winning Archives - Dennis E. Gilbert

15
Dec 20
-

Workplace Streaks Lead to Greater Success

Tags : habits movitvation persistence streaks winning

Does the success of any business or entrepreneurial adventure depend upon workplace streaks? What matters more, the one and done, or the approach applied often across time?

The chatter is often about habits. Break a bad habit, revise a mediocre habit, or build new habits.

Habits are often connected with persistence. A person’s knowledge, skills, and abilities put to use across time.

Luck happens. A lucky break, an unlucky situation, or sometimes people believe that their luck has run out.

Each day people enter their workplace. A plush office, a hard concrete plant floor, or a makeshift desk on your kitchen island.

Regardless of where you go, or where you stay, whether it is indoors or outdoors, in your home or across town, you likely operate from a pattern of repetitive tasks.

Some professions are more mixed than others. Some people base their day on tactical approaches to addressing the next emergency. Others analyze and crunch data, plan the next strategy, or test their theory of something new.

All of it is based on patterns. Patterns of behavior or ways of doing things.

Repetitively, over and over again.

Workplace Streaks

In sports people often look to identify streaks. Three wins in a row, or two consecutive championships.

Success in the workplace often develops from streaks. The process of applying behaviors, habits, or ways of doing things.

Workplace streaks are often not about perfection as much as they are about the pursuit. Consistent persistence. The American folktale tale of The Little Engine That Could applies even in the grown-up world.

The bigger picture across time.

In a single day, it may be hard to see change. Efforts that you’ll apply during the next year may clearly show results.

You can’t do a few pushups once a month and expect a significant change in your health or fitness. Pushups done each day for six months will make a difference.

Get on a streak. Keep it moving every day.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

08
Sep 20
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Mindset Predicts the End of the Story

Tags : mindset pivot strong starts visualize winning

What does the end result have to do with what your mindset predicts?

Everything.

Many star athletes claim that they visualize their success. Fast starts, being ahead at the middle, and strong finishes.

In business, many people and organizations visualize what comes next. Most of the success stories probably don’t start by visualizing hardship or failure.

While what many would label as a positive mindset doesn’t solve all the problems, or overcome every hurdle, it may be the difference between winning and losing.

In any competitive environment, it often feels like a race. A race to be first, a race to endure, and a race of the strongest finishers. Even a race against time, because short bursts aren’t always sustainable.

Visualizing what things look like at the start, the mid-point, and the finish will matter. It will also matter when the measurement is taken. The half-way point, the third leg, or when the clock expires.

Sometimes the biggest challenges are those that you create.

Mindset Predicts

A fumble in the first quarter may be undesirable, but there is still time. When you need a score and fumble with only seconds remaining, all hope may be lost.

Hope is part of mindset. It is why many games are won or lost before the players even take the field.

Winners are sometimes spotted in the first quarter, momentum grows, and a defeat for the opponent is realized.

Perhaps you can’t win on mindset alone, yet it can be the beginning of any defeat.

Story told.

What are you telling yourself?

-DEG

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Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

13
Aug 20
2

Competitive Challenge and Processing the Outcomes

Tags : competition effort outcomes persistence winning

No one wants to be a loser. Who would want that label? Are you facing a competitive challenge and are feeling a little nervous about the potential outcome?

You’re not alone.

People face challenges of various types every day. It may be a challenge to get motivated, it may be to get through traffic without road rage, or it may be an attempt to gain buy-in from the committee on your new idea.

There are other challenges too. Like, closing the sale, getting hired, or coping with a significant setback or failure.

The loser label is a significant fear. Your pride, your hard work, the embarrassment and the insults, no one wants it.

Facing the outcomes in a competitive situation can be tough.

Reality of Outcomes

You’re not always going to close the sale, you won’t always get buy-in from others, and, sometimes you won’t be the selected candidate for the job.

Most people feel like they can accept one or two losses. Even in professional sports, perfect records are very rare.

It is often the stacking that gets people down.

Like a stacked pile of books sitting on the floor, as the stack gets taller, the weight and pressure get progressively worse. Some books may suffer from damage or get crushed.

The stacking of problems, feelings of rejection, and the sometimes self-imposed labels hurt.

There are lots of ways to get out from under the stack.

One way is to quit. Which brings up another label, quitter.

For many things in life, there is a time to move on. Forget any labels. There is a time. However, that doesn’t mean it is this time.

Competitive Challenge

Better candidates do appear, the committee doesn’t always like the proposal, and losing the sale to the competition does suck.

The best thing is to pick yourself up, brush yourself off, and analyze your efforts and results.

Was there personal improvement? Did you really put in the right kind of effort to be successful? Did you self-defeat, lack appropriate confidence, or illustrate a beaten down persona?

What about the homework? Did you do it? Including the research, proof reading your work, and asking the right questions?

Even if you feel like you did everything right, the outcome still may not be what you wanted.

It might be about timing, or maybe they just don’t know you.

Maybe they don’t realize how persistent you are, how hard you’ll work, or the tremendous pressure you will endure.

It’s never over until you say.

Sometimes the most competitive challenge is with yourself. Keep building, keep growing, and stay persistent.

I don’t think it’s over.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

22
Jul 19
-

Are You Working Today?

Tags : ethics integrity motivation teamwork winning

Life is about choices. Often so is the work that we do. If you are working today, what is your motivation?

In the United States sports are big business. One sport or another many people show up to cheer on a team or curse an opponent.

We see it in many places, American Football, Soccer, Baseball, and even various forms of Motorsports.

Have you stopped to think about, “What is the goal?”

Often it is the collective enthusiasm of beating the opponent, the competition, or winning the championship.

What is the talk in the locker room? Do you think anyone in professional sports is talking about how they will lose?

Are they talking about the controversy among the team? The mistake from two weeks ago? How a couple of seasons ago there was a bad decision?

Unlikely, unless they have a twist on those aspects to increase motivation.

Working Today?

Your job and the work that you contribute to may be similar to professional sports. Are you arriving with a plan to win?

Today I’m going to close the sale.

Let’s be sure to ship 150 packages today.

Let’s build today without any mistakes or errors. Total quality.

One aspect that is always true about sports and our work, winning today (short run) is important but winning the championship (long run) is a collection of on-going wins.

Employees cannot sacrifice integrity just to win the game.

Maintain Integrity

Closing the sale in the system in the final hours of the day with the hope that the customer will buy tomorrow doesn’t work.

Throwing a few extra packages on the truck that will ultimately be refused at the customer site isn’t winning.

Fudging a little on quality to say, “We finished it, ship it.” will come back to harm your future reputation.

Are you working today?

Go do work that matters, work you are proud of, and work that will win the championship.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

16
Nov 18
-

Can You Manage Micromanagement?

Tags : insecurities micromanagement trust winning

Will you change the behavior of your boss or the CEO? It is very unlikely, unless of course it feels like it is his or her idea. Is it possible to manage micromanagement? The easy answer is, “Yes!”

Understanding Root Cause

The solutions for managing micromanagement can vary drastically. It always depends on the root cause.

Sometimes managers micromanage because they:

feel let down by previous employees;
don’t trust you or your capabilities;
once did this very same job, so they are always the expert;
love the work that needs completed so they want to do it;
are insecure about their own role and don’t want you to take over;
and perhaps a dozen other possible reasons.

Manage Micromanagement

Probably the first step to managing micromanagement is to understand the reason that it is happening? Solving the problem at the root is the most effective course of action.

Each reason may require a different course of action, and certainly there may be more than one reason.

Trust is a common problem. For a variety of possible reasons, the boss may not trust that the work will get finished, or finished timely and with the appropriate quality. (Tips)

When the boss loves the work, or was previously the expert who did this job, you’ll probably benefit the most by finding ways to keep them involved.

If the root cause of micromanagement stems from insecurities, you may to find ways to reassure the boss that you are loyal, respectful, and won’t steamroll him or her.

How you manage micromanagement will also relate to your personal goals. If you decide you don’t want to support your boss, that is a different conversation.

Sometimes letting someone else have it their way (right or wrong) may feel like you are losing, but in fact, you’re winning. They’ll support you more in the future.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

27
Jun 18
-

Front Runners Are Hard To Catch

Tags : motivation quit self-efficacy winning

You have lofty goals, big dreams, and a desire to get there fast. Do you have energy and time in your favor, or is it a lost cause? Can you catch the front runners or should you quit?

Unless you are starting something completely new, you were already behind when you started.

You decide to start a coin collection. Someone who has been collecting for years already has some of the rarest.

You want to start a YouTube channel featuring technology product reviews. It has already been done and they have many subscribers.

There is a charity half marathon connected with your employer. You want to be the best competitor in your company. Your coworker started training for it three months ago.

The picture seems clear. Nearly anything you are about to start has already been started by someone else. Does this cause you to think about quitting or does it provide energy to pull you even harder in your pursuit?

Winning From Behind

It has been said before many times. “Winners never quit and quitters never win.”

Certainly not every endeavor, every desirable pursuit, or every notion that you can do something more will work out with ease. You may have accepted that when you started. Is it time to quit?

Hard to catch doesn’t mean impossible to catch. If you quit, starting something new will likely mean that the next thing you start, you’ll already be behind.

Motivation often has to do with self-efficacy. The best way to improve self-efficacy and your motivation is to effectively manage your goals.

Front Runners

If you are going to catch the front runners, your first goal should be to become a runner. Then it should be to become a better runner than you were the day before.

The key is measuring progress step by step, compared to your level, not the front runner. Each successive small win will help build self-efficacy.

Looking to the front of the pack and deciding you’ll never get there is what causes many people to quit.

The first horse out of the gate doesn’t always win. The fastest car doesn’t always cross the finish line. The team ahead at half time doesn’t always win the game.

Good starts matter, but where you start is not where you’ll finish unless you quit.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and corporate trainer that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is a five-time author and some of his work includes, #CustServ The Customer Service Culture, and Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

17
May 17
-

Why Customer Service is Winning

Tags : customer service reputation trust value winning

Some organizations view customer service as an expense to minimize. Customer service is not about a department, it is about a culture. Delivering exceptional customer service is winning.

Winning to Lose

Businesses might sometimes be brutal with sales efforts. The pressure from management or the business owner creates pushy behaviors from account executives or others whose job performance and paycheck depend on closing the sale.

An intense focus on the close of the sale without a similar focus on the customer likely has a cost associated with it. When the push is too hard, it becomes a shove. People seldom forget a shove.

You might win the sale today but this win might become a loss since it is at the expense of no sale tomorrow.

Big city or small town you’ll rarely only interact once. The reputation you’re building is important. Future decisions to buy goods or services will be at stake. Your individual presence and the culture of customer service you’ve demonstrated will always matter.

Customer Service is Winning

Here are a few things to remember about why customer service is winning:

Reputation. You’re not just managing today’s transactions your building tomorrows reputation. This reputation will be a factor that is discussed anytime someone mentions a need for what you provide.
Trust. People engage with trusted resources. Consider that trust is earned, not just given. Price always matters but trust is part of your value. Even in transactional sales trust will play a role.
Connection. Beyond trust is the connection. It will only be a one and done if the perceived value is low. The service you provide might represent part of the sales team you never realized that you had.

Culture Matters

Customer service is never about a department, it is about a culture.

Most organizations will tell you about their exceptional levels of customer service.

It’s not what they tell you that really matters. It’s what they show you.

– DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and corporate trainer that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is a four-time author and some of his work includes, Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce and Pivot and Accelerate, The Next Move Is Yours! Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

09
Aug 16
2

Knowing What Counts

Tags : confidence success winning

A lack of effort is often not the reason for coming up short, but a lack of confidence might be.

Confidence probably plays a bigger role in success than effort ever will. Effort matters, it matters a lot, but the problem is that many people work very hard only to come up short.

Consider a world class athlete who fears their ability to overcome the next obstacle to achieve excellence. Do they perform with the same conviction as a similar athlete who is more confident? Consider your next sales meeting with a client, a presentation to peers or the board of directors, or that important conversation you have scheduled with your boss. The moment you doubt your ability to deliver and the moment you allow that doubt to creep into your performance is the very moment you are not at your best.

Fake it to make it may work, but then you really haven’t brought forward the real you. Why? Because you still have doubt.

Confidence sells and confidence wins, it isn’t built by doubt or by reliving failures, it is built by counting your wins.

– DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and coach that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is the author of the newly released book, Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce. Reach him through his website at DennisEGilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

08
Jul 14
-

Win, Happiness, and Wealth

Tags : happiness luxury wealth win winning

There seems to be a correlation in many minds that winning equates to happiness. That happiness only exists if you win, that you must win at all costs, and that wealth is winning.

If you’re working towards a win at all costs, then the temptation to alter the goal, take unusually high risks, or worse, engage in unethical conduct to further support your obsession with the win; may lead you to a path you didn’t think you would choose. But you did, or perhaps, you will.

You may feel like you don’t want to do it personally, but your boss, your neighbor or your judgmental mother-in-law is ready to remind you of your position in life, wealth, and assumed happiness. This creates pressure for action.

Winning is great, but it isn’t always about the win. More real estate, faster cars, and bigger investments don’t necessarily lead to more happiness. Winning at all costs bears a price tag that most shouldn’t be interested in paying. The price may be too high when happiness is confused with wealth and wealth is confused with winning.

Measure for happiness and not the win, measure against past performance first, bench-mark data second. Focus on why you do it, not what you get paid. Focus on the people who benefit from the product, good, or service.

The win exists at happiness, not necessarily luxury, money, or what someone else defines.

– DEG

Photo Credit: Jeff Belmonte

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

Tag Archives: winning

Dec 20

-

Workplace Streaks

Sep 20

-

Mindset Predicts

Aug 20

Reality of Outcomes

Competitive Challenge

Jul 19

-

Working Today?

Maintain Integrity

Nov 18

-

Understanding Root Cause

Manage Micromanagement

Jun 18

-

Winning From Behind

Front Runners

May 17

-

Winning to Lose

Customer Service is Winning

Culture Matters

Aug 16

Jul 14

-

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