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Action Learning Associates

How to Make Anabolic Choices

by | Jun 11, 2010 | Coaching, Personal Development, Success

We all make choices, some 30,000 choices every waking hour.

How are you choosing to respond?

Consider the realities:  our world is a hostile place with unemployment, terrorists, the Iraq war, Afghanistan war, Iran/Israel conflict, earthquakes, volcanoes, oil spills, stock market crashes, lack of personal savings as 401Ks become 201Ks, obesity, heart disease, cancer, expensive health insurance, home mortgages turned upside down, the rising U.S. national debt… add your examples.  We are living in turbulent times.

So what do you do?

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Chance Meetings

by | Jun 7, 2010 | Business, Coaching, Meetings

What are the odds that:

  1. The prospect you just called and left a message for at his work number is there at the airport when you are?
  2. That you each look up and see each other?
  3. That you are flying at about the same time from the same terminal and have enough time for a beer and dinner?
  4. That you chat for over an hour about careers, consulting, family, business opportunities together?  In a breathless, gushing exchange of optimism.
  5. That his direct report replied earlier in the day saying “we are not moving forward because we have selected another consultant” and he says “the meetings this afternoon did not go well and we are not sure how to proceed”?  Those doors remain open…
  6. That he misses his flight and you have to say, “I am so sad…”

Some Hollywood script?  No, a true snapshot of last week’s chance meeting with a good friend and a great prospect.  Life beckons, and we either dance or not.  We had a great dinner.  He missed his flight.  There are always consequences.  He was able to spend another night at home with his young family, and still make his meetings the next day in Dallas.  And they upgraded his ticket to first class.

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How do I make money and do what I want to do?

by | May 31, 2010 | Employment, money, Personal Development

Have you ever asked yourself this question?

Then come to Tuesday’s Career Lunch & Learn featuring Doug Gray, author of Passionate Action: How You Can Turn Life’s Challenges Into Life’s Adventures and owner of Action Learning Associates, Inc., an executive coaching business.

That was the advertisement last week.  My daughter asked me to speak, so of course I said “Yes!”

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The Real Story of Business Value

by | May 10, 2010 | Business, Coaching

The 2 KEY Drivers for success for any Small Business Owner (SBO) are:

  1. a. What do I love to do?
  2. b. What will someone pay me to do?

Imagine a see saw.  If I love to do it but no one will pay me, then I have a hobby.  If I love to do it and someone pays me less than I need, then my business is dying.  If I love to do it and someone pays me well, then I have a thriving business.  Where are you on this see saw?

Today I am thinking about how limiting that perspective is.

Not everything that we do has a direct business value.  Here are some examples:

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4 Principles of Selling in the Trust Business

by | Apr 29, 2010 | Business, Coaching, Employment, Leadership, Managers, money, Personal Development, Sales, Success

Selling defines success. Nothing else is more important in your business. So what is this notion of the trust business?

Are you in the financial services business or the “trust business”? Your answer could well determine your success. The trust business is defined by what you provide for your clients. People hire you—or decide not to—based on how much they trust you. People reinvest or walk away based on how much they trust you.

Perhaps the idea of selling trust is new to you. If you think you sell products or services, you’re limiting yourself.  Here are the four principles you need to remember to be successful at selling in the trust business:

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