Ok, you’ve just turned 50… and your life didn’t turn out like your thought it would, so what do you do now? Hi I’m Ross Shafer and I want to thank you for finding the Relevant Leaders Club where each week I post a new video to help you grow your career or your business. Today, I want to talk to you about what’s going through your mind as you turn 50 or 60. Or, if you’re in your late 40’s… you’re close enough to get a lot out of this message.
I’m on a rant today and want to warn you about motivational speakers – the ones who are dangerous. This is no joke. Hi everybody I’m Ross Shafer and I want to thank you for finding the Relevant Leaders Club where I post new videos every week to help you grow your business and your career. Today, I want to warn you about dangerous motivational speakers; which pains me because as a business author and speaker, my clients think of ME as one of those guys. But I don’t ask my audiences to physically risk life and limb to prove a point.
This week I want to talk about why coaches are important and why wildly successful leaders still feel the need to be coached. You first introduction to coaching was a kid playing sports. We all had bad coaches who thought leadership was yelling… so the word coach still makes you cringe. But if you had a good coach, you learned discipline from the coach, you learned to push yourself further when you felt like quitting, and a good coach taught you skills and techniques that made you better than you ever thought you could be.
Today I want to talk about fear; the kind of fear that threatens to shut down your business or your career. I’ve talked to you about my being a serial entrepreneur and how some of my ventures failed miserably while others turned out to be very successful. My friends tell me I’m a guy who is fearless about making decisions. That may be what it looks like but I have a system for squashing fear and I’ll describe how you can make that system work for you too!
This week I want to talk about how easy it is to disconnect from the people who keep your company alive. Look, I know you have demands coming at you from all sides because, as leaders, we’re expected to drive growth, manage people, and cut costs. If revenue is lagging or costs are escalating, we call a meeting and strategize, we buy industry research, and we hire third-party companies to compile Big Data.
Today, I want to talk about how to motivate your team…even when you don’t feel like it. You’ve heard the cliché “it’s lonely it is at The Top.” It’s true. Until you are sitting in the leader’s chair you never realize how isolated it can feel. Truth is though, even top tier leaders need a little motivation and validation – at the same exact time you’re supposed to be leading the troops. So how do you pull that off?
Today I want to talk to you about how to sell more…of anything. As you can guess, I have been a part of a lot of sales meetings and the number one question I get is this, “How can we boost our sales?” I have a very simple answer. If you want to sell more, you have to tell a better story. It doesn’t matter if you’re selling automobiles, financial services, or B2B software programs, the top salespeople always have the best value proposition.
Today’s lesson is this. You have an idea you think will revolutionize your division or propel your company into the Fortune 100. How do you pitch THAT IDEA to the boss? Step 1: Take the time to put your proposal in writing. And be organized. State the problem. State how that problem is currently being solved (or not) and finally, explain why your idea makes sense.
Today, I want to talk to those of you Certified Financial Planners about what you can do to differentiate yourself from the so-called bigger firms. First of all, it may shock you to know that in most industries, BIG fears SMALL. It’s sounds counter-intuitive but if you operate a smaller office, in a local community, you have an enormous advantage. You are a name, and a face, and have a place of business in your community.
I created the Relevant Leader’s Club is to keep you relevant, as a leader. Being relevant is very different from just being current. Current is being aware that your business is changing…but being relevant is making sure that you matter to your team and your customers. If you don’t matter they will leave you and nobody will care. Staying relevant (as a leader) is where I know we can have some fun.