School of Practical Business

Shameless Self Promotion

2009-07-30T14:57:00.000-07:00

The School of Practical Business is a catalytic tool for free thinking Business People/Entrpreneurs. The school is my blog, column, rant, thoughts and ideas, expressions and opinions . As I have often said...I hope to stir up conversation at the water coolers.Even if said conversations are about what an idiot I am or what a stupid idea I have put forth. A pinprick, splinter in the finger...to promote discussions of ideas truly pertinent to today's entrepreneur. It is not a series of questions, the latest quiz, or the top ten anything ! I don't think most entrepreneurs or real successful business people care about or value "The latest theory or buzzword". I'm from the Abe Lincoln talk straight school of communication.

Now, if the School of Practical Business evokes from you, the reader, an opinion or idea...great ! However, do not send it to me. Keep it to yourself, tell a friend, or better yet, start your own damn blog. In the meantime, I prefer to not have my mailbox jammed with e-mails from you the reader. If, however, you wish to contact me about paying and utilizing my consulting services, then send, please do send an email at kiproth@yahoo.com. State in the subject line "Real person, not with story". I am expensive, exclusive and I carefully choose those I work with. So only contact me if you area real forward thinking entrpreneur who is serious about investing time and money into your enterprise. Otherwise, enjoy the blog, buy the book take the course, listen to the podcasts, read the newsletters(all coming soon) or just check into the blog to read what I have to say. I am not here to debate, confront, or argue. I'm just putting out what I know and as always looking for a few good men and women to work or connect with.

IMB

2009-07-21T01:39:00.001-07:00

I MEAN BUSINESS

CAN I GET A WITNESS ?

HELL YEAH !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ox8w1LNYwi8

Brave Man

2009-07-17T01:59:00.000-07:00

One of my personal role model is a man named Jay Chiat. He was the CEO of an advertising company called Chiat/Day and he passed away in 2002. His employees took out this ad in ad age magazine to eulogize him:

Jay

Jay Chiat was a hard guy to work for.And everybody wanted to. He could spot a false note at three hundred yards. And wouldn't let one get any closer. His unpredictability was so dependable you could set your watch by it.

His parodoxes were aligned in almost perfect symmetry. His sense of irony was exquisitely acute, and where he was likely to find it first was in himself. He once told the Wall Street Journal that memos were a corporate disease he was trying to eliminate, but Jay's own memos were gems that ought to have been bound and published.

If there was anyone who ever worked with Jay and wasn't changed by the experience, then that person wasted a first class education. Jay Chiat had a genius for inciting people to their absolute best without actually telling them thye had to. He inspired a self-imposed code that precluded your presenting him anything you knew could still be perfected.

He was brave, feisty, uncompromising. Sometimes maddening. But always true to what he saw as his highest duty: protecting great work. He was an inventor, an artist, a sociologist, an environmental engineer. He'd change everything just so people wouln't get bored.

Jay loved the new, the supremely current, the never before seen, the provocative, the seditious, the threat to the established order. Yet his esssential tenet was timeless, classic, pure, almost puritanical. An innocently old fashioned idea that good work is its own reward. The landscape of our particular business is prominent with people whose careers simply took a much more interesting path because they had (or made) the luck to work for Jay Chiat.

And every day they pay tribute to Jay just by getting up and doing a really good job.

That is what Chiat /Day always stood for. That is what he beleived in.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Frank Gehry once was talking about his friend and client Jay Chiat..."Jay was a motherfucker to do business with" Frank the went on to compalin about how Jay had gone behind his back to mount a museum exhibition that in the eighties rescued Frank from obscurity. "He just has to save everybody" I was thinking "what a prick". His friend (Jay) was at the time recuperating from radiation treatment from Prostrate Cancer and he's bad mouthing him. But then I thought:

No, it's more than that, this is something they share- something more than being grumpy old men. They both talk like this--immoderately and precisely. If they think it, they say it. It is a rebel thing--quaint almost.

Jay was an edgy disruptive guy. A hipster. A troublemaker He watched things go by and then messed with them. Gehry called him "Mr Cool".

Coolness is the aesthic: A sort of modern classicism. Cool is the way to be indifferent to commerce and commercial at the same time.

Jay used to say that his real talent was for losing clients.

If you are comfortable with failing, if you court it even, if you aren't afraid of it, then possibly, you're not driven by it and you don't do unbecoming things to avoid it.

These excerpts come from an article written by Michael Wolff and he says at the end that the last image he has of talking to Jay was when Jay was in a hospital waiting room reviewing the x rays of the prostate cancer that eventually took his life.

He says "This image of Jay holding his x rays has stayed with me. It isn't a bad image--certainly not a powerless one. Rather I see Jay sitting there a certain amount of aloneness and Fuck-you-ness and even coolness. I thought, THIS IS HOW YOU DO IT.

This is how you do ...Jay was a very Brave Man !

Do the cover Tunes

2009-07-13T13:55:00.000-07:00

My business. My way. I have some funky business practices and early on it bothered me. I spoke too much. I listened too little. I told too many personal stories; I used bad language, etc. I never really considered changing because I can’t really get away with it. I yam what I yam. I’d rather find clients who extract value on what I give them rather than what I look like or dress like or whether I say fuck a lot. I consider all my clients enlightened individual and we are lucky to have each other. So raise your pirate flag of your company and revel in your rock n’ roll rebellion but…

You better have done / do the cover tunes. When you’re in garage band, before you can play the weak – ass love song you wrote, you as a band better make sure you can play Layla. Doing the cover tunes gives you a foundation and maturity to then go off and be creative.

My company and my career have one valuable asset. Experience. I’ve seen and done it all. Two hundred plus individual and thirty-five corporate accounts… believe me I’ve done the cover tunes. The cover tunes in business are the basics. Take a particular aspect of business… the agreement. I once read that you only do work on a handshake. I personally don’t use contracts and I’ve never sued or have ever been sued. But I earned the right to do that because after closing X amount of deals, I’m a good judge of character. I’ve had good and bad experiences, with and without contracts. I’ve played the cover tunes.

Same thing holds true for your corporate kit, brochure, and resume. No one gets hired based on these things. “Gee Bob, what a cool folder with information about this guy’s company, we have to hire him.” It doesn’t work that way, but when it comes to corporate kits, brochure, web site, bio, resume, business card… you better dam well have one! Do the cover tunes in order to rebel.

Never ignore red flags

2009-07-13T13:24:00.000-07:00

I like to refer to this as business tip #1. If it looks like a Bad deal, and sounds like a bad deal, it’s a bad deal. Entrepreneurs need to develop a fine tuned sense of people. You have to be able to sum someone up. You have to be able to seek out and find people of character to work with. Quickly correct miscommunication when they occur. Trust your gut! Trust your gut! Trust your gut and hold to your terms. Anytime I’ve altered my terms (the way I do business), I’ve gotten screwed. Some red flags are blindly

Obvious. Create a rhythm in which you enroll someone to hire you, do the actual job and complete the relationship. Don’t deviate. In other words: I run my business my way. I sell the perfect product/service at the perfect price. This is how we begin our relationship (negotiate and close the deal), this is the way I do the job, this is what it looks like at the end of the relationship (we’re both happy). If you are being asked to or find yourself doing anything different, and especially if it’s not to your choosing; then you will probably end up in a bad work situation. So, choose your clients wisely, make sure they are in sync with how you like to work and then you’re free to do what you do and do it well for the client so that he shakes your hand at the end and says,” Thanks”. That’s why looking for, or at least paying attention to red flags (things that don’t sound, smell or feel right) will save you heartache. Finally, I’m not suggesting you be paranoid and create evidence against a potential client, but in your discussions, just keep in mind that if it looks like a duck, and quacks, then it’s probably a duck.

Again, and as always I encourage you to come back to this blog, Contact me at kiproth@yahoo.com if you are interested in working with me, leave comments ( givers gain) and tell your friends and loved ones. Building a community of like minded people is like eating an elephant…

The Customer is not always right

2009-07-13T13:22:00.000-07:00

The customer is always right…….Says who? Sometimes they are wrong and in fact you are probably being paid to let them know they are wrong. If they were always right, they would not need you. If you are in personal service business and you tread lightly and not speak the truth…then all you are is yes man. Do you really think that is what is best for a client? I should say not. I do not think the customer is paying you to kiss there ass. I may be wrong…but ever hear the expression: “It is better to be loud and wrong, than quiet and right”?

I am fortunate in that I get to choose whom I want to work with and I choose carefully. I have two secrets of success that I’d like to share: 1- Return 3x the value of what you are paid and 2- guarantee your work.

If I take a client on and I deliver three times the value of what I am paid and I guarantee my work, you better believe that I am very clear that before getting into bed with this person, job or project that is something I want to do. The project /job has to be, for me, as well as the client, fun and adventurous.

Dan Pink in his book The Free Agent Nation, talks about the “My Size Fits Me” School of Business. I work when I want, with whom I want, on the project I want, for the money I want. I look for clients and projects that are going to challenge and inspire me to do better and better work. I do not take on a job because I know I can easily get it done. I play a bigger game. Customer care is giving the client more than they paid, more than they expect.

Customer Service is not just about making him or her right. You have to listen carefully and collaborate but don’t acquiesce because he or she is the customer. This hold true especially if your opinion is different from theirs. A truly enlightened client will always appreciate candor. Each client or project that you get involved with is going to require your absolute best. If you are a Rock Star in business then you also put your ass on the line. If you are not nervous before going on stage, you might want to check the humility meter. Confidence is good but hard work and humility is better. Just please do not confuse giving your client your best, at the expense of “looking good”. Give and do your best but do not be a people pleaser or a brownoser or yes man. It serves no one.

Again I thank you to all those who have read my material. I again urge you to tell a friend, come back again and again, contact me at kiproth@yahoo.com and make no distinction between work and play.

Business is Personal….Make it So

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The Death of the Midle Class

2009-07-13T13:20:00.000-07:00

Welcome back to The School of Practical Business. Today our discourse is taking little turn from the normal syllabus to discuss a topic which is extremely important to the landscape we are involved in. The great gap between the have’s and have not’s. There is no more middle class or maybe the first time in history, our children are not guaranteed a better future than the previous generation. Now here is the startling fact that no one wants to admit. I will share it with you, for again, I get paid to tell the truth. Not only is the middle class dead…but it is our fault! Not the government, not outsourcing jobs, not our failing educational system… But us. Most of us think this is a dress rehearsal and are more interested in diversions…like self help programs and silly reality television, etc.

You think there is a recession? I say nonsense. I live in Los Angeles, and I see all these new Bentleys and I ask myself “Who is buying these six figure cars? An important rule of thumb for any businessman is “The deal drives the day’. Do not kid yourself, every minute, of everyday…someone is closing business, getting a deal, getting paid, buying a Bentley, etc.

Why is it foreigners come to our country, work there asses off and thrive? Yet, we Americans cannot? Here is so much available to the forward thinking entrepreneur to embrace. New Green enterprise, Cottage Industries that you can tailor to one or more of your interest, new Branding and Content outlets., etc.

Let’s look at some;

1- Green Enterprises; Why can’t we start a new industrial revolution by creating green businesses. I urge you to check out companies like HP Lovecraft Biodiesel and wind power startups, etc. See who is going to monopolize the future of these green industries and join the fray.

2- Cottage industries; This is a great way to build a mini-empire. Find or create a niche and own it! Think about mergering two of your interest. Here in Los Angeles there is a man who has a company or store rather called Choke. He Repairs scooters, motorbikes and motorcycles and creates amazing coffee (I mean this guy is a coffee artist)… Soon, I imagine he will have a Choke magazine, or a Choke online community, etc. He will be able to leverage his company into a brand that he can attract a possible investor or even a buyer.

3- Sales and Marketing, Sales and Marketing…that is what it is about. Today with Web Sites, Blogs, E Books, E Postcards, Guerilla Marketing ideas, etc there are more and more ways to get your brand, company or message out.

I will be discussing all these ideas in future classes and will also be turning you on to cool companies and people. Today I want to introduce you o my associate. Samantha Moske. She is a world class athlete and entrepreneur. She has done a very insightful thing by wrapping her business and brand around a revolution, as it were. Meaning her business is about a crusade, a call to arms and that is the best way to advance and promote your business…wrap it around a crusade. I urge all of you to visit: www.yourkidsdeserve better@wordpress.com to read what she has to say. Her message of child obesity, obesity in general, eating habits, exercise, etc. are from great research, experience and personal conditioning. This woman knows what she is talking about. Finally, her message fits right into the point of today’s post: In business, like life …everything is about you! Mastering your Career, Business, Health, Balance, Emotions, Attitude, etc. is a part of what one needs to be successful and then perhaps instead of a nation of underemployed, outsourced, in debt, fat, couch potatoes watching Deal or No Deal, we can begin to rebuild the middle class for our children and again be a nation of state of the art business people we truly are.

I urge you to come back often to the corporatedojo, for I am a machine with much to teach and offer. I urge you to subscribe and tell others. I urge to email me if you want to talk in depth kiproth@yahoo.com. I urge you to make it Personal!

“Business is Personal”

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No One is looking for you

2009-07-13T13:07:00.000-07:00

I know three brothers who are all high earning dentists and I asked them what compelled all three to become dentists and they told me about there father. There father was a Willy Loman type salesman. He traveled the country selling cheap clothes to department stores and he died young and broke from trying to eek out a living for his family. His only advice to his son’s was that they should go to school and become professionals, because in the real world No one is looking for you. Great business advice! I do not want to come across as a cynical jaded individual; although I may be…but it is true…No one is looking for you. I am not so sure anyone is looking out for you either, in fact, I may so bold as to suggest, most people do not care about you. Being self involved today seems to be the norm. Outside your small circle of friends, family and loved ones, most people are busy taking care of their own business, as it should be.

All you need to start a business is a pen, a pad and a telephone and out of that you create a business. You develop relationships, you create value and guidelines, and you create an idea or tipping point and you spread the word. You are the CEO of your own business, and even if this blog finds you in a job, you are still the CEO of your career.

If you are a well seasoned business person, you become in a sense bullettproof. Many of us are doing our business month by month, client by client, season by season, dollar by dollar, gig by gig.. We are bulletproof and recession proof because we are always starting from scratch. Sometimes every thirty to forty days. we are starting from scratch with our pen, pad and phone. We will always survive.
Seasoned business people are always selling and will pull deals out of thin air, they keep showing up day in and day out and constantly change and reinvent themselves.

It is vitally important that your business does not depend on a handful of clients. You must constantly be creating a new rolodex and never be at the mercy of losing one account. A true businessperson knows that they can always start their business from scratch again and again and again.

As far as no one looking for you here is the answer. When someone asked the comedian Steve Martin “How do you break into show business? his response was “Be So Dam Good, They Cannot Ignore You”. That is the answer. If no one is looking for you then you find them, you attract them, you bring them in and be so dam good they can’t ignore you

I, again, remind you to subscribe to this blog, tell others, keep coming back and please call if you want to really talk about your individual situations with me in greater depth.

“Business is Personal”

MR (kiproth@yahoo.com)

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I Mean Business

2009-07-13T13:04:00.000-07:00

IMB (I Mean Business)

Again, I welcome you back to the dojo and today is the day your training begins. Let us start with the basics. Just as there is a finite amount of training and transformational technology available, there is also a finite amount of areas of skill a successful businessman and/or entrepreneur must learn. Time Management, Prioritization, Sales, Marketing, Networking, Controlling your emotional states (away from panic and toward calm), Overcoming bad habits and obstacles (procrastination), Organization, etc. These are skills and habits you must learn to master or job out or attract those who can do it for you…but ultimately you cannot succeed without handling these things. Most of my clients usually start of with all or a combination of problems:

1- Bad Habits

2- Foolish beliefs

3- Ignorance

These are all correctable. Replace bad habits with good ones, eliminate any disempowering beliefs (easier said than done, but do -able), Ignorance can be overcome by knowledge. Power is knowledge and that knowledge is inside the information tent. This corpoatedojo is that tent.

In business, work and career, everyone, and I do mean everyone; pretty much wants the same thing:

1- Do what they love?
2- Do what they are good at
3- Make a good deal of money doing it

The first barrier they seem to need to cross is The Impostor Syndrome. You know what this looks like: What if they discover that I am in way over my head, or what if they discover I am under qualified or what if they discover that I do not know what I am talking about. The answer is that Perception is Reality. No, I am not advocating that if you are a trained podiatrist that you attempt to transplant a liver…but in most entrepreneurial work Fake it, till you make it will get you thru. In other words, you do not have to be right all the time, or have all the answers…in fact a ruly great leader distinguish himself by ask great questions. When CEO asks me what he should do, I often counter with what do you want to do? I then, (more often than not), tell him to go do it a (trust his gut) and thus he calls me a genius.

If you over deliver work harder than most and love your client…you are worth what you charge, they will see your passion and commitment and you will succeed. Doubt does kill the warrior. Have you ever worked in a company where it seems like no one knows what they are doing? Want to know why? Because in most businesses, and most high level executives; Do Not Know what they are doing!!! That is the truth. I have advised world class, Harvard MBA CEO’s and they know nothing, absolutely nothing about leadership. These individuals do not worry about looking good, they hire guys like me, and the perception than they are great leaders becomes the reality. Even an iconic leader like Jack Welch has stated many, many times that his true talent is hiring the best people, delegating and inspecting. You do not have to be the smartest guy in the room; just let yourself and your ego acquiesce to that guy. In Business being right is not as important as being happy. In businee you must not be a pompous arrogant leader, nor a meek quiet one, you just have to know to listen, think and talk. If you do ready, aim, fire you will hit you mark. Most people do ready , fire, aim…that leads to chaos and being an impostor will get in your way…but if you focus on team, inspire those around you, encourage the heart, have fun and challenge the process, a great result will occur and no one is going to question how credentialized or experienced you are. Final note on this…if you had two teams of individuals competing for the same goal…one team were al the best trained and equipped and the other team a bunch of misfits with incredible heart…who do you think always wins? …The guys with heart.

I thank you again for your interest and participation in the corporatedojo and urge you ( as I will, constantly) to spread the word, subscribe, add thoughts or comments and again, if you are not worried about looking good but feel compelled to really kick you business to it’s highest level, then call me for a consultation.

Welcome to the information Tent

“Business is Personal”

The Show That Never Ends

2009-07-13T12:57:00.001-07:00

Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends. This being entry #2 I have decided to continue to share with you the structure of this classroom. Ergo the Rules. The ‘what we can expect from each other. In fact, the definition of Standards is …an agreement of how we are going to be with each other. Since this is my dojo, I have written these rules. I call them…The Rules of Me.

1- I do not preach dogma. Use what you like; do not use what you do not like. Simple. What I won’t do is argue, discuss or debate whether the technology is good or bad.

2- In the real world, you are a person of action or a guy / girl with a story. We at the dojo do not believe in the “a – ha” experience. We stress that change, growth and evolution come from Commitment, Discipline, Sacrifice and Lifestyle Change. So the rule is: No Stories. In the Entrepreneurial world the currency we have is time and commitment. If you want to tell your story, start a blog.

3- I encourage you to try to connect with me…But……. with a caveat. I am from the streets of New York and I do not “suffer fools gladly”, meaning, only connect with me, if you are real and committed. I only work with thoroughbreds.

4- Do not base your decisions on the verbage, bumper stickers or anecdotes you receive here. I often tell my clients that I do not give advice. I offer up opinion, counsel, perspective and strategies…but ultimately, you make your own professional decisions. I do not want t hear “well you told me to”. I do not tell anyone what to do. I also, over the many yeas received letters and cards even paintings from clients stating that I changed there lives. I do not change people’s lives! They change there own lives, I am only a catalyst. How does this evolution to mastery happen? Practice. If you go to a gym or boxing club or any martial arts studio and you work out three times a week you get stronger. Same here!

Zen Teacher: by definition, a Zen teacher challenges and disrupts what you have been taught before.

I am a pebble in your shoe, a splinter in your finger, a thorn in your side…training you and reminding you that there is a higher level to go to. I hope I piss you off and make you laugh and most importantly look at things differently. This is top of the line, and state of the art.

Business is Personal!

The School

2009-07-13T12:49:00.000-07:00

This is a modern weekly discourse on the essence of being in or of business. Whether a mid to high level executive (or aspire to be) or an entrepreneur here is a very unique place to be.

This is a school, a training academy, a master’s course, a dojo for the entrepreneur or businessman who wants to know the real strategies for business. That is correct, there are indeed secrets, strategies and information that only experience can teach you. I intend to teach them to you in this dojo.

My name is Michael Roth and I have been advising and strategizing for over twenty years. However I am very different from what you have seen or heard before. For example….I am not going to tell you that I am a retired, wealthy guy who is doing this program to be altruistic. If I was a multi millionaire you and I would not be talking. We take a true Zen approach to what we do here and as a businessman myself, I am always striving for pure mastery and that means the training never really stops. But fair to say that after twenty years of running my management consulting firm, coaching and advising people and serving approximately 300 indivdual clients and 40 corporations, fair to say….I have something to say…so you might want to listen. Truth be told, I believe the core of growth lies in being infinitely curious and I for one, as a businessman am always seeking a community of like minded people to connect with.

The School of Practical business is an exclusive place to go to to learn what being an entrepreneur is really like. It is a place to learn how to become a great leader, someone who learns skills that are applicable in any work situation and maybe, dare I say, life situation. But here is the rub…it is a dojo, not a short film or short easy to read pamphlet. Meaning you cannot come here just to read and absorb, you have to understand that the principals we teach are based on real time experiences and being truly committed to excellence is a hard and arduous task. This is not for the weak of heart. The corporate dojo goes beyond just tips and techniques and trains you to embrace our belief than success comes from Commitment, Sacrifice, Discipline and lifestyle change. That’s what we teach.

Faster, faster faster till the thrill of speed, overcomes the fear of death

I make no overblown promises about how you can buy a yacht in 30 days, and improve your love life and create an unlimited cash flow. What the dojo is is a handbook for survival and a place to learn how to use these new tools. I encourage you to commit and subscribe, because I, personally pride myself on being different and unique and I again assure you that by being a part of this dojo, you will develop skills that will serve you greatly.

We are all Cheezy Salesmen

2009-07-13T12:37:00.000-07:00

We are all Cheezy Salesmen

April 18th, 2009 · No Comments

This visit to the dojo will start with a story….Back in the day I would produce and participate in weekend long Motivational Seminars all across the United States and Canada. One of my responsibilities was to find and interview staff to volunteer on said weekends. These seminars had 200 participants and it required a work crew of 25 - 30 on the production team. I as the leader had to clear these people. I asked one of the men what he did for a living…He stammered a bit and said “I am a facilitator for the movement of goods….I am a conduit for the purchase of…..finally after stammering around he started to walk away…he stopped , turned and yelled back at me “Let’s face it…I am a cheezy Salesman’. I laughed my ass off for indeed that was the truth. It of course got me thinkin….Hell..We are all….at our core Cheezy Salesman.

You are indeed the CEO of Me Inc….The Brand You , A Free Agent…etc. but truth be told we are all enrolling… all of the time. Life is indeed Enrollment. Since you are at the Corporate Dojo and most likely a forward thinking Enterpreneur or Uber - Hip Corporate Executive …you need to honor the truth. We are always selling, suggesting, promoting…like a truffle hound seeking out that perfect client, deal or customer. Work and Play are the same and Business is Personal but the only time you are really “In Business’ is when you are selling. The Deal Drives the day. Doing the job, supplying the goods, providing the service is work. The paying by a new client, the closing of a great opportunity, the actual exchange of money for services or goods is the actual business…Hence my own company motto which is (Since you asked)…”I am not in the coaching people for free business”.

Now I stated in my business book and elswhere ( newsletters, podcasts and blogs….which will indeed be available on this site) that you can build and run a business on just a pad, a pen and a phone. That maxim holds true.

Now most business do not last more than 4 years..but for the serial entrepreneur or the long termer’s like myself one of the tricks to longevity is to see every trend as a new passage to an easier outcome and lifestyle. I will explain…..There is an old Chinese proverb that states that if in your youth you embrace hard work and discipline, you will have an old age filled with pleasure.If however, if you , in your youth avoid hard work and discipline…you will have an old age filled with pain. We network to sell to make profit so that eventually we can save enough to stop and not have to network.

Now there are some very deep issues with this selling in that most people do not want to market or sell…they would rather tinker and talk but the only way to get a good lead or a good deal is to sell and market. Attract buyers. Now as entrepreneurs we are blessed in that we have a really great tool in our lives other businesses or anybody ever had before…Computers, emails. cell phones, instant messaging, blogs, twitter, etc. ways to stay connected…ways to run our business so the we can spread our idea virus..etc.
Problem is every one is doing it…. so as this blog goes to press the thing to realize is that those who actually capitailize on these trends are unique, fun and well designed. Guerilla Marketing is everywhere…everyone is vying for every dollar…you better stand out.

Yours truly has lately been studying Twitter andeven blogging is , for me at it’s infant stages but I will tel l you this I cannot not wait to stop. Let me explain…I do all of this blogging, podcasts, Power Point Presentations, Bridge calls…..so that One day I won’t have to. Unlike other motivational people I am not in this game because I care about you ..not to say I don’t but to merely point out I do not know you…I do this, for it is ,for me …a talent and a skill I have practiced for 20 years. I sell and market my time and commitment and ultimately I do very much seek to build a community of like minded people…I want to train and work with the best and brightest. That , my friend is why you might be in the right place. This Dojo is for all skill levels from Beginer to Master….Entrepreneurs to Corporate Executives…CEO’s to Corporate Leaders…but make no mistake about..this is not a coffee Klatch…in this dojo……. you get the real no spin. Such as..If your home is foreclosd and your car is repossed…it is a bad thing!

We are over connecting…You are diluting your sales message if you do not draw a line in the sand and be more direct and honest about your professional services and the values you and your brand promote. If you do not tell it like it is then you risk being exposed as a shallow, self serving fraud rather than a professional who believes in his goods or services. All you need is the truth.. I am told that I am a great Salesman and I have even spent a full year doing a research on actual salesman…I am not a great salesman..I just know how to sell …me. I am passionate about my brand, skills, programs, clients and results.. In other words..I am just good at what I do, I give my best and I love my clients. Now in my profession I study and am introduced to all kinds of people doing simliar things that I do and with those introductions you hear things like this guy is amazing or this book is the one and after my exploration and yes I am biased but what i have uncovered is more of my disease.

My disease is called “Are you Fucking Kidding Me?” I listened to one woman speak about how if your home is foreclosed and your car is repossed and you are sitting on the curb as they pull your car away and you are looking across the street at the house you used to live in..well is that really so bad? You get to walk and get in better shape, etc. And all I could think of is “Are you Fucking kidding me?” That is just New Age Airy Fairy BS ….in my humble opinion. Losing your home, being homeless, falling thru the cracks, searching the cushions for spare change to but a 7 11 hot dog for dinner is a lousy life. Believe you …me. Life is not purple twinkies and green cupcakes ..life is not a dress rehersal….You want what most people want : A- To do what you love, B- To do what you are good at and C- To make money doing it.

Now is that not the truth ? I sure hope so…especially if you are supporting a family. This blog is the first of two parts…The second part is right behind this and is further ramblings about connectivity, technology and spreading our ideas to attract others. I also intend to demonstrate new ideas and bold gestures to make my points. So far in todays class we have learned that : A- We are all cheezy Salesman, B- We are connecting to build a rolodex to sell to , C- We have to be creative and truthful in our pursuits professionally.

I, Michael Roth run a Training and Development Busienss that provides strategies and Tactics. I am an Executive Coach and Advisor to CEO’s. I have been doing this for 17+ years and I am Best in Class at what I do. I urge you to come back to the Dojo, Subscribe, Post comments, Tell your friends, Share my blog with others. I am walking the walk for in that: