Internal Dialogue Matters

"The most influential person who will talk to you all day is you, so you should be very careful about what you say to you!" -- Zig Ziglar

There's been a great deal of hype lately about the law of attraction, which was made most popular by the recent book The Secret.

Allow me to fully disclose this mysterious secret of the ages once and for all:

Whatever you think about happens.

The implications of this law are far-reaching and include the business world. I suppose it's most evident in the world of sales. Motivation, positive thinking, and visualization are an integral part of sales success. Many sales coaches will tell you to do whatever's necessary to get into a good mood before meetings, especially with strangers. This is because your mood transfers on to the person with whom you're speaking for better or worse.

If you're relaxed, upbeat, and engaging, those around you will be engaged.

If you're tense, unprepared, and inattentive, you will lose your audience real quick.

These mental dynamics are so subtle that a lot of people never take time to notice how they feel from moment to moment.

Change your thoughts (for better or worse), and your reality will follow.

Make Someone Owe You

On a blog called The Job Bored, Brian provides a great tip to improve the effectiveness of your network. He points out that the size of your network isn't as important as how many of those people want to do something for you.

The best way to get people to want to do you favors is to do favors for them.

This is an interesting paradox: Due to the laws of Karma, the best thing greedy, self-centered people can do to get more of what they want is to give freely of their time and resources.

It's true--people will go out of their way to consult with, buy from, refer, and generally help those to whom they feel indebted.

This is a hard-and-fast rule, but there's not a direct correlation here. Each kind act will not yield a corresponding benefit for you. Some will go completely unappreciated or unnoticed. But when more of the people in your cell phone's contacts are eager to do all they can for you, you're in a good place.

Do something nice for everyone you can. Go above and beyond. Don't wait till someone helps you to pay them back. You be the one to get the ball rolling, and you're much more likely to catch it on the rebound.

The "You're Welcome" Mindset

I'm on the phone a lot here, and I find myself saying "thank you" frequently. Even when people are thanking me, I'll often reply with a hearty "thank you."

It's polite, but is it what I really mean to say?

If I'm providing a service (paid or not) and a client thanks me, I think it makes sense to sincerely say "you're welcome."

I feel like "you're welcome" is not used often enough in our society. As if "thank you" is the more noble of these two complementary phrases.

Being able to say "you're welcome" puts you at an advantage in business. People are grateful for your product, and you are glad to offer it.

The only trick is, you have to provide a product that people truly feel fortunate to pay for and recieve.

New Ways to Attract Talent

It's all getting predictable:

Companies put out job descriptions. Generally, I've found that the longer the description, generally the more incomplete and inaccurate it is.

Companies receive resumes. In the age of blogs, podcasts, YouTube, MySpace, and many other vehicles of self-expression., we still rely on a single page of type to tell the whole story.

Step out and try new ways of recruiting talent. This Boston Globe article gives some tips. My favorite is the thank you note--from the manager to the candiate.

A Lesson in Motivation

There's an old legend in Haiti surrounding the construction of Le Citadel, a massive fort that sits atop a mountain on the country's northern coast. The story revolves around the installation of the cannons, which each weigh several tons.

According to the story, 100 men were assigned to carry a cannon up the mountain to the fort, but it was too heavy, and the men claimed they needed more help. The bosses' solution was to kill 10 of the men. When the other 90 saw this, they managed to get the cannons moved without complaint.

I've known managers who think that firing some poor performers will inspire those who were spared to do greater things. Since being fired is nowhere near as bad as being killed, these scare tactics usually backfire.

What is true, however, is that a small, motivated team can accomplish much more than a large, unmotivated one.