Are You A Whatever-It-Takes Performer?

Business consultant Dan Kennedy tells this impressive story:

Early in his sales career when he didn’t have a pot to you-know-what in, he wanted to get an appointment with a prospective customer, but despite several attempts, couldn’t.  He was stalled.

So he sent the prospect a letter via FedEx on a Tuesday morning telling him he was flying to his city that Wednesday morning for an important meeting.  (Not true, this was fabricated.)

The letter said his meeting was at the airport and his schedule was so tight, he didn’t have time to come into the city, but he really wanted to talk with him in person, so…

“I’ve arranged for a limo to pick you up in front of your office at 1 pm, bring you to the airport hotel where I have a conference room.  We can meet for just 45 minutes, and the limo will have you back at your office by 3:30 pm.  And there will be a nice sandwich and beverages in the limo, in case this forces you to skip lunch.  If this isn’t okay, please call by noon to cancel.”

The prospect came.  And they met.

I’d call that doing whatever it takes.

Question for you:  If you had wanted that appointment as badly as Kennedy, would you have gone to the lengths he did to get it?

Then there’s Thomas Edison.

Inventor and original patent-holder on more than 1000 useful devices. He had (some accounts say) over 10,000 recorded failures (or tries) on the road to inventing the first commercially practical incandescent electric light.  But that’s not all.  He also tried more than 3000 filaments before settling on his practical version of the light bulb.  (That last number came from his official web site.)

Holy cow…  10,000???  And then… 3000 more???

I think we could all agree, that too is doing whatever it takes.

Again, a question for you:  Would you have stuck with it to that extreme?  Or given up long before?

Diet guru Jenny Craig said:  “It’s not what you do once in a while.  It’s what you do day in and day out that makes the difference.”

Amen.  A weight loss expert would know.

Roger Bannister, first person to run a 4-minute mile, said it this way:  “The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win.”

Double amen.
    
A few years ago, I sat in on a sales presentation by trainer Jim Cecil.  He showed empirical evidence that salespeople who don’t get the order often make two or three or four attempts with a prospect, then give up.

But those who do get the order, stayed with it for, on average, 12 contacts.  

That’s why there are so few salespeople in the upper echelon of money earners.  Most give up way too soon.

But those more determined stick with it longer and enjoy a lifestyle the others only dream about.  

A key point to remember about determination is illustrated in the words of photographer and journalist Jacob Riis:  “When nothing seems to help, I go and look at the stonecutter hammering away at his rock, perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing on it.  Yet at the hundred and first blow, it will split in two.  And I know it was not that blow that did it, but all that had gone before.”

Persistence.

Doing whatever it takes. 

LESSONS & ACTIONS FOR YOU.

I tried to fix a leaky kitchen faucet last week.  After a few minutes of tinkering, my inept fumbling turned a weak, slow drip into a jet spray across the room.

Picked up the phone and called a plumber.

For those keeping score at home… that’s one attempt, one failure, then I waved the white flag.       

Not real impressive, but I admit unashamedly, a Mr. Fix-It, I’m not.  On home repairs projects, Edison’s in no danger of losing his record to me.

On other things though… things I’m wildly passionate about… I’m proud to say my wife calls me a tank.  “I just move out of your way, because I know nothing will stop you,” she says, plastered against the wall as I steam by.  “Not a company policy, not a difficult or unwilling person, not a 102° fever, not a brick wall.  Nothing.”  

I’m very proud of that.

Fact is, I never cease to be amazed and impressed at the length some people will go to accomplish their goal.  

Accent on ‘some’.  

In actuality, very very few people.

Just what is it that drives that small percentage of determined people to stick with it and grind it out through failure after frustrating failure… disappointment after grueling disappointment… many times through the ridicule, criticism and point-and-laugh mockery of colleagues, friends and family?

I’m not sure I know.  It’s some intangible, invisible quality.

This I do know.  If I could bottle and sell it, I’d be a bazillionnaire.

This I also know.  Market-driving entrepreneurs, category leaders, successful inventors, repeatedly-winning teams, triumphant armies, and others at the ‘top of their game’ in sports, business, entertainment, families, education…

…all have it.  

Or they wouldn’t be at the peak of the pyramid.   

I’m certain passion plays a key role.  The things we’re intensely passionate about, we’re also deeply stubborn about, and willing to go to most any length to get what we want.

Are you one of these people who will stop at virtually nothing, marshal every resource you can muster, use every tool at your disposal (including some you must manufacture on the spot), to accomplish what you want done?

Said another way, can you channel your ‘inner MacGyver’ when you need to?

I hope so.

If you can, you’re a leader people will follow into battle.  

Edison once said, “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize just how close they were to success when they gave up.”

I remember a movie I saw when I was a young kid.  A plane crashed in a snow-covered area.  One of the survivors trekked out looking for food when a horrendous blizzard hit.  In his snow-blindness, he wandered aimlessly, but couldn’t see his way back to the plane.  Night fell, he grew weary, the frigid temperatures overtook him, and he died in his tracks.  The camera panned back to show he was inches from the wing tip.  The other survivors were no more than 50 feet away, on the other side of the plane, with a roaring fire.

Just a few more steps.  That image is forever etched in my mind.         

This trait — a do-whatever-it-takes attitude — is one it would behoove every leader, including you, to fully develop.

Require it of yourself.  And expect it of those you lead too.  

Helping Ambitious Forward-Thinkers Soar To Success…

By Rick Houcek, President
Soar With Eagles, Inc.

ATTENTION ENTREPRENEURS AND CEOs: Rick Houcek facilitates off-site strategic planning retreats, helping CEOs and Leadership Teams create high-impact plans that overcome the crippling effects of lousy execution (the single biggest cause of plan failure) - and get successfully implemented! His dynamic Power PlanningTM strategic process drives action through his Escape-Proof AccountabilityTM system. It’s ideal for small and mid-size businesses. To bring this potent weapon to your team, contact Rick by phone, email or fax. Visit his web site at www.SoarWithEagles.com. And ask about his 100% No-Risk Guarantee.