Dal LaMagna Interview: Failure Is Not Final
If you subscribe to self-development eNewsletters, round about this time of the year, (late January of 2011), your inbox will be inundated with a ton of emails with subject headings like “10 reasons why your new year’s resolutions have failed” and that is usually followed by an offer of “How we can help”.
If you have stuck with your resolution to improve your health, fitness, finances, and personal relationships then kudos to you.
Okay, so the title of this article may sound like one of those motivational, “Come on people, pick yourself up when you’re down” types.
Maybe it is, may be it isn’t. It all depends on your perspective.
Dal LaMagna Interview You can download the mp3 recording and pdf transcript of this interview by going to http://yourmoneyandyourmindset.com/online-store/
You see, we often make the mistake that successful people (millionaires) burst on to the scene as readymade straight out of the box (overnight) successes.
Some of these erroneous assumptions are engineered by the popular press because of the higher drama impact it has on the reader and hence circulation, and revenue (ooh, isn’t that cynical).
The reality is more boring, but nevertheless equally important.
It isn’t sexy to talk about the hard yards, sacrifices and sense of self belief and faith these people showed in the face of adversity.
Show me a person who claims to have just thought up an idea, implemented it and cashed in the millions of dollars without breaking into a sweat and I will show you Pinocchio.
So, I am going to throw you this idea. If you don’t fail, you will not know how to succeed. No, it’s not a mind bender, it actually occurs with predictable frequency.
I have made it my mission to ask self made millionaires how they arrived at their current situation.
Not a single millionaire has glossed over their multiple attempts before finally getting the right business plan, system or model to work well for them. Their candour and honesty is indeed refreshing.
Therefore, I would like to share with you the following interview with Mr Dal LaMagna, the founder of Tweezerman. He is actually a funny guy.
Mr Tweezerman
I have included a synopsis and titled the interview: How to fail your way to success
Dal LaMagna speaks honestly about his sixteen failed business ventures including turning down an offer from Coca Cola and saying no to being involved with the Woodstock Music Festival before he made his fortune from his company Tweezerman.
Tweezerman started as a one-man operation with seed capital of $500. By using head and heart business principles to grow his venture, he was able to walk away with millions when he sold it years later.
Dal shares his wisdom and insights on how to succeed as an entrepreneur in his new book Raising Eyebrows: A Failed Entrepreneur Finally Gets It Right (John Wiley & Sons).
He has done a huge favor to all the budding business tycoons out there by being up front and authentic when he tells it like it is which means you have to do the hard yards and own up to your mistakes, and that’s just for starters.
What more, the man shows that you can be a capitalist and have a social conscience.
I found Dal’s leadership style inspirational-there aren’t many CEOs who genuinely care and will take onboard every employee’s suggestion to grow a business.
Tweezerman flourished because Dal had the foresight to make each and every employee a partner in the business. Yes folks, they got a share of the revenue, not just a monthly pay check.
Do yourself a favor, get the book and read Dal’s many tips on how to succeed in business, and maybe just maybe you will not need to fail 16 times before hitting the mother lode.
Find him at his website:
http://www.dallamagna.com
What has leadership got to do with becoming wealthy: Part 2
In Part 1 of this series, I finished with the statement that a good leader demonstrates emotional intelligence in his/her daily dealings with their staff.
A good leader realizes and publicly acknowledges that they cannot achieve their goals on their own, and a good leader learns to place their well-founded trust in their staff.
This folks, is another form of leveraging of your time (as in time equals money) to succeed in whatever business you are in.
So, how do you recruit good staff who share the same values, ie work ethic and general outlook in life. In other words, how do you find the best people who will fit nicely into your business organization.
Well, I am a firm believer in asking questions beyond the standard run of the mill enquiries so beloved of human resource types, during a formal interview process.
Without straying into the “no go” zone about their personal life, and orientation which is none of my business, I want to know what makes them tick, what inspires them to get out of bed in the morning to come and work for me.
This is because I can then get a better sense of the person. To me they are not a number or a drone but real people who have real feelings, fears and aspirations and hopefully a burning ambition and a bit of fire in their belly.
It’s a bit like being on a first date, a lot of this time is spent talking, shooting the breeze and when a person is at ease, they reveal themselves.
All I have to do is shut up and listen and observe. So, a good leader knows when to speak and when to be quiet. I’d hazard the ratio is a 20:80 split. Do you get my drift?
Do yourself a favor and read up on body language; believe me that speaks volumes when it comes to getting an honest response from your interview candidate.
As I previously said, people are not motivated by money as much as feeling that their contribution is worthwhile and publicly acknowledged.
This is the human connection that you are looking for. If you get this right, your people will go the extra mile for you, simply because you have gotten them wholly involved in your vision.
And it all comes down to the “C” word, communication.
For the old school types, communication consists of me (the boss) talking and you (the minion) listening and carrying out my wishes. It does remind me of one of those typical army movies where the drill sergeant yells at the recruit, “Hey, meathead, if I want your opinion, I will give it to you”.
For the rest of us who do not subscribe to this method of communication, stay tuned and I will share with you some worthwhile ideas.
Yours in health, wealth and happiness
What has leadership got to do with becoming wealthy: Part 1
Answer: Everything!
Leadership, or more importantly good leadership underpins your ability to succeed.
As a great leader, you are the inspiration, visionary and literally the soul of your business.
Click here to listen to the full recording Leadership and Wealth Part 1
It applies equally across the spectrum should you be the CEO of a multi national corporation or a solopreneur with a red hot idea.
The most reliable way to creating wealth is to build up a business that turns over significant dollars and selling it as a viable concern, or have a business model that can be replicated many times over, then licensing these as franchises.
The caveat here is that your business must provide exemplary value for a service and/or product that is second to none, and that the consumer is willing to pay top dollar for what you offer.
I use the example of your toothache and your smiling dentist, Dr Fang.
If you had a toothache you’d probably ignore it for as long as it is possible. Show me a person who enjoys sitting in the dentist’s chair with a high speed drill on their teeth and I will show you someone who is flat lining.
However, there will come a time when all the pain killer tablets in your bathroom cabinet will not stop the sharp shooting pain that makes you want to grab a hammer and hit your toes with it because that is the only thing that will take your attention away from your toothache. This usually occurs round about 9 PM on a Sunday evening.
At this stage you will not care if you have to take a second mortgage on your house to have your toothache dealt with.
Dr Fang is more than happy to oblige, fixes your toothache and makes the pain go away (for a fee).
Dr Fang knows that toothaches do not occur between the hours of 9-5 on weekdays only. In fact, he/she has noticed that if their dental surgery was open 24 hours a day 7 days a week, there would not be a shortage of patients in their waiting room.
Because Dr Fang cannot be at more than one place at a time, they hire other dentists and support staff to replicate their service across town or even the country.
Their secret weapon is that they are able to leverage their time. Another equally important component is that they aim for staff members to have the same passion and work ethic.
If you are a heart centered businessperson, not only will you be looking at a bottom line of increased profits or revenue, but as importantly, that increased productivity has not come at the expense of your employees’ well being.
Put yourself in Dr Fang’s shoes and ask yourself, how do I get my staff to share my big picture goals and visions for my business?
Here’s where effective, strong and good leadership becomes vital to a business not only surviving but thriving, GFC or no GFC.
Just reiterating, as a great leader, you are the inspiration, visionary and literally the soul of your business.
Essentially, leadership is firstly knowing yourself (and being wholly comfortable and accepting of who you are).
Secondly having a clear vision of what your (business) goals are.
Thirdly, it is being able to clearly communicate this vision to your staff and getting total buy in from them. They have to do this voluntarily or else it will not work (think Captain Bligh and the mutiny on the HMS Bounty).
This includes building trust, getting your workers to function as a cohesive unit and motivating them to perform at their highest level, and to do so on a consistent basis.
Impossible, you say?
Not if you are an emotionally intelligent leader.
People are not motivated by money as much as feeling that their contribution is worthwhile and publicly acknowledged.
More on this in my next post; until then
Yours in health, wealth and happiness
Women Executives: Leadership Role Models (Part 4)
So, you have arrived at a position within your organisation that has some degree of autonomy and responsibility. In fact, you now lead a team of individuals, with unique talents.
Your boss has handed you a brief that requires your team to deliver on an important project on time and on budget. You know that it is the make or break opportunity and you really want to prove that you have what it takes.
This is your springboard to making it at the executive management level, your holy grail.
However, you also notice that you are going boldly to where no other woman has been, in fact your company is devoid of women executives. So, nada and zip in terms of finding a role model or a mentor in a skirt and killer heels. Bummer!
You are a modern woman (read resourceful, and confident), and you take it upon yourself to hire a career or executive coach to fast track your ambitions.
Any coach worth their salt will start with working out what makes you tick.
I am fond of quoting this line from Sun Tzu, “If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle”–Art of War
In other words, if you want to achieve (and earn) more, you have to become more.
You cannot expect to operate on a higher level without first making the necessary changes in the way you think, behave and conduct yourself. If you are expecting circumstances to adapt to suit you (as you are now), you are going to be waiting a very long time to become successful.
Have you given some serious though about what it means to be a well respected and effective leader?
In your present role where you work for your immediate boss, ask yourself what is it that you admire about him/her. Conversely what do not like very much about the way they run their unit or department especially in their daily interaction with their team.
List what you consider as the traits of your ideal leader, a person that you’d happily become. What are the interpersonal skills that you would like that person to possess?
Remember, to be an effective leader means getting your team to carry out a piece of work to a standard and level above what they would normally deliver. More importantly, it is getting them to do this willingly without cajoling or the threat of unemployment!
Bottom line: It means being influential and having your people opt in to your vision and goals.
I shall leave you to ponder this for the time being.
Yours in health, wealth and happiness
Owning Up and Learning from My Mistakes
Our education system does not encourage us to admit our errors and effectively punishes us when we get it wrong.
This is reinforced by the assessment strategy of grading us down in tests and formal examinations when we do not produce the “right’ answers.
The system is designed to turn out cookie cutter lookalikes with not a whit of individuality.
It stymies creativity, inventiveness and discourages exploration; in effect we get a slap on the wrist every time we colour outside the lines.
So does the title of this article stir up a bit of discomfort?
I certainly hope so, only because I want you to challenge conventional thinking and behaviour.
What if, for a change, we celebrated instead of shaming kids in grade school for giving the incorrect answer?
Rather than making them feel like a failure we gave them elephant stamps and gold stars for having a go, for attempting an answer.
Brian Tracy, one of my favourite motivational speakers and amazing business coach said it best:
Learning from your mistakes is an essential skill that enables you to develop the resilience to be a master of change rather than a victim of change.
The person who recognizes that he has made a mistake and changes direction the fastest is the one who will win in an age of increasing information, technology and competition.
By remaining fast on your feet, you will be able to out-play and out-position your competition.
You will become a creator of circumstances rather than a creature of circumstances.
In other words: Adaptability is the name of the game.
In every episode of Star Trek Dr Spock may have said, “Live long and prosper”, but Dr Tan says “Live smart and prosper”.
So, the faster you fail, the quicker you get to your goals.
You might as well get through it sooner than later because that lets you gain momentum as you hurtle towards success.
Yours in health, wealth and happiness
Endometriosis and the Career Driven Women
Below is an article by Melissa Meyer of www.cureendometriosis.com
Melissa has written a personal blog about endometriosis and her own research and discovery on healing.
I am sure most women can relate, so if you are interested in finding out more, drop by Melissa’s site for a read.
Endometriosis affects 1 in 7 women around the world and this number is sadly on a steady increase. The condition affects women of all ages and many women only discover they have the condition once they slow down and wish to conceive a child. It affects a woman’s fertility and this can be the very first obvious symptom.
Endometriosis is formed when retrograde cells are found within the uterus that grow and form adhesions. It is these cells that can cause damage to fallopian tubes and ovaries and thereby inhibit pregnancy.
As the condition is more prevalent in women in their late 20’s it is often associated as a “career women’s disease”.
Women who have endometriosis seem to possess personality traits which fall into strong, driven and perfectionism traits, which has created the link between the “career women’s disease” and endometriosis.
Though these traits appear on the surface to reflect a determined and confident personality, the driving force behind these traits needs to be carefully reassessed. Many women with endometriosis actually suffer from a constant need to be better than who they currently are.
They are driven to constantly improve who they are and be more than what they can be. Although this trait can be positive in certain individuals, too much of this drive can create unnecessary physical and emotional stress.
The motives for being more and driving oneself further often relate to a poor self-image or a need to be perfect. Endometriosis has been closely linked to a thought pattern referred to as “Timeous Perfectionism”.
Essentially the drive is to do a job perfectly and quickly at the same time. It is this constant pressure to perform and do more, in a shorter space of time at the highest standard that ultimately creates an incredible stress inside of the body. Endometriosis sufferers have been recognized to possess this thinking pattern and the connection between time and perfectionism is even more prevalent in certain job roles.
It is also this perfectionism that is unfulfilling and never ending. Achievements are not valued within themselves and they are constantly seeking more. They are often self critical and unrewarding towards their own achievements and seek approval from others.
It is important to acknowledge and accept these traits within oneself early so we can recognize them when we think and act on them and learn to slow down and recognize the emotion attached to the stress event. The more we can recognize our repeated traits, the easier our healing process will be.
Happiness begins when one can accept oneself and love oneself regardless of achievements. Acknowledgement for what one has achieved is also a very important step and would also provide additional self-esteem. We seldom give ourselves true reward for the things we have achieved in life.
It is only through acknowledgement and self love that true healing and happiness and really occur.
Women Executives: Leadership Role Models (Part 2)
Just in case you are wondering if there is still a stigma attached to being a woman and aspiring to executive and management roles, please read the article below.
I would be very interested to hear your thoughts
Maternity leave will kill your career, recruitment companies warn women
By Jane Hansen The Sunday Telegraph, September 19, 2010
Pregnancy
Refusing to promote a woman because she pregnant is illegal but recruitment agents believe those who take maternity leave are less likely to get ahead.
HEAD-hunting companies say women should forgo maternity leave if they want their careers to flourish.
Refusing promotion to an employee because she is pregnant is illegal, but leading head-hunters admit mothers are more likely to be promoted to top-level positions, such as chief executive officer or board director, if they do not take maternity leave.
“You’re only the parent of a one-year-old for a short time and if an employee is worried about childcare arrangements, uncomfortable, or worrying who’s looking after the baby, then I’m not sure you’ll be focused on the job,” recruitment firm Talent 2’s New South Wales (Australia) general manager Nicholas Tuckfield said of women who return from maternity leave too early.
Mr Tuckfield, who head-hunts candidates for jobs with salaries of more than $100,000, said taking 12 months’ maternity leave in an extremely competitive job market would have a negative impact.
He said at senior executive level, where MBAs were mandatory and long hours par for the course, competition was stiff.
Highly competitive
“On a logical level, if you’re out of the workforce for 12 months you don’t advance your managerial skills and, inevitably, everyone else does,” he said.
“You don’t get to the top doing 37 1/2 hours a week.
“It’s highly competitive, and if you’re an aspiring rising star and take a year out, your star won’t keep rising.”
Julia Ross, who was pregnant when she set up her recruitment agency 22 years ago, said although times were changing, at the executive level it was unforgiving.
“If you’re aiming for managing director, stopping and starting your career will make it tougher to place yourself properly,” Ms Ross said.
“You may even pass up promotions but, hey, it didn’t stop (Westpac Chief Executive Officer) Gail Kelly, did it?”
Fair Work Ombudsman chief counsel Leigh Johns said more than 70 pregnancy discrimination complaints had been made to the agency since its inception in July last year.
Complaints
A prosecution has been launched in the case of a 36-year-old mother-of-one who allegedly was told she might not be able to return to her position as clerical worker and that her pregnancy had “caused inconvenience” for a printing company.
Several of the complaints, including those arising from employers declining to keep a job open, demotion of someone on parental leave, and refusing promotion to an employee because she is pregnant, are currently under investigation.
Mr Johns said women needed to be aware of their rights.
“News of impending parenthood should be met with delight, not discrimination,” he said.
Neil Waters from Egon Zehnder, a company which specialises in placing chief executives, said if a woman was genuinely good at her job she would be given the right to juggle work and pregnancy.
“You can’t put a line through someone because they’re going to bear a child … but there are trade-offs and not everyone can make them,” he said.
“The CEO becomes the company. It’s hard work, 18 hours a day, six days a week, and it’s an enormous commitment.”
Slow change
Other top level executive recruitment officers, such as Heidi Mason from Russell Reynolds, said the findings were a reflection of an old, conservative view which was slowly changing.
“I think there’s a perception that there’s an impact, but we’re starting to respect that men and women who balance their lives make better leaders,” Ms Mason said.
But the fact remains that only two per cent of chief executive roles are held by women, and men outnumber women on boards by 10 to one.
The NSW Anti Discrimination Board president Stepan Kerkyasharian said there are unwritten rules at play that explain the deficit of women in the upper echelons of business.
“Some recruitment agencies may be complicit in this, a client says to them ‘no, we don’t want a women who might get pregnant’ wink, wink, nudge nudge,” he said.
Women Executives: Leadership Role Models (Part 1)
If you think 21st century women have it made as top flight executives, Chief Executive Officers and the ultimate holy grail of governance as Chairman of the Board of a multi national corporation, think again.
Male captains of industry have been fortunate to have so many outstanding male examples to model as they ascend the corporate ladder. In fact there is an embarrassment of riches with regards to asking and getting a strong and positive mentor to help them grow and develop into the top job.
The same cannot be said for females. Women executives in leadership positions are few and far in between according to some statistics I uncovered.
A 2008 Australian Census of Women in Leadership published by the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency found that the number of women on boards and executive management of Australia’s top 200 ASX (Australian Stock Exchange) companies could be counted on fingers on one hand (with one digit to spare).
The percentage of women as Chairman and CEOs were 4 of 200 (2.0%) in each category; board of directors numbered 125 of 1504 (8.3%).
There was no female on the board of directors in 51 % of these ASX 200 listed companies.
Because we see more women in business suits today (than say in the 1950s) there is an assumption that they must occupy executive management positions. The reality is that there are more women in middle management positions in human resources, finance, medical and health administration, and real estate and property businesses today than any other time.
However, at the pointy end i.e., top management where the real game is played, women are under represented.
In 2010, only 2.8 percent of Fortune 500 chief executives were female.
I believe that sisters need to do it for themselves.
Specifically they need strong, smart and compassionate female role models to help them navigate their way through the management maze.
How will they do this? I will discuss some strategies in my next post.
Yours in health, wealth and happiness