The Mark David Corporation - Newsletter February

Imagination is the ability to see what is already there.” - Albert Einstein

Can our dreams become a reality? Albert Einstein thought so. Einstein, who is commonly known for being one of the most brilliant men in history, defined imagination in the following manner: “Imagination is the ability to see what is already there.” Perhaps this quote could be interpreted in a number of ways, but what I believe Einstein was referring to is the power of “Vision.”

Having a clear Vision of your desired future state can be one of the greatest catalysts when it comes to realizing your dreams. A lot of us have heard it said that you’ve got to see it to achieve it. That’s sound advice, because only when you see your desired future state can you truly take the steps to get there.

Creating a Vision and a plan to get there is easier than you might think. In fact, The Mark David Corporation has two tools, The Personal Business Plan and The Self-Manager Success Journal, that will help you create and achieve your Vision. In the meantime, here are a few tips to help you in creating your Vision for this year:

• Imagine it’s year’s end and you’ve accomplished everything in your personal and professional life that you set out to do. What do you see? What does your world look like? Ask yourself: How will I feel when I get there? Why do I want these things?

•	Create a picture of this desired future state. The picture can be very literal or symbolic. You can draw, cut and paste, or finger paint. This is your Vision; do whatever you like. Once you have created your Vision picture, hang it in your office and/or home anywhere that it will be highly visible for you.
•	Break your Vision down into a list of personal and professional goals. Make sure your goals are specific and realistic. Attach timelines and deadlines to your goals so you can keep pace and make the proper adjustments to stay on track.
•	Determine what your key activities and responsibilities are that will move you most swiftly to your goals. Organize your schedule around performing these key activities first and foremost.

Focus on your Vision. Let your Vision motivate, pull, and guide you toward your desired future state. Remember, imagination shatters limitations.

For more information about The Self-Manager Success Journal and The Personal Business Plan or for any additional support, please call The Mark David Corporation at (800) 410-2677.

Why do most people stay at their jobs? Is it money? Not according to a study done by Dartnell Corporation. Dartnell’s research revealed the top 10 reasons why people stay at their jobs. Surprisingly, salary was not one of them. Not surprisingly, career growth and development was number one. The full list is as follows:

10. Flexibility
9. Autonomy
8. Fun on the job
7. Recognition
6. Good boss
5. Being part of a team
4. Great people
3. Meaningful work
2. Exciting work & challenges
1. Career growth & development

How can I achieve greater results without drastically having to change what I do and how I do it?

Strength: Creating new relationships.
Plan to leverage strength: Take extra time to prospect this month. Contact as many people as you can and develop trust and rapport with them. This will fill your backlog and give you more closing opportunities next month.

Weakness: Closing. “I don’t like asking for the money.”
Plan to improve weakness: Try to close each sale a meeting or two earlier than usual. If the thought of whether or not you should go for it crosses your mind, just do it. If you truly have trust and rapport built, you will never lose a sale by asking too early, but you may gain several. As you leverage your strength for creating relationships, closing will become easier and less stressful.

There is little doubt that this simple change in behavior will begin to produce increased results within thirty days. Create benchmarks to monitor progress and hold yourself accountable to executing the plan. Review the plan once a month and make any necessary adjustments. Each quarter, identify a new strength and weakness and begin a new development plan. This process keeps you constantly evolving and improving.

Create a simple development plan based on leveraging your strengths and shoring up your weaknesses. Strengths are the things that tend to come easy to you. They are the things you do well and generally enjoy. These strengths also produce results either directly or indirectly.

Ask yourself, “How can I leverage this strength?” In other words, identify additional ways you can use this strength to maximize your results. Keep in mind that time may be limited, therefore this plan should be realistic and easy to implement.

Now follow the same process regarding your weakness. A weakness does not have to be a glaring fault. A weakness is simply any area of responsibility or skill that prevents you from achieving your goals. A weakness represents an opportunity for growth and development.

Here is an example of a simple development plan involving a sales professional’s strength and weakness:

Coach's Calendar 2001

The Coach's Calendar outlines all the actions of great coaches and gives you a plan to implement them with your team.

This “intelligent” calendar

maps out the most powerful coaching activities to drive success throughout your year
includes weekly team-building activities to help you create a proactive environment, and
highlights and reinforces 12 coaching tips from my book, Coaching Illustrated^™

The Coach's Calendar is an essential and cost-effective tool to help any manager or team leader do what great coaches do - motivate and direct for success!

Investment: $14.99

Investment: $24.99

The Self-Manager Success Journal

The Self-Manager Success Journal takes personal development to a whole new level and enables you to develop the same skills and habits possessed by the most successful people on the planet!

This easy-to-use journal comes complete with 52 weekly self-management principles, reflection exercises, and journal activities designed for real-world application.

The Self-Manager Success Journal helps you become a better you! With the powerful concepts presented in The Self-Manager Success Journal, you, your employees, and your family members can master the art of

Communication
Decision-making
Goal achievement
Training professionals
Relationships
And more!

…It’s more than a journal, it’s a journey!

To order management tools created by Mark David, please call The Mark David Corporation at (800) 410-ANSR (2677).