Learning someone else's language means learning their subtle nuances and expressions. Many people who journey to the United States are confused when they confront someone with a different regional accent or expressions. Try asking where the “water fountain” is in New Hampshire, then ask someone in Alabama.  It is a completely different apparatus!

Just going to Canada can confuse a newcomer from the United States.  I try to learn expressions and usages of words wherever I go as well as how to properly pronounce cities, provinces and idiomatic expressions (like “out and about”).

Carter McNamara says, “You can't motivate people any more than you can empower them. Employees have to motivate and empower themselves. However, you can set up an environment where they best motivate and empower themselves. The key is knowing how to set up the environment for each of your employees.”

That is easy. Find their pain, hurt or problem and agitate it. Much the same way mosquitoes and chiggers (red bugs) make you itch and you are forced to scratch the more you think about the pain and discomfort.

Confession: I haven’t been in a bank for several years.  At 57, I transact all of my bill payments from my laptop, on my smart phone and do most deposits through apps or ATM machines. Most of their other customers do as well. If your customers have roamed to the internet, maybe you should follow them before your business runs out completely.

I heard Dr. Bill Hybels say, "the speed of the leader will determine the speed of the team." I can add that the altitude of the leader determines the altitude of his or her team, too. Do you show confidence to those (even when you are uncertain)?

My friend Mike is in sales for an international company. He makes phone calls to clients every day to sell a magazine that helps his clients make more money. Last year Mike decided to use a more proactive voice mail message than the traditional: “Hi, I am not in right now. Please wait for the beep and leave a short message. I will return your call shortly.”

Yeah, that is pretty lame.  And the same as everybody else...

Last month I met a smart moving company president with an eye for the competitive edge.  She says that she knows there is stiff competition in the market for moving services.  A lot of companies are fly-by-night upstarts that can beat her on pricing. 

In fact, some of her competition was seated at the next table at the dinner we were attending.  She said that if she delivers unparalleled amazement (value) to customers, they come back over and over again. She never says, “The movers, estimators or packers will be at your house or business.”

Doctors and Medical Group Managers: If most patients can fill out the timely medical information that once plagued office visits, maybe you should allow them to go online in advance and enter their medical details on a website that they may update at any time. Maybe you are behind the times and your patients are well ahead of you.

They want to complain but the staff treats them like you are doing a favor just to get in to see you.  And with limited time, you can't hear their complaints.  That doesn't mean everything is fine out in the waiting room or at the front desk...

"If you don't want us to do it for you, we can help you do it yourself!"  How can that be your new marketing mantra?

Innovative large moving companies are learning to help cost-conscious consumers with “Do-it-yourself” moves (previously unheard of in the full-service motor carrier industry). What if the major mover offered both full moving services AND additionally offered supplies and service to people who want to do the job themselves?

Most sales managers got their jobs because they were top sellers at one time. They were the sharpshooters; the marksmen/women. Now they are in command of a group of sales people with different selling styles, personality styles and motivational styles. Now they have become simple targets.

When is the last time you stood up for a team member? And I mean went the extra mile, where you had something to lose if it didn't work out? How many times have you been thrown “under the bus” by a supervisor?

Triggers get people to stop thinking the way they always have and create new patterns of actions. That is all they are. Each trigger is designed to make you think differently than you were thinking when you started reading this article. They are designed to infiltrate your comfort zone and make you “itch.”

I learned many years ago: “Every price is negotiable.” I love negotiating for a better deal.

Sometimes it gets inconvenient so I don’t just live for it. But most of the time, if you use your skills in the right arena, it can be fun! Trust me there is no better feeling than getting what you want for much less.

There is a breath of fresh air in the workplace. It embodies building community at work. It doesn’t pit employees against each other. It doesn’t set up an “enemy” in the form of your competitors, other team members (or even you, the boss). It involves openness and sharing – from the top to the bottom. Sharing what your tasks are, teaming up to make sales and satisfy customers, showing genuine interest in life struggles of one another.

Human beings are basically "pack-driven." Individuals have always wanted to belong to a group. Acceptance, affirmation and approval are motivating factors. Competition doesn’t always appeal to every member on the corporate ladder. Some people are proud to do their jobs and contribute with only the acceptance of others as their reward.

We buy the results (or the value) of a product; not the product itself.  We buy the delivered action; not the service.  Customers don’t buy your products or services; they buy the value they see in them for themselves.  When we call a hotel, we don’t buy the bed, we buy the location. When we buy an airline seat, we are buying the delivery, the comfort and the convenience they sell with it ...or not! A meal isn't the food; it's the experience of eating it, etc.

Advertisements flood the media. You can't open a video online without being forced to watch an ad for something you really don't want. My Facebook page not only has them on the side, but now interfering with my timeline. Either location they are annoying...

No one really likes the interruptions and I don't believe they sell very well. Just like almost no one who attends the "Capital One Bowl Game" takes out a credit card with the sponsor.

On the eve of my birthday, I am taking time to reflect...  I have made many mistakes over my lifetime… we all do. But I have learned that life is FULL of mistakes. You can’t practice perfection. We are all fallible people, and we WILL mess up… often! Self-respect is important but you won’t get it from anyone else. It comes from within…

You won’t grow up until you mess up.

Bundling is a great way to increase your value to customers/clients.

How many people do you know that have their automobile insurance with the same company that writes their homeowners insurance? Why? The agency offered them a bundled service that increased the value of spending more with them than sharing the cost of individual separate policies.