Six Elements Of Mental Toughness

 

Top athletes have to master them. Business leaders do, too.

There are at least six markers of mental toughness from sports psychology that apply equally well to business situations. As with athletes, business leaders need to ask, am I mentally tough enough to compete?

1. Flexibility. Game-ready leaders have the ability to absorb the unexpected and remain supple and non-defensive. They maintain humor even when the situation becomes tough. If something isn't going well or doesn't turn out as expected, they remain flexible in their approach and look for new ways to solve the problem. Just like a quarterback faced with a broken play, a leader may have to decide quickly on a different way to get the ball down the field.

Also, leaders must continually be open to re-educating themselves, even in the basics, which they may have taken for granted for too long. They need to exercise caution in defensively falling back on ideas they know and are comfortable with rather than looking for new ways of doing business.

2. Responsiveness. Game-ready leaders are able to remain engaged, alive and connected with a situation when under pressure. They are constantly identifying the opportunities, challenges, and threats in the environment. They understand that they need to think differently about how their environment and business operate.

The problems we encounter now are messier and more complicated than ever before. They often can't be solved in the ways others were. Game-ready leaders look for new ways to think about these problems and, more important, look for fresh ways out of these problems. They have a sense of urgency about responding to the changing face of business.

Just as a coach may change strategies at halftime in response to the way a game is going based on the opponent's strengths and weaknesses, game-ready leaders in business must respond to changes in the environment and the players.

We must pay close attention to and understand global, national, regional and local economic trends, market trends, consumer trends, industry trends and competitor responses. Relying on old assumptions about how business operates and assuming that last year's trends still hold today is dangerous. Leaders make decisions and act based on up-to-the-minute and in-depth knowledge of what is really going on in business now.

3. Strength. Game-ready leaders are able to exert and resist great force when under pressure and to keep going against insurmountable odds. They find the strength to dig deep and garner the resolve to keep going, even when in a seemingly losing game. They focus on giving their best and fighting hard until the end, with persistent intensity throughout the game.

The story of Team Hoyt, Dick and Rick, is an inspirational example of drawing on both inner and physical strength. Rick was born in 1962 to Dick and Judy Hoyt and was diagnosed as a spastic quadriplegic with cerebral palsy. His parents were advised to institutionalize him because"there was no chance of him recovering, and little hope for Rick to live a 'normal' life. This was just the beginning of Dick and Judy's quest for Rick's inclusion in community, sports, education, and one day, the workplace. In the spring of 1977, Rick told his father that he wanted to participate in a 5-mile benefit run for a lacrosse player who had been paralyzed in an accident. Far from being a long-distance runner, Dick agreed to push Rick in his wheelchair, and they finished all 5 miles, coming in next to last. That night, Rick told his father, 'Dad, when I'm running, it feels like I'm not handicapped.' At that moment, they formed Team Hoyt and have run many races together with now impressive times. The 2009 Boston Marathon was officially Team Hoyt's 1,000th race." (Adapted from the Team Hoyt website.)

Just as athletes dig deep to find the physical and psychological strength to continue through adverse and tough situations, game-ready business leaders must exhibit the same strength. As James Loehr puts it, top athletes think, "While this is tough, I am a whole lot tougher." Game-ready business leaders bring the same intensity, through all the continual pounding.

4. Courage and ethics. Game-ready leaders do the right thing for the organization and the team. They suppress the temptation to cut corners or to undermine others so they come out on top. They have the courage to make the hard but right decisions for the organization.

A famous story I share with my son as an example of courage and ethics in sports is that of the tennis player Andy Roddick. In 2008 Roddick was the No. 1 seed at the Rome Masters. He was at match point and about to win. The umpire called his opponent for a double-fault serve. Walking to shake his opponent's hand, Roddick noticed a ball mark on the clay--in bounds. Roddick got the umpire's attention and pointed out that the ball had nicked the line but was in fact in bounds. The match continued. Roddick went on to lose the match, and his beyond-the-call-of-duty honesty made him famous as an upstanding person, an opponent who would do the right thing. Game-ready leaders in business do the same. PepsiCo ( PEP - news - people ) provides a great business example of this. A disgruntled Coca-Cola ( KO - news - people ) employee and two other individuals attempted to sell proprietary information to Pepsi. Pepsi received a package containing a sample of a new Coke product and other information. Pepsi immediately informed Coke, which contacted the FBI. Game-ready business leaders ultimately win by making the right and courageous decisions.

5. Resiliency. Game-ready leaders rebound from disappointments, mistakes and missed opportunities and get right back in the game. They have a hardiness for enduring the downs of a situation. They remain optimistic in the face of adversity and quickly change when necessary.They resolve to make things better and are experts at figuring out ways to do more with fewer resources. How about the resiliency of Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga, who was just one out away from pitching a perfect game when Jim Joyce, the first-base umpire, called a runner safe who was indeed out? Joyce had made an error. Galarraga was certainly deeply disappointed, but he continued to pitch and get the next batter out. Afterward, Joyce admitted the error and apologized. Galarraga shrugged it off, saying, "Everyone makes mistakes."

6. Sportsmanship. Game-ready leaders exhibit sportsmanship. They don't let the opponent know when he or she has gotten them down. "Chin up," I say to my son. Clearly we all experience disappointment, attacks from others, an occasional blow to the stomach. However, the behavior exhibited by game-ready leaders after losing or being attacked by others or the situation sets the tone for the rest of an organization. Additionally, top athletes support their teammates and their roles. If teammates start competing with and attacking one another, it is definitely difficult to win.

Living in Denver, I follow the Denver Broncos. Kyle Orton has done an outstanding job of displaying sportsmanship while under public scrutiny. Brought to the Broncos last year, he has been the subject of constant press speculation about possibly being replaced. The drafting of Tim Tebow brought on another press outcry, that Kyle was out and Tim was in. Kyle handled it with grace and dignity. Putting his mind to the game and the team, he got on the field and simply practiced hard, welcoming his new teammate. In the face of even internal competition, Kyle Orton exhibits the mentality of "Bring it on!"

We all need these same markers of toughness to succeed and lead in today's business environment. We cannot succeed on technical skill alone. Companies have tough questions and situations to address. Game-ready leaders go into today's business environment with their best mental game and with the attitude of "Bring it on!" After all, who doesn't love the challenge and fun of a demanding, complex game?

Shore Thing Marketing Inc received this from Forbes.com

www.shorethinginc.com

9 Things you should know before you give up

 

9 Things you should know before you give up

 

 

 

 

Shore Thing Marketing believes, if you feel like you’re at the end the road with nowhere to go, realize you are lying to yourself.  You have imprisoned yourself in your own mind by telling self-defeating stories – stories about what your life should be like, what you should have already accomplished, and so forth.  By doing this you’ve created a tiny space in your mind and you’ve begun to believe you are actually living in it.

 

But you are NOT.  You are alive in a vast world with infinite destinations.  Take a moment to remind yourself of this.  Go outside.  Look at the sky and the clouds.  THIS is the space in which you really live.  Breathe it in.  Then look at your current situation again.

 

Here are some things you need to consider before you give up:

 

1.     You never fail until you’re satisfied with failure. – Failure is not falling down; failure is staying down when you have the choice to get back up.  Sometimes you have to fail a thousand times to succeed.  Which means you haven’t really failed yet; you’ve just found a bunch of ways that don’t work.  So don’t get so hung up on a few failed attempts that you miss every new opportunity coming your way.  All of your ideas that don’t work are simply stepping-stones on your way to the one idea that does.  As Winston Churchill once said, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”

 

2.     What you have learned is what’s important. – Life always offers you a second chance – it’s called tomorrow.  But this second chance doesn’t mean anything if you haven’t learned from the events of today.  You have to acknowledge your troubles but gather strength from them, and laugh at your mistakes but learn from them.  Getting a second chance in life is about giving yourself the opportunity to grow beyond your past failures.  It’s about learning as you go and positively adjusting your attitude and efforts toward future possibilities.

 

3.     Tough times are just part of life’s natural balance. – Life lives, life dies.  Life laughs, life cries.  Life gives up and life tries.  And life looks different through everyone’s eyes.  In fact, who you were, who you are, and who you will become are three completely different people.  And as you gradually grow beyond the person you were yesterday, keep life’s challenges in perspective.  Hear life’s harmony, and notice the delicate balance.  Realize that life is like playing a grand piano.  The white keys create your happiness and the black keys denote your troubles.  But as you go through life’s journey, remember that the black keys also create music.

 

4.     Pain helps you grow. – Sometimes things must change so you can change.  Sometimes you must break a little so you can get a peek inside to see what an awesome powerhouse you are.  Sometimes mistakes must be made so wisdom can be earned.  Sometimes you must overcome heartache so you can begin to follow your heart again.

 

5.     Success is a way of living. – Don’t let your struggles become your identity.  Not everything in your life will go as you expect it to.  This is why you need to drop expectations, live in the present, and go with the flow, rather than against it.  Remind yourself that it’s perfectly okay not to be perfect.  Ultimately, success is not something you achieve, it is what you learn and how you grow as you deal with the realities of life – it is a way of living and being.

 

6.     You can choose differently. – The difference between a mountain and a molehill is your perspective.  And in many cases, the only thing in life you have control over is your perspective.  No matter what happens, YOU control what the meaning is, and what to do with the meaning you give to the circumstance.  Choose to react in a way that motivates happiness, love, or forgiveness, even when circumstances make that choice difficult.

 

7.     It’s not supposed to be easy. – Just because you’re not where you want to be today doesn’t mean you won’t be there someday.  Again, success is tied to long-term determination.  Successful people keep moving and trying.  They make mistakes, but they do not quit.  If things in your life aren’t happening as planned right now, that’s okay.  It just means it’s not the right time.  Life’s brick walls are not there to keep you out, they’re there to give you a chance to show how badly you want something.  They’re there to stop the people who don’t want it as bad as you do.

 

8.     Simplify, simplify, simplify. – Like all magnificent things, life is quite simple.  Its simplicity is found not in seeing how little you can get by with – that’s poverty – but how efficiently you can conquer your biggest difficulties.  Remember, the greatest wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non-essentials.  Your most significant ideas and accomplishments will be genius in their simplicity.  One day you will find the right words, the right decisions, and the right solutions that will lead you to victory, and they will be far simpler than they seem right now.

 

9.     Life is still good. – You may have seen better days, but you have also seen worse.  You might not have all your wants, but you do have all your needs.  You woke up with a few aches and pains, but you woke up.  Your life may not be perfect, but it is good.  And more good things are coming down the road as long as you keep moving forward.

 

 

 

Top 3 Reasons Why Shore Thing Marketing Hires Entry Level Candidates

TOP THREE REASONS WHY SHORE THING MARKETING HIRES ENTRY LEVEL CANDIDATES

Job searching these days can be a full time job in itself.  Finding the picture perfect position that one can actually meet the qualifications for can become quite the headache.   Companies always want two to three years of experience; but how can you get that experience?  Easy. Find a company who thinks backwards.
Shore Thing Marketing, Inc. has committed to hiring entry level candidates who are searching for tangible work experience in their first position post-graduation, or better yet, excited to start a career.  Check out the top three reasons we hire entry level.

1.  Entry level candidates tend to be open minded.  Entry level = fresh minds and fresh minds means new, innovative ideas for the company.  Shore Thing prides itself on providing an open door policy to new employees, where candidates feel comfortable enough to provide their creative input which ultimately results in the Management staff implementing new ideas submitted by its employees.  

2.  Shore Thing Marketing, Inc. chooses to hire entry level candidates is because they bring enthusiasm.  Enthusiasm makes up for a lack of skills and experience.  A common phrase often used around the office is, "Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard."

3.   They are a great fit for the company culture.  The employees at Shore Thing take what they do very seriously, but they don't take themselves too serious.  Although everyone is focused and determined to succeed, it is not uncommon to see a spontaneous dance move bust out in the office.
So if you're self conscious about your semi-naked resume...fear no more!

Top 5 Reasons New Grads Like Shore Thing Marketing, Inc.

Top 5 Reasons New Grads Like Shore Thing Marketing, Inc.

(other than our really, really good looking people and our high energy environment....duh! Who doesn't like to have fun at work?)

www.shorethinginc.com

1. Learn to sell: Our objective is to increase market share and penetration for our national clients on a local level.  We have proven to our clients that our direct marketing approach provides them with the face to face contact and handshake that they desperately need to remain competitive in today’s market.  While face to face selling is still the most effective means of winning customers and building business—it is not for the faint of heart.  Shore Thing, Inc. trains its staff so that the work is not only fun, but highly effective. The ability to sell is perhaps the most valued skill a new-to-the-workforce employee can gain. Shore Thing invests 12 months of training in each new employee – preparing them not only for success at Shore Thing, but also giving them the networking skills they will need for the duration of their professional lives.

2.  Learn to run a business: In addition to sales training, Shore Thing's Account Representatives receive Entrepreneurship101.  Account Representatives learn how to hire and train employees, maximize customer satisfaction, and grow the bottom-line. Ultimately, successful Account Representatives are given an opportunity to run their own 20-person team. Joining Shore Thing is a fast-track to running your own business. 

3.   Get real world experience: Shore Thing provides the opportunity for people to get their foot in the door and jump start their career in the fields of sales, marketing and advertising. Our hands-on approach allows us to train candidates with little to no experience and catapult their levels of confidence and experience to the next level.  How many times are recent graduates turned down for lack of experience? Whether you make your career at Shore Thing or not, the experience you learn as an Account Representative looks great on your resume! You can use your experience to advance within our organization, or to qualify for high paying corporate sales and sales management jobs later on. 

4.   Advance at your own pace: Are you a competitor? Do you take initiative? Are you driven to hit (or surpass) your goals no matter what? If so, you can enjoy a very successful individual sales career at Shore Thing Marketing, Inc. Prefer leading others? Shore Thing  is especially right for you. Many successful representatives go on to hire and run their own teams.  Shore Thing is expanding rapidly; and hires only from within for top leadership spots. 


5.   Run the show: The ultimate goal for Shore Thing  is to hire and develop motivated people who can be developed into leadership roles. The ideal Account Representative learns the art of direct sales, learns to hire, train, and motivate employees, succeeds financially as an individual Account Representative, and then advances to manage their own 20+ team. 
 

Shore Thing offers entry-level employees a unique opportunity to learn, get real world experience, and advance professionally. Our training program is designed to cross-train the right candidate in all aspects of business administration and marketing, as well as in corporate communication and team leadership. The focus is to prepare each candidate for a position of leadership, or management, overseeing the marketing for the largest energy supply company in the country and supervising a team of 20+ employees. 

To learn more about our professional sales careers at Shore Thing Marketing, Inc., email a cover letter and resume to: hr@shorethinginc.com or call (908) 755-5420 and ask to speak with Human Resources.

Face-To-Face Marketing: Why It Matters Now More Than Ever!

Face-To-Face Marketing: Why It Matters Now More Than Ever!

Face-to-Face Marketing is now the number one business-to-business marketing medium—why?

The business world has been radically changed and improved by the advent of electronic communication—e-mail, web sites, blogs, PDAs, and even “old” tech like cell phones allow us to very efficiently service many more customers than ever before.  This trend allows fewer client support people to serve more clients—faster, too.

That’s the good news. The challenge is that the central premise of all sales is that people buy from people they “like” and people they “trust”—always.  Like and Trust can be maintained electronically, but it has been proven time and again that customers need some Face-to-Face contact to really get to Like and Trust.  This is one of the reasons that Face-to-Face Marketing has become the number one business-to-business marketing medium.

The other reason Face-to-Face Marketing has become number one is the opportunity to see firsthand the offerings of various suppliers.  For example, if you are looking for services or products related to CRM there is a show called the CRM Summit which is chock-full of every possible provider in that space.  In just a few hours a buyer can get an up-to-the-minute overview and detailed information for the entire industry. From a seller’s perspective, if they are at the right event, they have the opportunity to efficiently expose their offering to a very high percentage of the prospects in that segment.

So what does it take to make Face-to-Face Marketing work?

1. The Plan — have a well-defined plan of what you want to do, what you want prospects to get from their experience, and how you will deliver.  A good plan underpins everything.

2. Pick the right opportunities — the right show or event will make all the difference. First, start by asking your current customers what shows or events they go to and why.

3. Have a great presence — the right trade show booth or graphics help prospects understand who you are, what you do and why they should care.  A great presence also includes having the right people work the event.

4. Follow up and evaluate — manage and measure your results.  A good CRM system is essential.  A plan for fast follow-up on leads and inquiries is vital.

5. Have a good partner — a good plan poorly executed is no plan at all. Find a good partner that can help with all the thousand little details that Face-to-Face Marketing presents.

In the current business climate it is more important than ever to build and maintain Like and Trust with our clients.  Face-to-Face Marketing is one of the best ways to do that.

Time for a little Q&A with President!

You guys remember that show "Blues Clues"?  Remember..."MAIL CALL!!" Come on, you know, not only the song but the dance that goes along with it as well!  Ok, it's totally dorky of us to make that reference but we had the chance to sit down with the President of Shore Thing Marketing, Inc. and pick his brain. So we've got some news!

In a recent interview, President Rich Dinella offers some insight on the company's core values, answers some commonly asked questions, and talks about Shore Thing Marketing's future.  Check it out!

What's so cool about Shore Thing Marketing?
 "Our culture is defined by  high energy.  I've chosen to surround myself with an ecletic group of young professionals. Most members of our team have had very little professional experience.  Our dedication, and hands on training enables us to pull candidates from various educational backgrounds and develop them into successful leaders in business.  Candidates are offered unlimited upward mobility, and successful ones are trained for management." "My degree is in Computer Information Systems".  I wasn't looking for sales, marketing, or management when I first started.  I was looking to start my career, a place I would be excited to go to work interact with my co-workers and clients.  I wanted to feel like a part of an organization," states President Rich Dinella. 

What is it that Shore Thing Marketing actually does?
"Oh, that's simple!  We build sales teams for Fortune 500 clients.  We focus our efforts on a face-to-face, relationship based marketing approach, where we're able to bring our clients long term customers while  increasing brand recognition and level of customer loyalty. Things have gone really well so far (could be because we're incredibly good looking), so we're looking to not only expand our sales and marketing departments, but expand our client base and dabble into some new, trendy industries as well".

What are the advantages your services provide for a client?
"For clients that do not have internal sales or marketing teams, we offer a service that is more effective in reaching their target markets than more traditional forms of advertising.  (You know --the traditional forms you learn about in school: catalogs, media, telemarketing, commercials, or print advertisements)  Because our scope and range of services is unlimited, clients that have an internal sales force often find that our teams will outperform their own and will do so at a lower cost.  Large companies need sales, and are looking to do it at a low cost.  That's where we step in."

Why do you consider yourself "the future of outsourced sales?"
There is more to this claim than simply the growing business trend of increased outsourcing and the popularity of face-to-face marketing and sales in the modern age of information.  We pride ourselves on the ability to adapt to changes in the business world in order to meet whatever challenges face us.  By developing every candidate from the entry level position, we ingrain an impressive work ethic and possess the utmost integrity. Couple that with our innovative thinking and it's impossible to not be "the next best thing!"

What makes Shore Thing Marketing, Inc. different from a multi-level marketing firm?
Shore Thing Marketing is a direct sales and marketing company, not a multi-level marketing firm.  Shore Thing Marketing specializes in direct sales, which is the selling of a product or service through direct, person-to-person contact.  While we are similar to direct marketing firms, we do not operate through catalog and/or phone sales, which typically define these businesses.  According to the Direct Selling Association, direct selling is a robust industry with U.S. sales totaling approximately $30 billion in 2008 and more than 74% of the American public having purchased goods or services through direct sales companies.  Direct selling refers to a distribution method, whereas multi-level marketing refers to a type of compensation plan.  At Shore Thing Marketing, our sales professionals are compensated solely on one's own product sales.  In a multi-level firm, representatives are compensated based not only on one's own product sales, but also on the product sales of one's "downline" (the people a representative has brought into the business).  In a multi-level firm, each representative is responsible for recruiting his or her own sales team, and is never able to surpass any members "upline" from him or her.  At Shore Thing Marketing, there are no such compensation plans or restrictions, and the success of each individual is limited only by his or her own efforts.  Additionally, Shore Thing Marketing manages recruiting internally for its sales professionals, allowing our representatives to focus on building their own skill set for success.  Finally, neither direct sales nor multi-level marketing firms are considered part of what is termed a "pyramid scheme".  A pyramid scheme is a non-sustainable business model, characterized by promising participant’s payment or services in exchange for enrolling other people into the scheme or training them to take part, rather than supplying any real investment or sale of products or services to the public.  Often, pyramid schemes will request payment up-front in order for an individual to join the "business".  Pyramid schemes are a form of fraud, and reputable companies do not retain such organizations for direct sales campaigns.

So those were all the questions we had for today.  Stay tuned for our next blog!