What Makes Super Success?

I just finished reading Malcolm Gladwell's new book, Outliers. It is as thought-provoking as his last two. He takes a detailed look at why people are successful and has found some pretty amazing theories.

Some reasons for wide success are the date of your birth, the decade you were born and your ethnicity in relation to your chosen career. One theme threading through his various case studies is that each person would not have been the wild success that they are without the help of someone else. Bill Gates needed the mother's club at his school that bought a computer for the students. Some people had wonderful mentors and other received financial assistance.

In this last week of the year, don't let an opportunity to pass you by. Think about the person you may have met at a networking event in December that could benefit from a little attention. Give them a call and invite them to coffee. Just the fact that you are showing interest will probably will them a little more energy to keep on, keepin' on. I made one of those calls today, expecting the person to not remember me, but they did remember and seemed delighted. We have an appointment next week.

When I think back over my career, there are several names that stand out. They were not managers. They were just ordinary people. John Steele and I worked together at a long ago business. He took me under his wing, just because. And I learned so much about the "real" sales world from him. Rita Long was my Dale Carnegie instructor. She asked me to be her graduate assistant which meant I got to watch her in action while I was sitting at the back of the room. Rita showed me how to motivate people in the way she managed her Carnegie class. She made her students feel really good about themselves.

Your legacy could be that someday the super successful person will credit you with being the catalyst to their success. And if that isn't the best that can be, I don't know what is!

Want Members?

Several Business Network International (BNI) chapters in Findlay, Ohio want more members. They could have a traditional "visitor day" (and have in the past) but these chapters think outside the box. They want to help all organizations in the area to be more successful. With that being said they are planning a group networking event. They are inviting the local service clubs, GreaterFindlayInc., Hancock County Leadership and any other groups that solicit for members to be involved.

It reminds me of my friend, Tom Fleming's, BNI chapters in his Tampa, Florida area. All his chapters help each other to be successful. If one chapter falls below 25 members, all his other chapters work to help this one chapter to regain its strength. They realize that if every chapter is healthy, they all will benefit.

So without knowing the "Tom" story, this group is planning a similar task. They want all groups in their area to enjoy strong membership.

Do you want to bet that they will be successful?

Time for Dues

Recently several people have told me that they are not going to be renewing their membership in an organization. And the comment I've gotten from each person is, "I gotten all I can from this group."

Whoa! What an attitude. And for those people, I just smile a fake smile. First of all, I realize they just don't get it and second, the organization is better without them.

So as you begin to determine what groups you will be a member of next year, it would be a good idea to ask yourself, "What value have I given to the group?" If you can't give a good answer, maybe you should pay those dues for one more year. Make it your goal that when you leave the group next year they will all feel very sad.

Because you know right now if you leave, the remaining members will probably be thinking, "Good riddance. That person was a drag on our group. I would never recommend him for anything."