Is Work a 4-letter Word?

By Lindy Earl

Why does work, too often, have a negative connotation?  We all have to work in order to survive.  Rent doesn’t get paid, food can’t be bought, without income.  Yes, some people legitimately can’t work and we understand that.  Some people refuse to work, and in truth, we look down on that.

Yet people who enjoy our work, and truly love working, are looked at like we have two heads.  People shake their heads when I tell them that I love working.  Now, I have not always loved my jobs.  I have definitely NOT always liked my bosses.  I haven’t even always liked my working conditions. I have done work that I’d like to pretend was beneath me, but in truth, nothing is beneath me. I’m as human as everyone else and we all have parts of our jobs that we don’t especially enjoy.  I learned to not look down on any job any person does well.  I have had bosses I disrespected, in one case because she would present my work as her own.  The only way I saw out of that situation was to quit, which was sad, because I liked the work.

My very first job was in a pizza kitchen at a theme park – work conditions were less than ideal.  I traveled half an hour to the park, the parking lot was huge even before the half mile walk to my shop, and the kitchen was hot in the middle of the summer.  My work ethic was extreme compared to my co-workers but I really enjoyed putting together the meals and even waiting on customers, which for some reason was supposed to be the bad part of the job.  I even went along with pretending to dislike the patrons, because I was 16 and trying to fit in. In truth, I enjoyed the work.

There are a lot of 4-letter words that are perfectly good: Live, love, give.  Yet 4-letter words have a bad reputation because a few naughty words happen to have the same number of letters.  Naughty words can be traced back hundreds of years and originally were often a combination of words.  While not a 4-letter word, Golly was a contraction for God’s body.  In the 16^th century this was scandalous. You can learn more at  https://io9.gizmodo.com/5912901/a-brief-history-of-four-letter-words.

So, over time, 4-letter words derived a bad connotation and I think it’s time to stop that.  Work is a good 4-letter word.  Work suggests industrious, assiduous, diligent, even attentive, conscientious, and meticulous.  How are any of these bad things?

Every generation seems to look at the following generation and talk about slovenly ways and lack of work ethic.  In truth, sluggards exist in every generation.  We started naming generations in 1946 by calling them Baby Boomers.  We went backwards and named previous generations. Then we had Gen X, Xennials, Millennials, then Gen Z and Gen Alpha.  Many of the Gen Alpha’s haven’t been born yet since that generation’s births will continue until 2025.

Will every generation continue to look at the next group and share a horror story of work?  Will we continue to pretend that work is a bad thing?

It’s from work that we earn a sense of accomplishment.  We should take pride in our work. People once knew that a job worth doing is worth doing right.  I think it’s still true.  I think you believe it’s still true, too.

Work is a good thing.  Beyond providing for our needs, it gives us a great sense of purpose.  You have a place to go.  Tasks wouldn’t be accomplished without you. Without workers the marketplace would collapse. If you dislike your work, then make an effort to change it.  Go to school, talk to your boss, evaluate your strengths and weaknesses.  If you like what you do but dislike the pay, then change your lifestyle to live within the means you have created.  In truth, we could all do with less.

Some people work to live, others live to work.  I’m the latter since I truly enjoy working.  Whether or not I had a good weekend often depends on what I accomplished.  A nice looking yard and clean house often means I had a good weekend.  If I knocked out a couple of organizational projects, then it was a great weekend.

Start viewing work as a way of sharing your knowledge and showing off your abilities.  Volunteer for extra jobs.  Do everything to the best of your abilities, even if others are slacking off. If somebody teases you about being an overachiever just smile and say, “Yep. And it feels great!”

Lindy is a Business Consultant and Speaker for companies of all sizes and individuals of all levels.  In addition, she is an author and columnist.  Contact her at LMEarl@EarlMarketing.com to speak to your corporation or organization.

Target Marketing

July 18, 2018

by Lindy Earl

Just for fun, I’d like to return to my first business love – Marketing.  So few people seem to truly understand the concept of Marketing.  The word is often misused to mean Sales or Advertising or Promotion.  Those are all small aspects that, together with far more sub-particles, together create Marketing.

Target Marketing is specifically choosing the clients you would like to find.  Why is it important?  The same reason every business decision is important – the bottom line.  By narrowly defining your best customer, you can choose the best promotion and distribution, saving you money on both.  You will know the best price to charge and can even hone your product to fit your target market.  It all comes down to the bottom line – how to maximize your income and minimize your costs.

Now, we are searching for your Primary Target Market.  Realize that a Secondary Market, and maybe even a Tertiary Market, may fall out of your research.  That’s a good thing, because now you’re ready for future efforts.  If you’re as big as McDonald’s, you can have multiple primary markets. Think about it: Mickey D’s sells to children during cartoons with Ronald McDonald the clown.  They also sell to tired mothers on Friday afternoon drive time radio shows.  They sell fun and toys to the children, but convenience and stress-free to the moms.  See, for every audience you have to have a different campaign.  For now, focus on your primary market.

Previous marketers have been so kind to create four general areas by which you can target.  Please know, the more characteristics you can find, the more specific you can be in reaching your target.  Once you find your best target market, you can consistently and frequently advertise to them, increasing your chance of sales.

Demographics are often the easiest to define, but often the least useful.  Sorry, but that’s factual.  So, define the age, gender, education, income level, and other demographic information for your target.  Do NOT say, “everyone!”  You do not have the promotional budget to hit everyone.  The more focused you can be, the less you will pay in advertising.

Second is Geographic Segmentation.  With the joy of the internet, you can sell world-wide.  But do you want to?  If you’re a retailer or service organization, wouldn’t you prefer to sell to the people in your area?  Define that area.  Is it a 20 mile radius or a 40 mile radius?  How far people will travel to buy from you depends on how unique your services are.  If you are the only provider in a hundred mile radius, then there’s your geographic distribution.  If, however, you have competitors all over the place, then limit your marketing to your specific area.  Set yourself apart as the very best in your city or on your street or even on your block.  As you promote yourself in a small area, your reputation will float further out, but you won’t be paying for it.  Word of mouth will kick in when you truly offer the best service and products.  Word of mouth remains the single best form of advertising – it has no cost directly associated with it and the quality of a referral is beyond compare.

Now we start getting to the fun parts of targeting:  Benefits!  Similar to Behavioristic Segmentation, the concept is to find the reason people need your product or service.  For instance, some people only buy cakes for birthdays while others buy cakes for holidays.  Some buy toothpaste for taste while others choose toothpaste based on promises of whiter teeth.  Learn the reason people want to buy your service, and be the company that always provides exactly that benefit.  In my world as a Consultant, I provide a meeting summary to my clients, every time we meet.  During our time together, my clients do not have to do anything but sit and talk and listen.  When we first begin they often want to take notes, but they don’t need to, because they receive a written summary of the meeting.  Those summaries set me apart from other consultants.  Do people buy your products more during one season?  Find that season and promote hard.  Then, mirror those reasons in another season and promote again.

Last is Psychographic Segmentation.  I think this is often where the rubber meets the road.  Psychographics includes things like attitudes, interests, hobbies, and opinions.  When you figure out where the clients you want are spending their leisure time – whether it’s volunteering or at an event – you can then advertise at those places.  For instance, sporting events and operas both hand out programs.  Check out the advertisers on both programs.  For sporting events you’ll probably find ads for local bars and restaurants.  For the opera or symphony you’ll find ads for Mercedes dealers, furriers, and upscale jewelry.  These businesses have learned what their target market does in their off-hours.  This is why these businesses remain successful.

Knowing your target market is a huge part of your future success.  If, for example, you’re a Realtor with the theory that you can sell to anyone, I probably won’t recommend you, because I want a specialist for my friends and clients.  If you set yourself up as the premiere Realtor in a specific area, and truly know the school system and shopping district and utilities in that area, so you can be a true benefit to your clients, then you’re the one I will recommend.

Take time to list a few dozen characteristics and you will see that the best places for you to network, advertise, and promote your business will become evident. The joy of Target Marketing!

Lindy is a Business Consultant and Speaker for companies of all sizes and individuals of all levels.  In addition, she is an author and columnist.  Contact her at LMEarl@EarlMarketing.com.

Where Do We Get Drive?

July 11, 2018

By Lindy Earl

Drive is kind of an old-fashioned word.  We understand the verb immediately – it means get in your car and go.  What was once a huge and exciting event when we were 16 is now just a way to get where we’re going.

Yet, we all know people who seem to have an inner drive.  They have an internal pushing mechanism within them that makes them keep going. Even when everyone else is done, they just keep going.  Then, after seemingly little rest, they are back, ready to go again – longer, harder, stronger than others. We describe them as driven.

What is the source of their mystical power?  I think it can come from a number of places.  First, some people are just blessed with it.  They have an energy that they have to expend, and they choose to spend it on useful, functional areas, not video games or Instagram.

Second, I think that drive fuels drive.  I like the (anonymous – unless you know something that I don’t) quote, The harder I work, the luckier I get.  There is truth in these words!  And, as a person works and drives themselves harder and harder, they find their inner drive and push themselves even further.  We see it with athletes.  No five year old starts that driven – they have parents and coaches who encourage them.  It’s when they get a taste of success that they find their drive. We see it with adrenaline junkies.  We see it in the business world.  Success breeds success.  We are driven by our own accomplishments.

But what if you don’t seem to have drive within you?  Can you manufacture drive within yourself?  Definitely.  One way, catastrophes.  Hear me out.  As badly as it begins, it does get better.  You’ve heard of great charities, often raising money for a rare disease.  If you look into the history of these organizations, you sometimes find that they were founded and built due to the death of a child.  Parents who went through the horrible pain of losing their child now dedicate their lives to finding a cure, so other parents don’t suffer the same fate.  This is how they find their inner drive.

Sometimes the catastrophe isn’t quite as horrific, but the drive is equally strong.  I knew a woman who, after a divorce and being left a single mom of young children, became uniquely successful in the multi-level marketing world.  She was often asked to speak at events.  When asked how she did it, she never had an answer like, “I made 100 calls a day,” or “I never took no for an answer.”  She would shake her head and say, “I didn’t have any choice.  I had rent to pay and children to feed.”  The woman was driven by an outside force, children, and that became an inner drive.  While I don’t want anything bad to happen to you, maybe you can borrow a charity and find your drive.

You can create the drive within yourself.  Set goals using the 3 rules (attainable, given amount of time, measurable), then make yourself achieve them.  Do whatever it takes:  get up early, increase your discipline, work late, think outside of the box.  Once you achieve your goals, preferably before your self-imposed time, create new goals and start all over. Make it a game if that helps you.  Award yourself prizes, like a fun evening out or a special dessert or a new toy.  Charge yourself if you miss your goal – extra laps or no game this weekend.  Find your motivator that makes you a driven person.

Now, I realize that not all people are meant to be driven.  Those who are not, and have no wish to be, can say that they will never die of a heart attack.  They may be right.  So while we did learn where we can find drive, it doesn’t mean it’s for all people.  Still, lighting a fire under yourselves, or your employees, isn’t a bad idea.  You can call it something else, but the point is to get the job done.

Lindy is a Business Consultant and Speaker for companies of all sizes and individuals of all levels.  In addition, she is an author and columnist.  Contact her at LMEarl@EarlMarketing.com.

What Were You Mistaught?

 

July 4, 2018

By Lindy Earl

If you’ve read me for even a little while, you may recognize this title.  I first wrote on being mistaught from the Christian perspective.  I have spoken on being mistaught in relationships.  I’d like to address the idea of being mistaught in the business world.

Some of what we were taught turned out to be wrong, not because it was faulty information, but because the world changed.  They used to tell us to snail mail hundreds of resumes, and one would hit.  Or making hundreds of phone calls was the path to success.  With our technological changes, I’m no longer convinced these are always the best paths.

Let’s look at a simple example.  Were you taught that the definition of insanity is doing something the same way over and over but expecting a different result?  If so, please know that this is Einstein’s definition of insanity.  It is not the true definition of a neurological disorder. The medical definition is, Of unsound mind; severely mentally impaired.

There are legal definitions of insanity, too:  mental illness of such a severe nature that a person cannot distinguish fantasy from reality (law.com).  You were mistaught the definition, maybe even heard it repeatedly, thus accepted and believed it and possibly used the term incorrectly any number of times.

What other things have you been mistaught?  For instance, back in high school, did you ever hear the concept that if somebody goes into a crying fit they should be slapped repeatedly until they come around?  In fact, it is definitely not the right way to deal with a hysterical person.  The correct response is exactly the opposite: calmly speak to someone until they calm down.

Here’s another one: if you burn yourself you should put butter on the burn.  Silliest idea ever!  The butter can infect your injury so now you have double trouble.  So, how did these untruths come into commonality?  And, why do they persist?  We believe these things because they are taught by people in authority over us, such as parents or teachers.  Or maybe someone who sounded authoritative just took control and deemed something to be true.  That doesn’t make it so, but we accepted and believed ideas we shouldn’t have.

So the question becomes, how do we know if we were taught incorrectly?  One common sense way is to see what others are doing.  There is nothing wrong with being a sheep if you look ahead and see that the sheep are going in the right direction.  If, however, the sheep are being led to slaughter, get out of line!

The most important thing is to not pass on misinformation to other people.  In some cases, as we said above about getting a job, we need to accept that the hiring process has changed in the last generation.  You can tell people what worked 30 years ago, but recognize that it may not work as well today.

It may be more difficult, but if somebody makes an incorrect statement, you have a responsibility to gently correct them.  Smiling and nodding so you don’t offend someone is not helpful.  A gentle correction should be accepted and appreciated by an intelligent person.  If, instead, the person is angry with you, then recognize that you may not be dealing with the right person and move on.  At least you will know you tried.

When you hear something, stop and ask yourself: Does the person sharing the information have any credibility in this matter?  Einstein was a physicist, not a psychologist.  Second, does it make sense?  If it doesn’t, then move on.  Do you need to do any research to prove the validity?  I would, because I don’t want to hurt my reputation by passing along bad information.

The challenge is that we often don’t realize that information is incorrect.  Obviously, if we did, we wouldn’t accept it.  I’m sure there have been times when you knew something, only to have someone contradict you, and you accepted their erroneous information over your own.  Then you check and you prove to yourself that you were right, but it’s often too late to correct the person who shared bad intel.  Frustrating, huh?

The old, old adage, Don’t take any wooden nickels, was a warning to not be fooled.  I don’t think, in general, that people intelligently mislead us.  Sadly, poor information is out in the world – sometimes because information changes (the world is not flat), or because it was just wrong in the first place.

The last step, once you’re aware that you were mistaught, is to relearn the information correctly.  That can be hard!  You have years believing an untruth, so you need to remove the lies from your mind to allow space for the real truth.  It can be very difficult, but it’s possible.  I know from experience.  I continue to learn.

Lindy is a Business Consultant and Speaker for companies of all sizes and individuals of all levels.  In addition, she is an author and columnist.  Contact her at LMEarl@EarlMarketing.com.