"Do what you're supposed to do,
when you're supposed to do it.
Not almost.
All the way.
Not most of the time.
ALL OF THE TIME."
-Tony Evans - Louisville, KY
"Do what you're supposed to do, when you're supposed to do it. Not almost. All the way. Not most of the time. ALL OF THE TIME." -Tony Evans - Louisville, KY
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One of my favorite times of the day is dinner time, and what usually follows thereafter. Having dinner as a family is something I really enjoy and appreciate my wife for making happen daily. I also really enjoy what happens after dinner when I have fun playing with the kids, giving them baths and then putting them to bed. This is a great time to give my wife a break after being home all day. Making time for what is important and thanking God along the way can simplify the most stressful and hectic of days. If you prioritize your day, God, Spouse, Kids, and Work you realize the value in not letting this wonderful season of time and gift from God pass you by. Enjoy your evening time with family and friends and give thanks to God. So it's the first day of school for my daughter. Even though she is in pre-K, it's a big deal...as I found out from my wife yesterday. She asked me yesterday to meet her at our daughter's Montessori school today. While I didn't have it planned, I recently have come to learn and realize that my wife takes milestones like the first day of school as a big deal. I have also come to realize that being an hour late for work is worth it to show my daughter and my wife how important they are to me and it also sets an example for my son. Take time to stop and smell the roses, and be willing to be an hour late for work, when your spouse, family or friends request you to be there for something important or a milestone like the first day of school. When you are always early to work and stay late, being an hour late every once in a while to celebrate and become part of the memories those you love will look back on and remember, is well worth it. It's the right thing to do and it's one more step in the right direction by leading by example and Modeling the Way. Ephesians 5: 8-10 "8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10 and find out what pleases the Lord." Holy Bible, New International Version(R) NIV(R) Copyright (C) 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblical, Inc(R) Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. As I met with a client yesterday, I was able to quickly realize that the biggest thing missing for this client was follow through. If you make it a habit to practice daily doing what you say you will do, and don't procrastinate, you will stand out amongst others in whatever line of work you are in. Follow through is being a person of you word and an important part of Modeling the Way. I give feedback all of the time, and as my manager Tony says, "Feedback is a gift." Giving honest, blunt but professional feedback with examples is how I have learned give feedback. When feedback is consistently given customized to each individual based on how they are wired and it comes from the heart, it is received better by individuals. When someone receiving feedback knows that you care about them and their growth and becoming better than they were before they knew you, the bluntness of the message fades. It then becomes the person receiving the feedback's decision to decide what they will do with the feedback they just received. I have discovered this to be true...You may not agree with the feedback and brush it off, but if someone takes the time to give you feedback their thoughts, observations, and ideas are valid. Even though you may not think them not to be true, it is understanding that their may just be something there that is worth looking at, understanding it, and striving to correct it. It's how I continue to grow, year after year, by receiving honest and sometimes blunt feedback, taking it serious and working to correct it and grow. It's how feedback was designed to work, to see your blind spots and share them and then it becomes your responsibility to correct them and improve. So thank those that give you the gift of feedback so you can become better than you were before you knew them. Thank you Tony, my manager, mentor and friend. Growing is part of life's journey and not a destination, so take the gift of feedback as the gifts are given and do something with them. It's one more step in the right direction of Modeling the Way. Being passionate about what you do to provide money for yourself and your family if you are married and / or have children, may just be the key determining factor if you view what you do to provide as a career or just a job. If you view your work as just a job, here are several indicators: you are frequently late, you use up all your sick days for a variety of non-serious illnesses, you sleep in on a scheduled workday due to not setting or setting your alarm clock incorrectly more than once per year, you watch the clock and walk out the door at 4:59 or sooner if you can no matter what deadline or what you committed to completing that day, you view your boss as annoying and wish they would just leave you alone, since you know what you need to do and it doesn't matter what they say to you you're not going to do anymore than you are doing right now, and you regularly think or mention quiting to peers or your manager. On the other hand, if you view your work as a career, here are several indicators: you are consistently on time, you rarely are off from work for being sick unless it is a serious illnesses, you sleep in due to not setting or setting your alarm clock incorrectly on a scheduled workday once per year or less, you are surprised when you look at the clock and it's after 5:00 because you have 45 more minutes until you complete what you need to do or committed to completing that day and you just do it, you view your boss as a mentor or a coach and understand that the feedback they give you is solid honest feedback to help you be better and make more money, you understand that your manager is pushing you to become better than you were before they knew you, and you are committed to what you do so much that the thought of doing something different very seldom ever crosses your mind. To me, passion is the key to these two viewpoints, and as this alternative to Confucius's quote states: "Find something you love to do, and you'll never work a day in your life." -Harvey McCay We recently had to explain to our children the death of our 12-year-old black lab. My wife and I struggled to find the right way to tell a 4-year-old and 2-year-old and as we discussed options, nothing really sounded simple. That is, until a box arrived on our doorstep several days later and inside was a thin and simple book, "Waterbugs and Dragonflies: Explaining Death to Young Children" by Doris Stickney. My wife had ordered this, along with several others, but this book's simple words and illustrations were able to explain death in a way that young children could understand. I was reminded of this last night as I gave my kids a bath we discussed the contents of the book and about what happened to our dog and friend and wanted to share this. If you are looking for a way to explain death to young children, Doris Stickney did an excellent job and I would recommend you check it out and see if the simple words can help you explain a difficult and scary fact of life to a small child. My observation is that many sales reps today try to relationship-sell instead of presenting a solution to the customer's problems after asking a thorough discover / fact finding. It's in the preparation (before the meeting), the approach, and then during the discovery where trust starts to be built. A former business leader, manager, and mentor of mine, Tom Turvey, told me "Don't focus on if they like you, if they trust you, they will respect you, and usually people you respect you eventually like." Merriam Webster' Dictionary defines trust as "1 a : a reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something b : one in which confidence is placed. 2 a : dependence on something future or : HOPE" To become a trusted advisor you must first be honest, blunt but courteous, be a person of your word, and offer sound advice as if you were presenting to your own mother. Being a trusted advisor takes focus, effort, and commitment, but it offers you a name for yourself that is much greater than "Sales Rep" or "Account Executive," it's "Trusted Advisor." Who would you rather do business with a Sales Rep, an Account Executive OR a Trusted Advisor? Original post 08/09/2013. Corrected typo: I recently was working with a client to clarify if they needed trademark or copyright protection. Registering a trademark and a copyright are both means of protecting your intellectual property. Copyright is a way to protect an "original work of authorship," including artistic, music, dramatic and certain other creative works. Copyright doesn't cover intellectual property such as names, slogans, titles, short phrases, familiar symbols or designs, or mere variations of typographic ornamentation, lettering or coloring. A trademark protects a word, phrase, symbol or design (or a combination of these) that will identify and distinguish the goods and services of one person or of one company from that of any other. If you need this protection seek legal direction and if you see these symbols or words make sure you honor them. (Much of the above information was taken from LegalZoom.com. You can look for more information about obtaining a trademark or copyright there or check with your local or online legal professional.) |
"Modeling the Way" BlogMark A. Watkins is a Region Sales Manager in the Midwest with Rollins, Inc. and strives to Model the Way as a Sales Leader, Teacher, Visionary, Innovator, Problem Solver, Coach and Mentor. Archives
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