In some cases, that may be necessary. But in most cases I’ve witnessed, second-guessing is a response to a real problem. So before you accost your bossy boss and set him straight, make sure his worries are groundless.

Next time you feel you’ve been questioned or criticized unfairly, calm down and take a deep breath. Repeat after me: “I am not perfect. It is possible for me to be wrong in this case. If I am wrong in this case, it doesn’t mean I am human waste.”

Once you are comfortable with the idea that you may be wrong, try to figure out why your boss thinks you are.

What, exactly, happened that shouldn’t have? What didn’t happen that should have? Did you have all the resources you needed? Did you follow sensible procedures? If you had to do it again, from scratch, how could you do it to produce the desired outcome?

You need to ask yourself these questions — and you should also ask a trusted friend or colleague for input.

Once you understand what went wrong and how it could have been right, set up a meeting with your boss. Admit your mistakes. Tell him what you’re doing to avoid the same missteps in the future. And ask him for his suggestions.

I can’t imagine any good boss not being impressed with that. If he doesn’t respond positively, then he’s the problem, not you. Look for another job.

“Just what I needed to hear.”

“I just wanted to say thanks for some great content in the ETR newsletters. I find something useful in just about everyone of them.

“Michael’s lead article prompted me to respond today. A number of times, he’s shared some really useful tips for dealing with difficult people and situations. And they’ve been just what I needed to hear, like this one was today.

“Many thanks.”

Stuart May

Torquay, Devon, U.K

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Ready to Impress Your Boss? – You’ve just read about one way to handle a second-guessing boss. Wanna know the best way to avoid such a situation altogether? Know more than he does about business and marketing. Just read Michael Masterson’s book, Ready, Fire, Aim, cover to cover.

Many managers are specific about the steps to take but vague on intent. This is a mistake.

Just because you’ve achieved good results by following a certain procedure, don’t assume that everybody who works for you must approach projects your way.

It’s much more effective to make sure they understand the ultimate purpose of the job you’re asking them to do, and the time and money limits attached to it. You can explain what’s worked for you. But then get out of their way and let them get the job done without your constant interference.

Do you have trouble with this advice? It may be because you have trouble with delegating itself. If so, you will accomplish much less in your career than you could if you learned the value of letting your people develop their own methods.

“Tattooed on everyone’s head.”

“This quote from Michael’s article should be tattooed on everyone’s head and taught from preschool on: ‘If it’s going to be worth less after you buy it, or if you’ll have forgotten all about it by this time next year, pay cash.

That includes stereos, vacations, dinners out, clothes… you get the idea. Use credit only for things that are going to appreciate in value — such things as houses, investments, or an income-producing side business.’”

Jon S.

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Delegating for the Web Entrepreneur – Do you work solo on your Internet business? Most start-up entrepreneurs do. When Bob Bly decided to start his own online business, he recruited dozens of people to help him out. Many of these people helped him for free. And some of them were paid, but only if they got results.

Bob makes thousands of dollars a week now, working only an hour a day on his online business. Find out his secret — and dozens of other tips for making a full-time income from part-time work – here.

Make your important phone calls more productive by briefly outlining what you need to find out and what you want to get accomplished. Keep that outline in front of you while you talk.

It’s also a good idea to:

1. Start off by stating the amount of time you expect the call to take.

2. State the purpose of the call — and make sure the other party agrees.

3. Issue a warning a few minutes before you have to get off the line.

“True to life.”

“Just wanted to comment on your recent ETR newsletter about the junkie’s secret. While most of your ETR writings are very good (which is why I keep reading them), this one was a gem. You hit the nail on the head. It was insightful, inspiring, true to life.

“It was a great piece.”

Mike Gouin
Cincinnati, OH

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The “Obvious” Marketing Strategy… That Almost Every Start-Up Forgets – Your favorite restaurant almost certainly does it. So do McDonald’s and Starbucks.

But I’ll bet your new online business is missing out on it. If so, you’re leaving thousands of dollars on the table. Read more to find out what “it” is…

SB complains about getting mixed messages… being confused… being overworked. At the same time, he does a very good job on the work he understands. The people who work directly for him are happy with his leadership. And the results are almost always excellent.

SB’s mistake is in not understanding who he really works for: his customers. Every dollar the business earns comes from them. Their money funds his paychecks, the paychecks of his bosses, and the paychecks of the people who work under him.

By focusing on what is best for his customers, he can reduce the amount of confusion and conflict he experiences by having three supervisors.

Are you in a similar situation? Are you getting conflicting advice from the people you work for? You can usually determine the right thing to do by understanding what would be best for your customers. (Which decision will improve the service they get? Which one will make their buying experience easier, faster, and more rewarding?)

So, yes, praise your employees for good work and goals met. But also praise mistakes that were “smart” tries.

Not always easy to do.

The trick is to define the employee’s limits beforehand. That way, you are much less likely to face disappointment. And if and when you do, you will feel as if the failure was your responsibility as much as anyone else’s. If you feel that way, it will be easy to say, “Nice try.”

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What MBA Students Have That You Couldn’t Get (Until Now…)

An unconventional course has appeared at Columbia University’s business school… at the London Business School… and at the Haas Business School at the University of California.

Says Brandon Peele, “I attribute 80% of my $120K MBA price tag to this one class. It changed my life in profound ways.” Now you can get the same life-changing benefits… From your home… For less than a thousandth of the tuition.

Listen carefully and respectfully to his answer. Take notes. Thank him, and tell him you won’t bother him again until you have something better to offer.

Then, when you do have something better, give him a call. He will probably listen to what you have to say. After all, he already “knows” you — and you’ve proven yourself to have his best interests at heart.

At that point, given a better offer, he may very well be inclined to say “yes.”

Studies show, and my experience confirms, that the people who do best in multiple interviews are those who are first or last. And that’s regardless of how good they actually are.

First is good. But last is better. If you are scheduled somewhere in the middle of the pack, give a reason for getting the earliest or latest slot instead. It doesn’t hurt to ask.

Latest News

• We’ve made lots of improvements to next year’s Internet Money Club. I’m really excited about how good it is going to be.

  But to make sure everyone who joins gets individual coaching, we have to limit membership. You can’t sign up for the “class” of 2010 yet, but you can put yourself at the head of the line. So act now. Be one of the first to hear all about it…

“A great experience for me.”

“I came to last year’s ETR’s Info-Marketing Bootcamp not knowing why I was coming, except that I knew I wanted to change my life and my career. I didn’t know if I would fit in at all, but the very first day I found out I was not the oldest person there. I found great people I connected with very quickly, and have learned so much from them.

“These are people I can talk to and work with to make my new career an absolute certainty. It was a great experience for me to be there and meet the folks that are with ETR.”

Laura Cogswell
Delmar, MD

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12 World-Class Experts Are on a Mission…

… to give YOU some technique, trick, or strategy that will generate at least $10,000 in extra income by May 2010.

There will be a total of $394,510,000 worth of cash-generating, sales-boosting ideas at this year’s Bootcamp. And you can use many of them immediately. I know of at least one that you can implement before you leave!

Bootcamp, says attendee Sharon O’Day, is “like getting a masters degree in how to build a business on the Internet.”

If you haven’t signed up yet, do so this minute.

I call it the Eureka Moment.

It’s the moment when you are so sold by the copy that you want to buy the product — even though you already have it. Even though you may have created it!

The Eureka Moment may seem like a high bar to set. But I have to tell you… I’ve never seen a breakthrough package that didn’t have one.

Latest News

• They’re streamlining over at Investor’s Daily Edge. They’ve brought together several editors and analysts to create one “super service.” All of them have studied their respective market niches for decades. And they’re ready to reveal their best recommendations. Check out their track records here…

“I would certainly recommend it to others.”

“Before I came to ETR’s Info-Marketing Bootcamp, I’d been a student of marketing for many years and had used many of the principles taught there successfully in the past. So I was on the edge, waffling as to whether or not to come, thinking that much of what I would hear would be redundant.

“It was a difficult decision, but in the end I decided to come. I knew from prior experience that I would hear maybe one or two nuggets of wisdom that might make a big difference to me in the future.

“The speakers blew me away. As I expected, I had heard much of the content before. But in each and every presentation there were a couple of nuggets that were very valuable to me.

“It was a good decision to come, and I’m glad I did. I would certainly recommend it to others.”

Garry Gladstone
Incline Village, NV

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It’s Almost Too Late! – You might have been waiting until the last minute to decide whether to come to our Info-Marketing Bootcamp. Well, guess what? It is the last minute. This could be the event that finally makes your dream come true. It’s time to make a decision today…

They are probably eating up limited and valuable resources that could be better used elsewhere.

Tom Monaghan, the founder of Domino’s Pizza, tells a story about the early days in his first pizzeria:

“One night, most of my employees didn’t show up, and I didn’t know whether to open or not. Someone said, ‘Why don’t you just cut out the six-inch pizzas?’ We had five sizes, but most of our business was the smallest, the six-inch. It took just as long to make as the big one and just as much time to deliver but cost less.

“I decided we would try that,” said Monaghan.

“We never got busy that night, and yet we made 50 percent more money than we ever had. The next night I cut out the nine-inch pizza, and all the bills caught up. I learned then that keeping things simple could be more profitable.”

You should continuously be asking yourself two questions:

1. How do I increase my business’s most profitable activities?
2. Is it really worth it to maintain the low-margin activities?

The answer to the second question, by the way, is “No!”

Cut your losers short and let your winners run. Make “survival of the fittest” your credo.

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Early to Rise’s $500,000+ Gamble

We’re betting on your success at our Information Marketing Bootcamp this November. In fact, “we’ll see you and we’ll raise you”!

You see, we’ve put the 12 gurus we’ve invited “on the spot.” If you don’t learn from them how you could make at least your first $10,000 in revenue with your online business by May 2010… we’re going to give you back your entrance fee AND give you another $1,000 for your trouble.

Check out all the details on your “sure thing” here.

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Kendra, there are plenty of ways to do it. The most important thing to know is this: Don’t look for a “forever” business partner like you would look for a spouse. Look, instead, for people you can partner with for specific projects — people who have expertise in areas where you are weak.

If you are a writer, look for marketers, graphic artists, and technical people. If you are a numbers person, team up with creative talent.

Go to chat rooms and chat. There are so many ways to connect with people via the Internet, there is absolutely no excuse for not doing so.

Go to trade shows and seminars and smile a lot. Don’t give out business cards. Take them. Make follow-up phone calls or e-mails. Ask, “What can I do for you?”

Building business relationships begins with you. You have to demonstrate that you are someone who is willing to give, not just take. In all likelihood, you know how the people whose cards you take can help you. But they might not know what you can do to help them.

As I said, the goal is not to find someone who will be your long-term business mate. It is to find people who can help you build your business in the short run.

If you have a dozen such relationships, one or two of them are likely to have the potential for something longer-term and more rewarding.

Brian Edmondson, Director of our Internet Money Club and Internet Power Coaching programs, was a budding online entrepreneur when he met the ETR team at an Info-Marketing Bootcamp. That informal meeting led to a valuable partnership that is mutually beneficial. Brian provides content and services. And we provide marketing expertise and an audience of buyers.

Several years ago, Monica Day and Krista Jones met at the American Writers & Artists Inc. yearly conference in Florida. They became fast friends and did a few writing jobs together. Before long, they were partners in a business.

My high school friend Eddie and I re-met in a bank lobby 25 years ago. He was a real estate attorney and I was buying real estate. He helped me close several deals. In return, I invested in a few of his limited partnerships. Gradually, we became full-fledged partners in several very substantial developments overseas. This has been a sideline business for me over the years, but it has made me millions and millions of dollars.

These are just three stories — three examples of how you can find great partners if you simply devote some time to meeting people and then starting some sort of relationship with them, even if it is to become a customer or client.

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Why Religion as You Know It Doesn’t Have the Answers

Most religions promise the keys to happiness, fulfillment, and purpose. The solutions are there. But over the years, these useful and life-changing tenets have become diluted… weak… and distorted. They have lost their original power.

This frustrates people who simply want answers. But there’s good news. Scholar and philosopher Srikumar Rao has translated dozens of the most powerful secrets from ancient traditions. He’s made them useful… practical… easy to understand. And easy to apply to YOUR life.

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