Journal Entry: 2 Dec 2009

Today at work, my boss asked me and a colleague to clean out a room to have group tutoring sessions with students. The room was a mess. Books and boxes were everywhere. But we cleaned and cleaned until both the room and adjoining office were clear. When my boss came in, she almost had a heart attack. Not because the office was spic and span but because she didn’t want us to clean the office in the first place.

What she told us to do and what we did were two different things. She only wanted us to clean out the front quarter of the classroom and leave the office alone. The books we cleared out of the office belonged to another teacher and if she saw all of her books scattered outside the office, she would think we had kicked her to the curb.

Have you ever heard someone say “I pacifically told you to do XYZ”?  They always say this directly after finding out their instructions weren’t fully carried out?

Well, ‘pacific’ and ’specific’ instructions are two totally different things. Sure, I’m poking fun at the mispronunciation and if someone says it now I’ll even get the giggles. But whether we’re talking about using the wrong word or not sending a clear message, its all miscommunication. When it comes to leadership, the latter carries much more serious consequences.

Journal Entry – Sunday, 29 November 2009

I was telling a church member about my new job as a teacher’s assistant today and shared my plans to teach by September. His statement to me was ”you gotta start somewhere”. He’s right. I started working for myself as a musician at the age of ten, so the world of full-time employment is brand new to me. And I have found that there are certain skills that I need to hone through full-time employment that will take my business acumen to the next level. In essence, I learned how to walk before learning how to crawl.

Watching my daughter attempt to walk helps me understand the saying “you have to crawl before you walk”. She’s five months old and wants to walk so bad. She kicks her feet and even stands up while holding onto something. But her body isn’t developed to the point where she can walk yet. Even though she can go through the motion of picking up and putting down her feet, she doesn’t have balance. More importantly, her legs and feet and not ready to fully support the weight of her body. And here’s the kicker…when she crawls, she moves backwards. She’s trying to walk before she learns to crawl. I wonder where she gets that from…

“You have to work your way up…get your feet wet…crawl before you walk”. I hear these statements all the time. And yes, like my daughter I move too fast at times. Having started my own business, I know what it takes to succeed and what it feels like to fail. Now I’m going back and mastering the skills it takes to have my business support my life. Once I get the experience I need while crawling, I will be able to move forward faster…walking, running and eventually soaring.  

When I really think about it, such is life. We have to crawl before we walk, just like babies do. By finding balance on your knees, it’s easier to find equilibrium on your feet. And if you fall while on your knees, it hurts alot less.

I recently made a change to this blog. And unless you’re unusually perceptive, you probably haven’t even noticed. But don’t feel bad. I’ve come to realize that’s how changes are supposed to happen.

Do you know someone who wears a lot of makeup out in public? You see them without it and wonder “What the heck happened to you?!” I bet that’s not the response they were going for. Change should be subtle and gradual. A pleasant surprise that doesn’t send you into shell shock.

Sometimes you need to make changes, like getting a new hairstyle, to make yourself feel bettter. Other times, changes are a part of a strategic plan and essential to growth. But making too many changes at once makes it harder to pinpoint what works and what doesn’t. If none of those changes work, you could end up losing what you started out with. Even worse, you could lose who you are. But managing change shows patience and diligence towards reaching your goals.

During my lunch break, I decided that it was time for the tagline of My Future in Focus to change. “A Quest of the Visionary Entrepreneur” is now ”The Personal Blog of Thomas E. Anderson, II.” A new tagline for a new purpose. From now on, I will blog less about business and more about my thoughts about life in general. You can expect shorter posts that are more like journal entries than business posts. And for those visionaries who signed up because of the business topics, I’m working on a blog especially for people with vision…but more to come on that later.

I’m the master of making grand plans to change everything. But sometimes its hard to decipher the best time to make changes. When it comes to future goals, it helps to make one change at a time.

Have you ever undercharged for your services? Or maybe you’ve done work for free because you lacked confidence. You can tell the truth…I won’t rat you out. Honestly, I have given away more services than I care to count. Not because I could afford to do it, but because I lacked understanding of how pricing works in the minds of my clients. 

In July, I gave away a training program worth $2250 for a mere $400. And my wife teamed up with our good friend to run an intervention (i.e. we discussed what an idiot I was.) What I realized was that I know how pricing works…in theory. But what I did not understand is how my customers view the price I place on my services. It all boils down to perception. Let’s watch and learn.

A few nights ago, my cousin Natasha brought my sister Teah a pair of like-new size 9 designer boots to try on. As Teah opened the box, she was trying to decide whether she wanted to accept the boots or not. She remained pretty indifferent toward the boots until Natasha said, “girl, these are 300 dollar boots”. My sister’s response: “I LOVE THEM!” LOL!

I was in stiches. Why? Because I have priced myself out of the market so many times, refusing to charge what I was worth. And that night I realized that my price would have simply changed my prospect’s perspective on the value of my services. Let’s look at the fashion example again (…and I do have my sister’s permission to share this…I’m not throwing her under the bus.)

My sister dresses very nicely. The value she places on being fashionable is high. So, free boots do not appeal to her fashion sense. Natasha immediately picked up on that and ascribed a value to the boots. It’s called perceived value. As consumers, we buy products based on how much we think they are worth – how much we think we are worth. We purchase goods and services according to the value we place on certain areas of our lives such as clothing, food or education. However, as a small business owner it’s important to think of pricing in reverse.

How much are you worth?

Do you remember the movie, Rush Hour, with Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan? The funniest line in that movie is when Chris Tucker looked at Jackie Chan and said ”DO YOU HEAR THE WORDS THAT ARE COMING OUT OF MY MOUTH?”  That line is timeless. In fact, I’ve wanted to ask a couple of people that question in the last few days. And unless they were deaf, their answer would be “YES!”

Hearing and listening are two different things. When you hear something, it can go in one ear and out the other. But listening requires thought. Listening is a full body experience involving your ears and eyes, heart and soul often times causing you to read between the lines.

If you’re in professional sales or people seek you out as a sounding board, chances are you’re a pretty good listener. These are some tactics that I use to improve my ability to listen.

1. Pay attention to what they say (verbals)
2. Pay attention to what they don’t say (non-verbals).
3. Decipher what they really mean.
4. Make eye contact.
5. Put yourself in their shoes. 
6. Use phrases like “I understand how you feel”
7. Keep an open mind.
8. Let go of stereotypes and preconceived notions. 
9. Respect what they have to say.
10. Offer an alternate point of view.
11. Paint a picture for them of the way you see things.
12. Overlap with some things they’ve already told you.

When listening, my goal is to keep the lines of communication open. So I try to avoid anything that will makes people shut down. Here is a short list of things I stay away from:

• Cutting across a person while they’re talking.
• Rushing them when they are trying to think about what to say.
• Unwelcoming facial expressions.
• Starting my point of view with “but”.

Above all, I avoid responding in anger to an angry person. Anger is just a surface emotion. And the point of listening is to decipher what lies beneath the surface.