The Kansas City Chiefs were playing at the same time I was playing a tennis match yesterday. One of us did a great job finishing, and the other did not.
The Chiefs were on the road, coming off of several sub-par performances, and against a top-notch team from last year. They never quit. They were behind in the first half and they stuck to their game plan, kept making good plays to put their opponent under pressure, and they never quit.
I, on the other hand, felt like the San Diego Chargers. The weak part of my game was constantly under pressure. The better part of my game was ineffective, and I lost focus. I didn't quit...but I did go in the tank. I rallied late and finished with a few good points and a few tough games that we won...but I was terribly disappointed with my performance.
I know I am better than I played...and yet I didn't put any "finish" to my game. I was hanging my head late in the match, and I wasn't engaged like I should have been.
Today's Finisher's quality: Finishers Never Quit.
Even when all seems lost, a finisher digs in, gets back to the basics, and Never, never quits.
Take that and go finish this week.
Monday, October 1, 2007
Monday, September 24, 2007
The Finisher's Qualities...so far
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.
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.
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.
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