Leadership Development Through Associations

Written by JT on January 14, 2010

Leadership Development is influenced by so many things, your head would spin just thinking about it. But one of the key factors to success in leadership is choosing who you associate with on a daily basis. Check out this video and learn how you can streamline your associations to maximize your time and cut your learning curve in half. It’s a technique I learned form the amazing Eben Pagan…

Leadership Development Lessons From a 4 Year-Old

Written by JT on January 11, 2010

Leadership development lessons can come from just about anybody, regardless of their age. Check out what my 4 year-old daughter, Callie, has to say about her champion mindset and doing what you love!

Here’s To Your Best Year Ever…

Written by JT on January 1, 2010

We always hear quotes like, “Here’s to the best year EVER!” or “This year is totally gong to ROCK!”, but often times these statements are made just weeks (sometimes days) before a person loses momentum and falls back into their old habit patterns.

For the record, I believe 2010 is going to kick ass…IF, you do three things.

First, you must go after what you love. I don’t care if it’s skiing, drawing, or underwater basket-weaving, if you are in love with something, do more of it. Then find a way to make money doing it. Start a blog, write an e-book, or create a product surrounding your passions. Do it now.

Second, you must mastermind with champions. I cannot underscore this enough. If you want to get anywhere in life, you must surround yourself with people at or above your level of performance. It will inspire you to grow, and will explode your skill levels to new heights.

Third, and most important, you must HUSTLE. One of my mentors, Gary Vaynerchuk, taught me this in a presentation he did at a Web 2.0 conference. Gary is a genius, in my opinion, and he believe you must hustle if you want to make it happen. He also believes you can make ANYTHING happen with enough hustle, belief, and persistence.

I hope 2010 is YOUR best year ever. I believe it will be if you go after what you love, mastermind with champions, and hustle your ass off.

Leave a comment and share this post with people you believe are at or above your performance level. Let me know what your big passion is, who you plan to mastermind with, and how you intend to hustle to make this year the best ever.

Go Big,
~JT

Leadership Lessons From Walt Disney

Written by JT on December 30, 2009

Earlier this year my family and I took a trip to Disneyland. It was nice to get back to Southern California for a few days, and we had the pleasure of having Mia’s folks join us for the trip.

It was the first time our daughter, Callie, had been to “The Happiest Place On Earth”, and our son Maximus (then 15-months old) was enjoying his maiden voyage as well.

I want to share 3 valuable lessons it took away from Walt Disney as I visited his amusement park.

Lesson 1: Continually upgrade, grow and build.
My two favorite rides when I was a kid were Space Mountain and The Haunted Mansion. When we visited the park in September, BOTH rides were closed. I was bummed.

But the employees of the park did a great job of enthusiastically talking about how those rides are the crown jewels of their upcoming Halloween extravaganza, and were being upgraded for their big celebration.

What did that do for me, the customer?
1.) It immediately took the frustration out of my experience, because I couldn’t help but feel the Disney employee’s genuine enthusiasm.
2.) It made me want return the following month for the big Halloween bash. Gone was my initial annoyance; that was replaced by a sense of anticipation for the future. I wanted to be there, dammit! That is great for business.

Lesson 2: Don’t Be Afraid To Ask For The Sale
From the time you show up to the park until the moment you leave, Disney is constantly selling you. You have the option to show up an hour early; when you do, you are given access to the shops, the Disney characters (gotta get a picture with Mickey!), and of course food and drinks.

You get another opportunity at this when the park closes. All the shops and restaurants are open for an additional hour “for you convenience”. Why? So you can focus on enjoying the park, the rides, and the experience. Sure. But because the rides are closed, and you (and your kids) are far from ready to leave at that point.

The impeccable cleanliness of the grounds, outstanding customer service and perceived value of the product creates an incredible immersion of joy. You almost feel obligated to purchase a souvenir before you leave just so you can take a piece of the experience home with you.

Point here is that Disney is not at all afraid to ask for the sale. They have made a staggering fortune from professionally, confidently, and consistently selling in an almost-elegant fashion.

Lesson 3: Attitude Is Everything
I swear there must be something in the water at Disneyland. Every employee presents a professional, upbeat, and gracious attitude, seemingly every second of the day. I like to think I’m pretty good at picking up on things like this, and I can tell you that in the 3 days we were in hte park, I never once picked up on a bad attitude, fatigue, annoyance, unhappiness, or displeasure from a single Disney employee. And it was all genuine.

How do you get EVERY employee to project an attitude like that?
1.) Create a culture of quality. That means “service first” thinking. In a business like Disney’s you have to serve the customer, and over-deliver the quality.
2.) Total belief in the brand. I doubt any human being, regardless of their level of mental toughness or physical fitness could wear a fuzzy duck/mouse/dog/bear suit in 80-plus degree heat for hours on end, kids pestering you for photos, and the same Its-A-Small-World-After-All music playing over and over (and over) in your head and stay happy unless they had total belief in the brand and the mission.
3.) Money Could Not Be The Only Focus. Money is great, and money is important, but it cannot be the sole motivator for entrepreneurs. Walt Disney passionately loved his work, and that energy transcends time and permeates its way into every member of the Disney staff.

Strive to have that level of influence in your business, too.

I could write a book on my trip to Disneyland; it was that profound. As a kid, I loved it for the wonder and magic. As an entrepreneur I loved it for the unbelievable attention to detail and world-class professionalism. It was a real treat to witness a top-notch organization operate at such a high level.

If you have the chance to get to any Disney park, definitely go. Take notes, learn all you can, and remember Walt Disney’s quote:
“We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”

~JT

Leadership Development Training From Frank Kern

Written by JT on December 15, 2009

One of my favorite teachers, and a guy I can relate to on a lot of levels, is internet marketing expert Frank Kern.

Frank Kern has transformed the way I think about business, and has contributed a great deal to my leadership development training in more ways than I could begin to describe in one post.

Frank comes off as this laid back slacker of an internet marketer. You can almost imagine him barely taking anything seriously, and you get the sense that he is either on his way to, or coming back from a session of surfing (after all, he IS an avid surfer…).

Make no mistake about it; Frank Kern is a genius. He works hard, creates more value than anyone else I can think of in everything he produces, and the dude is HILARIOUS.

A couple of weeks ago, Frank submitted a video on his blog called State of The Internet Address. It is the best 32 minutes I had spent in a long time, and I took a lot out of his message.

Frank taught me one lesson in particular that I want to share with you today because I believe it is one of the most important lessons I have learned in my entire entrepreneurial career.

Frank said today, more than ever, you must ‘out-cool’ your competition, meaning you must give more value, treat them with more respect, and provide a better experience for them than anyone else can.

This is profoundly powerful to me, and I hope it hits you between the eyes, too. This one attitude can and will pay you fortunes. If more businesses and entrepreneurs really infuse this attitude in their daily practices, I believe we’ll see a rapid turnaround in the economy.

Frank’s message is that powerful.

‘Out-cooling’ your competition is not just a great idea, it is THE best way to shift the momentum in your business in the face of a challenging economy.

It means giving more value to your customers in proportion to the money they give you. Simply outselling, out-marketing, and outperforming your competition will not cut it anymore.

As Frank says, by delivering more happiness to customers and prospects, and deliberately putting forth an effort to make their lives better in everything you do with them, you will enjoy success.

Check out Frank’s State Of The Internet Address here.

Frank Kern is one of my teachers because he emphasizes value first. He believes in over-delivering great content that makes a profound difference in his customers.

I’d like you to check out his site at http://www.MassControlSite/blog and buy his stuff. Seriously, it will change the way you do business forever.

Out-cool your competition today, and you will enjoy more success than you ever dreamed of.

Go Big,
~JT