Alan Weiss’s Monday Morning Memo® – 12/28/2020
In all my years of consulting with hundreds of global organizations and thousands of executives and entrepreneurs, I’ve never yet found one person who rebelled at the idea of creating a better future. Not one person has ever said, “Can you help me be complacent?” or “I can’t imagine being any happier than I am now.” Most people are sedulous about ideating some improved future for themselves, their families, their organization.
However, what I’ve found is that not everyone realizes that future because they are afraid of the journey. They’re not certain how to get there or, if they are, they’re afraid that the risks are too great. They need assurances and guarantees which, of course, are not to be had in any great journey. Just ask Magellan, or Amundsen, or Marie Curie, or Bezos, or LeBron James.
I call this transit from the safe “today” to the coveted “future” the Ambiguous Zone. You can’t be airlifted and magically transported (even by Elon Musk or Flash Gordon) to the future, you have to travel the road yourself. What people need is leadership, either self-leadership (the ability to take prudent risk and the resiliency to recover from setback) or others’ leadership (people in whom we have faith and trust—I call this “referent leadership”).
We always loved going to the Jersey Shore and found ways to make the trip as positive as possible. I love Australia and Japan and have come to create acceptable 16-hour flights. My college degree was important, and I figured out a way to get through the four years well.
Your destiny is really in your own hands, but the challenge is to be willing to be bold about your journey and steadfast in your goals. Otherwise, other people are creating their own futures which simply involve you. You’ve ceded control.
The audience likes to be taken on new journeys.
—David Copperfield
My life is longer because of the journeys I have taken.
—Brian Chesky
Business Renaissance: I believe that the signs are very clear for an economic rebirth late first quarter or early second quarter. While many of us have learned to cope well with adversity, we need different techniques to exploit the opportunities that are arriving. I’m hosting a livestream event on January 15 at 9 am eastern (which will be recorded) to share with you my insights and specific tactics. I’ll be talking about how to leverage the inadequacies of past strategies, how to permanently engage in remote advisory work, how to acquire business without being present, and how to create new, innovative offerings at any time at all, among other approaches, and will take questions throughout. This will be on my site (alanweiss.com) in a couple of days, but if you want to grab your place now, go here: https://alanweiss.com/
2021 Book Sprint: Early February starts my sixth Book Sprint wherein participants create an entire, professional book proposal over 60 days for submission to agents and/or publishers. Our track record is about 80% for book contracts signed! Limited participation, I give you assignments weekly and we meet by Zoom weekly and share our work. Nothing else like this is offered anywhere. I can take six more people. Take assertive action to get that book (or next book) underway and in front of publishers.
MacKay CEO Forums: My long-time client and colleague, Nancy MacKay, is seeking additional chairs for her vast network which provides virtual meetings for business owners and executives. The chairs, while continuing to run their own businesses, also facilitate these meetings periodically, and gain exposure to potential clients by also addressing the groups and becoming known within the network. Here’s a video conversation with me and Nancy with more information: https://vimeo.com/451547172/b19e467e3e. You can reach Nancy for further discussions here: [email protected]. Just mention that I sent you to receive a quick response.
Million Dollar Consulting® College Goes Virtual: Join me for the second-ever virtual college over three mornings January 26-28, 2021 (afternoons in Europe). We’ll have group exercises, role plays, case studies, and great interaction. To launch this new approach, I’ve reduced the fee by 50%. I hosted a dozen people from five countries in the October virtual College. Use this January opportunity to help launch you into the emerging economy with new energy and new techniques in 2021: https://alanweiss.com/
If not now, when?
High Impact Writing: Whether an article or a book, an email or a blog post, write rapidly with maximum influence and effectiveness. Master power language, metaphors, examples, and colorful language. This is the second such offering. All this in one virtual session of three hours: https://alanweiss.com/g
Prestige Mastermind Groups: Limited to five people, facilitated by me, nine sessions of 90 minutes over 90 days. Designed to enable you to take advantage and capitalize on best practices and the approaching business boom: https://alanweiss.com/gr
