TipsForSuccess: Leading to Serve

Leading to Serve After working for five years as a car salesman, Jim was promoted to the sales manager position. During his first week as manager, he decided he needed to show everyone who was boss. Jim cracked the whip. He held a meeting and told the other sales people, "I want 10 cars sold today or someone will get fired!" Jim was pushy, demanding and angry. The sales people ran around looking busy and avoiding Jim. Everyone tried to force customers to buy cars, but car sales dropped. Jim yelled even louder. "You can't sells cars by pressuring customers, you idiots! Now get out there and sell these stupid cars!" After a month of this, his two best sales people quit. Sales dropped even further. The car dealership owner said, "Jim, if you can't turn sales around, I'm afraid I'll need to get another sales manager." Jim said, "I can't believe this! What am I doing wrong?" Five Bad Leadership Attitudes Like many new managers, Jim did not really understand his role as a leader. He and many other managers have these wrong ideas about managing people. 1. "Because I'm the manager, you better respect me . . . or else!" 2. "People are lazy and so I need to force them to work." 3. "I am superior to everyone here which is why I can do anything I want." 4. "If you work for me, you need to kiss my butt." 5. "If you don't like how I run things, you can leave." Because of these attitudes, Jim's staff were selling fewer cars and looking for other jobs. If Jim did not change his attitude, he would also be looking for a new job soon. Just in time, Jim learned this vital fact about management. A Key to Leadership Success "I believe that to command is to serve and only gives one the right to serve." -- L. Ron Hubbard After learning about this important leadership attitude, Jim said, "What? I'm supposed to serve others? How ridiculous!" But then he thought it through. The lightbulb above his head started to flash. "If I serve my staff by training them about sales and about these cars, they will know how to sell better." "If I serve my staff with kindness and courtesy, they will probably start to serve the customers better!" "If I'm here to serve my department, I will help them make sales, not force them." A New Day The next morning, Jim brought a box of chocolate doughnuts for his staff and said, "Today is a new day! This may be a shock to some of you, but I've realized that I've been a bad manager. I want to try helping you instead of yelling at you, okay?" Jim then served his sales people by giving them sales tips. "Give every customer a service. Learn as much as you can about their needs. Offer your best advice. Be kind and helpful." He asked, "How can I help you each sell a car today?" The sales people had some ideas: "Fill the tanks full of gas so we don't have to buy gas during test drives." "Let us give out more brochures." "Give a doughnut to each customer." Jim said, "No problem! I'll get you gas, brochures and doughnuts. Anything else I can do for you?" The staff were stunned, but happy. During the day, he helped his sales people give service to the customers, not pressure. "She wants to discuss it with her father first? That's probably a good idea. Invite him down to meet us if he can." "He wants to test drive ten cars before deciding? No problem." "Can I get you folks something to drink?" Jim persisted with his new service attitude. He thought of new ways to give service to his staff, his boss and their customers. Customers felt they were buying luxury cars because of the excellent service. The sales people enjoyed their work. Jim had more fun with less stress. Car sales increased to record levels. Service, Not Slavery Jim had one small worry, "Will my people take advantage of me or run over me if I'm trying to give them service?" He soon found this was not a problem when one salesman tried to boss him around. The salesman said, "Jim, I need a few hours off to run some errands for my wife. And I need to borrow the demo car, okay?" Jim said, "No. And you can't take off a few hours until I see you sell one car today. How can I help you do your job?" Recommendations Even if you are not officially a manager, you are a leader. People follow your example, learn from you, ask for your opinions, do what you do first and so on. Constantly improving your leadership skills is essential to your success. 1. Make a list of everyone you lead in one way or another: customers, staff, coworkers, family, friends, colleagues, even your boss. 2. Write down one or more ways you can better serve each person this week. 3. Provide these services to everyone you work with during the week. Observe the results. Watch how people react. Notice how you feel. If you persist with an attitude of service, your position will improve, your pay will increase and those you lead will be more successful. Provided by TipsForSuccess.org as a public service to introduce you to the technology of L. Ron Hubbard. Copyright © 2004 TipsForSuccess.org. All rights reserved. Grateful acknowledgment is made to L. Ron Hubbard Library for permission to reproduce selections from the copyrighted works of L. Ron Hubbard. You have permission to copy, print or post this article. Click here for details. To subscribe, buy books or learn more about TipsForSuccess.org, click here.

TipsForSuccess: To Tell the Truth

To Tell the Truth You succeed with you operate with honesty. For example, you exaggerate a customer's problem so you can charge him more. This increases your income, but causes you problems. The customer can sense the lie, no matter how sincere you act. If you are caught, the penalties are painful. On the other hand, if you understate the customer's problem, you are selling out what you know to be true. You prevent your customer from making the proper decisions. You feel like a wimp. The only solution is to look your customer in the eye, without hesitation, and tell the truth. The customer can then act accordingly. You do your job, even if you don't make as much money and even if the person doesn't like the truth. When you have the courage to call the truth the truth you become a powerful force. It is easy to hold a position on an honest fact. For example, your software adds numbers incorrectly. You call the software technician who looks it over. He says, "the problem is the user; the software is fine." You pull out a calculator and prove the computer's answer is wrong. Because you know the truth, you refuse to agree with the technician. No matter how smart the expert is, or how inexperienced the user is, you KNOW the figures do not add up. You have personal integrity. The same idea applies to your family, spouse and friends. You agree or disagree based on what you know to be true, not on what THEY want you to say or believe. Integrity Integrity means you are honest, complete, honorable. It means you hold to your personal code of conduct. You stick to what you decide is right and wrong. When you live with integrity, you succeed. You are open and honest. Your life is uncomplicated and less stressful. When you have good integrity you do not lie. You can look at yourself in the mirror. You have nothing to hide. The Best Code of Conduct for You So what is right and ethical for you? How do you work out your own code of conduct? "WHAT IS TRUE FOR YOU is what you have observed yourself "And when you lose that you have lost everything." "What is personal integrity? "Personal integrity is knowing what you know-- "What you know is what you know-- "And to have the courage to know and say what you have observed. "And that is integrity "And there is no other integrity." -- L. Ron Hubbard No one needs to tell you what is right or wrong. You can see and decide for yourself. For example, Doug may decide it is perfectly fine to drink wine with dinner. Wally may observe the same issue and decide it is wrong to drink wine. Both individuals made their own decisions. Both are operating with integrity. Maggie may decide spending money on vacations is a crime while Joyce may decide skipping a vacation is a crime. Both make their own decisions about what is right and wrong. Like most people, you have probably decided it is wrong to not support your family, abandon a friend, steal from your company, cheat on your marriage, shoplift, abuse drugs and so on. You probably believe it is good to work hard, be kind to your parents, have fun, pay your bills, tell the truth, return things you borrow and so on. You know the truth when you see it. You stick to your guns and build personal pride. When you deceive your partner, you both lose a little. If you lie to your spouse, you weaken your marriage. Whenever you abandon what you know to be true, you lose. Nothing makes you more miserable than "selling out" and failing to stick to your integrity. 10 Benefits of Living with Integrity 1. When you decide what is right or wrong for you, and act accordingly, you do not regret anything you do. 2. People follow your example and act more honestly. 3. Your powers of observation are more accurate. You can see the truth about others more easily. 4. No need to keep your stories straight as your stories are facts. Less mental work is required. 5. You handle rejection and criticism more easily. For example, you are not bothered if someone says, "Your fees are too high!" As you have no doubt that your fees are fair, you know the other person has the problem. 6. You have fewer personality conflicts with others, even when you are aggressive. 7. You fight crimes against you with more ferocity when you have nothing to hide. 8. When you make a mistake, it is easier to find the truth, accept responsibility and move forward. 9. You earn a reputation as a person with integrity. For example, employees brag about honest bosses. "He might be more honest about your work than you might want to hear, but he's fair and doesn't lie." 10. Your odds of being sued, fined or convicted of a crime go way down. Provided by TipsForSuccess.org as a public service to introduce you to the technology of L. Ron Hubbard. Copyright © 2004 TipsForSuccess.org. All rights reserved. Grateful acknowledgment is made to L. Ron Hubbard Library for permission to reproduce selections from the copyrighted works of L. Ron Hubbard. You have permission to copy, print or post this article. Click here for details. To subscribe, buy books or learn more about TipsForSuccess.org, click here.

TipsForSuccess: Solve Your Own Money Problems

Solve Your Own Money Problems How do you solve money problems? 1. Stop spending 2. Worry 3. Blame someone or something 4. Give up 5. Go further into debt 6. Sell a possession 7. Become depressed 8. Complain 9. Cheat or steal 10. Hope Of course, none of these solutions help you gain more money. However, this solution is effective. "I answer money problems with lots of money, not with worry or sadness or impractical hope." -- L. Ron Hubbard You solve your money problems by making money. No other approach is a reliable solution. An abundance of money is your only solution. Ten Steps for Creating New Income Sources Use these ten steps to work out new income sources or to ensure your current efforts are the best available to you. 1. Figure out how much money you need to earn. Write the total at the top of a page. For example, "I need to earn $10,000 per month." 2. List all of your assets and resources. Include your possessions, skills, available time, knowledge, contacts and passions. These are the ingredients to your ultimate success, so make the list as complete as possible. Examples: You have a truck, a camera, an empty bedroom and $11,225 cash. You can devote 15 hours per week. You are good at organizing, listening, learning, speaking and making people feel important. You know a lot about horses, word processors, furniture building, the State of Texas, Internet auctions and using email. You know Jennifer, Robert, Tim, Ruth, Steve, Dave, etc. You have a passion to help others, build model airplanes, solve complex problems and learn new things. You have experience publishing newspapers, designing ads and running an insurance office. 3. Write down every way you can use your resources to make money. Consider all options. Use your imagination and make a list. Include old methods, new methods or any combination of assets that produce income. Examples: Use your empty bedroom to start a small business selling cameras, furniture and jewelry for others at Internet auctions. Learn how to prepare tax returns. Help your boss make deliveries with your truck. Type medical reports for your doctor. Start a local newspaper. Sell insurance. Once you have some ideas that might work, skip to #5. 4. If you cannot work out a workable income source, work out a plan to increase your resources. If you have the right ingredients, creating new income sources is easy. For example, you may need additional education, research, apprenticing or experience in certain fields before you can earn more income. You may need more familiarity with a subject. You may need to make more contacts. Write a plan to increase and improve your resources as soon as possible. A great deal can be accomplished with very little money, such as teaching yourself new skills. Do not use your deficiencies as an excuse to quit working on your income. 5. Select a method that is proven. Ask yourself, does this method already make money for people? If so, it is a good candidate. If no one has ever made money with your idea, consider something else. Stick to methods that already work and invent new methods as a hobby at some other time. 6. Verify that others would pay you for the product or service. For example, ask your boss, "Did you know I know 150 horse owners. They need shelters for their horses. What if I tested the market to see if we could add portable shelters to our product line. If it works out, I would be willing to run the new division." As another example, you are thinking of taking pictures as a profession. So you meet with professional photographers to see how much money they make. If you are working to expand your current business, you would ensure the new product, service or location would be desired by your customers. "If I open a new branch office in London, will the locals pay for these computers?" Do your own survey. For instance, ask your friends "If I had my own insurance company and could save you money on your car and home insurance, would you be interested?" "If I made a video on how to cut children's hair, would you buy it?" 7. If all the signs are good, test the idea in the real world before devoting much time or energy to the idea. For example, run a part-time business from your house to ensure it will be popular and profitable before leasing an office space. Make a few products or services to see if anyone will buy them. Try the new ad campaign by running it in a small newspaper. Dip your toe before taking the plunge, especially if the method is new to you. 8. Once the idea is proven to work, then and only then should you invest significant time and money into the project. 9. Once you have a plan you are certain will work, work hard to make it happen. You will solve your money problems by making more money on your own. 10. This final step is rarely taken, but is key to becoming wealthy. "I never count on any one source. I always plan to get the total sum of all the money I need from each one of three or four ways or sources." -- L. Ron Hubbard After you have one steady source of income, look for another source by repeating these steps. Provided by TipsForSuccess.org as a public service to introduce you to the technology of L. Ron Hubbard. Copyright © 2004 TipsForSuccess.org. All rights reserved. Grateful acknowledgment is made to L. Ron Hubbard Library for permission to reproduce selections from the copyrighted works of L. Ron Hubbard. You have permission to copy, print or post this article. Click here for details. To subscribe, buy books or learn more about TipsForSuccess.org, click here.

TipsForSuccess: Boost Your Success By Thanking People

 

Boost Your Success By Thanking People "Approval and validation are often far more valuable than material rewards and are usually worked for far harder than mere pay." -- L. Ron Hubbard In a Gallup Organization poll of 2,000 workers, 69% said praise and recognition from their bosses is more motivating than money. Four out of five workers said recognition or praise motivates them to do a better job. Despite this, most workers feel they are not properly recognized nor praised. Studies by the US Army show soldiers improve their performance 90% of the time when praised and 30% of the time when criticized. But officers in the US Army still prefer to criticize and rarely praise anyone. This principle proved itself once with a failing business that could not pay its staff. Instead of laying off employees or borrowing money to cover payroll, the new owner used validation and acknowledgement as "pay." Every staff member stayed on board without financial pay for nearly two months. The morale of the group was tremendous. The operation became profitable and the staff was eventually rewarded with money. Thanking employees is an effective management technique. Every manager and executive must know how to show appreciation to deserving staff members. Good acknowledgments encourage better behavior and increased production. Workers can ALSO boost their success by properly thanking their bosses and coworkers. If your leader and teammates do better, you do better. For example, successful sports teammates are constantly approving and encouraging each other with loud yells and slaps. Enthusiasm is contagious. Thanking people in your family or your friends can also create interesting results. You can show your appreciation in many ways. Eight Ways to Thank People 1. Verbally and directly thank the person. Stop the person, look them in the eye, get their full attention. "Pat, thanks for straightening out those files." 2. Explain why you appreciate what the person did. Be specific. "I liked how you used the colored tabs to make it easier for us to find files in the future." "I'm amazed how you got Little Bill to calm down and clean up his room." "Ever since you upgraded my computer, I get my work done much faster!" 3. Expand your compliment. "The way you organize everything really makes it nice to work around you." "Ever since you came home, everyone in the family gets along better." "If you help me with my computer in the future, I'll get a raise!" 4. Give indirect praise. For example, compliment one person about another person. "Bob sure did a good job fixing my car!" "You know, Mary is one of the best friends I've ever had." "I think our boss is a fantastic manager." 5. Defend the person. "You said Chris is too much of a perfectionist, but no one can organize things like she does." "If one of us was the boss, we'd have to be tough too." "Maybe you should say that to his face and not behind his back." 6. Ask for the person's help, opinions or ideas. As a boss, asking for an employee's advice shows that you value the person's intelligence. "Could you give me your ideas about the parking problem?" "Do you think we should hire another assistant?" As an employee, if you ask a coworker for help, it not only shows you have a good opinion of the coworker, it encourages him or her to be on your side. "Can I ask you for some advice?" 7. Compliment their achievement. Instead of praising the person, you praise their work. Become happy, even excited, about the person's accomplishment. "This dinner is really fantastic!" "That fish tank has never looked cleaner!" "Mrs. Jones was very happy after you met with her." 8. Physical contact. Hand shakes, shoulder pats and even hugs can communicate your appreciation quickly and effectively. Give it a try and really thank someone right now!   Provided by TipsForSuccess.org as a public service to introduce you to the technology of L. Ron Hubbard. Copyright © 2004 TipsForSuccess.org. All rights reserved. Grateful acknowledgment is made to L. Ron Hubbard Library for permission to reproduce selections from the copyrighted works of L. Ron Hubbard. You have permission to copy, print or post this article. Click here for details. To subscribe, buy books or learn more about TipsForSuccess.org, click here.

TipsForSuccess: Orderly Progress

 

Orderly Progress = Power Many of those who wish to succeed find relief and an improved attitude from this quote: "THE TOTALITY OF POWER IS ORDERLY PROGRESS." -- L. Ron Hubbard Discouragement and frustration from not making your goals quickly enough are resolved through orderly progress. Do you ever get frustrated because your life is not the way you want it? Perhaps you are trying to skip steps necessary to reaching your goals. Instead of demanding PERFECTION TODAY!, focus on orderly progress and your odds of success are much higher. Do you ever feel overwhelmed? If so, orderly progress becomes even more important. Confronting huge amounts of work is not overwhelming when you see yourself making orderly progress, even in small amounts, toward your goals. Do you ever feel like you are losing ground or failing? If you map out your actual goal and move one inch closer on a regular basis, you have new power. Do you ever feel like you are treading water and going nowhere? It is time for you to focus on some orderly progress. How do you eat an elephant? How do you move a mountain? How to you reach huge goals? One mouthful, one rock and one step at a time. Examples: giving a positive impression to one more person; learning one more new skill; lessening one bad habit, investing a few more dollars in savings. Daily progress in a specific direction creates long-term power when the progress is constant and orderly. If you have been dissatisfied with your progress in life, or if you feel discouraged, overwhelmed or frustrated, make a list of orderly steps you can take every day and every week. Calm, direct, orderly steps. Once you have your strategy worked out there is no need to worry about the past or the future-just concentrate on the present; on the steps of this plan. By putting order into your progress, nothing and nobody can stop you. A mountain creek is more powerful than a granite boulder when the creek slowly and surely wears the boulder down. Orderly progress toward your goals starts with small, positive steps. You can generate new power from this week forward. Deciding to have orderly progress is the first step.   Provided by TipsForSuccess.org as a public service to introduce you to the technology of L. Ron Hubbard. Copyright © 2004 TipsForSuccess.org. All rights reserved. Grateful acknowledgment is made to L. Ron Hubbard Library for permission to reproduce selections from the copyrighted works of L. Ron Hubbard. You have permission to copy, print or post this article. Click here for details. To subscribe, buy books or learn more about TipsForSuccess.org, click here.