Monday Mornings with Madison
September 25, 2017

Overcoming Most People’s Biggest Fear: Speaking in Public, Part 2

Issue #490
Word Count:  1,619 

Estimated Read Time: 6  min.

Preparing to Speak

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said “Fear defeats more people than any other one thing in the world.”  Fear is the great conqueror.  Fear is a paralyzing and malevolent force that lies, cheats and steals.  Fear of speaking in public – which is one of the most common but also one of the most undermining fears to have — whispers lies in the mind of a person, robbing him (or her) of the ability to share ideas, influence decisions, connect with others and lead groups.  By keeping a person silent, fear of public speaking steals away achievements, promotions, and raises.  Fear of speaking in public cheats a person from reaching his fullest potential and making his greatest contributions to the world.  It not only robs him of success, it also robs others of his voice and wisdom.  Fear of speaking in public is a prison of a person’s own making. Continue reading →

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September 18, 2017

Overcoming Most People’s Biggest Fear: Speaking in Public

Issue #489
Word Count:  1,421 

Estimated Read Time: 6  min.

Part 1 – Preparing to Speak

Forget heights, planes and confined spaces.  Snakes, spiders and frogs move over.  Most people’s biggest fear is talking in public.  Standing up and speaking in front of a group of strangers is downright paralyzing to a great many people.  Giving a speech.  Teaching a class.  Addressing a group at a social gathering.  For many, these are all scenarios that cause some people to complete freeze.  Perhaps that is why those who are particularly good at it can make a living doing it.  Gifted motivational speakers such as Tony Robbins, Les Brown, Zig Ziglar, Dr. Wayne Dyer and Jim Rohn earn seven figure salaries annually and their primary job is to speak in public. Continue reading →

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September 11, 2017

Preparing a Business for Emergencies

Issue #488
Word Count:  1,342 

Estimated Read Time: 5 ½  min.

While it might seem impossible to prepare for the “unexpected”, business owners must think about and prepare for crisis situations. Some of those might be man-made, such as a cyber attack by hackers. More commonly, though, those unexpected events are those of nature, such as the massive flooding of the last few weeks experienced in Houston due to Hurricane Harvey and the rampant forest fires that are sweeping through California right now. Blizzards. Tornadoes. Earthquakes. There is no limit to the kinds of crises that businesses can experience, and they can happen anywhere, any time. Whether natural or man-made, these events are a cautionary admonition that the unexpected can and does happen. Continue reading →

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September 5, 2017

Getting Back in High Gear after a Vacation

Issue #487
Word Count:  1,613 

Estimated Read Time:  6 min.

Everyone needs a vacation every so often.  According to countless studies, people need time to disconnect from work and allow time for “play.”  For some, play might mean just relaxing at home, reading a book and doing some gardening.  For others, play may constitute high-adrenaline sports such as snowboarding, skydiving or bungee jumping.  For the vast majority, play is all about changing scenery and exploring a new place and all that entails.  Culture; architecture; cuisine; language; history; the arts.  Whether it’s an adventurous vacation or a calm staycation, the one thing all vacations have in common – if done right — is a complete disconnect from daily grind of work.  It’s a mental break… as in breaking away from the day-to-day routine.  Even people who love what they do for a living and thoroughly enjoy their jobs need an occasional vacation. Continue reading →

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August 28, 2017

To Amp Up Productivity, Creativity and Career Success, Go on Vacation

Issue #486
Word Count:  1,368 

Estimated Read Time:  5 ½ min.

Attention workaholics, movers and shakers, corporate climbers and rising stars!  Want to increase your productivity?  Have a desire to get your creative juices really flowing?  Hustling to shift your career into hyper-drive?  If you answered yes to any or all three of these questions, then there is one simple thing you can do that will help with all.  Stop working and go on vacation.  As counter-intuitive as that may sound, a vacation is the best way to increase output, inspire the imagination into high gear and achieve even greater career success.  If this sounds like millennial HR hype, it’s not.  Vacations are essential for long-term success. Continue reading →

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August 21, 2017

Overcoming the “Bad Day” Blues

Issue #485
Word Count:  1,328 

Estimated Read Time:  5 ½ min.

Everyone has had a “bad day” at one point or another.  Certainly everyone in business – and especially in sales – has had bad days… periods when nothing seems to go right.  And every business owner has most likely endured his or her share of bad times.  An important piece of equipment breaks.  A big account switches to a competitor.  The computer network goes down during a peak time.   A deal falls apart.   It happens.  In fact, bad days can even stretch out into weeks or months or longer.  2009 was a downright bad year for builders, investors, bankers, lenders and financiers.  Many could not take the stress and left the real estate and financial sectors in search of greener pastures.  Those “bad day” blues can be devastating… even killing careers.  But they needn’t be so damaging. Continue reading →

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August 14, 2017

Turning Storytelling into Sales

Issue #484
Word Count:  1,476 

Estimated Read Time:  6  min.

Great storytelling – from Rumpelstiltskin to War and Peace– is one of the basic tools invented by the human mind for the purpose of understanding. There have been great societies that did not use the wheel, but there have been no societies that did not tell stories.  Storytelling has been important to every people in history.   It is a cornerstone of human existence, enabling people to communicate and connect.  It’s been a primary tool used in government, religion, education, and – of course — business.  The world’s most persuasive, compelling, and successful communicators were all great storytellers.  Socrates was a great storyteller.  Ben Franklin was even better.  Walt Disney was masterful. Continue reading →

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August 7, 2017

How Good is Your Company’s Storytelling?

Issue #483
Word Count:  1,229 

Estimated Read Time:  5  min.

Today’s sales and marketing efforts require good storytelling.  But storytelling is nothing new.  Even before people could write, they were telling each other engaging stories to share information.  That’s because no one is – or has ever been — interested in absorbing dry information.  Even with today’s technology, dry information is still unpalatable whether it is delivered in a print ad, a radio commercial or video. Information is simply more likely to be accepted if it comes gift-wrapped in a story.  Storytelling has the power to transform drab business details into something interesting. Continue reading →

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July 31, 2017

Growing a Business

Issue #482
Word Count:  1,593 

Estimated Read Time:  6  min.

Most companies are in growth-mode.   Successful businesses are always looking for ways to increase sales, revenue and – ultimately — profits.  And there are a multitude of ways for a company to grow.  A company might be ready to expand its geographic reach and open another location or hire more sales staff.  Or it might want to diversify its products or services.  Or it might have won a major government contract that necessitates operational expansion.  Or it might be looking to franchise its operations.  Alternatively, it might want to license its products so it can be sold by other companies.  Or it might want to form an alliance with a partnering organization or merge with another business entity.   These are all valid approaches to grow a business. Continue reading →

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July 24, 2017

Under-Promising and Over-Delivering

Issue #481
Word Count:  1,382 

Estimated Read Time:  5 1/2  min.

It’s been said (many times) that companies should strive to under-promise and over-deliver.   Under-promising and over-delivering is seen as a good philosophy to control customer expectations and ensure that every customer becomes a raving fan when they get more than they expected.  On the other hand, there are those who would argue that this is a great way to drive a business into the ground.  Some see this as a formula for failure because it lowers the bar internally so that what is considered “above and beyond” is really nothing more than what the competition does on a regular basis without breaking a sweat.  It therefore encourages mediocrity.  Which is true? Continue reading →

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