“And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” ~Abraham Lincoln
Today is my son’s 21st birthday. Ryan is a U.S. Marine serving as an Air Traffic Controller. He’s been in Japan for the last two years. He’ll be returning to Texas on February 23rd for a month. I can’t wait.
My son has a great sense of humor, and a keen understanding (usually) of how people with half a brain should behave out in the business world. So in honor of his birthday, here is a 21 “FUN” Salute, with business lessons from the light side of life and kids and stuff like that, and making fun of whatever I can.
So Here Goes:
1. When I was a kid, I used to think there were little plastic army guys inside the radio playing the music. Lesson: PERCEPTION is EVERYTHING, and it often helps to communicate a product, service, or idea as if the audience knew NOTHING about it.
2. When I went to wash my hands in the kitchen today, I noticed that my honey had watered down the dish soap (again). I told him, “stop watering down the soap or I’m gonna blog about you”. He said, “go ahead, and also tell them I’ve been doing it since I was knee-high to a grasshopper”. Lesson: If you do something ridiculous, people will blog about you.
3. I had three kids in four years. When I potty trained my youngest, Sarah, I would reward ALL three kids with a few M&M’s whenever she used the potty. Understandably, the other two encouraged her BIG TIME. My son even snuck in and pee’d in the potty for her a few times. Sarah was effortlessly trained in short order, with plenty of praise and approval from her brother and sister. Lesson: You’ll reach your goals faster by rallying the team. Everyone will feel important, and team members will connect better with one another.
4. After a year in Japan, my hormonal son was missing the familiar comfort of American girls. I put together a “HOT CHICK KIT” for him by going to the mall near the holidays, and recruited single young ladies who were willing to, 1) have their picture taken, 2) sign a little note card to my son on the spot—which I tied to a mini-chocolate bar and their photo, and 3) Give up their Facebook or Myspace address. The girls were flattered and more than willing to contribute. They wrote wonderful messages thanking my son for his service and asking him to stay in touch. My son was pleasantly annoyed when I sent him the kit. Lesson: Create a product or service where there is a need and desire, no matter how crazy it seems. It will likely be a huge hit.
5. Recently, my honey and I signed up for a taste-test for Schlotzsky’s Deli. They were testing a new whole-grain bread. We got a free lunch for doing so, a date together, plus a $25.00 gift certificate each. Lesson: Save gobs of research money by going right to the horse’s mouth. You’ll solidify loyalty by rewarding your customers for giving you important product and service information.
6. My sister-in-law and I got kicked out of Harrods in London for taking photos of their beautiful displays, AFTER they told us to stop taking photos of their beautiful displays. Lesson: Don’t get pissy about FREE publicity (and, don’t push your luck).
7. I have asked my husband (not my HONEY this time) for weeks to buy ROASTED SALSA from the grocery store (he does the shopping). Twice already, even after my numerous requests, he bought the regular kind instead. Lesson: Don’t assume your customers will stay if you continue to ignore them (even though I’m staying).
8. One time I delivered a custom home fashions order to a client. I installed all the items and politely requested final payment. The client asked if she could pay me later, as she was expecting company and in a hurry! Lesson: Collect the balance on the day of install or delivery, BEFORE the install (P.S. I did get full payment that day).
9. Another time (before I finally changed my payment policy) I delivered a custom order to a client. I installed the treatments and I asked for final payment. The client, who knew the installation date in advance, said she did not own a checkbook or credit card and she did not have cash (I think that’s amazingly funny)! Lesson: Drop the bottom 20 percent of your clientele.
10. Once when I was five, my aunt cut my sandwich into four triangles because I asked for “corner to corner”. I went ballistic, flailing and crying with intense protest, demanding “I said corner to corner, NOT corner to corner to corner to corner.” Lesson: Don’t ASSUME you know what the customer wants just because you “sort of” know.
11. A friend and I visited a run-of-the-mill, not at all inspiring (why even be in business?) variety store. I saw signs posted and repeated on every wall, informing me that “if you break it, you buy it” (no, if I break it, YOU have to clean it up), that my “kids must stay with an adult at all times” (you had to tell me that through a stupid sign? How about if I make the kid stay with you while I shop, you’re an adult, aren’t you?), and that “a $2.00 charge will be added to all credit card purchases” (isn’t that illegal? If not, it should be). I’ve seen many stores play the sign game. My favorite was on the entrance of a popular hobby store. It read “upon entering this store you agree that we have the right to check your purse”. I am not kidding! I went into the store just HOPING someone tried to look in my purse! (By the way, just because you post a sign that reads, “upon entering this store, you agree to give us your car” doesn’t make it so.) Lesson: Don’t talk to your customers through negative signage. It makes you look really foolish and it turns people off. Totally ditch the “you’re a bad girl and we don’t trust you, and we really don’t even like you all that much” types of signs and attitudes.
12. Not long ago, at an otherwise upscale establishment, I saw another sign that read, “$30 fee on all returned checks”. Lesson: Drop the ridiculous HOT CHECK FEE (because then you have to have a stupid sign). If you must have it, make it just a few bucks, not 30. Someone who writes a hot check on purpose won’t be stopped because of a fee threat, and they probably won’t be coming back anyway, and a valued customer who writes one accidentally should be shown mercy so they WILL come back. NEVER shame your customers, and NEVER post their check on a wall for all to see (I can’t believe people do this).
13. I recently saw a T.V. commercial for Proactive where Avril Lavigne said, “I literally tried EVERYTHING”. The poor girl must be completely exhausted. Lesson: Don’t publicize that you are an idiot (yes, grammatical mistakes happen all the time, but this choice of wording was scripted, planned, reviewed by a slew of people, and continues to air). HINT: look up the word literally.
14. I tried to return a ham (by the way, that’s the title of my next book). We’d just bought it, and when I opened it I saw the expiration date had long expired. My honey had thrown away the receipt. “So what” I said, “I’m taking it back, they should never have sold this”. At the store, I politely explained that I didn’t have a receipt, that we shop there every week, and that the ham was long expired the day we bought it. The clerk made a phone call sharing all the details (including that I had no receipt). The person on the other end O.K.’d the return with no problem. The clerk then snobbishly handed me a gift card for the amount of the ham, and proceeded to tell me, “The next time you return something like this, don’t throw away your receipt”. Well, no sh_ _ Sherlock (I kept that to myself), that’s why I told you from the beginning that I didn’t have a receipt. But, she just HAD to have power over SOMEBODY! Lesson: Don’t SCOLD or LECTURE your customers (especially not me. Don’t worry, I was nice)!
15. I love Triscuit crackers, but rarely buy them and wasn’t sure why. Then Nabisco came out with Triscuit Thin Crisps, a thinner triangle version of the original, with the same taste. Now we buy them to eat with everything from eggs to chicken salad. They’re like my new bread. I now realize the original crackers were tasty, but just too thick and filling. Lesson: Don’t throw the cracker out with the kitchen-sink water—don’t totally replace an idea. Simply TWEAK a product or service just a bit, and you could have tremendous success. See, I am now eating more Triscuits AND sharing the product with you, and THAT’s how it works!
16. When I was about 7, I bet my older brother $5.00 that he couldn’t ride down the stairs on his bicycle. He took the bait. He landed at the bottom with a bang, a bent up bike, and his handlebars shot into the wall. My parents came running only to scream and holler at him (that’s what they did in the old days). He later asked me for the money. I said, “No, ‘cause you didn’t do it right”. Lesson: Get it in writing.
17. I served on a national Board of Directors for several years (I’ve served on several boards so don’t try to figure it out), volunteering a lot of time and traveling long distances to many meetings and think sessions. The leadership did not value or capitalize on the diversity of exceptional thinkers they had at their disposal. They embraced only ideas that were in line with their repertoire’ of knowledge and their current way of doing things. They quickly denounced ideas that involved knowledge that was new to them (I think because it made them uncomfortable, and allowed someone else to have authority or influence in the meetings). They also quickly stopped any type of back-and-forth passionate discussions among the 12 board members (but they would throw a hissy-fit if you disagreed with THEM). They didn’t facilitate the negotiations and friendly hashing out of a group of innovative thinkers who were willing to synthesize concepts and ideas, and bring innovation to an entire industry. That organization is still in just about the same place they were two, five, and even ten years ago. Lesson: Diversity of thinking, controlled tension from different ideas, and strategic conflict are where growth, change, innovation, and incredible ideas and products come from.
18. Today my honey, who is quite generous and always kind (but who LOVES to save money), turned away two adorable girl scouts selling cookies from a wagon. When he told me, I gave him a four second mini-lecture on the importance of their efforts, and then I ran down the road after them. They returned, and Joe and I, standing side-by-side, proudly bought a box of Caramel DeLites (he paid, and later he actually thanked me). As they left, one little girl said to me “isn’t your husband the man who rides his bike around”? Lesson: Don’t be too quick to blow an opportunity to invest into the lives of others, besides, someone might recognize you and always remember your kindness.
19. I once worked on a joint venture with a particular feisty, NO-BULL East Coast woman (no, not me). When someone harshly voiced a problem or issue through email, she was swift to shoot off a reply blasting them right back. I quickly took over the emails so as not to tick people off. I was able to turn every one of the critics full-heartedly towards our efforts through first respectfully acknowledging their concerns, and then offering greater understanding or solutions that worked for them. Lesson: Take a deep breath, then take the high road when responding to email messages containing sharp or tactless complaints. Don’t put it out there if you don’t want it to come back at ya’. Kind replies to ill-communicated concerns can win the virtual hearts (and real cash) of customers for years to come.
20. Type into Google (O.K., O.K., Bing, too) any term that relates to “bad customer service”, “rude store”, or “great places to shop”, and see what the universe brings. Lesson: Today, the little guy has power, and the supposedly insignificant people of the world are talking and blogging, and maybe about YOU! Behind the screen, everyone’s voice has just about equal authority and volume. If the nerdy nobody from OklaNowhere shares her experience online, she can direct droves of customers towards or away from you. Lesson: Be amazing and always give your very best. Help make the conversation one you can be proud of.
21. Today is my son’s 21st birthday. It has gone by so very fast. I remember him when he was just one day old (pictured), and I called him “mommy’s salami” because he was all wrapped up in a meaty little bundle. I have enjoyed every moment and every year that he was my son, and I look forward to many more. Lesson: Put your time, your efforts, your priorities, and your business concerns into perspective. Celebrate your life, your kids, your loved ones, and enjoy every minute of it.
“When the customer comes first, the customer will last” ~ Robert Half
Over the weekend, my honey, my Dad, my daughter, and I went to an early dinner at a local BBQ house since we told ourselves that we were all craving steak. I think I started the rumor. I really wanted a steak.
Shortly after we entered the not-yet crowded restaurant, we stood in line (with no other customers in sight), and bent our necks way back, Texas BBQ style, positioning our heads so we could look up towards the big menu on the wall near the ceiling, and there we all stood!
There we all stood—looking, thinking, figuring, trying not only to decide what to order, but to make sense of a menu that was totally lacking in information and completely confusing if you were not a “regular”. It was obvious that the four of us were lost in BBQ space.
Straight across from us and to the left, stood at least five brawny apron-clad male meat-slicers, with fidgeting knives in hand and no one yet to wait on. Not one member of the he-man group even attempted to acknowledge or engage us, even though they could clearly see by the looks on our faces, by our quiet and embarrassed whisperings back and forth to one another, and by our lack of movement towards the ordering station that we were stuck, puzzled, and frustrated about how and what to order.
The store manager, also oblivious to good customer service (and the behavioral leader of the man-clan), stood among them preparing for the soon to come evening rush. To the right of them all, and straight across from us, were two cashiers. The one closest to us was standing dope-faced and under-enthused at her register, watching us like we were lunatics, foreigners, or possibly even vegetarians. Another cashier— likely the owner because of her over-exaggerated expression of self-importance— had just come up to the second register while on the phone, pretending to be super busy, getting something from the cash drawer, and purposely ignoring us (because if she acknowledged that she saw us, she’d have to wait on us).
Now, the four of us steak-cravers stood there for at least eight minutes, huddling and sighing, and trying not to look too much like idiots who couldn’t order a simple BBQ plate or steak. The real idiots, however, were the staff members, and particularly the main cashier (I always blame the management), who allowed us to remain confused and unattended for such a long period of time (an eternity in the land of customers) without ever offering us assistance, asking if we had any questions, or helping us understand their “void-of-pertinent information” menu.
We stepped up to the register. We began asking questions to the numb, bland, expressionless and barely voiceless cashier who had been motionlessly watching us since we walked into the place. I think her name was Bambi, or Clueless, or something.
Her answers to our “what’s on the seniors BBQ plate”, “what’s the difference between a side and a side-order”, “what comes with the FREE buffet and what does not”, and “what comes with the 8 oz. steak dinner” confused us even more, and when we (mainly me) tried to clarify, she made things a lot worse, and a lot more confusing, and if that weren’t bad enough, she could utterly care less.
I finally ordered myself a simple burger instead of a steak because I was exhausted from being confused. She did manage to ask me if I wanted mayo or mustard, but she added a wide-eyed sarcastic expression as she asked (I guess she was getting annoyed at us being annoyed). “MAYO, not mustard” I said clearly, slinging my own version of her “Pissy Face” right back at her. She blatantly and confidently pressed a spot on her cash register and from there I walked off in utter frustration, leaving my husband, daughter, and dad to finish the rest of the ordering. At that point, it was every man for himself.
I’m a nice lady, but as I’ve said before, I am incapable of B_ _ _ S _ _ _! Just after I left the register, I politely but firmly spoke over the meat-slicing counter to the manager, “you’d probably have a nice restaurant here if your customer service was good”. Then I walked to my table without waiting for his response. I find when you confront people nicely but clearly, with a definitive statement, they respond, and they usually respond well. (A fantasy of mine is to some day be one of those secret shoppers who spies on businesses and then goes around informing management of all the wonderful things they can do in regard to customer care to turn their businesses around (you should watch Tabatha Coffey on the Bravo channel sometime)).
Not to be outdone by a measly former-New Yorker, the manager came to my table within two short minutes. He asked me my beef (I just had to say that) and I told him. He assured me this NEVER happens. He apologized and went on his way.
We got our meal and the food looked delicious. No complaints there at all, until I bit into my burger to discover that the passive-aggressive cashier had laid a double dose of mustard on me. I walked straight up to the manager for a fix (I was nice about it, I wasn’t going to give that woman the satisfaction of showing I was ticked). I even offered to let them just replace the bun so I could eat dinner with my family. I got my “new” burger, with mayo, in about 6 minutes. From that point on the meal was great and my husband gave me a big bite of his steak (it costs me half a cheeseburger).
Before we were half-way through with the meal, the manager visited us again with an offer for a FREE after-dinner fruit cobbler and ice-cream for each of us. I felt a bit on the spot—I was not looking for free anything, just decent service and help with the confusing menu. I started to say “no, that is not necessary”, but I knew the manager was trying to recover, and I KNEW my honey wanted that cobbler, so I obliged him. My skinny, type II diabetic father was also thrilled.
On our way out we kindly thanked the manager and said our warm good-byes. Maybe this was an “off” night for them all. Maybe the workers were treated by the management and by the owner the same way WE were treated by the workers and by the owner (the lady on the phone). Perhaps that’s why the workers had no enthusiasm or sense of customer connection.
This was an experience for sure, and easy material for today’s message, but really it’s a sad commentary relating to many of America’s small businesses. The country lacks customer service, business common sense, and sometimes basic brains.
The disturbing part about this scenario was that the food was really good, the restaurant was clean, the décor was fitting (if you like the county-rustic theme common to a BBQ place), and the prices were fair, but that was NOT enough. People want you and your establishment to be EXCEPTIONAL, to be AMAZING, particularly in the department of customer service. No one wants to pay for a bad experience. They may purchase it the first time through ignorance, but you can bet your 10-gallon hat they won’t come back.
The cheapest steak that night at our local BBQ place ran around 15 bucks, the most expensive around 30. The cheeseburgers were around 8. I went out to dinner looking for a steak, but in frustration and desperation, I ordered a cheeseburger instead. That restaurant lost at least 20 dollars on my sale alone, and my daughter opted for a salad, resulting in another loss in sales for BBQ HEAVEN (the name has been changed to protect the possibility of an innocent party). How many times a day, a weekend, a month does this happen at this establishment? Could their sales increase by 20, 30, 40 percent or more if they simply cared about each and every customer that walked through their doors?
Your Lesson and Mine
What about you. I know you may not sell BBQ, but how are you doing in the furniture department, the color consultation field, or in the wellness industry? It doesn’t matter if you are selling food, fabrics, furniture, or fitness. Your customers must be KING.
Don’t be an example of poor customer care that shows up on somebody’s blog. Be that sensational business that everyone wants to talk to everyone else about, in a good way. When they want cheeseburgers, let them eat steak!
“Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you.” ~Dr. Seuss
“Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it.”~Bruce Lee
Remember the movie, Jerry Maguire? So many people loved the line “you complete me” and consider it their all time favorite phrase in the picture show. Well, O.K., sure, whatever! My favorite line in that movie is unequivocally, “I’m incapable of bullsh__t!
No, I’m not an advocate of cussing, but I AM a big fan of being straight forward in life, and being as honest as you can be in everything that you do (except of course when hiding presents and great surprises from others).
Today, there is such a pull to be a copycat, and in business the cry is to be a copycat marketer. There is even a book (or 20) on the topic. My belief is that you must stop the poo poo-ing around, and get convinced and empowered once and for all to follow your own flight path. The world needs that of you.
Another of my absolute favorite movie lines comes from Disney’s Aladdin, where the Genie (voice of Robin Williams) disguised as a bumble bee, adorably and persuasively states to Aladdin, “BEEEEE yourself”, and THAT right there is my magical advice to you, too. Just beeeee yourself, and offer what YOU ALONE have to offer, and do it with a strategic plan. In business and in life, THAT is where the golden honey is and where your power lies, and that is what will drive the potent, paralyzing, and final sting to your failed attempts at marketplace success.
“Oh, but what about my competitors…shouldn’t I be doing just what they’re doing, the same way they’re doing it too? They might get all the customers.” At the risk of getting exterminated by some of my loyal (and much appreciated) readers, I’ll tell you that over the course of my career, I rarely if ever gave much of a flying flip about what my competitors were doing, because in my heart and mind, I believed that I really didn’t have any.
As foolish and perhaps as cocky as that may sound, I understood that my power to connect with and serve my customers was seated specifically in my uniqueness, in my one-of-a-kind “buzz” if you will, in my personal creativity, and in my own personality and ability to understand from my distinctive point of view what my customers may want and need. These are things no-one can match or copy.
Now, that doesn’t mean I totally and completely ignored my competitors over long periods of time—but almost! Sure, there was the occasional spy tactic, the now and then phone call to check pricing, the random peeping in retail windows at night –back in the day (on public property of course), and the here and there Google-ing around from a public pc in more modern times, but overall I have not obsessed or worried about what my competitors were doing. I really didn’t care, and I just didn’t (and still don’t) give it my time.
The thinking that empowers me to this day is this: I have very specific strengths that give me a competitive edge, and I can function in those strengths like nobody’s business, because no one else is ME! I am comfortable in those strengths, and I drive them hard. I also have thinking patterns that are shared by no one else, and insight and the expression of that insight that cannot be duplicated by anyone. I am therefore a tremendous asset in my industry. PLUS, I have a one-of-a kind special course to run which is MY very own, and I use my energy and efforts to run it. There is only ONE me—Just one. Throughout my business career, this has not harmed me one bit, and holding to this knowledge has always been the one constant that has gotten me back on course whenever I might have shifted.
Of course it goes without saying that you and I can read about and learn from the achievements of others, and take lessons and wisdom from the creativity and success of people who have gone before us, but to get wrapped up in another’s walk is for the birds (or bees). I know with certainty that if I become focused on my competitors, or if I get drawn into the supposed “right” way to do something, I will become distracted, lose my inventiveness, and get my focus off of what I specifically, innovatively, and brilliantly can bring to the table. It’s NOT easy to be yourself
Being yourself in business is NOT a cop out, though. It takes tremendous WORK to keep your compass, to be true to who YOU are, and to use it to prosper and succeed. It means you must know what you are made of and what you have within you. It means you have to continuously examine yourself for your strengths, your weaknesses, your areas where potential opportunities can be found, and the areas that threaten your victory.
It means you have to know yourself, and what YOU are especially good at. It might mean you have to delegate most of the rest. It means you have to uncover and formulate your unique story, and begin to tell it with passion—the story that exclaims why you are doing what you are doing. With precise accuracy, you MUST be able to answer the question, “How can who I am help others?”
Being yourself in business is first a journey in self discovery, and secondly a bridge of true and authentic connection with others. It is then a process of amazing innovation, idea generation, and life improvement for self and others. Finally, it is a destination of celebration and a marvelous return trip that begins again and again as the many seasons of life bring change. Most importantly though, choosing to be yourself in business is incredibly freeing and enormously empowering.
“BEEEEE yourself”, and from it enjoy the sweet honey of success.
Have a Wildly Successful Week!
“Apathy is the glove into which evil slips its hand.”~Bodie Thoene
If you had the chance to see the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards last night, you may have been blown away by the super-charged tribute to Michael Jackson at the very beginning of the show. Even if you weren’t a fan of Michael Jackson, you had to be amazed (my favorite word again) at the incredible vision of the director, and the magnificent talent of every one of the performers and dancers involved with that show.
To begin the tribute, Madonna gave a speech. Madonna looked GREAT-absolutely stunning (makes me want to get my face pulled up soon). Even if you don’t like Madonna either, and even if you didn’t agree with her words, you could not help but admit that she moved the audience in a significant and meaningful way.
Only the best talent was chosen for this tribute. Many of the dancers wore a single glove, the theme Michael was so famous for. The gloves glistened and shined and flashed before our eyes, making a definite statement and supporting every little move, flinch, spin, and jerk of the unrivaled dance team. The entire performance was nothing short of so darn good.
It was such a fuss, but why such a fuss? Why was there so much time, money, and energy put into this tribute to just one of many great performers on the globe? Why such intricate choreography and state-of-the-art video to honor the music and career of just one man? It’s simple. Like him or not, Michael Jackson gave his all to his craft and he was absolutely exceptional at what he did. As far as performance, he gave his fans (his target market) all that they wanted plus more.
Then there was the glove. One day, in the midst of being an innovative artist and mind-blowing performer, Michael Jackson put a single glove on one hand and started to dance and sing like he had so many times before. The glove was just a glove worn on his hand, but his feet did wild and amazing things. People began to talk. They spoke about the glove, the glove, the glove, but they were really shouting about his feet!
He didn’t wear a single glove to get you to follow him or to like his music. He wore it to be a little different and to create a “point of remembrance”. The glove did not make him—He was already an unbelievable performer before he put on that glove. If he had been a lousy dancer, singer, or performer, the glove would have only been a gimmick, with no meaning. But he wasn’t. He was a true musical genius, so the glove gave people a lot more to talk about, more reason to share the message of his music, and more reason to buy his CD’s and tune into his videos. It wasn’t a gimmick because it was backed by substance—that’s all I’m saying.
So what is YOUR glove? What is something special or different you do to support who you are as a business, something that gives others a reason to talk to one another about the substance you already have (the substance BEHIND the glove)?
Maybe your glove is the same every day. Maybe it changes from week to week or year to year. Great (and if you have no glove, don’t freak out. A glove is not a necessity). The important idea here is that you should be AMAZING before you slip on a glove of any kind, otherwise people feel duped.
Folks are certainly not stupid (you knew that) and they have no tolerance for another gimmick. Yet they will gladly go along with your attention-getting glove—even have fun with it—if you have already given them your best. With this approach, the glove becomes a tool to diffuse your ideas and offerings further into the public arena through word of mouth and social marketing.
By the way, your glove does not have to be a novelty like pink hair, free consultations, or a contest. The theme of the glove can also be represented literally by your hands (or feet, or body, or voice, or whatever) and what you do with them (how you use them to serve your customers). If you are not willing to bring your best game, OTHERS will decide for you what your glove is, and they will talk about that glove to others. The result can be a serious loss of position for you and your business.
Even if you become the most popular kid on the business block, don’t think a neighbor can’t move in and take your place. I go to Starbucks™ just about every day for a Venti no fat Latte’. As loyal as I am, I won’t put up with a cashier or Barista putting their fingers inside my empty cup before my drink is made (I might get the flu, you know). I will ask for a new cup, or simply leave. I’ve had this happen to me many times, and in many cities (you would think this would be a BASIC concept covered in their training program). Although Starbucks is really good coffee in my opinion, it is not THAT good. So for me, their glove used to be impeccable service, but now they are slacking off, and their new glove just might be that they put their fingers in your cup, since I am sure I am not the only one who has noticed this.
It’s the same thing with sandwich shops. Subway™ sandwich shop workers can wear their plastic gloves till the cows come home, but if they are scratching their heads and rubbing their noses just before they peel open the bread and throw the tuna on the boat, good folks will walk out, and those folks will talk about that glove. Again, people are not dummies. Being on or near the top of the market in a brand makes no difference, eventually you lose if you don’t give your all.
You don’t have to be the best in the world to be amazing in your world. You certainly don’t have to be as good at business as Michael Jackson was at music. You just have to be YOUR best. This could mean keeping your fingers out of the cup and your fingernails off your head. It could mean being on time for appointments every time, or listening to find out what the customers want, NOT what you want to sell them. It’s really not hard to be amazing.
This week I want you to think about YOUR glove. There are three thoughts to consider:
1. Are you already AMAZING so it is easy for people to love you and talk about you?
2. What is your glove—your story (and it can change periodically) that gives people an excuse or a motivation to talk about you?
3. Is there something you are doing or not doing that can become a glove you DON’T want to wear—one that people will talk to one another about whether you like it or not?
The glove is just a vehicle that people use to talk. What’s behind the glove is what’s important. Glove or no glove, are you amazing or not? If not, then you might want to get busy!
Michael Jackson was a musical genius, but he was a marketing genius as well. The two go hand in hand. You can’t (or at least shouldn’t) market what you don’t have, and that’s why M.J. was able to put on that glove, and let the talkers of the world take care of the rest.
It’s time….to move, to transition from a place of basic personal and professional development, to a position of true personal strength. It’s time to put YOU on the map!
I have a lot of fabulous info and tools to share with you— to get you in motion, to get you strong, to give you peace of mind, and to help you create a FULFILLING life, a THRIVING business, and SOLID relationships. This is fitness for the soul.
It’s time for ALL of us to finally just be ourselves and contribute meaningfully AND powerfully to the world through who we were meant to be and what we were meant to do. You don’t need a hook or a gimmick. You just need to be YOU, and be it full throttle! There is no other you, and THAT is where YOUR power lies!
It’s time to get EMPOWERED——to STOP the ridiculous game of trying to please everyone else, be something you are not, or do it someone else’s way.
You CAN have a great life, a great business, and great relationships, but it starts with getting real and getting to where you are comfortable flowing in YOUR personal power and YOUR area of influence—not someone else’s.
I am living my DREAM. My dream is to be a true encouragement and inspiration to others, to have control over the way I use my time and my resources, to fully enjoy the experience of life, to love my work and my contributions, to be blessed economically, and in doing so to know I am a success.
I will help you find YOUR voice, YOUR passion, and YOUR creativity! YES, you have all of that within you RIGHT NOW. I write with YOU in mind. My entire goal is to empower you to embrace your life and live it fully and exceptionally, while touching the lives of others, being and feeling like a TRUE success, and having loads of fun.
I’ll help you grow your business, connect with others, be a giver, be a better person, grow personally and professionally, increase profits, understand the New Media and New Marketing Mindset, and enjoy your life with more authenticity, more time for what matters most, and more energy. I want you to live YOUR dream.
Please stop by often for words of empowerment and substantial tools you can use to continuously keep you on the track of being YOU, living your life and running your business the only way it will succeed—by YOU embracing YOU, and giving the real YOU to others!
September 11, 2010 1885 D.H Lawrence 1862 O. Henry 1885 D.H. Lawrence 1938 Sir Edward George 1940 Bernie Dwyer 1947 Julie Covington 1949 Roger Uttley 1950 Barry Sheene 1967 Harry Connick Jnr
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Margo DeGange
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Pre-Written Decorating Articles
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Trunk Show Success System
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Monday Message from Margo 1-25-2010 
last two years. He’ll be returning to Texas on February 23rd for a month. I can’t wait.
Understandably, the other two encouraged her BIG TIME. My son even snuck in and pee’d in the potty for her a few times. Sarah was effortlessly trained in short order, with plenty of praise and approval from her brother and sister. Lesson: You’ll reach your goals faster by rallying the team. Everyone will feel important, and team members will connect better with one another.
of their beautiful displays. Lesson: Don’t get pissy about FREE publicity (and, don’t push your luck).
that read, “$30 fee on all returned checks”. Lesson: Drop the ridiculous HOT CHECK FEE (because then you have to have a stupid sign). If you must have it, make it just a few bucks, not 30. Someone who writes a hot check on purpose won’t be stopped because of a fee threat, and they probably won’t be coming back anyway, and a valued customer who writes one accidentally should be shown mercy so they WILL come back. NEVER shame your customers, and NEVER post their check on a wall for all to see (I can’t believe people do this).
him when he was just one day old (pictured), and I called him “mommy’s salami” because he was all wrapped up in a meaty little bundle. I have enjoyed every moment and every year that he was my son, and I look forward to many more. Lesson: Put your time, your efforts, your priorities, and your business concerns into perspective. Celebrate your life, your kids, your loved ones, and enjoy every minute of it.
So what is YOUR glove? What is something special or different you do to support who you are as a business, something that gives others a reason to talk to one another about the substance you already have (the substance BEHIND the glove)?
