Luck ... what do you make of it?

In their excellent business book, Great By Choice, authors Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen make some very interesting points about luck in business.  They summarize it by suggesting four possible outcomes from luck and they are:

• Great return on good luck
• Poor return on good luck
• Great return on bad luck
• Poor return on bad luck

In business, we are going to have some timely breaks and some untimely bad twists in fate.  This is a given but what we make of these can to some degree be controlled.  In the book, they give several examples of businesses that have capitalized on both good and bad luck.  They also outline some missed opportunities.

The same carries over to all aspects of life.  It would be great if we could figure out ways to make the best of whatever comes our way.

Tell me what you don't like

Sometimes, being a good friend involves telling someone what you don't like about your friend or what bothers you about them. Now, I don't mean saying that you have a big nose or big ears or things like that. Instead, I mean that there are times that you can really help your friends by telling them what you don't like about them.

For example, sometimes you seem too self-centered. Or, you make things about you and you don't listen. Or, I feel uncomfortable when you ....

These are helpful suggestions that not only help the recipient to become a better version of themself, it can possibly strengthen your relationship. Of course, you must be very sensitive because you know that we all get our feelings hurt. It the risk of hurt feelings outweighs the benefits of constructive criticism, don't do it.

If you have the kind of relationship with someone that you can definitely tell them things that need improvement, you probably have a true friend. That is golden so be very careful with it.

Analogies

I love analogies. They help to make your point and they are fun to figure out. Writing on a blog IS LIKE having a diary that you WANT people to read. You are sharing thought with others and not just your future viewing. Thank you so much for reading by the way.

Having professional sports teams compete with widely varying pay structures and vastly uneven overall payrolls is not fair to the fans or the teams. It IS LIKE having a 100-yard dash with a field of 8 sprinters. Numbers one and two, you guys are good to go; numbers three and four, put on these winter coats, numbers five and six you run with these work boots; numbers seven and eight, you carry these barbells. Ready, set, go... not fair:(

Here is another. Doing good works for others IS LIKE mining gold. Some are large and produce quick results on a large scale, while others are nuggets. Many nuggets add up over time and the results are still large.

What analogy can you share?

Focus on their strengths, manage their weaknesses

Everyone is going to have people in their lives who are difficult to deal with, difficult to get along with. This is true for your professional life as well as your personal life. That is a given and what you do about it is the variable.

At a recent conference that I attended, one of the presentations was about this very subject. The speaker was Steve McClatcly of Alleer, a training and consulting company. What Steve advised in dealing with such situations was to focs on people's strengths and manage their weaknesses. We all have both and if you want to increase the number and percentage of people you call friends, this method works.

In a relationship, you focus on the strengths and manage the weaknesses. Then you build a like and an interest in the other person. Its not that your friends are perfect, you look for the things that you like and focus on those. Discover the things that you love about that person and make those the center of your attention. For the things that you don't like, manage those weaknesses even if it means not talking about them.

Of course there are people with whom it is difficult to impossible to cope with. Those are the ones that we need to minimize our time with. For the rest, keep the things in mind that you like about them. Keep in mind the good things that they do. De-emphasize their weaknesses or the things that bother you. This will work.

More about globalization

I have the distinct privilege as Publisher of Hydraulics & Pneumatics to attend several industry functions. We at H&P have been members of the National Fluid Power Association (NFPA) for over 50 years and one of my assignments is to represent H&P at the Annual Conference.

This year, it was held on the Big Island of Hawaii making it an even more special privilege. Several great speakers took to the podium this year and one of the recurring focus topics was the globalization of industry as it relates to fluid power. I tried to capture the main points presented and reviewed them in an article.

You can find that article on this website or by following this link http://hydraulicspneumatics.com/blog/more-about-globalization. If you are so inclined to share your opinion, I would love to know what you think of the article. It is my first on this website. Thank you so much for reading.

The Importance of Relationships and Trust

I attended a really excellent presentation by a speaker named Steve McClatchy about relationships in business and how good relationships are critical to success in many ways. I quickly realized that all of what Steve was presenting is also very applicable to relationships in every aspects of our lives.

Of course one of the key aspects of a good relationship is trust that is a two-way situation. This trust has to start somewhere in a relationship. Starting first in this trust is similar to "I'll like you if you'll like me. But someone has to go first.

The same is true in a trusting relationship. We may very well have a natural mechanism that prevents us from going first but it makes sense to start a trusting relationship by going first. Starting first and building trusting relationships can be a very life enriching practice. We are faced with many situtaions in life where having trusting relationships built up over years are extremely helpful.

For more information about Steve McClatchy, I recommend that you visit his website http://www.alleer.com/stevemcclatchy.htm. If you or your company is looking for an exceellent resource for coaching on this subject, this may be your answer.

Competitive Advantages

At the 2012 Annual Meeting of the National Association for Hose and Accessory Distribution (NAHAD), author Jaynie Smith gave a presentation titled Relevant Selling - Competitive Advantage. Smith made it very clear that an advantage must be relevant in order for it to truly be a competitive advantage in any market.

When asked what their advantages are, most companies will give answers that are common to a list of about 10 characteristics that include things like price and service. However, as Smith points out, if these advantages are not relevant to the customers, then they really are not differentiators. Then pricing becomes the main characteristic.

I recommend that you take a look at both of Jaynie Smiths two books on the subject including her latest titled Relevant Selling. More details can be found on her website http://www.jayniesmith.com/smart-advantage