V.L. Thompson's Blog, page 5
January 13, 2023
株式会社グッドクリエイト 代表取締役-山本 真大
世界特許取得の新技術である「@POP」は、スマートフォンの位置情報などから個人の欲しい情報を予測してユーザーの欲しいタイミングでの配信を可能にします。
個人情報やパーソナルデータは一切取得せずに、ユーザーの端末の中に保管する全く新しい技術になります。
更にノンクラウドの仕組みを採用しているのでデータベースやサーバーが不要となり、情報配信にほとんどコストもかかりません。
「欲しい情報を欲しい時、欲しい人に」これこそが株式会社グッドクリエイトの目指す次世代型AIマーケティングです。
山本 真大社長のプロフィール
生年月日1975年3月6日出身地香川県出身校専門学校 穴吹カレッジオブビジネス尊敬する人ラリー・ペイジ、両親おすすめ本漫画全般パワー飯讃岐うどん底力の源絶対に折れない心会社情報
社名株式会社グッドクリエイト本社〒761-2402香川県丸亀市綾歌町岡田下346-3設立2000年3月社長就任2000年3月業種マーケティング事業内容次世代AIマーケティング事業社員数16名採用募集新卒採用 中途採用ホームページhttps://gc-c.co.jp/自社の強み世界初の新しいAIマーケティング技術 これまでの道のり
会社員として働いた後に起業しました。
設立当初は携帯電話の一次代理店などをやっていました。
中国四国地方で有数の販売店となりましたが、代理店業はあくまで代理店業であることから、自社でインフラを持ちたいという気持ちがあり現在の技術の開発に至りました。
弊社の新技術である「@POP（アットポップ）」は、スマートフォンの位置情報などから個人の欲しい情報を予測してユーザーの欲しいタイミングでの配信を可能にするものです。
「欲しい情報を欲しい時、欲しい人に」まさにこれこそが我々の目指す次世代型AIマーケティングです。
また、個人情報やパーソナルデータは一切取得せずに、ユーザーの端末の中に保管する全く新しい技術なのです。
お客様のニーズにあったものをいち早くご提供することです。
また、提携企業・クライアント・従業員・エンドユーザー等、事業にかかわるすべての皆様の「満足」を永続的に高め、共に成功を分かち合うことを目標にしております。
プレゼンテーションです
思い出のエピソード新技術の開発当初、とあるパートナー企業様に売り込みに行ったことがありました。
その際、「これは素晴らしい技術なので他社に渡してはいけない。一緒に世界を獲ろう」と言っていただいたことが、今に繋がっています。
これからは大企業ではなく個人がプラットフォーマーになる時代だと思います。
誰もが自分の情報を自分で管理できる仕組みを確立し、将来において便利で豊かな生活を支える技術で社会へ貢献していくため、我々は日々進化を続けていきます。
まずはアプリケーションのバリアフリー化とともに2021年リリース予定の新しいAI広告配信モデルの構築を目指し、新しい広告配信モデルを構築していきたいと考えております。
March 2, 2015
You Had Me at Hello – 5 Types of Subject Lines to Engage Your Audience
In the movie Jerry Maguire, Jerry expressed his love in a long-winded speech to Dorothy and her reply was the simple phrase: subject lines“You had me at hello.” Your subject line can do the very same thing for your email marketing and leave your readers swooning.
Your readers’ inboxes are a crowded place these days and with all that competition, you’ve got to up your ante to stand out. If you’re sending email on a regular basis to subscribers that have opted-in and want to hear from you, you’re off to a good start. But you’ve got to hook ‘em with attention getting subject lines, so you can reel them into the content of your email. Here are five subject line types and real-life examples to guide you on your way to success.
1. Humor: Use a little humor, something a bit cheeky or nostalgic in your subject lines to engage your readers. Take for example this subject line from retailer Tory Burch that plays on the name of a popular band, Jane’s Addiction: “Jeans Addiction: Our New Denim Collection.”
2. Call to Action: This type of subject line has a clear, “do this” message. Our example comes from MZ Wallace with their simple, “Vote to Win.” In just three words they tell you exactly what they want you to do. It also piques your curiosity getting you to open the message to read all about what you could win.
3. Personalization: Placing a reader’s name or other information about him or her in the subject line can be either open-inducing or, it could get you a quick click into the trash bin depending how you use it. In this example, social media network, LinkedIn treads lightly by including my first name to make me feel “special,” indicating this information is just for me, “Top News for Kim: Google Latitude to be retired August 9.”
Read full article by Kim Stiglitz on VerticalResponse.com/blog
So You Want To Write A Digital Strategy?
“Can you put together a digital strategy for us to review?” Requests like this strike fear into those of us who work on the Web. What do we know about putting together strategy documents? Yes, we understand the Web, but we don’t know how to write a document that is essentially a business strategy. What even goes into a digital strategy!
Unfortunately, this is something management seems to increasingly request from Web designers. Whether you are an external contractor or part of an in-house team, sooner or later you will be asked to put together a digital strategy.
But do not despair. A digital strategy is not as intimidating as it sounds. It is just a document outlining how your company or client should handle the different aspects of digital from the website and mobile to email, social media and digital marketing. It doesn’t need to cover everything in huge depth (it would be unreadable if it did), but instead should establish some general approaches to these different areas.
This post will provide you with a crash course on where to start and what kinds of things to include. I hope it proves useful.
An Incredible Opportunity
Whether you have been asked to produce a digital strategy or management have reluctantly listened to your pleas to be more strategic, getting to write a digital strategy is an amazing opportunity.
It is a chance to show your client or boss that you are more than an implementor and that you have a valuable contribution to make toward the future of digital.
“Creating a digital strategy is a chance to bring some order to the chaos that is most organisations approach to digital.”
Most companies approach the Web at a tactical level, making decisions on the fly in response to the latest new technology or business demand.
If like me you have worked on projects where the requirements have changed part way through or somebody in senior management has suddenly decided the company needs an iPhone app, then you know quite how reactionary most organisations are. There is little long term thinking in terms of development roadmap, governance, resourcing and policies.
By forming a digital strategy you have an opportunity to establish a firm direction for your online footprint, rather than being the victim of managerial whims.
So where do you begin?
Read full article by Paul Boag on SmashingMagazine.com
November 24, 2014
How to Bid on Business Contracts
Successfully obtaining business through the contract bidding process can be a lucrative means of securing long-term work and profit for your firm. Some contracts can guarantee steady cash flows for years. But to win these contracts, you will need to know how to outbid other companies that want the same contracts that you do. Knowing the ins and outs of the bidding process will help you compete for the business contracts your company needs.
Step 1
Research companies within your market area that may need or regularly contract for the services you offer. Find contact information for all the area business buildings, contact their facilities manager and list the ones that contract office cleaning services if that is the service you provide, for example.
Step 2
Contact the procurement manager for each of the companies you qualified as potential contracts in Step 1. Ask if they currently have or will have in the future, any need to contract for your company’s service offering. Ask if they maintain a list of potential contractors that they would forward a request for a contract bid when they need to obtain services. Request that they include your company on the list.
Step 3
Request an information packet detailing the company’s procurement process and bid requirements. Complete and submit the “supplier capability” forms included in the packet they send. Include whatever supporting documentation you may need to verify your business history, capacity, financial viability, and the product or service you provide. Understand that the content of the forms may vary depending on the industry or service you provide, so if your company contracts for office cleaning and window washing the packets you receive may look slightly different.
Step 4
Read thoroughly the request for bid proposal, or RFP, that you receive from prospective businesses. Know that these proposals will be detailed and failure to understand what the proposal is requiring can derail your chances at a successful bid. Go through the request line-by-line to identify what work needs to be done, in what time frame, and within what limits or restrictions your company might have to work.
Read full article by Malik Sharrieff, Demand Media on SmallBusiness.Chron.com
November 17, 2014
5 Keys To Creating Successful Strategic Alliances
Did you eat any fresh corn on the cob last weekend? Or cool down with a Frappacino? Sneezing from allergies this summer? Maybe you considered packing up the kids or grandkids and making a summer visit to one of The Walt Disney Co. ‘s properties worldwide?
Then, knowingly or not, you have benefited from a successful strategic alliance. Despite Bill Robinson’s comments in an earlier column (see: Why Strategic Alliances Don’t Work), trust has little to do with creating a profitable alliance. Companies have proven that they can forge successful partnerships with those they don’t trust and with which they compete.
How? By following through on a disciplined approach:
1. Select The Proper Partners For The Intended Goals
An alliance between Seattle-based Starbucks and Purchase, N.Y.-based Pepsico created the popular coffee-flavored drink, Frappacino. The relationship moved Starbucks into the bottled-beverage market while PepsiCo gained an innovative product with a well-branded partner. Each met their strategic and operational goals. A perfect match.
2. Share The Right Information
You don’t have to trust your partner in order to share information with them. You just have to decide what not to share. An alliance could involve intricate interweaving of intellectual property from different research and development labs owned by multiple partners. Many pharmaceutical companies have marketing alliances. Eli Lilly and Takeda Chemical Industries of Osaka, Japan, have joined together to develop a drug for the treatment of type-2 diabetes. Philadelphia-based GlaxoSmithKline and Elbion of Radebeul, Germany, have recently announced an alliance–the results of which will clear up your stuffy sinuses. Companies have proven that they can have successful alliances with those they don’t trust and with whom they compete. The real issue is follow-through. Did their partner do what they said they would? If so, even without trust, the alliance can succeed. Kraft ‘s Maxwell House brand and Starbucks–direct competitors–created an alliance for Starbucks to place its coffee into supermarkets. Starbucks benefited from Maxwell House’s extensive network of shelf space in major chains nationwide, while Maxwell House profited from customer desire for Starbucks-branded coffee.
3. Negotiate A Deal That Includes Risk And Benefit Analysis (Not Necessarily Equal) For All Sides.
Some companies have changed strategies to focus on alliances as key revenue generators. Currently 30% of IBM ‘s $86 billion in revenue comes from a wide variety of alliances. IBM is able to succeed on this scope because they have a process, structure, approach, metrics and a strategic commitment to make alliances work from the highest levels in the company. IBM changed strategies a few years ago and embraced alliances, seeing them as the best way to offer their customers the most valuable and appropriate solutions to their needs–not just the IBM-created option. In some instances, they decided to partner rather than compete with certain independent software vendors. IBM’s alliance with San Mateo, Calif.-based Siebel to jointly develop, market and sell integrated e-business solutions included also Siebel’s choice of IBM’s DB2 Universal Database as the company’s primary development platform and the decision to port Siebel’s e-business applications to the AS/400e server platform. The latter is significant because IBM has more than 200,000 loyal customers using AS/400e technology. This global strategic alliance has been extended to midmarket companies and continues to grow as opportunities for new markets and products evolve.
Read entire article by Larraine Segil on Forbes.com
September 29, 2014
Why You Must Not Ignore The Call to Adventure
The following is an excerpt from Chris Guillebeau’s new book, The Happiness of Pursuit: Finding the Quest That Will Bring Purpose to Your Life. In ancient myths, most quests were ones of discovery or confrontation. A kingdom was under siege, so it required defending. A minotaur in a faraway land guarded a magic chalice, and only the hero could wrest it back. Happily, real-world quests offer more possibilities than storming castles and rescuing princesses, and with some exceptions modern-day quests can be placed into a few broad categories. Travel is an obvious starting point. As I searched for stories and recruited submissions from readers, I learned of many people who set out to circumnavigate the globe in different fashions or be the first to accomplish a challenging goal far from home. Branching out beyond travel, the categories of learning, documenting, and athleticism were also fairly self-explanatory.
The happiness of pursuit
When an independent learner from Canada decided to tackle the four-year M.I.T. Computer Science curriculum in just one year, publishing his test scores along the way, this was clearly a quest oriented around learning and achievement. When a young woman who competed in international competitions decided to adopt and train an especially difficult horse — eventually placing near the top in an important European championship — this was clearly an athletic pursuit. Perhaps more interesting than topical categories is the broader question of whypeople pursue quests and adventures. The answers can fit into categories too, albeit ones that are not as tightly boxed.
A taxonomy of adventure
As I traveled the world and traversed my inbox, a few themes kept coming up:
Self-Discovery
Just as heroes of old set off on a horse to chase their dreams into an enchanted forest, many people still follow a path to “find” themselves. Nate Damm, who walked across America, and Tom Allen, who set out to cycle the planet from his town in England, originally left home merely because they could. They wanted to challenge themselves by learning more about the world. Some of their friends and family understood their desire to set out on a big journey — both gave up jobs to do so — but others didn’t get it. “This is just something I need to do,” Nate said. “It’s about letting a little risk into your life,” Tom explained.
Reclaiming
In days of old, reclaiming was about taking back the land. Recall Mel Gibson in his classic Braveheart performance standing on a hill and shouting “Freeeee-dooom!” in defense of Scotland against the tyrant Englishmen from the south. Many people still pursue quests of reclaiming, though not usually with swords and shields. Sasha Martin, a woman raising a family in Oklahoma, had grown up living abroad and wanted to introduce her household to an awareness of different cultures. She couldn’t travel to foreign lands, at least not at the time, so she decided to make a meal from every country, complete with an entire menu and mini-celebration. From the frontiers of Alaska, Howard Weaver led a scrappy team that took on an establishment newspaper. In an epic battle that stretched for years, Howard and his staff fought to present a “voice of the people” against a better-funded, big-business paper.
Response to external events
Sandi Wheaton, a career employee for General Motors, was laid off at the height of the auto industry’s downturn in 2009. Instead of choosing the usual strategy (panic, then do everything you can to get another job), she took off for an extended trip, taking photos and documenting the journey as she went along. My own quest to visit every country initially came from a post 9/11 experience, after which I wanted to find a way to meaningfully contribute. My soul-searching led to four years on a hospital ship in West Africa, which sparked everything that would come later. Read full article by CHRIS GUILLEBEAU on CopyBlogger.com
September 26, 2014
Planning a Workshop: Organizing and Running a Successful Event
Anyone who has ever planned a workshop will tell you that it’s a big job.
And planning a good one? Well, that takes organization, focus, and a lot of creativity.
So how do you prepare for a workshop that will be not only relevant and productive, but memorable?
Some people HATE going to workshops. Done wrong, they can be a huge waste of time and money. However, if they’re planned well, they can be incredibly valuable for everyone involved. Workshops are great for brainstorming, interactive learning, building relationships, and problem solving. This is why advance planning is critical.
Before the Workshop
Follow these steps to make sure your workshop is a valuable experience for everyone:
Step 1: Define the Goals
Every workshop must have a goal. Do you need to improve your company’s hiring procedures? Do you want to teach managers how to be better organizers? Do you need to do some team building with a newly formed team?
Many workshops are a waste of time because there’s no clear goal kept at the center of the discussion. Without this clear goal, there’s really no point in getting people together.
Step 2: Decide Who Will Attend
Knowing who will attend directly relates to your objective. For example, if your workshop’s goal is to develop a detailed solution to a problem, then you probably want 10 or fewer key attendees. If your goal is centered on education, then you might be happy with a much larger group, which divides into smaller groups for discussion.
Make a list of who needs to be there. Try to be as specific as possible, but leave a few openings for last-minute additions.
Step 3: Choose the Right Location
If you have 10 attendees, then the conference room down the hall will probably be just fine. But if you have 50 people, you may have to find an outside location that’s large enough.
Think about the logistics and practical details of your workshop when you choose the location. Will everyone be able to see your visual aids? If you need a certain technology, like teleconferencing, will the location support it? Are there appropriate facilities for breakout sessions? Will everyone be able to reach the venue? Will you need to organize accommodation for people who are coming from a long way away? And what catering facilities does the venue provide?
Step 4: Create an Agenda
Now that you know your primary objective and who will attend, you can start to develop an outline of how you’ll achieve the workshop’s goal.
Main points – Create a list of main points to discuss, and then break down each larger point into details that you want to communicate to your audience.
Visual aids – List the visual aids, if any, you’ll use for each point. If you need technical support, this helps the people providing it to determine where they need to focus their efforts.
Discussions and activities – Take time to list exactly which group discussions and activities you’ll have at which point in the workshop. How much time will you allow for each exercise? Make sure your activities are appropriate for the size of the group, and ensure that your venue has the resources (for example, seminar rooms) needed to run sessions.
Remember, the more detailed your plan, the more you’ll ensure that your workshop will run to schedule – and be successful.
Step 5: Develop a Follow-up Plan
The only way to find out if your workshop was a success is to have an effective follow-up plan. Create a questionnaire to give to all participants at the end of the event, and give them plenty of opportunity to share their opinions on how well it went. Although this can be a bit scary, it’s the only way to learn – and improve – for the next time.
It’s also important to have a plan to communicate the decisions that were reached during the workshop. Will you send out a mass email to everyone with the details? Will you put it on your company’s intranet? People need to know that their hard work actually resulted in a decision or action, so keep them informed about what’s happening after the workshop has ended.
During the Workshop – Getting People Involved
Once you have a solid advance plan, figure out how to bring some excitement into your event. You know the topics that you want to cover, but how will you make the information fun and memorable for your team?
Getting everyone involved is key to a successful workshop. If you stand up and talk for three hours, you’re just giving a lecture – not facilitating a workshop. Everyone needs to participate.
Creating group exercises is different for each workshop. Keep these tips in mind:
- Many people are nervous about speaking up in an unfamiliar group. If you plan group exercises, keep the size of each group small, so people are more comfortable talking and interacting.
- Mix up different types of people in each group. For example, if several departments participate in your workshop, don’t put members of the same department in their own group. By encouraging people to interact with other departments, they can learn to look at things from different perspectives.
Read full article on MindTools.com
September 25, 2014
Find Your Passion With These 8 Thought-Provoking Questions
In a previous post, I shared questions that can help in overcoming fear of failure. But sometimes, there’s an even more basic problem that can stop us from pursuing bold challenges and ambitious goals: not knowing which challenges or goals to pursue. These days, you’re urged to “follow your passions” and “lean in”–but what if you’re not sure where your particular passion lies? What if you don’t know which way to lean?
This can be an issue not only for those starting out in a career, but also for some who are established, even highly-successful, yet unfulfilled. It’s easy to find oneself on a path determined by others, or by circumstance (i.e., the job offer or project that comes along unexpectedly and is too good to turn down, then becomes a career).
Whether you’re starting out or considering a possible change in direction, asking yourself the right questions is critical. The following eight–shared by a noteworthy lineup of entrepreneurs, innovators, consultants, and creative thinkers–can help you figure out where your heart lies and what you really ought to be doing.
What is your tennis ball?
This question, derived from a terrific commencement speech given at MIT last year by Dropbox founder Drew Houston, is a good place to start because it cuts to the chase. As Houston explained, “The most successful people are obsessed with solving an important problem, something that matters to them. They remind me of a dog chasing a tennis ball.” To increase your chances of happiness and success, Houston said, you must “find your tennis ball–the thing that pulls you.”
Sometimes, we may not be aware of what truly engages us until we examine our own activities and behaviors from a detached, inquisitive perspective. “You almost have to ask yourself, What do I find myself doing?,” explains the author and happiness guru Gretchen Rubin. “What you spend time doing can also tell you what you should do. Because sometimes the things we do without thinking really are things we naturally enjoy or are good at.”
So pay attention to what pulls you. For instance, “when you’re in a bookstore,” says author Carol Adrienne, “what section of the store are you drawn to?” That will not only tell you what books you love–it may point to where your tennis ball can be found.
For a slightly different spin on the “tennis ball” concept, ask:
What am I doing when I feel most beautiful?
This is about identifying not only what draws you in, but also what makes you shine. Jacqueline Novogratz, founder of The Acumen Fund, told me that in her globe-spanning travels she often asks people this question, sometimes in unlikely settings. She once posed the question to women living in a slum in Bombay. At first, “one woman said, ‘There’s nothing in our lives that’s beautiful,’” Novogratz says. “But eventually, a woman who worked as a gardener said, ‘All winter long I slog and slog, but when those flowers push through the ground, I feel beautiful.’”
Novogratz says it’s important to think about “that time and place where you feel most alive–whether it’s when you’re solving a problem, creating, connecting with someone, traveling.” Whatever it is, Novogratz says, identify it–and if possible, find a way to do more of it. (A different version of Novogratz’s “beautiful” question is suggested by consultant Keith Yamashita of SY Partners: “Who have you been, when you’ve been at your best?”)
What is something you believe that almost nobody agrees with you on?
This question, which PayPal co-founder and Thiel Foundation chief Peter Thiel has shared publicly in interviews and lectures, is designed to do two things: help you figure out what you care about and also determine whether it’s worth pursuing, based on uniqueness. Thiel concedes that it’s a challenging question because it can be tough to find an idea or belief that isn’t shared by many others. “Originality is deceptively hard,” he told Pandodaily.
But if you can find a problem or challenge no one else is tackling, you can carve your own niche and create value. “You don’t want to be interchangeably competing with people,” Thiel says. Though we’re taught to do what others are doing and try to succeed by out-competing, this, in Thiel’s view, amounts to “beating your head against the wall–rather than going through the open door that no one is looking at.”
What are your superpowers?
The idea behind this question from Yamashita is to “unpack the combination of personality traits and aptitudes you bring effortlessly to any situation.” The filmmaker Tiffany Shlain of The Moxie Institute also explores strengths and natural “superpowers” in her new web film “The Science of Character,” which suggests that if we can identify our inherent character strengths and build on them, we can lead happier, more successful lives. Having trouble listing your powers and strengths? Check out the “Periodic Table of Character Strengths” in Shlain’s film, or refer to Gallup executive Tom Rath’s popular “StrengthsFinder 2.0” program, with its menu of 34 traits. Once you’ve identified your own strengths, you’ll be in a better position to make the most of what you already have going for you.
Sometimes by looking back into the past, says Rubin, you can get a glimpse of who you really are and what you loved doing before others started telling you what you should do.
So what did you enjoy doing at age 10?
Eric Maisel, a psychotherapist and author, agrees, adding: “The things we loved as a child are probably still the things we love.” He suggests drawing up a list of favorite activities and interests from childhood–“and see what still resonates with you today. And then it’s a process of updating those loves. You may have loved something that doesn’t even exist now, or doesn’t make sense in your life now–but you may be able to find a new version of that.”
What are you willing to try now?
One of the best ways to find your purpose and passion is through experimentation. For many people, this is counter-intuitive. Herminia Ibarra, a professor at INSEAD and author of Working Identity: Unconventional Strategies for Reinventing Your Career, points out that there is a tendency to devote extensive time, research, and planning to figuring out the ideal path before taking any action. This may involve poring over self-help books, soliciting advice, and waiting for the epiphany that shows you your “true self”–at which point you can strike out confidently in a new direction.
Read full article by Warren Berger on FastCoDesign.com
September 24, 2014
Are You Mentally Ready To Sell Your Business?
Entrepreneurs, by nature, are definitive and driven, yet flexible and adaptive to market conditions. These same characteristics allow them to single-mindedly advance their businesses over difficult terrain and rise above adversity, while simultaneously having the ability to quickly course correct and respond to the marketplace’s favor or challenges.
Mental toughness and acuity to listen and look for forces larger than their desires are learned skills and valuable to develop for the entrepreneur.
Internal Desires
“I want to sell; I could sell now; I could sell in 5 years; When I hit 60,” etc., are all thoughts or milestones every business owner plays with or dreams about. Some set definitive goals and make actionable plans. Others visualize and practice their plans. Do you dream about golfing 3 days a week after you sell your business? Then try it on for size for a week or two.
Others set measurements more qualitative in nature: ”When/if I get tired I will quit, when/if I achieve this change I will sell.” When and if are powerful words for being only two and four letters, but they lack the necessary outcomes to initiate the mental synapses needed for movement.
External Feedback
Sometimes business owners are stirred by an external circumstance like an unsolicited offer that gets our “exit” salivary glands going.
Sometimes a health scare motivates us to change gears.
Often, a values realignment as to what is truly important in life motivates others – more time with the family vs. a few more shekels, for example.
Whatever your motivation, a great deal of mental (emotional), financial planning, and trial-ballooning needs to happen to insure you are truly ready to exit your business on your terms. As we have seen in business, when opportunity and preparedness meet, good things happen. The same is true of having an integrated plan for a business exit. Luck or timing should never be relied upon when selling your business.
Knowing yourself and where you stand, both personally and in relation to your role in your business, are key drivers to determining your readiness to exit your business.
Mentally, which Entrepreneur are you?
1. Prepared – you have all your ducks in a row, succession / exit planned and can envision the future without your company.
2. Enmeshed – you feel trapped, can’t imagine your business surviving without you; business has become both hobby and lifestyle.
3. Un-imaginative – you have been too busy working or have made your business so much of who you are that you cannot imagine what you will do if your company sells or you have put off exit planning.
4. Invested vs. Owned – you measure business on ROI and see exit or keeping the business as an investment vs. a lifestyle or career decision; business works for you vs. you work for the business.
5. Other?
Ultimately, the degree to which we can be mentally prepared and keep the timetable of our decision making within your control is the degree to which you can realize the fruits of your life’s work. “If and when” and “I want” are incomplete as far as our brain’s ability to process outcomes.
Read full article by Craig Dickens on OneAccordPartners.com
September 23, 2014
To succeed, you have to prepare
Thanks, H.L.
The formula — if there is such a thing — is preparedness. You must carefully prepare to reach success both mentally and technically. This is one of the reasons for writing a business plan. However, I prefer to think in terms of mapping an informal success guide before you write a formal business plan. Your success guide need not be a formal plan; but it should be a guide to lead you to where you want to go.
Mental preparation is the first and most important step in succeeding. The reason for this is because you will need to face and get beyond your fears and the fears that other people try to give you. Yes, you can be affected by other people’s fears if you are not careful.
My father labored on a job all of his life and never thought he could successfully form his own business. Although he was a friendly man, he never had the nerve to approach a stranger with much more than a “hello.” His southern upbringing had exposed him to more than his share of racial hatred. His concern for me led him to telling and retelling me all of his worst racial stories in an effort to keep me from starting my own business and dealing with strangers.
Fortunately, my naiveté told me that all of his horror stories were from the rural community where he was born in Alabama and not here in the big city of Pittsburgh. Considering that I was 15 years old at the time, Alabama was on another planet; therefore it was safe for me to proceed.
I had to get beyond my father’s fears for me. I had to address my own concerns of how to begin and carry out a business.
To mentally prepare for business, face all fears and everything else that concerns you. Write it out and work through it until you have resolved each issue. One trick that I have practiced since my very first business is to write out a problem that concerns me and then write beside it what the worst outcome could be. The rest of the page I spend writing out various solutions to avoid the problem. And then I imagine the worst-case scenario: I write out several ways to resolve a problem should the worst occur.
Don’t underestimate the advantage of surrounding yourself with successful business people. There’s an old saying “success breeds success.” Join organizations where you can locate these folks. Do whatever you have to do to keep your confidence up and your entrepreneurial spirit high.
The next step in preparing for success is technical knowledge. Do you know all of the ins and outs of the technical side of the business that you are entering? If not, are you prepared to hire someone who has the knowledge while you take training? Are your verbal and written communication skills up to speed? Are you clear and concise when explaining or writing something? Each week I get hundreds of e-mails from readers asking questions, yet many are not easy to understand. The writer’s point for writing is not always clear.
Read full article by Gladys Edmunds from USAToday.com
