Small Details

Have you fumbled with a bottle of medicine, or a tube of sun tan lotion, or a bottle of cough syrup to try to find the right dosage? The print is very small. It’s not your age or failing eyesight. It’s a legal requirement that this information be there, but it takes up a lot of room amidst other requirements for informing us consumers. Good luck with indigestion at 2 in the morning. These are requirements carried out symbolically even though they then fail in their intent, sort of like the microscopic legal mumbo jumbo they shoot by you in three seconds after watching some advertising on television.

Honorifics

I can put 19 initials after my name, not that I ever would. During over 30 years in my career, no one has ever asked if I held a CMC (certified management consultant) or CSP (certified speaking professional). I’ve been honored by the Coaching Foundation but no one cares. Only one person ever asked me where I received my undergraduate degree (Rutgers) and I think it’s because he was eager to tell me he graduated from Harvard (Roy Vagelos, CEO of Merck). They don’t string tin cans on the rear bumper of a car taking newlyweds on their honeymoons any more, and you shouldn’t string these initials to your bumper, either. People driving behind you find them annoying.

Look Me in the Eye

In this “Zoom age” a lot of people simply put up a placeholder when they attend an online session, rather than turn their cameras on. Some people can’t stand cleaning up early in the morning, or are embarrassed by their background, or want to multitask while pretending to pay attention. I demand that all videos be turned on. It’s rude otherwise to colleagues, and I want to see people’s facial expressions. Remote interactions are barren enough of non-verbal behavior. I also have observed that this habit carries over to personal meetings, where more people sit in the back of the room, pretend to be taking notes on lap tops and tablets but are doing their email instead, and choose not to participate in the interactions. Their loss.

Ongoing “Body Building”

As you grow older—and I’m talking in your 40s and above—I think three areas are important to constantly “workout.” One is physical strength, with exercise and/or a trainer. Another is mental strength, with building vocabulary and word games (Wordle, acrostics). And the third is small motor skills (with hobbies and work requiring dexterity and manipulation). It’s never too late to start, and this kind of preventive investment is far better than the contingent (joint replacements, being at a loss for words and names, fumbling items you’re trying to grasp and move).

New:

Thought Leadership 2024

I’m hosting a tenth Thought Leadership Conference, and our first such session post-pandemic, in the West Palm Beach, Florida area on September 10-12, 2024. This will probably be the last such “live” event of its kind since my future plans are to create a quarterly Zoom subscription for this endeavor in 2025 and beyond.

We will focus on:

• The No Normal® of the workplace and how to market and succeed in continually turbulent times.
• What the impending US presidential election will mean for professional services.
• How to create weekly, relevant, dramatic IP.
• Staying ahead of the innovation curve using your own past and continuing “body of work.”
• Passive, global income generation—creation and sustainability.
• Options for successful use of discretionary time.
• Financial realities and metrics for safety and security (and prudent risk).
• Topics raised in the prep work sent to participants.

We will have a special guest speaker whom I’ll announce soon. My newest book, Building Dynamic Communities: creating an evergreen client ecosystem, to be released in June, will be my gift to you, and the morning of the third day of the 2.5-day event will be optional and included in the fee. I’ll be “riffing” on that day on politics, society, education, personal wealth, and so forth.

The fee is $15,000, which includes rooms, breakfasts, lunches, and a cocktail reception. Finally, if you attend this session you may join the quarterly Zoom sessions next year for free, a $2,000 value.

In the Buyer’s Office

I’ve been asked to elaborate on the extremely popular “In the Buyer’s Office” videos on a regular basis. So I’m going to stop whining about doing it, and do it. I’m offering a 1.5-day, live session in Rhode Island during which everyone will get the chance to sell to the buyer and to be the buyer. You may record this if you like. You’ll learn how to, and apply how to:

• Open the meeting gracefully and move quickly to your objective.
• Handle distractions.
• Overcome objections.
• Reframe and pivot the conversation.
• Create trust, find key issues, create conceptual agreement, and “pour cement.”
• Create a resultant proposal with over an 80% probability of acceptance of options 2 or 3.

For those of you who can’t travel or are afraid of TSA, I’m offering the same experience (as much as possible) virtually over the course of three mornings. All of this will be recorded for distribution.

Live: June 4-5, 2024 —9AM-4PM and 9AM-12PM.
Venue to be announced.
Zoom: May 7, 8, 9, 2024—9AM-12PM.

Million Dollar Consulting^® for the World

I’ve provided 14 modules with videos from me, from your colleagues globally, slides, and text. They include everything from launch to self-esteem, proposals to fees, closing business to creating a brand. No upsells! It’s only $115. What do you think about a 10,000:1 ROI? We have over 500 people from 47 countries.

New: Million Dollar Consulting^® for the World ADVANCED

The new program contains over 60 videos and has 15 modules focusing on what to do in the buyer’s office, overcoming crises, financial planning, and much, much more.

Sentient Strategy Certification

My new book on the topic released in March so this is an ideal time to market Sentient Strategy. Write me to apply, join over 70 people certified in six countries. One-time fee of $12,000, includes 90 days of my support, free admission to all future certifications, and admission to a private web board with other Sentient facilitators. In a recent program a particpant sold a $100,000 strategy program within 48 hours.

Note:

I’ve reinstated my inexpensive, limited coaching program I last used during Covid because I’ve found people who need help right now growing their practices. I’ve offered it to past coaching participants, but I can handle ten more people at this point. Five calls at your desire: review proposals, prepare for meetings, create passive income, etc. $2,024. You simply have to use them before the end of the year, 30 minutes each. Should pay for itself 20 times over. You can write to discuss ([email protected]) or sign up by paying here: https://alanweiss.com/store/quick-pay/