Procrastination, the word rings true for all of us.  Especially at this time of the year when we are all thinking about those news years resolutions. Things we know we did not complete of finish last year are going to get done this year.  Well, yes they will if you put your mind to it.

 We have all heard of the Aesop’s fable “The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing” which goes like this.

 A Wolf found great difficulty in getting at the sheep owing to the vigilance of the shepherd and his dogs. But one day it found the skin of a sheep that had been flayed and thrown aside, so it put it on over its own pelt and strolled down among the sheep. The Lamb that belonged to the sheep, whose skin the Wolf was wearing, began to follow the Wolf in the Sheep's clothing; so, leading the Lamb a little apart, he soon made a meal off her, and for some time he succeeded in deceiving the sheep, and enjoying hearty meals. And the moral of the story is: Appearances are deceptive. 

And yes they are  but I heard the story another way with a little twist to it where the wolf downed the sheep’s clothing and laid among the flock until dark  waiting to make his move.  Well this day the Shepard decided to have a feast of one of his sheep and grab the wolf instead and had him for supper.  The moral of the story: Strike while the Iron is Hot.

Had the wolf just lead one of the sheep away he would have had his meal but he chose to wait for the perfect moment and became the meal.

Here are 5 things you must do to over come procrastination when it comes to getting those new years resolutions done.

1.  Just do it, the difficulty is in the decision and getting started, not in the actual doing.  And once you get started momentum will carry you through.  Just do it.

2.  Keep track of your progress.  Progress is your measure of success not perfection; don’t wait for it to be perfect.  Keeping track allows you to move forward and you will begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

3. Use creative imitation instead of creative avoidance which is waiting for it to be perfect and your way.  Creative avoidance is just another form of procrastination.  Instead use creative imitation which borrowers from others their model for completing the task.  Just tweak it to fit your needs.

4.  Strike while the iron is hot.  So many times we wait for the perfect moment and do nothing.  The moment is now.  Instead of waiting until January 1^st to start just do it now.  Think of it this way, you will have an additional two weeks head start which will give you the momentum to carry you right on through the new year and to completion.

5.  Enlist an accountability partner.  Find someone who doesn’t judge you but will support you in your efforts.  Ask them to hold you accountable for the mile stones you set for your self and offer to do the same for them.  Then pick the 1, 2 or 3 goals you really want to accomplish and go for it.  It is better to complete 1 or 2 than to have 3 or more that never get done. 

To your success

Recently one of our readers posted a comment on Amazon.com in reference to our book.  The following blog post is our reply and is at the heart of one of our most talked about subjects at Strategic Marketing Advisors (SMA).

We would love to hear from all of you in reference to this subject.  Mary and I will be writing another book talking about the value of our own experience and your input is welcomed. Please tell us about your experiences as a customer both good and bad.

Enjoy

David and Mary

Thanks so much for spending your most precious asset – time – to write this thoughtful comment.

Thanks also for purchasing our book and hope you’ll let us know if you find it helpful.  And yes, the fact that it’s a “paperback” does imply that it’s been around for a while (we’ve heard that comment before).  However, that’s Entrepreneur Press’s standard delivery method and was actually one of the reasons we chose them over other publishers who saw it as a hardback.  David and I wanted to make sure our readers felt comfortable highlighting ideas, dog-earing pages, and writing notes in the margins.

Now on to more important things...

Unfortunately, Bakari, the consumer experience you described is all too common.  (As a matter of fact, David and I feel so strongly about this topic – what we call “the value of your own experience” - that we’ve recently developed an outline for another book on the subject.)

I’ll try to keep this short, however, it won’t be easy because I could talk about it for hours on end (and as my son so often reminds me, it’s my soapbox :>). 

 In our minds it comes down to this:

We are all consumers. Every. Single. One. Of. Us. And each time we “transact” with a company there is a moment when we  “log” – or judge - the experience based on our own criteria and expectations. It’s like making deposits and withdrawals into our emotional bank accounts. And these “moments” usually fit into one of these three categories:

1. Mediocre:  When your “expectations” (and these vary widely) are met. In other words, the experience was okay – not bad, not great.

2. Misery:  When you’re disappointed – for example, checkout lines are exceptionally long; the sales people were uninformed; no one offered to help; and that sort of thing.

3. Magic: This is when your expectations are exceeded and you walk out (or leave a website) surprised – in a good way – because this person, or company, understood the value of your time and truly appreciated your business... they made you feel important because they understood that no matter what “business” they were in, they were there to serve you.

And you’ll know you had a moment of magic when you say to someone, “You’ve just made my day”.

Understanding and applying concepts that create these “moments” are the best-kept “secrets” in marketing!   Why?  David and I think it has most to do with pervasive misperceptions on what the term “marketing” really means... in other words, most people assume that it’s just another word for “advertising” – which couldn’t be further from the truth.  Business owners think they can advertise their way to success and fail to realize that one of the quickest ways to go out of business, is to advertise a shoddy product or service. In other words, if you’re going to tell people how great you are – get great first!!

And what makes it even more fascinating, is that the difference between “moments of misery” and “moments of magic” is less than a centimeter and usually costs nothing to implement... it could be a simple as a smile, walking someone to their car, asking a photographer what type of work he/she does (by the way, please share that with us!) or showing up to a job on time... those seemingly tiny courtesies that can make all the difference.

So, I encourage you – and anyone else who may read this – to continue learning from your own consumer experiences and use your insights to improve your relationships with others – personally and professionally. Ask yourself the following questions:

1. What happened and how did this experience make me feel? 

2.  What could this person/company have done to make this a better experience?

or

What did this person/company do to make this a memorable experience?

David and I would love to hear more and ask anyone else who reads this blog to share their own moments of mediocrity, misery and magic...

And thanks again, Bakari, you’ve made our day!

Friends through Thick and Thin

Is it just me, or do we underestimate the effect our friends, family members and co-workers have on us? 

Do we ignore the subtler power – both positive and negative – they exert?

Is our ultimate personal and professional success partially dependent upon those we hang around with?  

I started pondering the answers to these questions after reading a USA Today article titled “Obesity can run in social circles,” (July 26, 2007) written by Nanci Heimlich.  The author summarized the findings of a National Institute on Aging research study which concluded that peoples’ propensity to gain and lose weight is directly, and indirectly, influenced by members of their social group.

Fanboys -  Fad or social phenomenon?

Is it just me, or are we witnessing a vigorous and sustainable shift in marketplace muscle? Are smaller groups of hardcore fans using their collective clout – made possible by the state-of-the-art technologies; nearly unilateral worldwide broadband connectivity; increased reliance on mobile devices, and a more open Internet culture – to ensure that corporate marketing executives endure more sleepless nights?

Is Procrastination Killing America's Small Businesses? 

We Think So... 

Did you know that?

The US Department of Commerce estimates that 62% of all American businesses, regardless of size, fail within the first six years?  Or are you aware that 40% of small companies go under before their first year anniversary; and that 80% of the first year survivors fail within five years? 

Even worse, 85% of the 1 in 25 small businesses that do survive for 10 or more years never reach $1 million in annual revenues and only 5% of those hit the $5 million mark!

These grim statistics point to the serious challenges entrepreneurs face even though the United States still offers the world’s best climate for small businesses.

Why did we write this book?