Smart Thinking: Stop whining, and start winning

I lost my iPod a few weeks ago. I had it in my hand, laid it down, and now I can’t remember where I put it. It happens more often as I get older, but perhaps that’s a topic for another time. I’ve searched high and low for that darn thing and kept looking over and over in the place I remembered having it last. No matter how many times I go back, it’s not there.

When you lose something, such as your keys, an important piece of paper or an iPod, how often do you go back to the exact same place you recall seeing it last with hopes that it will magically appear? At some point, you realize you have to quit hoping for the missing item to turn up where you expect to find it, and you have to start working on a different strategy.

Businesses have lost customers and revenue over the past year, and managers are finding that their old ways of leading people and acquiring customers aren’t working like before. It’s time for a new strategy. Continually looking in the same place for different results is not going to cause those results to magically appear. A different process or an updated skill set might be what you need to get things flowing. Sure, things might return to normal in a few months, and we’ll eventually forget this economic whirlwind ever happened. Or not.

Consumers are either delaying decisions or refraining from spending money completely. Those who are buying, with a few exceptions, seem to think it’s appropriate to beat you up on price. It’s safe to say that in your pool of potential customers, the water level has dropped dramatically. For many businesses over the past year, it has dried up completely. This isn’t uncommon. In the natural ebb and flow of business, you’ll likely find yourself in a situation where the proverbial well you’ve been dipping water from has gone dry. Some folks can’t handle that change, and, disbelieving, they repeatedly return to the well, cup in hand, and hope it will suddenly contain water. That sounds a lot like the definition of insanity.

It sounds like something you need to stop doing. As a matter of fact, growing your business in 2010 will require you to stop doing a lot of things:

Stop thinking small.

Your playing small does not serve the world. When you choose to own your talents and start taking up space, you enable those around you to do the same. Instead of making decisions to simply survive, lift your vision and build for the future.

Stop being ungrateful.

Every day, make a list of five things for which you are grateful. Volunteer to serve at a local charity. Stand face to face with those who have truly known hardship, and be thankful.

Stop being indecisive.

Analysis paralysis is killing your ability to do what’s necessary for growth. The moment of absolute certainty almost never arrives. Instead of focusing so much on making the right decision, make a decision and then make it right.

Stop flying by the seat of your pants. Process is king, and every system will create the exact results it’s designed to create. If yours isn’t working, get a new system.

Stop making excuses.

Write down all the excuses that you’ve used this year and post them on the wall. Once you write them down, they’re forbidden. You may never use them again. Either come up with new ones, or start taking responsibility for yourself.

Stop being lazy.

Quit staring at the phone and watching the door. Get up off your fanny, and prospect, network, and build better relationships. Be in action about growing your business.

Stop hoping things will change.

To quote a famous book title, “Hope is not a strategy.” Straighten your spine. Either create the change needed to grow and adapt your business, or go home.

Stop being afraid.

Fear is both positive and negative. Sometimes, it serves to keep us out of trouble. Other times, it tries to hinder us from growth simply because of unfamiliarity. Learn to tell the difference.

And finally, stop whining. Please.

You have no right to complain unless you can specifically state three things you’ve done to try to fix the problem. Improvise, adapt and overcome.

Make up your mind to move forward and start winning.

Maybe someone should invent a tracking device for the iPod. I didn’t have this problem with the boom box. v

©2009 Sandler Training. Sandler Training is a world leader in sales and management training with more than 250 training centers in more than 23 countries. Catherine Atkins is a licensed franchisee for Sandler Training. For more information, visit www.savant.sandler.com.