There are a lot of people who are dominant, driven, perfectionist, say they're never satisfied, in some cases, they're type A personalities, but in some cases, there are also people that if everything isn't perfect, they're never going to be quite happy. This is a message to those people in particular, but I think all of us can get caught up in this game of chasing the horizon.
My message today, right out of the gate, is stop chasing the horizon, it's not good for you, unless you know how to manage the process, both forwards and backwards, so you don't de-energize and demotivate yourself. One of the things that we've got to always remind people that never allow themselves to be satisfied, if they're not winning everything, is getting to that point is impossible. The fallacy of chasing the horizon is, every time you take a step forward, the horizon moves a foot away. If you run faster, the horizon moves away faster, so chasing the horizon is an impossible game that you're never going to win. Why drive yourself nuts because you can't do something that's actually impossible to do? Give yourself the freedom and release that.
I've seen some people become so demotivated that it just actually takes them out of the game, and they're unable to go out and perform. If they don't close every deal - impossible. If they always don't get the best price - impossible. If it doesn't always happen as fast as they want it to - impossible. I don't care how good the training is, you're not going to make all of those things happen all of the time. Don't let an impossible goal become so demotivating that you can't do really good work.
I absolutely believe that we all need to see success on a regular basis. The idea of winning and being recognized for winning, is powerful. If you're a sales manager watching this episode today, please remember, all of your people need to see success, and to realize that you know that they're putting the effort in, and growing, and making progress.
On the positive side of this, let's talk about how we manage it. One of the first things I tell everybody to do is to take the time to turn around, and look at the progress that you've made. Don't worry about how far you've got to go all the time. Turn around and look at how far you've come, from when you decided to make a commitment and be personally responsible for the changes and the success that you'd like to achieve. Count it, measure it, salute it and celebrate it. You may not be where you ultimately want to go, but you've got to be able to look and say "you know what, I am better at this, more accomplished, more confident, more consistent, my numbers are higher." You're not done your journey ever, but don't let it stop you from continuing on the journey.
Commit to regular rewards and reinforcement. I like weekly rewards and reinforcement for a person who's doing the right work. I trust if they're well trained, well managed, self responsible, and completely committed to the right behaviors, the right success will come. Sometimes they need to be rewarded on a weekly basis. "Hey, take the afternoon off". "Let me buy your lunch, we'll take you out to lunch and buy lunch today". Do things that let people know, "I haven't seen all the revenue, but I know it's coming. I want to pay you for the effort and the energy, and the commitment you're making to our success and your personal success". Regular rewards and reinforcement are a very, very powerful tool for self management and management of people that you manage.
In a nutshell, here's my message. Excellence is attainable. I love working with excellent people. Perfection is not so erase perfection from your mindset. But commit to excellence in everything you do. Thanks for taking the time to read or listen. Good selling good success. Good personal growth. Great professional growth. Have a great weeked. Go make money next week, take care.
