Making Waves at C-Level: Business Tips for Executives, Leaders, and Entrepreneurs

Your competition is not evil. Do not spend you time mocking, dissing, or belittling your competitors, as you do not win by being so negative all the time. Instead, turn your competition into your professor.

If you have people in your industry who are more successful than you, it is easy to fall into the trap of pointing out all of their flaws (to yourself and anyone else who will listen). But if they are crushing it in business, why mock them? Instead, admire their success and become a pupil of their achievements. 

Thom recently heard from a friend that another speaker said something negative about his success and pointed out why he was "not so great". It made him laugh, as he recognized how he used to take a similar point of view of those who were ahead of him on the career ladder. And while everyone can fall prey to professional jealousy, he decided years ago when he would catch himself mocking somebody who was doing more in business, he would mentally make them his teacher. 

What can you learn from your competition? A lot. You can do this from a distance, or by asking them to show you the ropes. Many people are surprised how often others in their same business are willing to open up and share their experiences on the road to success. 

Have you visited your competitors website? If not, invite someone outside your industry to sit with you and give their "gut feeling" response when you visit the sites of several successful businesses in your vertical, and then visit your site. Look for the "feeling" that outsiders get when they see your content vs. the content of others. (make sure the person will be honest and not just tell you yours is better).

Join your trade association or other industry group, as that will put your around people in your business who are at a variety of levels. Seek out the ones who are successful and develop professional relationships and friendships with them.

Success leaves clues. If you are watching your most successful competitors they cannot help but to teach you about how to do more in your business. While a SWOT analysis is important (Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and treats), do not get too focused on their weaknesses. Certainly do not use their short-falls as a way to self-justify yourself.

Do not copy your competitors, but look for the trends and success traits that you can emulate. 

When all those ahead of you (and many behind you) become your professors (whether they know it or not) .... you will become much more successful.

http://www.ThomSinger.com

http://www.PotentialMastermind.com

http://www.podfly.net/coolthings

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Your competition is not evil. Do not spend you time mocking, dissing, or belittling your competitors, as you do not win by being so negative all the time. Instead, turn your competition into your professor.

If you have people in your industry who are more successful than you, it is easy to fall into the trap of pointing out all of their flaws (to yourself and anyone else who will listen). But if they are crushing it in business, why mock them? Instead, admire their success and become a pupil of their achievements. 

Thom recently heard from a friend that another speaker said something negative about his success and pointed out why he was "not so great". It made him laugh, as he recognized how he used to take a similar point of view of those who were ahead of him on the career ladder. And while everyone can fall prey to professional jealousy, he decided years ago when he would catch himself mocking somebody who was doing more in business, he would mentally make them his teacher. 

What can you learn from your competition? A lot. You can do this from a distance, or by asking them to show you the ropes. Many people are surprised how often others in their same business are willing to open up and share their experiences on the road to success. 

Have you visited your competitors website? If not, invite someone outside your industry to sit with you and give their "gut feeling" response when you visit the sites of several successful businesses in your vertical, and then visit your site. Look for the "feeling" that outsiders get when they see your content vs. the content of others. (make sure the person will be honest and not just tell you yours is better).

Join your trade association or other industry group, as that will put your around people in your business who are at a variety of levels. Seek out the ones who are successful and develop professional relationships and friendships with them.

Success leaves clues. If you are watching your most successful competitors they cannot help but to teach you about how to do more in your business. While a SWOT analysis is important (Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and treats), do not get too focused on their weaknesses. Certainly do not use their short-falls as a way to self-justify yourself.

Do not copy your competitors, but look for the trends and success traits that you can emulate. 

When all those ahead of you (and many behind you) become your professors (whether they know it or not) .... you will become much more successful.

http://www.ThomSinger.com

http://www.PotentialMastermind.com

http://www.podfly.net/coolthings

A finalist for Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year award, Bryan has 25 years of experience founding and growing Exact Systems (1991), Perficient (NASDAQ: PRFT) (1997), Fusion Learning Systems (2001), and Mahana (2013).

He is active in Austin’s technology scene, and is a co-founder and Mentor of Capital Factory, a seed stage mentoring program for technology companies. Bryan is an investor and advisor to a select group of early stage technology companies and runs the popular Austin Tech Happy Hour.

This episode is a great conversation about the long-term journey of entrepreneurs and how to understand trends before they happen. What's the new new thing? Bryan says it might be Blockchain. There is currently a paradigm shift happening and there are more resources available than ever before. No matter what new technologies are coming, there will be many who will figure out how to get involved, stand out, and penetrate new markets. 

There is a more level playing field, but it is more competitive than ever for ideas. But while much is changing, some things stay the same. The need to work with great people is still as important as ever. 

Check out episode #300 of Cool Things Entrepreneurs Do and you will be exposed to some great thoughts about business and life.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A finalist for Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year award, Bryan has 25 years of experience founding and growing Exact Systems (1991), Perficient (NASDAQ: PRFT) (1997), Fusion Learning Systems (2001), and Mahana (2013).

He is active in Austin’s technology scene, and is a co-founder and Mentor of Capital Factory, a seed stage mentoring program for technology companies. Bryan is an investor and advisor to a select group of early stage technology companies and runs the popular Austin Tech Happy Hour.

This episode is a great conversation about the long-term journey of entrepreneurs and how to understand trends before they happen. What's the new new thing? Bryan says it might be Blockchain. There is currently a paradigm shift happening and there are more resources available than ever before. No matter what new technologies are coming, there will be many who will figure out how to get involved, stand out, and penetrate new markets. 

There is a more level playing field, but it is more competitive than ever for ideas. But while much is changing, some things stay the same. The need to work with great people is still as important as ever. 

Check out episode #300 of Cool Things Entrepreneurs Do and you will be exposed to some great thoughts about business and life.

Marine Officer and F/A-18 fighter pilot, Scott Lopez, MBA is an investment banker who helps companies raise crucial capital for growth and expansion. On a daily basis, he works with disruptive tech companies and investors and has deep relationships across the country in numerous innovation eco-systems.

On this episode of "Cool Things Entrepreneurs Do" Scott shares his journey from a simple childhood, through college, the military, and to a career investing in some of today's most disruptive technologies. 

During his transition from the military, he was a medical device sales rep, corporate executive, small business owner, and public affairs officer. Scott earned his MBA at the Thunderbird School of Graduate Management, is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion, and the single father of two teenage daughters. 

A former welfare kid, he is passionate for his home state of New Mexico and his second home, Newport Beach, CA.

http://www.disruptiveinvestorradio.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marine Officer and F/A-18 fighter pilot, Scott Lopez, MBA is an investment banker who helps companies raise crucial capital for growth and expansion. On a daily basis, he works with disruptive tech companies and investors and has deep relationships across the country in numerous innovation eco-systems.

On this episode of "Cool Things Entrepreneurs Do" Scott shares his journey from a simple childhood, through college, the military, and to a career investing in some of today's most disruptive technologies. 

During his transition from the military, he was a medical device sales rep, corporate executive, small business owner, and public affairs officer. Scott earned his MBA at the Thunderbird School of Graduate Management, is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion, and the single father of two teenage daughters. 

A former welfare kid, he is passionate for his home state of New Mexico and his second home, Newport Beach, CA.

http://www.disruptiveinvestorradio.com

Katrina Sawa is known as The JumpStart Your Biz Coach because she literally kicks her clients and their businesses into high gear. Katrina is the creator of the JumpStart Your Marketing® System and the author of Love Yourself Successful. She works with motivated entrepreneurs and speakers who want to make a lot more money doing what you love. She inspires you to think bigger, set bigger goals and then consistently implement all the online and offline marketing strategies, and business automation strategies it will take to get you there.

Katrina has been a huge networker ever since she founded her business in 2002. Consistent networking, follow up and offline marketing strategies are the primary reasons Katrina has been so successful in her business. She developed her first product, the Jumpstart Your Marketing Follow Up System in 2005 having learned that no one does such extensive follow up as she did. After packaging that training up for other entrepreneurs to learn from she transformed her local, hourly-fee based business into an international online marketing coaching and information-product company that it is today including a whole host of online do-it-yourself programs, products, trainings and live events. This has leveraged her own time and money in ways where it’s freed her up to design the business that better fits her lifestyle – family, relationships, friends, traveling, speaking, volunteering, etc.

Katrina enjoys inspiring, motivating and educating other entrepreneurs on how to design a business to fit your lifestyle but also how to make a lot more money at whatever that business may be. She works with dozens of different industries and businesses to help them think outside the box plus help them get a more savvy online and website presence. 

Katrina has been featured on the Oprah and Friends XMRadioNetwork, various other print and online magazines, ABC and TheCW. She lives in Northern California with her husband Jason, step-daughter Riley and their German Shepherd Willow. She loves wine tasting, gardening, and entertaining, plus she’s a great cook too! You can find out more about her plus get a host of Free Trainings online at http://www.JumpstartYourMarketing.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Katrina Sawa is known as The JumpStart Your Biz Coach because she literally kicks her clients and their businesses into high gear. Katrina is the creator of the JumpStart Your Marketing® System and the author of Love Yourself Successful. She works with motivated entrepreneurs and speakers who want to make a lot more money doing what you love. She inspires you to think bigger, set bigger goals and then consistently implement all the online and offline marketing strategies, and business automation strategies it will take to get you there.

Katrina has been a huge networker ever since she founded her business in 2002. Consistent networking, follow up and offline marketing strategies are the primary reasons Katrina has been so successful in her business. She developed her first product, the Jumpstart Your Marketing Follow Up System in 2005 having learned that no one does such extensive follow up as she did. After packaging that training up for other entrepreneurs to learn from she transformed her local, hourly-fee based business into an international online marketing coaching and information-product company that it is today including a whole host of online do-it-yourself programs, products, trainings and live events. This has leveraged her own time and money in ways where it’s freed her up to design the business that better fits her lifestyle – family, relationships, friends, traveling, speaking, volunteering, etc.

Katrina enjoys inspiring, motivating and educating other entrepreneurs on how to design a business to fit your lifestyle but also how to make a lot more money at whatever that business may be. She works with dozens of different industries and businesses to help them think outside the box plus help them get a more savvy online and website presence. 

Katrina has been featured on the Oprah and Friends XMRadioNetwork, various other print and online magazines, ABC and TheCW. She lives in Northern California with her husband Jason, step-daughter Riley and their German Shepherd Willow. She loves wine tasting, gardening, and entertaining, plus she’s a great cook too! You can find out more about her plus get a host of Free Trainings online at http://www.JumpstartYourMarketing.com.

Rob Dionne is a lifestyle and fitness expert based out of Los Angeles. He specializes in helping busy people and entrepreneurs get out from behind their desks and carve out time to create a better quality of life for themselves and their family's. You might have hear Rob on the Rdella Training Podcast, Dear Matty Show and many others, discussing his views on why the traditional approach to weight loss is a waste of time. 

Check out this episode for a detailed talk about his transition from a career as an aspiring actor to being one of the leading voices of fitness. This episode is a candid discussion about how entrepreneurs sometimes need to make a pivot in their business, and how you can change course and find the success you desire.

Learn more about Rob at http://www.OpenSkyFitness.com and check out his Open Sky Fitness Podcast on iTunes (or wherever you get you favorite podcasts).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rob Dionne is a lifestyle and fitness expert based out of Los Angeles. He specializes in helping busy people and entrepreneurs get out from behind their desks and carve out time to create a better quality of life for themselves and their family's. You might have hear Rob on the Rdella Training Podcast, Dear Matty Show and many others, discussing his views on why the traditional approach to weight loss is a waste of time. 

Check out this episode for a detailed talk about his transition from a career as an aspiring actor to being one of the leading voices of fitness. This episode is a candid discussion about how entrepreneurs sometimes need to make a pivot in their business, and how you can change course and find the success you desire.

Learn more about Rob at http://www.OpenSkyFitness.com and check out his Open Sky Fitness Podcast on iTunes (or wherever you get you favorite podcasts).