Thats Important...Write That down!

Ryan Reynolds in the movie Van Wilder (2002)

In 2002 the racy movie, Van Wilder was released and the infamous line, "that's important, write that down," was said after every statement all over the U.S.  This interesting part to me is that this catchy line is actually great advice, but was just written off a as line from a funny movie.

Every day, people come up with ideas on how to improve processes, items, etc...  The problem is that these ideas are never documented, and people just get right back to living their life.  

For the last two years each time I had a business, personal, or crazy idea I grab my iPhone and type the idea in an ongoing list I have for each category.  Then on weekends, I sit down and read through my lists.  Some of my ideas make me laugh, and some bring back some good memories.  But, the important thing here is that my ideas are documented and I review them often.

Since I have begun documenting my ideas, I have acted on 10 of them, with 4 actually becoming something notable.  One of those 4 ideas was a new way of prospecting large multi-national organizations for my work as a business development executive.  This approach helped me not only get in front of a number of organizations, but also resulted in me closing a multi-million dollar deal for the organization I work for, and generating a number of new prospects for me to work.

So next time an idea, no matter how crazy, pops in your head, or is talked about over dinner.  Remember the great words of Van Wilder, "That's important, write that down!"  But, also make sure to review what you wrote down often, and don't be afraid to try and act on some of those ideas.  Because, you never know what that idea may become!

Results? Why, man, I have gotten lots of results! If I find 10,000 ways something won't work, I haven't failed. I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is often a step forward....
 - Thomas Edison

To Your Success & Prosperity!

Social Customer Service

Customer's demand that we service them where and when they want us.  Social media is no longer an option for businesses, it is a critical communications channel that your business must be servicing.

Take a look at my newest video, that will help your business understand why it is so important, and how to get started.

To Your Success & Prosperity!!

Growth Through Customer Service

So many businesses are always looking to sales to grow their business.  Forgetting about the amazing customers they already service and have more business for them.

Take a look at my newest video which may just help your business find the growth you need!

To Your Success & Prosperity!!

Learn Problem Solving With Chess

As you climb the corporate ladder, the one thing many people are not prepared for is the amount of complex puzzles they are faced with every minute of every day.  Those who can navigate their way through these puzzles are destine for great things, including a spot in the C-Suite.  But, those who are not able to, typically find them self lost in middle management limbo for the rest of their career, or till they can figure out how to navigate these puzzles better.

So how do you learn to navigate these puzzles better?

CHESS!

I was six years old the first time I can remember sitting down at a chess board.  It was so intimidating with all the different pieces and movement rules.  But, after the initial intimidation wore off, I began to become obsessed with the endless patterns you could create to change the game in your favor.

When I was taught to play the game I was told to break down the board into smaller patterns that then have specific responses.  It was the first time I began to learn how to break down massive complex issues, into small well defined patterns that have very specific outcomes and responses needed.  This skill has stuck with me, and it is how I approach any major project or business puzzle that is put in front of me.

Here is a good example of a common issue many executives face:

It is the end of a quarter and the sales figures came in 19% under forecast.  The senior team sees this and tells you that you need to figure out specifically why this happened, and propose options to make sure it does not happen again.

There are an infinite amount of ways to approach this huge task, so how do you do it.  If you apply the principles of chess you will know that you need to first break down the problem "board" into smaller, more manageable pieces:

1. Marketing
2. Advertising
3. Sales
4. Operations
5. Accounting

Now that the board is broken down, you then begin to place the results "pieces" for each of these departments "patterns" into their specific buckets.  Once this is broken down, you now have 5 very specific patterns taking shape.

From here we can compare these patterns against historical patterns to find what changed and what the outcomes where.  Once we know this we now can see what patterns we used in response with a positive outcome to fix it.  At that point you apply the next pattern "take your move" and repeat till all the patterns have had the correcting pattern applied and you have achieved check-mate!

At the end of the day, chess is simply a massive puzzle made up of  an almost infinite amount of outcomes, based on specific patterns and outcomes.  Learning chess and being a life long student not only will allow you to get better at the game, but also begin to break down complex puzzles in life into smaller, more manageable puzzles you can learn patterns to implement to be successful with.  It is a skill that every business needs to have, and should be ever sharpening with the game of chess.

"The game of Chess is not merely an idle amusement. Several very valuable qualities of the mind, useful in the course of human life, are to be acquired or strengthened by it, so as to become habits, ready on all occasions."
-Franklin, Benjamin (1779) "The Morals of Chess" [online] Historical Chess

To Your Success & Prosperity!!!