If It's Worth Doing, It's Worth Doing Poorly

Wait a minute! Isn't that a composition error? My whole life I've been told that if something is worth doing, it's worth doing well – or the best you can – or right – or correctly. So how can doing it poorly have any value?

And then it occurred to me the belief that it had to be done right the first time had held me back from doing lots of stuff. If you're a perfectionist, and I happen to be a recovering one, you know what I mean. Preparation takes a lot of energy, and commitment, and time. It's a valuable part of any process. And yet – maybe a little less prep, a little more tolerance for the results of early effort, and maybe – just maybe – a lot more could be accomplished. I remember a quote in a Harry Beckwith book - “Don't let perfect stand in the way of good.”

But I also remember a belief my Dad pounded into my head. “ Experience is the best teacher, but only fools can learn by no other.” Ouch! Talk about enabling procrastination – using preparation as a means of avoiding taking action.

And then I remember what A.K Best – a very good tier of flies for fishing – those little bits of feather, floss, foam, thread, fur, hair – that can be so complicated to create – said about tying a new fly pattern. He said he doesn't master a particular fly pattern until he has tied at least twelve dozen flies. I suspect his first attempt is pretty good – he's an acknowledged expert – but I suspect each following fly is a little bit better in some way – materials, process, proportions, color – until after 144 flies he's pretty satisfied with his results – and he can tie the fly with speed, precision and mastery of proportion.

A. K. Best's process is not a lot different from what we need to do to meet our own challenges. And yet many of us hold back – hang onto the preparation stage – feel intimidated with the possibility of not getting it right the first time. We don't want to appear foolish to ourselves or to others. And someone without the same intelligence, concern and processing ability that we have, goes out there, stumbles, gets up, learns from the experience, and gets it mostly right – and gets the credit, the recognition, the sale, the reward. And we know we could have done it better – if we had just acted a little sooner – if we had stopped preparing – overcome our self imposed expectation of perfect on the first try - and went for it.

To all my fellow perfectionists and professional preparers, I offer this call to action. Work hard to adopt the belief that something worth doing is worth doing poorly – at the beginning. Work hard to give yourself permission to fail, and not be perfect the first time – to learn from action, and to be better the next time. It's so much more liberating - and effective - to adopt that belief and behavior.

Written by Andy Cox, President
Cox Consulting Group, 4049 E Vista Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85032 Ph:& Fax: 602-795-4100; E Mail: acox@coxconsultgroup.com;Website:www.coxconsultgroup.com; Blog: http://multiplysuccess.blogspot.com

Copyright 2009 All Rights Reserved

Eleven Qualities of Successful People

How do you define successful people? Og Mandino, in “The Greatest Salesman In The World,” defined success as meeting ones goals – whatever they may be. Sounds good to me. Given that definition, what do successful people have in common?

I was challenged to write, in 500 words or less, an answer to that question. Here goes.

They're lucky – if you define luck as the intersection where preparation, opportunity, action and optimism, with a healthy dose of knowledge and prospecting – all come together.

They know you gotta do the work to succeed. No silver bullets. Picasso was asked by a lady in Paris to sketch her likeness. He did. He charged her $5000 . She protested that a five minute sketch for $5000 seemed excessive. He replied “ Madame, not five minutes, but a lifetime.”

They're attractive. Their sense of opportunity and optimism attracts things to them – relationships, opportunity, luck – you name it. Some of the most attractive successful people aren't – by any stretch - Hollywood good looking – but that doesn't matter.

They're competitive and collaborative, and inspired by the success of others – and by the challenges on the way to success. They see the success of others as proof of there being plenty for everybody.

They know what's important to them and they focus on whatever that might be. They respect what's important to others, and work to align their own goals with the goals of others. But when push comes to shove, their goals are the ones that take priority.

They're selfish with their time, so they can be generous with it. Sounds like a contradiction but it isn't. Treating time as the least flexible of commodities - treasuring every moment of it – not spending time where it does no good – being able to say “No” - allows more time for the things that really matter.

They're persistently consistent – what they say and what they do are closely aligned – you can count on it – again and again and again.

They know that trust is the cornerstone of effective relationships. It's hard to earn, easy to lose and almost impossible to regain. They treat gaining and giving trust as top priorities in all their relationships.

They set high expectations for themselves and for others – while being able to separate their ideals from their expectations. They are realistic about the human condition – their own and others.

They are optimistic about their relationships with the people they meet and they seek out new contacts. They go into new relationships with the expectation of something good coming out of it – for everybody.

They have a real respect for people – all kinds of people. They treat people that can do them neither any harm – nor any good – the same way they would treat anyone else.

To add to the eleven qualities, send me an E Mail.

Written by Andy Cox, President

Cox Consulting Group, 4049 E Vista Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85032 Ph& Fax: 602-795-4100; E Mail: acox@coxconsultgroup.com;Website:www.coxconsultgroup.com; Blog: http://multiplysuccess.blogspot.com

Copyright 2009 All Rights Reserved

A Story of Success - Here's To You, Hank Teuteberg

I'm looking at a picture of one of the most successful men I have ever had the privilege to know. He was raised in Brookfield WI and moved all the way to a beautiful house he and my sister built overlooking Lake Oconomowoc – about 15 miles away from where he had been born. He enlisted in the Navy shortly after high school, then became a computer programmer back in the days of punch cards and big box mainframes.

He got married to my sister 44 years ago, and they raised three children – and raised them well. And those children gave them eight grandchildren – and they delighted in them. He founded his own business in 1976 – a printing company that, over the years, has grown into one of the top marketing services, fulfillment and printing companies in the US.

He was an excellent baseball player. He was an avid golfer – a low handicapper that belonged to two country clubs and played – a lot. For years he ran every morning, and for years he carried his own bag – for all 18 holes.

His success at his business allowed him to buy a place in Florida – on Sanibel Island – so he and his family could get away from the brutal Wisconsin winters – and he could play golf – every day – and he did.

But he never took his eye off the ball – off his business. And it prospered. And it does today – with his son as the President.

He was the kind of guy that you just knew would live forever – or close to it.

And then he drowned, in a freak happening, in Pewaukee Lake - where he had almost drowned at age 11. And at the age of 69, with so much in front of him, he left this earth. And when I look at his picture – it's on the cover of the program for the Visitation and Mass of the Resurrection that was held for him - it simply does not seem possible that he is gone. But he is. And at the Visitation a solid line of people stretched out the door of the church where it was held - and they just kept coming. For four hours my sister stood or sat next to his casket and greeted and talked to every one of the people who came to pay their respects. For four solid hours – without letup. What a tribute to his life and to his family!

And the one quality so many remembered about Hank – whether they were golfing buddies, neighbors, baseball teammates, business associates - was that they never heard him say a bad word about anybody. What an epitaph!

Hank wasn't a particularly reflective guy – had he been asked to write down what people would say about him at his funeral – and that's an exercise often used to develop goals – I'm sure he would have found something more important to do.

He was successful in so many ways success is measured. But for my money, the phrase “ He never said a bad word about anybody” is his true measure of success.

Until we meet again, Hank.

Written by Andy Cox, President

Cox Consulting Group, 4049 E Vista Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85032 Ph & Fax: 602-795-4100; E Mail: acox@coxconsultgroup.com;Website:www.coxconsultgroup.com; Blog: http://multiplysuccess.blogspot.com

Copyright 2009 All Rights Reserved

Ten Challenges To Successful Self Employment

Being your own boss is so tempting! No more working for the Man. No more politics. Total control over everything. Time to smell the roses. Time to capitalize on all those experiences and skills that you have acquired.

What follows are ten areas of challenge that face everyone looking to make a successful leap from working for an organization to working for themselves. Successful people have stepped up to these challenges and made them work for them.

In the questions that make up the ten challenges there are no right or wrong answers. But each one requires some real thought and decision making. Being your own boss is not for everyone, and every year lots of people find that out. And lots of other people hit the ground running and never look back. Use the ten challenges to decide, commit and prepare so you never have to look back.

​First - Motive - Why are you thinking of doing this? What makes working for yourself so attractive? If the answers are based on opportunities to build on what you've already done – as the next step in a career path - as a sound use of resources - that's good. If your answers are focused on a negative – a bad boss, a bad job, a bad career, or anything else that is based on getting away from something, think twice.

Second – Commitment - Are you ready to make the commitment to be successful? What represents success – to you? How good have you been on commitment so far? How passionate are you about what you plan to do? In an organization it's fairly easy to ration your commitment and effort and do what needs to be done to survive. When you are on your own that just doesn't work. You gotta be totally committed . Commitment and passion go together. A friend – a corporate person – once described the condition of the self employed as “the servitude of the self employed.” It's servitude only if you're not totally committed and passionate about what you do.

Third – Business - What business will you be in? What value do you bring to the marketplace? Can you express your value to a stranger in thirty seconds? Many people feel they know where they are going and don't need to write it down. That's a mistake. A business plan doesn't have to be a long, complicated document. But it should be a legitimate plan that answers those questions. For many people working in companies the switch from having the prestige of the organization behind them to being a Lone Ranger is tough. You have to know, behave and promote what you do – and state it in ways that have people asking you “How do you do that?”

Fourth – Customers - Who are you going to sell to – and who's gonna want to buy? What is going to be your market? How are you going to market what you do? Do you have contacts in your profession or industry that can help you hit the ground with that first sale? It's tempting to think of everyone as a prospect, but that's a trap. If everyone is a potential customer, the truth is that no one is a prospect. Be very careful of “business opportunities” that have high entry costs and paint a picture of the whole world as your prospective market. Defining and focusing on a niche is a must.

Fifth - Preparation and Credibility - How prepared and what “ chops” do you bring to the table? How have you prepared and what does your target market demand of the successfully self employed? What certifications, product relationships, technical skills, references do you bring to the table?. How does your Summary of Experience and Qualifications read?

Sixth - Critical Personal Skills - What are your influence skills? How are you going to shift from being an authority in an organization to being an influencer in your own business? How will you work with very little leverage? How good are you at asking - asking for work, for meetings, for the business?
Do you have the personal discipline to work hard with no one looking over your shoulder?

Seventh – People Network - What are your relationship skills and abilities? Who is in your network. How big is your file of names of people? How big and diverse is your Universe of people? Are you comfortable asking for referrals? How good are you at reaching out for help, relationships, partnerships, associations?

Eight – Baggage - How much mental and behavioral baggage do you have to throw away in order to be successful on your own? What are the things that have to change ? No admin, no HR, Accounting, or PR staff support. The old days of budgets as the barometer of success are over. Not making mistakes as the way to success? Not when you're on your own. All of us carry a set of assumptions built on our experiences. Being conscious of how those assumptions may get in the way of success is critical to change and growth.

Ninth – Sales and Marketing and Business Development - How are you going to deal with going from being in demand in an organization to looking for work? Within organizations work and opportunities go to the most effective people The most effective people are used to being sought out for opportunities and assignments – their phone rings – their E Mail box is full. Even the very best self employed person must constantly be searching for opportunities, for suspects, for prospects - their phone won't ring based purely on capability.
I asked a very successful consultant in the personal development business what was the highest value position in his organization. He didn't hesitate: Sales – getting the business. He felt that was 70% of the equation for success. I challenged that on the basis that the work had to be delivered in order to get paid, to get referrals, to establish relationships for the future. He agreed that was all true, but, in his opinion, getting talent to do the fulfillment work - be it seminar leaders, coaches, writers and course developers - was a hell of a lot easier than getting an effective sales and business builder.

Tenth - Self Knowledge – Are you an opportunity person – or a consequence person? Opportunity thinking is critical to gaining customers. So is optimism – it's a quality that can keep things going even when things look bleak – as they invariably will. How well do you know yourself? How well aligned are your perceptions of how you impact people with the reality of how you affect and impact others? If those are far apart, they need to be brought into alignment. You need to know what you're good at – not just what you think you're good at.

Being self employed covers a lot of different scenarios. No two people or businesses are exactly the same. Neither are their motivations. The answers to the ten challenges in this article will differ tremendously from one person to another – even in the same self employment niche. But the ten challenges can help you determine the why, what, when, where, who and how of your own business. They can help you be more successful – if after answering them, being in your own business remains your chosen path.

Written by Andy Cox, President

Cox Consulting Group, 4049 E Vista Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85032 Ph& Fax: 602-795-4100; E Mail: acox@coxconsultgroup.com;Website:www.coxconsultgroup.com; Blog: http://multiplysuccess.blogspot.com

Copyright 2009 All Rights Reserved

Nine Ways To Discover and Develop Your Strengths

Malcolm Forbes said: “ Many people overvalue what they are not, and undervalue what they are.” That's another way of saying that we place more value on our weaknesses than we do on our strengths. And in that mistaken evaluation lies one of the main reasons for under achievement, frustration and lack of personal clarity.

If I asked you to list ten of your strengths and ten of your weaknesses, what comes to mind first?

Answer that question – right now. Write those ten strengths and weaknesses down.

For most people strengths are hard to describe. Weaknesses, on the other hand, seem to be much easier to discover. It isn't bad enough that we define our own weaknesses; it's made worse by all the other people willing and able to point them out to us. We see someone performing at a high level and rather than just enjoy the performance we tell ourselves we couldn't possibly do that. That may be true – but it's also true that we have other strengths – we just haven't valued them the way we should. But every time we make one of those negative comparisons, we chip away at our own feeling of worth.

My Dad used to say that the best football players never played football. That used to drive me nuts – how could you argue that someone who never played the game could possibly be the best football player? As I got older and discovered my Dad knew a thing or two, I began to see what he meant. He meant that the people who could have been the very best never played the game. Lack of opportunity, self doubt, other interests, culture, necessity, risk avoidance - all work to keep people from discovering their strengths – from playing their game. Some of those things can't be helped – that's life. But self doubt and risk avoidance can be dealt with.

How do we overcome those negative voices that create doubt and feelings of unworthiness and lack of ability? Here are nine steps to take.

1 - Adjust that habit of thought that looks for what isn't before it looks for what is. Our daughter, when she was in fourth grade, came home in tears one day. She'd gotten four wrong on a test. When we pointed out that she had gotten 96 right, she stopped crying and it dawned on her that she'd done pretty darn good. She worked on getting the correct answers for the four questions she'd missed, but she did it from a position of success, not failure.

2 - Believe that there is plenty for everybody. Someone else's success is a cause for celebration, not a time to feel as if something was lost. Appreciate the strengths of others for what they are, and avoid making negative personal comparisons that highlight weaknesses.

3 - Interdependence is a key to discovering and developing strengths. Synergy – one plus one equalling four or five – occurs when the strengths of one person compliment the strengths of another, and the weaknesses of each person are absorbed by the strengths of the other. If you're a good speaker and presenter but a lousy administrator, your speaking strength will be leveraged by a good administrator who isn't good at speaking. It's called a win – win relationship.

4 - Think in terms of opportunity. Strengths are drawn to opportunity. weaknesses push opportunity away. If you are a consequences person team up with an opportunity person who values your strengths as you do theirs – and reap rewards that neither of you could have achieved alone.

5 - Seek out positive people that see opportunity and grow with them. Avoid the toxic people who are always seeing the glass half empty. You know who they are – they can suck the life out of even the most accomplished optimist.

6 - Take risks by reaching outside your comfort zone. How else can you find your strengths than by testing and trying new things? It could be a project at work or doing something that the late comedian George Carlin called having a sense of “Vuja De" – the feeling that you have never ever been in this place before. I had a teacher that reminded us constantly that the only difference between a rut and a grave is that a rut's longer. Don't let the comfort zone become a rut – keep pushing at it.

7 - “Aim with your heart, adjust with your head, and always do all you can.” A saying from Tut The Universe. A great way to express the “ Ready, Fire, Aim” approach to success. Avoid the definition of madness - “Continuing to do things the same way and expecting a different outcome.”

8 - Get assessed. Discover yourself. Find out what the results of an assessment of skills, motivators and behaviors can tell you about yourself. Then use that knowledge to focus on who you are, what makes you tick and on the personal skills that you possess in abundance.

9 - Identify a hero or heroes. We all need people we can look up to and emulate. Just don't let the celebrity and strength of the hero cause you to diminish the value of your own strengths. Write down what makes them a hero to you – in that analysis lies terrific information on what you value – what you want to be.

It's easy to overlook the strengths we were born with and have acquired through experience, work, life and education. Often we assume everybody has what we have - nothing could be further from the truth The outcome of that assumption is that we underrate our unique set of strengths.

Apply these nine steps to your own life and get your focus on the good things that make you positively unique and valuable. Play your game - the result will be greater success personally and professionally.

Written by Andy Cox, President

Cox Consulting Group, 4049 E Vista Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85032 Ph& Fax: 602-795-4100; E Mail: acox@coxconsultgroup.com;Website:www.coxconsultgroup.com; Blog: http://multiplysuccess.blogspot.com

Copyright 2009 All Rights Reserved

Multi - Tasking - An Effective And An Ineffective Behavior

There are two sides to multi – tasking. It's keeping a lot of balls in the air without dropping the important ones. It's getting more done with less. It's being effective with the resources available. It demands a high level of energy and commitment. But it's also the enemy of focus. It can be the enemy of effectiveness. Multi – tasking can be the friend of Resistance – that force that keeps us from doing the really important stuff. Multi – tasking can keep us thinking about what we're not doing, rather than focusing on what's in front of us.

I just read an article on MSNBC about a media multi -tasking study. The study was conducted by Stanford University and used college students who were either heavy media multi-taskers or not. The study concluded that the heavy users of media multi – tasking found it more difficult to focus and concentrate, and found it harder to ignore unimportant information than did the not heavy users.

This took a Stanford study to figure out? And the researchers were surprised by the results? I'm shocked that they were shocked. Whether it's media multi – tasking, or any other kind, there's a fine line between getting things done and just being busy.

I know that because every day I fight the urge to be busy as the means of fooling myself into thinking I'm effective. And multi - tasking plays right into the hands of that mysterious force called Resistance that fights like crazy to keep me from doing the things I know need to be done. Multi - tasking can be like a magnet for “thin things”– attracting all the stuff that hangs around the edges and calls for attention. And it feels so good to do the “thin things” - rearranging E Mail files – reading all the accumulated professional journals – organizing the picture files on the hard drive.

An example of "thin things" was on The Apprentice show a few years ago. An accountant who was part of a team competing to complete a complex project appointed herself as the keeper of the balance sheet. The team ended up losing – but their balance sheet was great. It contributed little to the project. She was fired by Trump. She made the mistake of working on “thin things” rather than the main things.

Successful multi – taskers know how important focus is. They know focusing for a substantial period of time on the really important things – the true meaning of “Quality Time” - takes real work. Focusing requires saying no – accepting that certain unimportant things will not get done – or will get done at another time or by someone else. Focusing requires identifying and prioritizing the really important stuff. And it requires the self discipline to not be distracted by all the lightweight, interesting, easy stuff that floats by on the breeze.

Successful multi - taskers know how easy it is to lose focus and cross over that line between being effective and just being busy. They use goals to help them stay on track – even when distractions and demands are coming at them hot and heavy. They know circumstances can change things in the blink of an eye. But they also know that goals can help them get back on course quickly and not lose sight of the main things.

To ensure multi – tasking is a personal strength, examine your own approach to it. We all need to do some of it – some more than others. Busy behavior can become addicting - take the time to analyze what you're doing and why you're doing it. And if the answer is to meet important goals – you're on target. If, on the other hand, much of it is to keep from doing something else that's more important, take the time to develop or modify the few main goals needed to keep focus where it should be. And then work those goals as the way to break loose from the busyness addiction.

Written by Andy Cox, President

Cox Consulting Group, 4049 E Vista Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85032 Ph& Fax: 602-795-4100; E Mail: acox@coxconsultgroup.com;Website:www.coxconsultgroup.com; Blog: http://multiplysuccess.blogspot.com

Copyright 200 All Rights Reserved

The Six Steps Of A Project

Reading about the trials and tribulations of Boeing as it brings the 787 Dreamliner to market reminded me of a poster I saw in a clients office. It described the Six Steps Of A Project. They are:

1 - Enthusiasm
2 - Disillusionment
3 - Panic
4 - Search for the Guilty
5 - Punishment of the Innocent
6 - Praise and Glory for the Nonparticipants

At first I thought they were funny, but then realized in humor there is a lot of truth.

Fortunately, unlike the Four Stages of Change - Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing, that always happen in any and all projects and change, the Six Steps, while fairly common, don't. They are reserved for those efforts that really get off the rails, and where the organizational culture focuses on blame rather than problem solving.


I've been the fly on the wall at enough project meetings to know what's going on in the minds of many of the team members.

Here's what one member of a project team may have thought while working through the Six Steps of a project.

Step 1 - Enthusiasm - "High hopes, everyone's on board, we're gonna make this happen - fast. Yeah, sure we're optimistic, but why not? The Project Manager assures me we've learned from the past projects, he knows where the landmines are planted, and we're not going to make the same mistakes - we're smarter than that. Let's go!"

Stage 2 - Disillusionment - "Damn, this is harder than we thought! We really bagged ourselves with that pie - in - the - sky estimate of time to market. I feel like the Old Cowboy in the painting the Boss has on his wall - the one with the caption "There were some things I didn't know about this outfit before I hired on" Ain't that the truth. I wasn't here for the last project, but there are plenty of people telling me it had a lot of the same problems. Gotta keep a positive perspective, but with so many expectations coming up short, I don't know."

Stage 3 - Panic - "Yikes, we're really in the tank on this one. Whose idea was this anyway? Everything we try turns to crap before our very eyes. I didn't know it could be piled this high. The Boss has made it clear he's going to get to the bottom of this pile of you know what, and when he finds out how, why and who screwed things up, it's really going to hit the fan. I don't want to be downwind when that happens."

Stage 4 - Search For The Guilty - "Time to pull the hatch covers shut and hunker down and do what I'm told to do with a "Yessir" and not take any chances. Time to show up on time for those endless status meetings, keep quiet, take notes, look interested and don't make any waves. Bad time for vacations, sick days, seminars or anything else that might make me vulnerable and question my effort. Scratch those Saturday golf games. 24/7 - here we go! I really do want this project to succeed, but I know how easy it is to get caught in the cross hairs when the chiefs are looking to blame somebody. And the person that takes it in the ear seems to always be the person at the bottom of the food chain."


5 - Punishment of the Innocent - "Well, the Project Manager got up and gave his report on where we are in this project, what we have to do to recover and move ahead and what the issues are that need to be put to bed. He didn't get much of a response. There was no discussion from his bosses. They didn't seem that interested in what he had to say. The writing is on the wall, but it's hard to see what he's done that would put him in jeopardy. But the result is we're behind schedule, over budget and nobody is happy. Hope he survives this - he's actually a pretty good guy. If he doesn't, I really want that Old Cowboy painting from his office.

6 - Praise and glory for the non participants - "We got a new Project Manager about three months ago and everything is moving along according to the revised schedule - the one the old Project Manager did. The new PM got a bigger budget and brought in talent to help beef up the Engineering effort, and she obviously has the ear of the the top people. Funny, when she has a meeting and tells the bosses the same stuff the old PM would tell them, they agree and encourage her to press on. We all feel the project is on track, but we can't help but feel the old PM got screwed. He was the shock troop - took the crap - did the modifying and communicated the status without any BS, and the last reward he got was the opportunity to take six months with pay to find a new job. This project wouldn't have gotten off the ground without his effort. Guess he was the wrong person at the wrong time. Too bad. Timing is everything. But that's the way it goes. If anybody asks me to take on a new project, I'm going to say "No Thanks." Better to be safe than sorry. The new PM gave me the the Old Cowboy painting, but told me to take it home - she said it's message is too negative."

If this self conversation sounds familiar to you, it's only because so many project teams get tied up in this kind of scenario. You can bet the team members in this project will think twice before taking risk - and that's too bad. I suspect that in blame cultures a great deal of talent ends up playing it safe - and that's a real waste of talent.

Work to promote problem solving cultures - ones that plan with the Four Stages of Change in mind - at every level. The result of that effort is a much higher level of commitment and engagement. Make the blame game obsolete.

Written by Andy Cox, President

Cox Consulting Group, 4049 E Vista Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85032 Ph & Fax: 602-795-4100; E Mail: acox@coxconsultgroup.com;Website:www.coxconsultgroup.com; Blog: http://multiplysuccess.blogspot.com

Copyright 2009 All Rights Reserved