A thermometer is a follower. It reflects the temperature of its environment. A thermometer is a device that reacts to whatever is going on.  If the temperature is hot, it tells you so. If it’s cold, the thermometer reflects that reality as well. It’s a dumb instrument in the sense it doesn’t contain intelligent, multipurpose functionality. It has one…

vi·su·al·ize  

v. vi·su·al·ized, vi·su·al·iz·ing, vi·su·al·iz·es

v.tr.

1. To form a mental image of; envisage: tried to visualize the scene as it was described.

2. To make visible.

In life and work, success begins with a goal. It could be losing weight, asking for a…

Once upon a time there were two men who lived in the same forest and decided to have a contest chopping wood.  The first man was in good physical shape and very muscular.  The second man was in good shape but smaller in statute and wiry.  They would chop wood all day and at the end of the day compare to see who had chopped the most wood. 

The first man…

Think of your attitude as a giant battery. When your battery is fully charged you are happy and productive. When your battery is low you are grumpy and unproductive.

Negative inputs and events drain your battery. Some of these include:

• Arguments – have you ever noticed how tired you are after a big argument? All that negative energy has drained…

A.A. Milne’s beloved children’s books featuring Winnie & Piglet & Eyeore & Tigger and the rest of the crew have delighted children for decades. Here are a few favorite quotes from those classics and how they apply to your business today.

“What day is it?"

“It's today," squeaked Piglet.

“My favorite day," said…

If you want to be successful in sales, you must have each of the 5 ‘believes’. Now there are other so-called experts out there who will tell you that you can overcome the lack of one or two of these but I’m here to tell you that you will never be as successful as you could be, you will never reach your full potential for success, without all 5. To be ultimately successful,…

The wife and I went out for breakfast over the weekend. Our waitress was so unfriendly that I almost didn't want to buy breakfast, and I was hungry! But our experience reminded me of a couple things that happened recently that I like to call "sales prevention." And I do think some of the activities in this new department are responsible for the slump in many people's…

How many nicknames can you think of for your television set? There’s the ‘boob tube’ and the ‘idiot box’.  It has been labeled the electronic babysitter. I’ve even seen it described as the ‘electronic plague’ and the ‘downfall of civilization’.

Now, I don’t want to just pick on television. I’m simply using it as an example of one of the many ways we waste valuable…

Collins English Dictionary defines customer satisfaction this way, “a feeling of satisfaction with a product or service obtained from a business”. Anyone who works with the public has had the importance of customer satisfaction drummed into their head repeatedly. For years businesses have made it one of their primary goals to have satisfied customers. I’m here…

Improvement is a universal theme. We all want to be better… to do better. We want our business to improve and we want our personal lives to improve. The question becomes, “How do I make that happen?”

1. Plan

The first step along the path to improvement is to plan. Decide where you or your business needs to improve. Set goals you want to reach…

You don’t ask a woman to marry you when you are first introduced. At least, most of us don’t. And, if you’re a woman, you don’t ask or expect to be asked then, either. You expect to be courted – to be asked out on a series of dates, to find out more information about each other, to meet friends and family, to experience that first kiss and more. Eventually, if everything…

Before you get started reading this, let me warn you that it is about twice as long as my normal posts, over 1200 words. I got started and the words just started flowing. I hope you find this useful.

I’ve been in the car business almost 30 years now and it seems like one of the topics that never goes away is customer loyalty. Every year salespeople and…

I was on an online chat with several friends and fellow trainers from the United Kingdom the other night. We were discussing Time Management, a subject that most of us provided training on. As we were chatting, the subject got around to the biggest time wasters we had each seen with ourselves and our clients. We decided to compile a list. I have included that list below.…

I’m sure you have seen the slogan/ tag line I have used for my new company, Success 8760, on the website. The 8760 in my company name comes from the number of hours in a year. That is,  8760 = 24 x 365. For me, and hopefully for you, Dare to Be 24/365 means to do whatever is necessary, to dare to be a success every hour of every…

There is a saying in the medical field, “Prescription before examination is malpractice”. If you were a doctor examining a new patient who complained that pains in their abdomen had become intolerable, you would not simply prescribe a painkiller and send the patient home. You would perform a careful diagnosis that included bloodwork and tests, as well as a thorough physical examination.

A doctor must find out if the patient has an upset stomach, appendicitis or colon cancer…

I truly believe there is a tremendous lack of leadership in today’s world. This shouldn’t be so.  You can’t underestimate the power of a great leader. Great leaders make the impossible seem possible. Some folks think leaders are born; some think they are developed. I happen to think it is a little bit of both.

Leadership traits exist within all of us, regardless of…

8760 – That’s how many hours we each get during a year. 24 hours every day for 365 days. And yet, despite the fact that we each get the same amount of time, some people accomplish far more than others. Why is that?

If you’ve read any of my previous articles, you’ll know that I believe it is because we have lost focus on the “Forgotten Foundation” of time management.…

Effective time management can help you get more done, reduce your stress and reclaim your personal life.

Do you find yourself overwhelmed by the number and complexity of projects that need to be completed at work each day? As the day flies by, do you often feel as if you haven't paid enough attention to each task because other tasks keep landing on your desk, co-workers interrupt you with questions or you can't get it all organized?

You probably know…

A study of Harvard MBA candidates found that 3% had clear written goals and plans for accomplishing them, 13% had goals but had not put them down in writing and 84% had no goals when they were first entering the program. Ten year later the same students were re-interviewed. The 13% that had goals were making twice as much as the 84% with no goals but, even more astounding, the 3% who had committed their goals to writing were making 10x as much as the other 97% combined.

And…

Goal setting is an important factor in growing your business. Goals provide direction, motivation and a clear way to measure your progress.

Without goals, and a process for tracking your goals, you may have difficulty seeing the big picture and staying focused. Goal setting helps you create a roadmap that can guide you from where you are right now to where you want to be.

The tips below will help you get started with goal setting for your dealership, focus on…