Practical Eloquence Blog |

My Resolution for 2020: LESS Motivation, Discipline and Willpower

By Jack Malcolm / 1.8.2020 / No Comment

Right now, at the start of a new decade, my motivation, discipline and willpower are at record near-highs, as I suspect yours probably are. How could they not be, at the start of a whole new decade? I’ve set myself ambitious goals for selling and writing, crafted plans to achieve them, disciplined my time, and resolved to use my willpower to do what it takes, even when I don’t feel like it.

Motivated, disciplined and resolute: if only these feelings would last, it will be a fantastic year!

But of course, they almost certainly won’t last, at least not at current levels. In fact, I’m actively working to ensure that they won’t. My principal goal for 2020 is to reduce the importance of motivation, discipline and willpower in my life.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not opposed to being motivated, disciplined and strong-willed. They are hugely important qualities. But they are also uncertain, costly and risky. They’re uncertain because as we all know, high points are often followed by low points, and things happen that discourage or distract us from our goals and worthy behaviors. They’re costly in the sense that we have to think about them and make a conscious effort to apply them during those low points, precisely when we’re least equipped to deploy those mental and psychological resources. They’re risky because when we inevitably fall short of our own high expectations we tend to think there’s something wrong with us.

So, what’s the alternative? Wouldn’t it be great to have a silent partner who could increase the certainty and reduce the cost by shouldering the load during those times, and quietly and efficiently do the job for us when we don’t feel like it? Believe it or not, there actually is. We all have such a silent partner and it does much more for us than we’re probably aware of. It’s called habit, and according to Wendy Wood in her book, Good Habits, Bad Habits, it already works in approximately 43% of everything we do daily.

For example, were you motivated to brush your teeth this morning? Probably not, for the simple reason that you didn’t even have to think about it. You just did it automatically. If you had to think about it, that would have been one more small drain on your mental energy, and those things add up during the day.

Let’s take something more substantial: working out. Maybe you don’t work out regularly and you’ve made a resolution to do more of it this year. Assuming you haven’t procrastinated, a full week into the new year, you probably don’t have the same enthusiasm that you had on the first (or second) day of the new year, and it takes a big effort to get it done. I, on the other hand, have worked out every day this year, but that’s no great accomplishment because I worked out every single day for over four years. Working out daily has become so automatic with me that it would take a huge effort to break my streak. What some people find difficult is effortless to me.

But lest that sounds like bragging, let me also confess how difficult it has been for me to actually “motivate” myself to sit and actually write down these thoughts in my head. I seriously had to motivate myself to do it, and it’s taking a lot out of me. I have the best intentions to become much more regular in my writing for 2020, but my honest prediction is that my odds of success are less than fifty-fifty.

Habit runs so much of our lives, for better or worse, that it behooves us to make use of it. The good news is that with some intelligent application of motivation discipline and willpower in the short term, we can reduce the need for them in the long term. Instilling a beneficial habit is like buying a car for cash rather than leasing it. It may cost a lot up front, but then you have it for as long as it lasts without payments. (And unlike a car, it appreciates in value over time.)

“Intelligent application” is the key. Establishing a good habit or breaking a bad habit is possible if you try hard enough, but it’s so much easier if you understand the underlying dynamics of habit formation and use them to apply an effective process for doing so.

I know the process works because I waited a whole year before writing this article. A little over a year ago, I read James Clear’s Atomic Habits and resolved to work on some habits for 2019. One was daily journaling, and I actually managed to do so every single day of the year except one. Another was daily meditation, which I’ve tried and failed to pick up for years, until I finally made it a regular habit this year[1].

I will write more about the processes for habit formation in upcoming articles, as I apply them to two activities this year: prospecting and writing. I know they’re hugely important; I’m motivated to do both—and I always manage find innovative excuses to avoid them. I trust my learnings will be helpful, but if you don’t want to wait, I strongly suggest that you buy and study the two books I’ve mentioned in this article, and start crafting your own processes to instill productive habits.

Motivation, discipline and willpower: these are my flashy but fickle friends. I do plan to rely on them this year, but mostly to help me rely on my more faithful friend, habit!

[1] I highly recommend both books I’ve mentioned so far. Atomic Habits is engaging and hands-on, and the Good Habits, Bad Habits carries the scientific weight of one of the most accomplished researchers in the field.

Uncategorized

Communication Kaizen

By Jack Malcolm / 11.4.2019 / No Comment

Winston Churchill took up painting at the age of forty, and eventually became very passionate and quite good at it, despite one or two other distractions on his mind. He once said, “When I get to heaven I mean to spend a considerable portion of my first million years in painting, and so get to the bottom of the subject.”

As Churchill reminds us, any worthwhile and challenging human activity takes a lot of work to do well, much less master. If anything, persuasive communication is even more nuanced and challenging than painting, because it requires you to adjust real time and to tailor your approach to the particular audience. So, whether it’s personal conversations, presentations, lean communication, writing emails and reports, or any other form of communication, the good and bad news is that you’re not as good as you could be.

It’s important to realize that improvement does not come automatically with time. Like driving a car, the average person reaches an acceptable skill level and then stays there for the rest of their life, unless they have a good reason to change.

As Anders Ericsson, perhaps the world’s reigning expert on expertise, says:

“Some professionals continue to improve steadily during many years and even decades, and are eventually recognized by their peers as having attained the highest levels as experts or masters. In contrast, most professionals in a domain reach a stable, average, undistinguished level of achievement within a relatively short time frame and maintain this mediocre level for the rest of their careers.”[1]

Unless you’re happy to count yourself among the average and undistinguished, you’ve got to want to change, and you’ve got be intentional in how you go about it. That spirit is captured in the concept of kaizen. The word kaizen comes from the Japanese characters “kai”, meaning change, and “zen”, meaning good. So, it means change for the better. It also includes the concept of continuous improvement, which means that you don’t make a one-time change and then live with the new status quo. Rather, you constantly look for ways to improve even on your improvements. As we’ve seen, it’s so easy for waste to creep into our regular communication, that it should not be difficult to constantly refresh your sources of possible improvements.

Take stock and prioritize

Start by thinking carefully about what you want to improve. If you decide you need to improve your communication skills, you probably already have a sense of what you want to work on. Whenever I start a coaching relationship with a new client, I ask them what their priorities, and most people can quickly identify two or three with no problem. If you’re not sure, start by self-monitoring: consciously pay attention to yourself as you engage in regular communication. You could even take it a step further by either asking others for feedback, or even videotape yourself.

We don’t have a million years to work on our skills, but we should also be patient and realistic. It’s hard to change too many things at once, so if your list is longer than about three items, I suggest picking one or two areas at a time. You don’t have to get it perfect, but improve it a little and then move to the next.

Be clear about your intentions

Implementation intentions have been found to be highly effective in reminding and motivating desired behaviors. Rather than vaguely saying you’re going to try to get better, think about specifically what you will do differently and when. So, you might say, “When I go to the meeting on Tuesday, I will consciously try to start with the bottom line up front every time I’m asked a question.” Implementation intentions work well if you only go through them in your mind, but they work even better if you write them down. You’ll be amazed of how your mental reminder will kick in when you’re in the actual situation you envisioned.

Review

How many times have you left a meeting and said to yourself: “I wish I had said this, or asked that”? The first few minutes after an encounter are the best time to conduct an after-action review, even if only informally. Go over what went right, what you could have done differently, and then turn that into implementation intentions for your next meeting or conversation.

By the way, if Churchill has been true to his word, by my calculations he’s spent 54 years so far working on his craft. I wonder how it’s going?

[1] K. Anders Ericsson, Enhancing the Development of Professional Performance: Implications from the Study of Deliberate Practice, in Development of Professional Expertise, p. 405.

Sales

How to Score More Points with Your Value Proposition

By Jack Malcolm / 10.28.2019 / No Comment

How to Score More Points with Your Value Proposition

In general, a value proposition describes why people should buy from you. It’s the ultimate argument that should tip the scales in your favor when they make their decision.

But for purposes of this article, let’s scale back that ambition a little. Especially in complex sales, it’s rather presumptive to try to tell someone why they should do business with you until you know more about their particular situation—in other words, until you’ve gone through that specialized thinking process called a buying cycle.

More realistically, your value proposition as I address it in this post should describe why they should take the time to talk with you and explore whether they have a need that you are best qualified to address. In other words, the purpose of a value proposition is to earn their attention. It’s what you need to get in the door.

Not all value propositions are created equal

Leo Tolstoy said: “All happy families are alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

Thank goodness for unhappy families, for without them there would be no great stories or literature.

If you replace the word “family” with “prospect”, you can easily see that the same idea applies to selling.

Thank goodness for unhappy prospects, for without them there would be no need for our products or services. But, since every unhappy prospect is unhappy in their own way, for maximum possible impact you must make your value proposition must be as closely targeted to their particular unhappiness as possible.

In this article I will explain how to move closer and closer to the bulls-eye of a perfectly targeted value proposition. Just like a dartboard, the closer you get to the center (your prospect), the more points you score. Let’s look at the five possible concentric rings.

The first shot that most people take at the target is some version of the better mousetrap theory, where the mere presence of something better is all you need. It sounds something like this:

“Our state-of-the-art MouseRid system is the world’s best, most advanced and most efficient mousetrap.”

Score: 0 points

This value proposition is all about you, not the prospect. With so much information available to prospects nowadays, they’ll likely ignore anything that does not target a specific need, so we’ll score that a complete miss. You’ve put a hole in the wall near the target, but that’s about it.

For our second shot, we zero in on a common problem that the prospect may have. For added focus, you could select a problem specific to their industry, or a recent trend which needs to be addressed.

“A recent Forrester report points out the alarming increase in mouse sightings in your area. Historically, rats and mice have been carriers of the bubonic plague. Let us come in and show you how we address this critical risk.”

Score: 1 point

This one definitely targets a need, although it may or may not be of concern to the individual. Let’s give it 1 point.

For our third shot, we can focus on something specific to the company the prospect works for.

“Your recent annual report states that one of your initiatives is to entertain more this year. That may open you up to an increased risk of a friend spotting a mouse in your house. We will help ensure that your entertainment initiative for 2020 is a great success.”

This one hits closer to home, because it addresses a documented need they have, and it also tells them you’ve done your homework.

Score: 3 points

For our fourth toss of the dart, we home in on something of particular concern to the function or title of your prospect.

“As a parent, nothing matters more to you than the well-being of your children, and seeing a mouse scamper across the little tyke’s room could ruin them for life.”

You probably put your finger on something that this person has thought about recently, and there’s a good chance that they’ll want to hear more.

Score: 5 points

For our fifth and best shot, we learn enough about the individual so that we can address an issue they personally care about.

“In your recent speech to the Chamber of Commerce, you mentioned that your ZeroRodent campaign is a major strategic initiative for you this quarter, but you’re allergic to cheese. We’ve created a system specifically for that particular issue…

You have targeted an issue that they deeply care about and is timely; probably the only reason they might have for not taking a meeting with you is if they have solved the problem already.

Score: Bullseye. 10 points.

One way to think of refining your value proposition is to imagine that every potential prospect has several layers to their identity. They are a) unique individuals, who b) do a certain job, c) in a particular company, d) within a certain industry. The closer you can aim your value proposition to the center of who they are, the more likely you will get that meeting you want.

By the way, did you notice something else about all the value propositions that scored points? Not one mentioned the product.

Uncategorized

Why I Love Mondays

By Jack Malcolm / 10.14.2019 / No Comment

Call me weird, but I LOVE Mondays. Monday is my favorite day of the week. I am more focused on Mondays than any other day of the week, and I get more done on average.

Why do I love Mondays?

Because very Monday is so full of promise and possibility for the week ahead. To me, Monday morning is a chance to start fresh. Every new week offers a fresh chance to improve on the previous one. No matter what happened last week, you can always make this week better.

It’s a chance to start off the week at full speed. A good productive Monday sets the tone for the rest of the week.

Maybe it’s because I work for myself, which makes me solely responsible for choosing how to spend my time and energy, but I view every Monday morning as an empty sheet of paper, and I get to write the story.

It can be intimidating, if you let it be. Or it can be a beautiful challenge to make the best of the unlimited possibilities to fully engage your talent for a worthwhile purpose.

Bring on the week!