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Whitepaper on Customer Messaging Must have Adobe Reader 8.0
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It’s Dark in that Bunker, Isn’t It? by Tom Reilly The past year has been interesting for a guy with a professional interest in psychology. I’ve had the opportunity to talk with people whose businesses are in good shape and gaining traction. I’ve talked with others who are struggling, in many cases for reasons beyond their immediate control. A close friend of mine who generally exudes all the confidence you would expect from a top salesperson even confided his insecurities about the economy. Here’s what I’ve found from these conversations. Many people are operating in a defensive business mode. They are hunkered down in their bunkers, rarely venturing out. They are experiencing the malevolent twin emotions—fear and insecurity. Their focus is preservation of capital. Others, a much smaller number, are operating in an offensive business mode. They are reaching out and doing what they normally do—pursuing opportunities. They are experiencing the benevolent twins of hope and enthusiasm. Their focus is more on acquisition than retention of capital. Living hunkered in a bunker invokes energy that is directed at misery. This pattern is the functional equivalent of a depressed individual who withdraws and cannot lift himself from depths. Living outside the bunker invokes energy directed at making your life better. This pattern is the profile of resilience—those who rise like the phoenix from the ashes. If you’re uncomfortable with the energy you’re feeling these days, open the windows and the doors. Let in some sunshine and fresh air. Poke your head out the door. Take a risk. Take charge. Do something positive. Read a good book. Celebrate small victories. Hold ideas sessions with your teammates. Reinvent yourself to relevance. Focus on the market share you have retained, not the business you’ve lost. If you have 40% market share, you have 60% opportunity share. Shedding inefficiency is a blessing, not a curse. Purging your ranks of those people (customers and employees) who extract value (without contributing value) is a sound business strategy. Getting lean for the future is a good thing, not a bad thing, although sometimes painful. Challenging the relevance of your value proposition can make you more competitive in your market. When you operate in the offensive business mode, you concentrate on the things you control. It is this sense of control that is your pathway back to the sunlight. |
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