Leadership Lessons: Just How Good of a Salesperson are You?

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Just how good of a salesperson are you?
By James Dodwell - Hammers of Hope

 Good Morning,

The school year is nearing closing for the 2015/16 season. This is a wonderful time for children to be set free to play and relax for a few weeks while their parents worry about what they are doing during the day at home, alone. One good thing about our children being in school, we know where they are for those few hours each day and that hopefully, they are doing something productive, hopefully. The thing I use to dread was the start of the school year and all the neighborhood children turn into mini salespersons. You know the drill, funds raisers for this and that, but each and every one of them that ring our door bell has a sure sell. There are three reasons I don’t refuse them, one, they are on an important mission, in their minds, which is important for us adults to support, two, who can refuse those precious little smiling faces, politely saying yes-sir and yes-mam while wrapping you around their finger getting what they want, and three, it’s payback to all the other parents in the neighborhood who supported our son during those years.

“When will the madness end?” I ask myself. We have bought cases of expensive water, jump rope jumps, cookie dough, cow patty bingo event tickets, which I have never witnessed, and never will, band calendars, Boston butts, wrapping paper, chances on large amounts of money, bar-b-que dinners, chicken mostly, and numerous other things to support our neighborhood children and schools. I really don’t expect the madness to end; I actually hope it never does, because it provides a moment in their lives to brighten their day with the sell and a moment in our lives to feel we have done something worth-while.  Writing this reminds me of a story I heard about the world’s greatest salesman:

A man walks into an insurance office and asks for a job.  "Sorry, we don't need anyone..." they replied, "You can't afford not to hire me. I can sell anyone anything anytime!"  "Well, we have two prospects that no one has been able to sell. If you can sell just one, then you have a job." He was gone about two hours and returned and handed them two checks, one for $25,000 and another for $50,000. "How in the world did you do that?" they asked. "I told you I'm the world’s best salesman; I can sell anyone anything, anytime!" "Did you get a urine sample?" they asked him. "What's that?" he asked. "Well, if you sell a policy over $20,000 the company requires a urine sample. Now take these two bottles and go back and get urine samples." He was gone about 8 hours and the office was about to close, when in he walks in with two five gallon buckets, one in each hand. He sets the buckets down and reaches in his shirt pocket and produces two bottles of urine and sets them on the desk and says, "Here's Mr. Jones’s and this one is Mrs. Johnson's."  "That's good," they said, "but what's in those two buckets?"  "Well, I passed by the school house and they were having a state teachers convention - so I stopped and sold them a group policy!"

If you think about it, we are all salespeople. Each day we have to reprove ourselves to someone new. These new people know very little about us. They see the outside, dressed nice, looking sharp, but they can’t see the inside which could be something entirely different. Our walk, our words and our actions either reveal our inner most being as a positive, bright, well dressed person matching our exterior or a negative, dull, poorly dressed person completely the reverse of the persona we are emanating on the outside. Which persona is more attractive, more magnetic, and most likely the one who will make the buyer want to listen to our sales pitch?

The disciples, if you think about it, were a group of misfits, fishermen, lawyers, tax collectors… no one trusted or looked up too, but Jesus saw something in them and lead them out of the negative, dull, poorly dressed existence they had within. He changed them, moved them into a new realm of words and actions. They became lovers of people, sharing His message of faith, hope, joy and love. They became risk takers, risking their lives to spread the gospel and the truth, sharing the Good News with everyone. They became tireless workers, laborers for Jesus, praying unceasingly for the people to know God and to share in His blessing of eternal life. They became servant leaders, ministers, messengers, doing the work that no one else would by being of service to others; a “salesperson” sharing the Good News, if you will allow the play on words.

I encourage all of us to become the best “salesperson” we can become as we serve others, lift others up, and offer our life as an example of a brother, sister, fellow worker, fellow soldier, messenger and minister. It will not only show we have faith, hope, joy and love for others; it will make a difference in our life and the lives of others. Philippians 2:25-30

Leadership Lessons: It's What Wasn't Said

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It’s what wasn’t said.
By James Dodwell – Hammers of Hope

Good Morning,
It’s been several years now, but a friend asked me to take his son hunting for squirrels, so I did. His son was young and energetic, so for the first few hours we didn’t see any squirrels or other wildlife. I finally convinced him to settle down and sit quietly next to the base of a large tree. As the noise subsided and the stillness began to settle around us, the animals began to appear on the fringes of where we were sitting. In the silence and stillness, the birds began reappearing, then the squirrels started some movement toward the ground from their nests in the tops of the trees, and we even saw deer and turkey.

My little friend began to understand when you are physically and mentally still and allow the noise of the world to subside; as we sit quietly anticipating, wonderful things begin to appear before us. When we listen, really listen to the under lying message mixed within the noise of the world we find the meaning of life. We hear the desires of our heart; we listen closely to the messages placed in our subconscious that are missed when we are overwhelmed and intoxicated with the voices and noise of the world its then we realize we are gifted with an ability to control the noise or inputs, if we are willing.

This memory reappeared in my mind recently because life has gotten so busy, again. We allow ourselves to take on too much, because we feel cheated if we are not exhausted and stressed at the end of the day. It doesn’t need to be that way. It’s okay to relax and take some time for yourself. Yes, really. This is ironic, because I haven’t always felt this way. I once thought, if I wasn’t at the end of my rope, unable to sleep through the night, constantly reviewing and studying every little detail of a drawing or project, I wasn’t moving forward. But that’s not true. It’s okay not to know everything. It’s okay not to always be in control. It’s okay to say I can’t do it, to say no, to say I don’t know how, to ask for help.

Sounds like a crazy man talking, doesn’t it? Let me elaborate, if you have a minute. Recently, a friend that is sick called me to talk. I met him one afternoon, thinking he was wanting, some advice about a project, simple right? However, his struggle with the illness has whittled away at his once positive attitude, and chipped away at his desire and love of life, so one of the strongest people I know and respect, wanted to ask me to be first call support for him because he had lost hope and in reality was considering, well you know, leaving this world, sooner than expected.

As we sat quietly, allowing the noise of the world to subside, quietly anticipating a response, wonderful things began to appear before us. Images of our families and friends, his importance to his friends and family, his responsibility to his walk and how others with the same struggles are viewing his response to his life’s challenges, and the fact that he is loved and needed and the importance his life holds to others, especially his family. As Jesus as my witness, the more we talked about his contribution to others, the more well, he became. I tell you as a witness, he walked out of that place a man on a mission, nothing was going to stop him, and no illness was going to conquer him. And I didn’t say a word; and all I did was listen.

I encourage us to be still and listen. I heard it said, “Don’t let what you want to say get in the way of what others need to hear.” I love this statement; However, I want to add, “Don’t say what you think others need to hear; when all you need to do is listen.” 1 Corinthians 10:23-24

Leadership Lessons: Go to the Ant

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Go to the Ant.
By James Dodwell – Hammers of Hope  

Good Morning,

A good friend asked me if I could meet him at the cabinet shop to cut a couple of boards for him. The angle needed on the ends would need to be cut with a miter saw to get the specific fit he was wanting on a hand rail he was reconstructing. While I waited on him to arrive I notice a colony of ants had invaded our work area. Rather than stomp them like a child, I sat and watched them. I know, I know, but at that moment it was what I did, okay? Anyway, I noticed that each ant greeted any other ant traveling in the opposite direction, just for a millisecond but not one passed another without acknowledgment. As I continued on my education in the ant world, I noticed if there was an obstacle in the defined path, the ants went over, around or under it, without any hesitation.

As my eyes followed the line of ants I saw a small area where a tunnel was carved out under some debris and a small circle similar to a cloverleaf on an interstate highway had been constructed. At this point is where some of the ants seemed to receive instructions, because there was a slight bottleneck, a conjugation of ants slowing a little, getting their directions from somewhere unknown to me, then either moving ahead or taking one of the other two routes to who knows where. It appeared, each ant was on a mission, they had been given a direction, a purpose, a goal and they were focused with a bias toward action, working together as a team, getting where they need to be and letting nothing stand in the way. The strange thing is that each of them took the time to greet and acknowledge the others no matter how busy they were at the time. This was really amazing stuff, for me anyway.

In Proverbs 6:6 it is written, “Go to the ant, you sluggard; and consider its ways and be wise.” Go to the ant… He tells us to be self-motivated for our own good and the good of others. Ants don’t need an overseer to instruct them on what needs to be done. They instinctively wake up early and get started putting away stores of food for other times. They are clearing the way for others to follow and become fruitful. They are setting the example for others to follow; each one accomplishing something that will benefit the entire team not just them. As we mature as leaders, we teach our followers similar traits. Take responsibility, do the work, work and play well with others, work as a team, acknowledge others, help each other, and so on and so forth. 

Ants seem to display an abundance mindset. They share everything. There is enough to go around and they want each ant in the colony to have a piece of the pie, so to speak. Sometimes, we as humans display a scarcity mindset, meaning there is only enough for me. We don’t want to share information, success, ideas, our time, or other things that could benefit others lives. We typically do this because we are competitive in nature, everything is a competition and there can be only one winner. The ants teach us having a mindset focused on abundance/team, everyone wins, and having a mindset focused on scarcity/self, nobody wins.

Ants teach us the value of hard work. They earn their wages. Their work sustains them; it doesn’t define who they are. They work hard at harvest time storing up food and they are rewarded with their efforts when times are lean. Welfare is not an option in the ant world. If you are able, you work just like all the others. The only exception is their young, injured and weak are cared for by a selected group to service their needs. We should look to the ant and understand working hard will bless our lives both physically and spiritually. The thing that gave me pause is they are as one. They follow rules handed down generation after generation. They don’t have to be told what to do. It is in their DNA to know the way, show the way and go the way and they never deviate from the abundance mindset. I don’t know if insects have unconditional love for one another but it is obvious to me they support each other; trust each other to do their part all while making a difference and adding value to the colony.

Another observation is that no one ant is better than the other. Some have different duties; others different responsibilities; others different gifts and talent, and yes, even the queen works and has a responsibility to the entire colony. It’s a way of life. Their work, “their walk” reflects their principles and values and is passed along generation after generation. I encourage all of us to “Go to the ant…” for inspiration to develop an abundance mindset for sharing our love, hope, faith and joy while we make a difference and add value in the lives of those surrounding us. Proverbs 30:25

Leadership Lessons: Discipline is Painful when it's Beautiful Outside

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Discipline is painful when it's beautiful outside...
By James Dodwell – Hammers of Hope

Good Morning,

I don’t know if I can handle another beautiful day, especially after all the rain we have been gifted in the last few weeks. Three beautiful days in a row and two of them I have been trapped inside without an opportunity to stand in the sunlight and recharge my batteries. I can get more done when it is raining and stormy than when the days are like they are today. I make excuses to be outside, like: saying to myself, self; I will do this work tonight, but it doesn’t happen because I exhausted myself during the day; or I will come up with errands to run, only to find myself driving around with the windows down and my arm out the window using my hand like a rudder on and airplane wing, allowing the wind to push it up and down. It looks silly, I know, but at least no-one can hear the airplane motor noises I am making from the inside of the truck.

Rain or shine, cloudy or brilliant cobalt blue skies, this IS the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it. It’s a win/win every day. And they all said, “Amen.” What I am trying to say is on those truly beautiful spring days I find my self-discipline waning, just a wee bit. However, we, as leaders, must travel on the inside before we can travel on the outside, because the journey of growth and success is first and internal one. The first person you lead is you and you can’t lead effectively without self-discipline.

Plato said, “The first and best victory is to conquer self.” So I have to do a self check, on occasions, and ask myself, “How is your self-discipline, today?” There are some guidelines or “action” points we can follow:

1. Develop and follow our priorities. In today’s world we are all too busy, it seems; however, no matter how busy we are nothing will get accomplished if we firs don’t put together a plan. This plan should be built based on the priority of the items we wish to accomplish in order of importance. Once this is done we can release ourselves from those little time consuming tasks that aren’t very important and make it much easier to follow through on the tasks with the most importance. That’s the essence of self-discipline.

2. Make a disciplined lifestyle your goal. Self-discipline for a day will not enable us to be successful. It has to become a habit, a lifestyle to be practiced each day. We need to develop routines and systems to help us realize when we are on track or getting off track. We need to follow a crucial path when it comes to long-term growth and success, education, training, schedules, and so on and so forth. Once we have these routines and systems, stay with them; tweak them as you see improvement to make you stretch and grow more and more.

3. Challenge your excuses. I struggle with this one because I can find other things to do on those beautiful days; however we must challenge and eliminate any tendency we may have to make excuses. When we find ways around being self-discipline, we are just creating barriers to block us from being successful. We need to continually challenge those “barriers” to allow us to go to the next level.

4. Remove rewards until you finish the job. What? No ice cream. If we lack self-discipline we may be one of those people who order dessert before the meal. Rewarding ourselves before we accomplish our goal can alter the end result; most likely, we will not complete the task. Mike Delany stated, “Businesses need to differentiate between their shirkers and their workers; because if they reward both the same; they will soon find they have a lot more of the former than the latter.”

5. Stay focused on results. In our business some of our team members look at the difficulty of the task while others look ahead to the results. The former gets discouraged before we start, the latter is elbows deep in the project before the starters pistol sounds. When we are facing a must-do task we need to focus on paying the price rather than doing what is convenient. We, as leaders, must count the benefits of doing what’s right then dive in and lead the way.

I encourage each of us to lead a disciplined life. It will make a difference and add value to those around us, and allow all of us to reap the reward of a life well lived. Just saying. My blessing for you today is for you enjoy sharing your faith, hope, joy and love with those around you. Philippians 3:12-14

Leadership Lessons - No Difference

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 No difference.
By James Dodwell – Hammers of Hope  
Good Morning,
Recently, I was working on a job and had to call for an inspection. Once the inspector arrived, he exited his car with an attitude and I could tell from a distance that it wasn’t going to go well. When he entered the house he started right away finding things he said were incorrect. I wanted to disagree, but I knew it would make matters worse, so I just did as he asked, kept a cool head and asked him for advice and his recommendations.

He began to settle down a bit, once he saw I wasn’t on the defensive. Then out of the blue he said, “Where do you live?” I told him. Then he said, “My daughter and her husband use to live down that way near the lake, but now they have moved elsewhere.” He went on to tell me his son-in-law had a construction company, but he was battling brain cancer and surgeries, and along with the treatments, the combination had left him unable to handle the business. He looked forlorn as he said, “I am not sure what will happen in the future.”

We talked on for a few more minutes, as he settled back into the man I hoped he would be, then he asked me to call him when I had the ”recommendations” complete and he would come back to approve. As we walked out of the house together, I noticed a tree in the yard that I had seen a number of times, but had never really looked at it. The tree was the size of a large shrub; a Silver Maple tree; however, growing out of the trunk on one side was a red maple branch that had been grafted to the trunk years before. There they were, two completely different varieties of Maple tree, living on the same host, taking nutrition from the same trunk and root system, sharing the soil, minerals and water in the same space. They were both healthy with vibrant red leaves on one branch and the greenish-silver leaves on the other branch.

It was obvious, the little Maple tree had been well cared for and nurtured to be able to thrive and grow. Another observation was it did not matter to the host whether it was a silver Maple branch or a Red Maple branch that was reaping the benefit from the nutrition being provided; the host trunk was there offering a good foundation and support.  It reminds us, in our daily walk, if we are attached to strong principles and values, along with unwavering character and integrity, we can exist together growing and stretching to reach our potential. It doesn’t matter that we are different. Our differences are what make us unique. What matters is the source of the life support system in which we are attached or grafted.

The bad news is that we don’t always attach or graft ourselves to a source of support that has strong values and principles, do we? Sometimes we want something else, until we get it. The good news is when we surround ourselves with encouraging people who are the salt of the earth, who mentor us and help us quench our thirst for knowledge, whose life model helps us to maintain a positive attitude and joyful persona, whose words and actions nourish and fertilize us with the Word to help us to stay rooted and grounded, we find ourselves strongly supported as we go through life making a difference and adding value to others.

I encourage us today to build our life foundation on good principles, good values, unwavering character and integrity. Surround ourselves with other who can help us stretch and grow to reach our potential and continue to share the faith, hope, joy and love we have within to those without. Micah 6:8

Leadership Lessons: Don't Whisper...Communicate

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Don’t Whisper … Communicate

By James Dodwell – Hammers of Hope
        
Good Morning,

I really like a quote I saw recently in a shop along River Street in Savannah, it said, “Always be yourself, and if you can’t be yourself, be Superman, then always be Superman.” You can substitute Superman with Batman, or Wonder Woman, or, Da’ man, or Da’ woman, whatever you want, it’s just that simple. Yes, simple to change the name tag more complicated to change the person within. After all, there is only one Superman and one Wonder Woman neither of us is him or her and as the other monikers’ go; they may fit but we may fall short on occasions so the fit wouldn’t be perfect. But life doesn’t have to be perfect to be great, does it, absolutely not; why? We don’t have to pretend to be anyone but ourselves, because our lives are made whole through His unconditional love, forgiveness and salvation.

I am reminded of a story about a mother’s attempt to incorporate change in her young son… A little boy walks into the living room where his parents are entertaining a large gathering of their friends and loudly announces, "Mommy, I have to poop!" The mother takes the boy to the bathroom and says, "Now, Billy, the next time you have to use the bathroom, say, 'Mommy, I have to whisper.'" "Okay," says the boy. That night little Billy wakes up at 3:00 AM and goes to his parents' bedroom where they are sound asleep. He goes up to his mother and says, "Mommy, I have to whisper." The mother drowsily replies, "I'm too tired now. Go whisper in Daddy's ear.”

Sometimes the change we expect doesn’t produce the intended results we had planned. It has been said that 60 percent of all management problems result from faulty communication. A leader with a message doesn’t matter if the leader doesn’t communicate clearly and motivate others. First and foremost a leader has to think of self, less. They have to know what they stand for and their walk must communicate this clearly to others. A leader speaks words of revelation by communicating insights others lack. They speak words of inspiration to inspire others to step out and overcome their fears.

They speak words of exhortation to encourage people to act and follow through on the big picture. They speak words of affirmation to render support and publically endorse others. They speak words of information with good content, edifying and teaching others. They speak words of declaration by providing clear direction to the people and hope for their future. So how does a leader do this? They follow the simple rules of communication.

First a leader must simplify his or her message. They should speak the truth, clear and simple. No one should wonder what the leader means. A leader must see the person. He or she must empathize with others.  Know your audience, their likes, their dislikes, their wants and needs. A leader must show the truth. He or she must demonstrate credibility and passion with their life. A leader must live what they say.

Last but not least, a leader must seek the response from others. He or she must always speak with purpose and intent. When they finish urge others to seek wisdom from God before seeking the wisdom of the world. The difference in a Godly leader and a leader following their own agenda is that a Godly leader can stand before others, casting vision, saying a few words about this and that, tossing around ideas, make a few sounds and we want to, really want to get up and follow him or her. It is quite the opposite with a leader lost in the world. In Proverbs 18:21 is defined the power of communication, it tells us, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” So much truth communicated in so few words. I encourage each of us today and everyday when we communicate with others, first be yourself, not Superman or Wonder woman, make sure your life walk is communicating the message you want to share, make it clear and concise, and be the truth and the change you want to see in the world. It will make a difference and add value to all those around us.   1 Samuel 12:24  

Leadership Lessons - Can I Jump from Here?

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Can I Jump from Here?  
By James Dodwell - Hammers of Hope.

Good Morning,

“Hey! Dad, can I jump from here?” was the statement that made me stop and take notice of the activities of our neighbor. We were both working outside, beautifying our homes. Our neighbor had his two oldest boys atop the house removing pine straw from the valleys and clearing the gutters. I was doing the same thing but from a ladder on the ground. The older I get the more cautious I have become about edges and distance from the ground. However, the announcement of “Can I jump from here?” caused me to pause and reflect for a moment, on the days when I didn’t think twice about leaping from a roof edge to the ground or jumping a ditch or climbing a ladder. You know, the good old days.

It also reminded me of a story about taking chances. There were two, not so honest, men who were in desperate need of cash but admittedly were a bit cowardly. One of the suggested they break into an Amish market. The logic was that since the Amish were non-resistant, even if they were caught, no harm would befall them. So they carried out the plot. As they were just breaking into the cash register, the owner turned on the lights and confronted them, a shotgun pointed directly at them. The Amish man said, “Boys, I would never do thee any harm, yet you are standing where I am about to shoot.”

“Can I jump from here?” This is life. We sometimes take shortcuts to get to where we want to be in our life journey. We think things aren’t moving fast enough or they are moving in a direction we had not planned to go, so we “jump from here” to arrive sooner. Sooner isn’t always better. Sooner isn’t always what we need. Sooner isn’t as good as we thought it would be. I am not saying taking the quicker way is not good, because, on occasions, it is actually the better path; however we need to make sure we are prepared.

There have been times in my life when I thought I was ready for the next step. I felt prepared, I knew what to do, I had the ability and the talent, but it didn’t happen for me. I was disappointed, resentful, and even angry, not at anyone in particular, just had those emotions welling up inside and it made me bitter. What I came to realize is those immature emotions I was feeling is the very reason the opportunity slipped through my hands. Just because I had the training, talent and job skills, didn’t make me the best candidate. The most important piece needed was missing… the maturity to utilized and share the skill sets, unselfishly with others on the team.

As leaders in our homes, churches, and communities, we need to understand it takes time to build relationships, trust, character, integrity and respect. We don’t just “jump from here” into a person of influence with character and integrity. These values have to be molded and shaped as clay on a potter’s wheel. These are shaped by living them first and molded by practicing them each day in all areas of our life, public and private. This is an ongoing process, constantly changing as we mature into the person we want to become and are meant to be.

I encourage us take the time and consider where we are in our personal growth plan before “jumping from here to there.” Be honest with your self-evaluation. Talk with the people who you consider as mentors. Tell them your plans for stretching and growing and allow them to help manage the potter’s wheel as you are molded and shaped into the person you want to become. Then, as we mature into people of influence, we can better help mentor others by making a difference in their lives. Isaiah 64:8