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Yes, there is a real face behind the e-mail!
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Greetings!
After a horrendously long and cold Minnesota winter, people are so appreciative of everything that comes with spring: temperatures that don't require down parkas, the sound of warm wind in the leaves, being so warm you actually
break a sweat.
I find it easy to delight in these little things that I may take for granted during the height of summer. And that makes me wonder: Do I fall into the trap of taking my past and current clients for granted? Or do I make sure that they know how much I appreciate them? I'm not always pleased with the answer.
All of us who want to have more in our businesses get to do more and be more - more appreciative, value-driven, service-oriented, and giving. I hope the following Nuggets will help you get your more.
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Tip of the Week
Schedule, schedule, schedule.
I'm not just talking about client meetings and networking events.
I'm talking about things that need doing, but not at a specific time: strategic planning, implementation of client-appreciation campaigns, new-product development, professional development, and so forth.
These are classic "Quadrant II" activities, in the language of Stephen Covey: They're important but not urgent. Therein lies the danger. Unless you create a deadline for completing these activities and schedule time for them in your planner, the likelihood of them getting done in timely manner is somewhere between "fat chance" and "not gonna happen".
Doesn't your business deserve better?
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How's This for Success?
Thanks to Irene Kelly of Prisma for being the first to respond to my request for networking-related success stories!
Irene became crystal-clear that she wanted her coaching business to focus on education-related clients. With the clear intention of making this shift, she networked by speaking to groups, attending networking events, and participating in her professional association. By combining clear intention with outcome-focused networking, she re-created her coaching business so that it's now 80% in the field of education. Her summary of the steps leading to this success:
- Be clear about what you want: "set your intention"
- Don't get hung up on thinking that you should achieve your goal in a particular way: "let go of the 'how'"
- Take action!
By following these steps, Irene has set herself on the path to achieve her BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) of significantly impacting students, parents, and educators around the world. You go, girl!
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A Really Good Resource
I love the concept of the "rolling 12-month calendar".
If you're not familiar with it, the concept is simple: Instead of thinking of "a year" as the time between January 1st and December 31st, start viewing it as "the 12-month period beginning today and running for the next 364 days". What's useful about this concept? It keeps you and your brain from getting caught in the "Well, I haven't implemented those new procedures or systems yet, and now it's too late in the year for them to have an impact on my bottom line" trap. By thinking in terms of a rolling 12-month calendar, you are always at the exciting start of a new year - it just happens to start on a date other than January 1st. Give this a try and see if it doesn't keep you energized and on target!
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Thanks to my friend Flickr.
Here are this month's heroes who graciously allowed me to use their images, posted in the Creative Commons area of Flickr, in this issue of Networking Nuggets:
light bulb by aloshbennett
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The default setting can be the kiss of death for success because, for all too many business owners, that default makes them:
- spend time fighting fires rather than fire-proofing the business
- doing things the way they've always been done (which of course gets them what they've always gotten)
- do what's comfortable rather than what's productive
- react slowly instead of respond quickly
The good news is that you can change your default setting to support your success rather than sabotage it. Which will you choose?
Wishing you a year of massive success...
Kathleen
Client Connections
612-716-8239
Life is good.
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