English

Business Class, Hunger, and me.

Last week I was sitting in Business Class, some 35,000 feet in the air, headed for Madrid. At my fingertips, my choice of more than twenty movies with Bose head set to capture every little detail. Full size pillows, blankets and a 90% recline sleeper bed seat. The little care bag I received included little details everyone needs: Flight socks, sleep mask, lip balm, dental pack, pen, and sundry other little goodies that I would never use.

“Mr. Downs, for your main course tonight, would you like the fillet, the shrimp, or would you prefer the…”

I heard her, but I just didn’t want to look up, not yet. 

“Mr. Downs.” She touched my shoulder. “Mr. Downs?”

I quickly blotted my eyes and looked up from the book I was reading. “I’ll have the fillet please.” My look begged her not to ask me any more questions, just not now, and she obliged.

I quickly returned to my book…and read the pages again.

• Today, more than 26,500 children will die of preventable causes related to their poverty. And this will repeat itself tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after that as well.
• Some 400 Million children will go to bed hungry tonight.
• Some 850 Million do not have enough food to sustain them today.
• 25,000 people will die today from hunger or hunger related diseases.
• In Africa, 1 of every 6 children will die before they celebrate their 5^th birthday.

These are thoughts and captions that are underlined in a book I had refused to publish. I had become calloused to the message. Those were other people’s problems, other people’s children.

It is also the only book where I recently asked the author to forgive me for my attitude toward his message and told him how pleased I am that we will publish it in Spanish next month. “The Hole in Our Gospel” by Dr. Richard Stearns, President of World Vision US, is by far the most powerful call to action book for social responsibility across the church I have ever read.

There I was sitting in Business Class, with all the quickly fading amenities of the privileged, while more than 10,000 children died during the course of my 10 hour flight.

The numbers are staggering – is there something we can do? Or have we become deaf to the cry of the hungry?

 

Are you connecting with your people?

Are connecting with your people? Simple question. Are you honest with yourself in your answer?

Yesterday I had the opportunity to sit in a small intimate meeting with John C. Maxwell as he talked to us about how to connect with people. It was classic John. One of the most gifted speaker / teachers that I have had the privilege of learning from.

Here are the notes that I took when he was speaking. When I take notes I try not to write down everything, instead I try to write down what I am thinking about what he said. I trust they will help you as well.

How to connect with people

• Be open and honest with people. Have I been open and honest with people?
• Be bigger and better on the inside than on the outside. How is my character, attitude, and spirit? Am I trying to be something other than who I am?

Connect: The ability to be able to identify with people and relate to people in such a way as to increase our influence.

5 connecting principles

1. Connecting increases your influence. Am I growing or decreasing in my influence?
2. Connecting is all about others. Do I put others first?
3. Connecting goes beyond words. How am I communicating?
4. Connecting always requires a lot of energy. Do I always give my best?
5. Connecting is more skill than natural talent. What am I doing to improve?

5 Connecting Practices

1. Connectors connect on common ground. Do I make myself available, listen, ask questions, and call people by name?
2. Connectors do the difficult work of keeping it simple. Do I try to show how much I know, or do I make it applicable?
3. Connectors create an experience that people enjoy. What can I do to help people remember the time I spent with them?
4. Connectors inspire people. Do I value people I interact with?
5. Connectors live what they communicate. Credibility- am I accountable, have I made right my wrongs?

The good news - Everyone can learn how to connect. Are you connecting with people today?

 

Are you letting others choose for you?

I started going through the book “Boom!” by Kevin and Jackie Freiberg, and frankly I learned so much in the introduction that I simply choose to stop reading to just share some of the insight I am gaining from the book.  You see, the book is all about seven choices that you will make in your business. These aren’t choices your business will take; these are choices that you personally will make. But I must tell you- I am not even out of the introduction yet and am already challenged. Let me share some with you.

There is a question that is raised “…who ultimately restricts my ability to choose- who gets in the way of the freedom that I crave and deserve? Most of us allocate the source of that restriction “out there” and give away our power to choose to other people.” – Think about that for a minute. Don’t we all say that we can’t do something because of this, that, or even them? Here are a few things you may have heard around the hall in your office:

• If only leadership would listen.
• My boss won’t let me do that.
• Everyone is doing too many jobs and cannot get to my project yet.
• Sales aren’t living up to what they promised.
• If I only had more time.

I have to admit that I have found myself saying one or more of these at some point. I get going through a rough time and I look for roadblocks to justify why I cannot move forward. I have found myself waiting for answers, waiting on decisions, waiting for the economy to improve, waiting for someone to take the lead. And perhaps that is where this book just suddenly hit me in the introduction to the seven choices that I must make when it tied the consequences of our actions back to the choices.

It is in the introduction that they lay out choices that I, you, we all make for one reason or another and some of the consequences. Here is a piece of what they say:

• You Choose to compromise who you are by attempting to fit in.
• You Choose not to stand up to the board because you need a better business case for your intentions.
• You Choose not to stand up to senior leadership because you fear their response.
• You Choose to be a part of a culture of fear by letting people intimidate you.
• You Choose to stay in a culture where you feel choked.
• You Choose not to cast a vision for your own part of the organization.
• You Choose not to confront sales, so they continue to make life difficult for you.
• You Choose to be helpless and not make a difference.
• The point is, in every case, You Choose.

Perhaps one or two of these apply to you. In any case I would challenge you, as I am challenging myself to choose to make a difference. Choose to stand up and cause the boat to rock a little. You are where you are in any organization to make a difference, not just go along for the ride. You have a choice.

Six quick tips for creating trust with your customers.

Customer trust grows slowly and develops over time. Conversely, trust can be smashed in a single thoughtless moment or action. The truth is; customers actually grow in trust through perceived fairness.

Here are a few tips from a book on customer service that I am reading now called WOW: Deja al cliente boquiabierto con un servicio fuera de serio. These tips will help us understand their view of trust and fairness, and then how we can act to grow such trust.

How does the customer interpret fairness?

• When they feel listened to and respected.
• When the transactions with you are painless.
• When you keep your promises or over deliver.
• When you treat them ethically.
• When you acknowledge their uniqueness.
• When you put their interests before those of the business.

What are some practical actions you can take to build trust?

• Frequent communication with the customer.
• Be truthful.
• Be open to hear them.
• Be warm and genuine.
• Be confident, not arrogant, but confident.
• Keep your promises, even if it hurts.

Try these actions, and let me know how your customers react to the new you.

Spanish publishing and the new Kindle 2

Last week I ordered in the Kindle 2 from Amazon. I know there are hundreds of blogs or reviews out there on the Kindle, but I could not find one as it related to Spanish products. So I thought I would place a few thoughts here and allow you to interact if you have one as well. Let me start at the top as for the why I went ahead and got a Kindle.

I was sitting in a meeting and we were discussing the future digital strategies and publishing. I have always said it is about content delivery, not about publishing books. But yet as the conversation went deeper I realized that I had read about, watched others use, but never even held a Kindle. And here I was pontificating on the future of publishing and digital content; I was like so many other publishers who have great head knowledge but zero experiential knowledge. So right there in the meeting I interrupted my boss and said, “I believe that each of us here needs to buy a Kindle to help us understand better how the future will be.” He agreed and in 30 minutes my Kindle was on the way.

Here is what I found and liked:

The power of a good book...

Last week I finished reading “The DaVinci Code” by Dan Brown, published in Spanish through Urano. What a fantastic read that I found filled with a great combination of mystery, intrigue, conspiracy, murder, riddles, suspense, history, and great conflict. Yesterday I gave it to my daughter AnnMarie to read as she both mature for a 13 year old and is an avid reader – but I told her we needed to talk through the book together as she read it. There is controversy in the book that even gripped me.

I found it hard to forget that this was just a work of fiction. I found myself getting drawn in and thinking along with the main characters and wondering aloud to myself all of the “what ifs” that the symbolism in the story brings to light. I can see why so many people have begun to doubt their faith; I see why the church, both evangelical and catholic, is upset by the allegations that the book draws the reader to believe. This is where I am reminded so deeply of the power of a good book. Books do have the power to change people’s minds, their hearts, and their lives, and fiction is an avenue to do it as well or better than any other genre.

Controversy aside, I applaud Dan Brown for a book well written and captivating. I remember toward the end of the book I said to myself – “all this took place in 36 hours?” I was riveted to the book the whole way through.

Because the book is written so well, and leads the reader to believe that it is more than fiction with the great writing, it is important that we have an opportunity to defend some of those charges in the book. That is why I am also very proud of the product we are bringing to the market.

1)      Libro - Descubra los misterios del Codigo Da Vinci $12.99

2)      Tamaño bolsillo - Descubra los misterios del Codigo Da Vinci $3.99

3)      DVD - Descubra los misterios del Codigo Da Vinci $19.99