Innovative Mindset_July2010
(This post was originally written for and published in the NEC Chamber navigator)
Last month our Teaching Moment was focused on the purpose of innovation. To summarize, sustainable growth of your business depends largely on your ability to innovate within your business. The purpose of innovation is to keep your business growing!
How do you BECOME innovative? Practice, practice, PRACTICE!
Start with what you know-your customers!
- Ask them, “What is your greatest challenge around_______________ .” (fill in the blank with something related to what you do or can/want to do).
- Record the responses.
- Look over the responses. Do you see any common “needs” or “wants”?
- Are these needs/wants things that you can fill?
- Ask yourself, “How would I fill this need/want?”
- Ask yourself, “What if…….?”
- Ask yourself, “Can I/we…..?”
When you identify a customer’s need or want and can provide a solution, you’ll have your first innovation! Then continue to practice. Pay attention to what your customers are saying. Is there opportunity there?
As I mentioned last month, be careful not to be pulled off focus. BALANCING opportunity seeking with focus is an art and a skill of the entrepreneur. Again, it takes practice!
BONUS! Are you seeing the opportunity that I am? While you might start asking your customers important questions to help you innovate, you’re also engaging in a very important customer retention practice. Watch and see what happens.
- Were you able to fix any problems?
- Did you sell something?
- Did you get a referral?
- Are you confident that your customer will return?
- Were you able to help anyone?
To your success,
Peg
What WE Are: BELIEVERS
Entrepreneurs are many things, wearing many hats. I was recently reminded though that at the core, we are nothing more important than believers. While on vacation in the San Francisco area we visited the Walt Disney Family Museum. Walt is our national symbol of believing, wouldn't you agree?! On the surface, that's easy to understand as we step into his fantasy "lands" and "worlds" and absolutely believe that a mouse, a duck and a dog are real.
Walt, though, was a believer on another level. He had belief in himself, in his vision, in the people around him, in his company and in his characters. I think one of his most important beliefs was in his "customers". Something struck me early in the museum tour. In 1923, Walt began to market his cartooning. He met with numerous obstacles including the fact that Felix the Cat was so popular at the time. In frustration he said something like, "I've come on the scene of cartooning 6 years too late.".
Think about that for a minute. What if Walt's early questioning of himself and the marketplace had deterred him? NO Mickey Mouse. NO Snow White. NO Disneyland. NO Walt Disney World. NO millions of hours of entertaining for all of us. What would life be like for you without any influence from Disney? Recently my daughter and I saw the play, Mary Poppins. That wouldn't have happened. My instant messaging handle is a derivation of "Disney Girl". I'd have to have a different handle! (LOL!) 2 weeks ago I bought a baby gift with Disney characters on it. Not happening without Walt's early fortitude.
Walt's story of belief doesn't end with overcoming doubt about competing with Felix the Cat. He and his brother, who was his business partner, laid it all on the line time and again. If Snow White hadn't been a success they would have been bankrupt. If Disneyland hadn't hit a home run they would have been stuck with a bunch of worthless land.
Belief in what we do, what we make, what we provide is the core of being an entrepreneur. It's what drives us to risk, to begin, to begin again, to beat the odds, to improve, to innovate, to recreate, to discover and very simply, to keep going despite the many obstacles that we face.
Speaking of obstacles-while on our trip to California we visited the Railroad Museum in Sacramento. Talk about belief! Four men came together to build a rail system from the Pacific, across the mountains to join with the railroad that was being built across the plains. This was accomplished in less than 50 years. That totally boggles my mind. It can take many years of simple politicking to get something of that magnitude done now. Do you know what they credit this major accomplishment to? Our country's need to be connected!
I'm going to close with this "teaching moment": Take this time to dig into what you really believe in. What drives you like no other? Once you have a feeling for it, HOLD ON TIGHT! Don't let anyone take it from you. MANY thought Walt Disney was crazy. Thank goodness he didn't BELIEVE them!
Are you driven by what you BELIEVE in?
Say YES!
To YOUR success,
Peg
Creating Competitive Advantage-Why a Book Study?
Hi!
If you've seen or heard me talking lately you've likely noticed something about a book study program that we're starting. I'm really passionate about this opportunity and thought I'd share a little more about why. Before I forget, it's not too late to order the book (at either Peg's Place or Legacy Connection). It's a quick read and the video book study is archived at Peg's Place!
So, why a community book study? This is actually something I've wanted to do for a long time. The benefits of learning together are well documented. Being guided through the book AND coming together, in person, to continue the learning is a very powerful combination. If you need more reason than that, a couple of blog posts ago I shared a post from Bill Glazer that talked about the 3 habits that all successful entrepreneurs have
- They READ
- They CONTINUE their EDUCATION by attending LIVE learning events
- They create and use S.M.A.R.T. goals
I also mentioned that I'm a life long learner and that the above 3 practices are things that I not only do but that we model and offer as opportunity for our members. Through our Peg's Place book study of Creating Competitive Advantage by Jaynie Smith we're taking the learning from this book to the next level. We're modeling the best practices of READING and attending LIVE learning events. Very simply, I would not be where I am or able to go where I'm headed without the learning that I've engaged in. I want to share that practice with our community. I've been answering many questions about this program as I've been networking and talking about it. You might have some of these same questions!
Q: Do you have to be a Legacy Connection member to participate?
A: NO! The Peg's Place video book study is open to all! The iConnection session is free to members and first time visitors. Others pay just $10 at the door to join us!
Q: Why Creating Competitive Advantage?
A: Larry Watson is in an ACCEL group that I facilitate. He's talked about the impact of this book MANY times. I finally bought it and understood his excitement. Jaynie Smith, the author, correctly states that most business owners DO NOT understand their competitive advantages and CANNOT communicate them. Doing so can change the course of your business. THAT'S WHY! What have you spent $15 (or less) on that you can say has changed the course of your business?
Q: Do you know the author?
A: No, I don't know the author but Larry Watson, our study facilitator, has participated in one of her trainings and has been strategizing with her to faciliate similar studies for her clients.
Q: I don't like to or have time to read, is there an audio?
A: On Amazon, it says that the audio is out of print. With a little more searching it might be possible to find one. I know that everyone learns differently but most learning requires some form of reading. Here's what I do that might help you too! MOST business development books have the most important information in the beginning and at the end. So, I read the beginning, skim the middle (if I think it's important I dive in deeper) and then be sure to read the last chapter for the summary/recap/conclusions. Having said that, Creating Competitive Advantage is a book that I read cover to cover-twice!
Q: Why the book study AND the in-person session?
A: I recently read Know Can Do by Ken Blanchard, etal. It's a great book for both learners and educators/trainers because it talks about how to turn what you learn into what you do. I'll save you some time and share the "secret": practice (if you're the learner) or offer (if you're the educator) spaced repetition of the learning. Spaced repetition practices could include
- skimming the book and highlighting points of interest (this is why I like to have the book rather than an audio of a book that I believe will be impactful)
- re-reading it and making notes of the important points
- Tell someone about what you learned-if you can "teach" it, even better!
- Discuss it with a group that has also read the book
- Practice what you've learned!
If you follow our book study (and this is the first of several we have planned!) you will be practicing spaced repetition:
- Read the book (highlighting optional)
- Take notes on the book (optional)
- View the video guides at the Peg's Place website
- Take more notes!
- Check out our newsletter success tips (many will be about the reading) (Not on our newsletter list?-sign up at the Legacy Connection website!)
- Attend the iConnection, in-person, session on August 18th!
Q: What will the iConnection session be about?
A: iConnection is always about Interactively Igniting Innovation. For this session we'll be brainstorming the question, " What did you get out of the book and what did others learn that you can use in your business?" NOTE: While I REALLY hope you'll read the book, you'll still get a lot from this session if you didn't read it!
Please let me know if you have questions or comments. Will you be joining our book study?
Say YES!
To YOUR success,
Peg Stookey
Validating Bill Glazer’s Wisdom!
Hi!
You've probably have realized that I read a lot. I read books (self and biz development AND good novels), magazines, blogs, newsletters, newsfeeds-about anything except the newspaper. (I probably shouldn't admit that but I hate reading the paper. It's so negative and too general. I have to read through too much to find what's of interest to me!). Anyway, I received a particularly interesting e-newsletter from Kennedy-Glazer today and thought I'd share it with you.
At the bottom of this reprint I have a few more thoughts....
ENJOY!
The Three Common Habits of Successful Entrepreneurs
By Bill Glazer
As you might imagine, with tens of thousands of GKIC Members and actually working first hand with nearly 200 people in Peak Performers, VIP-Mastermind, Info-MASTERMIND and my personal clients, I see a lot and learn a lot about Entrepreneurs. I was thinking the other day about the traits that the most successful ones have in common and I've identified the three most common ones.
HABIT #1: They READ a lot ... especially books. In fact, when I first discovered 'Planet Dan' way back in 1995 the first thing that I did when I figured out that this Direct Response stuff really works is to become a veracious reader. I first began with the classics like John Caples, Robert Collier, David Ogilvy, Gary Halbert and of course everything Dan Kennedy wrote.
Back then I got into a habit of reading a book a week and I've kept up with two a month even though my schedule has become much busier.
For example, as I write this I have a stack of books on my desk:
- Conquer The Chaos (Mask & Martineau)
- The Mirror Test (Hayzlett)
- No B.S. Wealth Attraction for the New Economy (Dan Kennedy)
As you can see, I keep the topics somewhat diverse and many of the books are ones that Members send me. They're not all about marketing and advertising. But I don't want you to miss the point I'm making here. This is not a habit that is specific to me. It's a habit that I have identified as common to the Most Successful Entrepreneurs I work with.
HABIT #2: They continue to work on their EDUCATION in live settings. After all, how did we originally learn? We went to school and sat in a classroom. It's always amazing to me how many people stop working on their education after they get out of school. It should not surprise you that those Members who attend our live events are much more successful than those who do not. I'm not saying this because I'm trying to promote our events. This is true of every event I have ever attended.
It's because people who continue to go to school, whether it's school at a live event, webinar, or teleseminar, work on their continuing education. And of course the live event is the best continuing education because you not only can learn from the presenter, but also from all of the other smart people in the room. Once again, I hope you don't take this a self serving, but I know of millions and millions and millions of dollars that have been made by the networking that goes on at live events.
HABIT #3: They create SMART GOALS for themselves and write them down for everyone to see. What are smart goals? This is a term that I learned from my own Management Mentor, Vince Zirpoli.
S-M-A-R-T is an acronym for:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Attainable
- Relevant
- Time Bound
There is no question that by creating smart goals and writing them down for others to see, you have a much better chance of achieving them. I'm always amazed at how few people actually do this every year and then update them throughout the year.
On the other hand, the successful Entrepreneur almost always does this. It's important to point out that just writing them down seldom leads to getting them accomplished. Accountability is what gets them accomplished. That's why you need others to see your smart goals.
I learned this first when I was operating my own Menswear stores. I actually posted our yearly goals and promotions for everyone in the company to see. It wasn't as much for them as it was for me. Because they saw them, I knew as the leader I had to set a good example and get them done.
Okay, now that you've seen what I have identified as "The Three Common Habits of Successful Entrepreneurs," I have two questions for you. You probably guessed the first one, which is: How many of these habits are you currently accomplishing?
But the second question will require just a little bit of thought and I'm going to leave you with it: If you're currently not accomplishing all (or any) of these three habits, what do you think would happen to you and your business if you did? (Think about it!)
(back to Peg......)
What IF you did
- read more?
- go to more live setting learning events?
- create SMART goals?
It struck me that within the next 2 weeks through Legacy Connection and Peg's Place you'll be able to do all 3!
- TOMORROW: July 15th, 2010-attend a LIVE iConnection session (our next LIVE event will be August 5th)
- NEXT TUESDAY: July 20th-join us for the beginning of a guided book study around Creating Competitive Advantage by Jaynie Smith on Peg's Place (order your book NOW!)
- Join an ACCEL group to create, work and be accountable for your goals!
- Contact me for info on any of these programs!
Are you committed to your future success?
Say YES!
Peg
Why Focus on Vision & Purpose?
Why Focus on Vision & Purpose?
The answer to the question is simple: because they shortcut the trip to the school of hard knocks that most business owners take on their way to sustainable success.
Vision and purpose are two of the most important entrepreneurial tools that you can possess whether you're a business owner, spouse, parent, employee, volunteer, etc. I say it all the time. But why? I was recently in a session with a group of business owners. One of them was asking questions about his business. He's a franchisee that owns two territories but is currently only working one of them (this is a common problem in franchising!). He was asking advice of the group about what he should do with the 2nd territory. I asked him what his vision was for the future of his business and for his family. He was stumped! He really hadn't thought much about where he was headed or why. Rather, he was working IN the business (as so many do), focused on the day-to-day but not picking his head up to see where he was going or what was coming his way. How could he possible decide on what to do with the territory if he couldn't see where he was headed or why?
It's so easy to work on the what while ignoring the where and why. DANGER ZONE! If you want to accelerate your success, BEGIN by thoroughly exploring vision (where) and purpose (why) FIRST! Then-create strategy and go to work!
Think of it like climbing a steep mountain. Purpose keeps you going. Why are you climbing? Is it to get to the top, to get to the top faster than anyone else, to discover a new way of getting to the top, to see the sun rise or set or both, etc. Your purpose will determine the strategy for the climb. The vision is what awaits you at the top. It is where you've been working to get. Close your eyes and experience the exhilaration of BECOMING the fastest, the highest, the most resourceful, or simply the one who finally made it. Look around you. What do you see? If your mountain top now represents the ultimate position in your company, the place at which the CEO resides, you (the CEO) can look down and see all that has lead you to this peak and all who continue to work to support your vision. Look up and out at the horizon. What do you see? Opportunity? Competition? Innovation? Do you like what you see? Is it consistent with your purpose and vision or have things changed?
Purpose and vision will keep you on track, focused and grounded. I encourage you to take the time to create statements for each.
Happy climbing!
Peg
PS:
Our purpose statement (in 10 words or less): Legacy Connection helps entrepreneurs build and grow successful, sustainable businesses.
Our vision: Our 500,000+ members have (always build a vision statement in present tense!) an 80% success rate and we will have helped the remaining 20% decide that business ownership isn't right for them-sooner rather than later! Our mountain is being built one business owner at a time!
Dream Come True!
I once had a dream. In fact, it was so long ago that I forgot that I ever had it! Have you ever been reminded of an old dream and then brought up short when you thought about it after all those years? What was your dream? Maybe is was to be an astronaut, or a doctor, or a ballerina, or a fireman, or the President, or a baseball player or, or, or, or, or....
Last week I was reminded of a dream that I had back in college at a small school in central Minnesota, the College of St. Benedict. Five miles away was our "brother" school, St. John's University. For all intents and purposes, the two schools were one. While I liked CSB I REALLY LOVED SJU! The whole campus was perfect-old buildings with lots of character, a lake with a haunted chapel in the distance, BOYS, a great culture of learning and living, did I mention-BOYS?
Anyway, when I was studying at SJU I would dream about someday coming back and teaching there. FAST FORWARD: a bunch of years later and, guess what? No PHD, not even a masters degree and...we live like 800 miles away from my dream, which, did I mention, I'd totally forgotten about? Until last week that is.
Through a series of circumstances I was asked to fill in for a teacher at Miami University. I didn't hesitate. Nor did I realize that I was fulfilling a dream-until I was in front of the kids. Then, it all came rushing in. Although I wasn't at SJU, it's hard to complain about being on campus at MU!
DREAMS....how do we forget them? Should we seek a compromise to fulfill our dreams, should we just forget them or should we create new dreams? In this case, it wasn't so much about the dream, but rather, about DREAMING. At some point I'd given up on this dream because I didn't want to pursue an advanced degree. It never crossed my mind to find another way to achieve this dream. NEVER! You don't have to have a doctorate to teach on a cool campus!
I used to dream of being a medical doctor. I wonder if there's a way to get around the M.D. requirement?
Something to think about......
Peg
I Quit!
Several months ago my 17 yr. old daughter, Corrie, asked me if I'd coach her basketball team. I've never coached any sports and only played a year of high school basketball. (I HATED it because I practiced hard, was put on the varsity team as a sophomore-because I was tall, not because I was good, played for ten minutes all season and ended not playing the next year---BUT that's another story!) Anyway, Corrie was putting together a rec team of her friends and wanted me to be the "un" coach. The girls didn't want any of the dads to coach because they're always on them to perform rather than helping them to have fun but they needed an adult in order to play. I agreed.
I have to give kudos to my daughter. She did everything that needed to be done to get this team together and to make sure we were all at the games. We lost our first game by quite a bit. I was sure that we were doomed for the season! The next game we only lost by one point. After that we won way more than we lost. I wish I could say that I had anything to do with it-NOT! The most significant thing that I contributed was to suggest that they each take a turn at planning a practice. I guess I was at least trying to act as a leadership coach.
After we were crushed in our first game I started writing this blog post in my head. I was going to talk about how we had fun even if we didn't win but it just goes to show that everyone needs a coach, blah, blah blah! The girls messed everything up! They went and WON the championship tournament. So, what's the lesson? To tell you the truth, I don't know! We rarely had a whole team at a game and had very few practices (17 year old girls are very busy!). We tried to create just one play, which never worked, so they just played without any plays. We dealt with crazy schedules, breakups with boyfriends, too much partying, whether legs had been shaved or not, forgetting the right hair tie, conversations about whether or not someone's shorts were the right color, and God only knows what else! Actually, we saw it all-except great preparation for a game and/or execution during the game. YET-they won!
Again, what is the lesson? I really wish that I could say that everyone needs a coach is the main lesson but it's not. Instead, I think it's a lesson for the parents and I hate to say it, especially the dads. My daughter drove separately to every game because she didn't want to be in the car after the game when her dad would go every detail of the game. One of the girls forbid her dad from coming to any to any of the games. These girls love their dads but they're at a point in their lives where they don't want to be coached by them.
Ok-so I do have a lesson to share (I knew I'd find it!). My daughter worked REALLY hard to put this team together. She recruited the people that she wanted and needed on her team-including me, the token adult. She communicated with all of us and she kept it fun for her teammates. She reminded me to bring the scorebook and money for the refs. She played her heart out and although was not thought of as the best player at the beginning, was by far the leading scorer. She planned the after party (which I wasn't invited to-what's up with that?!) In other words, THIS WAS IMPORTANT TO HER AND SHE MADE SURE THAT IT WORKED! Corrie is the lesson!
As you head into another week of building your business, think about Corrie's lessons for all of us:
- If you're doing something that's important to you you'll work REALLY hard to be sure that it works!
- Surround yourself with a team that is not only good, but also is made up of people that you want to "play" with
- You need to take the lead and others will follow
- Make it fun!
- Don't get in the car with your crabby "dad" (hang out with someone who will build you up while helping you be better)!
- If you step up to do something that you're not qualified for, have a "Corrie" at your back!
So, after my first and only winning season, I'm going to QUIT. I can't see anything left to accomplish as a basketball coach. I've reached the pinnacle and will retire on top! I'm not just quitting though, I've recruited my son to coach next year. HE knows what he's doing! I just hope his results are as good as mine! He's got a lot to live up to!
Another lesson: the thought of "quitting" has inspired a campaign that we're launching. Watch for more to come!
Peg
Beginning AGAIN!!!!!
Hi!
Over the past couple of months we've been talking about effective, efficient and strong beginnings. I'm actually becoming a master at what we call "Beginning Again!" I'd love to say that when I started Legacy Connection I knew everything there was to know about building a community, a website, programs to benefit the community, etc. I'm the first to admit that I didn't and I don't.
If you've tried to follow us at all you know that we've had numerous web issues. Fortunately, our business model hasn't depended on the website alone. Building great relationships is what has driven our success to date. Now, we've added an impactful entrepreneurial development program AND our third generation website is about to go live.
What this means to you is that the website will be providing tools that will enhance our mission of accelerating success by providing continued education and great connections for our members. I've asked our webmaster, Kat, to keep it simple! We'll begin by getting all members profiles built, and then adding content to our forum. The profiles area will help us to connect and build relationship while the forum will serve numerous continued education functions.
The bottom line of this post is this, I'm not afraid to step back, evaluate my current path and BEGIN AGAIN if necessary. Are you?
To your continued success!
Peg