by Eden Sunshine | May 25, 2010 | Business, Level Seven Principles, Principle of Knowing What's True
Resolve says, "I will." The man says, "I will climb this mountain. They told me it is too high, too far, too steep, too rocky and too difficult. But it's my mountain. I will climb it. You will soon see me waving from the top or dead on the side from trying."
Jim Rohn
Ordinary people require no resolve because they have no mountain. Yet, we all have a mountain, a calling to greatness. A meaningful mission. Most people run from the calling. It eludes them. They avoid that quiet whisper deep down prompting them to greatness. They listen to the world that screams out that they are ordinary. The world is lying to them.
You are not ordinary. You have a calling. A calling to greatness. A mountain to climb. Discover the mountain. Make it yours and resolve to get to the top. Or die trying.
by Eden Sunshine | May 5, 2010 | Business, Level Seven Principles, Principle of Defining Results, Principle of Knowing What's True
"Losers make promises they often break. Winners make commitments they always keep."
Denis Waitley
When a prospect decides to do business with you they do so anticipating that your business will fulfill an often unspoken promise.
Do you realize that when people make a purchase from your company or agree to utilize your services they do so because they anticipate that the product or service they are buying is going to meet some need or want of theirs.
Unbeknown to most of us this is analogous to making a promise. Your business suggests through it's marketing, advertising, positioning and sales message an offer to satisfy that need for your customers. Through our communication we suggest something like, "If you do business with us we will meet your need." That's a promise. Sadly most businesses don't do a good job of meeting the promise. Some resist the idea of making a promise. "We can't promise anything," they say. "There are no guarantees," they often continue.
Those that say that straddle the fence when it comes to committing to provide stellar service, quality, excellence and fulfillment. They play it safe. And those that play it safe have a hard time differentiating themselves.
Nordstrom's promises…
McDonald's promises…
Southwest Airlines promises…
Domino's promises…
Apple promises…
Geiko promises…
I suspect you have heard the saying, "under promise and over deliver?" I believe we must bring alignment to what the customer wants or needed and what we WILL deliver. If we want to WOW the customer with a value added service like making them feel valued and important or creating exceeding confidence and certainty in your products or services, that's great.
We must know exactly what the client is expecting. Then make sure we are sending a message that communicates that we intend to meet those expectations. Then we must deliver on it.
Imagine how powerful your message and company could be if you promised your clients you would…
Save them 20% on their logistic services.
Increase their ROI on their Internet marketing activities by double digit numbers.
Eliminate all their worry when it comes to HR related issues in their business.
Provide a dining experience that is like a new adventure every time.
What promises is your business making that really matter to your prospects and clients? I welcome your feedback on this question.
by Eden Sunshine | Mar 1, 2010 | Business, Level Seven Principles, Principle of Conveying Information, Principle of Creating Replication, Principle of Defining Results, Principle of Facilitating Compliance, Principle of Improving Performance, Principle of Knowing What's True, Principle of Threading Culture
There are still a few spots left for tomorrow's Level 7 Experience Teleconference. Click here >>.
Taking the risk to start and get into business takes courage, guts and confidence. I admire that about business people. I admire their aspirations to make things better. That's what business owners do. They take an idea, a situation, a condition and look and find a way to improve upon it.
To me, that's admirable.
However, that same confidence could also lead to their demise. Over confidence could result in an unwillingness to admit or recognize our short comings.
Over confidence could lead us to believe we have it all together. The reality is that most businesses are just "wingin it". What does that mean?
When it comes right down to it most are just trying to figure out how to make their business work. Some will spend a life time, granted with some or even above average success, to ultimately reach a level of accomplishment only to get stuck. Not knowing how to get to the next level.
In other words, they don't really have a formula. A system. A method. A philosophy that could be replicated time and time again. In any business, at any size. It looks more like survival rather than certainty.
Perhaps its the thrill of the unknown that we enjoy. Maybe we really like the idea, deep down, that we don't know how our efforts are going to play out. Although, I don't buy it. Most the people I know that own businesses want some certainty of success beyond their confidence in themselves or a prayer (Prayer can be powerful however).
If you want to stop relying on a wing and a prayer then…
…here are seven things every business must do to ensure continued and replicable success.
1- Set goals like crazy. Be intentional about everything the business does.
2- Measure your goals objectively. That which gets measured gets done.
3- Create systems so that every goal you have has a consistent, predictable way of accomplishing it no matter who is operating it.
4- Thread your culture on purpose. Most problems in business stem from people not knowing and understanding the key beliefs and values of the business. Businesses must be intentional about building a self sustaining culture. Otherwise the culture is dependent on the owner.
5- Ensure accountability. The business must be absolutely certain that people will do what they say they are going to do. EVERY TIME Period.
6- Make sure your business communicates effectively. This included communication from leadership through the organization, communication from employees to management, communication from employee to employee and even communication from the business to it's clients. Quality communication demystifies expectations.
7- Be intentional about innovation and improving performance. Don't over innovate or under innovate. Great businesses innovate and improve in areas when its relevant to do so.
If you want to better understand these 7 Core Business Principles – Read The Level 7 Manifesto: A Simple, Common Sense and Proven Approach to Businesses Most Complex Problems and Frustrations. Get it now >>
by Eden Sunshine | Feb 18, 2010 | Business, Level Seven Principles, Principle of Knowing What's True
Sometimes it just doesn’t fit.
Sometimes an employee just doesn’t fit. It happens. Occasionally we hire the wrong person. It could stem from several things. It might be a result of not knowing the “right type” of person you are looking for in the business. You know what I mean by “right type”, someone who fits the culture and personality for the business. It could also be from a faulty hiring process itself.
Either way we ended up with the wrong person.
Despite all our efforts to mentor and guide that person to fit the culture of the business, sometimes they don’t fit. Let’s stop trying to shove a round peg in a square hole.
Sometimes we get the wrong customer. Hard to imagine but it happens too. This condition could stem from a variety of reasons. it could be our marketing message. Sometimes it’s our conversion process (Let’s face it, occasionally a sales person will over promise beyond the businesses capabilities).
Stephen Heitz, Director of the Interactive Division at Lavidge, and I were talking the other day about the mistake businesses make trying to get customers to conform to the way the company does business.
In other words, trying to get the customers to do it our way versus look at the nature and needs of the customer and deliver a service or product congruent with how they want it.
Now don’t get extreme with me. I understand there are some limitations or even choices we make in terms of how far we will go to cater to a customers needs. I have many friends in the real estate business who are on call and available 24/7. Even my wife’s OB/GYN went on vacation and was unavailable while she was in labor. We have to draw the line somewhere.
But the fact is, often we try to shove the customer in a square hole when perhaps we need to look more carefully at our services and be willing to become a round hole instead.
by Eden Sunshine | Dec 3, 2009 | Business, Level Seven Principles, Principle of Creating Replication, Principle of Defining Results, Principle of Improving Performance, Principle of Knowing What's True
Yesterday I wrote about the need to make course corrections in order to ensure that we don't end up in an undesirable place in our business.
Often we set out to achieve a goal, only to discover later that we haven't hit them. Then we wonder why. But at that points it's too late.
The question is then, "How do I ensure that I hit my goals every time?"
The process is actually rather simply, but not necessarily easy. If it were easy everyone would do it. That's why so few people are actually moving forward in their businesses and lives.
Step 1 – Set the goal. Obvious, but necessary. Your goal must be clear, concise, in writing and have a date.
Example: We will double our revenue and profit by December 2010.
Step 2 – Ensure that you have a methodology for measuring and tracking the goal.
Example: We have our financial statements that are up to date and current at all times.
Step 3 – Identify the systems that impact or ensure the goals. Identify the systems that are going to require innovation or improvement to achieve the goal.
Example: Our lead generation system is the primary driver of doubling revenue and profit. We need more leads. We also have in place a good lead conversion process that currently converts 75% of our leads. Our fulfillment systems are solid and we are managing the inflow and outflow of our money effectively.
Step 4 – Establish a goal for the system.
Example: Currently our lead generation systems provide us with 60 new, qualified leads per week. In order to hit our objectives, the system needs to produce 120 new qualified leads per week.
Step 5 – Innovate your system(s) to make the improvements necessarily to achieve goal.
Example: We have identified our primary lead generation sources and will increased our market penetration into those markets.
Step 6 – Set up regular checkpoints to evaluate the performance of your innovated system.
Example: We will review the results of our new lead generation efforts every 2 weeks.
Step 7 – This maybe the most important step. Take immediate action, as needed, to revise the system to ensure you are getting the results, or in this case, the number of leads your need each week to hit your sales and revenue objectives.
The bottom line is if you want to hit your goals, you need to take new action in order to get new results.
by Eden Sunshine | Oct 14, 2009 | Business, Level Seven Principles, Principle of Knowing What's True
Continuing from the previous post…
Our actions are driven by our thoughts. Our thoughts are a reflection of our beliefs. We are not always conscious of our beliefs. As a result, our thoughts are being influenced by those beliefs. As a result we take the wrong actions. When we take the wrong actions we get the results we desire.
Example: Mary's goal is to accumulate wealth and retire early. Her unconscious belief is, "I have to work hard all my life to survive". As a result, despite all her conscious efforts to accumulate wealth, her belief system won't allow her to do it. She ultimately will sabotage her efforts.
Do you know that many of our beliefs are a result of events that transpired in our past? We locked them in and accepted them as truth.
So how do you break the cycle?
1- Apply The Level 7 Principle of Knowing What's True by asking yourself the question, "What limiting beliefs do I have that are getting in the way of my progress?"
2- Determine if the basis for your belief is true. Using the example above, is it absolute truth that Mary has to work all her life just to survive? Is it possible that people can make the right choices and accumulate enough wealth and retire early? Yes. It is possible and is done all the time. Of course Mary would need to accept the truth that it is possible. If she looks for evidence, she will easily find others have accomplished what she desires. Now if Mary says something like, "Well, those other people had opportunities, are smarter than me or have more talent" she has revealed her own limiting beliefs.
3- Realize that your eyes and ears are the gateway to your beliefs. What you put in your eyes and ears will influence your beliefs. Here is an extreme example. If you were to call someone a loser everyday for a period of time, at some point they might start believing it, unless they knew how to protect their ears from the onslaught of attacks. The point is you must protect what you allow in.
4- You need to start reprogramming your mind with positive, more affirming beliefs. For example, some people are hesitant to hold others accountable for their agreements. They believe that if they do hold people accountable they won't be liked or accepted. In a case like this they would need to reprogram their mind by saying things like, "People appreciate when I hold them to a higher standard."
5- Establish a specific routine to feed yourself with your new way of thinking. Personally, I recommend writing down your affirming beliefs and review them at least three times per day with intention. What do I mean by with intention? Don't just scan what you've written. Say it out loud, think about it for a moment, consider what your are saying to yourself. When you hear that little voice in the background saying, "Oh you won't do that, or this doesn't apply to you," simply respond to it and say, "I wasn't talking to you."
5- Here is the key to put it all together. There is no magic formula for applying discipline and follow-through. You just have to do it. If you don't, nothing is going to change.
Special Offer for those with the guts and desire to really make improvements in your life and business. Sometimes it is more difficult to see our own limiting beliefs that are holding us back. If you would like some objective feedback and help establishing new more productive beliefs and an action plan to make the change, then lets talk.
I am prepared to give you whatever time is needed to help you make your break through. E-mail or call me today if you are interested.
