I wanted to drop in a quick post about one of the most insightful and clever books that just came out and was written by my friend Mike Michalowicz.

If you buy it, that is great, but that is NOT the intent of this post. I simply wanted to expose you to a concept and ‘movement’ that is all about helping young entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs achieve the next level. The link to the website is:

http://www.ToiletPaperEntrepreneur.com

I also will be interviewing Mike Michalowicz on Y-
Talk Radio tomorrow night. Be sure to tune in here.

We hear it all the time…if you do things the way they’ve always been done, you’re bound to get the same results.

Well…Paul Azinger showed true leadership recently at the Ryder Cup, and he made the decision to not serve as a baby sitter or towel boy. He stepped up the game, big time, and he broke some of the rules from history (including hiring a life coach!) in order to regain the coveted Ryder Cup. I read an article in the Wall Street Journal yesterday by the title of Team USA’s Management Victory, and here’s what Azinger did:

1) He completely revamped the way the team was chosen by shortening the number of points players had earned from two years to one year so that he could recruit the best players.

2) He extended the team selection to just two weeks before the deadline.

3) He talked the PGA into letting him choose four captain’s picks instead of two.

4) He divided the team into three (4-man) pods to play their practice rounds together, which is based on a tried and true military strategy often used by the Navy Seals.

5) He created an environment that allowed AND encouraged each team member to be exactly who they were and to bring that authenticity to the game.

6) He deployed the services of a life coach to help keep him calm and to direct him on how to communicate and inspire each player on the basis of their unique communication style and personality. Now that takes guts!

The question for today is “What old rules are you following that are no longer working, and what are you afraid will happen if you change?”

If you are interested in learning more about how to change the rules of your game in order to get better results, pick up a copy of EDGE! A Leadership Story today and send an e-mail to beafields@beafields.com for a collaborative coaching session. Coaching works, and I look forward to providing you the support you need in order to win your game!

The book that took 35 experts 18 months to create is now here! I am honored to have been asked to contribute a chapter on the Masterful Guerrilla Team.

Book Description: Let 35 World Class Guerrilla Marketing Coaches Teach You Their Time-tested Tactics and Strategies for Getting New Customers and Turning Them Into Your Most Enthusiastic Fans! Here is a taste of what you’re going to learn in Guerrilla Marketing on the Front Lines: * Dozens of new high impact strategies for reaching and acquiring new customers…even on a shoestring budget, * Cutting edge online tactics designed to cut through the clutter and dramatically increase your visibility and conversion rates, * The keys to developing high powered Guerrilla partnerships and affiliate programs that will leverage your time and actually make you money while you sleep. Are you ready to turn your own prospects into customers and then into raving fans who will buy from you again, and again, and again? Join us on the Front Lines and get ready to launch your own Guerrilla Marketing Attack!

Pick up a copy today from Amazon.com.

Great article today in the Wall Street Journal:  Thain’s Swiftness Praised; Fuld’s Hesitation Faulted.

This article is worth going out and picking up a copy of the WSJ for September 16.  The article applauds Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain for his quick action, decisiveness, realistic view and his willingness to bring in an outsider’s perspective…all top skills leaders of today are going to need.

The article also gives you the down side of Lehman’s CEO Richard Fuld for not acting more quickly and decisively earlier in the year when Lehman began to unravel.

I was talking with a client yesterday, and it dawned on me in the middle of the conversation that he was building a case for an employee to fail.  He delivered the case of a lifetime, and I almost bought into it.

I then asked him to shift by saying “How could this scenario with this problem employee become your finest hour?”

My client wanted to argue with me, but as he talked, he began to shift into what could be possible.  You see, I believe he had been speaking to me through a belief system that told him “This employee is not working” as opposed to “This employee has some amazing potential that has not yet been tapped.”

I believe that the majority of humans live with a belief system that keeps them comfortable and as soon as they are asked to change, the pain sets in, and they slip back into that warm, comfortable and cozy space…like an old, worn out bathrobe that has seen its last days but is so easy to slip on.

The question for you today is “What belief system is driving your life, and on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest score, how much is that belief system serving you?”

Now that you have answered that question, is it time for a change?  If your life or business are not working, what is keeping you in that stuck place?  Is it the safety of comfort or the fear of the unknown?

We would love to hear your comments on this question.