to solve.
When that happens, they put on their ‘question marks‘… and sing: “THINK. THINK. THINK.”
Great lesson here for all of us: THINK. THINK. THINK.
I try to take at least 30 minutes every morning to just THINK. Usually with my journal and some blank sheets of paper. Notes on life, work, money, math and more.
If this whole ‘THINK. THINK. THINK.’ thing doesn’t seem important, or you just can’t take the time because you’re too “busy”, or it’s a children’s cartoon and not the real world… I would encourage you to take a very hard look at the title of the book that is credited by more entrepreneurs and successful people, more than any other, for changing their lives. It’s by Napoleon Hill and it’s called:
THINK… & GROW RICH.
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August 13, 2009 | Tom Suddes
Turn ‘Dog Days’ Into Great Thinking and Planning Time
I was at the ‘beach’ last week with the g-kids (and some of their parents) doing some early morning reflection and some looooong bike rides from one end of the island to the other. I was struck by how AUGUST is viewed as such a down month, dog days of August/summer, no productivity, nobody around, nothing happening.
The fact is, it’s a TERRIFIC time to THINK… REFLECT… PLAN.
After Labor Day, the kids are back in school, there’s more focus on business and work, etc.
WHAT IF… you use these next few weeks to commit (to yourself) that you’re going to make some ‘BIG STUFF’ happen in September, October and November?
WHAT IF… you took some (a lot?!) time during these next few weeks to:
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THINK BIG! Set some really Big Hairy Audacious Goals. Commit to stay at 30,000′. Take Quantum Leaps. Etc. Etc.
Special Note: One great way to get in the right frame of mind for this activity is to read some powerful ‘THINK BIG’ books. Here’s a couple of quick examples:
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Man’s Search for Meaning, Victor Frankl. It’s said to be one of the ten best books ever written. If you’re looking for a great life philosophy read that applies to just about everything, Frankl’s book about Nazi war camps, attitude, purpose, etc. is a must read.
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Think & Grow Rich. Supposedly, more people have pointed to this book as their turning point in their lives (me included) than any other book besides the Bible. DCA (Definite Chief Aim). Mastermind Group. Purpose. So much more.
- The Magic of Thinking Big. David Schwartz classic. Just reinforces the whole concept that it’s actually so much easier to do BIG STUFF than it is a bunch of small, mediocre stuff. MAGIC is just a great reminder of this concept.
- “FIRST WITH THE HEAD. THEN WITH THE HEART.” This is my favorite line from one of the best books I’ve ever read in my life, The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay. It’s kind of the paradox to Andy Grove’s “Engage, Then Plan.”
I actually think August is a terrific time to PLAN (First with the Head)… so that you can ENGAGE/EXECUTE/ACT (Then with the Heart).
This morning I just finished putting together a 90-Day Action Plan for September, October and November. I know WHAT I need to get done (at the highest level). I know WHY I need to do it and how it fits into life goals, business goals, etc. And I know HOW I can get it done.
Now all I’ve get to do is actually DO it.
*I even created a separate Journal this morning just for this Action Plan. WRITE IT DOWN. IT WILL HAPPEN.
- HAVE FUN! The word ‘RECREATE’ can be broken into RE-CREATE. One way to RE-CREATE is to RECREATE! You’re much more creative when you take time off to get away from the fires, the mundane, the cacophony of mindless babbling at work. If you go to the beach or the mountains or even a local coffee shop… it’s a great opportunity to THINK. To PLAN. To CREATE.
We need to have more FUN! Practice NEOTONY. The dictionary says this is ‘juvenilism’ but I think of the word more about ACTING LIKE A CHILD. Be curious. Have fun. Ask questions.
If you want a special book on this, check out Serious Play by Michael Schrage.
*If you really want to go deep here. Grab Napoleon Hill’s Law of Success. Mine is 3” thick with a bright red cover. Hill’s copyright is 1937. My first reading (inscribed inside the cover) was 40 years after that on the 25th of May, 1977.
P.S. I am called O.G. (Old Guy) by all my grandkids (and many others). One of my favorite authors of all time is OG Mandino who had a very powerful influence on my life in my early years. Here is an article from latest Success magazine on Og. Read any of his wonderful books for a real lift.
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August 13, 2009 | Tom Suddes
What They Didn’t Teach Me… About Altitude
I was just thinking this morning about Mark McCormack and some of the great stuff he wrote about in What They Didn’t Teach Me at Harvard Business School.
McCormack started IMG, which is now probably the largest firm in the world representing athletes and musicians. My copy of McCormack’s book is dated July of 1990, shortly after it came out. He also wrote the THE 110% SOLUTION and a terrific book called On Selling. (By the way, he was probably one of the best SALES PEOPLE ever.)
What I remember most about his thinking on SALES was around the idea of ‘ALTITUDE’ (even though he didn’t use that word).
“I get an agreement, IN PRINCIPLE, to the deal.
Then, we can always work out the DETAILS.”
“PRINCIPLE” is at 30,000′! Nick is always reminding our training attendees or coaching clients about staying at 30,000′… even when asked a ‘detail’ question, get back to 30,000′ as soon as you can.
The “DETAILS” are at 3′.
Here’s a great example from the For Impact (aka not-for-profit) world around the ‘PLANNED GIFT’. Read more
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August 11, 2009 | Nick Fellers
Fourth Annual Campaign Week: Aug 10 – 14
Every year the For Impact team dedicates one week to helping members of the For Impact community re-think, jumpstart or envision their campaign initiatives. It’s a week for us to dialogue with members of the community… to brainstorm… to innovate and to disseminate ideas.
First inspired by Discovery Channel’s Shark Week we started ‘Campaign Week’ with events, free campaign coaching and specially published materials.
See full schedule.
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July 31, 2009 | Nick Fellers
Create and Own Your Own Reality
Last week Amazon announced the purchase of Zappos.com for $850M.
Zappos.com CEO, Tony Hsieh, has been making the rounds for months as the leader of the newest darling company. I really enjoy his outlook and admire his achievement. Following the Amazon announcement he posted this tweet:
The biggest (and hardest) lesson I’ve learned in life is that the external world is just a reflection of the world within.
Pretty profound.
Posted above my computer: In the absence of utter clarity, create your own reality.
Tony pushes that a step further. (Always) create your own reality. Own your own reality. And… he’s absolutely right!
PS – A first. Blogging about a tweet. We’re @forimpact
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July 30, 2009 | Tom Suddes
A Life/Business Strategy: 10-4=6
Ten steps forward minus four steps backwards (still) = SIX STEPS FORWARD.
The greatest golfer in the world, and perhaps in history, says it this way, “I’ve done some things in this year to get everything organized in my game. I took some steps BACKWARD in order to make some GIANT LEAPS FORWARD.” Go, Tiger.
QUANTUM LEAP is going to mean some backward steps, some testing and prototyping, and some failure.
What are you waiting for? FAIL. FAIL FAST. FAIL OFTEN.
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July 30, 2009 | Nick Fellers
A Thought on Major Gifts Officers
Stance: I’m ALL FOR adding more sales people… investing in sales, etc.
A thought/question as it relates to ADDING more sales people (major gifts positions). Should you add another position? Or, should we re-design some of the top-level priorities so that an ED and senior advancement officer can allocate more time to the top of the pyramid?
Catalyst: I’m out west working with a For Impact org that is about three months into making the quantum leap. ED gets it…. totally. He says, “Nick, I can see how this is going to continue to be HUGE. I’m thinking we should add ANOTHER major gifts person.”
I challenged the ED (and share with you). To date, he’s only been able to spend about 1% of his time on top-level relationships (up from 0%). My suggestion was that he hire a high-level support person (eg. ‘Director of Special Projects’) to free up his ability to create a 10% focus. Even if he were to hire another sales person, he is a leader, a visionary and consequently, the dude that needs to be part of the presentation for the many $1M+ relationships. Adding someone else (without adding leadership focus) isn’t going to max the return. Interesting though, I’ll bet it would still have a strong ROI.
This is no different than asking a CEO to make it a priority to service the top-level accounts for a company. He/she can add more sales people but to really maximize the potential time could be well spent checking in on the top 10 accounts.
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July 29, 2009 | Tom Suddes
I’m actively engaged with three primary physical activities… boxing, biking and yoga. I practice at least one of these almost every day.
All three of these activities (as well as most other sports) require considerable BALANCE… which has a lot to do with CORE STRENGTH.
If you apply this idea of CORE STRENGTH to your life, it’s about your CORE, your PURPOSE, your PASSION, your PRINCIPLES… with STRENGTH, which could be around CHARACTER, COMMITMENT, COMPASSION.
P.S. Both boxing and yoga rely heavily on ‘STANCE’ and ‘POSITION’. I am thinking that both of these things also apply to your life as well. (What’s your position or stance on whatever???)
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July 28, 2009 | Tom Suddes
As a right-brain (hair-brain?), contrarian, mind-mapping maverick, talking about a ‘SYSTEM’ is sometimes hard. But, I saw the word as an acronym and I can certainly buy into this:
Save Yourself Stress, Time, Energy and Money.
That’s really what a true SYSTEM does.
Note: A SYSTEM, by definition, is an orderly, inner-connected arrangement… a set of principles linked to form a coherent doctrine or… a method of organization, administration or procedure.
We’ve got some great SYSTEMS. You can call them processes or frameworks or methodologies, but I believe all of these qualify:
• A SALES SYSTEM (the Roadmap and Process).
• A DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM (around the Model).
• A PRESENTATION SYSTEM (a Framework and Flow).
• A PROSPECTING SYSTEM (to help Identify, Prioritize and Strategize).
• A ‘STRATEGIC PLANNING’ SYSTEM (around Leadership Consensus Building).
• A (Non-Traditional) CAMPAIGN SYSTEM.
• A COACHING SYSTEM.
All of these Save You Stress, Time, Energy and Money.
Let us know if you could use any of these SYSTEMS, especially you left-brains, need the details, execution.
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July 27, 2009 | Tom Suddes
It’s Tough to Outsource Passion
I may have heard or seen this some place, but can’t remember the attribution. Maybe it’s just a vibe from Napoleon Hill’s ether-world.
Regardless it’s true. It’s powerful. It’s self-evident.
IT’S TOUGH TO OUTSOURCE PASSION.
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