"For the past 33 years, I have looked in
the mirror every morning and asked myself: 'If today were the last day
of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?' And
whenever the answer has been 'No' for too many days in a row, I know I
need to change something." ~ Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs, the
icon of Apple Computer and other stellar companies, knew change was
critical to happiness and success. He didn't fear it. He embraced it,
and he sought it out. He understood what some people do not -- that
changing something leads to good things. If you're not happy with how
something is, then do what Jobs did -- go after changing it. A friend of
mine says this, you're the only one in your casket. It's true. No one
else is going to that grave with you. It's your life. It's not your
friend's life. It's not your husband/wife's life. It's yours. Are you
going to live it the way you dreamed? Are you going to accept the status
quo? Are you going to be happy, indifferent or sad? Because every
single day is an opportunity to do it differently ... to be different
... to change the course. If you can't look in the mirror and answer
that question with "yes" then it's time to change the direction. And if you
follow my "millimeters approach" then you know it isn't going to
require a huge step to do it, but a small one! A very small one.
The Biggest Lesson in Business
What
do they call it, expensive lessons you don't want to learn. Many times
in business you have to be prepared to shift directions or revamp
business models. On this blog, I teach about small changes for big
results. The best lesson and least expensive is to be agile and flexible
enough to shift course when things aren't working. It's when you get
stuck in a mode or method and become inflexible, costly mistakes don't
get resolve any sooner.
Let's
apply that to a vendor relationship. Say you're working with a vendor
who no matter what happens (hidden fees are largely the culprit), what
they say they're going to charge you and the actual bill never adds up --
and it's never in your favor. What do you do? Keep accepting
unacceptable business practices because maybe they've been your go-to
vendor? Maybe you feel stuck with them for whatever reason?
Do you just
keep paying the bill that perhaps eats your small net profit margin? No,
you take small steps to either confront the vendor or change vendors.
You start with the small step. Confront the vendor. Question the
invoice. Hidden fees are culprits for eating your profits. If the vendor
refuses to change or compensate you, do you give them another chance?
No. If the vendor accepts responsibility, do you give them another
chance? Yes. If they do it again then you change directions and find
someone else (ever heard of fool me once shame on you, fool me twice
shame on me?). Accepting the unacceptable takes businesses down a road
toward reduced margins. It's not smart business. And one small phone
call should determine your choices to change directions.
Promoting Change
 | |
| Dr. Donna Galante speaks to writers about how | she wrote her book. |
Dr. Donna
Galante appeared at the Sacramento Writers Who Mean Business to discuss
how she came up with the idea to write It's All About Millimeters. She
discussed with writers her ideas about taking small, incremental steps
to get projects done. A point she eloquently made is that if you take
each step, one at a time, you will achieve your goal. Almost every goal
in life can be broken down into smaller steps. Small steps when put
together into one big picture (especially if done daily) can make all of
the difference to achieve a big goal. Tip: make it your mission to do
ONE thing a day to achieve a goal. Just one thing -- that's all it
takes. Then persist -- persistence is key.
Millimeter Survival Tips
If
you're a business owner then you know the joys and perils involved.
Your company's survival in the last few years has been based most likely
on your ability to adjust. Business ebbs and flows, but the right
attitude prevails when business does more ebbing than flowing. If you
look around at the businesses still standing through the recession you
will find they probably have one thing in common -- they survived
through change.
How
do you survive through change? You change with it. Now you don't have
to move away from your core business. You just have to "millimeter" it
AKA tweak it. Let's give you an example. If you're selling high-end
widgets to a market where the upper middle class is dwindling and the
demand for high-end widgets diminishing then you just need a different
widget. It's not that people don't need your widgets. They are now
working on a different budget. So for your survival you have to
reposition your widget and move your price point to meet market
requirements. You might lose a little of your profit margin, but focus
on selling different widgets with different price points. Find a way to
sell widgets more direct so you can retain a greater percentage of your
profits.
Millimeter
thinkers don't think in "mile-high" thoughts. They take what they have
and they tweak it to fit the current climate. Again, think about what
businesses survived the Great Recession. How did they survive? Did they
just change their widget or maybe even redirect their sales to a
different part of the market that will still thriving?
Going with the Flow of Change
Being
open to change is good. Sometimes if you're open to opportunities and
exploring things will just fall into place. In business when you have a
problem open yourself up to allowing the solution to come to you. Here
is a brief case study.
The
assistant of a business had so many schedule conflicts, he was unable
to get the job done. It wasn't that he did a bad job, but it wasn't a
great job either. The business owner wasn't sure whether to fire him,
but he was really great at certain parts of the job. One day the
business owner was talking to another assistant. The conversation
shifted, and the new assistant had solutions to every single one of the
manager's problems. Right then the manager realized a solution had been
presented. Did he let the first assistant go and replace him? The
business owner decided to focus on the first assistant's strengths and
move him to a new positions. Then the business owner seized the
opportunity and grabbed the solution to hire the second manager --
everybody wins.
The
key is "millimeter" management. Being open to change the current
situation without being drastic. Firing the first manager without a
solution is drastic. Allowing a solution to present itself is
"millimeter" management. Be open to take small steps that lead to bigger
changes, and the rest will have a way of working out.
You Happen to Change
"Your life doesn't get better by chance, it gets better by change." ~ John Rohn
Nothing stays exactly the same. You can put something
stagnant in a stagnant place and even at the molecular level it changes.
Ironically while change is inevitable some people often fight it. Using
my "millimeter" approach, it makes it easier to embrace change. When
you think about putting an object down in a place, change goes on all
around it even if it's at that molecular level. By embracing change and
actually "guiding" (control is an illusion) you will feel empowered by
it vs. afraid of it. Conscious choice. Conscious decisions. Conscious
change toward improvement and betterment can liberate you. You're not
letting change happen to you, you happen to change.
Notice when you're passive, you may also feel victimized.
People do things to you. Events happen to you. But when you become the
catalyst in your change; the center of your change; the mover of your
world, you will feel a sense of strength. You no longer knee-jerk along.
You decide. You do. My "millimeter" approach will help you. It doesn't
require you to "do" overwhelming and big things. It asks you to put
yourself in the driver seat one step at a time. It puts everything into
perspective. Think of it. When you drive a car, do you just magically
appear in the driver's seat? No, you do things to get in the car, turn
over the ignition, hit the gas, etc. Millimeter change works the exact
same way. And when you begin to see life in that perspective and how to
empower and change your life that is makes it do-able -- and maybe even
exciting!
What You Can Learn From Katherine Hepburn
I am an old movie buff and have very fond memories of hanging out with my mother watching Katherine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, Cary Grant, Betty Davis, Jimmy Stewart and other movie icons from the past.
I have always respected and admired Katherine Hepburn as a
leading lady in the movie industry. She set the stage for many other female
movie stars to succeed. A very
out-spoken individual who had clear and well-defined opinions about everything, she
had a long career in Hollywood. She garnered four Best Actress Awards in her 60
years on the big screen.
One of my favorite quotes from her is, “We are taught you
must blame your father, your sisters, your brother, the school, the teachers –
but never blame yourself. It’s never your fault. But’s is always your fault, because if you wanted to change
you’re the one who has got to change.”
I love this quote and it goes perfectly with my “millimeter
approach” to change.
It is so easy to blame everything and everybody for whatever
isn’t working in our lives. Change
is hard, scary and intimidating.
But it does not need to be when you approach the change with
a “millimeter approach,” those
small, but significant steps toward your personal or business goals.
Why not stop the blaming and take a millimeter
approach. Do just one small thing
today to move forward to your goals of better health, weight loss, more
customers, better relationships, more money and more success. You can’t keep blaming your family,
your teachers, the economy, our government or the weather.
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