My son had his eyes set on the biggest stuffed animal, but throwing the balls into the basket was not going to be as easy as it appeared. After three failed attempts at tossing the balls he looked up at me and said, “I want to try again.” I could see where this was going. We would end up spending $40 on a $10 stuffed animal. Well it wasn’t exactly $40, but let’s just say, the carnival midway will remain in business a little longer.

After each attempt of tossing the ball, my son would make an adjustment. He tried different tosses, overhand, underhand, backspin, no spin, hit the back of the basket, lay it in the front. Each attempt taught him something and he’d make an adjustment. Besides, the only thing he was risking was Dad’s money.

Don’t Fear Failure

Why do we fear failure? Probably because there’s something at risk and we’re too focused on losing it. You could argue, “But if we don’t try, then there’s zero chance of failure, right?” Wrong. If you don’t try, you’ve already failed.  You’ve missed out on an opportunity for learning and growth. I’d call that a failure.

None of us want to be seen as a failure but we have to remember what Zig Ziglar said, “Failure is an event, not a person.” Too often we think failure is going to be a reflection on us. If we fail too often, we’ll be defined by it. We will become failure.

According to Daniel Coyle’s research for his book The Talent Code, the most successful musicians, athletes, students, all share a common trait… they relish in their failures because they can learn from those mistakes.

“ You never fail until you stop trying. —ALBERT EINSTEIN

With similar findings, Carol Dweck’s research on what she calls fixed vs. growth mindsets shows that children with a growth mindset are open to failure because they see it as a learning opportunity. Once they learn from the event, they can try something new the next time.

Practice Won’t Make Perfect

I’ve heard people say the quote before, “Practice makes perfect.” Other people prefer the improved version of this quote from Vince Lombardi, “Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect.” I personally don’t think Lombardi’s quote is the best for learning either. The main reason is because the focus is placed on the expectation… perfection. Learning doesn’t occur by focusing on the expectation. You have to focus on something else!

“ Perfection is a direction, not a destination. —RUSS PETERSON JR.

Besides, I don’t believe I’ll ever achieve perfection (on this side of eternity) because I’m a flawed individual. But that’s okay. It doesn’t mean I’ll ever stop pursuing it. That’s why I’d rather say, “Perfection is a direction, not a destination.”

Just knowing your destination (the goal or expectation) doesn’t get you there. You need a plan. So where should you place the focus if you want to learn and improve? Your emphasis should be placed on the process, the process of learning.

“ You just can’t beat the person who never gives up. —BABE RUTH

Focus on the Process

This process is circular. Once you reach the end, you start over again. Remember what Babe Ruth said, “You just can’t beat the person who never gives up.”  The only time you get to exit this circle (briefly) is when you achieve success. As I said earlier, it might be success, but I doubt it’s perfection. Since it’s not perfection, there will always be something to learn, then adjust, and then try to improve again.

As Kevin Karschnik says, “There is no best; there’s always a better.” But, trying over and over can be both mentally and physically draining, so make sure you have the motivation or inspiration to change.

The Learning Process

The learning process includes 5 steps:  Try – Fail or Succeed – Reflect – Learn – Adjust

“Trying” is Not a Final Exam

Going back to Carol Dweck’s research on growth mindsets, she found that children who see “trying” as a test of whether you got it or you don’t are less likely to learn and improve. In other words, the fixed mindset shows itself when the children would try something once, fail and then make a comment like, “I can’t do that.” In other words, in their minds their talent was fixed. It was locked in and never going to change.

Don’t allow yourself to see “trying” as the final exam. It’s merely a progress measurement. It’s where you are today, but it’s not your final destination.

What’s the One Thing?

Failure Doesn’t Teach… Reflection Does!

The key element of this entire process often overlooked is reflection. Whether you win or lose, time for reflection will give you the proper perspective to learn from the experience. If you failed in your attempt, take time to reflect on the experience to pull out the learning. But don’t forget to reflect on your wins too!

I’ve been in sales my entire career and I had to learn that you can’t just reflect on the failures to make adjustments for the future, you needed to stay curious and focus on your wins too!

“ Failure is an event, not a person. —ZIG ZIGLAR

There was an opportunity with a customer in California I had been pursuing for 18 months. The call from the customer came through on a Friday afternoon and Chuck told me, “You got the deal!” I was ecstatic for ten seconds and then I realized I had a question for Chuck.

“Chuck, can me and the rest of the sales team fly out there to meet with your decision committee next week?  I’d like to know why you picked us.”

There was silence on the phone at first, but then Chuck spoke up. “Of course you can. We’d be happy to go over it with you.”

For those first 10 seconds of excitement I had forgotten about my learning cycle. This win was a great opportunity for me to reflect on what we did well to win. With that new information, I could adjust my future sales pursuits to replicate even more wins.

Once he agreed to the meeting, I went back to being ecstatic. It was fajitas and margaritas that night!

“ There is no best; there’s always a better. —KEVIN KARSCHNIK

Learning is a life-long process. We don’t stop learning once we graduate from school. But we do stop learning if we fail to reflect on our failures and our successes. Reflection gives us the information we need to make adjustments for the future. Don’t skip it!

Still reflecting and still adjusting…

Best,
Russ

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Books referenced in this post:

The Talent Code: Unlocking the Secret of Skill in Sports, Art, Music, Math and Just About Anything by Daniel Coyle

Mindset – The New Psychology of Success: How We Can Learn to Fulfill Our Potential by Carol S. Deck, Ph.D.

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iSpeak also teaches workshops on Professional Selling to help sales leaders gather the most important data and then use that information to create the right message. Are your sales presentations closing eyelids or deals?

Russ Peterson Jr. is the co-founder and Managing Director of iSpeak, Inc. – An award-winning professional development training company. Russ is a speaker, international trainer, and published author on Professional Sales Communication and Business Communication. He delivers workshops, keynotes, and personal communication coaching services to business professionals in the US and around the world. You can connect with Russ directly through Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

My student pulled me aside during the break and asked me “What are leaders reading today?” Without giving me a chance to respond, he followed it quickly by asking a second question, “What should I be reading to improve my communication as a leader?” The question he had for me is one I think about often.

The question leads me to several sources for finding the next book I’m going to consume. Over the years, I’ve found that I can go to 4 main sources to find a good book to read. Much of what I read influences what I write about and how I teach in my workshops. So I will also let you know what my readers (you guys!) are reading on my site.

“ The book you don’t read won’t help. —JIM ROHN

The 4 Sources I use to Find Books

I’m open to suggestions for good reading from any source, but as I reflect upon what I truly end up reading, my list comes from 4 main sources.

The Students in my Workshops

What a great resource my students are when it comes to this! Think about it… most of my students come to the workshop eager to learn (of course, there are a few who are just prisoners told to be there!). What a great source for additional reference materials. They are leadership communication sponges always looking for more content to consume. I get to have conversations with thousands of students every year. I’ve found some great referrals from my students.

Colleagues and Other Leadership Blogs

Just being in the industry I’m in, I get to connect to a lot of leadership speakers, teachers and authors. Besides their own writing, they’re always diving into books written by other thought leaders. Then there are other blog sites I like to follow or check in with occasionally.

Most leadership speakers devote a blog post or two each year to list their favorite reads from the year. Many of these blog sites conduct interviews with leadership authors and experts too. I love that because you can get a preview of the author before reading their book. Two leaders I follow regularly are Michael Hyatt and Skip Prichard. Skip even has a page on his website dedicated to leaders he follows.

Amazon

Yes, I know… you could say Amazon recommendations are just part of a marketing algorithm designed to produce recommendations I’m most likely to purchase… but I’ve found their algorithm is pretty good with me!  I love to read the reader reviews before I purchase and if I’ve seen the book on one of the leadership blogs I follow or if I heard about it from a student, I know I’ll enjoy it!

Goodreads.com

I don’t use this site as much as I used to, but it’s a great way to connect with other readers and follow what they’re reading. I’ve come across several books my friends and colleagues were reading. These were books I would’ve never found without seeing their current read list on Goodreads.

“ We lose ourselves in books. We find ourselves there too. —ANONYMOUS

If you’re like me, your time is precious and you don’t want to waste your time on something you end up regretting. The beauty of social media these days is that we can follow others and get a peek into their recommendations. If you use a blend of these methods above to find your next read, or video blog (vlog), or blog to read, you can cut down on the wasted time and money.

What I promise to you… at the end of any of my blog posts I’ll provide you with links to books or writers I’ve mentioned in a blog post. If you ever find something you’ve liked in my blog post, you can look at the bottom of the post for links to the sources.

What are your sources for finding your next great read?

Send me a email or leave a comment below

Take care and I’ll see you all next week!

Best,
Russ

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I collected over 80 quotes that give me inspiration as a salesperson and leader. I hope they bring you some inspiration as well. Get my FREE eBook on Sales and Leadership Inspiration.

Russ Peterson Jr. is the co-founder and Managing Director of iSpeak, Inc. – An award-winning professional development training company. Russ is a speaker, international trainer, and published author on Professional Sales Communication and Business Communication. He delivers workshops, keynotes, and personal communication coaching services to business professionals in the US and around the world. You can connect with Russ directly through Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

I was not always a reader. Some of my professors in college spoiled me a bit on reading by assigning 200 pages of textbook to read in 2 days. But, now I have an alternate opinion. When I find the right book, I can consume it in a day or two. Below is a list of ten books I’ve recently enjoyed and I can recommend to you. I hope you find the list helpful in selecting something worth reading.

“ Find your passion and read a book about it!

If you enjoy reading about sales and leadership communication, here is a list of ten recent books I can recommend for you to add to your list!

Each book title is hyperlinked to Amazon and each author is hyperlinked to their Twitter account, if they have one.

Ten Books Worth Reading in 2017

Intentional Living – John C. Maxwell

When you’re considering your legacy and how you can have an impact for good in this world, read this.

The Legacy Journey – Dave Ramsey

Dave touches on the positive impact you can have on others in this life when you’ve reached a place of financial independence. A great legacy is a life of philanthropy serving others.

The Productivity Project – Chris Bailey

Chris took a year off after graduation to perform productivity experiments on himself. He tried everything from sleep deprivation, to changes in diet, to developing new habits. Interesting, helpful, and sometimes funny.

Crucial Conversations – Kerry Patterson, et al

Patterson is a founder at Vital Smarts consulting. After years of research, his team documented methods and tools you can use for handling the toughest conversations, when stakes and emotions are high.

Thank you for Arguing – Jay Heinrichs

In classical rhetorical fashion, Jay takes you back to a time when arguing wasn’t a four-letter word. It was a mature way to debate issues and wrestle with ideas. In many cases he shows how classic rhetoric is not only useful, but humorous! It’s amazing how he can use Homer Simpson to teach something from Aristotle.

Magnetic: Impress, Connect, and Influence – Patrick King

King provides easy steps based on influence research to help leaders create positive impact on others.

Killing Reagan – Bill O’Reilly, Martin Dugard

Several “Killing” books have been written in this series and I’ve read several of them. Killing Reagan is my most recent and so far my favorite (but I haven’t read Killing the Rising Son yet, which I heard is the best.) This is a great chronology of Reagan from the time he was an actor, to a democrat, to a republican president.

Heretics and Heroes – Cort Dial

I was introduced to Cort by a mutual friend, Sara Canaday. She simply told me, “You have to read his book.” If Sara tells me to do something, I’m gonna do it. This book reads like a novel or auto-biography of Cort’s start in chemical engineering all the way to working as an executive leadership consultant in the oil and gas industry, even with people close to the Deepwater Horizon tragedy… great lessons for leaders.

Start with Why – Simon Sinek

If you haven’t heard of Simon or this book in the last year… well, now you have. Yes, it’s that popular and for good reason. Simon’s research on companies that have the greatest longevity and profit can be founded in the fact that they all define why they exist before they define what they do and how they do it.

Deep Work – Cal Newport

Cal’s meta-research uncovers a fading skill in today’s world, deep work. He shows the profound benefits of creating time for deep work instead of the shallow tasks and distractions we face more and more. Yes, social media is one of the topics.

I’ve enjoyed learning from all these professionals,
Russ

If you think others would enjoy my weekly message please ask them to sign up here! Thank you for sharing.

One more book I hope you enjoy:

Corporate Ovations: Your roadmap to more effective presentations, Russ Peterson Jr. and Kevin Karschnik

Claim your copy of my new FREE eBook on Sales and Leadership Inspiration.

Russ Peterson Jr. is the co-founder and Managing Director of iSpeak, Inc. – An award-winning professional development training company. Russ is a published author on Professional Sales Communication and Business Communication. He delivers workshops, keynotes, and personal communication coaching services to business professionals in the US and around the world. You can connect with Russ directly through Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

I saw my son walking out to the garage one evening. I said, “Hey, where you going?” He replied, “I’m going to change out the distributor on my car.” Just so you know, it was obvious he didn’t learn that skill from me! I’m good to change your oil, but anything involving a wrench on the car involves me calling my friend, Mark. So, I inquired, “Where did you learn how to do that?” His response was one word… “YouTube.” My final question to him was, “Can you show me how?” A new term used today is called micro-learning. It is most easily explained as the “YouTube Generation” style of learning. Short bursts of learning that are immediately accessible upon demand.

Last week we explored how to initiate change by communicating three things for your team:

1. Attention – If you don’t get their attention, they won’t be listening!
2. Comprehension – Teach them so they understand the plan
3. Motivation – Inspiration and encouragement so they feel the need to change!

If they don’t use it, they’ll lose it

Now, what’s the next step? In many cases, the next step can take longer than the first three combined. This next phase is about maintaining your course and momentum until the change is frozen in place. This all begins with maximizing the retention of everything you accomplished in the first three steps!

According to research done by John F. Kihlstrom at UC Berkeley, if people don’t use what they’ve learned, they will begin to lose that working knowledge. One method for reinforcing the new skills is by using frequent recall and testing. He also states how experiential application helps to reinforce the new knowledge or skills by helping the brain create a schema (template) that can be applied to similar situations in the future. In other words, get them to apply whatever they learned to a real-world situation.

“ Active learning requires students to do meaningful learning activities and think about what they are doing. —MICHAEL PRINCE

Three ways to reinforce the learning:

Just like my son with the YouTube video for his car, Micro-Learning is a great method for reinforcement and it doesn’t have to be in video format. If you have weekly team meetings, you can take 10 minutes in a meeting to reinforce the change they have recently learned. If you’d like to know a few methods for doing that, here are some suggestions based on a research study done by Michael Prince at Bucknell University.

1.  Give them a problem to solve

Making the learning more experiential helps make it more permanent. This can be done by giving people an applied problem to solve. If you recently implemented a new procedure for the sales team to get complex quotes completed through engineering, finance, and legal, you could give them a scenario and have them come up with the first 5 steps for completing this complex quote.

2. Have them work in groups

According to Michael Prince’s research, when people worked on problems together they were able to collaborate on solutions. The opportunity to explore different ideas and build upon each others’ work created a stronger reinforcement of their learning. This can also lead to better solutions when synergy sets in. This is when the team becomes more than just the sum of its parts.

3. Assign co-operative roles within the group

If you’d also like to reinforce teamwork with the learning, you could assign unique roles to each person on the team. Using the complex quote example from above, one person on the team could play the role of the salesperson, someone else the legal contact, another person the finance representative, and one more to be the engineer. In this type of group solution, each person needs to rely upon the other to complete the entire project on time.

What have you seen used to help change “stick?”

Still looking for ways to educate better,
Russ

p.s. If you like these messages, please invite your friends to join us! They can sign up and receive these weekly posts via email.

My books on communication:

Corporate Ovations: Your Roadmap to More Effective Presentations, by Russ Peterson Jr. and Kevin Karschnik

Cut the C.R.A.P. and Make the Sale, by Russ Peterson Jr.

Claim your copy of my new FREE eBook on Sales and Leadership Inspiration.

Russ Peterson Jr. is the co-founder and Managing Director of iSpeak, Inc. – An award-winning professional development training company. Russ is a published author on Professional Sales Communication and Business Communication. He delivers workshops, keynotes, and personal communication coaching services to business professionals in the US and around the world. You can connect with Russ directly through Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

“Can you help our engineers with their presentations? They’re horrible! They always bombard us with too much data.” I’ve been asked this question countless times by business leaders who sit through presentations from their engineering teams. The complaint is that the presentations include way too much data and detail. What needs to be done? There’s a simple solution.

We need to understand that business managers and engineers speak different languages. In addition, they have different needs, interests, and goals based on their roles. If the roles were reversed, we’d probably have the same problem. The complaint from the engineers would be “Can you please help us with our business manager presentations? They’re awful! Full of lofty theories and general ideas but no concrete data!”

“ Never forget you’re creating your presentation for your audience, not for you. —RUSS PETERSON JR.

You can create the right presentation for the right audience by answering three questions before you construct your message. The answers to these three questions will help you identify how much and what kind of data to include. If you create the right message for the right audience, you’re more likely to achieve your goal. So let’s start with your goal…

1st Question: After the presentation, what do you want the audience to DO?

In other words, what is the next step after this presentation? What does the audience need to do after this presentation? There has to be a purpose for presenting! So, just make sure you are crystal clear on the audience’s next step.

It could be as simple as remembering some key elements for the future so they can make better business decisions. Maybe you want them to approve a new IT budget for system upgrades. If they’re asking for a project update and you’re not quite sure what their next step is or why they need this information, then you need to ask! Find out how they’re going to use this information so you can give them exactly what they want.

Now, in order to equip them for the next step, we need to answer two more questions.

2nd Question: What does the audience need to KNOW and UNDERSTAND?

What does the audience need to KNOW and understand about your subject before they will be able to take that next step? This question is not about teaching them to understand at the same level that you (the expert) understand. It is all about knowing what level of depth they need to understand. This is where the breakdown usually occurs where engineers tend to think the audience should understand the details at their same depth of understanding.

A little empathy can go a long way here. Think about what they need to know, not what you know.

3rd Question: How do you want your audience to FEEL about this subject?

The feeling question is rarely addressed in business.  From what I’ve seen, the business leaders and the engineers are both equally guilty here. The common thought is “What do feelings have to do with business? We make our decisions based on data and logic.” I’ve got some news for you, unless you’re speaking to an audience of robots, you need to deal with the feeling question.

Do you want your audience to feel… bored, excited, frustrated, angry, equipped, confident, proud, anxious, empowered, inspired, calm, supported, comfortable, or uneasy?

“ The speaker speaks for the audience… always. —RUSS PETERSON JR.

It’s not about you…

The more specific you can be with all three of these questions, the easier it will be to construct your message. It becomes much easier to decide how many details to include, which slides to include, which stories to include, and how many examples to include. Overall, it makes your job of creating the presentation easier and much more relevant to your audience.

As humans, we are all created wonderfully different.  As speakers, we need to empathize with the audience’s needs and build the message for them, not just for us. If you do that, you’re on your way to achieving your goals.

Let’s go change some lives. Your audience is counting on you!

See you next week,
Russ

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What effective message construction techniques have you used or seen?  Leave your comments here.

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For me, it was Mrs. Sheets in 8^th grade English. She’s one of the teachers who had the greatest impact on me because of her approach to teaching. She worked with the entire class, but still treated each student as an individual. She took the time to understand each student’s needs and never seemed to tire of the questions which I’m sure she’d already answered a thousand times before. She seemed to get more excited than the students when a new concept finally “clicked” for them. She had a great sense of humor and a passion for teaching that was most evident when she saw her students improve.

One essential function of the leader is to bring out the very best in your team. John Maxwell puts it this way, “If you really want to be a successful leader, you must develop other leaders around you.” (Developing the Leaders Around You, 1995) So to be an effective leader, you will need to be an effective mentor and teacher. What can we learn and apply from other great teachers?

What are the ingredients of a great teacher?

There is more to being a great teacher than just being the subject matter expert. In fact, it will take five key ingredients for you to be the best at helping others reach their full potential.

1. Be a subject matter expert

This is the first ingredient, because it is the most obvious. You cannot teach what you don’t understand. Unfortunately, many teachers think this is the only requirement to be a great teacher. You can probably think of a teacher who is absolutely brilliant, but that teacher is lacking in the other four areas. Just because someone understands theory does not mean they know how to communicate it. Know your stuff, but make sure you include the other four ingredients too.

2. Share your real-world experience

It’s much easier to lead a team somewhere when you’ve already been there yourself. Real-world examples of how you’ve failed while learning or succeeded while applying this knowledge will do two things for you. First, it shows you are vulnerable. It shows how you have learned from one of your own failures and that will help the students relate to you. Second, the real-world examples help them see practical applications for how to use this knowledge in the future.

3. Don’t lecture, use questions

Don’t bore your team with a lecture.  A 2015 Microsoft study shows that human attention spans have decreased to only eight seconds, while goldfish can concentrate for nine! In today’s smartphone world, you probably don’t need a study to confirm that attention spans have shortened. I’m sure you’ve seen it yourself or even participated (I’m guilty!). The most engaging coaching conversations are filled with open-ended questions (e.g. How…? Why…?) followed by conversation extenders like “What else?”

4. Be approachable

While our students want to learn from a subject matter expert, they also want to connect to you on a human level. Approachability means taking the time to ask engaging questions and then listen attentively. My good friend and communications expert Cynthia Oelkers says it best, “When a leader is likeable, teams feel the freedom to reveal what’s truly going on (especially the bad stuff).” To be approachable with your team, start by being available and accessible.

“ When a leader is likeable, teams feel the freedom to reveal what’s truly going on (especially the bad stuff). —CYNTHIA OELKERS

5. Passion to see others succeed

While this is number five in our list, it is actually the primary key for success. It’s the heart of the teaching leader. It’s the foundation upon which the other four elements are built. More than anything else, when the leader has a passion to see others succeed, long-term success is more likely to occur. This passion cannot be faked. The leaders in your organization who have this genuine passion are easy to spot because everyone wants to work for them.

“ Let your passion for their success be the foundation. —RUSS PETERSON JR.

We can’t all be natural-born teachers like Mrs. Sheets, but we can all improve how we develop the teams around us. Make sure your heart is in it. Let the 5^th Element, your passion for their success, be the foundation. Then develop the other four elements on top of the foundation as your cornerstones for success.

How did a great teacher from your life make an impact on you?

Never stop improving,

Russ

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