Strategic appreciation

What ranks higher than money on attitude surveys?
"Appreciation and recognition," most folks say.
We don't want ours just working for a paycheck.
We want them to take pride in what they do.
We want them to feel a sense of purpose.
We want them to share our sense of mission.

Appreciation shows we care about all our clients.
That means the people we pay and those who pay us.
Here's a good example of that in action.

Our friend Pat Strubbe invited me to a party last week.
It was his annual Client Appreciation Dinner.
More than 150 people showed up.
Pat held a drawing for gifts for those attending.
These included my "Life's Great Purpose" books.
The reception to the books was enthusiastic.
Others wanted autographed copies, too.
Pat was showing appreciation for his clients' faith in him.
Pat's business is managing their investments.
He offers them a "worry-free retirement".
You have to trust someone to give them your nest egg.

Answer these questions as the holidays approach:
1. How do you show your clients appreciation?

2. How do you show your employees appreciation?

3. How do you show your loved ones appreciation?

Appreciation will make a connection with other people.
It is a great trust and confidence builder.

Here's wishing you the best Thanksgiving ever.
For more on "Your Life's Great Purpose" email me.

Gratitude and other essentials

As Thanksgiving approaches, lets be grateful.

Business coach P.T. McClure offers this:

1. Be grateful for your life’s bounty.

Your family. Your friends. Your faith.

What your mistakes have taught you.

My career pursuits dominated my life.

I took my loving family for granted.

Big mistake.

It took many years to discover the error of my ways.

Be grateful for what you have while you have it.

Show your appreciation to those who love you.


2. Know your purpose. What are you here for?

Have you taken on a task without a clear purpose?

Without knowing what you want to accomplish?

Purpose is one key to living a fulfilling life.

I stumbled into journalism because it looked exciting.

I did not think about its essential purpose.

That took years to figure out. I was a slow learner.

Don’t be a slow learner. Figure out your purpose now.


3. Be willing to change bad habits.

This usually takes a painful wake-up call.

I was addicted to tobacco for a dozen years.

Beating it, giving it up . . . what a challenge that was.

A friend with emphysema influenced my decision to quit.

Keep smoking and end up with his condition.

Fear can be a strong motivator.


4. Never stop learning. Become a lifelong learner.

Hang onto your child-like fascination with life.

Albert Einstein advised us to be passionately curious.

We don’t know when our next powerful lesson may come.

One goal: Tap an instructive book or CD a week.

Take notes. Underline passages that make you say "ah-ha".

Have you heard anyone say, "I don’t have time to read?"

What a mistake. Read. Study. Make the most of life.


5. Find strong mentors. A half dozen are best.

When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.

Dozens of wise, experienced mentors have helped me.

They showed me the way. They asked the right questions.

They encouraged me and helped me solve problems.

My way of thanking them is to help others.

Be unselfish. Share the wisdom you have accumulated.


For more on this, read "Your Life’s Great Purpose".

Email me for a personally autographed copy.

Jerry@JerryBellune.com

Strategic leadership

'Bear' Bryant never had to raise his voice to be heard

Danny Ford sat down to talk with me last week.
Danny coached Clemson Tigers football.
His 1981 players were national champions.

One question was: “Who most influenced you?”
Danny had played for 'Bear Bryant' at Alabama.
“Coach Bryant,” he said.

A lot of coaches yell and intimidate their players.
Not Paul “Bear” Bryant. He was a quiet man.
“You had to strain to hear him,” Coach Ford said.
“He made you better than you were.
“He could get more out of any individual.
“You always wanted his approval, to please him.”

Bryant looked relaxed on the sidelines.
He could afford that.

His players were well trained.
His assistants called the plays.
Bryant only offered guidance as needed.
His teams won 6 national and 13 SEC championships.

Three leadership questions for you:
1. Do you have to raise your voice to be heard?
2. Have you trained your people well?
3. At game time, are you relaxed?

Want more about strategic leadership?
Read “Lead People, Manage Things”.
Write me at Jerry@JerryBellune.com
The first 3 of you to respond get a free copy.

To share a leadership story, click on Post a Comment.
Next: How to plan your mission.

Make the most of your opportunities

Take care
of your herd

A friend was griping about local churches and Halloween.
“Why are they celebrating a pagan holiday?” he asked.
Historians say that’s bunk.
It goes back to harvest celebrations.
There’s no evidence it's a pagan ceremony.
Churches simply make it a family celebration.
They offer an alternative to trick-or-treating.
It adds value to church membership.

Nothing wrong with that.
Always add value to what you do.
Successful people add value to their clients.
It is a great client retention success strategy.
It builds relations of value with your clients.
Add value to your clients or you will lose them.
Your competition is ready to lure them away.

Marketing guru Dan Kennedy has a term for this.
He calls it “herd building”.
Your “herd” is loyal and believes in you.
They learn through experience to trust you to:
1. Look out for their interests.
2. Use judgment in what you recommend.
3. Watch their backs. Help them succeed.

Halloween gives churches an opportunity.
We build success by following their lead.
Walt Disney called it the "weenie".
It's the extra value you offer.
Make the most of all your opportunities.
For more, read my Million Dollar Ideas letter.
Just email me at JerryBellune@yahoo.com
We’ll send you a complimentary trial subscription.

Performance counts

Are they smart enough
to come in out of the rain?

Many of us practice the ABCs of hiring. We should be adding a P.

The ABCs are fairly simple to grasp.

A = Attitude
Is it positive, negative or indifferent?
Can-do people see the glass as half full.
You can’t teach a can-do attitude.
The applicant must already have the right one.
Your questions should be designed to uncover attitude.
Ask them about the worst experiences they have had.
How did they respond? How did they handle them?.
Listen for credibility. Are they telling you the truth?
Or are they telling you what they think you want to hear?

B = Brains
As in smart enough to come in out of the rain?
Or smart enough to do the job you have a mind?

C = Character
Do they have a sense of smell? Know right from wrong?
How about times they were tempted to make poor choices?

P = Performance
Can poor performers change - even if they say they will?
If you follow bear tracks you will eventually find a bear.
If you do the same with a person you will eventually learn a lot.
Who they are. What they have achieved.
What they learned from success and failure.

More about that in my "ABCs of Successful Hiring".
For more about it email JerryBellune@yahoo.com

In this week's Million Dollar Ideas we discuss gifts.

They can create great value with your clients.

For a free trial subscripton, email JerryBellune@yahoo.com