How Are You REALLY Doing?

It is very easy to pretend that we care about others in our lives… because the words come so easily – “How are you doing?”… “I hope that you are doing well!” With good intentions in our hearts, we ask these types of questions… make these types of statements… and, then go on with our lives pretending that everything is OK.

Underneath the surface, however, everything is rarely OK… and often those same people (who just gave us the answer they thought we wanted to hear) are desperately searching for words of advice, encouragement or a shoulder to lean upon. They are desperately waiting for someone to ask, “How are you really doing?” so that they can be honest… and trust that true friend with the truth.

As this world becomes more & more ‘connected’… we can easily become more & more detached.

Which Comes First?

Thinking & behaving like a successful person... comes BEFORE being a successful person.

Progress Reports

Many parents wait for their children’s report card to find out how their doing in school… others will wait and look closely at the mid-term reports… some diligently attend the back-to-school parent/teacher conferences… and even fewer will take a daily interest in how their children are doing.

These are all various forms of progress reports. While most of them focus only on past performance (homework, projects, quizzes & tests), some of them also realize the importance of looking at current behavior.

Last week, without any of the standard measures of performance listed above, I saw all that I needed to see to accurately predict the future success of four teenagers. On the second day of school, these four boys were huddled around a table in a library… studying their homework… Case closed!

Whether you are predicting the future success of children… employees… service providers… or elected public officials, all you need to do is observe their daily behavior (especially when no one is watching… and especially early in the ‘game’) to know the answer.

Be First!

Here is an easy way to make your ‘world’ a better place immediately:

Be First…

to make eye contact…

to say, “Hello!”…

to call a truce…

to be optimistic…

to say, “Thank You”…

to apologize…

to take care of an issue…

to smile…

to turn off the television…

to give a hug...

to offer a solution…

to say, “I Love You”…

Life is too short to wait for the others... to do what we all should be doing anyway.

Need to Know?

Once again, I attempted to endure the nation’s most popular news broadcasts… watching what were supposedly the day’s “Top Stories”. I turned off the television dissatisfied, knowing that everything I had just seen was totally irrelevant to my needs & interests.

Here is a random list of common and not-so-common daily topics circulating in your world... You decide which are truly Need to Know:

How a celebrity died

The details of a murder

The state of your personal finances

The latest gossip around the workplace, organization or community

The location of your children

The opinion of stranger barely smart enough to write 140 characters

Today’s stock market results

The latest opinion poll

The character & behavior of your child’s friends

The quality of education in your schools

The opinions of your ‘best’ customers

The gruesome details of a shark attack

The feedback of your ‘lost’ customers

Ways you could help make the world a better place

The needs & wants of your target customers

Challenge: Make a list of the most important information that you need to know. Compare that list to what you spend most of your time watching and listening to. Then, decide whether or not you should change your behavior.

Ask!

By the nature of who you are… people will pretty much answer any question that you ask them… won’t they? Of course, the depth and truthfulness of those answers will greatly depend on how much trust & credibility you have created… but they will answer you. That being the case… what information do you need to know in order to help them?

Would it be helpful to know their:

• Goals & objectives?
• Vision of success?
• Vision of a world-class partner?
• Priorities?
• Perceived value of your solution?
• What they like about their current provider?
• Decision making criteria?
• Current strategy?
• Deal breaker issues?
• Etc., etc., etc…

If you believe that people will answer any question that you ask… and you believe that certain information would help you help them… ASK!

Mixed Messages

Marketers send out mixed messages to their target audience every day… with their actions… as well as with their words. I still am trying to figure out what my local fruit stand owner was really saying when he decided to post his sign, “CHERRIES HERE FRESH DAILY” on a huge mountain of manure.

What mixed messages are you broadcasting to the world by not being consistent in everything that you do?