Are you setting goals or setting results? Not sure?

Results are number oriented such as I want to hit .380. Hitting .380 is a result and if you just say I want to hit .380 you might as well just start making all sorts of claims and see if they happen.

Goals, are what get you to the result. What are you going to do to hit .380 is the goal? When you set goals like this, you will be able reach your goals each day.

Result: Hit .380, have 5Ks per game

Goals: Take 100 swings per day, Throw your bull pens with a purpose

Your goals are the work, they are the process that will inevitably give you the best opportunity for success. This goes back to Were you prepared? Measure your goals daily and your results at the end of the journey.

Your results are a direct measure of your goals and work ethic. If you want to hit .380 and you sit on your coach all year then come the first game you pick the bat up, you haven’t given yourself the best opportunity for success. When people do this, they just talk, they just like to be heard making claims about what they are going to do, and when they fail, they just say oh well. They are able to do this, because they really do not care about the result, they just want to talk.

Lou Holtz said it best when he said

“when all is said and done, more is said than done”

I want you to get out a note card and write down 3 results you want to achieve, and then flip it over and write down your daily goals that will help you achieve the result, and then stick it to the wall above your pillow, or tape it to your bathroom mirror.

(if you are a student athlete make one of these goals academic related)

Now each day, at the end of the day, when you are alone with your own thoughts and nobody to judge, or pat you on the back, you can honestly answer the question:

Did I do what I needed to today in order to achieve my results?

Only you know, and only you need to know, because at the end of everyday, all you have is yourself and your reflection while you brush your teeth. Look the person in the eyes, and see what they say back.

Be accountable to yourself and if you never let yourself down, there is no way you will let anyone else down.

Email me some of your results, and goals, I would love to hear them, and I may even be able to help you formulate your process.

samflamont@yahoo.com

When I was in 8th grade I wrote “I want to play SS in the major leagues” I came up short of that result, but I promise it wasn’t due to a lack of effort.

I hear a lot of coaches talking about their players buying in, or getting their players to buy in to a system. I am not a big fan of this phrase, because it means they are trying to get kids on board with something and they have to really sell the kids. If a coach, or manager, is able to connect with their players and make a few tough decisions they will have no problem getting their players “All In” and they will no longer be salesmen or women.

This is a team, either you are “All in” or “All out”. Those are your two choices, I am not trying to sell anything to my players. The idea is to get them all to be all in with the team concept, and that is the tricky part, especially for the players who are not playing all the time.

Getting the players “All in” requires them to, like you, respect you, and know you are credible. All of these things are topics we have discussed before, and if all of those describe your player’s feelings towards you, then you will not have to sell them anything, they will simply and completely get on board, and be “All In”

Coaches that are unable to connect with their players will always be selling. They will be selling the idea they care about them, they have their best interest in mind, they know what they are talking about. All of this takes away from the things you really need to be doing; coaching, and worse yet it proves your players are on the fence.

Coaches who have the ability to connect to their players will have no problem getting the vast majority of their players “All In”. There will always be a few individuals who will not change, and sometimes they are your best and most talented players. When this happens the answer is pretty simple. Get rid of them, if you give them the opportunity to be “All In” and they refuse, or fight a little, then they are not your best, they will not make you better, they will hurt your chemistry, and in the end your most talented players will make your team worse.

“All In” or “All Out”

That is what matters. Did you give yourself a chance to win or did you set yourself up for the loss by doing nothing to prepare?

I am a firm believer in the fact that you can never have too much information, it just comes down to how you use it.

If you go the extra mile to prepare, when game day comes you will have a plan, and now how well you execute that plan will determine whether or not you win or lose.

You could have a perfect business plan, spelling is great, punctuation is perfect, you covered all the bases, but then when you go to present it, you fumble over ideas and omit important details. This is a prime example of being prepared, but failing to execute.

You may know that 100 percent of the time a certain hitter will swing and miss at a slider down and away on 0-2. This is for sure, no doubt, so when the time comes, you throw the correct pitch, but you hang it and he hits it 500 feet. Prepared, but did not execute.

I have a feeling that a lot of people were like me, when I was younger; willing to go out and put myself out there, but not fully prepared to do so. I would give all I had and do everything I knew to do, but would come up short. This was because I failed to fully prepare. I executed my plan, but the problem was my plan was faulty.

Most people fail due to proper preparation and a lack of complete understanding of the task that lies ahead. Eventually we get smarter and we learn from mistakes, and then on our 2nd, 3rd, 4th try we succeed, because we executed a plan that had been perfected through mistakes and failure.

Keep pushing, keep grinding, keep gathering info, keep learning, and keep putting yourself out there. It is the only way to be successful, because successful people do not quit, even after they are successful.

The old saying in coaching goes, I don’t care if my players like me, as long as they respect me. That was great when everyone respected authority or their elders simply because they were authority or their elders. You can make any judgment on society you want, but today people want to know why, and they have to like you and the answer before they will give you any respect. They also have to know your background, and it has to be credible or you are lost as well. These days, you cannot just have one part, you must have all three if you want to be truly successful.

Coaches all over the place are learning this quickly. It is a new day, and these are new kids out there, there are a few old school mentality kids scattered around but they are now the minority. I am not saying you cannot yell, talk loudly, or discipline anyone, but what I am saying is they have to both like and respect you or nothing you say will matter. I think this is great, I like the new day, because coaches are now held accountable by their players, and if they are knowledgeable and they care, then they will be fine. Also, note, if you are faking it, or your players think you are faking it, you might as well quit, you will lose your team. Like I always say, just be the best you, you can be, and work hard. Stay true to yourself, and if that doesn’t work, then maybe it is time to find a new profession.

It used to be, you walk into a room and kids would respect a coach no matter what. Sorry, but those days are gone. These kids want to know that you know your stuff, you have to people able to pass the eye test and the actual on field test or you will be lost, and in turn you will lose your team.

If you are not a coach who does not like to get in there and really talk with the kids and relate to them, you better find an assistant coach that does, and that can. If you are not a coach who knows all the X’s and O’s, you better find a coach who knows them to a T. You can’t fake it anymore, these kids are too smart, and there is too much information out there for them to just listen to you when they know you are wrong, and why should they, if they could coach the team better than you.

Know your stuff and truly care, if you do that you will be fine.

The first part of the conversation goes like this: I’m like 2 for my last 20. This is selfish, this is inexcusable, and if a player ever gripes about how bad they are doing, I would remove them, and say thanks for reminding me.

If you are not getting credit, or not performing up to your standards but the team or the organization is winning, Shut Up. When you are part of a team or an organization, it is not about you, it is much bigger than that. Also, lets say you haven’t got a hit in a week but you are still in the line up, why would you:

speak up and remind everyone how bad you are doing
or
make the moment about you.

Because you are selfish, and like the Woody Harrelson’s quote from White Men Can’t Jump
“you would rather look good first, and win second”

And since you are not looking good at the moment, the winning isn’t your focal point. That is great if you are playing Tennis or Golf, but if you are this individual you are part of a team, and you need to understand the team is more important than you. Also, if you have one of these individuals on your team or in your organization you need to either get them in line with the team view (very tough to do) or get rid of them. One person cannot win a championship but they sure can make sure you do not win one.

When I was coaching at Central Michigan University we won the MAC Championship. On the poster that was put up and handed out, one of the first guys on the field, and one of the happiest guys on the field was a Left Handed Pitcher who pitched 2 innings all year. Why? Because he knew what everyone on great organizations knows:

Everyone gets a ring

What kind of person are you? The best part is, only you know the answer, and only you can be true to yourself. Maybe if you are a bad hitter, but you are still in the line up, you are in there because you play great defense, and the coach is willing to trade the offense for your defense. Play your part, and when your name is called, give it everything you have, and if your name isn’t called, support the team, and be happy, like Matt Loomis was, for the entire Central Michigan University Baseball team.

Do you motivate you, or do you need someone else to do it? What are you doing when the Stadium is empty, when the weight room is dark and you are the only one there? What are you doing when everyone else is sleeping, playing video games, hanging out with their friends eating junk food and gossiping?

Are you right there with them? or are you taking advantage of the opportunity to get better, and then meeting up with them later? This is what separates the good from the great. Are you following the crowd because you are afraid to miss something? Are you lowering your performance because others are telling you that you are making them look bad? If someone makes fun of you for working too hard, work harder, for running too fast, pass them again, the point is to simply ignore them and continue doing what you are doing.

Never let someone else dictate how great you are going to be. Never let someone else dictate how great you are going to be.

You do not need hate, love, admiration, someone to push you if you have drive, work ethic, and the determination to be great. If you need those things, you will never sustain your greatness, because one day they will all be gone. Never let someone else dictate how great you are going to be.

Your ability does not separate you, your talent does not separate you, but all the things other people are not willing to do is what separates you from them. You have to take it to the next lever, push harder then you thought you could, when you think you are done do one more, and then one more, push, push, push, because these last sprints, reps, swings, ground balls, bull pens, jump shots, deep routes, corner kicks, and perfectly placed drag bunts are what is going to separate you. Your desire to be the best you, you can be, your drive to do more than even you thought you could is what is going to take you to the next level. Never let anyone else dictate how great you are going to be.

Ignore the hate, don’t use it as fuel, you are the fuel, you are the one, you don’t need love to drive you to be great, and forget about admiration too, these are all things that come because you worked harder and pushed more than anyone else, all of these things are results of what you accomplished, they should not be the reason you are trying to accomplish. If they are, you have already failed.

Be great because you want to be great, Never let someone else dictate how great you are going to be.

When it comes to your idea, business, or service, there are three types of people you will encounter, and the good part is only 1 type matters.

People who do not like your idea (Non-Customers)

People who think it is a good idea but will not use it (Non-Customers)

People who like it, will use it, and will pay for it (and their friends who haven’t heard yet) (Customers)

A lot of innovators spend too much time worrying about the first two types of people that they begin to lose the ones that matter most. Some people will simply not need your product, and you will not convert the ones who do not, and if you do, it will be at the expense of the third set; your loyal customers, and then you are back to square one anyway.

So worry about the people who like, will use, and will pay for your idea. Make their experience the best it can possibly be. Treat them wonderfully, give them more than they expect, and you will have a successful idea. This is where the 4th group of people come in and they really matter. The people who had not heard of your product, but now they have and they love it, so they mix in with the third set. The idea is to expand your product by getting it out to the friends of the people who like it.

I wrote a post about the 1% rule, meaning that if 1% of the people in the United States alone like your idea, you will make a lot of money, and hopefully do something that matters at the same time. Even if you captured .05% of the people you will do very well, assuming your pricing is correct.

As I write this, one brand comes to mind that a lot of you may not have ever heard of. Johnny Cupcakes is a brand that continually rewards the people that loyally follow him, his brand is fresh and creative, but most of all it gives back to the people who support it. I have known about this brand for four years now and only once in my life have I saw a Johnny Cupcakes T-shirt or any other Johnny Cupcakes apparel in public. What does that tell me? It tells me that there are a lot more people that do not wear Johnny Cupcakes clothing then do, but in the end his company makes around four million per year. Why? repeat customers and their friends.

Worry about the people who support you, give back to them, make them feel special, because they are special. They are your loyal supporters, and you need them, and only them to be great. If you have them, they will bring others to you.

Do not worry about the rest of the people because more than likely you will end up selling out, making an inferior product, and alienating your loyal supporters. And you will do all of this for a group of people who may or may not like the changes you made. In the end you lose your loyal customers and your originality, and probably any chance you had to successful.

Stick to what you do, and the people who support you, grow slowly, and worry about what you can do for your customers, instead of what they can do for you.

What an awful interview question. This is the question I dread whenever I am in an interview, and one I will never ask when I am the interviewer. I dread this question because I have to lie, or spin something into something it isn’t, so in one interview I decided I had had enough, and I was going to tell the truth.

“Sam, what are your weaknesses”? Boom, there it is, I knew it was coming and I was prepared. So I answered.

My weaknesses are that if I do not truly believe in what I am doing, I will not be very good at it, sometimes when I am not feeling motivated I do not perform well. And the kicker was, when I feel wronged, I do not take it lightly and I want to get to the bottom of it, this sometimes cause confrontations, but that is something about me that will not change. I refuse to stand by and let people take advantage of me. You might say I tried to spin that, but no employer wants to hear, you might take it to the extreme in the middle of the office.

Needles to say, I got the job, they loved the honesty and all they really wanted me to do was be up front with them, when I felt like someone was trying to get over on me and let them handle it. I agreed on the condition that they would handle it, they agreed. That was a good working relationship during my employment, and I had a lot of fun.

But I ask you, what does that question solve? Really? Most people make up something truly rehearsed or full of crap. Instead of asking about my strengths, weaknesses, times when I had a conflict and how I handled it, how about asking:

How are you going to drive this company forward?
You have read about us, what would improve upon right now that we currently do?
Do you consider yourself an innovator? Explain please?
Tell us about a time when you failed miserably, and please go in depth.
Why should we hire you?

These are questions that provoke emotion, and with emotion comes truth, and with truth comes a true definition of the person you are thinking about hiring. If your interview is cut and paste then do not expect anything different from your employees. They will be cut and paste, interchangeable gears, with no thought outside the box. If you want a company that is going to be great, get great people, get eccentric people who are not afraid to make mistakes, but better yet, they are not afraid to take accountability for those mistakes.

Seek out people who will change your company for the better, people who will ask you the tough questions, and then put in motion the answers they already had thought of. Get exciting passionate people, especially in areas where exciting passionate people are most needed, which by the way is everywhere.

Too often when you watch a baseball game, if you really pay attention like I do you see that most players never back up a base. The thing about backing up a base is that nobody notices until there is an over throw and you are standing in right field blowing kisses to your girlfriend.

Backing up a base is a thankless job, it is boring, repetitive, and most of the time unnecessary except it is actually never unnecessary. If you knew when an over throw would happen then it would be useless to ever back up a base until your instincts kicked in, problem is, this is not the case.

So it is a little detail that may pay off 1 time per year, but what if that 1 time per year was the time you were tied and the runner on 3rd tried to score and you threw him out at the plate, then won the game in the bottom of the ninth to claim the championship. Exaggerated? Yes, for effect,

More likely that 1 time will be a play that may save a run in the middle of the season, and after you clinch the the title by 1 game, people like me will remember that play and say “if Derrick didn’t back up that base against team x we would have tied for the title, but because he did, we won it outright”.

Point being, you never know how much your attention to detail will pay off, you just know it will. You also never know how much attention you will get because you pay such close attention to detail, but chances are, if you are this type of person, you are not worried about personal gain, you are a team player.

So how can this effect your business? Just like baseball, business needs attention to detail, shipping costs, return policy, washing instructions, drop down menu, ease of website navigation, efficient meetings, and so on.

All these little things may never hurt you until one of your customers wants to return an item and they don’t know how, or what the process is. They wash and dry the shirt and it shrinks too much, all because you forgot to tell them to wash on cold and hang dry. Your drop down menu has too many selections, and the most popular are not at the top. Your meetings drag on and the only thing that comes out of it is another meeting.

Practice the little things, pay attention to them, perfect them, and people will enjoy their experience as a customer and as an employee. The great companies make promises and deliver on them the vast majority of the time, but when they do not, there is some minor detail in place to make it right.

Why are you doing what you are doing? This is a very simple question to answer, and only you know the true answer.

Are you doing what you are doing to make money, raise money, because you are passionate about a cause, you love the work you do, it gives your life meaning, or any other reason you can come up with?

Here is the deal, any of those answers are acceptable, as long as you are being honest with yourself and most of all with other people. For example, I have run a for profit business that was youth focused, and I wanted to make money to support myself and my family while helping kids learn how to play baseball and use the lessons the game has to offer, to help them grow. This was strictly for profit, and we had a lot of customers, but it was completely fulfilling to me.

Currently I have a venture that is for profit but half of the sales go to purchasing school supplies for classrooms. I am very honest about this, I get half the money, and school supplies get the other half, plain and simple. Honest and transparent, with pictures and video for proof.

This is what I mean, let people know your true intentions, be transparent, it will earn you loyalty and trust from the people you are trying to sell your products or services to. There is no harm in making money, and there is no harm in raising money, and if you can do both with the same project, that is even better, the key is honesty and transparency.

You can make a difference or make a killing, nobody will complain when you look them in the eyes and tell them the truth.

My hope is you do all of the above. Lets get started today.