Lawrence Fine

These days, people seem to always want to complain. Regardless of position, people always find something wrong

“The house is dirty”
“That report was due yesterday, why haven’t you started?”
“Sales are down, what are you doing to fix it?”
“This isn’t working the way I thought it would”
“Why have donations slowed down?”

At what point do we stop complaining about things and start doing something about them?

Rather than complaining about things, take some ownership and do what is needed to improve things.

This might be something as simple as cleaning the house if it’s dirty but the reality is we can’t fix all problems by doing them ourselves. Sometimes ownership means taking some responsibility, figuring out where things have fallen apart and helping with fixing the problem through organization and delegation. Then, once things have been organized and delegated, monitor to make sure things are being done on schedule. Too often, the follow up is where we let down so just assuming that things will be done because we mentioned it once isn’t always good enough.

If more people would take some ownership of a problem, look to find ways to fix the problem, and take some responsibility, we would have a lot less problems in the world. Instead, we seem to prefer to sit back, look to place blame, and complain as much as possible.

Take ownership of problems and good things will happen

Have a great day!

Lawrence

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I read an article recently about the tour Bruce Springsteen just ended. It mentioned how each one of his shows has a different set of songs he sings. Each night he featured a different one of his albums.

Traditionally, a musician will play the same basic set each concert so the idea of having a completely different album featured for each concert is quite different (and I’m sure much more difficult on his band).

Many performers have their die hard fans who will follow them wherever they go and will go to multiple concerts over the course of a tour. However, what Springsteen did makes it easier for the casual fan to want to go to multiple concerts since they know they wont be hearing the same song as the night before.

So, how does this apply to the rest of us? If you own a restaurant and have the same menu all the time, you will have some regular customers who come in because they like what you have to offer (think of them as Springsteen’s “die hard” fans). However, others might think “we ate there last time, let’s try something different this time” and go somewhere else. What if each week (or every two weeks) the menu changed? You would want to keep some house specialties on the menu (just like Springsteen plays Born to Run at every concert) but would vary the menu enough to keep people coming back to try new things.

If you run a camp and do the same thing each year, the camper who enjoyed things the first year and returned the second might think otherwise if it’s the exact same thing as the year before. Add a little innovation and they will keep coming back.

A comedy club that has different comedians but the same format basically has the same thing each week. The comedians might have different humor and different styles but the concept is still the same. What if you added an unannounced special occasionally? This could be something as simple as having a beer distributor give out samples of a new line of beer to the first 50 people to attend. Chances are, those 50 people will return again since they got something they didn’t expect or pay for. The others will want to arrive earlier next time to make sure they are one of the first 50 people (and I assume, by arriving earlier, they would be ordering an additional drink or two while waiting).

Most businesses can find ways to vary their offerings in order to increase repeat business. The alternative is to keep things the same and if things are perfect for you and your business, then go ahead and do that. For the rest of us, variety is something to consider

Have a great day!

Lawrence

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It’s vital to know what is coming next.

If you own a movie theater and don’t know that the technology is changing to show movies, when the change is made, you are out of luck.

If you own a restaurant and don’t know about upcoming legislation that will change the requirements for your kitchen, you are in trouble,

If you are a Realtor and specialize in a certain area of town and don’t know about proposed zoning changes for that area, you are in trouble.

If you are a doctor and don’t know about new research that could radically change your specialty, you are in trouble.

You MUST know as much about your industry as possible. Knowledge truly is power. It’s better to know something and then make the conscious decision to either do something or not, than to not know about it in the first place.

Learn from reading. Learn from talking. Learn from listening. LEARN about your industry every chance you can.

Those who know about upcoming changes have the ability to adapt, prepare or possibly lobby against these changes. Those who don’t know about upcoming changes are always reacting after the fact and then wonder why things aren’t working the way they want

Have a great day!

Lawrence

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Most people seem to want/expect opportunities with low risk and high reward. Unfortunately, with a few exceptions, these opportunities don’t exist.

The next option most people seem to pursue is low risk low reward. An example would be the unemployed person who is looking for someone to hire them so they can have a guaranteed income. While this is understandable it’s important to understand that in today’s economy, there are many other people looking for these exact same opportunities. Since supply is high and demand is relatively low, people are struggling to find these opportunities.

The alternative, which too many people are afraid to take is to assume some of the risk yourself. If an organization hires you, they are taking the risk because whether you produce or not, they are stuck paying your salary. If you are willing to remove that risk from the employer, many might be willing to give you an opportunity.

I will use my web design company as an example. We have many clients and a fair number of them are nationally/internationally known. We are able to stay busy solely off of referrals and people finding us online. We do absolutely no marketing. While I’m interested in growing the company, I’m not quite ready to hire a full time salesperson. However, if someone were to approach me and offer to provide clients or leads in return for a percentage of the increase in revenue, I would be all for it. A person could do this and make much more than they would as a full time employee but it would require them to be willing to be compensated based on production as opposed to based on time.

There are many organizations out there that would be open to this type of an arrangement (it can’t be used in all industries as some have limitations based on licensing or certifications etc).

So what stops someone from approaching an organization and making this type of an offer? Two main things. First is it’s something many people haven’t considered. Second, most people would prefer for someone else to take that risk. The way I look at it, if you don’t have anything good going for you, it’s better to take on some of the risk (is there really any risk when you aren’t making money anyway?) step up and take on some of the risk and before you know it, good things will be happening.

The key to these type of opportunities is many of them don’t currently exist. For example, I don’t have a “help wanted” message on my web site with this type of an offer. Many others who would consider this really haven’t given it any thought. Take the initiative and you will see the reward!

Have a great day!

Lawrence
PS If you don’t believe there are people out there that would take someone up on this type of an offer, if you are truly serious, send me an email and if things make sense, we can start right away!

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Some people are technicians. Some people are artists. A few people are blessed and are both.

In my mind, a technician is a person who can successfully perform a certain skill on a regular basis. An artist, on the other hand is much more.

The other day, I was listening to a musician perform. It wasn’t the first time I heard him and each time, it’s quite apparent that he enjoys what he is doing. Let me start with my disclaimer which is I have absolutely no musical ability or knowledge other than I know what I enjoy and have a pretty good idea when someone is good. This person is very good. The more I watched him play the guitar the more I wondered how he knew what notes to play next (I’m not sure if that is the correct terminology but hopefully you know what I mean). While I know that a person could purchase the sheet music for the songs he was performing, it was apparent that wasn’t the way he was playing the music

On a break, I asked him if he were to play the same song that he just performed again, whether he would be playing the exact same notes. He said while the song would sound the similar, the notes would be a bit different because he plays based on what he feels and not necessarily based on the exact way the song was written. He did say that there are certain parts of certain songs that are always played the exact same way but most of the songs he performs allow a great deal of “artistic freedom”.

If this musician were to take the time (or someone similar to him) to teach me how to play the guitar, he could teach me all of the notes needed to play these songs. If I were to work hard at it, I could probably get to the point where I was technically proficient at the songs. At that point, I would be a technician. However, I don’t believe it would matter how good a teacher he is, or how hard I would work, I would never get to the point where I could feel the music the way he does, or improvise and adapt the way he does. That is the difference between being a technician (which I could possibly become if I really wanted to) and being an artist.

Similarly, a friend of mine, who is an excellent chef, sends me recipes and tips to make certain dishes. He gives me very specific directions and I follow them exactly as they are written. I have gotten to the point where I can make these dishes and they are actually quite good. However, I will never get to the point where they are as good as the chef’s because while he uses the recipes as a guideline and uses his experience and artistic understanding to make minor alterations, I can simply follow the guidelines and be technically proficient but never great.

You can be successful at things you are technically proficient at. However, you can be much more successful at things where you are truly an artist.

Don’t think of this as always being something related to art or music etc. You can be an artist at understanding the financial situation of a complex business transaction. This would require more than simply knowing how to read a profit and loss statement. It would mean being able to take the information provided and interpreted it using some possibly unconventional methods to make the most informed decision possible.

A person can be a technician at almost anything he is willing to put the time into. However, to be a true artist, takes time, effort and an innate ability that truly separates the artist from the technician.

Find what you are an artist at and you most likely will have found what you are both good and successful at

Have a great day!

Lawrence

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When you learn something of value, do something really important …share it with others!

Some people feel if they know more than the people they are dealing with they have more power than the others. The reality is those who share, those who teach, those who help others….those are the people with the real power

Do something really important in your life, share some knowledge with someone else!

Have a great day!

Lawrence

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When you are making a proposal to a person or organization you there are two approaches you can take.

1.Sell them on yourself then sell them on your product or services and then try to close the actual sale
2.Find out what they want and give them that and more.

Sadly, most people choose option 1. It’s all about them. They talk about themselves, their services their backgrounds etc. What they tend to forget is the decision make isn’t interested in them, the decision make simply wants to know how their problems can be solved/fixed/

When giving a presentation remember, it’s not about you, it’s about the person you are making the presentation for. You don’t always have to be an accomplished speaker, or have great graphics or great jokes. Just remember it’s not about you, it’s about them and good things will happen.

Have a great day!

Lawrence

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Many of us are familiar with the saying “those who don’t learn from the past are destined to repeat it”. Without a doubt, this is true but we also have to be careful not to live in the past as well.

We want to learn from what has happened in the past but keep an eye on the future and do what we can to keep moving forward.

There are those who who spend so much time thinking about the past they never get to move forward. Others spend so much time looking to the future they don’t learn from the past.

Look back yet move forward and good things will happen

Have a great day!

Lawrence

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What makes time so valuable?

When people complain about how expensive their doctor is, they think in terms of the amount of time the doctor spent with the individual patient. They aren’t factoring in the years in medical school, the years in residency etc to get to that point.

When people complain about how expensive their attorney is, they don’t factor into things the years the attorney spent in law school.

People who are really good at what they do frequently make their jobs seems very easy. The part we often forget is the number of years those people spent preparing to be at the level they are now at.

This doesn’t mean that all compensation is based on preparation time. Many teachers have masters degrees but they aren’t necessarily compensated fairly for the time they spent preparing.

One reason for this inequity is I might not like how much a doctor or lawyer might cost but with few exceptions, I can’t do their job. There are many people who can do the role of a teacher (although that doesn’t mean they can do it well).

Since we live in a society of short term thinkers, if something will affect us short term, it makes a difference to us. If it wont affect us short term but will long term, too often we will put up with it. As an example, if I’m being sued I can choose to try to represent myself in court but in a very short time, I’ll probably realize it was a bad decision. I can choose to ignore the doctor and treat the illness myself but will most likely quickly realize this is having a negative impact on our health. On the other hand, we are willing to underpay educators because even if this results in us losing some of our top teachers, we don’t see the effects short term. Long term, this is having a dramatic impact on our society.

If we don’t learn to value people for what they are able to provide long term, our long term outlook will be very BLEAK!

Have a great day!

Lawrence
PS If you haven’t done so yet, please take a moment to check out my latest books at http://lawrencefine.com/books.php

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I received an invitation in the mail the other day for a business networking opportunity. It’s the type of gathering where people go to meet other “like minded” individuals and exchange business cards etc.

While I rarely go to these types of things (they typically aren’t geared towards introverts), the few that I have gone to have had a lot of people looking to be hired (some looking for employment and others looking for contracts) and not many people looking to hire. So, while many have good intentions, there are many “sellers” and not many “buyers”.

It’s been my experience that much better networking can be done in less formal settings. Some examples would be::

Wine Tastings
Book Clubs
Fundraisers
Local clubs

Unlike these more formal networking groups, you wont walk away from these with a handful of business cards. However, it just takes one good contact to make a BIG difference in your business

If these formal networking gatherings are working for you, GREAT. If not, consider other opportunities that might allow you a more comfortable way to meet people

Have a great day!

Lawrence

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