Are You Externally Focused?

Recently I have been catching back up on some old standby ‘life lesson’ nuggets. The ones I have been staring at recently share a common thread: the importance of being externally focused. This is one theme that is essential to being successful- both personally and professionally.

I wanted to share three quotes that help capture the essence:

“The tougher the negotiation, the more critical it is to understand that if
someone in the room has to feel okay, it is not you. If someone has to
feel not-okay, that is you.” - Jim Camp

“People listen to you for their reasons, not yours.” - Peter Drucker

“Great leaders understand the important role servant leadership plays in
helping others realize their potential.” – Dan Sanders

These can apply across all aspects of life. Your colleagues, your family, your customers, your partners, even your competitors.

Ask yourself:

1. Do you make others feel important?
2. Do you build their vision, their self esteem?
3. Do you treat others with respect?
4. Do you practice sound principles- return e-mail or phone messages, follow up on requests?

You can make the impact today. You can build customers for life. You can build enduring relationships. You can build a network of raving fans.

The rewards are great.

Meeting People Where They Are Ready To Be

I have had a series of interesting conversations recently. Interesting, as each conversation was on an entirely different topic, but each had a central theme- trying to engage people to follow a vision.

One conversation was a non-profit. Another, a corporate initiative. A third, a friend looking to get a group together for an event. Each person I chatted with was struggling with ‘being ahead of the others’ in their thoughts, planning, or execution.

Each time I remembered a quote I read from a consultant (I apologize in advance as I do not remember who or where this came from). The quote she had was, “you have to meet people where they are ready to be, before you can lead them down the path to an entirely new zone.”

The quote was in reference to introducing ‘green’ initiatives into corporations, but has a much broader application to nearly anything and everything…. As my conversations confirmed.

The best way to enable people to see, share and follow your vision is to first meet them where they are ready to be. Meet them, work with them, enable them to share in the process, and become engaged. Empower them to help craft the future of where you want to go, and be flexible in how you get there.

The rewards will be amazing, and your vision will be realized.