2010 June

Choose Your Words Wisely

How many words have you spoken today? How were you understood in your many conversations? How many words did you type into e-mails, speak on the phone or use while talking face to face (now there is an old way to communicate)? No matter how you communicate, did you know there’s a real possibility that you’re frequently sending the wrong or a misunderstood message to someone?

We feel comfortable at home because there we feel understood. At least that’s how it’s supposed to be. I’m sure many of you reading this feel that you are misunderstood. There is a frustration that gets our gut. I call it “crummies in your tummy.” It’s that feeling you get when you violate someone’s values and rules of engagement. Did you know you have rules in communicating? You do and so do I and so does every unique human being on the planet. Wouldn’t you like to know what those motivations and rules are?

Now you can. Our About Me Card software is in its final stages of completion. If you would like to receive THREE FREE About Me Card profiles, reach out to us. Just e-mail me at info@aboutmecard.com and in the subject put “Three for Free.” Sometime in the next few days you will receive an e-mail with a special code that allows you to create your About Me Card online. You can then send out a request to two of your friends or family (should be over the age of 17) to complete their cards.

That’s when the magic starts. Now that you have their information, click on their name and click on “Communicate With.” All of those person’s favorite words, driving motivations and rules of engagement appear. Now you can share an idea with them using their words and supporting their motivations. If you like, you’ll be able to purchase About Me Cards for just $1 a card (minimum 25 cards). You can hand them out and help people understand what’s great about you!

Help me spread the respect throughout the world!

Joe Kiedinger

ACTION PLAN: Sign up to receive your THREE FREE profiles!

Initiative equals success!

Today’s wisdom comes from Dr. Zimmerman. You can find out more about this at www.DrZimmerman.com   He says that to reach big-time success a person needs to read a lot of books and work very hard. But if he had to summarize the root of success it would be those who initiate succeed. To initiate anything, you need two ingredients: Drive and Commitment!

He also shares two rules:

1. Do more than you are told, do more than is expected.
2. Discipline yourself to keep keeping on.

It’s important, he states, to discipline yourself to excellence so others don’t need to. Think about it for a moment. Look at the people you’ve promoted—haven’t they delivered to you more than you expected? They are self-driven and confident in finding their own solutions to challenges. This week begin your journey of being excellent.

REMINDER: For our La Crosse area fans, you’re invited to attend the About Me Card World Premiere in La Crosse tomorrow! It’s free! Come and see the debut of this new Servant Leadership software that creates understanding between people in minutes! Click on aboutmecard.com to find out more.

Joe Kiedinger

ACTION PLAN: Find two things you are working on this week that you can do more with than what’s expected.

Walk a little slower, Daddy!

With Father’s Day around the corner, I thought I would share with you a poem that caught my attention. I think it can easily be put in the context of great leadership as well. The author is unknown.

“Walk a little slower, Daddy,” said a child so small. “I’m following in your footsteps and I don’t want to fall.

“Sometimes your steps are very fast; sometimes they’re hard to see. So walk a little slower, Daddy, for you are leading me.

“Someday when I’m all grown up, you’re what I want to be; then I will have a little child who’ll want to follow me.

“And I would want to lead just right, and know that I was true. So walk a little slower, Daddy, for I must follow you.”

Fathers, you have no idea of the impact you have on your children. I’ve been doing a lot of study on a father’s role in raising successful children. I’ve learned that your role is to support and build confidence. The rest of the world will tear down and belittle. Your role is to coach character and support your child’s interests. Happy Father’s Day to all of you supportive dads who are building confidence in your very vulnerable children.

JOE

ACTION PLAN: Be engaged every day. They’re growing up fast!

Thinking from the Inside Out!

Wow, it is very difficult to market from the inside out. Being a marketing firm, our job is to look at a client from a customer’s point of view and present the uniqueness and magic of that business so the prospect understands it and engages. This is so much easier than creating marketing materials and messages for our own company. A quote from early in my career sums it up well, “It’s hard to read your label from inside the bottle.” This is why it’s hard for businesses to create their own marketing materials.

However, our most recently invented and founded enterprise, the About Me Card program, is quite a different matter. Even though this is an internal brand, because it is a physical product with attributes it is much easier for us to market than our own marketing company, Prophit Marketing.

We recently moved into our fourth location: A beautiful building on North Broadway in downtown Green Bay located in a vibrant business area that is rich in history with many renovated structures. With this opportunity, we have a chance to make tweaks to our image and how we present ourselves. It is very difficult. We are figuring it out, but marketing yourself is a very challenging undertaking. The main reason is you tend to take for granted what you’re good at because you live it every day. What is mundane and normal for you could be the difference maker to an outside prospect. This is why marketing is such a struggle for most businesses with internal marketing departments. Bring people in to evaluate your brand and message. It will really shed light on how to communicate your brand.

When you work with internal marketers, you really need to learn how to look from the inside out. Out to what your customer sees. The only way to do that is to seek outside short-term counseling. I’m not talking about so-called “experts.” I’m talking about a group of people who you feel will give you honest feedback.

Before I leave, for my friends on the west side of the state please mark down June 24th. Viterbo University along with Festival Foods is bringing The About Me Card roadshow to your area. Learn about the most powerful Servant Leadership tool ever created! Click here for details!

JOE

ACTION PLAN: Reach higher by reaching out to others for perspectives on your business!

Good-to-Great leaders understand three simple truths!

Today’s wisdom comes from Jim Collins and his book, Good to Great. You’ve heard me talk about Servant Leaders. The fact is Jim Collins was close to using that term and instead went with Level 5 Leaders. I agree that for the masses that was the right decision. Collins felt people would misinterpret the term as fluffy or weak. Servant leadership is anything but that. It’s tough but fair to say the least.

The three simple truths of Good to Great leaders as pointed out on page seven in his book:

First, if you begin with who rather than what, you can more easily adapt to a changing world. If people join the bus primarily because of where it is going, what happens if you get 10 miles down the road and you need to change direction? You have a problem.

Second, if you have the right people on the bus, the problem of how to motivate and manage people largely goes away. The right people don’t need to be tightly managed or fired up.

Third, if you have the wrong people, it doesn’t matter whether you discover the right direction. You still won’t have a great company. Great vision without great people is irrelevant.

Making bad hiring decisions can cost a company a lot of stress and money. I know, I’ve picked people who were talented but not the right fit. A fit in culture is more important than a fit in knowledge. People can learn the information that they need. Take your time and hire wisely.

Joe Kiedinger

ACTION PLAN: If you would like help in hiring, e-mail me. I’ve learned much that will help you make better decisions.