I don’t want to know what you want me to give you.

I want to know what you bring me.

Simple.

Now review your approach.

In this climate it is more attractive to receive than give.

“You will reach a million readers”

If it goes wrong, it can be an easy defense

“We can’t control what your customers want”

You can blame the salesperson or you can blame yourself when the phone doesn’t ring.

Neither are useful.

The real question to ask before you use an advert is this;

What am I looking for the outcome to be?

It could be lots more than ringing telephones.

It could be awareness.

Might be marketing.

Could be a message.

Might be a new thing.

Could be flag waving.

Might be to get enquiries.

Could be to trump the opposition.

Key thing is – do you know?

Or is it that we are all impatient?

Your big long letter won’t be read.

Your short one will.

Take out the editorial scalpel and cut off every superfluous word.

When you do, remember, it shouldn’t have been there in the first place.

If I do, it usually means I have been moved.

Today was one such day.

Yes, it’s a story of a broken heart, but it’s a happy story.

Come with me.

You know the hit RTE Show ‘The Restaurant’?

The one where a celeb cooks for the judges?

You know the handsome cheerful charismatic Maitre D’?

Well, that’s John Healy.

John and I worked together a couple of years back.

It was a happy time.

Why? Because John would light up the darkest day and sees the good in everything.

We smiled every time we were with John.

Then John fell ill.

He had a broken heart, literally.

It’s been a 5 year journey, filled with emotion, that you and I will never understand.

We worried.

We talked.

We wondered.

Recently, John had a new heart.

It was the end of 5 long years and the beginning of a new life.

It was good news.

No, stop, it was ‘great’ happy news.

I still wondered though because second hand news can distort.

Today I felt grumpy. A nasty little cold is chipping away.

My minute suffering was about to disappear, it took but a phone call.

I answered lazily without looking at who it was.

It was John.

It was John with the brand new heart and he kept all the best bits of the original John too.

In one second my mood lifted to sheer joy.

John told me all about his journey and the God sent new dawn.

This is a short way of saying a few things;

Treasure your friends, just like John.

Learn from their strength, just like John.

Sense their suffering and be there, just like John.

Be there for them, just like John.

Know how lucky you are to know such people and have them in your corner

…….. just like John.

Welcome back John, our world awaits you.

No, it’s not money.

No, it’s not power.

No, it’s not ego.

Yes, it is freedom.

Yes, it is a mission.

Yes, it is a crusade.

It’s really helpful to have a map.

But maps will never be as important as the mission.

You can still take wrong turns with a map.

A mission will get you back on track sooner or later.Add New

Can you define yours?

Being bored shouldn’t be an option in life, work or play.

It’s a waste of precious time.

If someone is bored it’s quite easy to swap a word.

Try it and see what I mean.

“I’m bored” equals “I’m lazy”

Being bored is easy, lazy and a waste.

Might be in life, family, home or work

The choices stay the same.

You can do nothing.

You can take a chance and guess

You can take a guess and take a risk

You can search and research.

You can bluff.

Only be seeking will you ever find.

At best, you take a 50/50 chance.

They either work out or they don’t.

You can do better.

Here’s some thoughts.

First, be really clear about the values and culture of your company.

Do they fit in?

Probe their values without telling them yours.

Do they fit in?

Do they need to fit in?

Maybe not fitting in is better?

Do they conform?

Should they conform?

How individual are they?

Should they be?

What makes you angry, really angry?

Why?

What do you want to achieve in your first 3 months?

Why?

What have you achieved in your last 3 months?

Did they?

What have you done in the last year to prepare yourself for this role?
Show me?

I’m sure you can add to this list.

Do, then share it.

Don’t return calls.

Don’t reply to emails.

Be in a meeting.

Promise to call back.

Read the ‘read’ receipt but pretend you never got the note.

Say “I forgot”

Say “I was just about to call you”

See sales people as a nuisance (even though you sell too)

Feel it’s okay not to respond.

Hope they will go away.

Bury your head in the sand.

Be polite next time you meet at a function.

Pretend you are sincere.

Pretend you are a high achieving brand.

Pretend you have standards.

Pretend you care about customers.

Thing is, every salesperson selling to you is exactly that – a customer

But maybe not anymore?

I was slightly horrified at their incredulous prices (as well as the misspellings littering their website)

I pressed ahead.

I called, no answer.

I called again, no answer but a pleasant voicemail.

I called again and got the pleasant voicemail directing me to a mobile.

I called the mobile, no answer.

I called again and got another pleasant sounding voicemail.

I listened and here’s the best bit;

“We are really sorry to miss your call (you didn’t miss it Love, you just didn’t answer) but please (in pleading tones) do leave us a message and (in hugely sincere tones)

And we absolutely promise you that we will call you back in (wait for it) just a few short minutes”

That was ago.

I’m still waiting.

Well, not really.