Robert Campbell?

I heard a story about a man named Rob Campbell. He designed and developed powerpoint and file maker. When he was a young man and eager to develop software, he interviewed with 3 companies. He asked them each what that company believed the future of the computer was. Company #1 said they believed that the computer would be on everyone’s wish list for Christmas, company #2 said they believed the computer would raise their stock from $1 to $2. The third company said they believed that computers were going to change everything. Which company do you think he went with? Company 1 quickly went out of business. Company #2 was the Commodore. Company #3 was Apple.

Which company had the biggest vision? Big visions of positive change attract people who want to do something with their life. What was wrong with company # 2? They only wanted to increase their value. This question challenged me. Am I only looking at the people that I want to recruit so I can increase my stock or am I recruiting them to change the world? I realized that I need to get a bigger vision and be bolder about sharing it. 

Desire

How do you determine if a person has desire? John Maxwell says he can find out with one simple question : Are you satisfied with where you are now?

This is a great question. It makes me dream of a better future. Thank you John for a great question.

80/20 Rule

I'm reading John Maxwell's Developing the Leader within you. He mentions the 80/20 rule. The top 20 % of the people will do 80% of the work. I like one of the practical tips that he gives "Have the top 20% train the next 20%." I like this because it multiplies the team!

The 3 A's to popularity

Les Giblin in his book "The Art of Dealing with People" he says there are 3 A's to developing an attractive personality.

1. Acceptance - allow people to make mistakes and LIKE them for who they are.

2. Approval - this goes beyond tolerating others faults. Find something that you approve of and let the person know. When they get a taste of your approval, it will influence their behavior for the positive.

3. Appreciation - this word means to raise in value. Believe in people and what they can become instead of only seeing them for what they are or what they were. One tip I like in this section was "Don't keep people waiting."

Ben Franklin on Preparation

Ben Franklin "By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail"

This quote inspires me to think about what is most important to accomplish and get in the habit of doing something every day to develop skills in that area.

I'm so grateful for Rob Ammons and his commitment to me in this area. Every morning at 6:45 we call each other and practice our skills. Thank you Rob!!

My favorite quote from Tim Tebow's book "Through my Eyes"

Tim mentions this quote several times in his book and it definitely inspires me to work harder.

"Hard work always beats talent when talent will not work."

Thank you Tim

Pros remember names and get people involved emotionally

Yesterday I read from the book 177 Mental toughness secrets that professional leaders know how to get people emotionally involved while amateurs only lead by logic. The exercise was to ask someone the question “Tell me what the most important thing to you?”  and then follow up with questions that continue to involve the person. Examples include “Why is that important to you?” “What would that feel like when you get there?”  “Why is that important to you?”

I tried it on my wife yesterday and she had a great “R” response “I just want everyone to get along.” Then she shared some negative emotions about some relational conflict in our lives. The book didn’t prepare me for that! It looks like being a good leader means you have to be able to handle negative emotion appropriately.

Last night I read in How to Win Friends about a guy named Jim Finely. He helped a president get elected because he knew 50,000 people by first name. During the campaign, he wrote letters to each individual. (I’m glad I remembered his name). Dale highlights how important someone’s name is to them. Pros focus on remembering people’s name. People do business with people who they know, like, and trust. If I don’t know their name, it means I don’t know them.