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How to
THRIVE When the Market Isn’t
by
Sam Glenn
“How
do I ‘THRIVE’ when the market stinks and co-workers are rapidly
becoming more negative? I just feel like quitting.”
This
has become a common question and theme due to the state of our economy,
with record-setting foreclosures, extensive layoffs, and minimal
business growth. Not only are we facing tough times; people are now
living in a state of fear and uncertainty.
So,
how do you THRIVE when the market isn’t? Let’s point out a fact:
history has proven that during times of uncertainty and economic
difficulties, some people find a way and THRIVE! They are not being
dishonest or taking advantage of other people in doing so; they are
authentically doing a few fundamental things that propel them through
the challenging times.
Despite
what anyone says, the starting point towards THRIVING – personally and
professionally –is with your attitude. Your attitude is your outlook
towards where you are and what’s going on, and it affects how you will
respond to those things. If your attitude is not right, then it
doesn’t matter what your next step is – it will lack the energy to
get you to thrive. A negative attitude works against you and defeats
you. A positive attitude propels you.
The
key to thriving is getting your attitude to a place where it works for
you. It’s not enough to be positive or have the right attitude. You
have to put your money where your mouth is; you have to put that right
attitude into action. How do you do that?
First,
do not forget the fundamentals to success. There is a reason they
are called fundamentals. They work anywhere, for anyone at anytime. When
I played college basketball, we had to practice shooting free throws
over and over again. Why? They were a fundamental to winning.
What
tends to happen when a variety of changes happen – like we are
bombarded with a negative economy, negative people, etc.? Panic and fear
set in, and some of us abandon fundamentals.
“Business
is slow, competition is intense,
and the market is not good. What do we do?”
Here
are three fundamentals you can work on professionally that will promote
positive business growth:
1.The
first fundamental is to rethink your strategy and adapt it to the
situation. Determine what’s working and what’s not. Have a
brainstorming session on what will transform negative attitudes amongst
staff, lack of business and a tough market. And don’t always wait to
respond to negative change; take action and create some positive change
that will work for you. Learn to think creatively on how to make the
best of where you are. Here is a very simple example of a company
thinking proactively: I recently purchased a 20-pound bag of dog food.
When I opened it, there were sample treats inside with a coupon. Now
that’s something that works to increase business: capturing a current
customer for the long haul by introducing new products and a coupon to
save on a next purchase. Both my dog and I are grateful!
One
company put a sign in the window that read, “If you need it, we got
it.”
Their
competition, located across the street, had a dilemma. How would they
compete with that? Instead of getting stuck in the muck and acting
defeated, they did something even more creative. They put up their own
sign that said, “If we don’t have it, you don’t need it.”
2.The second fundamental is to examine how you are working with the
Big Three: 1. Service 2. Quality 3. Price. These are the three
factors you can control in business even when you can’t control the
market. First, your price needs to be low enough to attract customers
and high enough to make a profit. But beyond that, price can be a tough
element to work with when the market is down and competition is
everywhere. So, you have to play the other two strings – quality and
service - and play them hard. If you play them well, price will not be a
determining factor for business growth.
The current mentality for many businesses, when panicked and faced with
outside changes, is to create more products and sell, sell, sell more,
and get more, more, and more customers through the door. The thinking is
that this process will combat the negative market. Wrong! This strategy,
if implemented alone, ignores the fundamental importance of service and
quality , so while it might work some of the time, it won’t work on
its own. It lacks consistency, and in the end, you will lose more
business than you gain by hanging your hat on it. Here is a perfect
example. See if you can note the lost fundamental here… A friend of
mine used to love going to his bank once a week. He is in commercial
real estate and had weekly meetings at his bank, but he enjoyed visiting
with the people and having a warm cup of coffee. Because of the market,
however, the bank changed its ways in an effort to keep thriving. Now my
friend can’t walk into his bank without them trying to sell him some
kind of financial product that he doesn’t need. They replaced their
personalized service with aggressive marketing. He said the lack of good
customer care and total emphasis on selling has prompted him to look for
a new bank. He had banked there for years and enjoyed getting to know
the people. But, when the market started getting bad, the bank brought
in new leadership, shifting the focus from creating an experience worth
returning to, to sell, sell, sell – push, push, push. He indicated
that several employees there used to know his name, but because they
have replaced so many people, he became a number. He lost his identity
within their business. As a result, they have turned a loyal customer
over to their competition.
Never forget that the experience you create for others determines if
they will return or leave quietly in the night. Provide exceptional
service and a quality experience every time, and you will be a leg up on
the competition.
3. Network. Networking is a good way to build positive business
relationships. You can also discuss current trends and challenges in
your industry – and perhaps what options there are for solutions.
Perhaps you have applied the fundamentals, but you aren’t sure how to
get your staff to go along with implementing them.
“Our
staff is not as productive and is
becoming negative. How do I get them on track?”
1.
If you are in a leadership role, then it is your responsibility to bring
out the best in those you lead, especially when your team might be
asked to do more with less. Obviously your priority and pressure is to
achieve a certain result for the company and that becomes your focus or
target. The pressure may cause you to sidestep inspiration and take on a
driver personality, meaning you push people to the limit without really
caring about them.
They key for you is to change the emphasis from putting all your focus
on the outcome, to bringing out the best in those you lead. Why? Your
staff members are the ones working towards the results you want. The
moment you treat your team like robots is the moment they will stop
caring and giving their best. Once an employee stops caring, they stop
doing things with excellence. They cut corners. They don’t share in
the vision you are trying to achieve. They don’t put in the 100%
effort that’s needed. Instead of working a full day, in reality, their
efforts achieve a half day. You might say, “Well, it’s their job!
They are supposed to do it because they get paid!”
Hey,
who are you trying to fool with that kind of thinking? Of course they
are supposed to do their job, but when people feel uninspired, it shows
up in their efforts. As a result, quality and service suffer. Then the
company suffers. To that I say, “Get a clue and FAST.”
Tne
manager told me that he uses “pain” to motivate. While pain is a
strong motivator, it cannot be your only motivator. Sometimes you have
to light a fire to get people to move, but you must institute some
creative and inspirational leadership. People are not robots. You can
push them, drive them, and crack the whip to get what you want, but are
you helping others get what they want? When you help others become the
best version of themselves, what inevitably happens is the company
becomes the best version of its self. That’s how you achieve your
outcome – faster and better! This is fundamental.
2
. Create positive “mild” distractions
What
this means is to create a break – a positive one. Do something to take
your team’s mind off the work at hand – give them a mental vacation.
This was my purpose behind a video series I created, A Kick in
the Attitude. It’s a brain break and
rekindles the most valuable attitude trait to staying on track and
giving your best – ENTHUSIASM.
We
need to rest and take a break now and then, but one with purpose.
That’s the goal of a positive “mild” distraction. It interrupts
and breaks your mental pattern. Here is a parallel: when you work out at
the gym, you have to take a break from the exercise and rest the muscles
a bit in order for the muscles to grow. If you push, push, push, you
damage the muscle tissue and it becomes counterproductive to achieving
growth. The same thing occurs when studying. Educational experts tell
students to study for 20 to 30 minutes and then take a 5 to 10 minute
break. Rest your brain a bit, so it can get back on track.
To
restore your best attitude, plan positive “mild” distractions.
Part 2
How to THRIVE Personally
The key to THRIVING personally is working on yourself in positive ways.
I have a little philosophy that works: life gets better when we get
better. You can’t wait for things to get better, you have to be
proactive and make things better and the best place to start is with
you. Here are a few simple fundamentals to thriving personally:
1. Take responsibility for where you are and where you want to go. It’s
easy to point the finger and find who or what to blame. I was sitting in
a restaurant and I overheard this guy say to his friends, “If Bush
wasn’t in the White House, my life would be better.”
He
may be right, but dwelling upon the negatives only keeps you negative.
Blame and pointing the finger is not empowering to your situation. Dr.
Drew, clinical psychologist says, “You can still be mad, but you have
to do things that will move your life forward towards progress.”
This
may mean letting go of certain beliefs that are less than empowering.
It’s just too easy to blame and point the finger. And what ultimately
happens is the blame becomes a crutch. It creates a wedge between you
and what you want in life.
The key is taking ownership of your situation and beginning to think and
plan on how you can move forward. When you are frustrated and not sure
what to do, it’s easy to doubt yourself, or you might begin to make
excuses and justify them in your mind. You may think there is no way out
through what’s going on, but again, history has proven that there is
always a way.
In my book, A Kick in the Attitude, I address this
point at the beginning of the book in a chapter titled, Get Over It and
Get On With It. I put this concept in the front end of the book because
if you have something that’s getting in the way of getting to where
you want to go or be, you have to work on getting over it first. You
have to end some unhealthy relationships you may have with limitations
that you are aware of or perhaps clueless to.
2.
Sharpen Your Skills
Stay
up to date and sharp by adding value to who you are and what you do
through sharpening your skills. Attend a class or seminar if you know it
will contribute to what you can offer.
3. Choose Empowering Thoughts.
Each
of us has a unique perspective on the world. Our thoughts create our
reality. Some of us have put our thinking on auto pilot, which limits
our forward thinking process. The key is taking charge, by making some
positive thoughts on purpose. If you know your desired outcome, you can
build your thoughts around that. In doing so, you can spring clean some
old thoughts that don’t work for you - like self-doubt, past mistakes
you’ve made, poor influences, etc…
Ways
to improve your thoughts.
a.
Change your influences – what you read, listen to and watch. Get
around people who are healthy for you.
b.
Get up and move. Don’t take the elevator; walk the stairs. The
fastest way to feel better about yourself and life is by moving your
body. If you don’t like to run, dance your butt off for 30 minutes.
You don’t need a workout video; just dance. Or walk.
c.
Make a list of thoughts you want to become dominant in your
mind, like seeing yourself achieving a goal. Before I became an
author, I pictured myself signing autographs. I pictured and practiced
so much in my mind that years later when I became an author, I would
do book signings for 3 and 4 hours. People would ask if I would get
tired. I told them, no way, I have been practicing for this a long
time – years in fact.
d. Change your foods. Develop a better food plan than flying on
a whim through the fast food place. Move to salads, raw nuts,
vegetables. Season them up a bit and they taste great. After 21 days
of eating better, you won’t want to go back to the junk food. (Well,
maybe at Christmas time, but for the most part, you will want the feel
good feeling of a health state of mind and body!)
If
you take the time to implement these changes in the workplace, and in
your life, you will find yourself capable of thriving, no matter the
state of the economy. Put them to action, and enjoy the results!
Sam
Glenn is an inspirational speaker, author, and chalk artist, presenting
to corporations and associations nationwide in a humor-filled program.
See www.samglenn.com for
more.
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