Posts Tagged ‘dean lindsay’

 Be a BAM! - Become a Business Attraction Magnet!!

 - an excerpt from The Progress Challenge by Dean Lindsay and featured in the Progress Agents’ Be a BAM! Sales Training Program

The business of sales is the business of attraction.  We are attracted to products, services, ideas, and people that we trust can help us progress.  Everyone profits when sales professionals focus on being progress, and being progress turns sales professionals into Business Attraction Magnets. 

The great Dottie Walters, one of the founders of the National Speakers Association, shared with me many years ago that the word sales comes from the Scandinavian root word meaning to serve.  Soak that in…to serve. 

If we just made that little shift in our own thinking about that word sales, think of how many more people we could serve with our products, services, ideas, and contacts. (Not to mention our smiles and solid listening skills.)  To sell is to serve.  To serve is to Be Progress. 

The days of the “Surefire Closing Statement” and the “Glad-handing Slick Salesman” are long gone.  Today it is imperative for Progress Agents to truly get to know their prospects and help prospects get to know them. Selling is therefore a state of mind more than a series of steps.  It is a dance, a buzz, a willingness to be involved, to connect, to attract.  Those of us who make our careers selling are, by and large, outgoing, caring, and driven.  We want to help others progress.  We believe we can make a difference, that we can help.  Being progress puts wind in our sails and in our sales.

Becoming a Business Attraction Magnet is about TRUST.  The customer has a need, or a step they desire to take. They must trust we can meet that need and help them take that step.  Customers and prospects need to trust our belief in ourselves, in our companies, and in our products and services. 

Next up — The Seven Keys to Becoming a Business Attraction Magnet!

Link to Key # 1. Become Buzzworthy

Info on The Progress Agents’ Be a BAM! Sales Training Program

The Foreword for Dean Lindsay’s The Progress Challenge

Foreword by Julie Weber, Senior Director, People, Southwest Airlines Co.

Let me just get this out first:  The Progress Challenge is a great book.  It is fun to read and crammed full of thought-provoking, practical and motivating take-aways.  I recommend this book to HR professionals, business leaders, sales leaders, and anyone who is trying to not only navigate the world’s economy today, but to succeed in it.  With the Six Ps of Progress, Dean gives us all the incredible opportunity to be purposeful in creating progress, not just change, in our lives and work. 

If only I had read this book prior to the Tech Bubble burst in 2001.  While working at a software company, like many of my fellow HR professionals, I was doing my best to “lead change,”  to “manage change,” in an unprecedented time when high-technology companies dramatically went from such incredible highs on Wall Street to such devastating lows in a short period of time.  We were reeling from the emotional shock and uncertainty after the events of 9/11.  This book would not only have provided a new way of looking at change management, but also a more hopeful way of beginning to answer the question: “What now?” So here we are again in the midst of unprecedented economic times.  HR professionals are again faced with the challenge of managing our workforce in a shrinking economy.  The Progress Challenge is a must-read for all of us.  Only the businesses that are able to grow, gain market share, gain Customer loyalty, and gain Employee loyalty and engagement will survive when recessions occur.  That requires more than change management; it requires progress.   It requires committing to progress and it requires persistence.

I am so fortunate to be working for Southwest Airlines, a company that truly gets what taking care of Customers and Employees really means in any economy.  (For starters, the “C” in Customers and the “E” in Employees are capitalized deliberately.)  In describing the 6 P’s of Progress (I won’t give away too much!), Dean captures why Southwest Airlines Employees provide such incredible Customer Service.  We LUV what we do and our Company LUVS us!  We work very hard during the selection process to hire Employees with a natural desire to serve others.   At Southwest, we hire for attitude and train for skill (as needed).  Yeah, some skills are incredibly hard to train, but to train someone to have a great attitude and to enjoy their work, their Customers, and their fellow Employees is completely impossible.  The mission of Southwest Airlines is dedication to the highest quality of Customer Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and Company Spirit.  Try doing that with a lousy attitude!  Having a Fun-LUVing Attitude is not just part of our “core values,” it is a requirement of every Employee.   

What Dean explains in a witty and entertaining way is that our attitudes, our ability to endure and successfully emerge from the current recession, our shot at getting what we want out of this life, is up to each one of us.   I have always believed that “if it is meant to be, it is up to me.”  Dean explains why that is true and gives us the tools to make it happen!  We have to grab every minute of every day and create progress in our work and in our lives.  We own it.  I own it.  I will be progress.  This book is so timely. 

Thanks, Dean.

– Julie Weber, Senior Director, People

People & Leadership Development

Southwest Airlines Co.

 A Thoughtful Person is a Remembered Person.

Look for something to acknowledge people for.  Genuinely complimenting someone costs you nothing, but to the recipient, a heartfelt compliment and the feelings it generates cannot be bought at any price. Recognition, encouraging words, and pats on the back are all excellent ways of making positive impressions, especially if done in front of others.

Mother Teresa

Avoid general compliments as they may just seem like flattery, “sucking up.” Much more powerful is a comment about something positive that person has done: compliment on behavior or achievements.

“Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.” — Mother Teresa

A thoughtful person is a remembered person. Be generous of spirit. You will get back much more than what you put out. The end result of acknowledging and praising others is that you have given people reasons to speak well of you to others. Such word-of-mouth character endorsements are far more powerful than anything you could ever say about yourself.

It does not matter how successful a person is, or how good that person feels inside: it is always nice to know that others appreciate one’s personality, talent, uniqueness, attitude, or accomplishments. You can compliment someone about any one of hundreds of things. Just keep it real and don’t go overboard. Insincerity can be sensed.

Motivational Leadership Speaker Video of Dallas Based Speaker and Author, Dean Lindsay

Motivational Leadership Speaker Video Clip

Dean Lindsay – motivational leadership speaker and author of The Progress Challenge and Cracking the Networking CODE

“Dean Lindsay is truly one of the best and most insightful speakers out there. I have hired him, heard him and read his work. He is always top notch with profitable tips and strategies – plus he is fun to watch. Dean Lindsay rocks!“
– Paul Rosowski
Teknion
Regional Vice President – Central

Dean Lindsay Client List

“Thanks for speaking at our firm’s annual kick off meeting. It’s difficult to find energetic speakers that not only motivate but who also bring practical business ideas that our associates can use to grow personally and professionally. You hit the mark in all areas – Be Progress!”
– David R. Pasciak
Managing Partner
John Hancock Financial Network, West Michigan

“Dean Lindsay is one of the finest keynote professional speakers working today. Believe me. I see them all.”
– Dale Turner
Director of Speaker Review
International Speakers Bureau

Watch more Motivational Leadership Speaker Video

Contact Dean Lindsay – Dean@DeanLindsay.com

 Funny Customer Service Video Clip with Dean Lindsay

In tough economic times, Customer service IS the difference between success and failure.

Dean Lindsay’s customer service training programs includes insight from Dean Lindsay’s new book, The Progress Challenge : Working and Winning in a World of Change

“This is a terrific and timely book with a simple but powerful message.  With the right thinking and approach, we can make enormous progress in our organizations, with our families, and on our own goals and dreams. Dean’s book shows you how, and provides the inspiration and advice you need to stay on track.”
– Brad Cleveland
Senior Advisor and Former President / CEO
International Customer Management Institute

A Couple of Endorsements for Dean Lindsay, Author and Funny Customer Service Speaker

“Dean was TERRIFIC!! He made a real connection with my troops and gave us some great philosophy and tips for our busy season on both Customer Service and Phone Sales. He was a great kick-off to our extended hours busy season and I give him an A plus for his presentation.”
– Geri Barton
Director of Customer Service
World Kitchen LLC

“Dean, your talk to Indiana Farmers Mutual Insurance company was first rate. Your points on mending customer relationships were enlightening and your thoughts on attitude are very true. Thank you.”
– F. Neal Johnson, Chairman of the Board,
Indiana Farmers Mutual Insurance

Get more info on Author and Funny Customer Service Speaker, Dean Lindsay

email dean at: dean@DeanLindsay.com 

An Introduction to Progress-Based Goal-Crafting

an excerpt from The Progress Challenge: Working and Winning in a World of Change by Dean Lindsay

To work and win in this world of change we must dedicate ourselves to crafting personal and organizational goals that are so attractive, so alluring, that we are compelled to continually make choices that move us toward their accomplishment.

As a noun, craft can mean an object or machine designed for a journey, like a ship or an airplane.

As a verb, craft can mean to make or manufacture with skill and careful attention to detail.

A goal is the aim, the objective, the purpose, the point.

Goal-crafting is the practice of creating personal and organizational targets that are so clear, so detailed, so sound, so enticing and leakproof that they actually become tools or vessels in our journey to their accomplishment.

Our lives and organizations will surely change without well-crafted goals, but it is doubtful that they will progress.

Well-crafted, progress-based goals do not merely remind us of the desired destination; they help create the conditions and environment needed for their achievement. They propel us into forward-focused action and strengthen our resolve to work and win in a world of change.

A Progress Agent’s Six Rules for Goal-Crafting

Rules for Goal-Crafting — 1. Progress-Crafted Goals Are Written and Visualized.

Written goals crystallize thinking, enhance commitment, and help identify the strong reasons that propel the strong actions. Having goals in writing gives them weight and more importance: for whatever reason, not only the conscious but the subconscious mind takes them much more seriously. Written goals are also vital when developing a course of action.

“If a man knows not what harbor he seeks, any wind is the right wind.”

– Lucius Annaeus Seneca

The mind will not reach for achievement until it has clear objectives. Writing and frequently rereading goals turns on the “Can Do” switch in our brain, and the power to accomplish the goal begins to flow. Goals that are written, read, rewritten, rephrased, and reread get impressed into our subconscious mind. We may not know exactly how to go about achieving our goals, and our conscious mind may not even think them possible, but if we write out our goals and visualize their accomplishment every day, our subconscious mind will work to make them a reality.

Myth alert: The “Yale Study of Goals” is often cited as a testament to the power of written goals. However, most scholars doubt the 1953 “study” ever took place. The so-called study claimed to have found that the 3% of Yale graduates who had written goals at the time of graduation were worth more financially twenty years later than the remaining 97% combined. Too bad the “YSG” is probably an urban legend, because properly written goals are actually vital, and today it is estimated that fewer than 5% of us have properly written goals. Let’s get that percentage up by “getting down with” writing our goals down.

Rules for Goal-Crafting — 2. Progress-Crafted Goals Connect to Personal Progress.

Plainly put, each person involved in a goal’s achievement must believe there is something favorable in it for him or her. We are unlikely to work toward a goal that we can not personalize as positive for us. For a goal to actually become a tool in its own achievement, it must generate genuine excitement when we envision its accomplishment. Why and how does the goal mean Progress for those who must act?

Often, individuals must make an organizational goal their own, as in a new technology rollout, reorganization, or a merger. To get all team members (including ourselves) psyched and committed to the organization’s goal, we need to dig into how the goal’s achievement will benefit all involved (via job security, bonuses, flex time, exciting new projects, raises, promotions, shorter commute, less stress, etc.).

If team members believe that the potential for progress is worth the effort, they will more readily take on challenges in support of the organization’s goals. When highlighting the reasons behind the goal, include the Six Ps of Progress.

Whether the goal is meeting sales quota, buying a new boat, becoming more efficient in customer-service calls, or finishing a financial report, we must find ways to make the goal progress for us in some way. With that personal lodestar ever in sight, we stay committed to reaching the goal. Why we want to achieve a goal is far more important than the goal itself.

An Introduction to Progress-Based Goal-Crafting an excerpt from The Progress Challenge: Working and Winning in a World of Change by Dean Lindsay

Click here to watch Dean in Action.

Rules for Goal-Crafting — 3. Progress-Crafted Goals Are Stated in Present Tense.

Stating goals in the present tense tells our subconscious mind that we are committed – that the goals will not remain forever stuck in a future tense – as in, I WILL be wealthy. Our mind takes ownership, sees the goal as an actuality (rather than a potentiality) – I AM wealthy – and works toward its realization.

“Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.” 

– Sun Tzu

The subconscious mind chooses a path of least resistance. If we write, “I will be debt-free,” the subconscious mind does not act, because the “will” postpones the goal’s achievement to some indefinite time in the future. When we craft a goal as if it were already achieved, already true, our minds want to make it happen. Examples:

Daily, I am …

I weigh___ with a ___waist.

I know how to…

My family and I are…

I own…

I feel…

Well-crafted goals, stated in the present tense, serve as affirmations. Think of affirmations as personalized powerful ads that you tell yourself over and over again about yourself and your life. Get over any weird thoughts you might have about affirmations – we all use them. We have lived our whole lives making affirmations. Unfortunately, affirmations are often self-critical and self-limiting:

I am fat.

I am a lousy speller.

I am not a good salesman.

I am always tired.

I know nothing about investments.

I’m destined to be poor.

Be careful about everything you say to yourself, or think to yourself, about yourself, because you’ll end up being right. As Luigi Pirandello noted some time ago, “Così è (se vi pare)” – Right you are (if you think you are).

Your brain is a terrible thing to use against yourself. — DL

Rules for Goal-Crafting — 4. Progress-Crafted Goals Are Detailed and Measured.

We are able to measure and track progress only toward goals that are detailed and specific. It is imperative that we craft goals with precise and vivid outcomes so that we can be sure we are progressing and not merely changing.

A vague, general, or conflicted goal produces vague actions and vague results. A specific goal produces specific actions and specific results. The more information we can give our subconscious mind about our intentions – our wants, our goals – the clearer the right next steps become, and the more focused our actions will be. It is fine if the goal takes many words to map out. The key is to crystallize our intentions.

For example, “I have a new job” is generic, not very helpful, and certainly not very inspiring. Most of us could get a new job within a week, if not a day. It probably would not be a job that matched our skills, paid well, or that we even liked, but we could get a job. So be darn sure to specify:

In what industry?

What position and responsibilities?

What pay range?

What benefits, 401K, vacation?

How much travel?

How long commute?

Company car?

Work from home?

What kind of boss (if any), and coworkers?

Our “specs” can go on and on. Generic goals do little to propel us to action. Yes, it takes time, but it is vital that we craft our goals in as much detail as possible. It is perfectly fine to rewrite the goal, refine it, add to it, mess with it.

Becoming almost ridiculously particular about what we want, and why we want it, helps create the inspiration that propels us to progress toward our goals – instead of focusing attention on the countless other options of how we could invest our time and energy.

Rules for Goal-Crafting — 5. Progress-Crafted Goals Are Positively Worded.

Words hold great power. They have since “the beginning.” Crafted goals should focus our conscious and subconscious minds on future progress, not past problems and limitations. Therefore, we should craft goals that focus on what we want, not on what we don’t.

Any words or phrases that have negative connotations perpetuate frustration, worry, and regret because they remind us of past weaknesses or failures. In turn, this can create a mental block that limits our pattern of thought and behavior. It is helpful to become aware of when we’re using defeatist words like can not, do not, will not, never. We need to rephrase our goal statements, eliminating any negative words and using believable, positive words.

Instead of writing, “I don’t eat junk food,” write, “I am a healthy eater. I eat foods that are good for me.” Then list healthy foods and why healthy choices are good for you.

Instead of writing, “I will not stay up late, oversleep, and be late to work,” write, “I go to bed by 10:30 p.m. each night and am on time for work each day.” Then list five ways in which early to bed, early to rise, makes you healthy, wealthy, and wise. There are three ways right there. Thanks, Ben Franklin!

Crafting goals from a positive perspective raises our expectations and encourages empowering thought processes. We get our subconscious to work for us, opening up our options and making things seem possible and more doable.

The subconscious mind does not judge or argue; it only carries out instructions. The more positive the imagery we sow in our conscious and subconscious minds, the more positive results we will reap.

Rules for Goal-Crafting — 6. Progress-Crafted Goals Have an Achievement Date.

Achievement dates are vital for measuring and tracking our progress. Many of us waste a great deal of time talking about what we want to do, or to have, or to become, someday. Someday is not a day of the week.*

Without an end date there is no strong reason to take strong action today. Having a specific time frame gives us the push, the prod, the sense of urgency to get moving. Achievement date or procrastinate? Set one and get moving before it’s too late. (Hey, that rhymes.)

Without a date for accomplishment, we have only crafted a wishy-washy wish which floats around. We never get moving because we feel we can start at any time. A realistic time frame helps reel the goal in and make it real. Grounding our goals within a realistic time frame gets the fire burning and sets our subconscious mind in motion.

Many of us have so many goals that we end up pursuing two dozen of them poorly, rather than three or four with laser-like focus and unflagging effort. Establishing achievement dates for our goals helps us decide which ones warrant the majority of today’s time and energy.

Often it turns out that we have underestimated the true time, effort, and knowledge required to accomplish our goals. We run out of patience and passion, or lose sight of the goal’s purpose. Most of our goals can be met if they have realistic achievement dates and we work to stay committed to them.

If we don’t achieve our goal within our time frame, we can always set a new achievement date.

“The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.”

– Michelangelo

Craft and commit to progress-based goals.

Be Progress.

* Someday Is Not a Day of the Week is the title of an insightful, motivating, and eye-opening children’s book by Denise Brennan-Nelson. I recommend it highly.

An Introduction to Progress-Based Goal-Crafting an excerpt from

The Progress Challenge: Working and Winning in a World of Change

by Dean Lindsay

Copyright 2010 — All rights reserved.

About Dean Lindsay:

An authority on harnessing human potential and creating authentic business growth, Dean Lindsay is an engaging and highly sought-after business consultant and speaker. He is an active member of the Viktor Frankl Institute of Logotherapy and the American Society of Training and Development.

Dean Lindsay sees an important connection between sales, motivation, solid customer care and leadership. All are achieved by effectively positioning ideas, recommendations, solutions, products, services – even ourselves – as PROGRESS in minds of those we wish to inspire to action. All must be positioned as Progress and NOT Change. It is natural to resist change but we embrace PROGRESS. All progress is change but not all change is PROGRESS.

Dean is a featured contributor to Executive Travel, Sales and Service Excellence and the American Management Association’s Moving Ahead magazine as well as the nationally distributed audio publication Selling Power Live. He has been spotlighted as an Outstanding Speaker by the International Association of Speakers Bureaus and recognized as a ‘Sales-and-Networking Guru’ by the Dallas Business Journal.

Dean has served as Guest Lecturer to International Customer Management Institute as well as both the UCLA and University of Dallas MBA programs. He is a Cum laude graduate of the University of North Texas and serves on the Executive Advisory Board for UNT’s Department of Marketing and Logistics and the Board of Directors of the UNT Alumni Association. Dean’s first book, Cracking the Networking CODE: 4 Steps to Priceless Business Relationships is Recommended Reading by United Professional Sales Association and Profit magazine.  Click here to watch Dean in Action.

14 Overlooked Holiday Networking Tips

By Dean Lindsay, Author of Cracking the Networking CODE

“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.” – JRR Tolkien

It might be tough out there, but Tis STILL the season for CONNECTING.

The holiday season can be a slow time for “business” but it can also be a busy time for “business relationship building.”

The holidays offer a great, easy and natural reason to re-connect with people we don’t regularly see or communicate with. So besides attending holiday gatherings, it is a wise investment of time to start phoning, mailing and emailing our Season’s Greetings and our Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukah Wishes.

Now, as we know, every event offers networking opportunities and that includes holiday gatherings. In fact, holiday gatherings offer ideal opportunities to network because of their relaxed settings and built in conversations starters – holiday shopping, food, family holiday travel, etc.

Holiday gatherings are all around, we can’t make them all. We must be selective and careful not to overextend ourselves. However we can’t connect if we don’t go.

Here are 14 Overlooked Holiday Networking Tips

Overlooked Holiday Networking Tip #1 

Arrive on Time and Ready to Help.

Be sure to offer the host/hostess your assistance. Volunteering at any event heightens the opportunities of connecting.

Overlooked Holiday Networking Tip #2

When Talking with Friends, Open Up.

Stand (somewhat) side-by-side and converse rather than standing face-to-face. This make us still approachable to others and does not close us off to others desiring to connect.

Overlooked Holiday Networking Tip #3

Carry Pen and Paper as well as Business Cards.

We need to be able to reconnect with folks and they might not to have thought about bringing cards.

Overlooked Holiday Networking Tip #4

Focus on Quality of the Conversation Not Quantity of Contacts.

Better to have a half dozen meaningful conversations that lead to progress than forty meaningless ones that don’t.

Overlooked Holiday Networking Tip #5

Branch Out (at some point)

Sure it is fun and comfortable to hang with your good old friends but there are new priceless business relationships to make out there also.

Overlooked Holiday Networking Tip #6

Get an Introduction to the Person You Want to Meet.

An introduction is an implied endorsement. Try to get introduced by the hostess/host or the most respected person at the event with whom you have a relationship.

Overlooked Holiday Networking Tip #7

Carry /Use Breath Mints or Those Dissolving Strip Things (not gum).

Sure you want to try the garlic artichoke dip but halitosis is bad for business. Good breath is a must. And as for gum, smacking anything at a networking function is discouraged.

Overlooked Holiday Networking Tip #8

Careful of the Eggnog (and Miller Lite and Merlot)

Many holiday gatherings serve alcohol. I encourage you to consider not drinking at these events, or at least know your alcohol limit and not get anywhere close to it. Sure you want to be remembered, but not as the loud jerk who couldn’t hold his liquor and spilt red wine on Judge Jacob’s Hanukkah sweater.

Overlooked Holiday Networking Tip #9

Look for People Standing Alone.

These folks may be nervous, and your initiative will often endear you to them. Plus, one-on-one networking is the best networking. It is hard to join a group unless invited.

A CODE Tip on Joining a Group –

Look for someone you know who is chatting with a couple of people you do not know. Approach the group and stand to the side within view of the person you know. This serves as a subtle cue for your contact to introduce you to the group and bring you into the conversation. Try it. It works. If someone invites you to join the group but forgets to introduce you, take the initiative and introduce yourself.

Overlooked Holiday Networking Tip #10

Hang a While at the Food Table.

I know it sounds like I’m joking, but people tend to be easily accessible around food. Stand near the food table, but not the bar. People tend to grab their drinks and move away from the bar, but are more likely to linger near the grub.

As people check out the buffet table, small talk comes more easily. “That fruitcake looks good…” is as good an opener as any. Once they have their hands full, people often look for a flat surface where they can place their plate and beverage. Take a spot next to them and get to chatting.

Check this out — Our endorphin levels are higher when we are close to food, which boosts our memory and the chance that we will remember and be remembered. We humans are a trip, aren’t we?

Food Additive:

Do not go to these Holiday parties too hungry. Consider eating something before you go so you can focus on the person, not the cranberry cheese spreed. If you are hungry at the event, grab a quick bite off to the side, and then mingle. Do not talk with your mouth full. (I hope I didn’t need to write that.)

Overlooked Holiday Networking Tip #11

Bond With the Spouses and Significant Others of the Influential.

The influence and power wielded by spouses and significant others is grossly underestimated. And because of this, they often go ignored. When offered the chance at a holiday function, invest the time to make a solid connection with them. Get to know them as people, and after the event they are likely to speak well of you to you know who.

Overlooked Holiday Networking Tip #12

Do NOT Try to do Major Business Deals (save that for later).

Keep business out of it. It’s the holidays, and people don’t want to be sold to. Make it about getting to know others and not about you or your business. Do not rush new relationships; think LONG TERM. Do not SELL! It is a mind-set. Be subtle. The worst thing you could do is try to start selling someone at a holiday party!

Overlooked Holiday Networking Tip #13

Catch That Name.

We say we forget names. But I don’t think that’s true. I don’t think we really hear the name of the person when we meet them. We are not listening. We are more focused on what we’re about to say.

The other person’s name is way important to them, probably about as important as yours is to you. To make a great first impression, make a point of catching and tossing around the person’s name in conversation. This is almost impossible when we are preoccupied with the red and green decorations or what we are going to do or say next to be impressive.

The Name Game

1. Right before you meet new people, PREPARE to CATCH their name.

2. Toss their name back in your first or second response.

3. Mention their name naturally throughout the conversation (but do not overdo it).

4. Repeat their name when parting.

If you do not catch it, ask them to repeat it rather than letting it go. Do not be embarrassed to ask (they probably did not catch your name either). Read others’ nametags. That’s what they’re there for.

Again, your new contact’s name is the ultimate word to use in order to make a solid first impression. Using the person’s name in a natural manner throughout the conversation is an easy and organic way to create a memorable link between yourself and your new contact.

Overlooked Holiday Networking Tip #14

Uncover the Next Step (Mucho Importanto).

Find a reason (that is good for them) to connect them again and then… connect them again (and soon). Focus on — How can you “Be Progress” for this person?

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

Be Progress.

Eight Holiday Organization Tips (Guest Blog Post)

Goal Setting 101 – Progress Based Goal Crafting 5 & 6   

“The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.” — Michelangelo

Link to Progress Agent Goal Crafting (Goal Setting 101) Rule 1

Link to Progress Agent Goal Crafting (Goal Setting 101) Rules 2 & 3

Link to Progress Agent Goal Crafting (Goal Setting 101) Rule 4

Goal Setting 101 Rule 5.  Progress-Crafted Goals Are Positively Worded. 

Words hold great power. They have since “the beginning.”  Crafted goals should focus our conscious and subconscious minds on future progress, not past problems and limitations.  Therefore, we should craft goals that focus on what we want, not on what we don’t. 

Any words or phrases that have negative connotations perpetuate frustration, worry, and regret because they remind us of past weaknesses or failures.  In turn, this can create a mental block that limits our pattern of thought and behavior.  It is helpful to become aware of when we’re using defeatist words like can not, do not, will not, never.  We need to rephrase our goal statements, eliminating any negative words and using believable, positive words.

Instead of writing, “I don’t eat junk food,” write, “I am a healthy eater. I eat foods that are good for me.”  Then list healthy foods and why healthy choices are good for you.

Instead of writing, “I will not stay up late, oversleep, and be late to work,” write, “I go to bed by 10:30 p.m. each night and am on time for work each day.”  Then list five ways in which early to bed, early to rise, makes you healthy, wealthy, and wise. There are three ways right there.  Thanks, Ben Franklin!

Crafting goals from a positive perspective raises our expectations and encourages empowering thought processes.  We get our subconscious to work for us, opening up our options and making things seem possible and more doable. 

The subconscious mind does not judge or argue; it only carries out instructions.  The more positive the imagery we sow in our conscious and subconscious minds, the more positive results we will reap.

Goal Setting 101 Rule 6.  Progress-Crafted Goals Have an Achievement Date. 

Achievement dates are vital for measuring and tracking our progress.  Many of us waste a great deal of time talking about what we want to do, or to have, or to become, someday.  Someday is not a day of the week.* 

Without an end date there is no strong reason to take strong action today.  Having a specific time frame gives us the push, the prod, the sense of urgency to get moving.  Achievement date or procrastinate?  Set one and get moving before it’s too late. (Hey, that rhymes.)

Without a date for accomplishment, we have only crafted a wishy-washy wish which floats around.  We never get moving because we feel we can start at any time.  A realistic time frame helps reel the goal in and make it real.  Grounding our goals within a realistic time frame gets the fire burning and sets our subconscious mind in motion. 

Many of us have so many goals that we end up pursuing two dozen of them poorly, rather than three or four with laser-like focus and unflagging effort.  Establishing achievement dates for our goals helps us decide which ones warrant the majority of today’s time and energy.

Often it turns out that we have underestimated the true time, effort, and knowledge required to accomplish our goals.  We run out of patience and passion, or lose sight of the goal’s purpose.  Most of our goals can be met if they have realistic achievement dates and we work to stay committed to them. 

If we don’t achieve our goal within our time frame, we can always set a new achievement date. 

Craft and commit to progress-based goals.

* Someday Is Not a Day of the Week is the title of an insightful, motivating, and eye-opening children’s book by Denise Brennan-Nelson.  I recommend it highly.

Be Progress.

Link to Progress Agent Goal Crafting (Goal Setting 101) Rule 1

Link to Progress Agent Goal Crafting (Goal Setting 101) Rules 2 & 3

Link to Progress Agent Goal Crafting (Goal Setting 101) Rule 4

Progress-Based Goal Crafting Rules 2 & 3

Link to Goal Crafting Rule 1

2.  Progress-Crafted Goals Connect to Personal Progress. 

Plainly put, each person involved in a goal’s achievement must believe there is something favorable in it for him or her. We are unlikely to work toward a goal that we can not personalize as positive for us.  For a goal to actually become a tool in its own achievement, it must generate genuine excitement when we envision its accomplishment.  Why and how does the goal mean Progress for those who must act?

Often, individuals must make an organizational goal their own, as in a new technology rollout, reorganization, or a merger.  To get all team members (including ourselves) psyched and committed to the organization’s goal, we need to dig into how the goal’s achievement will benefit all involved (via job security, bonuses, flex time, exciting new projects, raises, promotions, shorter commute, less stress, etc.). 

If team members believe that the potential for progress is worth the effort, they will more readily take on challenges in support of the organization’s goals. When highlighting the reasons behind the goal, include the Six Ps of Progress.

Whether the goal is meeting sales quota, buying a new boat, becoming more efficient in customer-service calls, or finishing a financial report, we must find ways to make the goal progress for us in some way. With that personal lodestar ever in sight, we stay committed to reaching the goal.  Why we want to achieve a goal is far more important than the goal itself.   Remember, change is inevitable.  Progress is a choice.

3.  Progress-Crafted Goals Are Stated in Present Tense. 

Stating goals in the present tense tells our subconscious mind that we are committed – that the goals will not remain forever stuck in a future tense – as in, I WILL be wealthy.  Our mind takes ownership, sees the goal as an actuality (rather than a potentiality) – I AM wealthy – and works toward its realization. 

 “Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.”  — Sun Tzu

The subconscious mind chooses a path of least resistance. If we write, “I will be debt-free,” the subconscious mind does not act, because the “will” postpones the goal’s achievement to some indefinite time in the future.  When we craft a goal as if it were already achieved, already true, our minds want to make it happen.  Examples:

Daily, I am …                          I weigh___ with a ___waist.

I know how to…                      My family and I are…             

I own…                                    I feel…

Well-crafted goals, stated in the present tense, serve as affirmations.  Think of affirmations as personalized powerful ads that you tell yourself over and over again about yourself and your life.  Get over any weird thoughts you might have about affirmations – we all use them.  We have lived our whole lives making affirmations.  Unfortunately, affirmations are often self-critical and self-limiting:

 I am fat.                                              I am a lousy speller.

I am not a good salesman.                  I am always tired.

I know nothing about investments.     I’m destined to be poor. 

Be careful about everything you say to yourself, or think to yourself, about yourself, because you’ll end up being right. As Luigi Pirandello noted some time ago, “Così è (se vi pare)” – Right you are (if you think you are).

“Your brain is a terrible thing to use against yourself.” — Dean Lindsay

Link to Goal Crafting Rule 1

Link to Dean Lindsay Info

(Part Two of Three)

PART ONE LINK                                                      PART THREE LINK

Insight from The Progress Challenge: Working and Winning in a World of Change by Dean Lindsay, the Find Progress in Change Speaker

Dean’s Progress Challenge is being Published 2/4/10 – Advanced Copies available here.

When a new opportunity comes our way, we internalize it, and size it up as Progress or Change.  This new opportunity could be starting a new relationship, buying an electronic gadget, working extra hours on a project, getting up to speed on a new product line, working to meet quota, anything.  All progress is change, but not all change is progress.   

Let’s say I have an upset stomach. “Man, I’ve got a stomachache.  Ouch!  My stomach is killing me.  This has got to change.”

Somebody hears me, walks over, and punches me in the nose.  Is that change?  Yeah, it’s change.  But it’s not progress.  Well, maybe to the person who punched me, but not to me.

What may seem like progress (good) to one person or group of people may seem like change (bad) to another. Propaganda, book burning, even war and murder are all thought of as “progress” at some point in the minds of the perpetrators (scary).  Because progress is subjective, there is no single factor that clearly determines whether an event represents progress or change. 

However, we can say that we:

• Start businesses to progress, not change 

• Hire employees to progress, not change

• Work on teams to progress, not change

• Make the tough choices and the tough phone calls to progress, not change

• Keep our cool when dealing with belligerent customers to progress, not change

• Cross the road to progress, not change

• Answer the phone to progress, not change

• Spend our hard-earned money to progress, not change. (We would rather keep our change than change, but will offer our best to progress.)

• Diet and exercise to progress, not change

As we age we realize that slowing change can be progress.  Think of the forty-year-old swimmer who manages to equal her performance from five years before. Maintenance is progress in that it avoids change for the worse. 

We do not want life-changing products, services, experiences, ideas, and opportunities. We want life-progressing products, services, experiences, ideas and opportunities.We should be careful not to mistake mere change for progress.  Just because something is new or flashy does not mean it is right or adds meaning to our lives.  And as my friend and fellow author Shama Hyder says, we do live in a “next big thing” world.  However, because all progress is change, people who claim to be 100% “resistant to (any) change” are often choosing to be resistant to the possibility of progress.

CHANGE & PROGRESS Questions to Ponder in Next Post.

Be Progress.

PART ONE LINK                                                         PART THREE LINK

 Three endorsements for Dean Lindsay’s The Progress Challenge: Working and Winning in a World of Change

“The Progress Challenge is a much needed kick in the pants for all of us. Dean Lindsay’s witty words and questions will wake up your sleeping intentions and challenge you to move forward with purpose in your life. What an enlightening book!”
– Ken Blanchard,
coauthor of The One Minute Manager®
and Leading at a Higher Level
 
“The Progress Challenge is an excellent guide to both personal and professional success.  The book helps the reader understand that change is inevitable, yet progress is a choice.  In Lindsay’s words…”be progress”.”
– Jim Keyes
CEO, Blockbuster

“If you desire to become a better leader, I recommend you add Dean Lindsay’s The Progress Challenge to your leadership toolkit.  I especially liked the insight into the life and work of Viktor Frankl as well as Dean’s use of humor throughout the book – a valuable and enjoyable read.  The Progress Challenge is an honorable challenge that anyone aiming to make a positive difference should take.”
– Ramon F. Baez
Vice President and Chief Information Officer
Kimberly-Clark Corporation

Copies of The Progress Challenge available here.

For Bulk purchase discounts call: 214-457-5656

Contact Dean Lindsay about your next event.