Be A Peacemaker

Years ago Joel and I were at an event when a man whom we didn't know began a conversation with us. He was very passionate about an idea that he was trying to persuade Joel to believe as well, and the longer he talked the more intense he got. Joel mostly smiled and occasionally nodded his head. After the man was finished and walked away, I said, "Joel, I know that you don't believe what he was saying. Why didn't you tell him what you think about it?" Joel looked at me and said, "Victoria, I wasn't put on this earth to straighten everybody out. I would rather hold my peace than prove him wrong."

Next time they say you are too expensive...

In this issue, I will be sharing 3 ways to overcome fee sensitive clients!
If you are sick of talking to fee sensitive prospective clients, you are making 1 or more of 3 common mistakes, which I am going to share with you right now — along with the solution.
Let’s get started!

 

A quick look at value
I want to start by looking at the way your prospective clients think about value:
• It’s always too expensive, when the price or fee is considerably greater than the value.
• It’s always great value, when the price or fee is considerably lower than the value.

To get that price / value balance right, we have 2 options:
1. We can pump more value into the product or service.
2. We can lower the price.

Three Things I’ve Learned From Warren Buffett

I’m looking forward to sharing posts from time to time about things I’ve learned in my career at Microsoft and the Gates Foundation. (I also post frequently on my blog.)

Last month, I went to Omaha for the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting. It’s always a lot of fun, and not just because of the ping-pong matches and the newspaper-throwing contest I have with Warren Buffett. It’s also fun because I get to learn from Warren and gain insight into how he thinks.
Here are three things I’ve learned from Warren over the years:

The Most Important Choice

It Is Up To You

Every day, every minute, every hour, we are faced with choices. Most are minor, but some are the most important decisions we will make in our lives. How do we make the right choices? Today, Jason Leister gives you some guidance.

Craig Ballantyne

"The most important things to know in life take a lifetime to learn. Our first lessons come early -- but we grasp only the surface. As we gain life experience we gain deeper understanding. All great truths are both simple and complex, easy to understand yet difficult to master. "- Mark Ford

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What Successful People Do With The First Hour Of Their Work Day

BY KEVIN PURDY

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AUGUST 22, 2012

How much does the first hour of every day matter? As it turns out, a lot. It can be the hour you see everything clearly, get one real thing done, and focus on the human side of work rather than your task list.

Remember when you used to have a period at the beginning of every day to think about your schedule, catch up with friends, maybe knock out a few tasks? It was called home room, and it went away after high school. But many successful people schedule themselves a kind of grown-up home room every day. You should too.

The first hour of the workday goes a bit differently for Craig Newmark of Craigslist, David Karp of Tumblr, motivational speaker Tony Robbins, career writer (and Fast Company blogger) Brian Tracy, and others, and they’ll tell you it makes a big difference. Here are the first items on their daily to-do list.