A New Direction

When you hear the word ethics and sales they really don't sound like they go together.  It is kind of an oil and water thing for most people.  As a matter of fact when it comes to business our colleges and universities don't even teach ethics of sales.  It is a topic that is rarely if ever discussed and when it is, it's because someone got into trouble over an ethics violation.

When you talk to sales people about ethics you will find what is ethical to one is not ethical to another.  When you go to ethics training sessions rarely will they even talk about right or wrong, but that you have to make up your own mind.  Finally we have someone who is willing to take a stand on what ethics are and are not.  Someone who draws the line between how a customer is to to be treated, marketed to, and sold to.  His name is Joel Malkoff, and he joins us on A New Direction and after 45 years of selling ethically and over 500 million dollars in generated sales he tells what ethical selling is and is not and how it can lead to greater profit.

Joel Malkoff's book is entitled, "Selling Ethically: A Business Parable Connecting Integrity with Profits".  The book is in fact a parable about a man named David King who goes before a heavenly court to determine if he has been ethical.  Example after example is presented with interesting twists.  The reader is left with great nuggets of wisdom and a direct understanding of what is right and not right when it comes to sales.  One major take away that you will get from Joel is that we need to rewrite "let the buyer beware", but "let the seller beware he must be honest and transparent".  It is a mind shift away from the responsibility of the buyer to the responsibility of the seller and the sales person to ensure that they are being upfront and fully disclosing.

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EPIC Physical Therapy from every day aches and pains, to injuries to keeping elite athletes at the top of their game, EPIC pt has the cutting edge equipment and the certified staff to create an individualized treatment program specifically for you.  They are my physical therapists and I think they should be yours too.  So if you want EPIC Relief, EPIC Recovery, and EPIC Results.  Start by contacting the great people at EPIC Physical Therapy….www.EPICpt.com

Linda Craft & Team, Realtors for 35 years they have been known for having “Legendary Customer Service”.  Unaffiliated and independently owned and operated they can recommend the best real estate professional to help you sell your home or buy your next home anywhere in the world.  That is because they are not attached to a company they are attached to what is in your best interest.  So before you buy or sell start with the “Legends” at Linda Craft & Team.  Just click on over to www.LindaCraft.com

We all have dreams of our future.  What happens when we put all of our energy, dedication, mind, body and soul are put into it and then you get there and something outside of your control takes your dream away?  What do you do?  Especially if you have no plan B.  Well in this episode of A New Direction Podcast - Jay Izso meet former NFL kicker Sean Conley  From the time he was 8 years old he had a dream of being an NFL kicker.  He kicked in the back lots of Erie, Pennsylvania everyday even though his high school did not have a football team.  He played soccer. Time and time he was met with closed doors, but his resilience would not let him give up on his dream.  The odds were certainly stacked against him, people made promises that they failed him but again his resilience kept him going.  Finally he gets his opportunity and then the rug gets pulled out form under him time and time again, only to be met with more of Sean's resilience.

Sean's book "The Point After: How One Resilient Kicker Learned there was More to Life than the NFL: Conley, Sean: 9781493042760: Amazon.com: Books" is a testament to one man's resilience only to reach his dream, when he is told that his body at the age of 25 is done, and the dream is over.  What now?  As he said he felt paralyzed.  He was afraid of the unknown.  What happens next is a discovery with the help of his wife Karen of a better plan that was so unexpected that he finds joy and fulfillment that he realizes he would not have experienced if he would have been a long term NFL kicker.  The book is an amazing journey that will inspire you, motivate you, and give you a perspective that just because the original dream is over beyond your control, that another avenue and opportunity opens up to each of us if we are willing to grasp it and see the beauty of the gifts we are given.  Great book!  One that will make you cry, laugh, and consider your own perspectives.

Please thank the sponsors of A New Direction Podcast - Jay Izso

EPIC Physical Therapy the facility with the most cutting edge equipment and the certified staff to help you recover from an injury or surgery, work with professional and amateur athletes, or just those of us who want to move and feel better.  When you want EPIC relief, EPIC recovery, and EPIC results then start with EPIC Physical Therapy by going to www.EPICpt.com

Linda Craft & Team, Realtors when you are looking to sell your home or buy a new home start with what their clients refer to as “the legends of customer service”.  Whether you are in the Greater Raleigh Research Triangle Park area of North Carolina or any where in the world they can help you with your home dreams.  Contact our friends Linda Craft & Team at www.LindaCraft.com

Relationships.  It really is what makes our life...life.  Where would we be without them?  Well, first of all you and I would not have been born so there's that.  But, our relationships do add spice to life, and in fact we relate to not just people, but animals, places and things.  If you are married or have a significant other then you know how our relationships can affect us on the other person, if you have a sibling, there too, your relationships ebb and flow.  If you have children, grandchildren, parents, friends, neighbors, colleagues at work, all of these relationships have some affect.  So, how do we make the best of them and at the same time allow them to affect us in a positive way.  Enter author/writer Beverly Mann Lessard on this episode of A New Direction as she takes us through some insights into relationships and how we can best deal with them.

In Beverly Lessard's book Relationships she gives us snapshots, glimpses, and slices of her relationships.  And in every slice there is a moral to the story, a point that when it's done you must evaluate yourself and decide if you are majoring on the minors and minoring on the majors.  Beverly is absolutely and totally vulnerable from her marriage to her grandchildren to the Dunkin Donuts people who know her by name and hand her Hazelnut Decaf Black coffee, to dealing with a baby ground who is eating her flowers and attacks her broom as she tries to shoo him away.  Relationships as you can imagine are filled with warmth, joy, laughter, and ups and downs.   A book I promise will lift your spirits.

A New Direction is so grateful to our sponsors please reach out to them and tell them thank you and please LIKE their Facebook pages.

EPIC Physical Therapy, whether you are recovering from and injury or surgery or a professional athlete looking to improve when you want EPIC Relief, EPIC Recovery, and EPIC Results check out EPIC Physical Therapy.  www.EPICpt.com and Check out their EPIC Facebook Page

 

Linda Craft & Team, Realtors for 35 years their customers call their customer service “legendary”, but Linda and her team built their business on building relationships and understanding your home is full of memories that are important to you!  That makes it important to her and her team. Check out www.LindaCraft.com and Check out their Facebook Page

Also please support our combat veterans!  The All Secure Foundation is an organization that we at A New Direction are proud to support financially and vocally.  Check out this video:

"Build me a website, that's what we need to have a successful business".  Then what happens?  They continue to spend money on website design, SEO,  and other IT initiatives only to do one thing...run out of money.  That marketing philosophy is the "if we build it, they will come".  Like something out of the movie "Field of Dreams".  The only thing you get from that strategy is an endless black hole of pouring money into a tool that never produces the return on investment that you hoped.  And There must be a better way!  And there is!  In this episode of A New Direction meet Steve Brown.  He has been changing the thinking of entrepreneurs all over the world, and helping them develop a "GrowthStack" system that will fundamentally change the way you spend your money on marketing and the way you are thinking about it.

Steve Brown has written a fun, edutaining book entitled, "The Golden Toilet: Stop Flushing Your Marketing Budget into Your Website and Build a System that Grows Your Business".  The book is funny, but it makes a huge point.  You need to have a system made up of four priorities:  Clear Messaging, Marketing Automation, Sales Automation, and Strategic Campaigns.  Steve explores each of these areas, uncovers the traditional mistakes that businesses often make, what to do instead, and offers a wealth of successful insights that will change the way you do business and become more profitable.   The Golden Toilet is not an anti-website book.  It is a book filled with alternatives that will help you become more empathetic toward your customer, relate to them, maintain them over time, and create loyal fans that come back for more and will tell their friends.  Now what business doesn't want that?

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EPIC Physical Therapy – www.EPICpt.com

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Linda Craft & Team, Realtors –www.LindaCraft.com

Linda Craft & Team Facebook Page – Click Here

 

 

 

Also please support our combat veterans!  The All Secure Foundation is an organization that we at A New Direction are proud to support financially and vocally.  Check out this video:

Success we all want it, but we often do not want to pay the price for it, or hear the answers on how to ultimately achieve it.  So often we think that success is a by product of getting the right breaks in life or business.  Some believe that success is just given to people.  Others believe that if you focus on success you will become successful.  However, when you start talking to combat veterans and hearing their stories, and you extract the lessons you come to realize something more.  Success comes from two very unique processes: One is deliberately getting uncomfortable doing things that you do not want to do, but doing them anyway on purpose.  The second and perhaps the most important process is to have a mindset of serving others.  Both are counterintuitive to what we typically believe but as we will here from Green Beret Major Jason Van Camp in this episode of A New Direction it is the formula that consistently works.

Jason Van Camp has compiled a book of combat veterans who served our country in a variety of combat circumstances.  Many of these combat veterans lost body parts, their military career, and almost their lives in an effort to ensure that the mission would be successful and serving others in the process.  The award winning book Deliberate Discomfort is a phenomenal and insightful look at the lives of amazing veterans and their stories and the practical application that applies to your life, your career, and your business.  Deliberate Discomfort is going to make some of you uncomfortable, but it is exactly that discomfort and counterintuitive mindset that will change your life and business.  Please check out and financial support www.missionsixzero.com

Please Thank The Sponsors of A New Direction by LIKING and Following their pages:

EPIC Physical Therapy.  Whether you are injured from work, play, or you simply want to feel better about yourself and get better freedom of movement.  EPIC physical therapy has the latest state of the art technology and equipment, coupled with a certified staff to help you achieve your physical goals and get you back to where you want to be and give you a direction where you should be going.  When you really want EPIC relief, EPIC recovery, and EPIC results look no further than the people I use and trust EPIC Physical Therapy.  www.EPICpt.com

Linda Craft & Team, Realtors no matter where you live in the world, Linda Craft and her team can help you find the best professional in your area to help you sell or buy your next home.  While most real estate professionals belong to a nationally affiliated company where they are obligated to use the people in their company’s network.  Linda Craft and her team are privately owned and operated.  That means they can find the absolute best professional from ANY company to ensure you get the best service. Located in the Raleigh Research Triangle Park of North Carolina…they are indeed legendary when it comes to service.  Learn more  by going to Linda Craft & Team, Realtors  www.LindaCraft.com

We need to be honest with ourselves our world has changed.  It moves at an incredible pace, and as technology continues to move our problems become more complex and challenging.  How we choose to think about and solve those problems must also change.  Here is the problem:  We live in a world that has a bias of binary thinking, eliminating the gray are of possibilities, and only wants to rely on rules and logic.  Logic sure sounds good, but the problem is when we are dealing with people and ideas, logic limits our ability to truly think "outside of the box", because we are inside the box or as Francis Cholle calls it the "Square".  If we truly want our thinking to solve today's fast paced complex problems we must have "Circle" thinking.  The type thinking that is not so rigid, is without rules, and non-rational.  Note: not rational or irrational but another category, the non-rational.  Typically we try to put the "Circle" inside of the "Square" to keep those thinking types under control.  However, when we allow the "Circle" outside of the "Square" the circle actually give the "Square" room to exercise it's best qualities.

In this episode of A New Direction Author Francis Cholle introduces us to Squircle (Square inside the Circle).  A New Way to Think for a New World.  The truth is "Circle" thinking has been with us forever, but because most businesses and organizations run as "Squares" that desire to exercise control, maintain status quo, employ rules, and operate on a system, they have little tolerance, acceptance, and typically ignore those of us who are "Circle" thinkers that offer a thinking solution that solves the most complex problems.  The fact is we all have a little Square and Circle in us, but we do not exercise our internal Circle because we will not let go of our desire for control, or the ramifications we receive for our Circle thinking.  Squircle is a great read and Francis Cholle has done a masterful job of getting us to open our eye to the fact that perhaps our reason for not being as successful as we could be is our lack of Circle thinking.

Take your Squircle Thinking Test HERE!

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Congratulations to EPIC PT for being voted Raleigh's Best Physical Therapist by the News & Observer!  They are my physical therapists and I am confident you will love them as mush as I do.  Go get your EPIC Relief, EPIC Recovery, and EPIC Results!  Now in 3 Triangle Locations head on over to  EPIC Physical Therapy –www.EPICpt.com

So what can you say about a real estate company that has spent more than 35 years at the top of their game?  Well the first thing is you have to admit that their customers and clients continue to drive their business...but why?  That's because Linda and her team continue to believe that every person and every relationship is important, not just now, but even in the future.  It is why she is devoted to continually adding value to her clients and community by serving them in ways that matter...it is also why are clients say, "Linda has legendary customer service!"  When it comes to real estate start with the legends start with Linda Craft & Team, Realtors - www.LindaCraft.com

Conflict is something we all face.  It comes in many different forms, and the truth is it makes us all uncomfortable.  At the heart of conflict is the fact that one party is not getting what they want and the other party is not getting what they want.  We basically turn our backs to each other, we talk about the other party behind their back, we gather allies to support our position and the conflict spiral only gets bigger.  Then comes the point that while in our conflict with the other person or group we no longer see them as people but we see them as an object.  They lose their humanity and become an "it".  And when that happens getting rid of, or dare we say killing conflict is no longer easy.  For many of us we go into conflict avoidance mode hoping that it will resolve itself, but the truth is avoidance is based on fear.  And one fear for certain is that if we move first, we become vulnerable and we create a narrative that we will be taken advantage of and the fear of conflict keeps us from ultimate reconciliation.

In this episode of A New Direction Author and International Mediator (Yes, former NBA analyst at ESPN) helps break the chains of conflict with his outstanding book Chad Ford entitled "Dangerous Love".  When we think of the word "love" we think of being soft, passive, giving in, weakness, and being run over.  Dangerous Love is nothing like it.  When Chad Ford talks Dangerous Love he is talking a type of love that requires courage, that requires action, but ultimately requires us to see people as in "it" or "object" to a human who too is also suffering.  Is it risky, you bet!  Does it put you there, absolutely!  But in his research and experience it is the most effective way to not only overcome the conflict, but kill it, to the point reconciliation which the goal of getting past our conflict.  Great Read! Get yours today!

Please reach out to our sponsors and LIKE their social media pages as their financial contributions help keep A New Direction on the air and bring us great guests.

EPIC Physical Therapy is the physical therapists I go to whether it was post surgery, nagging injury, or I just cannot perform at the athletic level I want to.  They have the bleeding edge equipment and the certified staff to customize a treatment program specifically for you, your needs and wants, that helps you reach goals you desire to attain.  When you are ready for EPIC relief, EPIC recovery, and EPIC results, you need to click on over to EPIC Physical Therapy…www.EPICpt.com

Linda Craft & Team, Realtors for 35 years their clients and friends have said when it comes to real estate and going the extra mile and providing a world class experience, they are have “legendary customer service”.  Locally owned, and independent of the national brands, they have literally helped people all over the world by finding the best real estate professional in your area.  So before you sell or buy your home, start with the “legends” at Linda Craft & Team, Realtors…you can learn more by going to www.LindaCraft.com

You may or may no be acquainted with "Lean Transformation" or "Lean Management", but the truth is you more than likely employ some of the principles.  Lean management is a business wide thought process that starts with what you customer really wants and needs, then engages the employees and leadership to find ways to make that happen, by cutting waste whether that be time or processes.  It also enlists the idea that every day in every part of your business you are striving to be a better version of yourself than you were yesterday, also known as "kaizen".  No wait before you don't think this has anything to do with you or your business, or you think that it only applies to manufacturing products you would be wrong.  The fact is that "Lean Transformation" can even work in the service industries, such as real estate, financial, and insurance.  If you think for a moment that the Lean Trilogy of "Customers, Employees, and Shareholders" are the basic starting blocks, well then, "Lean" can apply to any business.

In this episode of A New Direction, Mark C. Deluzio the Principal Architect of  the Danaher Business System and considered the "Father of Lean Accounting" joins us to talk about his book "Flatlined".  This book is powerful.  Look even if your business does not use "lean", the principles outlined in this book are eye opening moments where you want to learn more.  The show is packed with ideas and thoughts that will help you transform your business and if you are not careful you will not just think lean you will be "lean".  Mark gives us bonus time on this show to go a bit deeper on Lean Leadership, the Naysayers that make up 10% of your company and what to do about them, and then as part of his new direction he talks about success in your career. Tell your friends this is a great show!

Thank you to A New Direction sponsors:

EPIC Physical Therapy.  Whether you are injured from work, play, or you simply want to feel better about yourself and get better freedom of movement.  EPIC physical therapy has the latest state of the art technology and equipment, coupled with a certified staff to help you achieve your physical goals and get you back to where you want to be and give you a direction where you should be going.  When you really want EPIC relief, EPIC recovery, and EPIC results look no further than the people I use and trust EPIC Physical Therapy.  www.EPICpt.com

Linda Craft & Team, Realtors no matter where you live in the world, Linda Craft and her team can help you find the best professional in your area to help you sell or buy your next home.  While most real estate professionals belong to a nationally affiliated company where they are obligated to use the people in their company’s network.  Linda Craft and her team are privately owned and operated.  That means they can find the absolute best professional from ANY company to ensure you get the best service. Located in the Raleigh Research Triangle Park of North Carolina…they are indeed legendary when it comes to service.  Learn more  by going to Linda Craft & Team, Realtors  www.LindaCraft.com

Let's say you are in the middle of a war.  You have an enemy that wants to destroy you.  Not only do they not care about you they want to take everything from you.  How do you go about your mission to defeat the enemy?  Do you just wake up one morning and figure it out as you go?  Do you find a bunch of people you think can help you and go and attack?  What do you need?  What does the enemy have?  How many of them are there?  What are the conditions?  What are the pitfalls?  What are your assets?  The fact is if you are going to be successful in a military mission you have to answer a whole number of questions before you start.  And that is the way we should be thinking about our business. Shouldn't we treat our business and business plan the same way?  Michael J. Penney doesn't just believe so...he is convicted by it!

In this episode of A New Direction author and creator of the 5 Paragraph Business Plan Michael Penney takes us through why we need to think of our business as a military mission and apply military tactics.  You say, "that's too extreme".  Really?  You have the potential to lose everything!  Why not have business plan that is run like a military mission to give you the best chance of being successful?  Michael J. Penney is a combat Marine veteran.  He knows what it takes to not just survive the enemy, but to come out successful.  In his 5 Paragraph Business Plan you will learn that your enemy is not your competition, it is not people, your enemy is the NEED your potential customers are hoping you will fulfill in your business and business plan.  As Mike and I also talk you may find that as you develop your business plan...you don't have the right people to help you successfully complete the mission.  And at the end of the day we all want to be able to say one thing in our business..."MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!"

Please Thank Our Sponsors for Their Financial Support of A New Direction:

EPIC Physical Therapy the facility with the most cutting edge equipment and the certified staff to help you recover from an injury or surgery, work with professional and amateur athletes, or just those of us who want to move and feel better.  When you want EPIC relief, EPIC recovery, and EPIC results then start with EPIC Physical Therapy by going to www.EPICpt.com

Linda Craft & Team, Realtors when you are looking to sell your home or buy a new home start with what their clients refer to as “the legends of customer service”.  Whether you are in the Greater Raleigh Research Triangle Park area of North Carolina or any where in the world they can help you with your home dreams.  Contact our friends Linda Craft & Team at www.LindaCraft.com

No one wants to admit it.  In fact we get defensive when accused of it.  In most cases we go into denial and rationalize it.  What am I talking about: Bias.  The fact of the matter is bias comes with being human.  Every single person in the world has bias.  You in fact are biased!  Did you notice how you felt as you read that?  You are biased.  It may have made you mad.  It may have had a "knee jerk" reaction of "no I am not!".  You may have wanted to stop reading.  That's how powerful bias can be.    Hold on, before you stop reading on, let me explain that bias is a built in mechanism in our brains that actually has some value.  In side our brain more toward the middle of it actually are these physical structures called the amygdala and the hippocampus.  They are built in to help us deal with potential danger and memory among other things.  As we develop a life time of memories these structures turn on as we encounter different people and situations to help us quickly deal with the issues at hand.  The problem is that we will find that we are more often wrong that right when it comes to our judgement and what we thought was dangerous, was in fact a false perception.

In this episode of A New Direction Howard Ross helps us not only understand how we develop our biases, but how we can over come them.  In his book "Every Day Bias: Identifying and Navigating Unconscious Judgements in Our Daily Lives" Howard not only explains how we get to become biased, but then the complicated challenge of changing our bias.  By the way if you think logic is the answer to changing someone's bias...think again...logic doesn't work and Howard explains this in his book.  So what does it take to change ourselves and our bias?  Take a listen to the show, you will find it both enlightening and informational.  But I will tell you this as Howard Ross says over and over again...the first thing is stop beating yourself up with guilt for feeling biased because guilt doesn't change you it only distresses you.

Please reach out and thank the awesome sponsors of A New Direction:

EPIC Physical Therapy the facility with the most cutting edge equipment and the certified staff to help you recover from an injury or surgery, work with professional and amateur athletes, or just those of us who want to move and feel better.  When you want EPIC relief, EPIC recovery, and EPIC results then start with EPIC Physical Therapy by going to www.EPICpt.com

Linda Craft & Team, Realtors when you are looking to sell your home or buy a new home start with what their clients refer to as “the legends of customer service”.  Whether you are in the Greater Raleigh Research Triangle Park area of North Carolina or any where in the world they can help you with your home dreams.  Contact our friends Linda Craft & Team at www.LindaCraft.com