The Merrill Dubrow Blog

During the course of the week I spend a lot of time on the phone. I speak to a lot of people in the industry, and to clients, friends and family members.  Maybe it’s just me, but I have noticed a trend over the past few years. People tend to complain about lots of things. They seem to be looking at the glass like it is half empty instead of half full. I realize that the economy isn’t where any of us want it to be, but it just seems that something (maybe that) is clouding their judgment.

Since I participate in a number of board meetings at both the college and industry level, I see many people come together and interact. It seems when a new idea is tossed out, more people go negative than in the years passed. They almost start with a "no" right out of the box. They start with it can’t be done for this reason or that reason!  Did you consider this or that? They would rather spend 10 hours thinking about all the reasons this new idea can’t work as opposed to staying positive, focused and trying to find ways to make it work.

I have always been a person who is optimistic.  Perhaps at times too optimistic (at least that is, in the eyes of some who know me well). Maybe they are right, but that’s the way I always approach things. I always believe that something can get done–especially if everyone is working together. Our job is to make something happen and anything less than that is a failure and unacceptable.

• Do most people view the glass as half empty or full?
   
• Do you agree with my thoughts?
   
• Do you have some ideas and thoughts to get people to be a little more optimistic?

I look forward to your comments.

Posted in Business | Post Comments (9) »

Lots of people and companies develop plans and have success. Unfortunately with today’s economy, the number is probably less than it once was. So you are not getting the results you wanted? You are missing your revenue projections? You are missing your new client quota? You are behind on selling X amount for the new product that your innovation group developed?
 
So what do you do? Toss the plan? I say not so fast! In some ways the easy thing to do is to toss the plan, admit failure and go in another direction. It might give you some extra time to succeed with your boss and increase the energy level from your team who might want to go in another different direction.
 
I think the first step to do is actually take a step back. Take a deep breath and be honest with yourself and your company.
 

• What is working and what isn’t?
   
• What feedback have I gotten from prospects and clients?
   
• Do the things that have made me successful in the past work now?
   
• The business environment is operating at light speed.  Am I keeping up?
   
• Are my customer service and follow up skills perfect? If not they need to be.

During this year we have had some success in a number of business units. One of them is behind. Our leadership team is asking the same questions I have just tossed out there and the end result was we did make some minor adjustments as opposed to changing the entire plan and unit. I believe without question that was the right decision. A few hours after our discussions, I was having lunch in a Chinese restaurant and my fortune was "You will obtain your goal if you maintain your course."

I am sure a lot of the readers of the blog know exactly where I am coming from and can relate to this posting.

• So what are you doing when your plan doesn’t work?
   
• How long do you give it?
   
• How much do you invest?
   
• How much is the economy affecting your decision making?

I look forward to reading your comments.

Posted in Business | Post Comments (2) »