When it comes to Michael’s management style, there are far more blogs recounting the humorous disasters and problems associated with his approach.  Many people can relate in some way to the craziness of what goes on at work, which make the show so popular.  Sure it is easy to come up with a list of “don’ts” from material in The Office.  I asked myself the question, “What can we learn and emulate from Michael’s Scott’s management style”?  Here are three take-aways:

1)      Find Ways to Make Work Fun

  There was never a dull moment around The Office with Michael’s antics.  He looked for ways to make a mundane workday fun and exciting.  There were examples of Office Awards, called the “Dundies”, or a team retreat with a Survivor Theme or just simple things like ordering in Mexican food for a themed lunch.  The truth is, we spend our best waking hours at work and with our co-workers.  As a leader, how can you add something enjoyable or unexpected to the mundane?  How can you do something fun that speaks to the culture at your organization or captures the spirit of the team.  Do we sometimes take ourselves too seriously?  If you lighten things up, can it open the doors for more creativity, collaboration and positive energy?  Who can’t use more of those characteristics in their workplace?

2)      Be Approachable

 Sometimes a manager for fear of being too friendly becomes stiff and unapproachable to their team.  They put up a wall that makes it hard to get to know them.  As leader, strive to be affable.  Find the right balance where your team finds it easy to talk to you and be truthful with you, but you remain respected.  Care about what people think, ask their opinions about how things function in the office.  If you are not taking advantage of your front-line experts, you will miss opportunities to improve.

Do be balanced, Michael takes this to an unhealthy extreme because he looks to several people on his team as “buddies” and tries on numerous occasions to interject himself into their social lives.  There is nothing wrong with being friends with people you work with and even seeing people from work socially outside of the office.  Just caution yourself; when you become so close with people you work with in a “BFF” way, your judgment can become compromised to their performance or other difficult business decisions a leader may face.  When the boss’s friendships are selective with people in the office it also creates the impression of biased treatment, even if it does not exist.

3)      Let Your Team Do the Job They Were Hired to Do

If there is one word you could not use to describe Michael Scott, it would be “micro-manager”.  Perhaps it would have bored to television viewing audience if he pulled aside Oscar and started questioning his accounting practices and wanted to go over the budget line-by-line.  Can you imagine him sitting down with Toby (the Human Resources Person) to discuss and question every HR practice in place?  I realize it does not make for good TV, the there is a useful message here:  Don’t let your team check their brains at the door.  Give people the accountability and authority to do the job they were hired and are qualified to do.  Give them goals and let them manage how it gets done.  One of the most motivating phrases you can tell someone is, “I believe in you, I trust you and what you think is best”.

In one early episode, Michael goes on a sales call with a more junior person.  The junior sales person was basically shadowing Michael.  Up to this point the audience could easily question Michael’s competence in his role.  We they get to see him in action with the customer he is brilliant, eloquent and manages to close the sale.  It was a shining illustration or leading by example.  The junior person took away a real-life example of how to be effective in sales not a bunch of talk or a boring lecture.

So perhaps this is how I justify tuning in on Thursday nights to a comedy show that may not be the most mind-challenging way to spend ½ an hour?  Keep in mind there are lessons in leadership all around us: what to do and what to avoid if we are paying attention.  The key is how we observe, process and maintain enough self-awareness to make small, on-going, changes that make us better.  In the spirit of keeping it light, I leave you with a short clip as a reminder to have fun.  Here is one of Michael’s typical antics, useful for a good chuckle: Michael’s Best Moments.

#1 SO WHAT?

The most common answer we received was that far too many salespeople do far too much talking, and not enough asking & listening.  “It’s almost like they go into robo-sales mode and someone pushed their ‘Provide Info’ button.  Even if I’ve asked for the meeting & been clear about what I’m interested in talking with them about, they keep dumping all of this info about unrelated capabilities, history and experience. It’s even worse if they’re manager is with them at the meeting – you can tell that they are following a checklist of things they have been told to cover no matter what,” related one Chief Marketing Officer.

It may be tempting to let customers know how smart & experienced you are, but the best way to communicate capabilities and expertise is in the context of providing relevant answers to your customer’s questions.  In order to make sure you are providing information that matters to your customer, we suggest using the So What? test.  For each piece of information or data you will share at the meeting – imagine the customer looking you straight in the eye asking you, “so what?” If you can’t tie the answer directly back to how it benefits that specific customer & the current solution you are discussing, hold it for another meeting … otherwise there might not be another one.

#2 READ THE AUDIENCE, NOT THE SLIDES 

This has happened to everyone at some point: the stakes are high, and you really want to win a sale.  So you prepare a “presentation” for the meeting that includes every element you think you need to cover in order to get the business.  However according to our respondents, even experienced, knowledgeable salespeople turn into presenters instead of well-informed and prepared advisers sharing relevant answers.  Don’t fall into the trap of talking at the customer, instead of with them.  One C-level decision maker shared, “I am looking for someone to come in and host a meeting and ask relevant questions, provide me with relevant solutions, and know their information inside and out so that we can discuss it in the format and order that makes sense to me, not how it works for them.”

Best practices for a customer meeting with a slide presentation component include these 2 rules of thumb:

1. Use slides sparingly and carefully!
2. Either put it on the slide or say it – don’t do both.  We’ve all been in meetings where the presenter stands in front of the audience and reads exactly what is on the slides.  Think of slides as “helpers” that provide the audience with extra information to make the point you are speaking about, or as “exclamation points” that provide visual examples of complex or important information that make it easier for the audience to understand or be involved with the material.

#3 MIX IT UP              

Every leader we spoke with mentioned that they appreciate a meeting where the host provides different ways to engage the audience.    The best salespeople use different tools to get the audience involved in the meeting.  For example, rather than a slide with a picture of the item you are talking about – bring the actual object with you so that they can touch and feel it.  When dealing with a group, consider doing a short exercise that gets them interacting and discussing an important point so you can draw out important information.  Short video clips of relevant experts, testimonials, inspirational or funny clips meant to encourage discussion can be very effective.   Bring along a whiteboard so that you can draw in order to better explain a point, or keep track of important ideas and questions that surface in the meeting.  Better yet?  Get the customer more involved and engaged by asking someone in the meeting to help with white-boarding.

It boils down to this:  don’t lose the perspective you need most – that of how it feels to be a customer.  Be RELEVANT, EFFECTIVE & ENGAGING.  When preparing for the meeting ask yourself from the customer’s perspective:

1. So What?  If the customer asked me, how could I tie this directly back to something that is RELEVANT to them or their needs?
2. What words can I take out of the slides and cover more EFFECTIVELY by simply talking WITH the meeting members, or at least shorten the bullets to a couple of words that emphasize the most important points?
3. What parts can I do a more effective job of handling by ENGAGING the customer?  Rather than using a slide or by discussion – where can I pass out samples, white-board, ask questions, show a video clip or include a short group exercise etc?
4. Once you have made the changes above & completed the meeting material, ask yourself the same questions again.

To get more presentation tips from the top speakers & presenters in the world:

Click here to watch a 2 minute video of internationally renowned speaker & Former Apple Macintosh chief evangelist Guy Kawasaki on the 10/20/30 Rule of Power Point 

Would you like to be more confident?  Hardly anyone says no to this question.  In fact, confidence is one of the few things in life that we don’t necessarily want in moderation.  Don’t confuse confidence with arrogance or an over-inflated sense of one’s self worth.  Genuine confidence by definition is “the assurance you have in yourself or the abilities you possess”.  When used with respect and with a service attitude toward others confidence is a true gift that attracts others. Versus arrogance that repels others.

I’ve learned personally that to become more confident you must be willing to challenge yourself beyond your comfort zone. You must be willing to make mistakes.  Failure is essential for building confidence even though it seems counterintuitive.  Through failure we learn the lessons that teach us how to eventually succeed.  The best anecdote for fear is action.  So, I’d like to challenge you this week to take action, one step at a time.

Here is a simple 5 step system for training yourself to become more confident.  Follow this formula and commit to doing all the steps regularly and daily and you will definitely experience an increase in your confidence.  The best part is once you start to feel your confidence build it multiplies.  Get going in the right direction and you will see yourself doing things you never imagined possible.

Step 1:  Determine WHY you want to be more confident?   What will more confidence give you?  With every goal in life whether it is being financially secure, becoming healthier, or getting that next promotion you must always make sure you are asking yourself why you want to attain the goal. Confidence is simply a means to the end. What’s the end?  When you hit times that you don’t want to work at building your confidence muscle you must go back to your purpose or “why.”  If your why is compelling enough than it will pull you forward to the win at the end.  If you aren’t able to articulate exactly why you want to be more confident ask yourself what the downside in the past has been due to a lack of confidence. What opportunities have you missed?  What disappointments did you experience?

Action STEP – WRITE OUT YOUR “WHY”. I want to be more confident so I can__________.

Step 2:  Visualize yourself as more confident.  Modern science continues to prove the power of visualization. Visualization can cure cancer, create architectural wonders, and help professional athletes reach the pinnacle of their career.  How would you look if you displayed more confidence? Close your eyes and picture yourself doing something confidently.  What does your posture look like?  What does the tone in your voice sound like?  How do you feel about yourself when you are showing up in the world as confident?  Get as clear a picture in your mind of yourself practicing something difficult or something you want to master confidently. Visualize this as often as possible (at least daily).  Then when you are ready to actually do what you are visualizing your mind will already know what to do and more importantly HOW to do it confidently.

ACTION STEP – Sit for 5 minutes today and visualize a more confident you.

Step 3: Focus on your strengths.  Focusing on your strengths by using them in life is the #1 secret to confidence.  Are you a gifted listener who always remembers what is important to others?  Were you selling used golf balls to your neighbors before you were ready to start kindergarten?  Can you get to the heart of a matter in seconds and simplify even the most confusing conversation with a group?  All of these skills are clues to your uniqueness.  If you are not in a situation that allows you to use your gifts then you will most likely continue to battle a lack of confidence.  If you are not certain what your true strengths are then I highly recommend you research the many assessment tools that will help you determine them.  DiSC is one example.

Action Step:  Write out your strengths. Then think about how you will use them more in your life.

Step 4:  Guard, control and feed your mind.  Have you heard the expression “Where the mind goes the man (or woman) follows?”  Everything mentioned above is important and necessary for taking steps forward in confidence.  However, if you do not believe first that you have the power inside you to become more confident it will never happen. You must first believe in your heart and your MIND that you can be more confident.   These 3 skills practiced daily will reset your negative thinking patterns into positive messages that are the foundation for confidence.

A)     Guard: Stay away from “negatives”.  Particularly people.  Be very careful who you spend time with.  Avoid people who bring you down regularly. Surround yourself with positive, successful people who are self starters and are continuously improving.  These people will be your role models for your self-study program.   They may also encourage you as you grow.

B)      Control:  Identify the things that you say to yourself that drags you down into a pit of self pity and zaps your confidence.  Take the next few days to write down the negative self talk that you hear – catch yourself saying it and keep track.  Then once you know what your 2-3 “zappers” are, start talking back to them and replacing the negative thoughts with positives.  As you practice this you will gradually pull out the negative “weeds” and plant seeds of positive that will grow over time.

C)      Feed:  Replace negative thinking in your head with positives. These are often called affirmations.  Write or audio tape these positive statements of encouragement and “truth” affirmations. Display them visually if that works best for you. Or say them or listen to them if you are an auditory learner.  Just like you feed your body healthy food if you want to be physically healthy you must feed yourself positive mental food to improve your outlook and gain confidence.

ACTION STEPS –

Think of a positive, confident person you can spend more time with and contact them.

Identify your 3 common “zappers” and develop a few affirmations to replace them.

 Step 5:  Start Your Confidence Training Program.  Confident people have something in common. They take risks and they never view mistakes as failure. They view mistakes as opportunities to learn and get one step closer to success.  If you want to build confidence there is only one true way to do it. Practice doing things that stretch you and even scare you and watch your confidence soar.

Think back to a time when you did something that boosted your confidence.  Was it something easy or challenging?  When we overcome the things we fear the most we make the greatest leaps forward with our confidence.  Commit today to doing something that you would not normally do but you know you should do to be more confident. Can you speak up in a meeting you normally wouldn’t?  Can you attempt a new skill that requires going out on a limb?  The bottom line advice here is practice, practice, practice… to become more confident.

ACTION STEP:  Commit to one thing you will do this week that will build confidence.  Set a goal. Then DO IT before 5 p.m. on Friday!

Taking these 5 simple steps will set you on a deliberate and exciting journey toward a more confident and authentic you.  If you start building your confidence muscle this week by taking these simple steps imagine how great you will feel by the weekend?

As they say, life is not a dress rehearsal.  Live confidently and live it to your fullest potential.

If you’d like to learn more about confidence I’d like to invite you to listen to my free audio replay of

Confidence – What’s Your Story?

Follow this link and you’ll be connect: http://attendthisevent.com/?eventid=28226991

You can also visit me at www.makeadifferencemakealiving.com for more business building insight.

Be more confident and make it a great week!

MaryAnn

MakeADifferenceMakeALiving.com

We all would like to think our team members would gladly want us as their manager again.  Does it surprise you that in a recent Hogan survey, the average respondent would be willing to work for fewer than half of their former bosses again?  Ouch!  Who’s in the outcast boss group?

Here is what the survey went on to uncover about bad bosses.  The research does not call this the 4-headed monster, but in thinking about these 4 management mishaps, the title seems appropriate.  Here is the list of the characteristics of Bad Managers:

1. Bad managers don’t manage their emotional and social behavior.
2. Bad managers lack integrity, avoid personal ac­countability, and their behavior is inconsistent with organizational values.
3. Bad managers don’t make their expectations clear and don’t hold staff accountable for performance.
4. Bad managers make minimal efforts to develop or grow their staff.

Here are some questions you consider and utilize to be sure you are on the list of people who would be chosen to lead again and again.  *Warning*:  The following questions require high levels of self-awareness and ability to be take some time to seek feedback, while reflecting on what you do, hear and see.  They are not for someone who wants a quick-fix or easy answer.  However, use them wisely, honestly and with the intention of improving your leadership and you will be impressed with the results.

1. Manage your emotional and social behavior.  Seek to increase your emotional intelligence.  To begin to improve in this area, you must first understand yourself; how you tend to behave in situations; what motivates and excites you and what drains your energy.  Consider the impact of your behavior on others, along with their style and preferences.  Are there areas where your behavior may be perceived differently than what you are intending?  Do you expect certain behavior and reactions from others based on your own preferences?  Is this a realistic expectation?
2. Act with integrity and personal accountability in a way that is consistent with the organization’s values.  Integrity: People say “either you have it or you don’t”.   Ask yourself, how do people perceive your integrity?   What are the values of the organization you work for?  How do you demonstrate those values?  Do you take credit when things go right, but pass blame or make excuses when things go wrong?  How you can ensure your team sees you leading by example with integrity?  Maybe this means you make your life harder in the short-term, to achieve an outcome consistent with your values or the values of the organization in the long-run.
3. Ensure expectations are clear and hold your team accountable.  Do you ensure your team has clear goals?  Do the goals follow the SMART format?  Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic and Time-based.  Are the goals written down and then throw by the way-side or do you revisit these goals, discuss progress and barriers to achieving them?  How do you hold people accountable for the outcomes you agree to?
4. Develop your others on your team.  What are the short-term and long-term career goals of the people are your team?  Do you know what gets them excited or interested at work?  What skills, talents and experiences will they need to accomplish their career aspirations?  What role do you take in helping them obtain new skills and experiences?  Do you avoid developing your team members because it may result in them moving on from your team (a major inconvenience or setback to your work)?  Although it may seem intuitive to make your best efforts to ensure your team stays operating as they are today; are you ignoring the inevitable?  What is the trade-off for someone leaving your team because they do not get any development versus someone growing into a job the stretches and utilizes their skills.  Which offers you more allegiance and pro-activity in the long-haul on your team?

We have all probably heard the phrase, “people don’t leave companies, they leave bosses”.  What specifically will you do to be sure your team members not only stay with your team, but would come back again if given the chance?  Be the boss everyone wants to work for and see the positive impact on loyalty, teamwork and results.

Think of the best salespeople you know.  They seem to possess the hybrid qualities of genius & genie, magically producing month after month, year after year.  How do they do it?  What is their secret?  They likely don’t sell anything.  Instead they approach meetings with prospective customers as consultations:

• They talk with their customers – these giants don’t have a “pitch”, rather elevate conversation beyond a simple sales call, to a business discussion
• They listen to what the customer needs, understand & identify where they need help, without regard to what products/services they have to offer
• They provide their customer with a solution, not a product

In order to join the ranks of the sales elite, they must be talking about and offering something that the customer not only needs – but that they value.  Value is in the eye of the beholder so be sure your sales team is encouraged to know what value looks like to each customer before talking about what your organization has to offer them.  Once they’ve determined what the customer needs & how they value it, your salesperson can build the solution message upon it, & throughout the “story” reinforce it by continually tying back to that foundation.  There will be no need to sell.  The conversation will naturally become about how to proceed, rather than whether to proceed.

Click below to view a short video from legendary sales guru Jeffrey Gitomer on how to become a sales person focused on adding value to the customer experience, not just making sales. Jeffrey Gitomer – Stop closing sales and start providing value, or lose to price

While many people dream of being good at everything, it makes more sense to focus on becoming outstanding at one thing instead.

On the surface, it may seem appealing to have well-rounded talents. But true success occurs when you focus your energy on becoming the best you can be in a specific area or at one particular type of skill. When you do something you are naturally good at and enjoy doing, you increase self-confidence, boost efficiency and earn a reputation as a go-to person for your particular talents.

It is easy to feel empowered and realize more happiness in life when you do things you’re good at and that interest you. With that in mind, here are a few tips to help you focus on honing your own talents and skills:

1. Identify your strengths. Learn to recognize your talents for what they are, and strive to develop skills that will enhance your strengths and add value to what you do.
2. Take note of what others say. Sometimes coworkers or friend are a great resource to identify strengths, especially if you are constantly getting complimented on a talent you’ve yet to recognize.
3. Never talk yourself out of doing something because of a skill or expertise you don’t have. Rather, focus on what you can do.
4. Let go and accept your limitations. Don’t waste energy striving to improve your weaknesses. Instead, perfect your talents and press on.
5. Practice makes perfect. Remember, there I always room for improvement for everyone, regardless of the skill level. The harder you work at something, the better you’ll become.

When we do something we are good at, we are naturally more engaged and fulfilled. While it’s true that strengths and weaknesses make us complete, it’s our strengths that make us successful.

Leadership Tip: Once you find your strengths … surround yourself with other talented people who shine in the areas that compliment your strengths!  The key to a strong team is having team members that excel in each of the skills that are needed to serve your customers.

You can’t send a duck to eagle school… Click here for the video:  http://www.eagleschoolmovie.com

• If you were a vegetable, what kind would you be?
• Why is a manhole round?
• What was your favorite book as a child?

Everyone seems to have a formula or approach they like to use.  Perhaps some interview questions that were passed down to you from a former boss or mentor are part of your approach.  Sometimes we get asked a question during an interview that challenges us, so we add it to our own personal list.  There are several different types of interview questions leaders relay on, several fall into some serious interview pitfalls, here are the top three mistakes I have witnessed leaders make when it comes to using interview questions:

• Questions that are not likely to lead to a truthful answer.  An example of this type of question would be, “What are your weaknesses?”  Think about it.  Candidates know the ideal response to this one has something to do with being a perfectionist or having work standards that are just too high.  Nobody ever offers up information like being lazy or abusive to their teammates as a response.  Keep in mind we are also assuming the person is self-aware and knows their own areas of development.

• Questions that measure experience, not success.  “Have you ever given instructions to a team?” or “Have you done any programming in Java?”  Consider this; in both cases the answer could be “yes”.  Yet, the candidate may have instructed to team to failure or never got a program to actually run in Java.  It may seem simple, but the formula is experience does not equal success.  You simply need to know more.

•  Questions that measure a candidate’s ability to interview, not their ability on the job.  Questions like “Why should I hire you”, or “Why are you the best person for this job” are a dream for a savvy interviewee.  The problem is some people who get lots of interview experience, do so because they are not reliable on the job.  Sometime referred to as “professional interviewees”, these folks have read all the books and have a canned response for questions like this.  Contrast that with folks who may be a bit shy or timid, yet would be valuable contributors to your team.  These type of questions play to someone’s ability to make a positive first impression.  If you are not careful, your interview will not get past the first impression stage into the predicting job performance stage.

What is the answer to avoid these common pitfalls?  I am a huge supporter of behavioral interviewing.  This is the idea that past behavior is the strongest predictor or future behavior.  The questions ask the candidate to refer to a past experience and demonstrate what they did.  This approach is nothing new, in fact over 70% of companies in North America use some form of behavioral interviewing.  Plenty of models and certifications exist in this method.

Here’s the thing, you have to do better than just asking about behavior…it has to be the right behavior.  The behaviors that make a difference on the job.  The difference between success and failure.  The more specific you can get about defining what success looks like and measuring it, the more likely you are to find it.  This approach increases the accuracy of hiring for success, reduces the likelihood of a legal challenge in hiring practices and frankly attracts a more successful candidate.  Consider your interview approach.  Are you falling into some pitfalls? Or taking the time on the front-end to clearly define success; to ensure you will know when you find it; and have the confidence to walk away when you do not?

“Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”  “If at first you don’t succeed – try and try again.”  “When you fall down, get right back up and start again.”  Those are the kinds of things people often say they believe about the road to success, trying new & uncertain things and learning from mistakes.  We say those things – but how many of us believe them? How many of us truly live like we believe them?

Even though we know that failure is part of the process of becoming (and staying) successful, it never feels good.   Disappointing, humbling, a little embarrassing – just a few of the words that came to my mind after recently attempting something new in front of a room full of people.  It’s not that it was horrible, or a total failure – it just wasn’t great, not as effective as I had wanted it to be, as I thought it should have been.  So then why did it feel SO uncomfortable?  I had become used to being really good at what I do, effective & successful, used to accolades and enthusiastic responses.   On a scale from 1-10, I had worked hard to almost always be a 10.  Not an eight.  Eight does not feel nearly as good as ten.

Feel … want … should … expectation.  Dangerous words if we aren’t careful.  It feels good to be the expert, the one that always delivers, knowing that you’ve earned respect, and that people have learned to have high expectations of you – but if we aren’t careful the expectations of others and of ourselves can become a box.  Without close attention we can accidentally miss opportunities for growth and further success by not allowing ourselves outside of the “box” where we can be sure we are great.  Boxes were invented to keep things inside of them.  Even a big box is designed to hold something.

When I sat down to do my usual post-workshop exercise, “what went well, what didn’t, what do we keep, what do we get rid of” – I was having a hard time getting past the “eight” feeling.  It made me want to throw it all out – but I know better.  I know in my heart the instinct and intention I have for this effort is valid, my clients have a need for it, and I know how to help them.   The truth is that the real problem was, that it had been a little longer than I realized since I had stepped far enough out, to be really hanging out there.  Something my Dad always said to me when I growing up popped into my head, “If you’re not failing on a regular basis then you’re not trying enough new things.”  I believe that!  But without realizing it, I had stopped living like that for a little while.  What I needed to throw out was the safety net, punch a big hole in the box (and my ego), follow my gut, and rework the material.

Henry Ford said, “Failure is only the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.”  I almost let the pursuit of perfection, derail me from the pursuit of my passion to work with others to help them achieve their goals – if even for a little time!  We don’t have to be perfect out of the gate – it is an unrealistic expectation.   We only have to keep trying our best, purposefully learn from our mistakes, and improve each time we do it.

Most importantly remember to laugh at the “failures”.  If you think about it – aren’t your best stories about the times when something went wrong, or didn’t go according to plan?  Make a deal with yourself today: from here on when things don’t go well, or you flat out fail – you will remind yourself that you just put a deposit into the “memory bank”, that in 6 months, a year, or five years from now will be a funny story you’ll tell.  Make it funny not failure.

Not everyone who’s on top today got there easily. More often than not, those who history best remembers were faced with numerous obstacles that forced them to work harder and show more determination than others. Next time you’re feeling down about your failures, keep these fifty famous people in mind and remind yourself that sometimes failure is just the first step towards success!

Business Gurus

1. Henry Ford:   Known today for his innovative assembly line and American-made cars, he wasn’t an instant success. In fact, his early businesses failed and left him broke five times before he founded the successful Ford Motor Company.
2. R. H. Macy:   Most people are familiar with this large department store chain, but most don’t know that he started seven failed businesses before finally hitting it big with his store in New York City.
3. F. W. Woolworth: Some may not know this name today, but Woolworth was once one of the biggest names in department stores in the U.S. Before starting his own business, young Woolworth worked at a dry goods store and was not allowed to wait on customers because his boss said he lacked the sense needed to do so.
4. Soichiro Honda: The billion-dollar business that is Honda began with a series of failures and fortunate turns of luck. Honda was turned down by Toyota Motor Corporation for a job after interviewing for a job as an engineer, and he was jobless for quite some time. He started making scooters on his own at home, and spurred on by his neighbors, finally started his own business.
5. Akio Morita:  You may not have heard of Morita but you’ve most certainly heard of his company, Sony. Sony’s first product was a rice cooker that unfortunately burned rice rather than cook it, and sold less than 100 units. But this setback didn’t stop Morita and his partners as they kept moving forward and created a multi-billion dollar company.
6. Bill Gates:  Gates started his walk to success by dropping out of Harvard and starting a failed first business with Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen called Traf-O-Data, before creating the global empire that is Microsoft.
7. Harland David Sanders:   Better known as Colonel Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame, he had a hard time selling his chicken at first. In fact, his famous secret chicken recipe was rejected 1,009 times before a restaurant accepted it.
8. Walt Disney: Today Disney rakes in billions from merchandise, movies and theme parks around the world, but Walt Disney himself had a bit of a rough start. He was fired by a newspaper editor because, “he lacked imagination and had no good ideas.” After that, Disney started a number of businesses that didn’t last too long and ended with bankruptcy and failure. He kept plugging along, however, and eventually found a recipe for success that “worked”.

Scientists and Thinkers

These people are often regarded as some of the greatest minds of our century, but they often had to face great obstacles, the ridicule of their peers and the animosity of society.

9. Albert Einstein:  Today it’s a name synonymous with genius, but he didn’t always show such promise. Einstein did not speak until he was four and did not read until he was seven, causing his teachers and parents to think he was mentally handicapped, slow and anti-social. Eventually, he was expelled from school and was refused admittance to the Zurich Polytechnic School. Eventually he went on to win the Nobel Prize and change the face of modern physics.
10. Charles Darwin:  In his early years he gave up on having a medical career and was often chastised by his father for being lazy and too dreamy. Darwin himself wrote, “I was considered by all my masters and my father a very ordinary boy, rather below the common standard of intellect.”
11. Robert Goddard: Goddard today is hailed for his research and experimentation with liquid-fueled rockets, but during his lifetime his ideas were often rejected and mocked by his scientific peers who thought they were outrageous and impossible. Today rockets and space travel aren’t considered far-fetched at all, due largely in part to the work of this scientist who worked against the feelings of the time.
12. Isaac Newton: Newton was undoubtedly a genius when it came to math, but he had some failings early on. He never did particularly well in school and when put in charge of running the family farm, he failed so poorly  that an uncle took charge and sent him off to Cambridge where he finally blossomed into the scholar we know today.
13. Socrates: Despite leaving no written records behind, Socrates is regarded as one of the greatest philosophers of the Classical era. Because of his ideas, in his own time he was called “an immoral corrupter of youth” and was sentenced to death. Socrates didn’t let this stop him and kept right on, teaching up until he was forced to poison himself.
14. Robert Sternberg: This big name in psychology received a C in his first college introductory psychology class with his teacher telling him that, “there was already a famous Sternberg in psychology and it was obvious there would not be another.” Sternberg showed him, however, graduating from Stanford with exceptional distinction in psychology, summa cum laude, and Phi Beta Kappa and eventually becoming the President of the American Psychological Association.

Inventors

These inventors changed the face of the modern world, but not without a few failed prototypes along the way.

15. Thomas Edison:  In his early years teachers told Edison he was “too stupid to learn anything.”  He was fired from his first two jobs for not being productive enough. Even as an inventor Edison first made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb.
16. Orville and Wilbur Wright:  Both brothers battled depression and family illness before starting the bicycle shop that would lead them to experimenting with flight. It took numerous attempts at creating flying machines, several years of hard work, and tons of failed prototypes, the brothers finally created a plane that could get airborne and stay there.

Public Figures

From politicians to talk show hosts, these figures had a few failures before they came out on top.

17. Winston Churchill:  This Nobel Prize-winning, twice-elected Prime Minster of the United Kingdom wasn’t always as well regarded as he is today. Churchill struggled in school and failed the sixth grade. After school he faced many years of political failures, as he was defeated in every election for public office until he finally became the Prime Minister at the ripe old age of 62.
18. Abraham Lincoln:  Today he is remembered as one of the greatest leaders of our nation, but Lincoln’s life was not easy. In his youth he went to war a captain and returned a private (in case you’re not familiar with military ranks – a private is as low as it goes.) Lincoln didn’t stop failing there. He started numerous failed businesses and was defeated in numerous runs he made for public office.
19. Oprah Winfrey:  Known Oprah as one of the most iconic faces on TV as well as one of the richest and most successful women in the world. Oprah faced a hard road to get to that position, enduring a rough and often abusive childhood as well as numerous career setbacks including being fired from her job as a television reporter because she was “unfit for TV.”
20. Harry S. Truman: This WWI vet, Senator, Vice President and eventual President eventually found success in his life, but not without a few missteps along the way. Truman started a store that sold silk shirts and other clothing–seemingly a success at first–only go bankrupt a few years later.
21. Dick Cheney: This recent Vice President and businessman made his way to the White House but managed to flunk out of Yale University, not once, but twice. Former President George W. Bush joked with Cheney about this fact, stating, “So now we know –if you graduate from Yale, you become president. If you drop out, you get to be vice president.”

Hollywood & Celebrities

These actors, actresses and directors saw their fair share of rejection and failure before they made it big.

22. Jerry Seinfeld: Just about everybody knows who Seinfeld is, but the first time the young comedian walked on stage at a comedy club, he looked out at the audience and froze, and was eventually jeered and booed off of the stage. Seinfeld knew he could do it, so he went back the next night, completed his set to laughter and applause, and the rest is history.
23. Fred Astaire: In his first screen test, the testing director of MGM noted that Astaire “Can’t act. Can’t sing. Slightly bald. Can dance a little.” Going on to become an incredibly successful actor, singer and dancer, he kept that note in his Beverly Hills home to remind him of where he came from.
24. Sidney Poitier: After his first audition, Poitier was told by the casting director, “Why don’t you stop wasting people’s time and go out and become a dishwasher or something?” Poitier vowed to show him that he could make it, going on to win an Oscar and becoming one of the well-regarded actors in the business.
25. Jeanne Moreau: As a young actress just starting out, this French actress was told by a casting director that she was simply not pretty enough to make it in films. Moreau when on to star in nearly 100 films and win numerous awards for her performances.
26. Charlie Chaplin: It’s hard to imagine film without the iconic Charlie Chaplin, but his act was initially rejected by Hollywood studio chiefs because they felt it was a little too nonsensical to ever sell.
27. Lucille Ball:  She had thirteen Emmy nominations and four wins, earning the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Kennedy Center Honors. Before starring in I Love Lucy, Ball was widely regarded as a failed actress and a B movie star. Even her drama instructors didn’t feel she could make it, telling her to try another profession.
28. Harrison Ford: In his first film, Ford was told by the movie execs that he simply didn’t have what it takes to be a star. Today, with numerous hits under his belt, iconic portrayals of characters like Han Solo and Indiana Jones, and a career that stretches decades, he obviously does in fact have what it takes.
29. Marilyn Monroe:  While Monroe’s star burned out early, she did have a period of great success in her life. Despite a rough upbringing and being told by modeling agents that she should instead consider being a secretary, Monroe became a pin-up, model and actress that still strikes a chord with people today.
30. Oliver Stone: This Oscar-winning filmmaker began his first novel while at Yale, a project that eventually caused him to fail out of school. The text was rejected by publishers and was not published until 1998, at which time it was not well-received. After dropping out of school, Stone moved to Vietnam to teach English, later enlisting in the army and fighting in the war, a battle that earned him two Purple Hearts and helped him find the inspiration for his later work that often center around war.

Writers and Artists

We’ve all heard about starving artists and struggling writers, and these that pushed through to become beloved and well-known.

31. Vincent Van Gogh: During his lifetime, Van Gogh sold only one painting, and this was to a friend and only for a very small amount of money. While Van Gogh was never a success during his life, he plugged on with painting sometimes starving to complete over 800 known works. Today, they bring in hundreds of millions.
32. Emily Dickinson: Recluse and poet Emily Dickinson is a commonly read and loved writer. Yet in her lifetime she was all but ignored, having fewer than a dozen poems published out of her almost 1,800 completed works.
33. Theodor Seuss Giesel: Today nearly every child has read The Cat in the Hat or Green Eggs and Ham, yet 27 different publishers rejected Dr. Seuss’s first book To Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street.
34. Charles Schultz:  The Peanuts comic strip has had enduring fame, yet this cartoonist had every cartoon he submitted rejected by his high school yearbook staff. Even after high school, Schultz applied and was rejected for a position working with Walt Disney.
35. Steven Spielberg:   He was rejected from the University of Southern California School of Theater, Film and Television three times. He eventually attended school at another location, only to drop out to become a director before finishing. Thirty-five years after starting his degree, Spielberg returned to school in 2002 to finally complete his work and earn his BA.
36. Stephen King: The first book by this author, the iconic thriller Carrie, received 30 rejections finally causing King to give up and throw it in the trash. His wife fished it out and encouraged him to resubmit it, and the rest is history.  King has written & had hundreds of books published, and has the distinction of being one of the best-selling authors of all time.
37. Zane Grey:  Incredibly popular in the early 20th century, this adventure book writer began his career as a dentist, something he quickly began to hate. So, he began to write, only to see rejection after rejection for his works, being told eventually that he had no business being a writer and should give it up. It took him years, but at 40, Zane finally got his first work published, leading to almost 90 books and selling over 50 million copies worldwide.
38. J. K. Rowling:   Before she published the series of Harry Potter novels she was nearly penniless, severely depressed, divorced, trying to raise a child on her own while attending school and writing a novel. Rowling went from depending on welfare to survive to being one of the richest women in the world in a span of only five years through her hard work and determination.
39. Monet: Today Monet’s work sells for millions of dollars and hangs in some of the most prestigious institutions in the world. Yet during his own time, it was mocked and rejected by the artistic elite, the Paris Salon. Monet kept at his impressionist style, which caught on and in many ways was a starting point for some major changes to art that ushered in the modern era.
40. Jack London:  One of the most beloved and well-known American authors, he wasn’t always such a success. While he would go on to publish popular novels like White Fang and The Call of the Wild, his first story received six hundred rejection slips before finally being accepted.
41. Louisa May Alcott: Most people are familiar with Alcott’s most famous work, Little Women. Yet Alcott faced a bit of a battle to get her work out there and was encouraged to find work as a servant by her family to make ends meet. It was her letters back home during her experience as a nurse in the Civil War that gave her the first big break she needed.

Musicians

While their music is some of the best selling, best loved and most popular around the world today, these musicians show that it takes a whole lot of determination to achieve success.

42. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Mozart began composing at the age of five, writing over 600 pieces of music that today are lauded as some of the best ever created. Yet during his lifetime, Mozart didn’t have such an easy time, and was often restless, leading to his dismissal from a position as a court musician in Salzberg. He struggled to keep the support of the aristocracy and died with little to his name.
43. Elvis Presley:  One of the best-selling artists of all time.  But back in 1954 Elvis was still a nobody, and the manager of the Grand Ole Opry, fired Elvis Presley after just one performance telling him, “You ain’t goin’ nowhere, son. You ought to go back to drivin’ a truck.”
44. Igor Stravinsky:  In 1913 when he debuted his now famous Rite of Spring, audiences rioted & ran the composer out of town. Yet it was this very work that changed the way composers in the 19th century thought about music and cemented his place in musical history.
45. The Beatles:   when they were just starting out, a recording company told them no. They were told “we don’t like your sound, and guitar music is on the way out.
46. Ludwig van Beethoven: In his formative years young Beethoven was incredibly awkward on the violin and was often so busy working on his own compositions that he neglected to practice. Despite his love of composing, his teachers felt he was hopeless at it and would never succeed with the violin or in composing. Beethoven went on to compose some of the best-loved symphonies of all time–five of them while he was completely deaf.

Athletes

While some athletes rocket to fame, others endure a different path.

47. Michael Jordan:  He was cut from his high school basketball team.  Jordan didn’t let this setback stop him from playing the game and he has stated, “I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game winning shot, and I missed. I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
48. Stan Smith: This tennis player was rejected from even being a lowly ball boy for a Davis Cup tennis match because event organizers felt he was too clumsy and uncoordinated. Smith went on to win Wimbledon, U. S. Open and eight Davis Cups.
49. Babe Ruth: You probably know Babe Ruth because of his home run record (714 during his career), but along with all those home runs came a pretty hefty amount of strikeouts as well (1,330 in all). In fact, for decades he held the record for strikeouts. When asked about this he simply said, “Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.”
50. Tom Landry: As the coach of the Dallas Cowboys, Landry brought the team two Super Bowl victories, five NFC Championship victories and holds the record for the most career wins. He also has the distinction of having one of the worst first seasons on record (winning no games) and winning five or fewer over the next four seasons.

Many of us chase success, only to find it to be an elusive tease.   We say to ourselves if “I could HAVE what I want (money, fame, power, clothes, spouse, car, house, etc.) then I could DO the things I want, which, in turn, would allow me to BE who I truly am.”

We think Have, Do, Be.  Unfortunately, that’s backwards.

When you study the most successful and happy people, they run the reverse model.  They first focus on who they are (philosophy, character, culture) and are uncompromising on BEING true to those beliefs.  This allows them to DO the things they want.  Because they are authentic and follow their destiny, they end up HAVING what they need.  The HAVING is simply a byproduct of first BEING and then DOING.

If you really want to maximize your true potential, turn the conventional approach upside down.  BE true to your core beliefs, DO the things you care about, and the HAVE will take care of itself.

In terms of BEING, a good starting point is to write your own eulogy.  When it’s all said and done, how do you want to be remembered?  As a selfish, workaholic jerk?  A fear-laden rule follower?  A liar?  Most of us want to exude strong character, contribute to humanity, and express our creativity.  You don’t need a new Porsche or a 5-bedroom house to begin being a person you can admire.

Start thinking about what inspires you, not what you think you "should' do

When you think about DOING, forget about the status quo and what you think you “ought” to do.  Instead, follow a path that is both inspired and inspiring.  Step away from what you perceive as “safe” since you only have so many years to make your mark.  Start by asking yourself these seven questions:

1. What do you love to do the most?

2. What gives you the most satisfaction and joy?

3. When do you feel like you are making the biggest impact?

4. What activities most energize you?

5. What would you do if there were no possibility you could fail?

6. What are you doing when you lose track of time?

7. If you could be remembered for one thing, what would it be?

If you’ve identified a career path that is radically different from your current gig, it’s time to take a hard look in the mirror and consider seizing your true calling.  If you don’t, who will?

As for the HAVE, it will take care of itself.  If you follow your passion and purpose, you’ll get all the stuff you need.  By focusing on being who you are meant to be and doing what you are meant to do, the having will end up being a whole lot less important anyway.

Stop with Have, Do, Be.  It’s time to Be, Do, Have.

• Less than two-thirds of the sampled employees (60%) said that they understand the measures used to evaluate their performance
• Even fewer sampled employees (57%) thought that their performance was rated fairly
• Less than half (47%) said that their managers clearly expressed goals and assignments
• Only about two-fifths of the sample (42%) reported regular, timely performance reviews
• Even fewer (39%) reported that their performance review was helpful in improving their on-the-job performance

With less-than-helpful reviews, that seem arbitrary and not effective for improving performance (if they happen at all); it is no surprise that appraisals are not thought of as a value-added process at many organizations.

Performance reviews don't have to be a painful process. They are meant to faciliate growth.

What are some ways to make your reviews have more impact, going against the norm?  If you are still reading this you are probably the type of leader who recognizes the value of useful feedback.  Not just feedback for the sake of feedback, but feedback that is really beneficial in helping someone know where they stand and how to improve.  Here are some tips and best practices to provide impactful feedback:

1. Useful: Ensure the feedback you provided is useful by following the Keep, Start, Stop format.

• Keep – consider what this person does that makes him or her effective.  Use positive reinforcement and encourage them to find other ways to utilize this strength.
• Start – what does this person not do today that they could consider to become more effective?
• Stop – What behaviors do they engage in that get in their way of being successful?  What could you encourage them to refrain from doing to be more valuable?

2. Get Specific: Both positive and developmental feedback that is too vague cannot be helpful in changing behavior.  What exactly did you see, hear or experience?  What about others?  Avoid labels or generalities.  The more recent the feedback, the better.

3. Show Impact: An easy formula to remember for providing feedback with impact is to refer to the performance standard and compare it with the actual performance.  If the performance met or exceeded the standard, this is a great time to recognize it.  If this is a situation where the performance fell below the standard, discuss that gap.  Take time to explain the impact of the gap.  Do this in terms of what is important to the team member.  Perhaps a career goal they have articulated to you, a potential promotion, bonus, objective attainment, stronger team or working relationship.

4. Actionable:  Engage the person to discuss what actions can be taken to improve.  Work as a two-person team to discuss ideas and come up with a plan to address the issue.  Ultimately, they own it, but you can be a useful resource.  Partner with them for improved performance.

These characteristics of feedback will keep you on the right track to successful performance conversations.  Knowing this, there are still many people who shy away from difficult conversations and feedback that is challenging or developmental.  Keep in mind that you may have information that will truly make an impact in helping this person grow and achieve his or her goals.  You are doing the person a disservice by not being straight with them.  Certainly doing this in a kind manner while being candid is essential and can make an impact for improving performance.