13 Questions and Goodbye

Over the past year I’ve been recording successes and failures, prayer requests and answered prayers, and challenges and blessings in the hope that I will be able to see the bigger picture of what is going on personally and professionally in my life. I’ve decided that this will be my last blog post of the year and that I will be taking a sabbatical from all social networking and media. My goal during my sabbatical is to spend time reflecting, meditating, reading, praying, and listening. I will be with my wife, children, friends, and family deepening relationships and making wonderful memories.

The 13 questions I’ve listed below will be my homework for the remainder of the year. On January first I will begin to put into action a plan to ensure that in the near future I am able to answer “Yes” to all of these questions and the team that I lead can answer “Yes” as well.

I will return to blogging and the social media world the first week in January. Until then, I encourage you to answer these questions, spend time reflecting on 2009, and prepare to engage in 2010. I challenge you to take the steps necessary, so in 12 months you can answer “Yes” to ALL the questions below.

1. Do you belong to a team of professionals that encourage, support, and challenge each other to be better?
2. Does your manager or leader articulate the vision of your team during these challenging times?
3. Do you trust your coworkers to help you with your business while you are on vacation?
4. Are you working in a culture where there is recognition and celebration of success?
5. Does your leader provide you with a personal and business development coaching program?
6. Are you working from a written business plan that identifies your high-payoff activities and improvement projects for the coming year?
7. Does your company/leader provide you with consistent relevant training?
8. Does your company/leader provide you with tools to help you be successful and different than the competition?
9. Do you trust that your manager/leader is looking out for you and sincerely wants you to be successful?
10. Do your coworkers and your leader consistently live out the convictions and values of your organization?
11. Do you have the desire to be engaged with your coworkers and contribute to the overall success of the company?
12. Are you receiving value that is equal to or greater than what it costs to be at your current company?
13. Are you willing to do what it takes so you can answer “Yes.” to all of the questions listed above?

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!

Coach Dan

Success is Living Your Values by Rick Warren

I read this post from Rick Warren last week and thought it was so good that I needed to share it on my blog. I recently took some time to outline the convictions (values) and purpose for the teams I lead at Prudential and it was a fantastic experience. It helped me to refocus and be recharged about what we do each day in serving others. Rick’s message below was a confirmation of the process I went through as well as challenge to look at my personal convictions (values).

Coach’s Questions: What influences are defining your values? Have you identified 3-5 core values that will stand the test of time and that you are willing to live by no matter what happens?

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Belief in Yourself

“To reach your potential, you must first believe in your potential, and determine to live way beyond average.” – John Maxwell.

I’ve been re-reading a great book by John Maxwell entitled “Talent is Never Enough “. The quote above is from the book and it struck me as a truth that is easy to overlook during these challenging times. One of the greatest obstacles to success in life and business is your attitude towards yourself and more importantly your Belief in Yourself.

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The Importance of Fellowship

Last night my wife and I had the honor of hosting my entire sales team and staff for our annual appreciation dinner. We held the event at our home and spent much of the evening outdoors in our backyard where we shared a meal, laughed, and shared our successes and challenges over the past year. The event reminded me of how important it is to share time with your team outside of work in an environment where you can meet spouses and learn more about each other personally.

Here are just a few things I was reminded of last night as it relates to fellowship:

1. Fellowship must be intentional. It does not happen by accident or by mistake. Taking the time to break away from work and the busyness of life is something that we must schedule regularly in order to renew our purpose and minister to one another.
2. Fellowship requires transparency. Last night was not an evening to put on a mask. It was a time share hopes, dreams, and challenges in our personal and professional areas of life. There is no room for false fronts in true community and fellowship. You can only grow strong as a team when everyone is candid and honest with one another.
3. Fellowship should lead to renewal and inspiration. Last night we all had the opportunity to encourage one another, talk about our family, share our plans for the summer, our hopes for the future, and leave the party renewed and inspired to keep fighting the good fight.

I feel very blessed to lead my team of sales leaders. It was a great evening of fellowship and a wonderful opportunity for my wife and me to show our appreciation for the hard work and dedication of our team.

Here are a few pictures

Make it a great day!

Coach Dan

The Secret to Managing Frustrations by Rick Warren

It’s amazing how fifteen minor frustrations at the office can add up to one big, bad attitude by the time you head for home. Frustrations come in three varieties:

1. Interruptions: Unexpected visitors or phone calls when you have a deadline to meet or something important requires your attention. Our best plans are often interrupted.

2. Inconveniences: While interruptions are usually from people, inconveniences are usually situations involving things: the copy machine breaks down, traffic jams up, or you can’t find what you need when you need it.
3. Irritations: Long delays, unreliable people, playing telephone tag, catching a cold, obnoxious clients, etc.

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