Modern Day Settlers

My kids are learning about courage, resourcefulness and taking risk. Our goal as parents is to raise leaders who pursue the passion of their hearts. We are a family of voracious readers. It has been fun talking about Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House On The Prairie series. They get to hear the account of a family on the American frontier who are not guaranteed anything but the freedom to make their own life.

There is part of the book On the Banks of Plum Creek which had us on an emotional roller coaster. Pa has a goal in mind. He is doing what every caring father does – thinking about providing for his family. In the beginning of the story, they live in a dugout in the side of a hill, but he wants to build a home for his family alongside a creek in Minnesota.

Pa starts to think through how to get to his goal. He barters in town for wood and takes risk to go after what he wants. He decides to plant a field full of wheat. From the harvest, he will pay his debts. So he takes loans against his field and crops. He completes his new home complete with oven and luxury glass windows. Read more

Selling By Systems Not By Sweat

There is a story of a mountain village which experienced an unforgiving drought. The condition was deteriorating to the point that a village elders’ meeting was held. They decided to hire two men to solve the problem of bringing water to the village from the valley below where a well existed.

The first man got two large buckets and started going back and forth from the village to the well below. He sold the water at a handsome price. He brought his sons on board to the venture and made as many trips as possible to sell his water. Read more

Does Your Customer Experience Have A Heartbeat?

Answer these simple questions and you can determine for the most part what kind of customer experience is being delivered: Read more

Leaders Decide

“There are really only two ways to approach life, as a victim or as a gallant fighter, and you must decide if you want to act or react, deal your own cards or play with a stacked deck. And if you don’t decide which way to play with life, it always plays with you. ” – Merle Shain

How good are you at making decisions? Do you still have the bad habits of a ninth grader? You might recall that typical conversation. Your friends are in a circle. Someone asks, “So what do you want to do?” Blankly staring and compliant, everyone bleats, “I dunno. Whatever.”

Finally, someone asserts themselves. You know, the same person that always does – the leader, “Let’s go see the late show.” Everyone else follows along. Read more

When It’s Not Showtime

There was a telling comment made a few years ago by famed NBA basketball star, Allen Iverson. He revealed his perspective about practice, “We’re talking about practice man, we’re not even talking about the game, when it actually matters, we’re talking about practice.”

At that time, Iverson was the MVP of the National Basketball Association. He erred with his comments. He did not see the connection between excellence developed through repetition and showtime. Read more

When Business Gets Fun

I love making deals happen. It is extremely invigorating for me. In my experience, I have made some great deals, and I have made some poor ones. At the end of the day, business is about agreements. Whether you are an employee or an owner, you are constantly making agreements.

The times when business becomes painful are because I ignore my gut. I have a propensity to see the possibilities in people, and this can be a fault if I am not careful. No vision of my own will ever be able to help a person want something for themselves. So, I try and stay informed from my gut. It’s usually right. Can I see a person for what they are rather than what they could be? It’s important to stay disciplined. Read more