After thousands of hours of consulting with clients, I am convinced. Most people and organizations continue with insanity. They do the repeatedly ineffective things and expect a different result. They keep saying silly things like, “I need more sales.” and “I want more customers” without thinking through why a person buys. They are thinking about how they can sell. Perhaps narcissism has ruled our lives so thoroughly that the disease blinds us. They are not thinking about the customer, the process, the experience and the logic for how a buyer buys.
It is a truly human condition. It takes people of character, humility and candor to be able to rise above the insanity. Of course everyone wants more customers. Of course everyone wants to be an overnight success. Insisting on this in a world of too many choices is insane. It is much like talking with a child who insists on having what they want and being completely oblivious to the responsibilities adults and caretakers think through.
You are likely in a place which could be better. You wish you had more customers or you wish you had different customers. Reality has a way of denying your wish until you understand how life works. Your business is subject to laws which transcend any juvenile insistence and rants for more when you have not paid the price. Here is how life and business work:
- There Is A Price To Pay: While you are busy trying to find a way around the work, the expense or the time, your competitor who pays the price gets ahead. They don’t circumvent. They go through that door of opportunity and reap the rewards via hard work, persistence and sacrifice. It is how success happens.
- Not Everyone Is Talented: If you surround yourself with sub-par people, guess what the result will be. Teams that are not talented do not win championships. Being on such a team is demoralizing. If you will hold a high standard of performance and deliverance for yourself and those around you, the ball moves forward.
- Creativity Is Critical: We have seen it all. Seeing it a second time is boring. We are not interested in boring. If you want to be like every other attorney, Realtor, salesperson, financial advisor, and the myriad of other types of people in your field, you lose. Nothing stands out. The lack of risk and the promotion of convention only blends you in in the eyes of the buyer. Push the envelope and expand your guild, practice or industry. Those are the winners today. The buyers are voting this way.
- Execution Is A Premium: We are continually hired and retained as a consulting team not just for ideas, but because of execution. There are a lot of idea people out there who feel important because of jargon. Show me people who can cut through the clutter, identify what is of importance and deliver. Execution takes work and focus coupled with passion. Everyone else is a talking head without feet and hands to make dreams happen.
Some people feel more comfortable in the coma. They don’t have to wake up and engage reality. I feel sorry for them. Their life is predictable, scripted and destined for insignificance. Markets, change and speed overtake them.
If you are able to stop the insanity, the very things that are not and will not work in your business and life, then you can engage the opportunities the new economy affords anyone who is willing to see with clear eyes and act. Tricking people or hoping in good things is not enough. Too many people and companies have access to the same tools, social media and resources. It’s not a time for gimmicks. It’s a time for substance which will reap the rewards fairly due for those who will pay the price and implement the systems towards change. How about stopping the insanity and getting real? It’s how winning is done today.
