The Critical Step You Must Take Before Pushing Your Big Idea Forward
Issue #2125
- WEALTHY: Can 10 minutes really affect your investments? (Rick Pendergraft)
- HEALTHY: 2 dangerous habits you should break right now (Shane Ellison)
- * WISE: Edwin H. Friedman on leadership
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- How to set a goal and rally the troops (Michael Masterson)
- A sneak peek at Michael’s new book… and business advice galore (Jason Holland)
- It’s Good to Know… about geckel
- Add "esurient" to your vocabulary
Turn the Tables on Microsoft, AOL, & Time Warner!
Oh no! Yet another mandatory upgrade from Microsoft. On top of that, they say you probably need a new computer too. Then there’s your Internet provider hiking rates and fees again. Meanwhile, more time flushed down the drain surfing the web for endless hours.
There’s got to be a better way.
Shhhh… There is…
Let me take you on a trip to T.O.S.O.T.I.
- Patrick Coffey
How to Play the Volatile Market
At the beginning of the summer, I mentioned that I expected more volatility in the markets… but I didn’t expect minute-by-minute volatility! I have been studying, trading, and working in the investment industry for 20 years now, and I have never seen a market like the one we are in right now. It is absolutely insane.
To give you an idea of how wild the ride has been, take a look at the chart here. (Keep in mind that these are 10-minute vertical bars and that the horizontal gridlines are in 50-point increments.) This chart is from Friday, August 3 through Thursday, August 9 at mid-day.
How many bars do you see that encompass an entire gridline? I didn’t count them, but there are a bunch. We are talking, here, about 50 points added to or taken away from the Dow in 10 measly minutes.
Because of this volatility, I recommend that market participants either take profits quickly – within a few hours to a few days – or buy stocks that they want to hang on to for six months or more. This market is not for the faint of heart.
[Ed. Note: Rick Pendergraft is a market expert and two-time winner of the "Top Trader" award at Schaeffer's Investment Research. In ETR's free e-zine, Investor's Daily Edge, Rick and a select group of market specialists will give you to-the-point analyses and tell you how you should act TODAY to make the most money with the least risk.]
"Leadership can be thought of as a capacity to define oneself to others in a way that clarifies and expands a vision of the future."
Edwin H. Friedman
The Critical Step You Must Take Before Pushing Your Big Idea Forward
You have an idea about how your business can do something new or better. You have run that idea through a gauntlet of trusted colleagues, individuals with the intelligence and experience to pummel the hot air out of it.
The result is something stronger, more focused, and more powerful than your original idea – something that has a good chance of achieving the benefits (increased sales, decreased refunds, etc.) that you imagined in the first place. Plus, it now has the support of several of the company’s key leaders – the very people who initially beat it up for you.
You are excited to get it going – the sooner, the better. Your impulse is to gather the troops and make a public announcement or to send out a bulk e-mail letting everyone know how their world is going to change.
But you shouldn’t do that. Not just yet. There is one more step you must take before making the big leap. You must convert your good, trim, tested idea into a goal – one that is (a) easy to understand and (b) easy to implement.
You will make the goal easy to understand by carefully crafting a short (less than one page is preferable) memo that explains it in simple terms, using specific examples and analogies (if needed).
You will make the goal easy to implement by breaking it into a series of smaller tasks. What you are aiming for is a step-by-step map that gets your management team (those who will be responsible for making your idea happen) from where you are today to exactly where you want to be, based on your carefully articulated memo.
Doing a good job of all this means homework. It means understanding the fears before they are articulated, anticipating problems before they occur, and having answers ready before they are asked. The best way to do all that is to sit down for a few hours and draw up a list of every possible misunderstanding, concern, and negative ramification your idea might create. Write them down on one side of a sheet of paper – and on the opposite side, write down answers.
Make sure the answers are good ones. When there are no good answers but you still strongly believe in the idea, find a way to say that. People don’t always need to know how problems are going to be solved. Sometimes, it’s enough to know that their leader is confident it can be done.
Now you are ready to sell your idea to the rank and file. In doing so, speak with the certainty of someone who has done all the preliminary work you have done.
At this point, there is no reason to doubt either your plan or the goal you’ve set. So don’t. If, in the midst of your presentation, someone asks a question or raises an objection you have no answer for, say something like, "That is a good point, John. I’ll get to it in a minute or two after I first clarify the issue of…"
This diversion will allow you to keep the momentum going while you try to think of a satisfactory answer. If you don’t, don’t sweat it. Compliment the questioner for his intelligence. You may want to go so far as to say, "John has asked a very intelligent question, one for which I have no immediate answer. I’m going to think about it a bit and talk to some people. I’ll have an answer for him and for you before [some timeframe]."
Say this with conviction and you won’t lose any converts.
And, finally, keep this in mind. Your idea doesn’t have to be perfect to succeed. In the busy, complex world that we live in, there are many problems and many solutions to those problems. The person who is ultimately successful is the person who can keep trying out ideas until he finds one that works.
In terms of leadership, that means you must retain control through the period of doubt so that your idea can be fully implemented. As I said, an idea doesn’t have to be perfect in order to be successful. It just needs to be good enough to try out.
But unless you maintain control, your idea won’t get that chance. So prepare yourself, make clear statements, and establish doable, step-by-step objectives
And never lose confidence.
[Ed. Note: If you would like more help in achieving your goals, consider signing up for ETR's Total Success Achievement program, which can help you overcome obstacles and guide you, step by step, from where you are to where you want to be. Learn more here. And to learn how to get a brand-new business off the ground... or make an existing business grow like crazy... reserve your spot at this fall's Info Marketing Bootcamp: Making a Fast Fortune on the "Other Side" of the Internet today.]
What Could You Do With $197,551.40?
One successful real estate investor I know recently bought a property and received $197,551.40 in cash back at closing. That may sound like an unusual deal, but it’s not.
In fact, it’s not uncommon to get cash back in one particular type of real estate deal… and thousands of these deals are being made every day. But that’s just one short-term benefit of a strategy that provides even bigger profits later on.
And if that’s not incentive enough, here are a few more great reasons to invest this way:
- Thousands in cash flow from professional tenants
- Easy no-money-down deals
- And it’s one of the easiest ways to invest in real estate if you have poor credit (the lender is more concerned with the property than with you)
Click the link to learn how you can start profiting from this lucrative area of the real estate market that – fortunately for you and me – is often overlooked by average investors.
Sincerely,
Justin Ford
ETR Insider Report: The Online Home of Everything Michael Masterson
ETR strives to provide you with a daily dose of expert advice that you can use to start your own business, overcome the obstacles that are stopping your existing business from thriving, transition from being an employee to CEO, and create multiple streams of income. But now there’s another way to get even more actionable information on these topics and others: Just visit Michael Masterson’s new website, here.
The new site is truly the online home of everything Michael Masterson. You’ll find Michael’s blog, full of his uncensored musings on business, culture, and life, and news on upcoming events – such as ETR’s October Info Marketing Bootcamp – so you can see where Michael will be speaking next.
But fans of Michael’s books will be especially excited about the following features:
- Regular updates and articles building on the themes of Michael’s best-sellers Automatic Wealth for Grads and Seven Years to Seven Figures.
You’ll learn how entrepreneurs who’ve read these books have used Michael’s lessons to build successful businesses and multiple streams of income, and you’ll come away with ways to follow their examples. Through the stories of people whose personal paths to success mirror those in Michael’s books, you’ll get even more secrets and tips for your own ventures, whether you’re a business veteran or a newbie.
- A section of the website that’s dedicated to Michael’s new book on business building: Ready, Fire, Aim: Zero to $100 Million in No Time Flat, set to come out in early 2008.
This part of the site will be filled with excerpts taken directly from the manuscript of the book, related articles that Michael has written specifically for the new site, and some he helped me put together. Michael’s goal for this section is to help you understand and overcome the unique challenges of each stage of business growth. No matter what level your business is at right now, you’ll find something here that you can apply today. You’ll discover how to accelerate failure, test your products in the market, hire and develop superstar employees, sell your products profitably, eliminate operational bottlenecks, and come up with new ideas quickly and efficiently… and much more.
Both of these sections will be updated regularly, so check back often for advice that is sure to benefit you and your business.
[Ed. Note: Get Michael Masterson's insights into becoming successful in your business and personal life, achieving financial independence, and accomplishing all your goals on his brand-new website.You'll find updates on all of Michael's books, news on upcoming ETR events, Michael's blog, and room to send in your comments and questions. Check it out today here.]
Are Your Bad Habits Causing Cancer?
Are your lifestyle habits killing you? Or are they ensuring that you "live young"?
Have you ever noticed that obesity, heart disease, and cancer seem to afflict several people in the same family? Genetics are usually blamed. However, poor health passed down through generations is the result of lifestyle habits. Those who share similar habits also share the same health – bad or good. And those who make the same lifestyle changes experience equivalent changes in health – regardless of genetics.
To make a health transformation, you must capitalize on healthy habits. Two dangerous habits that are infecting Americans are habitual sugar consumption and a continual lack of moderate sunshine. Combined, these habits create an environment within your body that’s conducive to cancer growth. By minimizing sugar and exposing your body to direct sunlight for at least 20 minutes daily, you help prevent this pandemic killer from decreasing the time you can spend enjoying life.
[Ed. Note: Shane "The People's Chemist" Ellison is an internationally recognized authority on therapeutic nutrition. Learn about his "Foundational Health Education" program to beat obesity, heart disease, and even Type II diabetes by clicking here.
You can also read Shane's insights into what you can do to lead a healthier life by signing up for ETR's FREE natural health e-letter here.]
It’s Good to Know: About Geckel
Scientists have created a new type of glue that could be used to bind wounds and help robots climb structures under water. Called "geckel," this adhesive is based on the powerful glue that mussels use to attach themselves to rocks and the ability of the gecko to walk on walls and ceilings.
A gecko’s foot has pads covered in fine hairs that allow it to stick to a surface while in precarious positions – but they lose this ability on wet surfaces. The researchers found that by using similar pads created in a lab, in conjunction with waterproof synthetic mussel glue, they could combine the best features of both.
(Source: LiveScience)
Confidential Report: Disillusioned Trader Opens "Money-Floodgates" to YOU…
Rob Banks Legally… With an Inside Job!
Are You Ready for a "Smash and Grab" on the World’s "Hidden" Money-Mountain?
Great! The getaway car’s leaving…
Word to the Wise: Esurient
"Esurient" (ih-SUR-ee-unt) – from the Latin for "to eat" – means hungry or greedy.
Example (as used by Arnold Beichman in the Washington Times): "The enemy then was an esurient Soviet Union which, having swallowed up Eastern Europe, had imposed a totalitarian system on countries just liberated from Nazism."
[Ed. Note: Become a more persuasive writer and speaker ... build your self-confidence and intellect ... increase your attractiveness to others ... just by spending 10 VERY enjoyable minutes a day with ETR's new Words to the Wise CD Library.]
Michael Masterson
Copyright ETR, LLC, 2007
Comments