Electus Unom!

Happy Friday! Have I told you I was about to be a grandfather?  My granddaughter, Judah, will be here before my 50th birthday. The child is a milestone in my life, but my son's marriage to a great young lady is the foundation.  There was an affirmation, a mantra I used to say to my two boys when they were young.  I would start, "When you grow up..." and their finish to the phrase was, "Find yourself a good woman." From the formative ages of 12 to 22, I repeated that 100's of times...literally.  Email them, Skype them, Instagram them and ask them that phrase away from my peering eyes.  I PROMISE they will laugh first...then answer you..."Find yourself a good woman!" Did you notice my Daily Crumb subject line?  Electus Unom.  Translated - Elect one.  More loosely translated... Pick One.  For those of you looking to find business partners, I would give you the same mantra...Find yourself a good partner.   How do you pick a good partner in business?    Here are the rest of my Top 10 Things to Find a Good Business Partner

#6 - They have a win-win mindset.  Financial models should give each person an assignment in the work model and a corresponding share of the success.  I work with agents who the agency above them receives an override...are they earning it and providing value?   #7 - They follow through.  Nothing shuts down the trust of a partnership or relationship like people not doing what they say they will do.  Overpromising to convince you to partner and then under delivering.  Seek out evidence that they keep their word and follow through.   #8 - You need a "What if" provision.  Particularly, in small 2 partner arrangements, you need to have an agreement of what would happen if things go sour.  It becomes an "arbitration clause" that is not meant to be legal, but a rules of engagement approach when natural disagreements occur.  I had such an agreement with Natalie that governed how we had fights...in 27 years of marriage...we have had 3.  The "what if" provision kept minor things from becoming major.   #9 - Review Previous Results.  If you are partnering with an organization, it is prudent to ask about their history and performance.  You can get references from people who are connected with the organization.  You want some new people and some tenured people who have been associated long term.  Yes, some will be disgruntled because they haven't done their part to be successful, but digging in should give you a good perspective.   #10 - Review Your Contracts.  Have you read your agreements and contracts?  Probably not.  Not picking on you, but most people "sign & drive" not understanding what they have committed to.  My 1st rule - read your contracts.  My 2nd rule - honor your contracts.  Also make sure there is an agreement in place.  I have a saying, "As humans we will disappoint each other...contracts make sure we don't betray each other."   In keeping with the Latin theme, there are two phrases I want to leave you with for your partnership selection;   Caveat Emptor - "Let the buyer beware". For the partnership opportunities that exist, you must look at each one objectively and not blindly so that you enter into your business relationships with wisdom, and you don't have to look back on them with regret.   Carpe Diem - "Seize the Day". There are many sitting on the sidelines waiting for all the conditions to be perfect. That "paralysis by analysis" will keep them from leveraging the windows of opportunity that are present with the right partnerships.   Do your due diligence, make the best determination of whether a partnership is right for you, and...   Electus Unom! Until Tomorrow, I wish you Money, Power, Success!

Pick Your Partner, Do-Si-Do!

We used to square dance for P.E (physical education for those under 30!).  I actually liked it a lot. A chance to hold a girls hand. It was 7th grade.  Right at the time where the Cooties morphed into sweaty palms, cotton mouth and a fast heart rate...I wore more Jovan Musk Oil cologne on square dance day! We would be partnered, randomly, and as you would imagine with shallow minded middle school boys, some girls were considered yucky.  The boys would put out one finger out, instead of their whole hand to dance with these girls.  Mean...you better believe it.   Real life...unfortunately. The process of selection had begun. As life goes on, the stakes get raised on the people we choose to be partnered with.  I got extremely lucky (blessed) with my most important selection...my wife...but with other partners...it has been a mixed bag.   In business, I have worked with some amazing people who are top-notch, talented, synergistically minded people who expect everyone to do their part...and take their fair share of the spoils of success.   I have also been connected with people who are on the other end of that spectrum and in my best Forrest Gump voice, "That is all I have to say about that!"   How do you pick a good partner in business?    Here are my Top 10 Things to Find a Good Business Partner

#1 - Similar Goals and Visions.  If you are going into business with a partner or if you are joining an organization, you need to make sure that their vision is your vision.  Make a list with your potential partner and see where it overlaps or review the vision and mission statement from the organization website.  Univision means progress. Division means di-gress...going backwards.    #2 - Complementary Skills and Experience. If everyone is good at the same thing, then the needed Core Competencies will have gaps and voids.  The best partnerships are yin and yang.  You have what they don't...and vice versa.  If you are joining an organization, they should provide access to the things you need to build the necessary skills of success.   #3 - Necessary Resources.  Good ideas take resources to expose and monetize.  This is not simply about money, but other outlets to generate revenue to fund your enterprise.  It could be connections or additional relationships that can propel your business higher.  Make a list of what you have...and what you need, and which of you can meet those needs.   #4 - Good Reputation - Yes, what the world thinks of you and your partner is subjective.  Some people can get great results but their method of getting there differs from your values (see #1).  If you are just getting involved with a person or organization, this can be difficult to ferret out.  Dig deeper into people's "resume"...get references, do background checks.  You are who you associate with and your reputation is on the line...be optimistically cautious.   #5 - Mutual Respect - Another subjective measurement that is largely based on your business intuition.  How do they speak to you, collaborate, receive your ideas and criticism?  For organizations, do they value the relationship and do their best to help you become successful?  Of course, you must hold up your end of the bargain as well.    The rest of the list is coming but begin to review your current relationships against this criteria and evaluate potential partnerships.  The goal is not to stymie you into "paralysis by analysis" but give you what you need to...  Pick Your Partner, Do-Si-Do! Until Tomorrow, I wish you Money, Power, Success!

Eeny Meeny Miny Mo!

Most of you remember the title of this email from your childhood.  We used it when we had a choice to make. You would recite the universal rhyme, pointing back and forth between all your choices.  Simple or complex...didn't matter.  The randomness of the outcome was part of the excitement.  There was that moment of truth when you got to the part - "and my momma told me to pick the one and you are it!" Sometimes we would dance with glee because we loved the outcome.  Sometimes we had regret as our internal deciding device - our intuition or gut - told us we should have made another choice.  That we shouldn't have allowed an important decision to be left to fate...or chance. Sure, it was designed to make you decisive, but you had to live with the outcome no matter what.  You wouldn't dare change the outcome of that process...   Even if you ended up with black licorice!   Fast forward to the present...how are you making decisions?   I had an agent call me the other day saying they had contracted with an agency to market particular products.  He asked me what I thought about the agency.   "It doesn't matter," I said matter of fact.   "Yes it does, I value your opinion," he said.   "You signed contracts so you already made the decision, which renders my opinion moot," I countered.   I was not upset at him, but I wasn't going to be used to validate a decision he made with no due diligence.  That is the human way.  We want to feel good about our choices so we conduct "post decision" polling to confirm our brilliance...or expose our folly.   Upon further investigation I found out he had received dozens of emails from agencies who were recruiting heavily for the upcoming Medicare season.  There are several new products available, and competition for agents is fierce.   As I began yesterday, picking a partner in business is serious business.  It will determine if you win championships or end up in  sunken ship.  Dramatic?  Just ask people who got connected with the wrong partners!   I asked him how he made his choice.  He really couldn't tell me.  I was hoping he would say he called and spoke to someone at the agency.  He didn't. That he researched about their training, lead programs and support.  He didn't . That he at least gone to their website and was impressed by their credentials.  He didn't.   The good news...he did choose an agency that I thought highly of and had worked with years ago.  I made a call to a friend there for them to reach out to this agent to make sure he had a shot at success.   If only every story ended up so nicely.  Then again, maybe that was the process at work.  A time tested, proven process for selection when your life and success are on the line...   Eeny Meeny Miny Mo!   Until tomorrow, I wish you Money, Power, Success!

Smooth Sailing!

Natalie and I recently visited Trinidad and caught the large ferry over to Tobago.  It had been a long, and eventful 3 days and I was operating on little sleep and a major change in my daily routine. Once we got to Tobago, we took a scenic, albeit twisting, turning mountainous drive to the upper coastline.  Once there, we took a glass bottom boat ride.  The little boat was bouncing and waves were crashing. I kept trying to focus on the wondrous scene below in spite of the constantly moving horizon above.  I got disoriented... Man down! Hey, it was only a few moments and I got my bearings pretty quickly.  There were strange faces hovering over me and asking me "was I alright" in 3 different languages. On my right side was Natalie.  My head was on her lap and she was rubbing my face with a cool towel.  She had caught me on the way down (she works out daily!) and immediately began telling the crew and onlookers what to do.  As I looked at her face it was reassuring and peaceful...I knew that she would take care of me when I couldn't take care of myself. That is my wife, my partner.  Thick or thin.  Richer or poorer.  Sickness and in health.  Hell or high water.  Come what may... Ride or Die. How are your partnerships? Look around you at the people you are associated with.  Yes, I know this is business and not marriage but some of these people you spend more time with than your spouse...right? I ask again... How are your partnerships? Is it symbiotic, where each person brings something unique to the process and each person takes away a skill they don't have on their own? Is it parasitic, where one person expects everything to go toward them but they contribute nothing of value to the process? As we will see over the next few days, who you partner with has a lot to do with your success.  As is said in various formats in business clichés... The best Partnerships are Relationships that turn into Championships.   Are your partnerships taking your higher or lower...dare I say sunken ships?  Take a look around you and evaluate who you are connected to and can those people be counted on to deliver what their part of the process is?  Undoubtedly, there will be waves and winds, but a true partner will be there until there is... Smooth Sailing!   Until tomorrow, I wish you Money, Power, Success!

Monday...Monday!

Happy Monday! I have been saying that for about 20 years.  People ask me all the time why I say it.   In the second half of my career, I began the practice of wishing everyone a "Happy Monday!" and "Happy Friday!" - face to face, by phone, and email.   No one ever asked about Friday.  Duh, we are all happy to see Friday.     Many dread Monday.   As I see it, Monday is a day of revival - a chance to start fresh and anew. A New Years Day...with the beginning of every new week.     Before long, everyone began greeting me this way - "Happy Monday!"    It became a bit of a calling card. Why? Enthusiasm is contagious. Greet and engage everyone as if you are truly excited to see them - and mean it!  People want to be celebrated...not tolerated.   Why do we waste so many precious days?   People squander Friday because they are so excited about the weekend.  It is a joyous half-day mentality that spills over.  Monday gets treated like a recovery day from the weekend.  It is noon before many people get their motor running.    I believe Monday should be the most productive day of the week.  You have had a day of celebration (Saturday) and a day of renewal (Sunday).  You should be recharged and ready to take on the world.   Not feeling it?  It's time you gave Monday it's just due.    5 Ways to Make Monday Better:   1. Create new enthusiasm. Monday is a day to feel like anything is possible. See it as a new beginning. Generate new discipline, new focus...new enthusiasm.  Forget all that happened last week.  Learn the lessons and apply them to a new evolved approach.  Get excited!.   2. Start Earlier...end later.  Jump up and jump start the day.  If you normally get started at 9am, then on Monday, get started at 7am .  If you normally stop at 5...keep going until 7pm.  Sure, that's 4 more hours of productivity, but you are fresh from the weekend.  Monday is like the first 5 miles of a marathon, put some time "in the bank" while you have energy to burn!   3. Dream Big Dreams - Ok, so you didn't close the sale on Friday...forget it.  This week you will double the revenue.  Monday is a day to review your goals.  It is a day to put in the Tony Robbins cd and remember what you want out of life.  Don't think defeat...think victory and possibility!   4. Take Big Action - Renewed enthusiasm, an early start, dreaming big.  All of that sets the stage for you to take big action.  Start writing that book, call that big client, begin that new workout.  Just like a New Years resolution, Monday provides a chance for you to ACT like anything is possible.  Don't just think it...do it!   5. Learn a new thing.  On Monday, your mind is fresh, alert and receptive.  The perfect time to put something new in it.  Leverage that classroom mentality.  Attend a webinar, read a technical manual, learn new technology...get knowledge!       "Before the first year, nobody gave it a chance. Now, 36 years later, everybody knows Monday Night Football" Frank Gifford   I could guilt you into it by saying every day is a gift so don't waste them.  I could manipulate you by saying that most heart attacks happen on Monday and how dare you be heart sick.  None of that would be fair, or necessary.  You already know that time is precious...right?    Yes, each day has a feel, a pulse, a tone and tenor.  All I would ask is that you give Monday a chance.  Yes...   Monday...Monday!   Until Tuesday, I wish you Money, Power, Success!