Subscriber Dan Napier wrote me, “On WHAT SKILL DO YOU WANT?: Funny you should ask!
“I recently realized I was missing something. So I suggested to a couple of buddies that we start an Accountability Group, where we set out specific goals over a specified period of time, then conference call the other two, allowing 5 minutes for each of us to snap off:
1. What we said we’d do,
2. What we've done, and
3. What we will do during the next period.
”We've limited this group to three people who are close, and trust each other, for several reasons:
1. It limits the call to fifteen minutes so it is fairly non-intrusive on our day,
2. We are committed to honesty in not just successes, but failures, so in order to maintain that standard of openness we don't want to find ourselves confessing to a crowd, and
3. We're going to hold each other to what we said we'd do, but we want to urge each other to continue with the good, and not feel down in the mouth about the bad.
”What has this go to do with what skill I want?
“First: I realize that I must analyze my activities, and so organize my day that the things I don't like to do, but know I must, are done first. The other fun stuff always gets done.
“Second: I realize that I must work harder to implement and do the things I say I'll do.
“Third: I also realize that in all the meetings that I go on, I needed to improve how I come across. I always just assumed if I know what I'm talking about people will do business with me, and many have. But what if they liked the way I came across as well? What if they knew it wasn't just a good move to deal with me, but also a pleasant experience?
”Fourth: I've decided that everyday I will spend at least a certain amount of time on the phone trying to drum up new business, whether I feel like it or not, and I've decided to join a speaking club where they will coach you.
”The funny thing is the more I commit to doing the things I don't like but know I need to do, the more I make it part of every day. The more it becomes part of the day, the more I don't mind doing it, and the better I come across.
“Of course the other funny thing is that I've learned this lesson a hundred times before and just never developed a method of sticking to it!”
Dan Napier
Implementing My Plans - To learn more about this author, visit Donald F. Pooley's Website.
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Donald F. Pooley
(Visit Donald's Website)
Don Pooley, the author of this article,
allows you to publish
it if you include these credit lines:
Copyright 2005, Donald F. Pooley, Inc.
Don Pooley CLU, CFP, CHFC, "The
Advisor's Advisor" has shared
his marketing know-how with audiences of
life insurance men
in all major Canadian cities, London,
Australia, Chicago, New
York, San Francisco, Hong Kong, and
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