9/04/2008
The Ability To Overcome Adversity
 So the Summer Olympics have come and gone for another four years. And if you followed the Olympics at all, you likely heard about Michael Phelps and his record-breaking performances. Without question, he achieved the ultimate success in the sport of swimming. Throughout the games, we all heard the comments that he was super-human or fish-like, as well as a host of others that insinuated he somehow had an advantage over the other swimmers. In my opinion, he absolutely did have an advantage, and it wasn’t the length of his feet or arms or torso, it was his ability to overcome adversity. He didn’t just show up in Beijing a champion, he showed up with a history of both losses and wins, and clearly he learned from those losses how to be a winner. Let’s face it: Whether it is the Olympics or a business opportunity, no one wants to show up and lose. We go there (wherever “there” is), for one reason and one reason only: TO SUCCEED. When Phelps arrived at the 2000 games in Sydney, there is no doubt he wanted to win it all…but he didn’t. Four years later, a stop in Greece and although improved, he still experienced some loss. I imagine that the losses ignited a fire that allowed him to learn from his past mistakes. Whether it was his start, his turn or the number of breaths he took, we will never know, but clearly Michael made the necessary changes to achieve the ultimate success. The same can be true for all of us with our business and marketing efforts. We have all spent money on ineffective advertising or wasted time on a project that returned little or no result. And truthfully, that is OK, because it is through these mistakes that we improve ourselves and our businesses. As long as you learned from the mistake, recognized what went right, what went wrong and made the necessary corrections moving forward, then actually it was a success. Without mistakes and losses, I certainly wouldn’t be where I am today. Would you? Labels: adversity, business writing, marketing, small business marketing |
9/02/2008
Preparing For Your Next Business Writing Project
 Whether it is a report, blog, letter, email, brochure or speech, the most important part of the writing process happens BEFORE you write one word. While many people prefer to skip this step and ignore its very existence, it’s essential to prepare and gather as much information as possible about the subject for which you are creating copy. (And when you don’t go through these steps, your response/results, will undoubtedly tell the tale!) So before you begin your next writing project ask yourself the following questions: 1) What is/was your driving force for the creation of your product or service? 2) What are the key benefits/solutions your product/service provides? 3) What is your “elevator speech” (i.e., what you tell a potential client about your business/product in just 30 seconds)? 4) What is the ultimate goal for this particular project? 5) Who is your target audience? Be specific – you may need to break this down into sub-audiences. 6) What problems does your product or service solve? What solutions does it offer/promise? Labels: business writing, writing |
8/28/2008
Always Be Prepared
 Do you ever have anxiety over the success of a business project, meeting or goal? Because you are human, I am guessing your answer is undoubtedly yes. And although I am much better today at managing this type of anxiety than in years past, I must admit that I still do have a few sleepless nights from time to time. Throughout the course of my career, what I found is that my anxiety level seems to be directly related to how well I prepared for the business initiative at hand, whatever it may be. When I haven’t fully prepared, I am never satisfied with the outcome or finished product, (even if it was successful), because I just can’t let go of that nagging feeling that it could have been better or that I could have left a better impression. What I also have found throughout my career is that when in business for yourself, on some level, you must always be prepared. That is not to say that extra preparation isn’t required (and expected) for special projects or new initiatives, but you should always be prepared to answer questions about your industry and specialty, especially if changes or advancements have recently taken place. If you want to be recognized as an industry expert, you must be prepared to speak to it on the spur of the moment. I know for me, most (if not all) of my business growth can be attributed to opportunities that arose as a result (direct or indirect) of being prepared - - no two ways about it. Labels: business advice, business writing, productivity in business |