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blog Leadership Motivation Tips

Making A Weekly Contact List

When was the last time you made a contact list?

You know what I’m talking about. A contact list. A list of people you need to make contact with this week, next week, every week, ad infinitum.

No! I am not talking about the contact list you get from a Cold Call list. Those are nonsensical. This contact list is NOT about making cold calls. I am most definitely NOT talking about making warm calls either. I am talking about YOU making contact with people and talking to them. Just TALK! No sales, none of that nonsense. Just TALK!

You remember talking don’t you?

You dial up someone from your list, they answer, you say Hello, they say Hello, you ask “How are you doing?”, they answer you and a conversation is born.

Don’t talk about work unless they bring it up first. Of course, once they bring it up all bets are off. However, do not bait them into talking about work.

Just remember, that is NOT what the call was about. The call is ABOUT making contact. It is chiefly about calling and just talking about the weather, the family, next vacation or whatever other than work. That way the person you are calling does not always think you are only calling to make a sale. Also just checking in on people will make it easier for them to answer the phone the next time your name and number pops up on their caller ID screen.

They will want to talk to you (and that’s a good thing).

Who is on the CONTACT LIST?

Well, that is probably the simplest thing. EVERYONE!

OK, maybe not everyone in one sitting but do be selective.

SELECTIVE?

Well kind of selective. It is easy. Do the following make a list of 20 people you will call this week. Next select 11 people that are NOT on your business contact list. Then fill in the remaining 9 with business contacts.Next week, repeat the process. Making absolutely certain that over 50% of your weekly contacts are NOT business related.

Now is the perfect time to make the contact list for this week. Do it and start making those calls!

 

P.S. Don’t be a chicken and send an email instead of making a phone call.

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blog Current Events In The News Leadership Walking Leader

Leadership In The News: Dilemma in Kentucky or Start A Dialogue to Address Personal Biases In The Workplace

Here is the situation: There is this County Clerk from Rowan County, Kentucky. Where this person is from does not matter. What does matter is that this person wanted to do this job of County Clerk. She wanted to be a Public Servant. This person rallied for this position. This person wanted to do this job. I do not know if she was elected to the position or appointed to the position of County Clerk. Then again, how she acquired the position of County Clerk does not matter.

What does matter, is this one person, this individual wanted to serve the public. She wanted to serve in this County Government position. This means that as a County Clerk she is going to serve the citizens of the county. That is why her title is County Clerk. That is the position she wanted. I can guarantee that up until recently she bragged and boasted about how she serves the county and ALL its citizens. Brags about being a PUBLIC SERVANT. How do I know this? Who does not brag about having such a responsibility?

Then this issue of Same-Sex Marriage comes to the forefront of the news. Disclaimer, whatever your position is on that issue is of no concern to me. By the same token, I hope you have NO concern for what my stance is on that issue. That is not what I am talking about. What I am talking about is the individual that wants to be a PUBLIC SERVANT, chooses NOT to be a Public Servant, yet, wants to remain in that position and wants to keep doing that job. How can she or anyone else do their job effectively if they do not want to do it?

As Business Owner, Leader, Manager do you have someone that does not want to do their job because pumpkins are orange and refuse to do business with anyone that has anything to do with produce that are orange. Maybe they had some traumatic childhood experience with a pumpkin or whatever the reason, it does not matter.

What do you do? Do you get someone else to do the work when it comes to dealing with orange produce? Yeah. That is an idea.

In the case of the Kentucky County Clerk Office’s that was not happening. The County Clerk influenced others (especially Deputy County Clerks) in the County Clerk’s office to not allow them to do their job.

When I joined the US Army I took the oath of enlistment, I swore that I would defend the Constitution of the United States. All of it not the parts that I decide are worthy of defending. They all are worthy of defending. From the 1st Amendment (Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion) all the way to the very last one and every word in between.

I applaud that County Clerk for her convictions but at the same time, I guarantee that individual does not want the government interfering in the actions of her church. Now while you are performing a job on behalf of the government (local, state, or federal) you have to do your duty. That is what you signed up for, that is what you petitioned for, that is what you rallied for, and that is what you swore to do when you accepted that government job. You are to do the job the government has entrusted you to do.

Back to the Business Owners.

What happens when you somebody that does not want to “play ball”, someone who does not want to do what they need to do? As I previously mentioned, you get some who will do the job.

As a leader, what are you doing to prevent situations like this from happening at your place of business? You talk about the issues as they affect your business. Now, if you feel that this type of discussion may be on the verge of some kind of harassment then what do you do? Don’t have the conversation?

You have to have these conversations! If it is done in an appropriate manner and setting there should be no problem so long as the conversation is a dialogue with everyone in an open forum.

This issue must be addressed. It must be addressed in EVERY workplace. These matters affect everyone. They affect your business, your employees, clients, customers, vendors and every stakeholder.

Think about this: What if one of your vendors decides that because your organization’s colors are purple and yellow. He went to a high school whose colors were red and blue then uses that as an excuse not to serve you. It is the same principle as the situation in Kentucky, personal bias. Nothing more and definitely nothing less it is just personal bias. You call and complain about the vendor not serving you because your organizational colors are purple and yellow. He said that those colors belong to a rival high school. Guess what the owner is going to do? He is going to tell that individual to get out there and do what he was hired to do or he will find someone else to that will do it for him.

Now back to you as the Business Leader. What do you do?

You begin that dialogue, you work the situations out until you and your staff begins to feel comfortable about those issues and how to address them. Of course, there will be some people that say they will have no problem doing the job no matter the situation. Then the moment a situation occurs there will be someone that will have a problem doing what must be done. I guarantee it. How can I guarantee it? There always have been and there always will be weak individuals that when push comes to shove they will back down when it comes time to walk their talk.

Start your dialogue. Start it NOW!

Find out who is in and who is out. Know now how you and your team are going to handle any situation. Know who is going to be the backup when someone does not want to serve a certain type of customer. Realize, one day you are going to get a customer/client who speaks a language other than English, who is hearing impaired or visually impaired. You are going to get customers like that and the dialogue you are having with your staff is a great time to address these issues before they become huge problems. Remember, in business there is no such thing as a little problem.

Expect the unexpected but be prepared! Be prepared now by starting the conversation now!

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blog DareToBe Leadership Motivation

Twitter #DareToBe Tweet Chat: Innovation (Tuesday, August 11, 2015)

Every Tuesday evening at 8pm eastern, the #DareToBe tweetchat takes place on Twitter. The #DareToBe tweetchat is hosted by Andrea Sanchez (@asanchez16), an Editor, Writer, Communications Executive.

Every week a different topic. On the evening of August 11, 2015, the topic was Innovation. I could not capture all the twitter based answers to the 10 questions asked by @ASanchez16. However, I present the questions and  my answers (with a bit of amplification). Please enjoy and if you can, please joins us. Look for the #DareToBe hashtag every Tuesday evening.

Innovation

Q1: Innovation is _______________. #DareToBe

My Answer: Innovation is process of bringing something new and exciting into light of day. Make the intangible tangible.

Innovation is CHANGE! Innovation is one aspect of change. Change comes in many forms but where innovation is concerned that form of change is welcomed as it is anticipated (or expected).

Q2: What is the goal of innovation? #DareToBe

My Answer: The goal of innovation should be to make life better than it was yesterday for everyone!

Innovation must serve a purpose and if that purpose is to make life better then innovation is good. However, innovation for the sake of innovation is by far one of the worst things anybody can do.

Q3: Give a characteristic of an innovator. #DareToBe

My Answer: An innovator does not take “NO” for an answer. There is always a work around.

An innovator is an innovator for a reason. That individual cannot stop because someone doesn’t like it or it’s too scratchy or it’s too whatever. A true innovator fights through the dislikes until he an emerge with something so innovative that even more people will criticize or dislike. Then can he/she put his head down and continue to work the problem.

Q4: What are some self-limiting inhibitions that block innovation? #DareToBe

My Answer: Waiting for feedback, especially when we wait to hear from those that do NOT like change (waiting and waiting and waiting).

Those that use the tools created by innovation the most are more than likely the ones that do not like change. They will resist the change almost to the point of sabotage by not providing adequate and suitable feedback to those that need it the most. This lack of information will contribute to the lack of any future development. The innovator will cease proceeding because a mindset of “no new is good news” will take root and thus inhibit any future growth.

Q5: If given the opportunity to disrupt current thinking anywhere, what would you say? How would you do it? #DareToB

My Answer: My old workplace. 5 years out and they still have great problems (same problems). Time for complete restructuring from TOP down not other way around as has been their history.

For 17 years, I worked for an agency for the State of Texas. In the last three years that I worked there the agency got into some trouble for failure to adequately train its staff, mismanagement by the leadership, and  improper activities by certain individuals throughout the agency. The agency never truly recovered from those problems. However, in an effort to restructure, reorganize, and realigned itself it did one thing wrong. It  never got rid of the top tier individuals that ultimately were responsible for ALL the problems. Now, five years after I left, the leadership and management problems continue. It may be time for all members of that agency to re-apply for their jobs not just the line staff.

Q6: What may an innovator do to increase his/her odds of success? #DareToBe

My Answer: Recruit early adopters, solicit feedback from all ranks of the organization, and give them what they want (not what you think they need).

The innovator, unfortunately, must play politician when it comes to selling his wares. This does not mean they have to assume the role of a slimy used car salesman. By no means at all. What it does mean is that for an innovator to be a success, he/she must win people over to his side. They must believe that what is being done is for the better. By engaging the public, the innovator gets a first hand view of what is needed and what is wanted.

Q7: You do not need ________________ to innovate. #DareToBe

My Answer: You do NOT need to be the BOSS to innovate. You just have to have the desire to make change happen!

Anyone, at any level of the organization can be an innovator. They see a problem unique to their place and situation in the organization and at some point they decide enough is enough. They begin working at solving that problem. They do it because change is necessary to make a bad situation better or improve a mediocre one. They become innovators because that is how change (good or bad) happens.

Q8: Tips on how to have an innovative mindset with a culture/person that fears change? #DareToBe

My Answer: Be Braver than the sum of all the fear around you. Someone has to take the first step.

Someone has to be the one to say “enough is enough”. Someone must be tired enough, cold enough, and care so much that doing what others won’t do or are afraid to do is the only thing to do.

Q9: How can a leader make innovation part of his/her staff’s jobs rather than an incentivized gimmick? #daretobe

My Answer: Demand that when they bring problem they also bring a solution to that problem. It keeps them thinking.

By keeping your staff constantly thinking about solving the problems that they confront will not only make their lives better but it will make the workplace better. It will go towards building autonomy among the departments/sections/team while maintaining itself as a strong cohesive member of the organization. Solving problems becomes second nature and not left for one individual to decide.

Q10: What is the one innovative change you can make in the 10 minutes after #DareToBe chat? (Courtesy of @DaveGuerra)

My Answer: Get rid of bad rules in my organization and send staff email asking for new rules or revisions to outdated rules.

I chose this question because it helps move the conversation from the Twitter and into the real world now. It helps continue conversation and isn’t that the premise of the tweetchat?

My answer involved my position within the organization. As I am in a position to enact immediate change with the way we do business, it might be time to review the way we’ve been doing business and see what we can do to bring the business operations to 2015 standards and not 2012. By encouraging others to provide feedback, I am asking for help to make their organization a better place.

Until next week, I Thank you.

David Guerra

I invite you to follow me on Twitter: @daveguerra • visit my website: www.daveguerra.com

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