Certainly, Lincoln’s life was a bit unusual. Not many of us are born in a log cabin and rise to be the leader of one of the greatest nations in the world. But there are lessons to be learned from Lincoln’s journey to success. The road to outstanding goal achievement is filled with adversity. If you expect your road to success to be a smooth highway, you will be frustrated and disappointed. The journey is a process of trying, failing, adjusting, and choosing to continually move forward. Along the way you will make mistakes, but without mistakes there is never progress.

Often people fear making mistakes, but fear of mistakes inhibits your personal development. Rather than risk making another mistake, you might tend to play it safe. Fear of failure breeds mediocrity and the accomplishment of very little.

If you suffer from a fear of mistakes, you can conquer it by changing your attitude. Recognize that past errors, mistakes, and negative experiences do not inhibit your development. In fact, they contribute to the learning process. Use them as feedback for personal and professional growth. If you make a mistake, admit it, learn from it, adjust your thinking, and redirect the necessary efforts toward your goal. Focus on the positive. Consciously forget the error and dwell upon the successful aspects of the attempt. No one likes to make mistakes, but the fact is everybody does. You can choose to view a mistake either as a failure or as a lesson learned. If you continue to criticize yourself for past errors, you will perpetuate the very behavior you want to change. The moment you change your mindset and stop giving power to past mistakes, you will be released from the power that past mistakes have over you.

Errors are road signs to direct you on your journey to personal success and achievement. They are necessary steps in the learning process, but they are a means not an end. When they have served their purpose for learning, move past them. You are responsible for your own success. Take responsibility for your mistakes and failures and don’t try to shift blame to other people or circumstances. Remember, by taking responsibility in life you will also gain power and influence.

“People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get on in the world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want and if they can’t find them, make them.” George Bernard Shaw

Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in helping businesses and individuals achieve high levels of excellence and success. Learn how at www.resourceassociatescorp.com or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.

Results: Each of us as goal seekers want to achieve certain results from our lives.

Behavior: The results we get depend upon our behavior, how we react to situations.

Attitude: The results we get depend upon our behavior and attitudes toward the people or events involved, and toward ourselves.

If attitudes are basically negative, goals will be set low, and it will be difficult to progress. Growth and promotion will be all but impossible until a positive mindset is developed.

You can identify people with negative attitudes by their actions and by their reactions. When presented with a challenge their focus will be on problems: what can’t be done, and why things won’t work. Their discussions will often revolve around negative issues and blame. They do not respond well to compliments and will even discount them. However, they remember every one of their failures and mistakes, and this memory stifles much of their activity. They are usually part of the problem not part of the solution.

If attitudes are basically positive, individuals will focus on possibilities and ideas for improvement. This will be evident in the way they treat people. They will be very comfortable giving others credit, and their transactions will be directed at making others feel better about themselves. They accept both constructive criticism and compliments with open consideration and appreciation. They are regularly part of the solution and rarely part of the problem.

It is important to understand that attitudes are developed very early in life. Years and years of early conditioning helped to develop the attitudes that many people carry with them throughout life. Much of early conditioning was negative, what you can’t do, where not to go, etc. For the most part, negative attitudes are far more prevalent than positive attitudes. Too many people think more often of what’s wrong, how they might fail, and why it won’t work rather than what’s good, what’s right, and how it can work.

On the positive side, since attitudes are developed, they can be changed. In fact, as a leader, you will frequently find yourself in a position to help people develop positive attitudes. The first step is understanding that what took years to develop will also require some time and effort to change. Daily encouragement is important. Positive input on a daily basis will help to replace some of the negative attitudes with positive ones. Audio books, articles, brainstorming sessions, affirmations, and seminars are some techniques you can employ to create positive input.

There are many ways and opportunities to create a learning organization with a focus on positive attitudes and possibility thinkers. Recognition programs, leadership opportunities, personal mentoring, and corporate coaching (http://www.resourceassociatescorp.com/whatwedo/lifebuscoach) are but a few ways to help your team develop the appropriate attitudes focused on goal achievement. One of the vital contributions a leader can make is instilling the desire and creating the opportunity for continuous improvement.

Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in helping businesses achieve sustainable results through leadership development and executive coaching. For information on creating a leadership succession plan visit www.resourceassociatescorp.com or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.

The value you provide to your customers is always compared to the value your competitors provide: therefore, value is your customers’ perception relative to similar products or services in the marketplace—your competitors.

Perceived value occurs at the intersection of what customers want and what they get from you versus what they could get from your competition. You can only sustain customer loyalty by continually meeting your customers’ product/service qualifications, specifications, or expectations. You also need to meet their needs in the order that customers deem important while maintaining a favorable comparison between you and your competition. In your marketplace, your competitors are the alternative suppliers your customers use to form their comparative value perceptions. How would your customer define perceived value?

For example if your customers expect your product to perform error free, to be delivered on time, to be supported by timely and personal technical support, and to be properly billed at a fair price, you must be good in all categories to get an “A,” and you must be at least as good as your competitors. If you deliver a product that meets all of their design specifications but are unable to provide personal technical support, you failed in meeting an important criteria; therefore, the perceived value will decrease. For every mark you miss, the value as defined by your customers decreases and you slowly lose the ability to develop a loyal customer relationship. To create and sustain loyal customers it is necessary to consider every contact with each customer as an opportunity for you to provide value—every time. Every service point is critical and every service point has a level of expectation from the customer that must be understood and managed. We call these contact points—points of connection.

Every point of connection gives your organization the opportunity to emotionally connect with your customers. Your customers will judge your value and their emotional tie at every point. Developing and implementing a strategy of creating a consistent emotional connection with your customer creates value, which creates loyal customer relationships.

We know that loyal customers will always return to purchase your product or service, which create a long-term stream of revenue. Another advantage of loyal customers is that they will consistently boast about your product or service creating the most effective and least expensive form of advertising for your organization. Additional advantages of developing a loyal customer base is their willingness to pay more for your product or service, and they are also more forgiving when your organization makes a mistake. Why? As loyal customers, they trust your organization and have faith that you are fair.

Making the strategic decision to create a loyal customer base is one of the most important commitments you can make to the success of your organization. Your individual contribution is also a large part of that success.

Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in business and management consulting, strategic planning, leadership development, executive coaching, and youth leadership. For more information visit www.resourceassociatescorp.com or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.

Based on our experience with all types of organizations including traditional businesses as well as non-profits, we would add in order to make a profit or to be financially viable or best serve their community. Therefore, if the reason for organizations to be in business centers on their customers or the community they serve, as your organization’s leadership team, managing and measuring your customer interface becomes one of your most important functions.

Making certain that your customers get what they want and come back for more is of critical importance to the long-term success of any organization. All factors that impact negatively on the customer must be identified and corrected if you wish to compete effectively and profitably now and in the future. To a successful business, customers are the most important ingredients, and it is quite challenging to conduct a business without them. Your organization’s leadership team has several critical functions as it relates to your customers. The leadership team must develop appropriate customer-oriented strategies, design and implement customer-friendly policies/processes, develop your employees as it relates to creating and sustaining customer relationships, and constantly monitor and continuously improve your progress on the issues that are defined as most important to your customers. What does your organization do to attract customers, and what are the costs associated with attracting and maintaining loyal customers?

There are two measurements that will help you understand and manage your customer relationships: customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Currently, it seems the majority of leadership teams are focusing on customer satisfaction to determine their customer service measurements, therefore their level of success. This measurement is flawed and often falls short of actionable expectations. Satisfaction surveys are unable to predict customer behaviors because they are built on faulty foundations. Many organizations assume that high levels of satisfaction translate into customer loyalty when, in fact, customer satisfaction ratings are more closely linked to your customers’ perceptions of your products or services. Satisfaction is a measurement of, “I expected it and got it.” therefore, “I’m satisfied.” If this were translated into any grading system, satisfaction could easily translate into a grade of “C” on any report card. The desired score is obviously an “A” and A’s always equate to loyal customers. A’s imply that customers got more than they expected and their expectations were exceeded in some way. Based on what is truly important to customers, they received more value from you than from your competitors. Which measurement does your organization use?

Why do you want loyal customers? Often, the challenge that organizations face is one of focus. Ancient civilizations viewed our earth as the center of the universe—they believed everything rotated around us. Today, most executives focus on profitability as the most important factor to the survival of business. Is it possible that modern business theories like ancient natural science theories are built around an equally false center? The notion that there is no linkage between customer retention and profitability is being proven false. Recent studies that sought to find linkage between customer retention and profits have supported the fact that the old notion is indeed false. There is a direct linkage between customer retention and profitability.

Checkout future blog posts on how customers define perceived value.

Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in business and management consulting, strategic planning, leadership development, executive coaching, and youth leadership. For more information visit www.resourceassociatescorp.com or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.

In my experience there are three key ingredients that, when embraced, create the foundation for mastering excellence.

1. Having the right attitude.

Having the right attitude is a decision you need to make every day. Your attitude not only affects you, but it affects the people around you. There are two ways you can look at virtually everything in your life. A pessimist looks for the difficulty in the opportunity, and the optimist looks for opportunity in difficulty. Frederick Langbridge reinforces the different views of an optimist and a pessimist in the following quote, “Two men look out the same prison bars; one sees mud and the other stars.”

Your attitude affects your body language and your behavior. Folks with the right attitude often appear strong, confident and happy. Folks with a more pessimistic view often appear haggard, unhappy, and stressed. Having the right attitude gives you energy and that energy is very contagious … being optimistic fuels better health. Even when the world around you seems to be challenging or crumbling, having the right attitude will reaffirm that you have what is necessary to face any challenge and create the right outcome for you. Your attitude has a direct correlation to your ability to master excellence in whatever you choose to pursue. There really is only one right option-embrace the right attitude!

2. Being goal oriented.

Know what you want, why you want it, and define how to achieve it. Defining personal and professional goals will create a road map for your success. It is not enough to have a dream. In order to have a dream become a reality there needs to be a goal with defined action steps. Action is what makes things happen and being goal oriented is an empowering process. As you achieve things from your list, you start to feel an energy building that will very quickly snowball. The more you start to achieve by being goal oriented the more you want to achieve and the more you know you can achieve.

3. The devil is the details.

Attention to detail is critical to mastering excellence and it will make you stand out in comparison to others. Attention to detail means nothing goes unnoticed. It is paying attention to how you dress, how you behave, how you communicate, how you carry yourself, how you take care of your surroundings, how quickly and efficiently you follow up, and how you treat others. Make every detail meaningful and reap the rewards of success.

You have the ability to be excellent at whatever you pursue or endeavor, and being excellent is a choice that is 100% within your control. Decide today to raise your level of success by having the right attitude, by being goal oriented, and by paying attention to every detail. Excellence and success go hand in hand!

Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in helping businesses and individuals achieve high levels of excellence and success. Learn how at www.resourceassociatescorp.com or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.

Albeit some Boomers may be reevaluating their time line based on the economic changes, but there is no question that a high percentage of the 77.5 million Boomers will be vacating corporate America in the next five years. (Study conducted by AARP-2008)

56% of business and industries’ Boomer population hold leadership positions. Conversely, there are only 46 Million Gen X and Gen Y’s to take the place of those vacating Boomers. These numbers reflect why business and industry need to be so concerned about brain drain and develop a strategy to combat it.

A recent report conducted by OI Partners state that 54% of companies surveyed said they did not have enough qualified candidates working for them to succeed their executives and managers and 14% weren’t sure if they have enough leadership successors in place. The survey included responses from 212 primarily large and mid-sized employers throughout North America.

The luxury of time is gone. Organizations must get prepared and begin implementing a leadership succession plan. Having prepared leaders at all levels of an organization is a management strategy and a competitive business advantage. Organizations achieve sustainability and growth through their leadership and the quality of that leadership. The important skills necessary to lead a company to succeed in the upcoming years will be different. In addition to being able to lead people, new leaders will need to plan strategically, inspire commitment, and manage unyielding change. However, to be an effective leader takes much more than skill. It also requires the appropriate attitudes and behaviors. There are many tactical skills of leadership, but without the appropriate attitudes and behaviors, the skills are almost meaningless. We talked in a previous post about how actions speak louder than words. It is difficult to inspire commitment in a team when the leader’s body language, tone of voice, and behaviors reflect something entirely different. Managing change becomes very difficult if a leader’s attitude is “this too shall pass.” In order to manage unyielding change a leader needs to be aggressive, innovative, and responsive. And yes, it takes certain skills to be aggressive, innovative, and creative, but success in these areas requires the right attitude equally as much as the right skills.

In working with clients to develop their leadership bench strength we have found the following formula works extremely well:

In order for your business to achieve Improved Results (IR) there needs to be Positive Behavior Change (PBC). We have found a successful way to achieve Positive Behavior Change (PBC) by customizing a process unique to the client that addresses the needed Attitudes, Behaviors, and Skills (ASK) combined with a Goal Accomplishment (Goals) model that drives Positive Behavior Change (PBC) which leads to measurable and improved results.

As your organization develops future leaders for your organization, you need to ensure there is a solid base of leadership skills is important. What attitudes and behaviors do you want people in leadership roles to exhibit? What messages do you want them to send when they are not talking? What example do you want them to set when no one is officially watching? To identify a true leader, observe his/her behavior and attitude as it will tell you a great deal more than an evaluation of their skills.

Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in helping businesses achieve sustainable results through management consulting, strategic planning, leadership development, and executive coaching, and youth leadership. For information on creating a leadership succession plan visit www.resourceassociatescorp.com or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.

After you determine what you want, what you value, what you believe, and where your priorities lie. Determining how to spend a given day or hour is easy. In order to get more out of your time, know what you want to get out of it. That may seem very basic, but many people fail to define their values, purpose, and goals. They are immersed in their daily activities, and they fail to think about what they really like or want to do. They overlook the purpose of their lives.

Purpose

What is your purpose in life? Do you have a purpose? You will be happiest when you are achieving goals that are consistent with your purpose. If you knew that you had only one year to live, what would you do differently? Why?

Now imagine that you have many years to live and achieve. Visualize yourself and your life in one, three, and five years. What do you see? What is your occupation? What are your family responsibilities? What kind of future do you want? Are your present activities and priorities compatible with that envisioned future? Is there anything you can do differently today that can make a significant difference in your tomorrow? Answering these questions will help you determine your purpose, your vision, your values, and your priorities in life. Every life has a purpose and you exist for a purpose. Within the boundaries of that purpose you shape your attitude, skills, and goals. When you define your purpose and understand your ultimate goals, you have a strong foundation upon which to manage both your time and your life. Choices become easier because you make them in relation to your purpose, your values, and all that is important to you.

Values

Values are the principles you use to make decisions. They are your morals, ethics, and standards: those things that are important to you. They are what you perceive to be right and honest. They are non-negotiable, and unlike opinions, do not change. Take some time to evaluate your priorities and crystallize your values. Create a list of what is important to you. As you create your list of values, consider these questions:

• What gives your life meaning?
• What’s most important to you?
• What do you value?

In order to enjoy a life of fulfillment, you must decide what you want to be and do in your life. One of the most worthwhile activities in which you can engage, regardless of your age or station in life, is an exercise in introspection and values clarification. As was observed by Plato centuries ago, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” You make better choices when you understand what’s really important to you. The right choices improve the quality to your life.

Vision

Visualization, like introspection, is a power tool. It’s the process of forming a mental picture of the future. We must mentally accomplish something before we can physically accomplish it. Your ability to visualize your future is one of the most powerful tools for creating the future you want.

A clear and strong vision will help you to stretch your ability and achieve higher levels of success. A positive vision of our future gives meaning to life, and a significant vision precedes significant success. In addition to giving meaning to your life, a clear vision accompanied by specific goals automatically helps you prioritize options and make good decisions. If you know what is important to you and you can clearly see the long-term future you want, the daily decisions about how to get there become easier. To create the future you want and deserve, you must harness the power of visualization and activate your positive thoughts. Your thoughts will then bring about the appropriate and necessary behavior. The picture you carry within you will determine all that you accomplish in life; therefore your expectations influence your results.

So many people feel out of control and that the world around them is controlling their life as opposed to the way it ought to be. Take back control of your life and destiny by clarifying your purpose, values, and vision. Clearly knowing what you exist to accomplish combined with a clear understanding of what you value while visualizing where you see yourself in one, three, and five years provides liberating power. Take back control of your life and achieve what you were meant to achieve!

Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in business and management consulting, strategic planning, leadership development, executive coaching, and youth leadership. For more information visit www.resourceassociatescorp.com or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.

Based on a 2007-2008 NBA survey, the average height of a player is 6’6”. It would be fairly inconceivable for a person with the height of 5’4” to make the NBA a long-term career choice. It is certainly a goal that can be aspired to however, physical limitations could present ongoing challenges. Is it foolish thinking for an individual of 5’4” to want to be an NBA star? Retired player, Tyrone “Muggsy” Bogues (Hornets, Warriors, and Raptors) who is 5’3” and Wizard’s point guard Earl Boykins who is 5’5” would probably disagree.

Many great people have overcome adversity and challenge to accomplish great things. Ronald Reagan spent his early life admittedly being an introvert, but during his Presidency he was coined “the great communicator.” Lance Armstrong won seven Tour De France races from 1999-2005 after battling and beating cancer. The acclaimed actor, Tom Hanks, admitted to being quite shy most of his younger years. Pablo Picasso overcame great poverty to become a renowned artist.

We are not born great at anything. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “All great speakers were bad speakers at first.” No leader, manager, artist, business owner, or musician started out great. However, the difference between average and great is the desire to develop and succeed, a commitment to do so, as well as a positive attitude and the belief that you will make it happen.

What do you desire to accomplish? What do you what to be known for or what will be your legacy? Define what you want to accomplish, achieve, do, and be. Be careful not to let your practical mind limit your dreams and ideas. Grant yourself permission to think big and out of the box. Make the commitment to define who you are supposed to be. Learning, growing, and changing takes work but the effort is worth the results.

The second step is making the commitment to pursue your dreams and take action. Establish and define a plan. Determine the destination and create a map to get there. Sometimes the steps necessary will be small, and sometimes you may have to take a leap of faith but trust your vision. Your contributions will make a difference to many, so failure should not be an option.

Finally, remember that positive thinking will get it done. That is not to say you will not face obstacles and adversity as success does not come easy. It has been my experience that nothing of significant value ever comes easy or free. However, your focus and your attitude will give you what is necessary to create the right solutions and the next best steps. You can’t control what happens around you but you can certainly control how you react. Your attitude and positive mindset are your secret weapons to success as you define it. Don’t let anyone or any circumstance take away your secret weapon as it is far too important to your contributions.

Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in business and management consulting, strategic planning, leadership development, executive coaching, and youth leadership. For more information visit www.resourceassociatescorp.com or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.

Many businesses of many sizes have spent the last year dealing with the challenging times. Some businesses have failed, many are still floundering, and many businesses are just stuck. Often when we are defensively forced to deal with outside forces we get so ingrained in our defensive mechanics that we get stuck in that mind set. Defensive mechanics will not lead to positive growth and/or results. There is no question the business world is in the process of creating a new normal. The question becomes how is your business creating and defining its new normal? What will positive growth and future success look like for your company?

It has been our experience that creating a new normal requires going back to basics. Here are some thoughts to consider that have helped our clients get unstuck:

• What is the basic foundation and business philosophy of your company?
• Why are you in business?

The answer to these two questions will reconfirm or reestablish the reasons your business exists and provide a much needed guidepost. After you reconfirm or reestablish the reasons your business exists take the time to review your vision and values.

Tom Peters said, “A clear vision of the desired future state of the organization is an essential component of high performance.” Creating a new normal requires reevaluating your vision of the desired state. Based on the changes in the current business climate, what will your organization look like in the future? The vision statement provides focus for everyone in the organization. An understanding of the vision provides the foundation for day-to-day decisions. A vision energizes action, toward a future that is better than today. How does your company’s vision need to change? There is one universal rule in success: you will never be greater than the vision that guides you. Perhaps for your organization, getting unstuck requires revitalizing your company’s vision.

In addition to a clear vision a successful company needs to communicate values and principles by which they do business. Values represent your philosophy for achieving success and they serve as important guidelines for everyday behaviors and decisions. How have recent changes in the business world impacted your values and principles? What does your organization believe to be true and non-negotiable today? As Peter Drucker said, “The purpose of an organization is to attract and maintain customers in order to generate profits and viability.” Issues such as current customer’s expectations, product quality, and service should be taken into consideration in your values statement. Your values should take into account how you feel about and the value you place upon your customers, your employees, your suppliers and vendors, stockholders, the community and all others with whom you interact and do business.

Re-evaluating your vision and values are the first two steps to revisiting your strategic direction. We have found in these ever-changing times that strategic planning is no longer a discretionary decision, and it provides the impetus to getting unstuck. Create your business’s new normal by re-evaluating your strategic plan and implementing the critical success factors that will propel your business forward. There is a very high likelihood that what you are doing today and what you did yesterday will not produce the results you want to see tomorrow.

Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in business and management consulting, strategic planning, leadership development, executive coaching, and youth leadership. For more information visit www.resourceassociatescorp.com or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.

People generally have a fairly good understanding of basic time management techniques, and almost everyone knows how to plan and prioritize. Most people know they should be more organized. The problem is that very few of us always do what we know we should do. Your success does depend on a successful time management system. Think about some accomplished people you know. Do they do what they say they are going to do when they say they will do it? Do they keep their word? The answer is probably ‘yes.’ People who keep their word consistently create power and focus in their lives. Together, power and focus provide the ability to be more effective in shaping events and circumstances. Effectiveness, in turn, enhances our feeling of well being. The better we feel; the more successful we are.

The “Formula for Well Being©”demonstrates that before we can keep our word, we need to give our word. Giving our word creates the potential for us to keep our word, which in turn creates the power and focus to be more effective.

Achieving more power and focus through mastering the right time management techniques is a skill, a mindset, and a lifestyle and it can be adopted by anyone who …

• Wants to feel more in control,
• Wants to attain more out of life,
• Wants to achieve success in business while enjoying the pleasures of a personal life,
• And, wants to reduce stress and realize more life balance.

Define a time management habit that you wish to develop. Be as specific as possible.

Negative habits in our lives are destructive; positive ones provide focus and power. They help us achieve our goals. In order to rebuild habits, we must define precise behaviors for change. As Aristotle said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is not an act, but a habit.” Your focus and power is dependent on your time management skills and behaviors. It is never too late to make a positive change, and a new year is upon us, so start today!

Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in business and management consulting, leadership development, executive coaching, and youth leadership. For more information visit www.resourceassociatescorp.com or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.