What Makes Super Success?

I just finished reading Malcolm Gladwell's new book, Outliers. It is as thought-provoking as his last two. He takes a detailed look at why people are successful and has found some pretty amazing theories.

Some reasons for wide success are the date of your birth, the decade you were born and your ethnicity in relation to your chosen career. One theme threading through his various case studies is that each person would not have been the wild success that they are without the help of someone else. Bill Gates needed the mother's club at his school that bought a computer for the students. Some people had wonderful mentors and other received financial assistance.

In this last week of the year, don't let an opportunity to pass you by. Think about the person you may have met at a networking event in December that could benefit from a little attention. Give them a call and invite them to coffee. Just the fact that you are showing interest will probably will them a little more energy to keep on, keepin' on. I made one of those calls today, expecting the person to not remember me, but they did remember and seemed delighted. We have an appointment next week.

When I think back over my career, there are several names that stand out. They were not managers. They were just ordinary people. John Steele and I worked together at a long ago business. He took me under his wing, just because. And I learned so much about the "real" sales world from him. Rita Long was my Dale Carnegie instructor. She asked me to be her graduate assistant which meant I got to watch her in action while I was sitting at the back of the room. Rita showed me how to motivate people in the way she managed her Carnegie class. She made her students feel really good about themselves.

Your legacy could be that someday the super successful person will credit you with being the catalyst to their success. And if that isn't the best that can be, I don't know what is!

Want Members?

Several Business Network International (BNI) chapters in Findlay, Ohio want more members. They could have a traditional "visitor day" (and have in the past) but these chapters think outside the box. They want to help all organizations in the area to be more successful. With that being said they are planning a group networking event. They are inviting the local service clubs, GreaterFindlayInc., Hancock County Leadership and any other groups that solicit for members to be involved.

It reminds me of my friend, Tom Fleming's, BNI chapters in his Tampa, Florida area. All his chapters help each other to be successful. If one chapter falls below 25 members, all his other chapters work to help this one chapter to regain its strength. They realize that if every chapter is healthy, they all will benefit.

So without knowing the "Tom" story, this group is planning a similar task. They want all groups in their area to enjoy strong membership.

Do you want to bet that they will be successful?

Time for Dues

Recently several people have told me that they are not going to be renewing their membership in an organization. And the comment I've gotten from each person is, "I gotten all I can from this group."

Whoa! What an attitude. And for those people, I just smile a fake smile. First of all, I realize they just don't get it and second, the organization is better without them.

So as you begin to determine what groups you will be a member of next year, it would be a good idea to ask yourself, "What value have I given to the group?" If you can't give a good answer, maybe you should pay those dues for one more year. Make it your goal that when you leave the group next year they will all feel very sad.

Because you know right now if you leave, the remaining members will probably be thinking, "Good riddance. That person was a drag on our group. I would never recommend him for anything."

WiN Meeting - Friday, December 5th

Hello Ladies!

Friday, Dec 5th is our annual Christmas Bazaar, see flyer below.

1. Please let me know as soon as possible if you are interested in a vendor table and/or if you will be attending.
2. New Members: For those of you who joined last month, if you could forward me your contact information, email address and website (if applicable), as I will be updating the WiN website this week.
3. Please, please, please, bring in your empty wine bottles and tin cans. This is a new endeavor that WiN would like to carry out on a monthly basis (see flyer for more details).

Chrismas Bazaar Vendors:
Amanda O'Neill - Pampered Chef
Joanne Jehu - Faithlife Financial
Barb Smith & Twila DelFatti - Silver Connections Inc.
Tracee Bowman - Silpada Jewellery
Cathy Raven - Partylite
Monique Howatt - Confident Girls & Guys
Brenda Ford - Immunotek
Judi Bishop Chapman - Xocai Healthy Chocolate
Joyce McCulloch - Gochi Juice
Cheryl Evans - Registered Massage Therapist
Gloria Broad - Mary Kay Cosmetics
Eileen Thompson - CAPS
Barb Callaghan - Elderly Care
Gayle Moynes - Enjo Cleaning Cloths

Warm regards,
Heather Chapman
WiN-Kawartha Lakes
705-786-1550

Tears to my Eyes

I was blown away today.

After visiting the Hannah's Socks blog the other evening, I read about the opportunity to become a recurring donor. I signed right up. Today in the mail as promised I received a package that contained some Hannah's Socks goodies AND

a personal thank you note from 8 year-old Hannah.


Now, I'm sure you have received a thank you note from the charities you have donated money to -- it just makes good sense for them to go to the effort. But I must admit that I thought I would get a word-processed letter perhaps with Hannah's signature.

But oh no! This note was on cream-colored construction paper, with a beautiful crayon drawing of socks. In her third grade printing style, Hannah wrote this note:

"Dear Ms. Deby, Hi, Thank you for donating to Hannah's Socks. We have a lot of homeless people to take care of. I am glad you are helping me. Love, Hannah"

Now I ask you? Does this 8 year old have her head on straight?????

Aboveboard

I just finished reading a book, Gardens of Water, about how mistaken beliefs and innuendo can kill people. In this book, set in Muslim Turkey, a young girl commits suicide because her community has turned against her with lies and rumors.

Gossip hurts. Gossip makes people what they aren't. As grandma probably said, "Gossip is what people do when they don't have better things to do."

Gossip and networking certainly don't go hand in hand. If I am networking with you and you tell me something about someone else, it makes me wonder what you're saying about me to the next person. If you tell me something that I find out later is not true, then your credibility has taken a dive.

Gossip is easy. Promotion seems to be more difficult for many people.

I am a huge proponent of the philosophy of, "if you have an issue with someone, talk to them." When you tell someone else about the issue, it can't be solved and you've created an additional problem.

Just think of how much better our world would be if we all had open communication.

They're Here!

You've heard me complain about how some people employee the "Black Widow Spider Method of Networking." That's where a networker backs you into the corner, wraps you in his web and then proceeds to talk about himself and why you should buy his product for the next twenty minutes."

So maybe I am exaggerating a little. Maybe it's only 19 minutes.

To make my message heard, that networking is about relationship development, not selling, I have had some buttons produced.

See them here!



I know that the very people that need to see the message will be blind to these buttons, but at least I'll feel better!

What do ya think?