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Bountiful Feast

Yesterday during a phone coaching session with one of the franchising groups I facilitate (our monthly lunch-and-learn discussion), someone commented they’re awaiting the economic turnaround to occur before making a big decision about an opportunity for their business. This person suggested there is too much uncertainty right now to commit without knowing when things will get better. I responded they might want to consider ordering off that menu now in order to position themselves ahead of everyone else when a better day arrives.

You have to eliminate inertia to achieve results – in business or boiling water. While this is not the time to spend lavishly at five-star restaurants, it’s also important not to be paralyzed by fear and eat TV dinners. The objective, during high-flying times and periods of hunkering down, is to improve the bottom line. If you’re like most businesses, you’ve carved all the fat out of expenses. That means the only way to improve profitability is to increase sales, and with your customers in a similar dollar-menu mindset, you’re going to have to take market share from competitors in order to enjoy your desserts.

During economic expansion there’s room for everyone at the dinner table… and the feast is extravagant. Today, it’s a blue plate special… and there aren’t as many place settings. To ensure you don’t go away hungry, you need to be assertive and show up early while others are standing around waiting on an invitation. Eventually, everyone will be clamoring to get inside the most popular establishments; you’ll already be there dining on the delicious entrée.

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Clear Understanding

In 2007, the president of an energy company that engaged me to coach one of their senior executives asked what year we started this business. When I told him 2003, he said, “I believe it takes 10 years to master a craft; you’ve got a ways to go.” At the time I recall thinking he was overstating the education process, or I was far ahead of his learning curve. Now I realize he was right on the mark. I’ve gained more knowledge in the past 18 months about how to best serve clients than I did in the previous six years, let alone the 23 years I spent in other careers.

That’s one reason I spent Memorial Day weekend rewriting our Web site. The first time around in ’03, I created nice prose that sounded pretty good; however, I really didn’t know what I was talking about when it came to explaining the value clients receive from working with us. Three years ago when we updated it the first time, my thoughts were closer to the actual target, although still more style than substance.

I actually committed to this project 13 months ago – and sat down several times to start the process. Yet the words never appeared on my monitor, regardless of how hard I tried to force them… so I set it aside and moved on to things that seemed more urgent. Last week, the inspiration appeared out of nowhere and the words flowed easily from my fingertips.

Three lessons here: 1) If it’s been awhile since your last Web site (or marketing materials) update, you’re likely a lot smarter, so you may want to consider a redux; 2) It takes a decade to become a master, so be patient and keep learning; and, 3) You can’t force things, so when you’re stuck, step aside and ‘wait for it.’

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‘City of Dreams’

William Martin just released his latest novel – City of Dreams – featuring recurring characters Peter Fallon and Evangeline Carrington searching for a box of priceless Revolutionary War bonds. After reading the comments below about how he’s utilizing social media to promote the book, return to my e-newsletter and use “Send This To A Friend” to redirect Fast:Forward to someone who would enjoy reading it – or post a link on your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or favorite social site.

Shoot me a quick e-mail with “Done” in the Subject line afterward. (Honor system in place!) I’ll randomly draw one name from all responses – and that person will receive an autographed copy of City of Dreams.

> View a short trailer on City of Dreams to experience just how much the publishing world is changing.

William Martin’s Comments:

“The traditional platforms are being dismantled. There may be half a dozen newspapers left in the country that continue to review books on a daily basis. And other platforms are being closed to writers. Just the other day I was supposed to be on a local televison show to talk about “City of Dreams.” The host was ready to do the the show. Then the higher-ups saw an interview with another writer and said, “No more writers.” So no more Martin on that TV station. The old ways of doing things are changing. Out in media land, they’re all worried. They’re all scared. They’re all cutting.

So what do you do? You can’t quit. You have to find new ways to market yourself. Instead of being swamped by the cyberwave that is sweeping everything before it, you should try to catch its crest and dive into it.

I haven’t mastered Twitter and don’t think I want to. Don’t understand all the “following” business. And I haven’t pushed too hard on  Linked-In. I have friends who are urging me in that direction, but you can only do so much. I decided to use FaceBook. I’ve figured it out. It’s easy to post things there. I refuse to tell you what I had for breakfast or what kind of beer I like. But I’m able to tell readers about my characters when I’m writing and about my events when I’m promoting.

I don’t think FB will change my life. I only have about 500 friends and about 130 on my fan page but they say that you only need about a thousand real fans to help you get the ball rolling. I’ve sold a lot of books over the years, and I’ve counted on a lot more than a thousand fans. But FB reaches people who are genuinely interested, the kind of people who can help light the lttle brushfires of interest that can burst into a best selling conflagration. That’s how viral marketing –  I’d call it brushfire marketing – works. At my book launch on May 11, we had an SRO crowd, in part thanks to FB. So friend me or join the fan page and see the pictures from that night. Help me toward the thousand fans who I hope will light matches in the brush around the country and help me onto the best seller list again.”

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Who’s The Adult Here?

You may have seen the You Tube video – shot with a cell phone – of a charter school teacher here in Houston allegedly beating up a student last month. She’s 40. The boy is 13. The video appears to show her kicking his back, slapping his face and slamming his head against the wall. News stories suggest other teachers were watching the incident.

Perhaps you heard about the pole vaulter in California – a senior in high school – who was the last competitor in the championship meet. She cleared the height to give her school its first-ever league title. As the girls and their parents celebrated, the coach of the losing team walked over to an official and pointed to his wrist. Then he pointed to the girl, who was wearing a small string friendship bracelet. Seems there is a rule – Section 3, Article 3 of the National Federation of State High School Associations – that states: “Jewelry shall not be worn by contestants.” The penalty is “the competitor is disqualified from the event.”

Officials discussed the situation and decided to disqualify the girl, thus awarding the title to the second place team. Afterward, the coach who pointed out the infraction – he’s 54 – said: “It’s unfortunate for the young lady. But you’ve got to teach the kids the rules are rules… I feel bad for what happened, but I guarantee you she’ll never wear jewelry during a track meet again.”

With adults acting like this, is it surprising when executives from the three companies involved in the Gulf oil rig disaster appeared before Congress this week, each chose to raise questions about their partners’ liability? Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) summarized the day’s finger pointing: “The conclusion that I draw is that nobody assumes responsibility.”

Perhaps it’s time to start reiterating those lessons you learned in kindergarten and many appear to have forgotten: 1) Maintain composure no matter how stressful the situation – or take time out; 2) Winning isn’t everything – but sportsmanship is the measure of a person; and 3) Accept responsibility – regardless of the consequences you face.

Why do grown-ups make things so hard?