The Slight Edge

October December10

Motivating People and Organizations to realize their full Potential .

Dear LMI Enthusiasts, When I look at the various aspects of business I am drawn to the idea that the same three Cs apply to creating an environment for success. Those Cs are: Clarity, Communication, and Consistency. They actually work in concert with each other and therefore, are inseparable. Lets visit each independently and youll see how they work together. 1. Clarity Boiling down to fundamentals, Id say that clarity of vision is essential. However, thats not all. You need to have clarity in your message, clarity regarding your product or service, and clarity in your communications. No matter what place you hold in a business, clarity plays a role. As a business owner you need to have a great deal of clarity. You should be clear about what it is that you offer, what the value is to your clients, what the cost is, where you are going, and how you are going to get there. In addition, you have to be sure you are clear in all of your communications regardless of who they are with. I know this may sound elementary but everywhere there are business owners who think they are clear when in reality they arent. Some of them actually have clarity but fail to communicate clearly. This creates problems because others dont know where the owner is going or how they want to get there. The result is that people cant help these business owners achieve their goals. As a salesperson you should be very clear about what you offer, what its value is to your clients, and what the scope of work truly is. This will keep you from getting into an awkward situation with a prospect. Quite often when there isnt clarity the salesperson and the client have different beliefs about the product or service. Once delivered, the client is unhappy because his expectations havent been met. This problem can be easily avoided through clear communication. As a leader clarity is paramount. You cant lead others when you dont know where you are going or how you are going to get there. In addition, you cant lead others when you dont communicate clearly. They wont know where to go or how to get there. Everyone will wind up being disappointed.

2. Communication Did you notice how often communication came up in the previous paragraphs? Thats because even if you have all of the clarity in the world it will do you no good if you cant or dont communicate it clearly. As a business owner you have an obligation to yourself to communicate clearly what your goals, expectations, and plans are. Only then can you be sure that others will be able to help you get there. As a salesperson communication is critical. First you have to listen A LOT! While listening, you should be taking notes and asking questions to be sure you are learning all you can from your prospect. Once youve gathered all of your data it is time to craft your proposal. How you communicate it, will play a key role in how your prospect receives it. Be clear and thorough. Also, when dealing with current clients you have an obligation to your company to keep the communication flowing. Too often we stop nurturing our relationships with our current clients because we are off seeking new clients. Lack of communication here can cause you to lose out on business. When you are talking with your current clients you are discovering the things that are going on with them. You will discover opportunities to do more business with them. Conversely, if you arent talking with your current clients, someone else is gaining that business. As a leader how you communicate makes all the difference between success and failure. Your employees cant follow you or do the things you want them to do if they dont know what those things are. One of the areas where leaders often fail to communicate effectively is consequences. For whatever reason they dont make it clear what the consequences are of meeting or failing to meet the expectations. It is imperative to spell out to your staff what your goals are, how they play a role in helping you realize those goals, and what they will gain (or not) when they perform (or not). Believe me when I tell you that it makes everyones lives easier when the information is shared clearly. When everyone knows where they stand there is little OR no drama. The emotion is eliminated and the business will thrive. 3. Consistency By now you are probably on my train and you know what I am about to say. Welcome aboard! I wouldnt be practicing what I preach if I didnt communicate what I mean here. So, here goes.. It is insufficient to communicate once and then expect others to always know what you want. As a business owner you should set up a system where you are communicating

your goals, expectations, and needs on a consistent basis with your staff. One of the best things you can do for your staff is to create a consistent environment where they know what the landscape is AND you are consistent in your treatment of your employees, your clients, and your vendors. Its like parenting. If you arent consistent they will learn that all they have to do is wait; you will stop enforcing the rules and there will be no real consequences. This can create multiple problems. You are teaching your staff that they can do whatever they want with no consequence. You are telling your hardworking staff that they really dont matter because there are no negative consequences for the people who are not hard working. Whenever you tolerate behavior you dont want, you are in essence, endorsing that bad behavior. Is that really what you want to do? I didnt think so! As a salesperson you have a lot to do. You are meeting a lot of people. You have to continue to nurture the relationships with your current clients. The best way to manage your sales process is to maintain a consistent plan of action. This way you can designate time for current clients, and prospecting and selling. For salespeople consistency is more about time management and goal setting. You start with setting your sales goals and then creating the plan around those goals. How you spend your time matters so you should develop a consistent strategy for conducting and monitoring your process. As a leader, like a business owner, you have to be consistent in your messaging and your decisions. You have to be consistent in your discipline and reward system so it is equal across the board. One of the best ways to keep yourself out of trouble is to establish a program, communicate that program, and equally enforce that program. Your employees will quickly learn how you operate and will either come along with you or leave. Either way, you win. As you can see, business, sales, and leadership are much easier and therefore more successful when you have clarity and consistency, and you communicate effectively. We do ourselves a favor when we establish clear goals, expectations, and consequences early on. However, no matter when you do it, what matters is that you do it! Create the environment that will help you, and let your people, drive your organization to the goals you desire. Youll be clearly happy with the results!

Seasons Greetings to you .. your Family & Friends!!

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Positively & Enthusiastically, Suparna Samant Editor

In This Issue: Feature Article LMI Enthusiasts Speak Quote of the Week Just for laughs Contact the Editor Your Subscription Info

1. Feature Article:

What it Takes to be a Winner

By Paul J. Meyer Those who know Paul J. Meyer best believe that if he was stripped of all his possessions and dropped off in some part of the world where he knew neither the language nor another person, not only would he survive, but in a short time he would thrive. Thats because Paul is more than a leader; he is an achiever and a winner. He believes whatever you vividly imagine, ardently desire, sincerely believe and enthusiastically act upon must inevitably come to pass. And for more than five decades, by spreading this message he has inspired millions of people around the world to become winners in every facet of their lives. Why has this man captured the interest of so many? Probably because his life is the living testimony to his teachings. Now 80, he is still dreaming,

planning, climbing and achieving. He sets records then breaks them. He sees potential and possibilities the average person doesnt believe possible or overlooks. Paul J. Meyer is considered one of the most influential people in the history of the personal-achievement industry. He is the No.1-selling author of personal-development materials in the world. He has sold more than $2.5 billion worth of materials translated into 24 languages in more than 60 countries. Just a single programThe Dynamics of Personal Motivation has racked up more than $700 million in sales. Paul started Success Motivation Institute 48 years ago. He was the first to condense self-improvement books and put them on reel-to-reel, later 12inch LPs, then 8-track tapes, then cassettes and now CDs and DVDs. Paul has since written 28 full-length programs and courses on the subject of goal-setting, motivation, sales and leadership. If put into book form, all these programs would be equivalent to more than 100 books containing some of the most important and impacting personal-achievement material ever produced. W. Clement Stone, owner of SUCCESS magazine for several decades, said Paul J. Meyer took the personal-development industry from the reading age to the audio age. Pauls body of work has influenced the lives and teachings of many in the personal-development space including John C. Maxwell, best-selling author on leadership, who was a young man, recently married and still finding his feet as a pastor, when he first heard of him. I have the highest regard for Paul J. Meyer and for what he stands for, Maxwell says. He helped open my eyes to the reality of living in the world of the possible, setting goals and taking giant steps toward my destiny. Paul J. Meyer doesnt talk theory, hes talking reality. Born to be an Entrepreneur With an entrepreneurial spirit dating to his youth, Paul has acquired and started a variety of businesses. Before he was 25, he built the largest insurance agency in North America, recruiting 820 agents in 12 months at a

time when the average agency was comprised of about 5 to 20 agents. As a sales agent himself during that time, he personally earned the equivalent of $8 million a year in todays dollars. For the last 50 years, he has earned $5 to 20 million a year. He and his family operate more than 40 successful businesses in a multitude of industries. This is only part of the story of Paul J. Meyera small part, in fact. Paul is also a devoted husband to his wife, Jane, to whom he has sent flowers every week of their 37 years of marriage. They have five children and 15 grandchildren with whom theyre very close. And maybe the most significant thing about Paul is that he is a giver on a grand scale. The Paul J. Meyer Foundation has given many millions of dollars in the last 20 years to charities and organizations devoted to making a difference. One example is his Passport to Success program, which he founded in 1984 to help economically disadvantaged students in Central Texas obtain a college education. A few years later he joined forces with three other foundations, and together they have helped 6,000 economically disadvantaged children who otherwise, despite their intelligence and desire, would not have been able to attend college. For the past five decades, Paul has synthesized and summarized what he has learned to share it with others. But if he were pressed to summarize the principles in all of the programs he has written, as well as volumes written about self-improvement, he would simply state, Attitude is Everything. It has become his clarion in the personal-development world, and it was the underlying inspiration behind Success Motivation Institute. Mostly important the material Paul teaches comes from true life experiencesvetted through trial and error. He does not hypothesize or theorize about what it takes to be successful. Paul has lived it. You cannot question whether he knows what he is talking about; you only need look at his life for testimony. What it Takes to Become a Winner

Over the years Paul realized even more fully the powerful role attitude plays in determining success and winning in life. When people think of themselves as successful, they succeed, Paul says. When you believe in yourself, others tend to believe in you. When they see your self-confidence and positive expectancy about your goals, they believe in you and begin to accept your ideas. Paul says successful people think like winners. They approach life with a confident expectation that they can solve any problem that arises, turn any situation into a positive advantage and achieve any goal that is important to their success. Winners share some general attitudes that are basic to success for anyone and essential for gaining the winning edge, he says. Winners Think Positively Success begins with an attitude, Paul says. Winners habitually face the work of the day with the purpose of discovering what can be done instead of worrying about what cannot be done. When winners encounter roadblocks, they draw instantly on their positive attitude and determine quickly how to react constructively. This point was driven home to Paul by his father, a furniture maker and craftsman who believed that the skillful use of the right tool was essential to creating the desired masterpiece. One tool that stands out in Pauls memory is his fathers magnet, because his father used it to demonstrate an intriguing law that Paul would use his entire life. Experimenting with this magnet brought the law of attraction to life for me, he says. Positives attract, and negatives repel. When people allow fear, worry, doubt, indecision and other forms of negative thinking to determine the direction of their mental attitude, they shut off the positive power of their magnets. In contrast, Paul says when we point our attitude toward positive results, the results are positive. The power of a positive attitude is far-reaching; it goes well beyond the immediate boundaries of our thought process. During a 1962 economic recession, Paul and his team were struggling to

find a way to help his sales force during this trying period. Knowing they were surrounded with negative messages coming from all directions, the company set a goal not to read the newspaper, not to watch television and not to listen to any gossip for 30 days but simply to go out and work. They increased production by 50 percent. When you concentrate on the positives in your life, you stir up the desire to get moving, to seize the day, to take action, to conquer every adversity that jeopardizes well-being or prosperity. Winners Are Willing to Pay the Price of Success Winners do not expect to get something for nothing, Paul says. Winners are willing to give the time, effort, creativity and money necessary to achieve their purposes. They know that any success worth having carries a high price tag and they gladly accept the opportunity to invest in their own success. Learning the value of work was another of the gifts Pauls parents gave to him. What my parents taught me has, year by year, taken on an even fuller, richer meaning as I have experienced the wonderful world of work, he says. I have always had the willingness to work by a plan to achieve worthwhile, predetermined goals. During his mid-40s, Paul was trying to recruit some peers into one of his businesses. They repeatedly gave excuses about being too old or it being too late to venture into such endeavors. Paul set out to prove them wrong by showing that anything is possible as long as you set a goal, have a winners attitude, and apply discipline and a willingness to work. At 47, Paul decided he would make his point by learning to play tennis and becoming a champion. Before he even picked up a racquet, he bought a wood-burning set and made an affirmation and put it on his desk. It read: I am a Class-A tennis player. Then he went to work. He bought and repeatedly studied every video from every great tennis player. I took lessons from Rod Laver, the worlds No. 1 tennis player at that time, as well as from Roy Emerson, who had won more tournaments than anyone else at that time; and from Russell Seymour, the

top player in my age group. He then bought a local tennis club, installed the No. 1 tennis player (Robert Trogolo) as resident pro and sponsored him on the world tour. He took more than 300 lessons, read 20 books and went to four tennis camps. He even bought a computerized ball machine, using its 7,000 shot variations to simulate the style of his targeted opponents. It would shoot the same balls at me that you would hit at me, Paul says. Within five years he won the Dallas Open and was one of the top-ranked players in the country in his age group. When asked how someone his age could accomplish such a task, he brings the discussion back to the power of goal-setting. I put down my goal in writing, listed the obstacles and roadblocks and then it was about finding a way around them, Paul says. I was over 50 years of age at the time, but thats what I was willing to do to learn. Its what I had to do to be a champion and to be the best. Winners are Willing to Accept Responsibility Winners exercise initiative; they do what is needed because they are personally responsible, Paul says. Winners never make excuses; they acknowledge their mistakes or failures and learn from them. Winners carry out their responsibility to be and to do their best. Early on in Pauls insurance career, he was beginning to make a name for himself in the industry as one of the top producers in the country. After showing the company his ability to get results, he was assigned to be the agent over the state of Florida. Paul took on a partner 30-plus years his senior, thinking he was a man of honor and integrity. The decision proved costly. He wrecked our agency from a financial standpoint, Paul says, remembering coming in one Monday morning to an empty office. Everything was gone. My partner had mismanaged the company reserves and had taken the money produced from sales in Florida out of the state. A quick phone cal l revealed that the majority of the bank accounts were also

gone. "When you believe in yourself, others tend to believe in you." Although devastated by the betrayal, the reality was he had several hundred insurance salespeople working for him who were suddenly out of jobs, just as he was. There were also many people who had bought policies from his agency who were in financial jeopardy. Most people in this situation would claim they were victimized and file for bankruptcy protection. Not Paul. I could not in good conscience fail all of those people, he says. He spent the next yearwith no payundoing the damage. We made sure our policyholders were protected and helped every salesperson in the agency find new jobs. When everything was done, I had nothing left except the knowledge that I had done what was right. After the affairs of the company were in order, a prominent lawyer told him he was the richest young man he knew. And when Paul asked him why, he said, You protected your name and your reputation and your character. God gave you a gift and youre going to make it back now 100-fold because of what you have done here. And thats what happened. Winners Use their Creative Abilities Everyone is born with the ability to be creative, Paul says. Winners cultivate their creativity, trust it and exercise it. Creativity springs from selfacceptance, self-knowledge, and the courage to develop and practice ones unique talents. Meyer used this creativity when he was in the army during World War II. One day he heard that his platoon was heading to Japan. Later that night he went to see his colonel and asked him if there was anything he could do to keep from going. The colonels words were, Well, it would have to be something pretty damn spectacular. Paul replied, Sir, Im glad you mentioned that. Thats what I do. The colonel had heard Paul was a pretty good athlete and made him a deal a deal he thought he could never keep. He told him the U.S. Army physical

fitness records were coming up in three weeks, a decathlon-like competition. He said, If you break every one of those records, you can stay here and be a physical fitness trainer. And to the amazement of the entire platoonespecially the commander Paul broke every record. Some of the records he broke were 81 pushups with one arm and 3,500 sit-ups without stopping. The colonel was good on his word and Meyer was allowed to stay. I enter everything I get involved in, no matter what it is, without giving mental recognition of the possibility of defeat, Paul says. I have a no-limitations belief in my creator, a nolimitations belief in myself, a no-limitations belief in other people and a nolimitations belief in what we can do together. Every day is that way for me. Winners Persist and Persevere The phrase give up is not in the vocabulary of winners, Paul says. When winners choose a goal, their commitment to achieving it is firm and steadfast. When winners are confronted with hurdles or run into stumbling blocks, they go over them or turn them into stepping stones. Winners pursue their goals persistently until they succeed. The first sales job Paul had was with an insurance company based in Columbus, Ga. With World War II just ended, competition for jobs was fierce. Paul applied to all 57 companies in town. The last company gave me a job and they sent me out in the countryone of the hardest areas to get salesto test my mettle, he says. Failure was out of the question. He set a goal to be successful selling life insurance and that was all there was to it. If there were obstacles, he would go over them. If there was a wall, he was going to go through it. If I heard a no, it didnt make any difference to me, Paul says. I had the same healthy self-image when I called on the first insurance company that I did on the 57th one, even with 55 rejections in between. With a talent for recruiting gifted and talented people to join his team, Paul became a top producer, leading two of the nations largest life insurance companies. And by 27, hed acquired a personal net worth of $1 million

from personal production and agency development. Still Persisting and Persevering Although the color of his hair may give a hint to Pauls age, his daily regimen doesnt show it. He still lives every day with the same passion and desire he had as a young man. And he shows no sign of stopping. To celebrate his 70th birthday, Paul climbed Mt. Elbert, the tallest of Colorados 14 highest peaks and the second-tallest mountain in the continental United States. This might not seem like an impressive feat, but just three weeks earlier, Paul walked out of a respiratory hospital after having been admitted with a severe asthma attack. To achieve his goal, he had to crawl the last 500 feet on his hands and knees because breathing was so difficult. It might have taken me a while, but my attitude was such that I was not going to be denied. I was going to the topperiod, he says. Paul celebrated his 80th birthday in May and still has a lot left to accomplish on his plate. He just finished a program on leadership for women as well as a program for an educational system in another country. Im just finishing my 18th book Ive written since I was 70, called A Fortune to Share, and the fortune to share is the attitude I got from my parents that made all of this possible. Attitude is Everything Paul says his success in life is not part of some magic formula but about having the right attitude in life. Attitude is everything, he says. I have that sign in my office. I went down around South America on the maiden voyage with the Queen Mary and down at the South Pole, as far as I could get, I held up a sign that said, Attitude is Everything. I went scuba diving in the Cayman Islands, where I live four months a year, and took the sign down to the bottom of the ocean. It said, When youre down at the bottom, Attitude is Everything. So it doesnt matter where you are or what youre doing, it all has to do with attitude. And then I have an I will-not-be-denied attitude. And thats an incredible thing to have. I dont look to my weakness; I look to my strength. I dont look to my problems; I look to my power. Its all about

attitude.
2. LMI Enthusiasts Speak

I was a participant in your EPM workshop held for Birla Sun Life AMC Ltd. at Kolkata. I thought I should share with you one of the goals that I achieved this month, i.e, a vacation to America with my spouse. It was a great vacation that I had and I am very happy that I could achieve this dream of mine so quickly.

Positively, (I stole that from you)

Himanshu Redhu Zonal Trainer East

3. Just for a Laugh

"Dig the Lingo of Employers and Employees".

Employer's Lingo "COMPETITIVE SALARY" We remain competitive by paying less than our competitors. "JOIN OUR FAST-PACED TEAM" We have no time to train you. "CASUAL WORK ATMOSPHERE" We don't pay enough to expect that you'll dress up; well, a couple of the real daring guys wear earrings. "MUST BE DEADLINE ORIENTED" You'll be six months behind schedule on your first day. "SOME OVERTIME REQUIRED" Some time each night and some time each weekend. "DUTIES WILL VARY" Anyone in the office can boss you around. Employee's Lingo "I'M EXTREMELY ADEPT AT ALL MANNER OF OFFICE ORGANIZATION:" I've used Microsoft Office. "I'M HONEST, HARD-WORKING AND DEPENDABLE" I pilfer office supplies. "MY PERTINENT WORK EXPERIENCE INCLUDES" I hope you don't ask me about all the McJobs I've had. "I TAKE PRIDE IN MY WORK" I blame others for my mistakes. "I'M PERSONABLE" I give lots of unsolicited personal advice to co-workers. "I'M EXTREMELY PROFESSIONAL"

"MUST HAVE AN EYE FOR DETAIL" We have no quality control. "CAREER-MINDED" Female Applicants must be childless (and remain that way). "APPLY IN PERSON" If you're old, fat or ugly you'll be told the position has been filled. "NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE" We've filled the job; our call for resumes is just a legal formality. "SEEKING CANDIDATES WITH A WIDE VARIETY OF EXPERIENCE" You'll need it to replace three people who just left. "PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS A MUST" You're walking into a company in perpetual chaos. "REQUIRES TEAM LEADERSHIP SKILLS" You'll have the responsibilities of a manager, without the pay or respect. "GOOD COMMUNICATION SKILLS" Management communicates, you listen, figure out what they want and do it.

I carry a Day-Timer. "I AM ADAPTABLE" I've changed jobs a lot. "I AM ON THE GO" I'm never at my desk. "I'M HIGHLY MOTIVATED TO SUCCEED" The minute I find a better job, I'm outta there.

4. Quote of the Month

Winners never make excuses; they acknowledge their mistakes or failures and learn from them.

Paul J. Meyer
5. Bumper Sale of Paul J. Meyers Books In view of the constant requests to read books by Paul J. Meyer after the various articles in the Slight Edge and experiencing the benefits each one of us has reaped by following the learning in the various LMI programs We have decided to make some of them available to you through the Diwali Bumper sale

To check availability you could contact.. Ahmed .. ahmed@lmi-india.com Or Vasantha .. partners@lmi-india.com

LMI Books.
Sr. No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Name of the Product Art of Giving Book Bridging Leadership Book I Inherited Fortune Book Success Motivation Book The True Role of a Leader World of Success Book Description of the Product Printed Book Printed Book Printed Book Printed Book Printed Book Printed Book Qty No. Selling Price 850 700 980 450 200 350

Author John Edmund Haggai Paul J. Meyer Paul J. Meyer Paul J. Meyer Paul J. Meyer Paul J. Meyer

Please send your draft drawn in favour of Leadership Management India Pvt. Ltd. and your mailing details to help us courier the book to you. 6. Contact the Editor If you would like to contribute or send in your suggestions please write to the editor Editor: Suparna Samant, Leadership Management International - India M: 09321381326 D: +9122 67708091 @: suparna@lmi-india.com Visit us online at: www.lmi-india.com Copyright 2009 by Leadership Management International India .. All Rights Reserved.

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