SCORE YOUR BUSINESS GOALS -- May 08
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In
This Issue…
The
Old Curmudgeon
Tip: How
to Succeed
Humour:
Dealing with Taxes
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The Old Curmudgeon
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According to dictionary.com, a curmudgeon is a bad-tempered, difficult,
cantankerous person.
Several years ago, I was working at Hatch Associates Limited in Toronto,
Canada. As the 4-month term was ending, I met an older person nearing
retirement who had been there and done that on just about every topic you
could mention.
He was an old curmudgeon.
Nothing made him happy. If the sun was out, he would complain about the
heat. If traffic was light, he would complain everyone was taking the day off.
I was studying history, and specifically Canada in the 1950's. Of course, he
was in Canada during that time period, and felt he could tell me more than
any history book.
Although he didn't speak with a lot of compassion, some of his stories hit home.
One in particular revolved around mining in his old hometown.
He told me that everyone complained about the Americans coming in and
stealing all their resources. But his view was different. The Canadians had
the land first. They looked for resources. They dug holes -- lots of holes.
They dug deep.
But they found nothing.
They had a feeling there was gold near the town. Similar towns with similar
rock formations held large deposits of gold. But they couldn't find any.
They did the best they could, but they found nothing.
So they sold the land to foolhardy foreigners.
The Americans came in and saw where the previous holes were dug. They
dug 10 holes between each pair of holes. They dug deeper holes. They
looked everywhere.
They found gold, where previous efforts had failed.
Local town folk could have praised their hard efforts. They could have
celebrated that the town would now have a better economic outlook.
Instead, they were bitter.
They proclaimed that Americans had come in and taken their precious
resources.
He looked at me and told me what he told the mayor of his town (who
owned the unsuccessful drillers):
"You didn't look everywhere!
You didn't dig deep enough!
You didn't do whatever it takes to succeed!"
I was in my early 20's, and preferred not to listen to the old curmudgeon
for the rest of my term.
But his words still echo in my ears.
When your gut tells you that there is gold within:
Dig deeper.
Look everywhere
Do whatever it takes to succeed.
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Tip: How to Succeed
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After graduating with a good degree from a great university, I got a good job
and worked diligently for 13 years. The money was great, but I wasn't
being challenged.
I knew I was capable of more.
I knew if I continued on the path I was on, I would soon be the old curmudgeon,
and I'd be attracting all the other curmudgeons into my life -- misery loves company.
People make choices.
So I chose a different career path.
I decided to write a book. The book led to home study courses,
and the courses led to executive coaching programs. I discovered my
strengths were working directly with a small group of people on meeting
specific business objectives.
Partnering with companies to improve human and organizational performance
has certainly not been the most straight-forward route, but it's aligned with my
talents and my passion. I have great respect for the people I've met along the
way, and I've discovered that businesses are most successful when they give
the clients what they need.
Along the way, I have seen great successes, and I have seen great failures.
I've noticed that these three things have helped people succeed:
a) Be yourself -- Amplify your strengths and outsource your weaknesses
b) Don't be a Lone Ranger -- Develop and nurture relationships with people
who can help you, and people you can help
c) Don't follow the pack, follow the customers -- too many people these days
are looking for fads they can attach themselves to. If you
want to last longer than the fads, listen to what your customers
are saying.
The power of three is strong.
To help yourself succeed:
a) Write down your 3 biggest strengths. Speak to your friends, families and co-
workers to see what they believe are your 3 biggest strengths. Make action
plans to make each strength stronger.
b) Write down the names of 3 people you need to nurture relationships with.
Make action plans to make each relationship stronger.
c) Write down the 3 things your customers want and/or expect from you and
your business. Ask your customers for verification.
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Humour: Dealing with Taxes
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"I don't
know why they couple death and taxes. You only die once."
... Anonymous
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Interviews
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James
Allan has been interviewed on several national and local news magazines. A
sample
has been collected and set to music. The result is now on Youtube.
Check
it out by clicking here.
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Feedback
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As always, feedback
is greatly encouraged. The purpose of this newsletter is to help
you score your business goals. If there's something you read today which you
would like to comment on, please send us your feedback. If there's certain
information
you'd like, please send us a request. If there's an article you'd
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to write, please submit it to articles.
[Please note that articles submitted should be less than 500 words]
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