If there is one group of professionals that are having a bad time these days, it is stock brokers. What do they sell in a down market? Just ask Harry Rudowitz, Sr. VP of Investments for the UBS/Paine Webber Private Client Group. He just sent me a letter describing how bonds (fixed income securities) are a great alternative to avoiding the massive risk all of us are facing today.

As a leader, it is your job to help others unleash their creativity and figure out ways on how to succeed in difficult times. A leader has the responsibility to create an environment that fosters a positive attitude free of negative thoughts. For example, it is really debilitating to have conversations around why one is not performing at optimal levels. This is an event that forces people to circle the wagons and defend themselves.

The conversation really should be around where do we want to be, where are we now and what do we have to do to get to our desired destination? Now you are freeing up everyone’s energy from being spent on defending themselves to being open to thinking outside the box and coming up with solutions.

Your customers and all of the people who depend on you need your leadership in these tough times. Harry Rudowitz clearly understands this and is providing his clients with effective leadership

The number of times I have encountered the “Apple Effect” are too numerous to count. What is the Apple Effect? It is the textbook example of when entrepreneur Steve Jobs started Apple Computer in his garage and grew to epic proportions. Jobs ran into trouble when the company reached a certain point and required a different leadership style to continue growing.

The entrepreneurial style of leadership is crucial for any new organization. It even is required to keep existing organizations current in their marketplace. However, when companies experience growth and attain certain success levels, the leadership of the organization must also change with the times.

The key change in transforming from an entrepreneurial organization to a growth organization is delegation. If we don’t start to delegate, then we will not have time to do the job we are paid for, which is to coach, manage and identify new processes that will support the organization’s future growth.

Delegation is important because it forces people to develop new skills that will qualify them to take on additional responsibilities, like your current position. Yes, a leader’s job is to groom people to take their position. This forces the leader to continue their development to stay ahead and opens the door for their ascension up the ladder. Then there is someone who can easily slide into their position without losing any quality.

The concept of delegation is also critical for sales executives who are looking to grow their territories and sales revenues. When you experience sales growth, sometimes you must delegate certain tasks in order to spend more time with customers. If you have administrative support, effective delegation involves teaching, coaching and holding people accountable. If you do not have an assistant, delegation can simply be the art of encouraging all parties that support you including internal and external resources. Here you must make it simple for them to understand what you need, how you expect it to be done and do whatever you can to help them succeed. After all, if they succeed, so do you.

It is a well known fact that when a student hears a concept and sees how it works, their retention level is around 40%. But when they actually implement the techniques, retention skyrockets to 80% and so does their level of success.

The “I Do” part is mission critical and it all revolves around personal accountability. Accountability is not a new subject for Sales Titans. What is new is that we are now releasing The Titan Principle® Accountability Program. This program is designed to dramatically increase management’s return on investment in their people.

There are two critical pieces to the success of this program:

1)It is learner-driven. That’s right…the onus is on the employee to do what it takes to become proficient in the skills taught in The Titan Principleâ methodology.

2) The key measurement and accountability factor is based on “verbal proficiency”. When one is asked verbally to explain things and give examples, it is hard to fake proficiency. It forces one to really prepare so they are ready to represent you and your company.

This is why many assessments involve BOTH verbal and written parts. Doctors often have to pass verbal AND written exams to be board certified. Your employees should be able to pass a verbal assessment to represent your interests. If they cannot do it properly in front of you,why should you expect them to do it any differently in front of your biggest stakeholders, the customer?

The Titan Principle® is broken down into 10 checkpoints. After reviewing and working through each checkpoint, the employee will sit down one-on-one or in a group setting with a manager and verbally show their proficiency for the material in question. In preparation for this meeting, team work is increased as employees will ask each other for ideas and moral support. Before you know it, the team is working together sharing ideas and jointly improving their skills set.

Management gets a clear picture how well each employee understands the concepts. They can quickly identify those who have the right attitude and grasp of the knowledge. They also have a tool that they can use to easily coach their employees and provide consistency in terms of product knowledge and sales techniques. Bottom line, this process provides management with a greater return on investment.

If you don’t hold people accountable and ensure a strong level of understanding regarding your policies and procedures, you will never know the level of their proficiency. Actually, you may only find out by having to deal with their mistakes. People tend to prepare as little as possible to be good enough to get by.

Titans go all out and do what it takes to be the best. Titan organizations demand the best of their employees and set high standards of performance.

What was the biggest difference between Michelle Kwan and Sarah Hughes performances? One was skating very tight and the other one just let it all hang out. Kwan came in being the heavy favorite and the pressure was on to win it all. You could see she was tight in her moves and all of our hearts sank when she made that one fall to the ice.

Sarah, on the other hand, knew she had nothing to lose. Winning the Gold was the furthest thing from her mind because it was such a long shot. All she did was go out there to have a great time and just give it all she had no matter what happened.

Result: Hughes wins the Gold, Kwan wins the Bronze.

Point: The coaches job is to help their top performers overcome tensions associated with the high expectations of the audience. As a speaker, I know my balance is off if I really get nervous before a program. That’s when it becomes all about me giving the audience the best performance anyone has ever seen. This is pressure most people cannot live up to. Just shift your thinking from having to give the best performance of a lifetime to just going out there and doing what you do best. Many times the audience will find that highly stimulating. Often this strategy will result in a better performance than having to operate under the expectation of perfection.

As coaches, it is our duty and responsibility to understand this and help create the atmosphere for our teams to excel at what they do best.

Another learning point here is during the skating, you did not see any coaches run out onto the ice during the performance to give advice. The time of performance is not the time to drastically change one’s game plan. Making minor changes is one thing, changing the whole process is another thing.

Coaching on style and technique should occur before the match; before the sales call. That’s when ideas should be given, practice shots should be taken, and analysis of results should be studied.

When the game starts, the only thing the competitor should be doing is reviewing in their mind an image of themselves performing the process successfully. The coaches job here is to help remove any and all mental barriers and create an environment that is best suited for letting the competitor go all out and just let it fly. Any thoughts at this time of drastically changing technique will only increase the tension and prevent one from being free to perform at their best. To be free and give it your all in a performance will usually lead to golden results.

When times are great and things keep going your way, the ability to lead can seem like an easy thing to do. When things stop going your way, times get harder, people start worrying and leadership takes on a whole new meaning. The real test of one’s leadership ability takes place in times of adversity.

Leadership is defined in the dictionary as being able to guide others in a certain direction, to be out in front. It’s tough being out in front when bullets are flying at you from all directions. Yet your troops are constantly looking to see how you respond to the bullets. Your actions will dictate how they act. In the face of adversity, actions always speak louder than words.

Here is a check list of 5 things you need to be doing on a daily basis to lead others (even your customers) to victory in times of adversity:

1) Be Honest- People want the truth! If you can’t tell the whole truth, tell them what you can. Donald Rumsfeld is a great example of this during his war briefings. When asked questions on issues he can’t answer, he simply says I can’t address that now. Rudy Guiliani did the same thing when he couldn’t address certain issues after 9/11 for security reasons. What people want is to know what they can expect and what you your expectations are. They don’t want surprises.

If you are perceived to be telling lies or mistruths, then you will have lost the respect of your team. It is impossible to lead others who do not respect you. It is also impossible to effectively lead others when you operate outside the boundaries of integrity.

2) Be Optimistic- In tough times, it is very easy for people to get stuck in negative feelings, to feel their world is coming to an end and there is no hope. People are always in search of hope, even in good times. Your job is to constantly instill hope in others and provide as positive an environment as possible to bring out the best in everyone.

3) Maintain Self Sanity- It is ridiculous to think you can avoid the same feelings of despair you are trying to help your team deal with. We all have emotions and fears. However, your leadership abilities are greatly diminished if you become a victim of these emotions and fears. Find an outlet for release. Whether it be exercise or venting your frustrations, you need to clear your mind so you can effectively lead yourself and your troops through the tough times. President Bush claims his 1 hour daily workouts are critical for his ability to address today’s challenging issues.

4) Commitment and Discipline- In tough times, it is easy to lose focus and act on impulse. These impulses can take you off the track to your desired destination. Commitment and discipline are key attributes one needs to exhibit in order to overcome hurdles and achieve desired results. This is no time to accept excuses why certain results were not attained. You need to be creative to find new ways to achieve the original desired results. Titans do not live with excuses. They find solutions to make things happen no matter what the circumstances are.

5) Think Outside The Box- In times of adversity, it is easy to retrench and be married to your rules and regulations. Times of adversity require creativity and many times that means moving outside of your box and creating new strategies that fit the needs of the people you are trying to serve.

The start of a new year brings us all a sense of renewal and hope. But do you really have to wait to the start of a new year to be rejuvenated? Cells in our bodies are constantly dying off and new cells are born. Organizations too must act in a state of constant rebirth in order to stay on top of the competitive ladder.

Jack Welch, former CEO of GE, claims in his book “Jack” that every year GE removes the bottom 10% of performers. He claims that while it is a very difficult task to do, both sides benefit. For one, the organization forces the individual to continuously improve production in order to avoid being in the bottom 10%. When the majority of individuals upgrade their skills and performance, the chances of success for the organization increases.

As for the individuals who do not make the cut, they too benefit by being forced to get out of a situation they are probably not thrilled with and move on to a better situation.

Now, we are not suggesting that all leaders follow Mr. Welch’s philosophy and immediately lop off the bottom 10%. What we are suggesting is that it is a leader’s responsibility to create an environment that supports and motivates all individuals to continuously push themselves and grow. If this does not happen, then the organization’s ability to compete is seriously compromised.

As for high performing sales people, they too need to be pushed. High performers are usually motivated by competition. The stronger the competition, the harder they push themselves. Titan sales people love competing. Don’t sell them short. Creating an environment that provides the skills training, opportunities and expectations that high performing individuals and organizations need to stay on top.

THE BOTTOM LINE
Competition never hurt anyone and is the foundation for improved performance.

“Will you please leave” are the words Brian Billick, head coach of the World champion Baltimore Ravens, once used in asking two ladies to leave the practice field. It turned out the two ladies were actually mothers of the two players they were speaking to. Coach Billick did eventually apologize to the two women, but this story has lived on famously in the organization, emphasizing that there should be no distractions in practice.

Coach Billick often refers to the idea of ”teaching moments”, which he picked up from a book by Noel M. Tichy. The theory is lessons can sometimes be learned and remembered best when they are re-enforced by an experience. Asking the two ladies to leave the practice field was such an experience that taught the players a lesson — that practice is best when there are no outside interruptions.

Complete focus is essential in practice to ensure that you are getting the actions down right. Complete focus is also essential when you are playing the game. In fact, if you are doing something that does not have your clear and undivided attention, then maybe you should ask why are you doing it to begin with. A good example is using cell phones while driving. The laws states are passing like NY to ban use of hand held cell phones are lame at best. Accidents are being caused not so much by people holding phones to their ears. They are being caused by the lack of attention to driving as their minds are focused on the phone conversations.

THE BOTTOM LINE
1) Leaders can teach lessons using experiences
2) Complete focus is crucial to winning, even in practice

In my first sales position in 1980, I was breaking sales records left and right. In fact, by June of that year, I was at 180% of quota! I remember a conversation I had with my manager that month which provided me with a memory I will never forget. As I returned to the office that day after closing a huge account, I overhead my manager speaking with a colleague who was perched on the edge of a cliff and ready to fall off. This poor fellow tried everything in his first sales position and was not making it. The manager consoled this individual and gently discussed ways on what he can do to try and reverse his fortune.

Then came my turn to speak with the manager. Feeling confident and successful after closing this big deal, I strolled into her office expecting to be stroked and told how great I was. After complimenting me on the deal and the great year I was having, she immediately jumped into a discussion of how I better not be thinking that the year is over and I can just coast the rest of the year. She informed me that real champions don’t coast. They take their good fortune and accelerate into higher gear to achieve exponential success. And then, to my amazement, she figuratively pushed me against the wall by demanding to know what I expect to bring in the next 6 months.

Totally amazed and angry, I blurted out how she was doing it all wrong. I asked how could you come at me this way when all you do with the non-performers is stroke them. Susan looked me in the eye and asked me what I thought would happen to the non-performing salespeople if she lambasted them about their
failure. I said they would probably crumble. Susan went on to say that the best thing she can do with a top performer is push them to greater heights for two reasons: 1) The top performer is full of confidence and can take the heat, and 2) If
she did not take advantage of this opportunity to generate additional business through a salesperson who is hot, then she was not doing her job.

THE BOTTOM LINE
You must adjust your approach with each player depending
on where they are at that moment. It is your role to get
the most out of everyone, from top performers on down.
Coasting is not allowed for anyone. If a top performer
goes into cruise control, they will never realize their
true degree of greatness. If a non-performer is paralyzed
with the fear of failure, they will not have the fortitude
it takes to move ahead.

As a leader, you have developed ideas as to what works and what doesn’t work. You have a bias as to what you believe. Question is, does your current bias serve you well?

We have all heard the old axiom ‘if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it’. While it is true that a well-oiled machine should not be tinkered with to the point where it loses its value, every machine or process must be fine tuned occasionally.

There are some management guru’s who stress that change is the essence for future growth. Change is good! But change for the sake of change is not so good if it does not contribute to improving the performance of the process already in place.

Webster’s Dictionary defines a leader as someone who directs the operations, activity and performance of others. It also defines a leader as someone being at the head of the line.

In your role, do the people who count on your leadership perceive you as the one who directs the operations, activity and performance of others? If the answer is yes, then it is incumbent upon you to occasionally put your biases aside and look at ways on how to improve your processes. Your customers, employees, family and friends count on you to do this.

Anyone who looks up to you as a leader demands that you be open to new ideas on how best to achieve the results they are looking for. That involves change and an evolution of growth on your part. Don’t let your biases get in the way of your growth. For if it does, you are not the only one affected by it. If your biases do get in your way, you lose the right to be a leader.

THE BOTTOM LINE

1. Change for the sake of change is wrong!

2. Biases preventing openness to change is a leader’s prescription for failure!

3. Leadership involves directing and supporting others through an evolution of growth!

Frustrated that you are not breaking through new levels of success? How about the frustrations you may have with your employees who are not breaking through new levels of success?

Many times we will want to accomplish a certain breakthrough, yet we are often deterred because we are saddled with all the reasons and stories as to why it cannot be done. For the most part, these stories are either real or imaginary.

We define real as having tried to do something and running into obstacles that have prevented us from getting what we want. Imaginary is defined as wanting to try something new, but not doing it because of the fears, reasons and obstacles we anticipate will prevent us from reaching our desired destination. And because we believe the imaginary stories residing in our mind, they become very real to us, even though many times there is no fundamental reason to support their existence without trying to execute the action.

To help you and your employees achieve performance breakthroughs, please take the time to carry out the process
below. It can be the difference between failure and success.

1. Identify the breakthrough you want to achieve

2. Identify the reasons, fears and projected obstacles (your stories) as to why it cannot be done

3. Ask yourself: Do I have clear evidence that these stories are real or do I believe them to be real?

4. If the fears, reasons and projected obstacles are imaginary, don’t let them stop you from carrying out the actions necessary to achieve your breakthrough

By using this process, you will find that often the things that stop us from achieving breakthroughs is not that our actions won’t work, but rather our fears and beliefs that prevent us from carrying out the actions to begin with.

As a leader, you need to practice this process on a daily basis in order to raise the bar of success for your organization. Not allowing your fears and beliefs to prevent you from carrying out new actions will also provide you with the qualifications and confidence you will need to coach others in achieving greater success.