Look Outside

Get out there and make your mark, make it happen. Business is nothing if you’re not bringing in the sales, whether it’s the direct sales force model that so many other businesses use or if you use resellers or independent agents or reps. Sales must be brought in and every owner and sales manager is responsible for making that happen. Companies should be sales focused first and foremost.

Business Best Practice: measure the right things

I enjoy working with my clients. One thing that is a result of working with people in a presentation, Q&A, training or coaching environment is that the learning, relearning or awareness goes both ways. One thing I relearned as I coached a client recently was the importance of measuring the right things. Not just measuring any things, but measuring the right things.

Bring it on!

Can you bring it on? Can you take on the toughest challenges? Can you handle the pressure in your business environment right now? Note to all: business always has pressure on it, in good times and tough times.

The little things

Sweat the small things, the details, because they really do matter.

Climbing a mountain- Part 1

It’s been a while since I posted- it seems my summer got away from me, for a lot of good reasons. I’ve had a wonderful summer in the northwest.
Last week, I took a day off and went into the Cascades with a friend to climb McClellen Butte. It’s similar to Mt. Si in terms of vertical feet to climb (roughly 3600), round trip distance (9.0 miles) and what’s at the top (a rocky peak).
We started off in good shape, all prepared with our water, hiking sticks and trail food for the day hike. We started hiking at a good pace and gradually going up through the forest. Then, it started getting steeper and steeper and my pace slowed…my buddy was moving ahead with no problem! I started sweating and breathing harder- it was a touch humid. I’m in pretty good shape from cycling but this was challenging for me. I was reminded of how different muscles are used for hiking and climbing. We kept climbing and although our pace was consistent, by now it was harder to maintain. By the time we got close to the top I was soaked with sweat and tired. Then I looked up and there was the rocky peak- up another 100 feet or so. To get to the top, you have to climb a rocky facing, which is at about a 75 degree angle. There are spots to put your foot into and grab with your hands. But, if you get careless and make a mistake it’s bye-bye…a nice 800 foot plunge to your end.
Needless to say, I was a bit nervous, but my buddy went right up. “Hey, Pete, you gotta’ do this, you gotta’ come up here- the view is awesome! Just lean into the mountain and don’t look down”. Right. Well, I summoned my courage and went on up, very carefully, and it was worth it in every respect. A great view and a sense of accomplishment.
Now came the hard part- coming down the rock facing! It’s even more difficult than going up. I was extra cautious on this but obviously I made it. And I felt a sense of relief. We ate our lunches and started the trek back down. Hiking down a mountain also puts stress on joints and muscles that you don’t use on the way up, so that by the end of the hike my body had had a workout!
This little adventure got me thinking about the many parallels for business and I’ll address those in my next post.