Speaking with my father over the break, he said 'the business seems to be a lot healthier this year Mike. What do you think the turning point was?'
Dad's right. The business is much healthier. The question of what the turning point was is more challenging to answer. But with a bit of thought, reflection and planning for the year ahead, here are a few breakthroughs I found which I hope will help propel you forward this year.
1. Give Credit. Whether you're quoting someone in a presentation, white paper or article, congratulating a team member on a job well done or sincerely complimenting a client for their well earned success, giving credit costs you nothing, and if delivered well creates great returns.
2. Take Credit. Both financially, and for milestones achieved. Taking a microloan for the business was a way of backing the business, and myself. As with all credit, paying it back quickly is not only financially smart, but the responsible thing to do. Taking credit was trickier, but given we've all got access to self generate more PR now, you're denying yourself earned exposure if you do. This is such a vital point, I'll give it a blog and book chapter of it's own.
3. Stick With It. Yep, plain old fashioned persistence at sticking with the stuff that matters. Might not sound so sexy, but sticking at your marketing plan, staying with your challenging project or standing by a tough decision when others would quit is often where true leverage lies.
4. Let Go. As a marketing mentor of mine,
John Eggen wisely said, 'successful people don't do everything on their to do list.' Same goes for respectfully letting clients, leads, outdated strategies or beliefs, bad investments, and sometimes even team members go.
5. Get In Front Of Bigger Players. This is about honing your target market and finding every opportunity to speak, train, coach, sell, question, prod, promote and listen to them. You don't need to be a speaker, coach or trainer to do these by the way. But it helps to ask intelligent questions and
always listen to them. Think of this as more than just being polite or good PR, but due diligence and respect for both players.
These are only some of the lessons I learned last year, but they certainly made a difference. As did constantly marketing, taking more calculated risks, learning to say no, taking setbacks on the chin, knowing what to outsource and what to keep in house, increasing online and offline profile, and a plethora of other contributing factors.
What about you? What lessons have you learnt that will propel you forward this year?
Grow the good. This is a piece of advice I first heard from playwright Timothy Daly quite a few years ago.”Grow the good in a piece of work,” Timothy said, “and let the rest fall away.”
