I studied philosophy in college. That probably explains a lot. A mathematician named Heisenberg developed a theory, the Uncertainty Principle, to describe the problems we face when we try to measure things as small as atomic particles. To over simplify his work, it's because of the way we measure such small things that we can actually affect the very things we are trying to measure and render our measurements uncertain.

 

The recent passage of the healthcare legislation was what brought this to mind. For many months now the bills have been wending their way through congress and the talking heads on all sides of the issue have been making their pronouncements. The direct result of all this consternation and rumination has been uncertainty in the minds of everyone concerned about the outcome.

 

When you have uncertainty it's impossible to feel confident about your plans. You have no idea what you will be required to do or how much it will cost, how it will affect your workforce or your customers. There are so many variables that it's hardly worth trying to analyze the possibilities.

 

The House passed the bill and how did the stock market react? It went up. Were all those dire economic predictions wrong? I don't know. What I see, though, is that the people on Wall Street who bet with their own cash feel more comfortable investing in future growth now that they know what the reforms will cost and how people will be affected. Now that many of those variables have been quantified they can plan.

 

It's the same in any business. When the number of variables is manageable it's much easier to plan. Even when my clients think there are too many affecting their planning we can usually eliminate those that are improbable or won't really affect the outcome. Certainty is elusive, but in most businesses we aren't measuring atomic particles. 

You just hung up the phone after making a call and you are kicking yourself for not saying what you meant to say. If you don't feel comfortable on your calls, write yourself a script. Do one script for when a person answers and one for the message you want to leave if they don't. Very soon you'll find that you know the script and  feel comfortable changing your approach as needed. Even the greatest actors begin by reading from the script.

Many of the people I know in exclusive networking groups express frustration with the number of referrals they get. In the beginning they get a few, then they get a regular stream, then it tapers off.

 

There a simple mathematical explanation for this. Each of those people you come to know in the group has a network of people they know. You begin to gain access to their network and receive referrals, but it eventually becomes limited because they are growing their networks slowly. It's different outside the group. Every person you get to know outside the group has a new network, one you haven't penetrated.

 

If you want to dramatically increase your referral opportunities, you can do so by adding new members to the group and by finding new referral sources outside the group.