"Cargo Cult"

So I came across the term "Cargo Cult" and I decided to research it and find out what it was....I did my wiki search and it was fascinating to read about these cults near Papua New Guinea. Basically they are tribes/cults in this area that are waiting for cargo to fall from the sky. Cargo did fall from the sky anciently when the US army would drop cargo during WW 2 in the area and the tribes would benefit greatly. The tribes would also benefit from visits of missionaries and other humanitarian aid.

These tribes believe that this "Cargo" comes from the sky and their previous ancestors and it is a spiritual manifestation. Because of this belief the tribe will erect items that will bring this cargo to them and wait. This includes airstrips, fake airplanes, and radio tower.

How many of us are a "Cargo Cult"? When we think that things will magically appear if we do things that are similar to what is necessary to produce the cargo ourselves. Instead of producing the cargo ourselves we wait for the cargo to drop from the sky.

Art of War 3

So I didn't plan on doing a lot of Art of War posts here on the blog, but I keep coming up with great quotes from the book. Here is the latest...

"He who knows when he can fight and when he cannot, will be victorious."
Sun Tzu

If you can identify your strength's, weaknesses, and readiness then you will be successful. Sometimes you need to pick your battles in your company because you have limited resources and need to select the best opportunity.

Enjoy!

Art of War Numero Dos

Here is another interesting quote from Art of War...

Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles
is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists
in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.

This reminds me of a political axiom which states "If you are explaining you are losing" George Will. If you need to explain things after a situation has already happened then you run the risk of not communicating properly, misunderstandings, losing credibility, and losing a client. People want to keep things simple and work with people who will simplify things and make them easy to understand.

This brings us to a second quote..I actually would credit to myself.."I would rather troubleshoot than problem solve because it is a lot less painful"

If you can go into a situation with a potential sale or client and you can create reasonable expectations and identify potential difficulties then the experience will go a lot better. When you are trying to troubleshoot the challenge will be to win your client's trust and have them believe you about potential problems.

Art of War

Sun Tzu's Art of War is quickly becoming one of my favorite books it was written in the 6th Century BC as a military strategy book. There are so many good insights on how to formulate strategy and overcome an adversary based on common sense and experience. One thing I have done lately is to see how I can apply many of the quotes into my business. One of the interesting quotes I came across is:

"If you know both yourself and your enemy, you can win a hundred battles without a single loss"

I don't think it is a good idea to think of your customers as enemies, but if you truly understand your customers needs, wants, compliments, complaints and understand them, you will be more effective.

Now the hard thing is to understand how to understand yourself and customer.

Company Self Presentation

How does your company present itself? You may have the best product or service in the world, but if you lack image then you won't get anywhere. There are three things you need to establish with your new clients.

1. Trust
2. Credibility
3. Rapport

Each of these items will allow your company to become a company that will impress your potential customers and help them want to work with you.

As mentioned in the video, one way to build trust is to tell a story. One thing you may consider is to tell a story that will illustrate the benefits of your product or service.

Social Intelligence

After reading the book Social Intelligence by Daniel Goleman I discovered that Social Intelligence can be more important than IQ.  People care more about their relationships with others than their book smarts. 

There are basically 2 sections of Social Intelligence that  improve business.

Social Awareness:

1. Primal Empathy
2. Attunement
3. Empathic Accuracy
4. Social Cognition

Social Facility

1. Synchrony
2. Self Presentation
3. Influence
4. Concern

If you master these steps you are more effective in the work place, with potential clients, and future clients.

How are you?

When people ask me how I am doing I give one of two answers with a smile on my face ...

1. Really Good
2. Really Well

These answers create interesting results. First people stop me and ask me what I am doing to feel really well. Secondly, they are suprised by my answer because it isn't one of the normal answers they hear such as.

1. Fine
2. Good
3. OK

Lastly, they smile or laugh. I found people want to be around someone who is positive and confident. They want to know my secret and get it for themselves. I don't usually buy into the hype of just think positive and things work out, but for some reason these simple answers to "How are you doing" just makes people curious.