The QLog

Are you moving forwards or backwards?

"The great thing in this world is not so much where we are, but in what direction we are moving." - Oliver Wendell Holmes

Most view success as the completion of a task, project, or goal; however, I think this is misguided as few accomplishment are instantaneous. Instead, the ending is just the fruit of one's labor. If you are proceeding towards your target, then you should consider yourself successful as well. 

Failure lies within never trying or drifting away from one's life purpose.

Thanksgiving, Part 2

"Gratitude is the secret to life." - Albert Schweitzer

Researchers within the new field of Positive Psychology have investigated the attitude of gratitude and have scientifically concluded that it can increase personal happiness, overall well-being, satisfaction with life, and physical health. If you would like to learn more about this without having to review all the original scientific papers, I have good news: two recent popular books explore a selection of the studies, including the experimental evidence that suggests gratefulness can increase happiness by 25%.

The first volume is Thanks!: How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier by Professor Robert Emmons (UC-Davis) who is a leader within this area of psychology. Emmons clearly explains the science without watering it down and I can certainly recommend this book. The second book is entitled Thank You Power: Making the Science of Gratitude Work for You by journalist Deborah Norville. Although it contains fewer examples, it does review the high points, and would serve as a launching pad to the topic for the casual reader.

Bottom Line: Thanksgiving should be a daily event!

Thanksgiving, Part 1

Today is Thanksgiving Day in the USA. Yes, traditionally, we enjoy a feast of turkey and pumpkin pie, but more important, this holiday represents the one day of the year in modern America which is centered around family and loved ones for the vast majority of the population, regardless of faith, creed, or race.

I encourage you to be thankful in three ways:

1) Think It: Embrace the attitude of gratitude.
2) Say It: Tell as many people as you can how thankful you are that they are part of your life.
3) Do It: Actions always speak louder than words. Show someone you truly care. Also, do not forget those who are less fortunate than yourself: the hungry and the lonely in our society. This is a good day to reflect on your blessing and consider donating time, talent, and treasure to a local charity.

M is for Marketing

Marketing is the final piece. Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote "build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door." Maybe! It would be contingent if the world knew it existed and many considered the purchase worthwhile. Enter the marketer.

Marketing is a creative communication process where the benefits of a product or service are explained to potential customers. Without marketing, there are very few sales, as the 21st century is a wide-bazaar of diversity that contain many vocal competitors offering similar products and services. This is why marketing is a fundamental cornerstone of business growth.

M is for Mantra

What is a business Mantra? It is a concise or intriguing description of your individual, team, or organization mission. Some call this an elevator speech. Crafting one has two main benefits:

1) You can explain what you do to others, especially potential clients, very quickly.
2) It helps one clarify the main essence of one's position.

Albert Einstein once said "Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler." This is true for a mantra as well, plus it should also be short. The rule of thumb is that it should take less than 30 seconds to share it with a complete stranger. It should only be an overview of your core competency, not a quick grocery list. My own mantra is that I help people get twice the juice from half the fruit. When people inquire for more information, which is normally the case, I can explain more fully that I am a business coach who assists individuals achieve their top goals rapidly with less time, energy, and resources.

M is for Management

Warren Buffet, the uber-investor and billioniare, is known for only purchasing companies that have good fundamentals and are priced at a bargain; however, one of his main 'soft' criteria is also a firm with an excellent upper Management team. He knows that the leaders can crash a company sooner than the market if they do not have the right skills.

Every enterprise, from the US Government to the smallest one-man company, needs the best Management possible for their size and scope. As a firm increases in size and complexity, the management needs to expand their skillset as well, and this is sometimes a weak spot for start-up firms that succeed...the founder is not always ready for the next level.

Business growth is often either augmented or limited by the ability of the management.

M is for Model

A business Model is both very simple to understand on the general level; however, often complex to execute day-to-day. A business model is the basic schema of how a company will generate revenue. For example, a shoe store sells shoes to customers at a certain margin and the is how most of the profit is produced.

A business model is what many start-up internet firms lacked, so when the venture capital dried-up after the implosion of the stock market bubble in 2000, they immediately failed.

If you can not articulate the way you or your company makes money, then it is very likely the model is weak or is missing. The stronger the model, the more likely a company is to succeed.

The 5 Big M's of Business

Over the next few days, I'm going to focus on the Five Big M's of Business:

• Market
• Model
• Management
• Mantra
• Marketing

The essential M is a Market! Although people joke around about having the skills to sell snow to Eskimos, a sustainable business must be built upon a foundation of a product or service that people desire to purchase to fulfill a want or need. Without a real market, any for-profit enterprise is doomed to fail.

Most markets exist around a problem that needs to be solved. Even companies that produce extremely high-end luxury goods such as hand-crafted watches and huge yachts are solving a problem for an elite group of people, as these firms focus the SES differential issue (e.g. status symbols are used to display privilege, power, wealth). Also, markets change as better 'answers' are discovered. For example, the travel industry has drastically changed over the past 150 years. For most of civilization, horses, mules, and camels were the best option for long distant journeys. Then, the technological breakthrough of the train changed that forever. However, although trains replaced horses, planes or cars are now the standard solution for most Americans. Problems are rarely solved once. Instead, markets are evolving systems that always seek better, faster, and cheaper.

If you want to dominate your market, offer a solution in a very unique way that offers significantly more benefits to your customer than any other competitor.

Twice The Juice

I just wanted to take a moment to announce that my weekly eNewletter, Twice The Juice, will launch on November 14th. It will focus on similar topics as this blog, such as productivity, creativity, and life strategy. You will be able to register for it from several locations, including here at my blog starting tomorrow evening.

If you would like to sign-up today, please go to www.twicethejuice.com to do so. I personally hate spam so this is a double opt-in email list. Additionally, I will never share your email address with anyone else.

Why is it called Twice The Juice? My mantra is "to get twice the juice from half the fruit" and I hope that the content of this eNewsletter will help you achieve more within your personal and professional life while spending less time, energy, and resources as well.


Thanks,
Thom Quinn, Business Coach

More Emerson: On Friendship

Here is one of my favorite quotes from Ralph Waldo Emerson: "The only way to have a friend is to be one." I completely agree. Relationships only work if they are mutually reciprocal.