Mortgage Helpers

Is there a garden in your future? 

Terms like Invisable Density, Hidden Density and Mortgage Helpers are going to define the urban lifestyle of our future. 

Here is a link to a CTV interview with Brent Toderian, MCIP, the Director of City Planning for the City of Vancouver, Canada.  It's a look into what's being planned and why climate change will be a major issue.

http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110401/bc_vancouver_125_city_future_110401/20110401/?hub=BritishColumbiaHome

Socrates - Independant Thinker

Who Said this?...... “I would trade all of my technology for an afternoon with Socrates.”

Over the last decade, numerous books featuring lessons from historical figures have appeared on the shelves of bookstores around the world. And Socrates stands with Leonardo da Vinci, Nicholas Copernicus, Charles Darwin and Albert Einstein as a beacon of inspiration for independent thinkers. But he came first. Cicero said of Socrates that, “He called philosophy down from the skies and into the lives of men.” So use Socrates’ principles in your life, your work, your learning, and your relationships. It’s not about Socrates, it’s really about you, and how you can bring more truth, beauty and goodness into your life everyday.

Here are 3 Questions You Must Answer in the “Year of the Dragon”

1. What is your purpose?

      Have you ever had one of those moments when you just knew that this is what you were put here on earth to do? It's almost like you want to cry, but not from sadness. You are overwhelmed with warmth and clarity. In those moments, you are living your purpose. You choose to live your purpose all the time. Not just in moments

2. Why does it matter?

      Because people don’t buy what you do, they buy what you believe. The only thing keeping you believing in and moving forward, living your purpose every day, is knowing this thought.

3. Why should anyone care?

Every single person was put here with a specific, special purpose -- one that is meant just for them and nobody else. So go live it, and share it with the world!

Two Brothers and a Belief

As a 60^th birthday present to myself this year, I decided to ride my 18 year old Trek 2100 around the Cabot Trail.  The Trail is located in my home Province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The auxiliary benefits were going to be reconnecting with my brother, who among other skills is a coach and visiting with my family who I hadn’t seen in more than a year.

The ride was going to require careful planning: Nutrition (no more chips and chocolate for a while), Fitness and something that I hadn’t really thought about….”belief in myself”.  More on that later.

When my brother and I got around to talking about the ride we discussed the route, preparation, timing and doing the ride together.  The Cabot Trail is 300kms long over very challenging terrain including a few Category 4s and one Category 2 climb. We had 9 months to prepare.

So far so good….not so fast!!  There was a condition, my brother agreed to coach me, however, not for the two or three day ride that I was planning, but for one day only. First glitch in the “I believe in myself”, mantra. So after the hysterical laughing…the silence on the other end of the phone said…”Are you In”

The second glitch in the “I Believe” chant came four months later.  My brother injured his knee while training, surgeons confirmed my worst fear, I would be doing this ride alone.  The third glitch, I didn’t believe in myself!!  It was time to….. “Follow My Heart and Bring Along My Head”

I was reminded by my wife Helen that she and my brother had invested time, love and most important belief in me, quitting was not an option.

August 1^st, 2011

Cabot Trail Sole Ride: 300kms, 14 hrs. 15,500 calories burned and 5 climbs.

“I Believe”

http://www.novascotia.com/en/home/ourregions/scenic_travelways/cabot_trail/map.aspx,

YouTube Analytics

The Power of Three Questions about YouTube Analytics:

1.Take a look at your Top 10 Videos, as displayed in the new Youtube Analytics dashboard. Do you notice any trends throughout these videos?

2. Now, look at your top Traffic Sources. Which sites send you the most visitors?

3. And finally, look at your Audience Retention reports. How long, on average, are viewers sticking around during and after your videos?

 

www.youtube.com/analytics

Amy Porterfield - Facebook Master

Amy is a Facebook Master who can show you how to make Facebook an integral tool in your business.

Here's a link to get you started.

http://www.amyporterfield.com/

If you need help getting started using Social Media, watch this video.

Great intro video from Mel Aclaro.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=et-eS9V3Cc8&feature=related

What are changes are you making for 2012?

The Top 5 Obstacles Facing Business Owners & Sales Management

A past study of 2,663 sales organizations by Think Training, Nightingale Conant, and Trainique uncovered five areas that differentiate successful sales organizations from the rest.

1.    A wing-it mentality towards selling. 82% of all Business Owners said their company had a sales process that was poorly defined, wasn't being followed or no sales process at all.

2.      Lack of sales knowledge and lack of application. 42% of Business Owners and CEO's stated their sales people lacked the essential basic skills needed to produce at a rate consistent with real growth.

3.    Failing to adhere to a consistent and productive sales routine. Sales teams today lack performance standards that are conducive with growth. 90% of CEO's said their salespeople focused on low payoff activities, called on the wrong people or consistently called on the same low revenue customers.

4.      Allowing "Self Limiting Beliefs" to sabotage your efforts. 86% of Business Owners and CEO's said their salespeople had bad attitudes rooted in negative thinking or self-limiting beliefs that seriously impede their sales efforts.

5.   Ownership and Sales Management do not develop their people.

Last Minute Christmas Shopping

If you need a few last minute ideas, check out this link.

http://www.thedailybuzz.com.au/

Customer Feedback & Closing the Loop

If you would like to have control over customer satisfaction in your business, then you need to watch this video.

http://blogs.hbr.org/video/2011/12/frontline-employees.html?cm_sp=most_widget-_-videos-_-Turn%20Customers%20into%20Promoters

Fred Reichheld, fellow and founder of the loyalty practice at Bain & Company, explains how Apple turns customers into promoters.

Start With Why

In an earlier blog I talked about an experience that I had with a company President during a very important sales meeting.  Considering that the meeting took place +15 years ago, it was very ground-breaking for that time.

A business colleague called me one day earlier this year to tell me that he had purchased a book that he thought was very innovative and he was so impressed that he bought two books, one for him and one for me.  What could this new innovation be I wondered?  Well it turns out that the name of the book was “Start with Why”. 

I read the book from cover to cover; I just couldn’t put it down.  The text was describing the exact questioning process that my old boss had used during our meeting so many years ago.

The author of the book is Simon Sinek.  Simon has studied the leaders who have had the greatest influence in the world.  What he discovered was that they all think, act and communicate in the same way.  It’s called the Golden Circle. 

Here is a link to a video that will introduce you to Simon and The Golden Circle. 

Caution:  It may change your life!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4ZoJKF_VuA&list=PL61775ECCDBB3E091&index=4&feature=plpp_video

Peer to Peer Mentoring

Research undertaken by a Leadership and Management Development Council has revealed that, when it comes to pursuing skill development, small business owners are seriously constrained by a lack of available time and insufficient financial resources.  All small business operators, at one time or another, have struggled with the need to deal with issues and/or challenges about which they have minimal expertise or knowledge. As far as acquiring new knowledge, what today’s small business person is seeking is affordable, easy to access, timely, practical information that can be readily applied to dealing with the issues they are facing in their business setting.

While there are a wide range of options available to entrepreneurs who are seeking to enhance their management capabilities, not all of these options are available in all regions of their State or Province. And where skill development options are available, often the format is not geared to the needs of experienced entrepreneurs, or the manner in which it is being delivered is not hitting the mark in terms of attracting the interest of small business owners.

As a small business owner, what is the solution?  Do you put your head in the sand and ignore the problem?  The answer may surprise you. 

One particular process, peer mentoring, has proven itself to be a convenient, low-cost but highly effective way for developing small business management skills and, where it has been implemented, it has proven itself to be very popular in attracting participants over an extended period of time.  Recently a peer mentoring group celebrated their 20^th Anniversary.   

Why does peer mentoring work? Peer mentoring is simply “peers learning from peers” or “colleagues helping colleagues”. Peer mentoring works well because the format encourages and builds trust among the participants and it allows entrepreneurs to share their business concerns in a confidential setting where they are able learn from each other’s business experiences and knowledge. 

The model also serves to build strong support networks amongst members and provides them with the opportunity to access timely, practical, useful information from others who have experience in running a small business.

Have you considered starting a peer mentoring group?  Do you currently participate in a peer mentoring group?  We would love to learn from you.

Don GrandyQ3 "The Power of Three Questions"

When I started thinking about a name for my company, I had a number of ideas; unfortunately most of them included the word consulting or some similar connotation.   I didn’t want to be a consultant; I wanted to help people, so that makes me a helper.  OK, how do I want to help? 

During the last 30+ years I have worked in a several positions with different organizations, but the one that stands out in my mind over and over again was the company that built a very successful business by asking questions.  Here’s my story.

In the early part of my career, my mentor, who happened to be the President of the company where I worked, would go with me for the first meeting with a new client.  At first this intimidated me and made me feel unworthy for the task.  When I observed how he approached the client, I was totally dumbfounded.  We took no sales information and no business cards.  I remember thinking, this can’t be happening. 

The meeting I will always remember was with the head of public relations for a major municipality.  The purpose of the meeting was to pitch our company to be the provider of a number of processes, including Project Management, Communication and Negotiating Skills.  I had worked very hard to get this meeting.

As we were sitting in the lobby waiting, I said to the President; “do you think we have everything we need for the meeting”?  He responded “What are we missing”?   So I said, “For a meeting as important as this, why didn’t we bring any materials, brochures, binders etc.  He responded, “If I had known what to bring, I would have done just that.  We don’t know what he wants” The purpose of the meeting was to ask questions.

So, having reflected on that experience, which by the way resulted in successfully winning the largest contract in the company’s history, I decided to call my company Don Grandy^Q3 “The Power of Three Questions”

So what’s your story?  What are the three most important questions you can ask yourself?

Get to the Front of the Room

Have you ever listened to someone give a speech, make a presentation, address a large group and wished that you could do that? What was their motivation that got them to the front of the room?

The truth is, we all have a story to tell. Inside all of us there is a message that we want to share but find it too difficult or intimidating to get us to the front of the room.

When you don't share your story, you deny someone else the opportunity to think about what they could change about their own life.

What step could you take today to move you closer to the front of the room?
 

“Men’s natures are alike; it is their habits that separate them.” – Confucius