success

“Just because you deserve it doesn’t mean that you’re going to get it. Sometimes you’ve got to take what’s yours.”

I find this to be an alarming trend in South Africa today. People seem to think they deserve things just because of who they are (or think they are) or because of what they’ve done. Not to mention the legacy of Apartheid.

“True greatness is often revealed through absolute simplicity.”

Try this training technique. But let me warn, you it’s revolutionary! Are you ready for it? Here it is…

"The first requisite of success is the ability to apply your physical and mental energies to one problem without growing weary." Thomas Edison

 Marketing hype today is all about so-called “viral marketing”.  If your budget is big enough, and you want to embrace internet technology, almost any viral marketing company will get you to throw some of your budget their way.  The truth is though that viral marketing is nothing new:  Doctors have been doing it for years, at a fraction of the cost. In fact we've been paying them to do it. Let me explain.

I listen to young people at my seminars and they all tell me they want to be great, successful, the best at something. That is indeed admirable, but then we are subjected to the drivel our young leaders in business, sport and politics spew from public platforms. Julius Malema aside, the latest guffaw was from SA’s national cricket team (The Proteas) captain Graeme Smith. Read it here. The first thing we need to accept before we can be #1 is that we must keep our personal power instead of handing it to elements outside ourselves.

I recently met with Bruce a company owner and MD intent on growing his already-successful company. He’s in the process of employing Regional Managers, Sales Managers and devising an aggressive sales and growth strategy. He is looking to partner with me as a coach and mentor to his company – but what I discovered was astounding. Bruce has decided to cancel company conference. He’s cancelling the very bastion of motivation and team-building. I think he’s doing exactly the right thing.

 “You win some, you lose some, you wreck some.”  Dale Earnhardt

When things go well, who gets the credit?  When things go badly, who gets the blame?  If you’re like most people, everyone gets the blame for the latter.  Everyone from competitors, coaches, event organizers, equipment – even the weather! 

 
According to Melissa Raffoni, the recessionary tide appears to have turned and the CEOs she consults to are starting to look ahead with more confidence at 2010. She’s just done an informal survey among 30 of her clients.
 

In a business environment where everyone wants to streamline their business, cut costs, reduce the headcount but still remain in business, I often find that those decisions – fiscally astute as they might be – backfire.

Yesterday I called the SABC about my TV license. (For my international readers: All South Africans are required by law to be in possession of a license in order to own a TV. This has to be paid annually in order to fund the public broadcaster. They are in dire financial straits due to mismanagement and have cancelled virtually all new programming placing many actors, producers and thousands of related jobs in jeopardy. They’re only broadcasting re-runs on all three their channels. Most, if not all, affluent people here watch satellite TV from a private supplier similar to cable for which we pay a monthly fee.)

I spoke with the lowest common denominator – a call centre agent. The conversation went something like this: (I might even call them again, record it and podcast it...)

“When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.”  Harriet Beecher Stowe

Ah, heck! If everything in life was easy, life would be very boring. If events and trials were easy there’d be no honour and accomplishment in achieving them.