Christopher L. Hedges's Blog, page 19
June 3, 2014
Reality vs Posibility (6/3/14)
The reality is anyone can get some media coverage and develop a sponsorship campaign. I willingly paid two people to walk me through how to do these two activities. However, I’m not interested in reality…I’m interested in possibilities. Possibility is that intangible area of what could be accomplished.
By building a team with my coaches the three of us are leveraging our individual contributions for the benefit of the group as a whole…1 + 1 = 3. Both of my coaches are getting a very detailed and transparent case study of how their services can benefit anyone with what will be proof based on results from yours truly. I get a little more personal attention and quasi partnership status with them, which is usually something that is reserved for partners who contribute greater sales potential and significantly larger connection networks.
The possibilities of what I’m creating with Roberto and Starley are boundless, but for the purposes of stimulating thought here is the difference between reality and possibility.
Reality: I can get a local network affiliate to bring me in or possibly do a small piece on Average Joe’s Story if I bang on doors long enough. I may also get a little traction and momentum for my book that could be in part financed by some minor sponsorship greenbacks.
Possibility: Through Starley and Roberto’s contributions I can build a national platform fully financed by big time corporate sponsorship dollars that is solicited by the national media outlets to be a contributor for the content they produce.
Option 2 is the potential results you can develop from the synergy that is created with the right team if all parties add value, and command respect and trust from the rest of the group. These are the results you can see from the WIN-WIN…-WIN.
June 2, 2014
Sum of the parts (6/2/14)
When I spent nearly $10K on coaching to prepare me for my book tour and PR campaign I wasn’t considering some of the fringe benefits that may develop. Roberto and Starley are more than just a couple of people who took my limited disposable income for services that were to be offered at a future date. They became teammates and friends based on trust and mutual respect.
Regardless of what someone may want you to believe there isn’t one success story that is the result of a single individuals efforts. Success is a team sport. Ego, pride or fear…I can’t tell you why people don’t want to let you in behind the scenes. I can tell you those success stories are the sum of countless inputs that can be either directly or indirectly attributed to someone else.
Success may be having some results to speak of, but the success society recognizes are the stories that stand out because they seem outlandish. However, there is only one way to develop the success stories that people want to talk about. You need to develop synergy between your teammates.
I’m looking for the type of results that come from the idea of 1 + 1 = 3. The only way to make that happen is to work with top notch professionals with whom you have a relationship based in trust and respect.
May 29, 2014
A team’s glue (5/29/14)
A big part of leadership is trust. The men and women you are called upon to lead need to know unequivocally that when things get tough you’ve got their back. There are some arenas where this trust factor is of greater importance than others. Think of a fireman running into a burning house. If his confidence in his engineer to provide him with an adequate water supply is diminished his ability to perform the most basic tasks of his job are impeded.
The danger that is inherent in some professions isn’t present in all jobs, but that doesn’t diminish the importance of the trust that leaders must have from his subordinates. A great example of this is when you have to manage a diverse collection of type A driven personalities. You can have the most skilled team in the world and an unbeatable system, but it takes trust to makes it all work. Phil earned the trust of his players, and he has 11 rings to show for it. Trust is the glue that connects the various parts of a team together and allows the group to work together to reach the success they desire. If you want success you had better begin cultivating trust.
Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success
by Phil Jackson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
View all my reviews
May 28, 2014
The importance of trust (5/28/14)
What it takes to be a part of the in-crowd at various points in your life is very different. When you have made it to the professional world and left the juvenile nature of high school and college behind you you will come to find there are a host of different benchmarks that determine if you are invited to be a part of the in crowd.
If you have a network of high-level sources of information you are inducted to the in-crowd instantaneously because your connections are desirable. This is just cool by association. If you have deep pockets you’re a shoe-in for admission to the club, there needs to be some form of financing to bank roll the entourage. Those are criteria that have always been there and always will be.
The new criteria you can add are expertise/knowledge and trust. In the real knowledge is one of the most powerful tools you can have, and it is that power that punches your ticket to the in crowd. However, I want to focus on trust.
Trust is new to the in-crowd equation. Trust is basically security, and offers little else by way of value to the group. Someone feels comfortable with you so they let you in.
The interesting thing about trust is that it takes a lifetime to cultivate, a single transgression can eradicate it, and once it is gone you can never get it back no matter what you are told. When you have someones trust it is your job to keep it because if you can’t that could be the quickest way to see yourself expelled from the in-crowd.
May 27, 2014
Being different isn’t always a bad thing (5/27/14)
Being different isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it can be a costly endeavor. Those of us that choose to stand out from the crowd might as well paint a giant neon target on our backs. You can be an indistinguishable face in the crowd and be ‘good’, but if you have the desire to be ‘great’ there will come a point in time where you will have to choose a way to be different.
That’s what I love about Warren Buffet. He found what worked for him, took a calculated risk, and went on to become the measuring stick for an entire industry. Warren is a contrarian, he goes against the grain. The Oracle of Omaha has a very sound and simple strategy for investing. He buys undervalued fundamentally sound companies in businesses that he understands, and then sells them off when he thinks they are overvalued, and repeats. In a day of immediate gratification Warren is in it for the long haul. Where as corporate America has dubbed Wall Street the center of the Universe, Warren has chosen to call Omaha home.
Warren plays the game his way, and stands way out from the crowd because of it. When he first got started he was not seen in such a positive light, but now he’s the benchmark for an industry. Anyone could find themselves as the icon that represents being the best at what it is they do, but in order to get there you’ll have to drum up the courage to stand out from the crowd.
by Mary Buffett
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
