Anticipation

Do you have a Radar O'Reilly Award?

In upscale magazines, Seabourne cruise lines runs an intriguing ad.

Its headline: "Seabourn believes clairvoyance is a job requirement"

The ad advances the idea that Seabourn will anticipate your every want and need on the "World's Best Small Ship Cruise Line".

It reminded me of an important concept in a book about Disney World.

If you have not, please read Tom Connellan's "Inside the Magic Kingdom: Seven Keys to Disney's Success".

It is full of great strategies from Disney's people.

One of the ideas is to create a Radar O'Reilly Award at your business.

Radar, you may remember, was either clairvoyant or had the most sensitive ears in Korea. He heard the medical helicopters coming long before anyone else.

The award would go to someone on your team who anticipates your clients' needs and wants before even they know or ask for them.

For other great Success Strategies, "Killer Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurs" has the top, field-tested concepts of 22 business owners, coaches and consultants.

It's available at JerryBellune.com

Sharpen your ax

Do you occasionally feel overwhelmed?
Sure. Most of us feel that way sometimes, too.
Let me share a great story and solution with you.
Years ago, a logger challenged an older logger.
The challenge:

Who could cut down a tree the fastest.
Those were the days before power equipment.

The two selected nearly identical trees.
They went to work, chopping and chopping.
The young logger was heartened by what he saw.
The older logger appeared to be taking breaks.
The younger logger took no breaks.
He was going to beat his older companion.
But the older logger’s tree fell first.

“How did you do that?” the young logger asked.
“I saw you taking lots of breaks.”
The older logger had a secret, he said.
Each time he stopped, he sharpened his ax.

Each of us needs time to sharpen our ax.
One way to do that is to divide your waking hours.
You might use the 30-10-20 principle.
Devote 30 minutes to a top priority project.
Turn off your cell phone. Close your office door.
Hit it hard and without interruption for 30 minutes.
Then take a 10 minute break. Coffee, A walk.
Anything that will give you a break.
That’s ax sharpening time. Make the most of it.

Then take 20 minutes to answer email and calls.
Or to meet with a colleague to discuss business.
Or to attend a very important meeting.
Just make sure it’s a 20-minute meeting.
I once took all the chairs out of our conference room.
Hour-long meetings were accomplished in 20 minutes.
There’s nothing quite like standing to get the job done.

Now repeat the cycle - 30, 10 and 20 minutes.
You’ll cut deeper and faster with a sharper ax.
Next week we’ll talk about the Power of Less.

Want a copy of my book “Your life’s Great Purpose”?
Email me at this address for a copy.