Making Active Choices – The Key to Success
Making Active Choices – The Key to Success
“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” Benjamin Franklin
I’ve always loved this quote and only recently realized that it was originally said by Benjamin Franklin. Have you ever done something over and over expecting the results to change? I have!
For about 10 years I loved my work at AT&T and I thought the company was making great progress. Then it became clear that things weren’t going well and that the downsizings were coming more and more frequently. It was upsetting to go to work each day. I wanted to be somewhere else but took no steps to make a move. I kept expecting things to change.
Making an active choice in some situations can be hard. The future path is not clear. The known unpleasant situation seems safer than a change. People tend to remain in the same place without making a choice to change. But making no choice is making a choice.
Since I didn’t make a choice, I essentially said to myself and others, “This is ok.” even when I knew it is not.
Frequently I get calls from attorneys who are concerned that their practices are not growing. What they tell me is they continue to do the same marketing activities they did when they started the practice. It worked then. It continues to work but business isn’t increasing. They have reached a plateau.
To get an increase in results a person needs to alter what he/she is doing. This might mean that he or she has to increase the frequency and/or variety of the marketing activities or it could be the person will need to change something else in the practice. Practice Advisors help lawyers to figure out what to do. Coaches and consultants do the same for business owners.
Avoiding making choices is not just limited to business and working situations. It also happens in our personal lives.
Smokers continue to smoke disregarding their cough and the statistics on smoking and cancer. Those who are overweight, claim they want to lose weight, but continue to eat the same amount.
Do you know someone who has a “friend” who continually says things that made the person feel bad about him/herself. Still the person chooses to be in the “friend’s” company.
Sometimes people don’t make a choice because they don’t know they need to!
The first step to making a choice is to become aware that you have one to make.
Recently during our coaching session I asked a client what she was putting up with in her life that she wished she could change. She told me she had 3 large boxes left over from her move in her office. They had been there for months and she had ignored them.
Once she became aware that the choice was hers to make, it was simple. The next week she had found someone to lift the boxes into the storage closet.
Take action:
1. Write down one thing that you are putting up with in your work or life? What choice can you make about it? Set a time frame for completing whatever you choose to do. Tell someone else (your Coach or Practice Advisor) about your choice and the deadline for completion.
2. Are there actions you are taking on a daily basis that are not producing the results you want? What choices can you make? Set a time frame for completing that choice. Tell someone else (your Coach or Practice Advisor) about your choice and the deadline for completion. Tell them when you meet that deadline.
3. Victor Frank said “The last of the human freedoms is to choose one's attitudes.” Are you actively choosing yours? If not make a conscious effort to choose a positive attitude. Read the book “Learned Optimism” by Martin Seligman Ph.D for more.
Making Active Choices The Key to Success - To learn more about this author, visit Alvah Parker's Website.
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Making Active Choices – The Key to Success
“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” Benjamin Franklin
I’ve always loved this quote and only recently realized that it was originally said by Benjamin Franklin. Have you ever done something over and over expecting the results to change? I have!
For about 10 years I loved my work at AT&T and I thought the company was making great progress. Then it became clear that things weren’t going well and that the downsizings were coming more and more frequently. It was upsetting to go to work each day. I wanted to be somewhere else but took no steps to make a move. I kept expecting things to change.
Making an active choice in some situations can be hard. The future path is not clear. The known unpleasant situation seems safer than a change. People tend to remain in the same place without making a choice to change. But making no choice is making a choice.
Since I didn’t make a choice, I essentially said to myself and others, “This is ok.” even when I knew it is not.
Frequently I get calls from attorneys who are concerned that their practices are not growing. What they tell me is they continue to do the same marketing activities they did when they started the practice. It worked then. It continues to work but business isn’t increasing. They have reached a plateau.
To get an increase in results a person needs to alter what he/she is doing. This might mean that he or she has to increase the frequency and/or variety of the marketing activities or it could be the person will need to change something else in the practice. Practice Advisors help lawyers to figure out what to do. Coaches and consultants do the same for business owners.
Avoiding making choices is not just limited to business and working situations. It also happens in our personal lives.
Smokers continue to smoke disregarding their cough and the statistics on smoking and cancer. Those who are overweight, claim they want to lose weight, but continue to eat the same amount.
Do you know someone who has a “friend” who continually says things that made the person feel bad about him/herself. Still the person chooses to be in the “friend’s” company.
Sometimes people don’t make a choice because they don’t know they need to!
The first step to making a choice is to become aware that you have one to make.
Recently during our coaching session I asked a client what she was putting up with in her life that she wished she could change. She told me she had 3 large boxes left over from her move in her office. They had been there for months and she had ignored them.
Once she became aware that the choice was hers to make, it was simple. The next week she had found someone to lift the boxes into the storage closet.
Take action:
1. Write down one thing that you are putting up with in your work or life? What choice can you make about it? Set a time frame for completing whatever you choose to do. Tell someone else (your Coach or Practice Advisor) about your choice and the deadline for completion.
2. Are there actions you are taking on a daily basis that are not producing the results you want? What choices can you make? Set a time frame for completing that choice. Tell someone else (your Coach or Practice Advisor) about your choice and the deadline for completion. Tell them when you meet that deadline.
3. Victor Frank said “The last of the human freedoms is to choose one's attitudes.” Are you actively choosing yours? If not make a conscious effort to choose a positive attitude. Read the book “Learned Optimism” by Martin Seligman Ph.D for more.
Making Active Choices The Key to Success - To learn more about this author, visit Alvah Parker's Website.
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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Cheryl MatthynssensCheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur. Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well. A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles. She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide- to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being. Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com - Visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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