Got Guts? Entrepreneurial Stories Wanted for Possible Inclusion in a new book

Got Guts? Entrepreneurial Stories Wanted for Possible Inclusion in a new book. go to http://www.MyGutsyDream.com for details and story submission.

As we look at our businesses and those of the people around us, we see amazing creativity and variety. Intentional Entrepreneurs. Visionary Entrepreneurs. Managing Entrepreneurs. And those who call themselves “Accidental” Entrepreneurs. Our ranks are diverse, our stories often surprising. We can learn from the tales of the rich and famous, to be sure, but the surprising tales of everyday people who have transformed their lives by a single decision – or a series of circumstances – are generally far more enlightening and entertaining. And that is precisely the “Question” of this book project – the inspirational tales of “everyday” entrepreneurs, and an unscientific view into the hearts and minds of those who take the journey.

For some of us, “success” IS a financial statement with lots of zeros and commas. For others, “success” may mean being home when the kids get off the school bus, having the ability to work from remote locations, or never having to punch a clock. We’re not interested in your financials. What we want is a view into your heart, your mind, your guts – a look at what’s made you brave enough to take the entrepreneurial journey.

go to www.MyGutsyDream.com to learn more and share your story. PLEASE pass this on to your contact lists!

- Linda Anger
Thank you – Dave Glen

 

“The Nice Guy’s Guide to Authority”

In today’s reading, I came across a new blog that I wanted to share called Remarkable Communication. In diving into the articles, this is going to become a regular read for me.

There’s a particularly good article called The Nice Guy’s Guide to Authority.

I’d like to consider myself a “nice guy” and I can relate to the challenge of maintaining authority, while remaining true to my personality and values.

Here are the bullet points and a couple of highlights from the article.  I’d highly recommend checking it out.  It’s good advice:

“…sometimes nice guys don’t project a sense of authority. Everyone wants to spend time with us, but they don’t necessarily want to do what we tell them to.

And make no mistake, my friends, we want them to do what we tell them to.

Here are a few observations I’ve made recently by carefully watching and modeling supremely nice people who also have massive authority and credibility. As I’m using these techniques more consciously myself, I’m seeing a significant shift in how I’m perceived.

• Be incredibly good
• Know where you are going
• Know your core
• Get your ego out of the way
• Be disarming”

 

“The Best Advice I Ever Got”

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortuneintl/fortuneintl_archive/2008/05/12/toc.html

I got a great forward this morning (Thanks Dad) with a couple excerpts from this Fortune article. If you have, or can get access to the May issue, it’s well worth a read!

One of the commitments I have directly made is not re-invent the wheel. To learn and improve on others’ success.  Here is some advice (my favorite is the first one):

The May edition of Fortune Magazine asked 19 accomplished people what was the best advice they ever got.

Michael Bloomberg, the mayor of New York, got his from his days at Salomon Brothers: “Always ask for the order, and second, when the customer says yes, stop talking.”

Mark Hurd, the CEO of Hewlett-Packard, got his years ago from his days under NCR CEO Chuck Exley who was listening to an executive’s presentation. At the end Exley said to the presenter: “Good Story, but it’s hard to look smart with bad numbers.” Hurd said he has reflected on that over the years, and says, if you “deliver good numbers and you earn the right for people to listen to you.”

Indra Nooyi, an India born woman and Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo, says her father was an absolutely wonderful man who taught her: always assume positive intent. Whatever anybody says or does assume positive intent.

She went on to say, “you will be amazed how your whole approach to a person or problems becomes very different. If you assume negative intent your anger goes up and your response is random. Assume positive intent and you listen, you’re non defensive, and you seek to understand.“

 

On the importance of planning

Perhaps this is a post better suited to a Friday. However, I am certainly benefiting from putting it into practice THIS week…

I’ve moved away from tasking in Outlook/smart phone, and moved to a simple “Cambridge” brand “Things to do Today” notebook. And it’s working.

I am committed to better planning of my days and weeks. Planning not only increases your efficiency, it also adds to the value of the time you spend outside of work. I will not pretend that any of us who has chosen sales as our career can often “turn off” work when we’re away from it, but the better plan we have (and the more confidence we have in it), the more quality our time with our families, our friends, and ourselves.

Here are some parts of my processes for planning:

1) Every Friday by end of business, I plan my Monday. Monday’s are office days for me – full of meetings. I create and review schedules for Monday meetings, and create my list for the day.

2) Every evening, prior to leaving my office, I compile my task list for the following day. Anything I did not delegate or accomplish on the current day, I delegate or plan for the following day.

3) I stick to my lists. If an ad/hoc item comes up, I write it down and prioritize it. This helps me weigh value, AND track my level of production for the day.

4) I delegate as much as possible. Up AND down.

5) I close my door. Whether you work in a cubicle or an office, devise a way to say to the outside world, “I’m busy”, and stick to your guns as much as possible.

In today’s economic climate, and fast paced working environment, it’s important to be flexible and dynamic. It’s easy to forget the value of structure.

Efficiency is measured not by what you say yes to, but what is actually completed.

Sounds simple, and it is.  It’s already positively impacted me this week.

What are some of your best practices for planning and lists?

 

How Google Works, from Orangejack

http://orangejack.com/how-google-works/

Thanks to Shannon Paul and Chris Brogan for this very cool link.

“Google is the most popular search engine on the Internet. But you probably didn’t need me to tell you that. According to April 2008 stats, Google is used by about 60% of US Internet searches (Yahoo is #2 around 20% and MSN around 10%, AOL and Ask are about 5% each). They maintain their huge lead because they return the most relevant results for a search. If they didn’t, we’d use a different search engine. So how does Google do it? How do they know what are the best sites to refer you to for your search?”

 

“How do you do all that you do?”

http://www.chrisbrogan.com/how-i-do-it/

This is a really great post by Chris Brogan on getting things done.  I’m inspired to
curtail my horrid TV addiction…

Thanks Chris!

 

Leadership Quality and Success of an Organization

“The quality of leadership, more than any other single factor, determines the success or failure of an organization.”

~ Fred Fiedler & Martin Chemers Improving Leadership Effectiveness

 

Insults With Class

1) The exchange between Churchill & Lady Astor: She said, ‘If you were my husband I’d give you poison,’ and he said, ‘If you were my wife, I’d drink it.’

2) A member of Parliament to Disraeli: ‘Sir, you will either die on the gallows or of some unspeakable disease.’ ‘That depends, Sir,’ said Disraeli, ‘whether I embrace your policies or your mistress.’

3) ‘He had delusions of adequacy.’ – Walter Kerr

4) ‘He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire.’ – Winston Churchill

5) ‘A modest little person, with much to be modest about.’ – Winston Churchill

6) ‘I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure.’- Clarence Darrow

7) ‘He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary.’ – William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway).

‘Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words?’ – Ernest Hemingway (about William Faulkner)

9) ‘Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I’ll waste no time reading it.’ – Moses Hadas

10) ‘He can compress the most words into the smallest idea of any man I know.’ – Abraham Lincoln

11) ‘I didn’t attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it.’ – Mark Twain

12) ‘He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends.’ – Oscar Wilde

13) ‘I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a friend…. if you have one.’ – George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill

14) ‘Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second… if there is one.’ – Winston Churchill, in response.

15) ‘I feel so miserable without you; it’s almost like having you here.’ – Stephen Bishop

16) ‘He is a self-made man and worships his creator.’ – John Bright

17) ‘I’ve just learned about his illness. Let’s hope it’s nothing trivial.’ – Irvin S. Cobb

18) ‘He is not only dull himself, he is the cause of dullness in others.’ – Samuel Johnson

19) ‘He is simply a shiver looking for a spine to run up.’ – Paul Keating

20) ‘There’s nothing wrong with you that reincarnation won’t cure.’ Jack E. Leonard

21) ‘He has the attention span of a lightning bolt.’ – Robert Redford

22) ‘They never open their mouths without subtracting from the sum of human knowledge.’ – Thomas Brackett Reed

23) ‘In order to avoid being called a flirt, she always yielded easily.’ – Charles, Count Talleyrand

24) ‘He loves nature in spite of what it did to him.’ – Forrest Tucker

25) ‘Why do you sit there looking like an envelope without any address on it?’ – Mark Twain

26) ‘His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork.’ – Mae West

27) ‘Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go.’ – Oscar Wilde

28) ‘He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts… for support rather than illumination.’ – Andrew Lang (1844-1912)

29) ‘He has Van Gogh’s ear for music.’ – Billy Wilder

30) ‘I’ve had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn’t it.’ – Groucho Marx

 

Relationships

“In organizations, real power and energy is generated through relationships. The patterns of relationships and the capacities to form them are more important than tasks, functions, roles, and positions.” ~ Margaret Wheatly

 

Words of Wisdom

One evening an old Indian told his grandson about a battle that was going on inside himself.

He said,”My son, it is between 2 wolves.”

“One is evil: Anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego..”

“The other is good: Joy, Peace, Love, Hope, Serenity, Humility, Kindness, Benevolence, Empathy, Generosity, Truth, Compassion and Faith.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf wins?”

The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one I feed.”

- Source Anonymous