Development Archives - Page 22 of 25

February 14, 2012

George Washington Learned From His Mistakes

By Gary Polson, CEO Many military historians consider George Washington to be America’s greatest general. He led a tattered, under-equipped, under-manned, and starving army to defeat the greatest army of the world at that time to win our independence. He was not always such a great military man. As a colonel for the Virginia Colony, he made strategic blunders that led to the slaughter of his men and the start of the French and Indian War. After that defeat, the Governor of […]

February 6, 2012

Insight from a Navy Seal

All of us at the recent Keys to Success event, an annual kickoff meeting attended by all sales office owners in North America, were so lucky to hear from our guest speaker, Eric Greitens, Navy SEAL and award-winning author of “The Heart and the Fist.” The most powerful part of his message was the mindset required to survive the Navy Seal boot camp. Only about 10 percent of these highly-fit soldiers make it. Eric said that it was not the […]

December 2, 2011

The Importance of Confidence

During a USC class, we learned about a conference that was attended by 60 top business leaders. The leaders were asked to name their biggest fear. All 60 had the same answer, although not the same exact words. For each of them, their biggest fear is that people will find out that they are not so good. Almost everyone struggles with confidence. Each of us has to realize that success comes from effort, discipline, work ethic, resiliency, preparation, going the […]

October 20, 2011

Facing Sales Growth

As marketing executives focus efforts on the Internet, mobile devices, and other digital avenues to reach or expand their customer base, it becomes easy to overlook one of the oldest forms of outreach to spur business growth – and that is face-to-face sales. Even though face-to-face sales as part of the marketing mix has been successful for many businesses, the approach is often low on the list due to budget concerns and time constraints. It is difficult for businesses to […]

July 12, 2011

Finding a Way to Win – U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team

Most people make excuses. They are usually very logical and true. Winners, however, find a way to win no matter what the obstacles and difficulties. The U.S. women’s national soccer team exemplified this fact yesterday in its comeback win over the tough Brazilian team. The U.S. team had many circumstances that could have been viewed as excuses for losing that game. There was a controversial red card given to one of the American players that on replay looked very questionable. So for much of the […]

July 11, 2011

Walter Payton’s Simple Formula for Success

Walter Payton, aka “Sweetness,” played with the Chicago Bears from 1975 to 1987 and missed only one game in his career. He was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993 and is remembered as one of the most prolific running backs in American football history. Hall of Fame NFL player and coach, Mike Ditka, described Payton as the greatest football player he had ever seen—and the greatest human being he had ever known. Payton’s incredible work ethic and humility […]

July 5, 2011

Learning by Example

A colleague recently asked me who was the greatest influence in my life. Without hesitation, I replied, “my grandparents.” I recall that my grandfather and grandmother came over every Sunday to be with my family. This was important to me because my dad worked every weekend. They taught me how to read, helped me develop a love of learning and took me to my first ball games. It was their example, however, that inspired me the most. They were selfless in how they […]

June 27, 2011

Advice to Millennials

I believe that you may belong to one of the greatest generations of our time. You follow in the footsteps of other individuals who accomplished amazing things before they were 30. Steve Jobs co-founded Apple at age 21. Bill Gates co-founded Microsoft at age 20, and fellow Millennial Mark Zuckerberg co-founded Facebook at age 19. So be proud of your considerable talents and ambition. Use your mastery of technology, your competitive spirit and intensity, your creativity and your aptitude for […]

June 20, 2011

How to Motivate Millennials

In my previous post, I wrote about the great potential of Millennials. How do we help them reach this potential and motivate them to perform at their best? I think it starts with respect. They have lots of ideas that they will want to share. They are not afraid to go to the CEO during their first week of work and to make suggestions. This happened to me recently, and the suggestions were good. Listen to them. Hear them out. […]

June 13, 2011

Millennials: Leading the Way

We have been blessed with some incredible generations that have built and maintained our country. The founding fathers fought for our independence and constituted the great federal and state governmental institutions that are still the engine of our country. The Civil War generation gave its life and blood to preserve our country and end slavery. The WWII generation toiled through a horrible Great Depression and led the defeat of Hitler’s Nazi regime and of Japanese imperialism. The Millennial generation, which […]