Category: New Business Development

My current company gives out
personality tests
as part of their employee screening.
I failed mine.
It was determined
that I had the absolute wrong personality
to do my job.

I don’t like personality tests.
I don’t think your natural personality
has anything to do
with how well
you do your job.

My natural personality is quiet and shy.
My current job requires me
to be a cheerleader
so I’m outgoing and loud.

What I DO like is
creativity and problem solving tests.
Amy’s Ice Creams
has a brilliant creativity test.
She gives prospective employees
paper bags
and asks them to do something creative
with them.

If you want a skill,
test for that skill,
not personality.

I learn by doing.

A writing buddy and I
decided to try a new genre.
I read three stories in that genre
and then wrote my first story.
While that first story was being rejected,
I was writing my second story.

My buddy read over 20 stories
in the genre.
She took classes.

I now have 3 stories published
in that genre.
She is currently writing her first one.

If it doesn’t cost much to try,
I try.
I make my mistakes.
I learn from them.
I eventually succeed.

Josh James,
founder of Omniture,
has a similar outlook.

“I make mistakes faster than anybody.
I think, go, do.
That’s the Omniture mantra.
While you’re figuring out what to do,
we’ve tried two different things
and have figured out the right one.”

BTW…
the entire interview rocks it.
Definitely a recommended read.

I squeaked into my university program.
The cut off average was 87%.
I had 87.5%.
When other students boasted
about their high school averages
during frosh orientation,
I kept quiet.

Then I went to that first day of class.
One of our profs made us all stand up.
“Look to your left,” he said.
“Look to your right.
Only one of you will be graduating.”

I was on full scholarship
(for volunteer work, not book smarts).
I knew I HAD to be that one person.
This was my chance
to break out of the circle of poverty.

It was the best thing
that could have happened to me.
I worked my ass off
I graduated.

I then continued to work my ass off.
I knew the world was full of
smarter, more gifted people than I was
and I’d have to work harder
to be successful.

My story is not unique.
Warren Buffet didn’t get into Harvard,
his first choice of schools.
“You learn that a temporary defeat is not a permanent one.
In the end, it can be an opportunity.”
Because at Columbia,
he met Benjamin Graham
and the rest is investing history.

College rejections are being sent
right around now.
Share your own rejection stories.
Give these students hope.

One of the most common excuses
I hear from would-be entrepreneurs
is that they don’t have time
to launch that baby business.

Really?
I mean…
REALLY?

Then you’re not the average American
because according to Men’s Fitness
the average American watches 28 hours of television
every week.
That’s over a DAY of tv a WEEK.

One of the first steps
Yaro Starak took
on his road to success
was to kick the tv habit.
We all know how that worked for him.

The way I see it,
you have a choice…
You can watch successful people on tv
OR
You can BE one of those successful people on tv.
I’ve made my choice.

One of my publishers
regularly sends out emails
giving updates on what sells
and what doesn’t sell.

If I have a choice
between two stories,
I’ll write the story
that will likely sell more first.

THAT is why
your sales team
and your product developers
should be in constant communication.

Product developers have the same choices.
They often have to make decisions
on which type of product
to focus on.

These decisions can be made
based on third party research
which may or may not be reliable
OR
it could be based on your actual sales.

I’d vote for the latter.

I love what I do.
I love writing novels.
I love solving business problems.

I don’t love ALL of it
but I love enough of it
to make my days more fun than work.

Forbes has a wonderful new series
about ten minutes that mattered
to successful people.

The ten minutes that mattered
to Dean Kamen,
inventor of the Segway,
were spent with his dad.

His dad told him
“If there’s one thing you do
while you’re young,
figure out what you love.
Figure out what you want
to do more than
playing ball in that street.
Then figure out
how to make money at it.
We spend more time at our jobs
than anything else.”

I’ve been having a serious case
of the envies.
One of my buddies just landed
a wonderful publishing deal.

Of course, she worked hard
for that publishing deal.
It didn’t happen over night.
I had to remind myself of that.

As Guy Kawasaki
states
“success is a grind.”

“Many people,
especially young people,
think success is event-related.
You announce.
You ship.
And then life is good
and you go straight to the moon.
Instead, what happens is
you ship with bugs in the software,
and people don’t like your product.
Then you fix and fix and fix,
and you keep shipping.
I suppose
there are some instant successes,
but that’s principally an oxymoron.
That’s like saying
Sidney Crosby was an instant success
in the NHL.
Well, sure,
in his first two years he did very well,
but that ignores
the 17 previous years he practiced
or played hockey five hours a day.
There’s no instant there, or here.”

Keep grinding!

I’ve been enjoying
the interviews Forbes has been doing
with the world’s richest people.

I loved the answer
Indian tycoon Gautam Adani
gave when asked
what was the wisest decision
he ever made.

“The first lot of polished diamonds,
which I sold to traders
as a teenager in the streets of Mumbai!
That was the best purchase,
as it gave me confidence
that I could do deals.”

Small deals matter
especially when they build a base
for you
to do larger deals
in the future.

Celebrate those small wins!

Like it or not,
we’re emotional creatures
and our emotions do affect our performance.

I have to write a story this week.
I’m on a deadline
that can’t be moved.

Confidence is essential
for creativity.
Criticism eats confidence
so until I finish this story,
I’m not reading reviews,
I’m not opening reader mail,
and
I’m not doing promo.

Feedback IS important
but timing of feedback is AS important.
Pair criticism, however construction,
and creativity too closely together
and creativity suffers.

I know an author
who has the top 8 spaces
on her small publisher’s bestseller list.
She still has to submit
through the slush pile
with everyone else.
She gets one line rejection emails
with no explanation on
why her manuscript was rejected.

She is, of course, submitting her stories
elsewhere.
When she leaves,
her sales will leave
and that publisher will remain small.

I know a salesman
who brings in 80% of the sales
in his division.
He wanted an assistant
because he had so much work.
He was told no.
No salesmen in his division
have assistants.
He hired his own assistant
and is looking for a company
who will appreciate him.

Your stars SHOULD get preferential treatment.
There should be a reward
for achieving
(unless you don’t want achievement).

If you don’t give them
preferential treatment,
someone else will.