Finishers Persist

If you are pushing to the edge of your industry, or your position, or your career choice, there must be something to push against.

Finishers Persist, even flourish, when the Way gets harder.

As the line from "A League of Their Own" goes, "Of course baseball is hard. It is the hard that makes it great. If it wasn't hard, everybody would do it."

How do you learn to persist when The Forces of Mediocrity (a recent Seth Godin Post) start dumbing down your remarkable plan?

First you have to fail and learn by failing. In tennis, getting to and winning a third set or a fifth set (if you happen to be in a Grand Slam), is a big hurdle. Some players feel the pressure and learn to focus on the details and plans. Other players get off track, lose focus and even though they won the second set by playing better than their opponent, lose the third 6-0.

You have to lose a few third sets before you start to figure out how to win them.

Great Finishers Learn to Fail.


Persistence does not Mean chasing down every attack

Many years ago when I loved cycling I was watching a stage of The Tour De France. A rider was in the leader's yellow jersey and the elite riders in the race were at the front of the big field. This leader was a very good rider, but he did not have a strong team. As the road went up a huge mountain, the other leaders of other teams began attacking. One after another they launched attacks trying to get away from the yellow jersey. Each time someone attacked, the leader of the race tried to chase them down. The problem was, as soon as he chased one down, another attacked. Within 15 or 20 minutes, he was unable to chase the attacks and was left behind.

The smarter thing would have been for him to rely on people who had an interest in the outcome as well. "If you want him to win the race, let him go...I'm not chasing him down."

Persistence does not mean chasing down every attack. Sometimes there are people who can and will help you out because their interests align with yours (even if only temporarily).

So, as Seth Godin implores...persist. If you are struggling it is because you are pushing.

The Finisher's Challenge

As I look for ways to connect Finisher Qualities with my business life, I decided that to find ways to connect and learn from a group and then observe the ways that people Finish, or Close, or Just Do IT would be the most beneficial for me and the most interesting way to approach a blog.

With that in mind, this week's post is about Subtraction.

Have you signed up for the Brain Bucket Subtraction Challenge? If you don't know what I am talking about...go HERE.

Are you looking for ideas about why or how or what you should do?

HERE is a great recent post from Tim Ferriss, audacious author of The Four Hour Work Week. If you haven't read this ulitmate Finisher's book about the MOST Addition by Subtraction way to design your life...you need to do that HERE.

HERE is an interesting post from Seth Godin...yea i know...I always point you to an interesting post from Seth. Sue me. This post is about quitting the stuff that doesn't propel you towards being the Best in The World at what you do. It is this idea + the Tim Ferriss lifestyle design stuff that lead to the Subtraction Challenge.

I hope you give this a try...take something OUT of your life and see how it affects your focus, motivation, and effectiveness.

Finishers Look for Subtraction

Here at the Finisher's Blog, I try to observe and report what makes people great "finishers" in their chosen fields / areas. Then I try to connect those observations to business work...sales work...marketing work.

This week's observation is counter intuitive and a lot of people don't want to try it.

Great Finisher's subtract stuff from their list without apology.

(Here comes this week's Seth Godin Moment)...

Read The Dip...Seth's great book about when to quit and when to stick. He recently blogged about this idea HERE.

The idea is that you have to become the BEST in the world...and you get to define how broad your "world" is. In his blog post, he says that means you have to eliminate all the "a little of this...and a little of that" stuff. Be strict.

Great Finishers...whether they are in sports, in sales, in business or in real estate... SUBTRACT the stuff that is keeping them from being the best.

Addition by subtraction is not a new idea...but applying it to your day and applying it to your business WILL help with finishing.

What can you subtract this week?

Click HERE to see our SUBTRACTION CHALLENGE.

Finishers Seek Stress

The great Seth Godin wrote a post about stress the other day. He inspires me even in his "worth thinking about" moments.

HERE is the post entitled Stressed.

This is great stuff to think about if you are a marketer ... what is the language we use and how does it color our approach to what we do.

I also think that Seth's post is very applicable in the Finisher's Qualities arena...

Great Finishers seek out stress. If you can't turn stress to your advantage...if you can't take the stress that will come when you "put yourself out there" or when you find yourself in a stressful situation... then you will not finish.

The movie "Miracle" was on this weekend...it is the story of one of the great jobs of Finishing in sports history.

The 1980 USA men's hockey team grew and learned how to finish.

10 days before they defeated the USSR 4 to 3...they had lost to them 10 - 3.

Herb Brooks had put his team into a very stressful situation BEFORE the Olympics started so that when the tournament started...they had already gone through it.

Great Finishers seek out stress, fail, and then seek it out some more.

Thank you Seth for helping me with my blog this morning! I was stressed about what I was going to write about!

Openings and Closings...

Start to Finish.

Brainstorm to Finished Project.

Goal setting to Execution.

I am the king of the left hand side of that list.

This week (same as last week), I am faced with several do-able projects. The problem has been actually doing that work to finish these things. I keep juggling. I keep spinning the plates, and as a result, none of them are finished.

If you are reading this and I owe you a website...thank you for your patience...it is coming this week.

Here's how I am going to do it!

I am ONLY focusing on one thing at a time. (Truly a finisher's quality)

I have readd part of a book about procrastination...I'll read the rest of it another time.

There are piles of things around my house to get done. And while I am not going to post my "honey do" list on the blog...the point is the same. Pick the hardest or most important thing and focus on it until it is done.

That is my challenge to myself this week. I WILL exhibit this finisher's quality.

In the meantime, take some time to check out these superior blogs.


Recent Post from Seth:
URL: Small business success


Recent Posts from Stephanie Diamond:
URL: Collaboration with Customers


URL: The Power of Focus

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.

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.

Scarcity as Strategy

I have attended a number of networking groups for small business owners over the past year. Many of the organizers of these groups create scarcity by not allowing duplication...that is, you can't ever be the second web developer, plumber, real estate agent, in these groups. I like this idea because it forces you to truly define what you do that is different.

For example, I went to a meeting a week ago and there were three coaches attending...each one was unique.

The other thing that many of these groups have done is to ban the ever-present financial advisor. There are so many of these people preying on these networking groups, that they have been banned. Not only are there too many of these folks, they don't participate in the mutual referrals that are the cornerstone of these groups.

This is what Seth Godin is writing about in a recent blog post from FOUR years ago.

The Scarcity Shortage

I believe these ideas are more appropriate today than they were four years ago.

...Continuing with the Sports Theme

I play tennis. I love tennis, and even though I am fast closing in on 40, I work hard each week to get better. There is always something to work on. I like playing with other people who are working hard to get better. I like playing with them even when they beat me!

I do not like playing with people who really aren't trying to improve. In tennis, often these are people who are called "pushers." They push the ball back over the net, without really making a shot, and without really taking a true swing. Tennis instructors will tell you, "you can play like that, but you will never get any better." Pushers have no follow through...which leads me to this post from Seth Godin.

Follow through is another sports training idea that is completely applicable to business.

Your Marketing Community

Marketing is about connecting with a community ... your community.

Seth Godin (again!) blogs about this concept in his post: No Business Model.

The concept I have found myself trying to convince people of is that authentic content that is really relevant to a key group of people within your target market is much, much more valuable than a huge email blast spam campaign.

The problem is that people are comfortable with buying a list and sending a bunch of postcards... or emails...ugh. It's all about instant gratification..."we sent the emails on Tuesday, so then we should start seeing their effectiveness today..."

Instead, connecting to your community is a longer process, it takes a commitment to that group, it takes authentic content...stuff people really want to know.

It is slower, harder work...and a much more sustainable approach to growing your business.

I know it seems weird to embark on a project that won't give you immediate ROI numbers this week...but in six months...well, in six months you won't know where you will be either because if you are REALLY committed to authentic interaction with a group, they will take you places you never knew you would go.

Want to give it a try?

Smart Ads - Behavioral Marketing

URL: Yahoo Customized PPC Ads

I have been reading about this stuff for several months, and now Yahoo! has launched something to attempt the customization on the fly that everyone has been talking about.

All issues of the timing of their launch aside...(couldn't they have at least done it in a different MONTH from the iPhone?)...this is a direction that many are seeing as a significant shift.

As advertisers look for more and more of your information, the technology and smart search capabilities are only going to grow. As a marketer, you need to ask yourself about the latest gadget and technique. Learn about this and consider it a great option - smart display ads that you can shift and change depending on the consumer searching somewhere where you want to be found.

A warning for the marketer in the audience...DON'T neglect your content. In the rush for more and more specific information about WHO will buy ... don't forget that these are people who are finding you.

Give them something to read, or listen to, or look at...

And most most most importantly...give them something remarkable to share with others.

Look for my upcoming post on the tenets of "Authentic Content" ... coming this afternoon!

Pick Your Battles

Once again, Seth Godin takes a small observation about marketing and makes it stand for a much larger point.
The point of Seth's blog post "Most and Least" is that most of the time we do the least that is required of us. It is virtually impossible to always do the MOST that you can do.

Even if you set out to do the most, you will have to pick the times when you really push it and do the most. The rest of the time, you are just getting the job done.

One observation I have, however, is that whether you are an individual or a company, once you get in the habit of doing the least (just getting by), it is hard to flip the switch and suddenly do the most remarkable stuff.

When you are doing the least, your perception of the Most is diminished. For a company, that is when you start thinking that offering the red fishing pole would have made all the difference over the brown fishing pole, or that the pale blue background on the banner ad was less successful than the dark blue background.

From an interactive marketing standpoint, I think that Seth's post is a cry for authenticity.

Here is the post: Most and Least from Seth Godin

Thoughts on Marketing

Here are three blog posts that highlight three big ideas about your business.

Marketing is changing and it is time to think about your business, the work that you do, and how you find and keep your customers.

Here are three BIG ideas for you to consider.

1. Seth Godin: Drivers...do you recognize your approach? Is that the approach you want?

2. The Messaging Times: Marketing Buzz...you say you want something viral, something that people are going to tell their friends about. But have you thought about HOW and WHY? And while you are thinking about that, why not think about WHO can help you do that?

3. Epiphanies, inc: Content Focused Marketing...you want your website to carry it's own weight. You don't want to spend money on a website that doesn't actually bring people in the door. Sounds good, but that means that there's no skimpin' on the content. The folks at the "A-HA" blog advocate content driven marketing. It is harder, but so much more effective that thinking up some ridiculous slogan without any real "umph" behind it.

Quit the Bad Stuff

I thought I knew where I was going...and then I read about quitting from Seth Godin's new book.
It is called The Dip and it is about quitting, leaning into the dip, and being the best in the world.

And then I met with a personal friend and coach, Jerry Smith.

And then I read his Balance Life Work blog.

Jerry Smith is a fantastic coach. I had lunch with him the other day and we talked about how difficult it is to get on course with work and life and balance. And then once you are on course and you think you "get it"... how do you keep yourself on course.

I have decided that a regular lunch session with Jerry is one of the ways to keep myself on course. Jerry - I hope that's OK with you!

Go find Jerry's most recent post called Life can get in the way!. Jerry writes about the ridiculously simple things to do when life gets in the way, and how to Quit doing the stuff that knocks you off course.

Cow dung and Web 2.0

I have had several marketing / sales conversations recently where I am trying to describe the Web 2.0 direction that we are all heading.

When you are working with people who know that term: "Web 2.0" - then the conversation starts at a different point.

But, the backstory of the conversation is always in the same direction...."what should I do?"

Web 2.0 is more thought and more work.

When a marketing company is used to sending out BRC cards and then hoping they bought the right list, or offered the right incentive, or used the right color...then getting them to actually think about content and authenticity, to actually ASK about that content, and to then convince others that possibly getting ripped apart by their customers is a GOOD thing is a challenge.

A challenge...but it is right.

Look - Web 2.0 means asking better questions...of yourself...of your partners...of your customers...of your upset customers in particular.

That is the mindset...now, what are the tools. There are literally hundreds of companies out there that have the Web 2.0 concept of true, authentic, rough-around-the-edges interaction built in to their DNA.

Here is a site that lists many of them....it is astounding how many of these companies / websites there are.

Web 2.0 List on Sacred Cow Dung

The Reach of Bad Marketing

Seth Godin's latest post speaks to how marketers would rather take the easy route to reach a lot of people. It is wonderful (of course) and it is a direct reflection of several conversations I recently had with marketers who are trying to walk the line between what their customers are comfortable with and what they know they should be doing.

The alternative is to serve a smaller group of people who are reaching you...finding you...and ready to interact with you.

Marketing is never about your response rate to a post card or a TV ad or even an animated banner.

Web 2.0 marketing is about authentic two-way communications.

Yes, it is harder...and YES, it is worth it.

Seth's Post: Reaching The Unreachable

Marketing vs. Offering

Seth Godin today posts about Offer World, a new and strange land where traditional marketers feel a little uncomfortable.

Seth once again points out the very obvious:

Marketing isn't about marketing...it's about a relationship. It is more successful when it is a long term relationship.

Now - whether that relationship is a one on one meeting in a coffee shop, or visitors coming into your store, or someone coming to your website, everyone still must do the things necessary to develop a relationship.

Now - in "Offer World" you develop an initial (and subsequent) interest through the use of offers. But the big point Seth is making is that it is what happens AFTER you make that offer that counts.

It is the "After Offer World" where you earn the trust, loyalty, interaction and repeat business.

If you send someone a postcard and they take the time to go to your website and fill out a form to get your offer, AND they give you permission to contact them...by all means, you better have something remarkable that is coming next. NOT some PR rehash, NOT the same info sheet that you linked from the website...something remarkable.

What do I mean by remarkable?

HERE is another link. It is Seth Godin's "Purple Cow" presentation from a few years ago. These are 17 minutes that will change the way you work. It is remarkable.

Context Matters..."I'd Ignore Him Too"

The Washington Post puts Joshua Bell, one of the great classical musicians in the world, in a subway station at rush hour to see what would happen.

The blog / internet response has been immense. Take a look at Seth Godin's take on this story URL: I'd Ignore Him Too

The point is that context does matter. Presentation and tone of voice and "the frame" (as mentioned in the story) DO matter.

This is the same concept that drives WHY we design a website and a marketing strategy and a sales system for our businesses. This is also why Web 2.0 is magic!

Useless Marketing ... The hope strategy

Seth Godin points out a reference to useless marketing.

Useless Marketing

I was in a meeting last week where the potential customer said to me, "We really don't want to focus on any of that branding or marketing, we just want a website that shows our work."

Now, anyone and everyone in marketing has heard this refrain before. I politely reminded my potential customer that yesterday when we chatted in the hallway, he had mentioned that they were busy, but not with the kind of work they wished they had.

Who was it that said that hope is not a strategy?

I am about to go back to this client with a proposal that would dramatically reshape what they do. But, because of the previous comment, I am not at all sure of my ability to convince them that indeed, what they need is some of that branding and useless marketing.

Make Your Company Remark-able

Again with the Seth Godin reference! Shame on me.

Seth posts all the time about how marketing is about making something (could be anything!) remarkable...worth remarking about.

So here it is: What would it take for you to get onto Fast Company's "Companies That Care" list?

Fast Company - Companies That Care


What would you do to your company, (the one you run, not the other one that runs you), in order to make it a place that people sent their resumes to unsolicited?

How would you do that?

Hint: it has nothing to do with ping-pong tables, beer at lunch, or massages on Fridays.