March 2008 – Page 3

How To Blow Press Coverage

I got an email from a start up company
looking for press.

They did everything right.
They used my name,
they mentioned a recent blog post,
and they offered up
either a guest post or an interview.
Impressed,
I emailed my 3 quickie questions.

Then they blew it.

First, the reply back was
a cut and paste of their FAQ page
(insulting).

Then scrolling down,
I see that my email was flipped to someone
with a “this came from our blast email.”
So I feel like a fool for responding to spam.

The lesson?
Don’t talk to the press
unless you want a conversation.

The Rules Of Being Asked For Help

Being asked for help is an honor.
The asker is consciously putting herself in the askee’s debt.

In order to have this honor repeated
(thus building a power base),
there are some simple rules to follow.

Always take the request seriously.
It takes a lot of guts to ask.
Even if you can’t help,
be polite and timely about it.

Give the best help you can
(or refuse the request).
Try to exceed expectations.
If you’re asked for information on firearms,
give not only the information
but additional online sources.

And

Keep the request for help quiet.
Don’t broadcast to the world
that the asker needed help.
If you need to get additional assistance
from another source
and have to mention the asker’s name,
ask her permission first.

How Wise People Handle Conflict

Researcher Dr. Monika Ardelt has concluded
that “wise” people use two common strategies
for handling a conflict.

They remove themselves mentally
(and sometimes physically)
from a crisis situation and
they concentrate on positive actions
to resolve the situation.

Both reduce the emotion and
eliminate the time wasting finger pointing.

The calmer you are,
as the leader,
the calmer everyone around you will be.

Outdated Information Can Kill You

Having watched a few too many movies,
I thought death by poison could be prevented
by inducing vomiting.

A paramedic told me this was
outdated and incorrect information.
What shouldn’t go in,
shouldn’t come back out again.
And since only a third of the poison
is purged by vomiting,
the victim would still die
if this was the only treatment.
(They now use medication like
Narcan and Activated Charcoal.)

Outdated information can kill a company also.
Not knowing what the competition is doing or
what the customer now wants is
equivalent to committing corporate suicide.

Stay current.

Saying No

As time is limited,
saying no to some projects is a must.

Is that a bad thing?
No.

As Peter de Jager in
So? You’re A Manager… Now What?
says
“While saying ‘no’ is not
what management or clients want to hear,
it gains credibility and respect
when combined with a perfect track record
for always delivering when you said ‘yes.'”

If you say ‘no’ when you need to,
your clients will believe you
when you say ‘yes’.

Controlling Your Emotions

Recently, in one of my volunteer gigs,
I was asked to make an impromptu presentation.
The person doing the asking knew darn well
I didn’t have the necessary new information
everyone else did
and I ended up looking like a complete jack a$$.
I was angry, very, very angry.

Did I lose my temper?
Nope.
To do that would have benefited no one and
would have hurt my agenda.
It also would have set me up as a junior jammer,
unable to control my own emotions.

Being unable to manage your temper
is the kiss of death.
As AskMen puts it,
“If you can’t manage yourself,
you sure won’t be able to manage others.”

Richard Branson On Business Opportunities

A month ago,
I wanted to buy shares of a certain company.
The problem was,
the price was too high.
I watched it go higher and higher
until my gut said I missed my chance.
Then a week ago, the price corrected.
I scooped it up at my target price.

The same holds with business launches.
Many entrepreneurs,
once they decide to start a business,
want to start it NOW.
They’ll settle for an “okay” idea
simply to have something to launch.
That so-so idea sucks up time, money, and energy
that could be spent looking for a better idea.

Hold out for what you truly want.
Take it from Richard Branson,
“Business opportunities are like buses,
there’s always another one coming.”

However, when you find one,
hop on it,
or you’ll never get to your destination.

The Rules Of The Game

At a technology forum,
there was talk about the spread of information
and lack of privacy.
Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia,
pointed out that this is the world we live in,
we don’t have a choice.

A loved one was telling me
how the tax system wasn’t fair.
He was thinking about fighting it.
Great, I told him,
but play by the rules until the rules change.

Know the rules (written and unwritten).
Know when to follow them,
when to bend them, and
when to break them.
And know the consequences of doing so.

Speaking The Truth

When I say I’m going to do something,
I do it.
A male high school English teacher of mine
ridiculed romance novels.
I stood up in front of the class and
said that I’d write a romance some day.
In May, almost 20 years later,
my first romance novel will be published.

Keeping their word is a sign of all great business leaders.

Robin Sharma in The Greatness Guide says
“The Merchants of Wow among us understand
that a person’s word is their bond.
And that every promise kept builds credibility,
the foundation of trust.
So make the commitment to be impeccable with your word.”

Memo-Pause Founder’s First Business

If you investigate the past of any successful entrepreneur,
you’ll find baby businesses.
That was no different for Memo-Pause founder,
Kara Lennox.

“I was born wanting to be an entrepreneur.

When I was about ten,
my dad planted some tomatoes, and
he ended up with so many seedlings
he was going to throw a lot away.

Instead, I put them in my wagon and
dragged them around the neighborhood door-to-door,
selling them for fifty cents apiece.

I cleaned up.”