We need a finish line

Starting off on a good foot with a new customer or new member of the team or a new project is great. But, if we don't have a finish line, an end-goal or measurement or some way of knowing if what we're doing is working out, we take a strong chance of being disappointed.

I think that's because we look at those kinds of metrics as bad or as potential punishments. And sometimes they can be. But how do I know if I did well or that I'm worth it--other than me judging myself?

It's just as vital to have an end-goal as it is a starting point.

Barry LaBov
LaBov & Beyond
http://www.labov.com/

Public Persona versus Reggie Bar

My Uncle Irv was a baseball coach in the Philadelphia area for decades. I asked him once if he coached a famous big league baseball player. He said,

Yeah, I coached a sweet, skinny boy who was the best fielder I ever saw. He was the fastest runner I ever coached and hit the ball nicely. But most of all, he was the nicest kid on the team, a real team-player.

I searched through my brain for who that could be: team-player, skinny, fast, great fielder... But I gave up and asked my uncle to tell me. He said,

Have you ever heard of Reggie Jackson?

I was stunned. Sure I had heard of him, but he, while being a Hall of Famer, was also known for being a trouble-maker, a lazy fielder and was not known as speedy. He was known as a tremendous power hitter. I then remembered one other thing about Reggie from an interview early in his professional baseball career. He shared a secret with the reporter: on the inside of his baseball hat, he put masking tape with 30-100-.300 handwritten in ink. Each time he put on his ball cap he saw 30-100-.300. Those numbers stood for his goals of hitting 30 home runs, 100 RBI (runs batted in) and batting .300. He achieved those goals many times during his Hall of Fame career.

The lesson? Your public persona may be one thing. Your personal focus and determination is another. If he had focused on the public persona and not his goals, we may never have heard of him. He did the right thing. Besides, how many of us will ever have a candy bar named after us?

Barry LaBov
LaBov & Beyond
www.labov.com
LaBov Sales Channel
PB&J Newsletter

Every day begins a new year

So maybe it's been tough, it's been a grind of a year. It's great to begin a new year. Kinda like golf: you play a crappy front nine and man is it great to start over with a new back nine.

But let's be honest. It's all in our heads. We can change or begin to change now or tomorrow or last week, if we want to. The question is: what's stopping us from doing what we should be doing? What's in our way?

In leadership and in goal setting, it's not always about the new goal you give yourself. It's sometimes about what you take away or move out of the way that will help you succeed.

Before you tell everyone your New Year's resolution.... tell us what you're taking out of the way.


Barry LaBov
LaBov & Beyond
www.labov.com

Looking out for #1 is looking out for no one

With an economy such as this, there are fewer opportunities for everyone. Companies are fighting over the crumbs they used to step over.

That's why a corporation with a sales channel can't afford to protect itself against the very pipeline it sells products through.

That's why dealers or reps can't protect themselves against the "factory"--the very source it receives the product it sells to customers.

There are enough competitors for the manufacturers and their sales channels out there--they don't need to be competitors themselves. They have to work together, even if imperfectly, to identify and act on how they can be their best. Then they'll have a better chance to beat their mutual competition.


Barry LaBov
LaBov and beyond
www.labov.com

A goal bigger than ourselves

How can you protect yourself in this economy? How can you make sure your company isn't a casualty of the recession?

The answer is to focus on something bigger than yourself. We can all spot a person who is trying to sell you on how important they are. Or a person who is hiding, keeping their head down to survive one more day. We can easily identify a company that has pulled back and is merely going through the motions.

A person or a company that is primarily focused on themselves , will not thrive. Only the ones with a mandate that focuses on bringing real value to others will.

It's scary, but if an employee thinks his/her job is in jeopardy, the only course of action is to make sure he/she is making a positive difference at the workplace, regardless of how he/she looks at a given moment. It will be difficult to eliminate that person or position even in a bad economy.

The only opportunity for a company to ensure it survives and thrives is to make sure its lifeline--the customer--is feeling the love, getting the attention and the respect it deserves. It will make it almost impossible for the customer to eliminate them--why should they if they're doing well?

Surviving is no fun. Thriving and growing are. We have to serve, to think about and to dream for something beyond just our own well being. What's your goal or dream?

Barry LaBov
LaBov & Beyond Marketing Communications
www.labov.com