Successful People are Happy

My number one tip to business owners and sales and marketing professionals that are trying to grow their business and have a life is this – Successful People are Happy!  It seems obvious that successful people are happy because they enjoy the money, free time, and flexibility that comes with that success.  However, the real […]

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True Nature of Success Works

Today I enjoyed an easy 5.5 mile run on a bright, sunny afternoon – which is bit surprising because quite frequently my usual 3 mile training run is a challenge.  In addition to the temperatures in the 70’s being cooler than normal today for a Fourth of July in Chicago, there are many fragrant plants […]

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Indiana's Got Me – w/exceptional Marketing and Service

The song says "Indiana Wants Me…" but in my case, they’ve already got me – actually my daughter.  I’m talking about Indiana University in Bloomington, IN.  My daughter will be attending their Kelley School of Business this fall as a freshman.  Besides being one of the top-ranked business programs nationwide, IU as an institution did […]

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Perseverence Works in Business (and it Rocks!)

Now that the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines is finally history, you can’t help but wonder who is the big winner.  I think both Tiger and Rocco Mediate gained some serious stature in this battle of staying power.  Sure, they both blew some easy putts.  But they also won clutch holes when they needed them […]

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Grow Your Business – Stick to What Works

Today Sergio Garcia captured his first "major" golf tournament, the lucrative and prestigious TPC at Sawgrass.  How did he do it?  He went back to the putter that worked for him eight years ago.  It’s a simple concept – stick to what works.  Or as I’ve said many times in one of my keynote presentations […]

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Relationship Selling – Plant the Right Seeds!

How often do you tell your colleagues what they do well?  This is probably one of their unique qualities that makes the relationship valuable.  When you recognize their unique contributions to your business relationship, you validate, reinforce, and most importantly, value what they bring to the relationship. I recently had a client thank me for […]

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The True Nature of Mastery

Last week I was watching Jay Leno on the Tonight Show.  Normally, I just watch the monologue.  For one thing, it’s always nice to end the day with a few good laughs.  Though, as a professional speaker, I also enjoy watching to learn how a master like Jay presents and responds to the audience. On […]

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Is Done Better Than Perfect? – You Decide

A friend of mine is well-known in our industry for saying that ‘done is better than perfect.’  He recognizes that there are perfectionists out there — moi?!!  – that get so caught up in doing things right that they don’t get things done at all.  Regardless, I still applaud Starbucks recent ads, no doubt inspired […]

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Green Industry Selling the Right Way

Today I gave a presentation to a group of down-to-earth green industry professionals at the Illinois Landscape Contractors Association Winter Seminar.  It’s always fun to help people grow their business, but it was an especially enjoyable day for me because it was an ILCA event just like this one nearly 20 years ago where my […]

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I Hear You AT&T, and I Like It!

AT&T recently announced their 4th quarter earnings are up 62%.  I’m not surprised because my recent experience with them was quite favorable.  I’m impressed with the new AT&T.  They’ve shown me they care! Best of all, AT&T seems to understand that customers do indeed take into account the OVERALL experience of working with a company.  […]

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