Summer Reading Rather Than Recession

The news is full of disaster and it could get downright depressing if that becomes your focus: A deepening recession made somewhat permanent by the appetite for energy, oil and living with a roof overhead and indoor plumbing.

Fortunately, I am surrounded by customers and they remain our best source of reality and a constant reminder of abundance.  When you feel stuck or even consider the possibility of withdrawing, not spending money on marketing or otherwise shooting yourself in the foot, go talk with some customers. 

Here's two great pieces of advice from my customers this week.  One said it best when he said, "I choose to not participate in this recession.  I don't have to make that many trips or use as much gas as I once thought necessary. I don't have to consume as much as I once did. If I just spend time with my customers, I'll find a lot of the satisfaction I really need to advance my business and life."

Another customer told me, instead of reading all the bad news in that pile of newspapers you get everyday, how about switching to your summer reading program?  What a great idea!  It's nearly Memorial Day and so I got myself to Barnes and Nobel to focus on leadership.  After all, this current situation calls for leadership, not a pity party.

Into the bookstore I walked with conviction and enthusiasm.  Going to the kiosk that tells me all the books possible, I typed in "leadership" and here's my reading list for the summer:

Good to Great (have it already...will read it again)

Now Discover Your Strengths (love the first one so I bought the sequel book --2.0)

A Whole New Mind (fabulous, fast read that tells us exactly how to prosper in any economy)

What Got You Here Won't Get You There (what leaders know about sustained success)

Blue Ocean Strategy

Execution--The Art of Getting Things Done

Several books by Maxwell, such as the 360 Degree Leader, Developing the Leader Within You, the 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership

Speed of Trust

Duct Tape Marketing (bought 100 of these and gave them to 100 customers and business colleagues...you gotta live this book)

All of this reading and thinking brings us back to the central theme of this blog.  Economic conditions are temporary and ephemeral.  Only one thing is real--customers.  They count and they are not going away. They will go to someone else if you don't serve them well, talk to them, keep asking what they value, etc.  But they don't disappear; rather, they take their constantly GROWING needs to someone who can take care of them. 

Finally, focus on this.  Someone is going to make a lot of money in the months ahead.  Someone is going to prosper and use this summer to put themselves in a better position, business wise, than they've ever been before.  It could be you.

Feed your mind and get some perspective on the bigger picture.  Try summer reading and time with customers. 

You have the abundance of the sun.  More daylight now and that means light for reading and light for getting out for golf, lunch or whatever your customers like to do for the next four months.

Comments

[Glenn]

If you want to persuade others to buy your products or ideas, I recommend "The Laws of Simplicity" by John Maeda and "Made To Stick". Both books are relevant to those with internal and external customers.

Oh, and perhaps it's time to reread "The Effective Executive" by Peter Drucker.

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