How To Charge More For Your Services — Part Two.

In my last post, You’re Not Charging Enough For Your Services, I gave an actual example how other companies have the chutzpah to charge 50 times the price for a service because they can (and do it). They were charging almost $400K to build a website that could easily be built for $8-10K. So you can say this is 'Part Two'. I received a huge response for the post (and a lot of texts/emails/calls from readers - thank you!) who requested a number of techniques to help them raise their pricing. Here's the best part — increasing your price can positively affect people’s perceived value of your product/service.

1. Increase your fees for every new client — I recommend this strategy frequently to my clients. It's the easiest of the bunch — no pressure, no hassle for your existing clients. You don't have to go crazy, but you can jump your pricing by 10-25% and the new client will never know. This works with service-oriented practices where one client will never know your fees for another. Of course, will not work with established or advertised prices.

2. Increase your fees based upon their apparent wealth — This is an oldie, but goodie. If you find out their income, their home/location, their car, or their company/position, you can modify your fees accordingly by upwards of 25%-50%-100%. Trust me, it's done all the time. I know it might be a bit unfair, but if a service-person is standing in front of a 10,000 square foot mansion with three Bentleys in the driveway, they will certainly charge more than the person with a used car in a duplex.

3. Increase your fees by a small percent at a key time in the year — This one is a little harder than the rest, but it is equitable across your entire client list. Bump up your pricing at a certain time of the year and most people either won't notice, acknowledge the increase, question the rise and acquiesce, or defect. If it's a small increase 5-10% and it's done in a personal or professional manner, clients most often never defect. The ones that do leave don't value your services and are looking for the biggest bang for their buck. You probably don't want them as clients.

4. Extend: Provide an extra service — Your prices should be commensurate with the value you are providing. But there might be an additional service or product you can provide where your client will acknowledge the price change but won't care because of the extra service. The product or service might not cost you a lot, but over the long run, the up-charge on services will bring in mucho dollars.

5. Streamline: Reduce your service. Review the entire client/customer interaction from beginning to end. List out every step and deliverable — be very specific and granular. Stack rank each one from most important to least important to the client. Take the bottom step/deliverable and eliminate it. Or if you're a bit queasy about doing that, ask a few clients if they really need or want that deliverable. Most of the time, they don't even know it exists. If you cut out specific steps or deliverables and your clients see no diminution in their service, you are streamlining your product AND saving time and money.

6. Position differently. Add tiers. This is a bit harder than the rest, but the benefit is powerful. Take your offerings/products and re-package them. Add services, combine services, reduce services, move pricing around to sound advantageous and more specialized to the customer, while you save money (or increase fees). This strategy is frequently performed by many service industries in food and merchandise.

7. Change the packaging. A mainstay by manufacturers who dabble with size, weight, quantity, box, etc. Like positioning, you are altering the deliverable in some way to seem bigger, but in reality, it's less (or streamlined). Take a look at your product(s) and investigate how you can alter the packaging to give the appearance of delivering more to the customer.

Some of these suggestions are just suggestions — I'm not here advocating one over the other. Some are 'morally' better than others, but in the end, they're all viable alternatives to going out of business. In my 20+ years in marketing and advertising, these seven strategies are the most employed in the marketplace. Pick the one best for your business and charge more!

Can you think of any other one? I'd love to hear from YOU.

You're Not Charging Enough For Your Services.

The other day, I came across an old contract when I worked at <confidential> from a famous consultancy called <confidential> in NYC. The contract was signed prior to my employment and after 2 months, I fired the consultancy based on their incompetence with the project. I was amazed with the short and cavalier agreement and the associated fees for each service:

• Project Management: $39,800
• Creative Development: $45,025
• Website Development: $57,350
• Audio Production: $8,550
• Testing & Delivery: $27,350
• On-Site Production: $98,580
• Electronic Mail Campaign & Fulfillment: $5,875
• Recording Studio & Equipment Rental: $15,885

The Grand Total? $298,415 for approximately 2 months work building a simple web site with six hour-long webcasts. Oh by the way, the price doesn't include any changes/additions, overtime, hosting, travel expenses, or technology. That's extra. (I get the feeling they came up with the number and worked the financials back into logical groupings — again just a feeling)

Three-Hundred-Thousand-Dollars. Granted, the agreement was dated 2000, so in today's dollars, we're talking over $400K to build a simple site.

But I present this contract to you to illustrate one simple fact:

MOST PEOPLE DO NOT CHARGE ENOUGH FOR THEIR SERVICES.

Why? You're afraid of losing clients and scaring away any potential prospects.

Guess what? GOOD! You don't need to work with them! It's time for you to fully understand the value of your services and to get a better idea what the market will bear. What would happen if you increased your fees by 50%? 75%? or 100%? I know what would happen . . . it happened to me:

1. You would have less clients. You can then spend more quality time with your current client base.
2. You would have higher paying clients. People who are probably more successful.
3. You would have clients who are serious about working with you. You will be working with people who play better tennis, so you'll have to bring your 'A' game.
4. You would have clients you really want to work with. Charging more allows you to be picky and not just take anyone.
5. You would begin to build a long list of clients who demand your services.

Are there lines around the door when HTC releases a new phone? No. How about Apple? Absolutely. You need to be the Apple of your industry.

At first it's scary. Clients will bolt, they will complain. But new clients will appear and start telling their friends.

As an example, I have a client who was charging some of her clients $100-$125 per session. After much prodding on my part, she is now charging $200 per session, and her clients are telling their friends — and her appointment book is overflowing with new clients. (By the way, she just hit her all-time yearly revenue goal in 2016!)

I also coached another client who was feeling unappreciated in their current role. They have been delivering key improvements to the company for over five years (most making the annual report). But for some reason, they received no raise, promotion, or accolade from management. They tried to inquire, but were rebuffed time and time again. Ultimately, I had them look outside of the company and within a month, they had a brand new position at a bigger firm with an increase in pay of 20%.

Raise your prices with chutzpah and the clients will line up at your door.

P.S. I'm not a hard-liner on this. I do coach two pro-bono clients every month. So there.

Never Listen To The 'Experts'.

Just listened to one of my favorite podcasts this morning — How I Built This. They hosted Manoj Bhargava, the man who invented the 5-Hour Energy Drink. Manoj is a self-made man who started his career driving a $300 dump truck hauling away construction garbage. Now he's a billionaire dedicated to donate 99% of his estate to help the world. There were a number of powerful statements that caught my ear. Here are a few:

"You have to be totally determined - I hate the word passionate. If you get hit, passion tends to fade. Determination - if you get hit 20 times, you get up again." Everyone has a passion. Many people leave their jobs and start their own business based on that passion. Some do well, most don't. Manoj is spot on — passion will only take you so far, determination will pick you up when you fall down. TAKEAWAY: Drive, determination, and tenacity will help you build you a successful business.

"It's not rocket science. If you use common sense, you're in great shape. If you use experts, you're in so much trouble." I find this quote so fitting to my profession, being a Business Performance Coach. So many times I'm asked by prospective clients, "Do you have a lot of experience in my industry?" I usually say, "No, I don't. But it doesn't matter." Most businesspeople want 'experts' who know their industry and can give them the 'secrets of their success'. Unfortunately, most of the time, these experts are people who tried their hand in that industry and failed, that's why they're not doing it anymore. As a coach who uses 'common sense', I am looking at your situation from the outside in, a completely different perspective from where you are. I keep it simple and focus on the basics — that's usually where the problems hide. TAKEAWAY: "Experts are great for telling you what not to do. But what you should do? They haven't a clue."

"You've got to figure that out. How hard can it be? I'll figure it out." I love Manoj's simple way of attacking a complex problem. He makes the complex, simple — the gargantuan, a series of small steps. Sit down, get a piece of paper and map out the steps you have to do and the people you have to see. It's that simple. TAKEAWAY: Dive right in and attack. Don't over-think it.

"If these guys can come up with this, I can do better." Just because someone has done something, it doesn't make them geniuses — they just did it first. I love his philosophy and drive — I can do it too. TAKEAWAY: You can do it better if you just try.

"Most people who have invented great things didn't have a background in that area." They didn't follow the 'rules' of the experts. Again, they are thinking from outside of the bubble and not beholden to a series of arcane rules — in fact, they're the rule-breakers. TAKEAWAY: Be a rule-breaker.

P.S. If you want work with a coach who uses common sense and sticks to the basics,  Let’s talk. I’ve work with people from all over the world who want to play a bigger game — call me to schedule a free session.

I Need To Have A Serious Conversation With You . . .

It's Friday — time to talk about the big things in life. I've been coaching for 15+ years and I frequently recognize certain situations and problems clients run into time and time again. I thought I would document some today . . .

1. Stay in the present.

If you live in the future, you will get anxious — if you live in the past, you will get depressed. Generally, you have eight sleep hours, eight work hours, and eight personal hours — focus on what's in front of you. It's the only thing that you have the power to change or to shape or to use. It's your canvas. It's your material. So use it well.

2. Your happiness is not something to pursue — it is a by-product of doing the right thing. 

So many people try to 'attain' happiness — and then get frustrated when it slips through their fingers. Try to focus on whatever the right thing is - and happiness will follow. Angry at yourself that you got nothing done during the day? Maybe it's because you slept in late, you spent your workday surfing fun sites, and had an overly-long lunch.

On the surface, each of these behaviors should make you 'happy' — but I've found that when I'm feeling most depressed, its usually based on actions I either did or (more importantly) did not do. Don't hunt for happiness — it will come when you do the right things.

3. You've been sold a fake idea of what success really is.

You're being played — everyday, everywhere. On TV, the street, when talking with friends or family - it seems like everyone confuses the concept of rewards with success itself.

When it comes to money, fame, recognition, praise, the rewards usually belong to someone else. That's wrong. Think of success as sustained effort of will. It begins and ends with YOU, and no one else. NO  ONE  ELSE.

Think of any goal you may have — say, you've always wanted to be a highly successful businessperson. Close your eyes and imagine it. What does that look like?

I guarantee you're thinking about big offices with lots of people buzzing around, jetting off to far-away lands for lunch meetings,  and being interviewed by Fast Company, Forbes, or the Wall Street Journal.

In reality —  you're fantasizing about BEING a great businessperson and not actually doing the work to become a great businessperson. This thinking is deceiving because it places the emphasis on passive recognition over active, sustained effort.

If you shift your focus onto your own actions and the more you create a sustained effort, the more likely rewards will follow.

It's that simple.

P.S. Are you caught in one of these three traps? Let’s talk. I’ve worked with people from all over the world who wanted to take aggressive steps in their career — call me to schedule a complimentary session.

The Quote That Will Change Your Life.

The great Jim Rohn once said: "Success is a few simple disciplines, practiced every day — while failure is simply a few errors in judgment, repeated every day."

Now step back and look at what you do every day. What actions or people move you forward? What actions or people keep you back?

Stop being a baby — you absolutely know your bad behaviors. Surfing on your laptop, overly long and gossipy conversations with ineffectual people, doing the same busywork that you know won't get you business. And the worst — hanging around people who are also fumbling their careers.

Conversely — you absolutely know every good action and person who can move you forward. At light speed.

You're just too afraid to reach out and ask them. Or just take the action that scares you silly.

When I coach my clients, we have these conversations frequently — ME: "Why don't you just call them?" THEM: "I can't do that! I wouldn't know what to say!" ME: "Yes you would - just make the call." THEM: "They don't want to hear from me!"

And so it goes — and I ultimately break down all of their excuses until they make the call. And guess what — they get the business. Or they meet someone they would only dream of meeting. It happens every day.

Today — I want you to start improving your positive disciplines — pick a few and DO them. You'll be surprised how fast your luck changes.

You're Going To HATE What I Have To Say.

"I'm Going To Change Your Life In One Easy Step!" I get emails like this all the time. Personalities who say they will radically change your life instantly. All you have to do is believe (and spend $195, $795, 0r $8995) and you will get the secret to the riches of the universe without lifting a finger.

I just received another one today:  "Rewire your mindset to become unbeatable!" "Grow your financial fortune!" "Get ultra-fit and feel better than ever before!" "Achieve all the goals you never could achieve before!"

It's magic! And if you send them your money, they will change your life! Of course, they are highly successful, jetting around the world, filming videos in really cool places. So they must know the secret!

I get together with a number of high-level coaches each month and we are a bit perplexed with the success of these people who sell 21st century snake oil. Don't people get it? Here are some immutable rules of life:

1. Change doesn't happen overnight. It took you a long time to get where you are and it will take a little bit of determined work to get you where you want to be. Yes, you can 'change your mindset' — but the journey will be long, hard, and you will have to gird yourself against falling back into old routines.
2. You won't make seven figures right out of the gate. Unless you have a foolproof hair-growth formula (I'll buy it), incremental gains will only occur if you make the right decisions, at the right time, and deliver a powerful product/service that a lot of people see and want to buy.
3. You won't look like Ryan Gosling instantly. I don't know what 'ultra-fit' means, but after speaking with my personal trainer, it takes months/years to get (and stay) 'ultra-fit'.

Here's my 'secret' prescription for change:

• You need a roadmap. If you don't know where you are and where you want to go, you're going to fail. You also need a step-by-step plan of tasks and activities to get you there.
• You will need to focus. Don't get distracted by shiny objects — it will be hard to stay on track and not veer off into uncharted territory where you might get demotivated.
• You are going to test your limits of confidence and work. It's going to be hard at times — you will have to push yourself more than you ever have before.
• You are going to have to be open to change a few key things in your life. Bad habits and decisions are hard to break — you have to chart a new course and stay on it.
• You are going to make many mistakes along the way. It's a fact of business — take chances and you might fail. It's how you stand up and keep going.
• You are going to have to make a LOT of new friends. You have to reach out farther than you ever have before — meet people who are scary — make hundreds of new friends.
• You need a little luck. Yes, luck. Luck appears when you open yourself up to new opportunities, options, and friends. And you cast away bad habits and procrastination.

Think of the new successful tier of business - Tim Cook (Apple), Brin & Page (Google), Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook), Jack Ma (Alibaba), etc. They all have and currently work quite hard at their roles to get and stay where they are today. Want to be highly successful? Want to be a star? You have to work it.

"There's no such thing as a free lunch."

Is Your Business Under The Weather?

Most businesses today have a fatal flaw that will take down their entire client base. It’s the fear of doing something . . . anything . . . NEW. They know it ‘might’ fail — so they do nothing.

I’m here to tell you that doing nothing (most of the time) is worse than failing. Why?

Let me give you an example:

Let’s say you’re quite sick. Now many people will disregard the symptoms, say they are not sick — because they feel that the diagnosis or the treatment will be worse or possibly hurt them more than the illness. So they do nothing. What they don’t understand is that the initial reason why they are sick is not being addressed — and it will slowly grow to infect other parts of their body.

Now if they just tried one type of treatment or just went to the doctor and asked for a complete work-up, they would at least make a positive move forward in treating their sickness. Let’s say it failed – they should try something else. And something else — ad infinitum — until they felt better.

I did this with a recurring allergy. I first went to my general practitioner who gave me LOTS of pills. Nothing happened. So I went to a specialist. They took tests (63 pokes of a needle) and also gave me LOTS of pills. I got a little better, but then it came back. I then finally tried an old, but simple cure (a Neti Pot). Guess what? It worked. And I feel GREAT.

It’s like business. People will just act like nothing is wrong and “stay the course” while they see their clients and profits drain away. The problem is that they are afraid of taking any action — it might be wrong — it might worsen the situation — they might lose the business.

But at the end of the day, they need to understand that what is making their business sick can be cured. Here’s the simple process:

1. Realize that you’re sick. You might get better, but you’re probably going to get sicker. And sicker. And then die.
2. Understand why you’re sick. Get a good diagnosis. Find out what the causal elements are — Get the facts. Work with a partner or coach.
3. Take action. Make a list of possible treatments — list them by how much effort (time, money, resources) they will take and what impact they will make.
4. Pick one and take action . . . NOW. Accountability is key.

It’s that simple. As Nike says: “Just Do It.”

How Agile Are You?

"50% of occupations in corporations today will no longer exist by 2025." — from Fast Forward 2030: The Future of Work and the Workplace In less than 10 years, we're going to see a massive landscape change in companies, organizational structures, and even customer wants and needs. To succeed you need to be flexible, innovate, and be agile.

For example, 10 years ago, Steve Jobs walked out on stage and introduced the iPhone. At that moment, we couldn't even comprehend how smartphones took over our lives. We now have instantaneous access to a multitude of abilities only dreamed of a few years ago. Thousands of companies have sprung up that deliver physical and virtual products for our smartphones — and they're making billions (Instagram, Snapchat, etc.).

And guess what — it's only going to move faster and faster. So we need to come up with another way of anticipating change, observing the landscape, orient where we fit in, make a quick decision, and take action. We don't have time for five-year plans anymore — we need to cull them down to one-year plans and quarterly updates.

I have a solution for you. It's called the OODA Loop. Developed by military strategist and United States Air Force Colonel John Boyd, the OODA Loop was applied to the combat operations process, often at the strategic level in military operations.

The phrase OODA loop refers to the decision cycle of observe, orient, decide, and act — the approach favors agility over raw power in dealing with human opponents in any endeavor.

In fact, decisions occurs in a recurring agile cycle of observe-orient-decide-act (OODA):

• Observe - What's happening? What's changing? Who's growing? Who's shrinking? OPEN YOUR EYES.
• Orient - Where are you? What is your position in the marketplace? Where do you need to go? Who do you need to engage? SET A FIRM FOUNDATION, SEE WHERE YOU ARE AND WHERE YOU NEED TO GO.
• Decide - Once all facts are in - make a quick decision. Don't prevaricate or procrastinate. DECIDE & STICK TO IT.
• Act - Take action - do what you need to do, see who you need to see, meet who you need to meet, spend what you have to spend. MOVE FORWARD.

If an individual or an organization can process this cycle quickly, observing and reacting to unfolding events more rapidly than the competition — they can "get inside" the competition's longer decision cycle and gain the advantage.

In the next 5-10 years, new jobs will require increased creative abilities, social and emotional intelligence and the ability to leverage AI. Those jobs will be immensely more fulfilling than today’s jobs which are mostly centered on recurring activities with tedious paperwork and red tape.

So if you want to succeed in business — try the OODA method. It works.

The Best Tool To Communicate Effectively With Your Manager.

Everyone has a manager/boss. Even if you are in business on your own, someone is out there plucking the puppet strings of your career. I work with a myriad of people who have incredible success and terrible issues with their manager. Some bosses are insane, some are saints, some are psychotic, and some are surprisingly normal.

One area I find where most people begin to see the cracks appear in their relationship concerns how they communicate with their manager.

Healthy, regular communication will always ameliorate any potential situation, ensure problems are addressed, and steps are taken in a reasonable amount of time.

Things go wrong when people forget two-way communication resembles a tug-of-war with a huge rope. When one side doesn’t communicate and pulls away, the other side needs to fill the void, take up the slack, and increase their communication.

So how do you do it? Here are some simple rules:

1. Regular — schedule it on their calendar; meet with them (face to face) to discuss what’s happening.
2. Short — make it a 10-15 minute meeting; the shorter, the better — focus on the tactical.
3. Stick to business — cover what you’re working on and discuss next steps. Use an update sheet (1 page) to document what is discussed.

Here’s a great email/paper template I offer to my clients (Rule: Only 1 Page):

1. Accomplishments (from last week):

• Accomplishment 1 (keep each bullet point short)
• Accomplishment 2 (keep it less than 5-7 words)
• Accomplishment 3 (easy to scan)

2. Activities for this week:

• Project 1 (projects to be completed this week)
• Project 2
• Project 3

3. Long-Term Projects (in the near future):

• Project – Due Date (must have due dates)
• Project – Due Date
• Project – Due Date

4. Concerns & Issues:

• Issue 1 (talk about obstacles)
• Issue 2 (come with solutions)
• Issue 3

This template allows you to document your progress and ensure there are no crossed expectations about what you do and what your manager wants you to do. In addition, when you have 52 of these sheets in a binder, reviews go so much easier because you have a syllabus of accomplishments to choose from.

If you meet regularly with your manager (say weekly) for 10-15 minutes and use the recommended template, your relationship will strengthen and soar.

I've even suggested this template for attorneys to keep their clients up-to-date on their progress. It actually helps when their retainer runs out and the client asks 'what have you been doing?' — you now have a weekly documented process to bypass these uncomfortable conversations (and ultimately when you discount your fees because they're angry).

What do you use to update your manager/client on your progress?

Do Whatever It Takes.

If you read Stop Playing In The Kiddie Pool the other day, you got a harsh introduction into running your business. You need to be SERIOUS, COMMITTED, & FEARLESS in yourself and your business. This is a 'Part Two' to that article. When people run a race or push themselves when they exercise, they tend to hit a physical and mental wall that tells them to stop running or exercising. They're too tired, they are over-taxing their body, or they might be close to passing out.

Physically, that might be true — there are many tell-tale signs (heart rate, breathing, etc.) that will tell you you're getting close. What's funny is that your brain usually takes over and tells you way before that you should stop. In fact, your body can go a lot longer than you think — check out this podcast — it opened my eyes!

When it comes to business and your mental state — many of us tend to give up when the going gets tough or when things get out of focus and we're afraid to make the next decision.

We are afraid to make a tough decision, spend money, hire a service — we get paralyzed. And we make no decision. We tell ourselves, "No decision is better than a bad decision." Unfortunately, that's not true.

Let's look at my simple decision matrix:

• Make the decision and it's good - Congratulations! Now make another. And another.
• Make the decision and it's totally wrong - Too bad! Now turn around and move in the other direction.
• Make the decision and it's partly wrong - You're going in the right direction, just recalibrate your angle.

In all three situations, you have to make a decision. In today's business world, no decision, no movement, and no action is bad for your business. Doing the same thing, the same way, with the same resources and moving nowhere is a prescription for failure. Someone else is going to come along and do it better, faster, and cheaper.

In the Welcome Packet I send to new clients, on the cover I have one of my quotes: “If you’re not continually reinventing yourself, your company, or your brand, it’s only a matter of time before you become obsolete, irrelevant, and end up in the bargain bin.”

So hire that new person, engage with that branding firm, move to a bigger office, or take out that needed business loan. Big businesses become big by taking chances and trusting their instincts.

As Walt Disney said so many years ago, “Around here, however, we don't look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we're curious...and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”

Keep moving forward.

My Gift To YOU.

During this holiday season, I want you to spend some time and relax. Don't think about work, politics, the economy . . . anything. What do I want you to do? Those things that make life special — spend time with friends and family, read a good book, watch a fun video, catch that movie you've been wanting to see. Every year, I take off the last two weeks of December to do a few things:

• Relax - Sit back, enjoy my tea by the wood stove.
• Meditate - Take time out each day to reflect and be grateful.
• Plan - Brainstorm new ideas for my practice and life.

To help YOU relax, I've linked to some of my favorite books, videos, and music I've experienced this year. ENJOY!

BOOKS

The Graveyard Book By Neil Gaiman In The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman has created a charming allegory of childhood. Check out the Audible version too - read by Neil Gaiman - one of the best narrators around.

Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers by Tim Ferriss I love Tim Ferriss' podcast. Even though he has the best guests with incredible advice, I don't have time to take copious notes while listening. This book is a great resource for reviewing the critical things said without having to scroll through hours of audio.

The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday A treasure for managing our choices, overcoming self-deception, and learning to act according to the true worth of things while keeping the common good always in view. Caring for the soul in this way makes not only better people, but a stronger society too.

VIDEOS

Innovative Leadership: Scott Galloway (start at the 4:00 mark) One of the World Economic Forum’s Global Leaders of Tomorrow, which recognizes 100 individuals whose accomplishments have had impact on a global level, his video series Winners & Losers, has garnered the attention of viewers globally. If you like this - you can watch this one too.

One Day Builds: Adam Savage Makes Something Wonderful from Scratch Watch Adam build, from start to finish, a stylized box to carry and display his Blade Runner Blaster prop replica. The entire project took less than one day to complete, and Adam narrates this video with commentary about his design and construction methods.

Cam Closer One of the scariest short videos on YouTube today. I love this stuff!

The Birth Of A Wooden House This is a documentary movie uncovering the process of building a wooden house with mostly hand tools from (as much as possible) local natural materials starting from forest till the living space.

The World In 2050 - Dr. Peter Diamandis Co-Founder of Singularity University and Founder of the X-Prize - United States of America - He shared insights on how bright the future looks and what are the trends that will shape the world as we know it in the next 25 years.

MUSIC

Shakey Graves - Roll the Bones - Audiotree Live First Aid Kit - America (Live at Polar Music Prize) Maggie Rogers - Alaska Dan Auerbach - Goin' Home Caravan Palace - Rock It For Me (live at Le Trianon, Paris) Sigur Ros "Untitled 3"

See you in 2017!

How To Get Out Of A Rut And Get Set For 2017.

2016 — Banner year or Bummer year? Not doing what you really want to be doing? Not getting the 'right' type of clients? Does your boss drive you up the wall?

Sometimes we get in a rut. Sometimes it's a cavern. Here are some tips to help you get out of that rut and set the stage for an unbelievable 2017:

It's never that bad.

We tend to over-dramatize our situation. We obsess, worry, and focus on the negative to the point where it's looks insurmountable. Granted, sometimes it's really that bad. Most of the time — it's tough to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Solution: Bad and Good are cyclical. If you're in a rut, it usually takes a few quick actions to turn the situation around. If you just lost your best client, you need to get off your butt and get out there and visit all of your current, past, and future clients. Don't sit and mope — make a decision and take action. If you have a bad boss — time to see if you can change the dynamic in some way — communicate more effectively, be more appreciative, anticipate their needs. If you can't do that — it's time to look for new digs. Check out this book.

Take small steps.

When things are bad, we want to get out of that rut ASAP. We want big things to happen, quickly. We want to buy that lottery ticket that delivers $250 million. Unfortunately, life rarely delivers a big enough boon to elevate you out of your chasm.

Solution: Take small steps, keep repeating every day, and be consistent, regular, and unwavering. Why? First off, small steps are easy — big steps are hard. Small steps are recoverable in case you take the wrong step, you can easily step back and change direction. Small steps build upon one another and deliver an inner momentum and confidence big steps will never deliver. Check out this book.

Be positive.

When things are dark and gloomy — we tend to be de-motivated, enervated, and depressed. We're Johnny Raincloud to all of our colleagues, friends, and clients. It shows — everyone notices and candidly, they don't want to be around you.

Solution: Find the internal mindset or external environment to get you in a positive, energetic frame of mind. Nothing good ever happens to a cranky person — turn that frown upside down (I had to say it), and start envisioning where you need to go and what you need to do. Meditate, relax, go for a walk, take a mental health day — do something to change the dynamic. Check out this book.

Take the stairs.

It doesn't happen overnight. To get in a rut, it usually takes a number of bad things to happen over an extended period of time. You might have lost that huge client, but in retrospect, you probably sealed your fate months ago by not communicating or making a serious mistake.

Solution: It's going to be hard — I'm not going to sugarcoat it. You need to work harder everyday to not only make up the yardage you've lost, but to overcome your fears and push yourself to do even better. But if you stay positive, take small steps, and realize that your situation is temporary, you'll find your hard journey upwards rewarding and invigorating. Check out this book.

If you try each of these suggestions, I promise you will not only get out of your rut, you will have an UNBELIEVABLE 2017.

Treading Water Is The Same As Drowning.

Many people today feel they are just 'one bad decision away' from losing their job or business. So instead of making decisions, they make NO decision. Or if they have to make a decision, they take the least offensive, least impactful, least expensive, and most spineless way out. Most of the time, that's the wrong thing to do.

What happens? You ensure management is happy while you infuriate your staff, vendors, and smart clients.

Who thinks big and takes chances? Apple.

• In 1998 — they launched the iMac without a floppy disk drive ("How will we transfer files?).
• In 2007 — they launched the iPhone - no experience (joining the fray with huge, entrenched leaders).
• In 2010 — they launched the MacBook Air without a DVD drive ("How will I watch movies?").
• In 2016 — they launched a new MacBook Pro with 4 USB-C ports ("How will I connect my stuff?).

Each time the media made fun of them and pundits attacked. One year later, everyone embraced the change and moved forward. The result? One of the biggest companies on the planet with a product line admired by all.

To move up and to be noticed by the people that matter, you need to be bold and sometimes stick your neck out. You might hit a home run (most of the time) and sometimes, you might get it cut off (rarely).

That's why I suggest to my clients that they all have INSURANCE. For example:

• An up-to-date résumé, done by a professional, ready to be distributed at a moment's notice.
• A polished and professional LinkedIn page, with recent professional headshot, testimonials, etc.
• Actively networking and connecting with movers and shakers outside of your sphere.
• Learning new things about your industry, taking classes, reading books and writing about what you learn.
• Attending events (industry symposiums, charities, etc.).
• Finally, hire a coach — they help you perform at your peak and help you make the tough decisions.

Once you have those things in your back pocket, it's not that hard to make the tough decisions that need to be made.

Here's a powerful scene with John Goodman (it's a bit rough with the language — but you'll get the gist):

My Best Practice to Get 100x Results.

A lot of people ask me — "Rich, how can you be so happy all the time?" "How do you get on your coaching calls at 6 AM with vigor?" "How do you do it?" I have a secret. And it's time I let you in on it.

No — it's not medication.

It's a book. A book that I use every morning and evening.

A book that helps me in the morning center myself to prepare for the day ahead and to easily reflect in the evening.

It's called The Five Minute Journal. And it's GREAT. Why? Because it takes 5 minutes to fill out.

It's easy. It's fast. And it WORKS.

Every morning, I get up, take a shower, get dressed and sit on my deck and fill out the top part of the page. I read the inspiring quote to get me in the right frame of mind and then quickly list three things I am grateful for today. It could be my health, my family, my marriage, my home, my work, etc.

I then list three things that would make today GREAT. What could I do to make the day more powerful, more inspiring, and where I can touch and change people's lives.

Finally, I write down two affirmations about myself — to help me build and maintain my self-esteem throughout the day.

That's it. Again, it only takes a few minutes — but it feels like I've filled up my enthusiasm gas tank for the day.

In the evening, before I go to bed, I sit at my desk and fill out the bottom part of the page:

• 3 Amazing Things That Happened Today — this allows me to reflect and better understand the power of the world around me and how I fit into it.
• How Could I Have Made Today Even Better — this is the self-improvement part — how could I have been more focused, less frustrated, more helpful, or less sarcastic, etc.

Why does it work for me? Because it stops me first thing in the morning and makes me focus in on what's really important in my life. It then catches me before I go to bed to reflect on my whole day.

The best part? The repetition of doing it every day starts to build my motivational, mental, and philosophical muscles. Every time I do it, I feel myself getting stronger. I feel myself becoming a better person who can better help the people around me.

And that's what it's all about. Get one HERE.

When Things Don't Go Your Way.

It's been a crazy week. Heck, it's been a crazy year. Many people I know are quite unsettled. Business is unsettled. The markets are unsettled. A large portion of our electorate voted for the runner-up, a larger portion voted for the president-elect, and an even larger portion stayed home and didn't vote*.

But I'm absolutely sure one of three things will happen — it's going to get better, worse, or stay the same.

What am I telling my clients? Don't freak out and keep your eyes open. See where things are going and act accordingly. But most of all . . . ACT. Don't get mad, don't get too excited, and most of all, don't shut down.

When things don't go your way, we tend to get frustrated, sometimes angry, and we shut down. This happened to me early in my practice when I was approached to provide a massive amount of leadership training to an organization. From a good friend on the inside, it sounded like a 'done-deal'. I have to come in, show my curriculum, and if they like me, it's GOING to happen. A Sure Thing.

Guess what? They LOVED me. Everyone in the room could not get enough of me. They glowed so much, they had me back in to tighten the requirements, collect their input, and deliver a close approximation of what needs to happen.

I presented my proposal with pricing. They took it with a smile — and then — crickets. Nothing for a week — no call, email, text — nothing. I then called them a number of times and finally got my 'friend' who informed me that based on my proposal, curriculum, and pricing, they were totally rethinking their focus. Somehow, they realized that they might be going down the wrong road with their 200 high-potential executives and it's going to take 3-6 months for them to reassess.

Was I frustrated? Absolutely! In fact, I had to call my wife (I love her so much) and vent for 15 minutes. She helped me calm down, put together a cogent plan and MOVE FORWARD. I didn't shut down, I didn't stay angry, and I didn't do anything rash.

In fact, I took my personal curriculum and proposal and I proceeded to present it to many of my other clients. And guess what?

I received twice the amount of business I would've from my recalcitrent client. Go figure.

So when things don't go your way, don't get angry, don't shut down — step back, re-evaluate, and move forward ASAP.

*Based on the electoral college final tallies. Not the pure total vote. I get it.

Be Silly Today.

 "None of us are getting out of here alive, so please stop treating yourself like an afterthought. Eat the delicious food. Walk in the sunshine. Jump in the ocean. Say the truth that you’re carrying in your heart like hidden treasure. Be silly. Be kind. Be weird. There’s no time for anything else." — Christopher Walken I've never opened an article with Christopher Walken (even though I love him), but I found this quote so inspiring for a Friday.

Too often we don't do the things we REALLY want to do, because we're too busy, too focused (or un-focused), or it's just not the 'right' thing to do.

When I worked in corporate, I found myself sometimes being silly — I'd sing, I'd dance, I'd smile and wholeheartedly greet people in the hallway. In the back of my head, I probably hurt my chances for advancement with the more serious executives, but I feel I left an impression on the rest that is maintained to this day.

My older brothers told me many years ago that I will be spending a full third of my life working. I can either enjoy it or dread it. I chose to enjoy it. That's why I start all of my coaching calls, educational moments, and workshops with a outrageously hearty 'Good Morning!' or 'Hello There!'.

I try to hug people more to fully project my excitement about seeing them. I smile when they talk and take an active interest in what they have to say.

It might be silly or weird — but not only do I embrace my joy of life, other people frequently ask, "Who was that guy?" When I do it, I hope I've brought a little sunshine to their life too.

What Do I Need To Do To Move UP?

People ask me all the time for advice — I frequently answer questions on Reddit, Quora, and LinkedIn to a mix of executives, business owners, and job seekers. The other day, a potential client sent me a set of questions — so instead of just sending them to him, I thought I'd let you all in on how I responded:

"Hey, Rich. I'm pretty well focused on my goals and have a pathway to achieve — It's more about assessing next steps in the corporate world, such as what do I need to do to become a CMO for a mid-size company in 4 years. What classes and skills are requisite? Speaking engagements? What projects should have I lead? Whom should I create a relationship with? What personal habits should I break, etc? What is size of P&L I should run? Do you have an example of how you help executives at major companies reach their professional goals?"

To your questions — broadly — one needs experience, knowledge, gravitas, tools, communication skills, connections and exposure to become a CMO. Let me cover each one and I'll include your questions:

Experience

You need a requisite amount of experience to become a CMO. It's not 'how many years', it's more about how many areas do you feel comfortable in the marketing arena? I come from a marketing background — you need creative, technical, statistical, client, financial and communication experience to make CMO. You need to know all the areas you will manage — so many newly minted CMO's who hit the top rung usually are lacking in many of these areas and it shows in their performance. I'm not saying you need to be an expert in all areas — although you should have leveraged each one during your career.

Knowledge

It's what you know. Where has the industry been and where is it going? What is your competition doing? Where has your company failed and succeeded? What CAN you do to move forward? Knowledge is power and when you're at the pinnacle of your organization, you need to have a adequate grounding in the past, present, and future of your industry. People will be looking up to you and it's imperative that you have a good base to lead them forward. Or, surround yourself with people who do.

Gravitas (Leadership)

Leadership happens instantly. You can't train for it — I can tell a novice a mile away by how they comport themselves in certain situations and with people. Guess what — your people can too. You need to clearly develop good leadership behaviors with positive engagement, enthusiasm, energy, and motivation. Unfortunately, gravitas comes with time — if you compare me with my 35 year old me, you will instantly see how cool, calm, and collected I am during critical situations.

Management Tools & Techniques

It's what you know. Most people aren't open to better ways of doing things. "I've done it this way for years" is the death knell of any job or business because something better or someone faster comes along. As with knowledge, you need to re-assess your toolbox of tool and techniques and see if they're still effective and motivating. Bottom line, as a CMO, you need to leverage many motivational, time-management, and process-driven skills to stay at the top and succeed.

Communication Skills

If you've been a doer (worker-bee) during your career, you need to ramp up your interpersonal communication skills. I've worked with and seen many C-Level people who are incredible at getting things done, but suck at getting people to help them. When you approach the big positions, it's less doing and more communicating. In fact, it hinges on evangelizing. You need to inspire the people around you and help you achieve your vision for the future. If you aren't communicating effectively, you will lose the troops who will make that happen.

Also, you should be speaking ALL THE TIME. Sample topic: Where will your type of marketing/industry be in 5/10 years?

Connections & Exposure

You should connect with key people in (and outside) of your organization. Connections are the currency of influence and success when you want to become a CMO. Marketing needs the assistance of every other department in your organization, so it's imperative that you develop critical connections to ensure a smooth flow of information, assistance, and resources. The more 'friends' you acquire, the more currency you have to spend when you need to lean on them for a favor.

Get out of your bubble. So many people tend to stay and communicate with the same 10 people regularly. You need to build your connections and get out and meet better tennis players who play better tennis.

I can go SO much deeper with each area - but I wanted to give you a brief intro on what you need to do to move up.

Why Retirement Is NOT An Option.

I read a wonderful article in Newsweek the other day — "More Senior Americans Are Working Past Retirement, Willingly" (link). There was a powerful quote from Dr. Leonard Bailey, a 74 year-old heart surgeon who still puts in 80-90 hour weeks and has no plans to retire, "There’s no reason to stop. If you’re constantly thinking new thoughts and dealing with new problems, it refreshes your brain cells and makes new connections."

I LOVE IT. That's the way I am. Even my Dad, who retired after 40+ years working for Electrolux, was asked back by management to keep working because they couldn't find a replacement who knew his job. So he worked an additional 10 years (7 AM-12 Noon) and deftly stayed out of my Mom's hair.

Let's break Dr. Bailey's quote down to not only understand it, but to apply it to our own lives:

"There’s no reason to stop."

There really isn't. Retirement is a societally imposed situation that rips out a major part of our life. Work is a part of our life, our personality, our being and it contributes to the 'adequacy' of our being. I constantly tell clients — you generally sleep 8 hours, you work 8 hours, and you spend 8 hours on personal time. Work is a big part of your life for many, many years. Why stop?

I'm not saying keep putting in 80-90 hours per week, but you can power-down slowly. Ask to only work 4-day weeks and reduce your pay accordingly. Then 3-day weeks. Then 2-day weeks. You get the picture.

"If you’re constantly thinking new thoughts and dealing with new problems"

When was the last time you really sat down and brainstormed about your career or business? Really separated yourself and 'thought new thoughts' about your situation, your position, your industry, your client base and all the people around you?

When was the last time you stopped thinking about your 'problems' and started addressing them as 'challenges'? Carlos Casteneda said, "The difference between  a warrior and an ordinary man is that a warrior sees everything as a challenge, while an ordinary man sees everything as either a blessing or a curse." Start being that warrior in life.

"It refreshes your brain cells and makes new connections"

If you keep the flow of new ideas, new challenges, new people, and new activities in your life, it will refresh your brain and make new connections. If you exercise the muscle — it will get stronger.

Keep working, keep meeting new people, keep stretching your comfort zone, keep learning, and most of all keep making it happen.

What Millennials Need To Know To Survive In Today's Marketplace.

There is no job for life anymore.  Years ago, you studied, you went to college, you were a good boy/girl, you got a job, you worked in that job, you received raises/promotions, you retired with a pension, and you died.

No more.

It's WAY different out there not only for millennials, but for all workers.

The World Economic Forum has a new report out listing some of the areas of the world, industry and techniques to help workers succeed in today's marketplace. Here are some highlights:

• The job for life model is dead.
• There is a need to retool yourself and you should not expect to stop.
• We need a generation of workers who are hungry to learn and eager to keep pace with the times.
• Organizations across industries will look for curious, flexible, data-driven minds.
• Offer solid development opportunities which will instill the loyalty we’ve seen erode over the last few decades.
• Millennials will work hard if you develop the skills they need to advance and improve their long-term career prospects.

Bottom line — individuals, companies and even nations will see their skillsets become outdated. Technological change is a top global challenge — it is going to require extraordinary effort to keep pace. You need to integrate continuous learning into your workday — millennial, gen-x, gen-y, or even a boomer.

Take a class, learn online, play with KhanAcademy.com, read a book, listen to podcasts, audit lectures — DO SOMETHING.

I am encouraged by the attitude of younger workers who have set their sights on a regular and relentless pursuit of learning.

Check out the report here.

Are You A Warrior?

"The basic difference between an ordinary man and a warrior is that a warrior takes everything as a challenge, while an ordinary man takes everything as a blessing or as a curse." — Carlos Castenada Whether you're a man or woman, business-owner or corporate executive, young or old, life is programmed to throw a lot of obstacles in your path.

Work is just a series of problems that require someone to solve them in an efficient, timely, and cost-effective manner. Many people tend to worry, obsess, and outright fear certain outcomes from their daily work life.

Candidly, you're not going into an arena at the Colosseum to fight another warrior to the death. You might be pitching a new prospect and there's the fear of losing that account. I've been there.

2016 (as proposals go) sucked for me so far. Two major clients who REACHED OUT TO ME for my workshop skills asked for a number of different proposals to have me run events for their associates. In both instances, they ran me through multiple hoops to hone my proposal, tighten my pricing, and deliver the perfect solution to grow their organization.

Guess what? At the last minute, they pull out (for a number of reasons) and either cancel or go with another provider. (By the way — this is pro-forma for most businesses).

Now did I complain? Did I whine? Did I get mad? Did I curse my existence?

NO. I took the warrior's path and looked at it like a challenge. I had to step up my game.

Not only did I revamp my entire selling presentation structure, I reviewed my proposal template (and changed it), and developed a series of beautifully designed brochures as leave-behinds (to further cement my reputation once I left the room).

In addition, I re-doubled my efforts with all of my prospects and hit them twice as hard with TLC and many new ideas for in-house workshops. I WILL GET BUSINESS FROM THEM.

I keep coming back to an old movie I saw many years ago — Door To Door with William H. Macy: "Patience and Persistence will win anyone over in the end."

I didn't whine. I didn't complain. By the way, do you want to know something interesting about complaining?

“The only thing complaining does is convince other people that you are not in control.”

The Warrior is in control. I promise you I will host many more workshops this year compared to past years.

And that's a promise. Be The Warrior.