Over the last couple of weeks I have transformed my blog into examining the qualities of people who are strong finishers. Here are my first few observations:
1) Finishers Do Not seek out the path of least resistance. You can insert any number of quotes here - "Do Not let good enough be good enough." - Bill Parcels comes to mind this morning. Any number of quotes from Gordon Ramsey also fit here.
2) Finishers take responsibility for their own actions - Roger Federer does not have a coach at the moment. Maybe he will seek one out later...but for now, he is structuring his work and his life without one. And it is working.
3) Finishers do not relax when they have a little success that puts them close to a goal. They set the next goal and find ways to push themselves through that first goal. (See qualities 1 and 2)
4) Finishers know how to set goals. You can read any number of books about setting goals that are a stretch but that are measurable. You have to know when you have achieved a goal...and you have to have the ability scratch a goal off your list.
Coming next - more qualities of Finishers and maybe some ideas of how to foster these qualities in your business life.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
GREAT site for your Presentations
My goodness this is fantastic. Merlin Mann has a blog that I follow called 43 Folders.
Here is a recent post about how he puts presentations together. Pick any single piece of this advice and you would have a good presentation. Put them all together, and you have a really, really, really fun approach to the daunting presentation.
This is the finisher's blog approach - do your research, search out people who have gone before you and who do a better job than you...and then study what they do.
How I made my presentations a little better
Here is a recent post about how he puts presentations together. Pick any single piece of this advice and you would have a good presentation. Put them all together, and you have a really, really, really fun approach to the daunting presentation.
This is the finisher's blog approach - do your research, search out people who have gone before you and who do a better job than you...and then study what they do.
How I made my presentations a little better
What Does "I Don't Know" Really Mean?
Seth Godin hits the sweet spot again. I was all ready to write my own blog post...and Seth launches this one.
Two kinds of 'don't know'
What a great marketing thought that feeds into the Finisher's Blog concept.
The core concept here is that you can't deal with lack of motivation with more information.
Often people ask me to look at their website. First Red Flag: "It took me months to write it and I don't want to change it now"
Unfortunately, when you say something like that it just means that you don't know what a website is for these days.
Second Red Flag - "My business is about getting face to face with people, so the internet can't help me with that."
Oops...either I haven't done a good job describing interactive marketing to you, or you "don't know" that you can get a face to face interaction if you want to!
I have often responded to these red flags by spouting more information. I guess I should figure out what kind of "I don't know" I am getting.
Toby's Wednesday Finisher Concept: A Finisher Needs to recognize the difference between lack of information and a lack of interest.
My Finisher's blog post that is coming next: Trust Your Training and Stop Thinking.
Two kinds of 'don't know'
What a great marketing thought that feeds into the Finisher's Blog concept.
The core concept here is that you can't deal with lack of motivation with more information.
Often people ask me to look at their website. First Red Flag: "It took me months to write it and I don't want to change it now"
Unfortunately, when you say something like that it just means that you don't know what a website is for these days.
Second Red Flag - "My business is about getting face to face with people, so the internet can't help me with that."
Oops...either I haven't done a good job describing interactive marketing to you, or you "don't know" that you can get a face to face interaction if you want to!
I have often responded to these red flags by spouting more information. I guess I should figure out what kind of "I don't know" I am getting.
Toby's Wednesday Finisher Concept: A Finisher Needs to recognize the difference between lack of information and a lack of interest.
My Finisher's blog post that is coming next: Trust Your Training and Stop Thinking.
Monday, September 17, 2007
The Productivity Formula
I once had a sales manager who gave me the mathematical formula for productivity.
Productivity = effort divided by interruption.
In the language of this "Finisher's" Blog, I will take that to mean that the more I Finish the things that interrupt my day, then the more productive I can be.
Of course, there are always stops and starts to any day. I believe that The Finisher is the person who finishes the interruptions quicker and moves back into productivity mode.
Most of us are working very hard and doing our best to work smart. If you keep your effort consistent from week to week, the only way to become increasingly productive is to reduce the distraction of your interruptions. FINISH them before they take over your day.
Here is a link to Seth Godin's blog. He is a key finisher for me. Seth is all about redefining marketing, and work, in order to do remarkable things. His post, Is good enough enough?, is relevant to this finisher's blog because of its focus on redefining your work.
Here is a post from a new friend and business coach Shawn Kinkade. Shawn takes a good look at activity vs. productivity HERE.
Here is a post that refers to a very good book for any business person to read, it is The Four Agreements. This post is from a blog that is called Book Yourself Solid. The blog and the website are a little commercial for me, but the ideas do resonate with me. Here is the post: The Four Agreements
Final Thought:
A finisher takes responsibility for his actions. A work day and a work week is all about finishing.
Productivity = effort divided by interruption.
In the language of this "Finisher's" Blog, I will take that to mean that the more I Finish the things that interrupt my day, then the more productive I can be.
Of course, there are always stops and starts to any day. I believe that The Finisher is the person who finishes the interruptions quicker and moves back into productivity mode.
Most of us are working very hard and doing our best to work smart. If you keep your effort consistent from week to week, the only way to become increasingly productive is to reduce the distraction of your interruptions. FINISH them before they take over your day.
Here is a link to Seth Godin's blog. He is a key finisher for me. Seth is all about redefining marketing, and work, in order to do remarkable things. His post, Is good enough enough?, is relevant to this finisher's blog because of its focus on redefining your work.
Here is a post from a new friend and business coach Shawn Kinkade. Shawn takes a good look at activity vs. productivity HERE.
Here is a post that refers to a very good book for any business person to read, it is The Four Agreements. This post is from a blog that is called Book Yourself Solid. The blog and the website are a little commercial for me, but the ideas do resonate with me. Here is the post: The Four Agreements
Final Thought:
A finisher takes responsibility for his actions. A work day and a work week is all about finishing.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Three Things to Look At
Start the week off with a Happy Quote from WorkHappy.net. This is a good place for "killer resources for entrepreneurs.
Guy Kawasaki is always good for a handful of posts that will force you to think about what you do. Check out his blog, it is called How to Change the World.
The Personal MBA...is a list of the best business books. Its motto is "Mastering Business Through Self Education." And here is a link to the Reading List and Blog.
Guy Kawasaki is always good for a handful of posts that will force you to think about what you do. Check out his blog, it is called How to Change the World.
The Personal MBA...is a list of the best business books. Its motto is "Mastering Business Through Self Education." And here is a link to the Reading List and Blog.
Roger Federer...The Model Finisher
Roger Federer won his fourth consecutive U.S. Open yesterday. And even though he would not say he won it with ease...no one really came close to putting together a sustained challenge. Sure there were a few sets he lost, and there were more unforced errors than we are used to seeing, but no one could match him.
Most sporting commentators describe Federer's performances by saying something like, "He just has another gear."
When Federer was easily handling Andy Roddick's best effort and 140 mph serves, it looked like Roddick was working his heart out on every point. Federer barely looked winded at the end of three sets. Roddick had sweated through the BILL of his cap.
Here is the thing I love about Federer. He has no coach. He is totally and completely accountable to himself.
Early on in his career, Federer would get into a tough game and he couldn't handle the pressure. His game would crumble.
He had a coach for many years. Most professional tennis players have several coaches, hitting partners, and a friends and family entourage. While Federer clearly has an incredible support group, he is currently without a coach.
His quote from earlier this weekend, "Luckily, along the way I learned that it's about hard work, and that talent only takes you so far."
Federer is an amazing closer.
In the first set of this year's final, Novak Djokavic had at least three chances to close out the set. Federer won those points when then really mattered. He then won the set in a tie breaker. In fact, He won the first two sets in a tie breaker.
So this week's Finisher's Blog observation: Finishers are Accountable to Themselves.
Seems very obvious and easy to comprehend. It is much harder to put into practice. How do you become accountable to yourself at all times? How do you focus and perform at your best when everything is on the line? Go look at Federer.
Most sporting commentators describe Federer's performances by saying something like, "He just has another gear."
When Federer was easily handling Andy Roddick's best effort and 140 mph serves, it looked like Roddick was working his heart out on every point. Federer barely looked winded at the end of three sets. Roddick had sweated through the BILL of his cap.
Here is the thing I love about Federer. He has no coach. He is totally and completely accountable to himself.
Early on in his career, Federer would get into a tough game and he couldn't handle the pressure. His game would crumble.
He had a coach for many years. Most professional tennis players have several coaches, hitting partners, and a friends and family entourage. While Federer clearly has an incredible support group, he is currently without a coach.
His quote from earlier this weekend, "Luckily, along the way I learned that it's about hard work, and that talent only takes you so far."
Federer is an amazing closer.
In the first set of this year's final, Novak Djokavic had at least three chances to close out the set. Federer won those points when then really mattered. He then won the set in a tie breaker. In fact, He won the first two sets in a tie breaker.
So this week's Finisher's Blog observation: Finishers are Accountable to Themselves.
Seems very obvious and easy to comprehend. It is much harder to put into practice. How do you become accountable to yourself at all times? How do you focus and perform at your best when everything is on the line? Go look at Federer.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
The Finisher's Blog
When I was 10 my grandfather made an observation about me...I was a fast starter but a slow finisher. I would often get excited about starting something, but would rarely finish it.
When I was racing bicycles I was able to focus on the early part of a race, but often allowed negative thoughts to creep into my head when the race started getting hard. One day I learned a big lesson while in training with a group of friends. We were turning up the pace and as we got to the last two laps on the velodrome I said out loud, "nope...that's it," and I pulled up the track and slowed down my pedaling.
After the race when we all sat down, my good friend and mentor came up to me and shouted, "If you ever go in the tank like that again I will never ride with you again!" I got the point.
In sports and business and life there are finishers and there are people who tank. There are people who do the work to get the job done, and there are people who are very, very good but who don't quite finish well.
For many athletes, it is a matter of mental approach and focus.
It is the same with me...I often lose focus right at the moment that I need it the most.
For the next several months, I will dedicate this blog to pointing out examples of finishing and of people struggling to finish.
Here is my first example:
A month ago I had a fistfull of proposals out the door. I was sure to have a good end of the summer because I allowed myself to count the dollars and say to myself, "Even if I only get two-thirds of these jobs started, I am in fine shape." And I went on vacation.
Well...I didn't finish the sales job properly and I didn't get most of the work. I had gone into sales presentation mode...feature feature feature....benefit benefit benefit...and I forgot to finish.
The Sandler Sales method is called "post sell" to finish the sale. I have worked with another great sales manager who called it "confirming" the sale.
Either way, there are ways to re-confirm what you think is happening. And I learned that if you can't get the customer to confirm the project with you...then you are just chasing and hoping.
I wasn't finishing.
When I was racing bicycles I was able to focus on the early part of a race, but often allowed negative thoughts to creep into my head when the race started getting hard. One day I learned a big lesson while in training with a group of friends. We were turning up the pace and as we got to the last two laps on the velodrome I said out loud, "nope...that's it," and I pulled up the track and slowed down my pedaling.
After the race when we all sat down, my good friend and mentor came up to me and shouted, "If you ever go in the tank like that again I will never ride with you again!" I got the point.
In sports and business and life there are finishers and there are people who tank. There are people who do the work to get the job done, and there are people who are very, very good but who don't quite finish well.
For many athletes, it is a matter of mental approach and focus.
It is the same with me...I often lose focus right at the moment that I need it the most.
For the next several months, I will dedicate this blog to pointing out examples of finishing and of people struggling to finish.
Here is my first example:
A month ago I had a fistfull of proposals out the door. I was sure to have a good end of the summer because I allowed myself to count the dollars and say to myself, "Even if I only get two-thirds of these jobs started, I am in fine shape." And I went on vacation.
Well...I didn't finish the sales job properly and I didn't get most of the work. I had gone into sales presentation mode...feature feature feature....benefit benefit benefit...and I forgot to finish.
The Sandler Sales method is called "post sell" to finish the sale. I have worked with another great sales manager who called it "confirming" the sale.
Either way, there are ways to re-confirm what you think is happening. And I learned that if you can't get the customer to confirm the project with you...then you are just chasing and hoping.
I wasn't finishing.
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