Making Things Happen

Sometimes people are just overwhelmed when it comes to achieving a goal.  They’ll say “I don’t know where to start.”  Well, first, take a deep breath.  In most cases, when people look at things calmly, they see they’re not as daunting as they first appeared.

Next, ask the world.  You have unlimited knowledge available to you on the internet and through your connections on social networks.  Find out what you need to know or whom you need to ask!

Once you know what you need to do, the next step is to actually do it!  If it’s something you really want, it shouldn’t be too difficult to put in the work.  Make the decision to focus.  Larger-than-life coach Tony Robbins gives this example, which I found quite inspiring:

“I became an excellent public speaker because, rather than once a week, I booked myself to speak three times a day to anyone who would listen. While others in my organization had forty-eight speaking engagements a year, I would have a similar number within two weeks. Within a month, I’d have two years of experience. And within a year, I’d have a decade’s worth of growth. My associates talked about how “lucky” I was to have been born with such an “innate” talent. I tried to tell them what I’m telling you now: mastery takes as long as you want it to take. By the way, were all of my speeches great? Far from it! But I did make sure that I learned from every experience and that I somehow improved until very soon I could enter a room of any size and be able to reach people from virtually all walks of life.”  [From Tony’s book, “Awaken the Giant Within”]

The fact is, you can do almost anything if you set your mind to it!

Confidence

What is confidence?  Why are some people more confident than others?  Do the confident people have some special skills, some special power, that those without confidence lack?

Well, yes and no.  They have a special power, but… you have that power, too.  You just have to activate it.

To my mind, “confidence” means the knowledge that you can make things happen.  It doesn’t mean that you can do anything, but rather knowing that, if you set your mind to it and do the work required, you can do it.

People who aren’t confident just assume they can’t do it, so they don’t try.  There’s a quote that’s attributed to Henry Ford: “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t–you’re right.”

So what do you do if you don’t have confidence, if you don’t “think you can?”  How do you change that thinking?  We know that ideas that get focused on grow and develop.  So don’t focus on thoughts about what you can’t do or examples of things that haven’t worked out in the past.  Rather, focus your thinking on examples of times that you have gotten things done, times you’ve been successful.  Think about that for a minute.  When you have you accomplished something and felt great?  Focus on those feelings and watch your confidence grow!

Change Your Perspective

Frequently the most valuable moments in a coaching session happen when the coach helps the client see a problem from a different perspective.  In one session, my client, who recently started a new job, was worried about not making a good impression on her colleagues.  My client has a good deal of experience managing other employees, so I asked her what she would think of this new employee if she were in the position of her boss and what advice she would give the new employee.

As soon as she looked at things that way, she knew what she needed to do.  She thought it “ironic” that the answers were so “obvious” and had been there all along.  The thing is, that’s what coaching is all about.  Not me telling you the answer, but me helping you find the answer that was there all along!

Brand personality is a good thing

Over the years I’ve been conducting focus groups, I’ve been struck by how customers personify companies they do business with.  Those of us who have been behind the scenes may realize that most companies are simply made up of people trying not to get fired (or perhaps even get a promotion!), but customers attribute human-like motives to companies.

But for some reason, many companies shy away from showing any kind of personality.  The default corporate personality is “neutral.”  Perhaps that feels safe, but if a company doesn’t stake out a personality, customers will attribute personality characteristics to the company anyway… and they could be negative.  We want customers to feel the company is “on their side” rather than “out to get them!”

Here’s an example of a company that’s not afraid to show personality: I recently ordered a product from Native Deodorant, and received the following shipping notification:

Your bar of Native Deodorant was gently pulled by our team of experts and placed on a gold-trimmed pillow stuffed with the finest fibers known to man. Then, a team of six inspectors examined your deodorant under a magnifying glass, ensuring it was in perfect condition.

Once the inspection was complete, our veteran polisher (he was previously employed at the Tower of London, where he was responsible for polishing the Queen’s jewels) polished it as a quiet hush fell over the warehouse. “This package is getting shipped to Jay,” he whispered. “Take good care of it.”

Conveying personality isn’t necessarily an expensive endeavor, but it requires a decision from management and follow-through to make sure the personality is conveyed in all customers’ interactions with the brand.  In recent years, airlines have been showing safety videos with personality, but unfortunately, that personality usually does not extend to other areas of the customer experience (with some exceptions, such as Virgin and Southwest).

While cute or irreverent examples of brand personality may be most memorable, that may not be appropriate for all companies.  Nor is it necessary.  An example of brand personality that sticks in my mind: when completing a joint tax return using TurboTax (by Intuit), the interview asks if either of the spouses has died in the past year.  If you answer “yes,” the software says “We’re really sorry to hear that. Our condolences.”  That gesture didn’t cost the company anything, but really touched many of their customers.  Clearly, Intuit has focused on incorporating the brand personality into the customer experience.

Let’s discuss how brand personality can help your company.  Call me at 760-469-9266 or email info at bureauwest.com.