Battles that could be won

Throughout history, many battle could have been won with the technology available at the time, but for some reason, the technology was no used. I am thinking in particular of D-Day in World War Two. Some say that a particular tank should have been used which would have reduced the number of lives lost which was 2000.

In business, we go through battles too, but of course not as horrible as the battle of a physical war. We have constant issues, or struggles. However, it is important to know the behaviors of people we connect with to make the transactions harmonious. There are useful tools to study behavior: DISC profiles, psychology, and the years and years of business and negotiating experience revealed in books, many found in the popular book stores. The internet is full information on how people think, how people behave.

Similar to the record keeping we do in business, it is also valuable to keep a profile column in Excel on each customer’s or prospect’s personality. A simple word describing the peron could be inputed into the Excel column, such as: bossy, in charge, relaxed, patient, impatient, cooperative, my way only, and so forth. When we come into contact with so many people, we may forget how people behave with us, so lists are always useful. I am a firm practitioner of listing things.

We have the tools to remove potential battles, confrontations with our people. DISC gives us four main types of behaviors, and subcategories based on those four comprising a matrix. D is for agressive, dominant types, C for Cautious, analyzing types, S is for sympathetic, friendly, stability seeking types, and I is for the types who like to influence, and are very socialable. We all fall in one or more of these types. The DISC Profile test, which can be done online is a good way to see who we are, in terms of behavior, our weaknesses, and strengths. I have taken the test and know where I need to make improvements.

Battle start for lack of understanding one another. DISC shows us how to adapt to others’ behaviors, and deal with them, even if we do not totally agree with that individual attitude, way of behaving.

In Real Estate, You Need Tinder, Kindling, and fuel

When I go camping, I get much inspiration from the campfire. The campfire inspiration helps me with my perspective on things, and supports my business building endeavor. I have plenty of opportunties to build a campfire too. I know  the fundamentals to building a successful,  long lasting fire.

Next time you are in nature, and have the opportunity to make a campfire, study the process that you go through in buiding your fire.  See how you can apply basics of  campfire building  to growing your own business, or taking it to the next level. 

A fire must have oxygen to breath. To breath, there must be a tunnel of air at the bottom or ground level of the fire buildup. A business also needs good air, the oxygen, coming in so the business can grow, and continue. I make a fire by first gathering thre three essential ingredients: tinder, kindling and fuel. I learned this from my years in  Scouting, and camping with friends and family. Gather the amount you need, and have plenty of supply available. In business, you also need to gather the tools, and systems you need to bring forth the business activity.  You have to start with fundamentals.    Like a fire, every business has at least three fundamentals. These are the three essential building blocks to making a successful fire or business.

Next, I decide on the shape of my fire construction. I like the teepee campfire type the best. It works for me. I have a proven and tried system that works in my business too.  I stay with something until I find a better way. As of now, I have not found a better fire formation than the teepee fire type. It is easy to build. I gather three to four pieces of bigger wood, the fuel. I put them up in the form of a teepee, each log leaning against each other.  Then, I put a couple pieces of smaller wood, the kindling sticks, flat down on the ground, parallel to each other. On top of the kindling I spread the tender, which is the real small,  stuff to get the fire going: twigs, dried grass, leaves, or paper. I make sure I don’t add too much to prevent the flow of oxygen into the fire. Then, I add more longer kindling, which is  thinner than  the fuel, but thicker than the tender,  up next to the bigger pieces of fuel wood. I follow this process always, because bulding a fire is a process, just like building a business is a process.    I stay focused and consistent in the building and growing process. Building  a fire is an analogy of the process  in buying or selling a home, or a process in running a shop. We gather the essential tools, and make the essential preparations. I like this tender, kindling and fuel analogy. A business needs good preparation. Goals have to be planned. The shape of the business and type of business have to be decided, just like the shape of the fire center, has to be constructed. There is much trial and error in the beginning. We try to build in one way, and not able to get anywhere, so we try another way. With campfire building, we have to gather some experience, so that we know what type of wood we will need, how much, what type of campfire will work best in what condition, whether it is windy, wet or calm. Be prepared is a lesson always. 

Lighting the fire is the fun part of it all. I am not always successful with lighting my fires and wonder what I did wrong in the building process. The match just does not always get the fire burning. What to do. Perhaps we have all thought about our mistakes in business, or what we need to do to rebuild our business, make it stronger, get it moving forward. It is all in how we constructed our plans, our fire, so to speak. Once the fire is lit, we can sit and watch the unfoldment of our work, our plan. It is a rewarding opportunity.