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Point to
Ponder
Where have all the leaders
gone? asks Lee Iacocca...
I
have just finished reading this very provocative and
pleasingly candid book by a leader who has more than earned
the right to speak... and has no shyness in honestly speaking his
mind. Bravo! This is one book that should be on your reading list
this summer, along with our In The Company of Leaders, of course.
Lee
says, "The best part of my life these days is my ability to make
a difference in the world and to give something
back."
I agree and would take it even further to say, "The
best part of your life (period) is harnessing your abilities and
skills to make a difference and to strive to live a life that gives
back." Frankly, that has been my major motivation over the past
10 years and it has been very satisfying to see those Ideas
At Work!
According to Lee, "Leadership
is about managing change - whether you are leading a company or a
country." He outlines his 9 C's needed in leadership.
I include them here in point form. Buy his book for the full version
and see where they fit in your quest to take increased personal
leadership in your own life and career.
- Curiosity
- Creative
- Communicate
- Character
- Courage
- Conviction
- Charisma
- Competent
- Common sense
Lee wrote this provocative book, last year
at age 82, as a call to arms for leaders. A much needed call to arms
I would say. We need more leaders who will step up and claim their
place in the world. (He updated it for 2008... so buy one soon and
read it.)
I love what he says later in the book,
"In a race to determine who will own the twenty-first
century, I'll place my bets on the givers, not the
takers." Amen to that! thanks
Lee...
I do have an answer to his
question,
"Where have all the leaders
gone?"
Many of us haven't gone
anywhere; we are still here and we are still working to
equip and motivate those we seek to lead in their growth and
success. Many of us are working quietly to pass along our insights
to emerging leaders and offering guidance and encouragement in their
own leadership success growth and paths.
- I've had the privilege of
working along-side some amazing leaders in Toastmasters, NSA,
CAPS, and many other organizations over the past two decades.
- I've coached executives from
Canada's 50 Best Managed Companies in setting and achieving higher
leadership standards and goals.
- I've worked to support leaders
who are enduring challenges and in helping them assist their teams
to more effectively dealing with those obstacles to their
success.
Each experience has taught me and helped me in my
own leadership journey.
On Friday August 15th, I
will have the personal privilege of sharing from my own
leadership insights and experiences with Toastmasters leaders from
around the world at their annual International convention, being
held this year in Calgary, Alberta.
My The Power of
One! keynote at their annual Leadership Luncheon is to
celebrate 'their'
leadership success over the past year. I
fully intend to tell them that 'they' are
the answer to Lee's question, "Where have all the leaders
gone?" One very enthusiastic answer is: to Toastmasters and to their companies,
communities, and countries, better equipped to speak up and step
up.
Personal leadership - The Power
of One! leads to engaging the passion of many and allows
you to walk In The Company of Leaders. I consider
myself privileged to walk in their company, and yours!
© 2008
Bob 'Idea Man' Hooey
www.InTheCompanyOfLeaders.com
Four Ways to Avoid the Gas
Station and Still Make the
Sale
With gas prices in Canada and the U.S.
hitting all-time highs and continuing to climb, it seems like
each time you get in you get in your car you can actually feel
your wallet getting lighter. I know I do!
The rising gas prices
are a burden for all, particularly sales professionals who travel to
meet with clients and close the deal. You can't exactly stop seeing
customers, so what do you do to maintain your sales results
without the cost of gas taking a huge chunk of your
paycheck?
"There is good news," says Jeb
Blount, author of PowerPriniciples. "The silver lining to
the fuel crisis is the high cost of fuel is teaching us to use our
resources wisely, to plan better, and to become more efficient and
effective with out most precious resource, our time."
(Editor's note: this applies on a personal as well as a
professional basis.)
"Driving around for a weekend
showing houses to a client only to find out that they can't qualify
for a loan is too expensive," continues Blount. "Driving two hours
to meet with a customer who is a no-show is no longer
acceptable. Making a call on one side of your territory and then
driving to the other side of your territory to close a "sure thing"
isn't worth filling up for twice a day. Setting appointments with
prospects who are not in the buying window costs too much. And
jumping through hoops for low margin customers has become
intolerable."
Four PowerPrinciples for using precious
resources wisely:
Qualify the Ability to
Buy: One of my mentors taught me to only spend time with
prospects and customers who have "the ability to buy." He said you
must be willing to ask the right questions up front to make sure
that you are spending your time with the right people and the right
companies at the right time. Ask the hard questions first, then
spend your gas money.
Territory Planning:
Few things are more inefficient and expensive than driving
(or flying) from one side of your territory to another. One of the
sure fire ways to maximize your results is to develop a territory
plan and stick to it. First grid your territory by geography and day
of the week. Next, only set appointments in each geographic grid on
the days you will be there. Finally, schedule all other activities
around those appointments in that area of your
territory.
Technology: Use technology to
reduce drive time. There are dozens of new services on the market
that allow you to spend time with your customers without being face
to face. From video conferencing to webinars, you can complete many
of your sales process tasks without ever leaving your
office.
Prioritize: You can only do so many
things in a day. You can choose to spend your time (and gas money)
on high value tasks that make you money or low value tasks that
waste your resources. The most successful people and top sales
professionals take 10-15 minutes every evening to make a list of the
top three to five tasks that must be accomplished the next day. This
process ensures that when they wake up the next morning they are
focused, energized, and using all of their resources
wisely.
© 2008
Jeb Blount, All rights reserved. Used with permission of the author.
Jeb Blount, author of PowerPrinciples and CEO of Sales Gravy, has over
20 years experience in sales and marketing. Jeb is a sought after
seminar leader and keynote speaker known for his ability to inspire
his audiences to action. Learn more by visiting his profile at
www.salesgravy.com
Last Minute News and
Notes
July was a
very productive month:
Toastmasters International published my
leadership article which should help in setting the stage for my
keynote at their upcoming convention. Toastmaster
magazine goes out monthly to some 170,000 Toastmasters around the
world. Here is the article, if you'd like to read it.
The Power of One! - Pocket Wisdom for
Leaders is back from the printers. Looks good. Thanks
to the generosity of my friends at The Brick, each person who
attends my keynote next week will get their own
complimentary copy.
Enjoyed a family and
friends, country bar-b-que and, in-spite of the rain, it was a great
afternoon and evening.
Finally pulled together the
draft for our e-publication, In The Company of Leaders
with 40 guest authors and leadership experts offering the
gift of their insights and wisdom. Now it is in Irene's capable
hands for final edit, layout, and creation of the final pdf version.
It will be given to each of our attendees in Calgary as an
e-publication via a special leadership resource webpage we
created just for them.
We will be making it
available on-line for general purchase following that presentation
on the 15th.
Spent two days with a group of sales
directors, customer service agents, and support staff with some very
open and candid discussion about the serious
challenges and obstacles they face and how they might best
prepare themselves to more effectively deal with them. Some very
nice folks dealing with increasingly challenging internal and
corporate dynamics. I have to admit, this is one of the few times I
walked out of my session with a heavy heart, scratching my
head as to whether I was able to help them as much as I wanted to...
very difficult for them to move ahead on a positive note. Sometimes,
even your best doesn't seem to be enough. Going to see what I can
provide for follow up to give them a bit of an assist over the next
year.
 Spent the 19-20th weekend (3 days actually) with
friends, Wayne and Brenda in BC's Lake Country.
They have a
place right on Wood Lake and are enjoying it this year as they are
not renting it out, as normally done.
Floating on the lake,
visiting farmer's markets, attending open air concerts, and
reluctantly doing some right-side-up-kayaking
(another story) sharing business ideas and catching up, lots of
laughs, and sipping port by the fire pit on the sand... ahhhhhhhh!
Always a privilege and a pleasure, as they are two of my favorite
people. I have been blessed with a few friends on this level and I
cherish them and the times I spend with them.
Found a
couple of other activities that motivate me:
 Took the southern scenic route via Winthrop,
WA. on the way to Seattle to do some shopping at the Pike Place
Market and a bit of sailing... yeah! This little town is amazing in
its early pioneer/western theme and every single storekeeper has
gotten on-board. Worth the extra miles to make this side trip. Even
recorded a video clip for Secret Selling Tips.
Along the way
a flying visit with my long-time friend, cheerleader, and fellow
speaker, Bonnie Dean in Bellingham.
A weekend with family
and friends in the Vancouver area, working on last minute proofs for
CofL manuscript and then back home on Wednesday to catch up, work on
a few other projects, and prepare for Calgary.
Did a
couple of fun video clips along the way, including "What motivates
the motivator - Part III and IV". Some will show up on Secret Selling Tips or Secret Leadership Tips over the next year.
August will be an
amazing month:
For the next week I will be in a
total Toastmasters focus in preparation for my leadership
keynote in Calgary. An amazing amount of work to complete all
the pieces for this event, but it will be worth every minute. A
chance to give back to these wonderful people who have meant so much
to me over the years.
August 12-16th:
Calgary for the Toastmasters International
Convention.
 Announcing a new guide to enhance your leadership skills and
equip you to lead for increased team success.
Available
online after
August 15th,
2008
40 top leadership experts
including Mark Sanborn, Marshall Goldsmith, Jack Trout, and Brian
Tracy share proven guidance and insights for your leadership
success.
Our Toastmasters audience will be given
complimentary access to this new e-publication as our
investment in their continued leadership growth and
success.
We will be offering our Ideas At Work! readers a
special launch price of only $20. A portion of each sale will be
donated to charity. August 30-Sept 6th: Off to Puerto Vallarta,
Mexico for a break, some sailing (like last year) and filming a few
new clips for various projects and websites; but mostly enjoying a
much deserved and needed break.
 September 8th:
I need your
help!
I will be rappelling down the
outside of the 27 story Sutton Place Hotel in Edmonton in support of
Easter Seals. This is my second year in dealing with this fear and
in helping out this very important organization with all they do.
Please help me as I confront my fear of heights to
help disabled adults and kids have a better quality of life. The
minimum donation level to be able to rappel is $1500.
You can safely donate online, as many of you did last year to help raise $3200. Follow this link to donate. Thanks in
advance for your help.
This year I would like to
surpass that goal. With your help I will be able to do
so. Frankly, I need your help. Been a tad busy with other
projects and need to get this going.
Visit: DropZoneBob to see video clips and other pieces
from last year's rappel and make a donation to help the kids...
Thanks.
Thanks
for reading
Bob 'Idea Man' Hooey would be pleased to
be a part of your success team and to work with you to help
make your conference, meeting or training event a success.
For more information about customized keynotes, professional
and personal leadership training and coaching, seminars/retreats,
please visit www.ideaman.net or call our Creative Office at:
(780) 736-0009 for availability. Archives of past issues are
still available on our www.ideaman.net website.
Ask about a customized conference,
coaching or training package to suit your specific career, company,
or organizational needs.
Ask about our innovative leadership and/or
sales leaders' motivational training programs.
*****
© 2008 Bob 'Idea Man' Hooey, and Ideas At Work!, All
rights reserved world-wide.
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- Company of Leaders is ready. It will be
available on August 15th following Bob's Leadership
Keynote.
- The Power of One! - Pocket Wisdom for
Leaders is now available.
- Toastmasters published a
leadership article by Bob in July '08
issue.
- Bob has been invited to
speak at two conferences in Tehran, Iran in early November
2008 and will be speaking in India at the end of
January 2009
About Bob
Bob is a
professional speaker, author, leadership, sales, and business
success expert
Bob is a long time
leader and professional member of Canadian Association of Professional
Speakers, a member of NSA-Arizona,
as well as the International Federation for Professional
Speakers.
He is
proud to be an active professional member of these amazing
groups of people dedicated to polishing their craft and to
better serving their clients and audiences.
Bob is the co-founder and a past
president of CAPS Vancouver, an honorary founding member of
CAPS Sask., an honorary member of CAPS Halifax, as well as
being an active member of CAPS Edmonton. He served as CAPS
National Director (2000-2002.)
He would be happy to
discuss how he can work with you to equip and motivate your
leaders, their teams, sales teams, or volunteers to grow and
to succeed.
Call him today at 1-780-736-0009 to
explore leveraging his innovative Ideas At Work with your
organization.
Or, email him at bob@ideaman.net
Ideas At Work!
10 Creativity Corner
Egremont,
Alberta T0A 0Z0, CANADA |
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Bob 'Idea Man' Hooey's