mikekroll.com

WANTS VS. NEEDS

Wants versus needs. You've all heard the phrase, but I think they are not deeply thought about of enough. Specifically, I'm talking about wants versus needs for our material possessions and for our relationships.

So, lets talk about our material possessions first, because more often than not as demonstrated through debt, our wants far exceed our actual needs. If we were to go back in time, pre-industrial revolution, people only bought things they needed. In other words, if something broke, if something wore out, or if something was needed because it was vital for existence, then, and only then would it be bought. Nowadays, people go out and buy things they can't afford so they can keep up wit...

FAILURE AND CHANGE IS THE PRICE OF ADMISSION

As some of you may or may not know, I recently started a company called The Sales Effect. I started the company because I wanted to revolutionize the way sales is perceived, both by those who sell and those who interact with sales people. My mission is to change this perception, one person at a time - just like the 'butterfly effect', where very small changes can spread and effect all things around it.

One of the keys I have found to starting this mission is failure. In fact, failure has been the single greatest ally I could have ever found. I looked back at all that I have done and I found that without failure, or risk of failure, I would never have known if there were better ways of doing t...

BE A FISHERMAN

“…there is a natural aristocracy among men. The grounds of this are virtue and talents.”

-- Thomas Jefferson

In the world of sales, there is a very common expression for that of a typical sales personality: Sales hunter

This is a pretty old expression but one that is very much still used today. For example, I’ve seen the phrase ‘sales hunter’ in job ads for sales people as well as leading CEO’s, owners, and higher level executives using the phrase every day to express how they need more people like these.

When you really examine it though, what does a hunter do? Well, a hunter hunts something. And what about the object the hunter is hunting? It’s running away as fast as it possibly can!

More speci...

THE NEW HYPER STANDARD OF BUSINESS - ZAPPOS.COM!

I am writing this blog entry as fast as I can type because I am so impressed by the company Zappos.com. I'm so darned impressed because my first experience with the company was a WOW experience. It was a WOW experience because I heard of the company through a great little magazine that's tough to find called 'Networking Times.' Through the article it explained how Zappos was different and how they want to give things like a 'WOW' experience to it's customers.

The next thing I know, I'm trying to learn anything and everything about the company and I stumbled upon a give away whereby Tony was giving away a free advance copy of his new book to bloggers. You had to provide the website and ensure ...

THE TALE OF TWO EGOS

The definition of ego is:

a.) An exaggerated sense of self-importance; conceit.

b.) Appropriate pride in oneself; self-esteem.

I have found the most successful leaders, business owners and professionals are those with true confidence. They have a certain amount of self-understanding that allows them to be comfortable in their own skin. Hence, definition b) fits. In addition to feeling confident in their own abilities, they also listen to others, take into account other people’s opinions and then decide which pieces of information are important to them and which are not. They have a discerning quality about them that gives them the confidence to alter their point of view and to do things in a dif...

AUTHENTICITY

I make a point of being my authentic self to everyone I meet. Whether I am at a very important business meeting; out networking; out on the town with my friends; writing in my blog, twitter page, etc. or when I am at home with my wife and kids. Now, more than ever, being authentic is what will determine one's progress and achievement in relationships, goals and success.

It is important to note that being authentic does not mean being consistent from one social setting to the next. Being authentic means letting your true self be shown to others, even when it may contradict those around you. It is having the courage to stand out when others cannot.

Through your confidence of being you, others se...

TO DO SOMETHING, YOU HAVE TO DO SOMETHING

I think GE's motto of "to do something, you have to do something" is genius. There are definitely times when you have to plan, situations that require strategy and events that need discussion. However, if no action is taken in the end then nothing gets done.

In any endeavor I have ever succeeded in, I was successful because I put one foot forward. I took a leap of faith in my abilities, skills and judgement and decided I would learn while I was doing something. The times I failed were when I  over analyzed situations, took too much time to make a definitive answer and looked for gaps in opportunities to convince myself of further delay. As a result, no action was taken which resulted in failu...