The highlight of my speaking gig this week on board the cruise ship Aurora was getting to meet and spend time with the author Maria Nemeth. I realised half way through our first conversation that I had read her book The Energy Of Money a few years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. In fact as we talked I downloaded her other book Mastering Life’s Energies on the Kindle app and am reading it now.

Maria is one of those wonderfully intense Californian women who take themselves and you very seriously because they have spent a long time thinking very hard about the sort of stuff most of us gloss over or take for granted. She is also a very close listener and it is disconcerting to have someone listen to you as hard as she does. It is so unusual.

During the course of our first conversation I came out with my usual one liner about not feeling Scottish any more. She responded by saying “Of course you are Scottish. What is wrong with being Scottish? Why are you resisting that part of you? What are you hiding from?” I did my best to make light of it during the rest of our conversation – we bantered about my “inner Scot” who I imagined as a grumpy wee troll with red hair and a tartan tam o’ shanter – but she had really got to me. Not so much about the Scottish bit but the way I can define myself by my resistance to things and why this is so. Whether it is religion or IT, those who read this blog will have seen me shape myself by the strength of my reaction to these two groups, and some of you will no doubt have winced to watch me do so.

Given that I was on the boat to talk to The IT Directors’ Forum and to write my book I went back to my cabin in an existential funk struggling to think clearly about what I was trying to say, to whom, and why. This was a good thing. Thanks Maria!

View Rainmakers Bio »
Go to Source »

If men do not keep on speaking terms with children, they cease to be men, and become merely machines for eating and for earning money.

John Updike

View Rainmakers Bio »
Go to Source »

I have just finished listening to Michael Lewis’s excellent book The Big Short on Audible. It is a fascinating narrative based around the collapse of the sub-prime mortgage market told through the stories of those who saw it coming and laid bets involving huge amounts of money. Lewis does a great job of making the complexity of the story understandable and while none of the characters are what you’d call likeable you do end up getting carried away with the roller coaster ride they were on.

The book reminded me of the time a few years ago when we went to our bank to ask for an extended mortgage to extend the our house. I would have said that I visited “our bank manager” but he wasn’t our bank manager he was some guy in a suit driving a computer terminal. He still had the air of pomposity and making me feel small for asking for money but I realised as we watched him struggling to input the data into his terminal that he wasn’t deciding if we could have the money, the algorithms behind the software he was using were. I was tempted to say “You go off and have a coffee while I input the data because I could do it much faster myself”. But then I realised that I actually wanted him to be like an old fashioned bank manager. I wanted him to know my circumstances, have known my father, have a basis on which to make a judgement on both of our behalfs as to whether or not to lend me the money.

Reading Paul Volcker’s article in The New York Review Of Books this morning on the financial crisis I was struck by the following paragraph:

One basic flaw running through much of the recent financial innovation is that thinking embedded in mathematics and physics could be directly adapted to markets. A search for repetitive patterns of behavior and computations of normal distribution curves are a big part of the physical sciences. However, financial markets are not driven by changes in natural forces but by human phenomena, with all their implications for herd behavior, for wide swings in emotion, and for political intervention and uncertainties.

This is yet another time when I want experts, I want intelligent meatware, and I’m not so sure I can trust disembodied, disconnected systems run by morons!

 

[I would have linked to the Audible file of the book rather than Amazon but Audible's affiliates scheme is such a pitiful mess I couldn't be bothered]

View Rainmakers Bio »
Go to Source »

I have just finished listening to Michael Lewis’s excellent book The Big Short on Audible. It is a fascinating narrative based around the collapse of the sub-prime mortgage market told through the stories of those who saw it coming and laid bets involving huge amounts of money. Lewis does a great job of making the complexity of the story understandable and while none of the characters are what you’d call likeable you do end up getting carried away with the roller coaster ride they were on.

The book reminded me of the time a few years ago when we went to our bank to ask for an extended mortgage to extend the our house. I would have said that I visited “our bank manager” but he wasn’t our bank manager he was some guy in a suit driving a computer terminal. He still had the air of pomposity and making me feel small for asking for money but I realised as we watched him struggling to input the data into his terminal that he wasn’t deciding if we could have the money, the algorithms behind the software he was using were. I was tempted to say “You go off and have a coffee while I input the data because I could do it much faster myself”. But then I realised that I actually wanted him to be like an old fashioned bank manager. I wanted him to know my circumstances, have known my father, have a basis on which to make a judgement on both of our behalfs as to whether or not to lend me the money.

Reading Paul Volcker’s article in The New York Review Of Books this morning on the financial crisis I was struck by the following paragraph:

One basic flaw running through much of the recent financial innovation is that thinking embedded in mathematics and physics could be directly adapted to markets. A search for repetitive patterns of behavior and computations of normal distribution curves are a big part of the physical sciences. However, financial markets are not driven by changes in natural forces but by human phenomena, with all their implications for herd behavior, for wide swings in emotion, and for political intervention and uncertainties.

This is yet another time when I want experts, I want intelligent meatware, and I’m not so sure I can trust disembodied, disconnected systems run by morons!

 

[I would have linked to the Audible file of the book rather than Amazon but Audible's affiliates scheme is such a pitiful mess I couldn't be bothered]

View Rainmakers Bio »
Go to Source »

Walk into any business on a rainy day and for the most part, they’re empty. Everyone is relaxed. You get great service and lots of attention. No one seems to be really busy which seems to me like a perfect time to cold call. The owner is in. Business is slow. They don’t really have anything to do but talk to you. Chances are you’ll be the only sales person that walks in the door today. Why not?

This dawned on me early in my sales career. When you’re out there every day competing for the attention of a buyer or business owner, you look for ways to stand out. I realized that all my counterparts were in their little cubicles doing paperwork, making phone calls and setting appointments for tomorrow when it wasn’t going to be raining.

So, I grabbed an umbrella and hit the road. It was amazing. Very rarely did I walk into a business that I didn’t get to speak to a decision maker. I mean, think about it. I just completely set myself apart from everyone. I’m the one that will get out in the rain, get my feet wet and work a little harder for the business. This speaks volumes to someone you’re trying to do business with. Who wants to give their money to someone who only wants to work when everything is nice and sunny? Get it?

I went to a business networking meeting this morning and attendance was pretty bad. This is a weekly meeting that people pay to go to so they can get referrals to make more money. But it was raining. It was raining HARD. Apparently, that was enough to keep at least 50% of the regular attendees from venturing out. It just looked like another opportunity to me.

Do you know what a rainmaker is? Dictionary.com says a rainmaker is “One who is known for achieving excellent results in a profession or field, such as business or politics”. Is that you? What do you do when it rains? Are you one of those people who would have skipped the meeting? Do you sit in your office and try to get people on the phone? Are you doing your expense report? Stop.

Try it just once. You’ll be surprised at the results. Be a rainmaker. Next time it rains, put on your best suit. Give yourself a little pep talk, grab your umbrella and hit the streets. Take plenty of business cards and be ready. I bet you make a little money.

Michelle C. Ritter is a the owner of http://www.e-worc.com , a web design and sales consulting company where she works with many types of product and service based industries in developing sales and marketing plans and effective online programs. She specializes in cross-industry communication and teaches a series of seminars for MTI Business Solutions http://www.mobiletechwebsite.com that focus on teaching others to enjoy success in sales by learning how to speak in the language of the buyer.

Author: Michelle Ritter
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Digital Camera Times

Rainmaker Thursday
Value 2.0 The Next Level -

- Thick Value or Creative Destruction?

Date: 6th May 2010

Venue: Castle Hill House, Windsor.

‘Adding Value’ is fast becoming an over used, worn out corporate buzz word and it could be damaging your organisation.  It’s taking some organisations to crisis point – especially those that are not even aware of it’s true nature.

Simply ‘Adding Value’ is no longer enough to get the attraction you desire.

Consider:

• After pulling your belt in for over a year are you sure you are not on the extinct list or can you rebuild and flourish?
• Has pulling in your belt over the last 6 months killed your next big thing?

Every day it seems yet another product or service is being labelled as ’added value’ and laying claims that it’s now better than ever before or better than its rival!  But lets really think about this… what IS the difference between one ’new added value’ offering  to another? How would your organisation’s value truly stand up to comparisons?

• Research has shown that many customers think value is intrinsictly linked to money either as a ‘how much can I get for my money’ or ‘How little can I pay for this?’ stance.
• ‘Value’, in the opinion of some, has turned into the ‘Spam’ phrase of the corporate advertising, marketing and PR collateral as well as some of the corporate thinking and strategy.
• Somehow ‘value’ seems to have become lost along the way as more people view ‘added value’ as a standard that a company should be offereing and thereby no longer a true added value!

So how do you do something which is better than others and more importantly seen to be better, valued to be better and talked about as being the best?

As rainmaker Gary Sage said in a recent interview:

“The global financial storm has produced a global shift in awareness, not only have the rules changed – future sustainable business will need to understand that there is a new value equation out there – value 2.0 if you wish – achieving great performance will depend on truly understanding how to deliver and support this value.”

This session is for those wanting to understand the future of ‘Value’ today and it’s impact to organisations before it arrives!  Do Not underestimate the value of ‘Value’!

To be held under Chatham House Rule

Thought Leader:

Rainmaker – Gary Sage of SageHagan.

Gary Sage is a ‘Super Skiller’.  He is a gifted consultant and Communications Coach whose personal clients span the globe.  Gary has coached and conducted seminars and workshops on five continents to thousands of people and successfully taken his unique methodology into organisations from as diverse a background of; international banks to luxury goods manufacturers to multinational computer companies, to sole traders.

Cost: All refreshments and lunch are included. If you are multi-booking, you may be entitled to a group discount.  Please contact Chris on 0 845 0941044 for further details.

All prices listed above exclude VAT.

Next step – book now: Places are very limited so click the button now to secure your place.  Alternatively, this can be delivered in-house and tailored if required.

As I flit like a bee from one big organisational headquarters to another it occurs to me that such buildings add little benefit and restrict in the following ways:

You have to waste time, money and energy traveling to them.

They cost a lot of money to maintain.

You are subject to IT networks that are slower and more restricted than your own at home.

You have to pretend to be working even when you are not whereas elsewhere you can stare out of the window and think.

You are less in control of who interrupts you and why.

Their architecture is often depressing rather than uplifting.

Can you think of any more reasons?

View Rainmakers Bio »
Go to Source »

Just days after we launched our campaign against biofuels, headlines start appearing that we really don’t want to see. Shell have announced they will be chucking money at the biggest bioethanol (sugar cane) producer in Brazil in a joint project costing

Go to Source »

It’s an all to familiar scene…you’re working feverishly for a law firm, putting in over 2000 hours per year of grueling days and weekends, always on call subjected to annoying ring tones from your cell phone or blackberry unable to tell when work ends and your personal time begins. You work hard, really hard, make money for the firm and do everything you’re supposed to do. Yet, something very important is missing. Whether it’s the loss of control or extreme time famine, something has gone wrong.

The fact is that law, like accounting, medicine, engineering, or any other enterprise is a business. And businesses exist to make money. They are driven by sales, revenues and profits. In law, revenues are derived from clients. Therefore, having a steady stream of new and existing clients is the key to your financial success.

Just being a good lawyer or a great legal tactician is not enough anymore. Even if you graduated top of your Ivy League class, commanded a starting salary in the high six figure range, made partner in rapid speed and recently won a landmark decision, your chances of sustained success are still dependent on your rainmaking skills.

No doubt the managing partners are very proud of your accomplishments. You’re written up in the firm newsletter and your resume and bio page in the firm’s brochure looks really good. But the bottom line will always prevail. Eventually, the managing partner will call you into the office, discuss the firms’ “profits per partner ratio” and ask: “So, what amount of revenues can we expect from you this year?”

Internally, the law firm of today looks more like a business than ever before. To the frustration of many of us, like their counterparts in the business world, revenues and earnings drive major decisions. Today, even if you’re an excellent attorney recognized in your field, or bill a large number of hours, you can on longer assume that you’ll make partner and have a secure future in the firm. What’s more, becoming a partner is no longer the Holy Grail it once was. Partners who have failed to maintain a steady supply of clients and bring increased revenues into the firm are no longer protected. New attorney designations, permanent staff lawyer positions, mass demotions, “de-equitization” and non-equity partner positions are on the rise leaving lawyers with new titles but less firm ownership and power. While law firm leaders will say it’s impossible to define the criteria for partnership, it’s difficult to find an instance where someone with a substantial book of business didn’t remain an equity partner.

What’s the answer…become a rainmaker! Whether you’re an associate or partner in a law firm, recent graduate, in-house or even on your own, eventually you’ll come to realize that client development and rainmaking not only represent the key to your survival, but unlocks the door to your freedom, wealth and ultimate success.

Rainmaker’s Have a Great Lifestyle

Did you ever notice that rainmakers are the highest paid people in the firm? Not only do they make more money, but they look good, dress well and probably have better sex. The people who are really good at client development have a great life. They are members of private clubs, dress in the finest clothes, have the contacts to get things done, eat at great restaurants, have the largest house in the best neighborhood, second homes at the beach, and most importantly, enjoy their practice more. Oh yes my fellow brethren, rainmakers are not working on weekends grunting out obnoxious billable hours or working on document reviews or other mind-numbing work hoping that some day they can finally enjoy their professional and personal life.

If you want independence and control over your life, as well as more money, friends, influence, freedom, and security then the answer is clear. You have to become a rainmaker!

Being an effective rainmaker and marketing your services is not as hard as you may think. In fact, done the right way, it can be downright enjoyable. And when you experience the success it brings, you will have more of the things you want out of your practice. You’ll be able to pick and choose the cases you want and fire the clients that are ungrateful and annoying. You’ll be able to leave the blackberry and cell phone turned off, take more vacations, do more pro bono work and accomplish all the things that you wanted to do when you entered the field of law.

Sure, the housing bubble may burst, the stock market crash and the economy tank. But armed with the right marketing attitude and a bucket load of clients, you could always start a thriving bankruptcy practice!

Author: Cole Silver
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Electric Pressure Cooker

As an entrepreneur, I have created many businesses. And these businesses need certain advisers like lawyers and accountants. Like many of you, these “species”, and I use the word advisedly, are not my most favourite people as they cost me lots of money and don’t appear to deliver much value.

Recently I was with one of these advisers and the conversation was not pleasant. In fact it made my blood boil. In a nutshell, I was asked, point blank, why I wasn’t making more money currently. Notwithstanding the incredible rudeness of the question, I was appalled that this came from an adviser that I have had for over 20 years and who has seen me create and build companies with multi-million valuations. I’m not known for being slow to anger but I was too flabbergasted to respond – which, I expect, was taken for acquiescence. I felt belittled by someone who has been happy to take a huge sum of money from me over a long period of time, yet clearly felt that they were somehow better than me, if only because they were making a solid, steady income and I, like all entrepreneurs, was on the financial roller coaster that we know so well.

What really annoyed me was that I haven’t discussed my new business with this adviser since I set it up a few years ago. So he (yes of course it’s an “alpha” male) has no idea what the philosophy is behind it. Had he chosen to ask, he’d have learnt that I no longer have a desire to be mega rich or rule the world, and that with two small children, I’d rather spend time with them than working all the hours in the day. In short, my needs are a lot simpler now.

So where am I going with this? Well I’ve started to look around and listen more carefully, and I am becoming increasingly concerned at how, in the United Kingdom at least, this seems to be a prevalent theme. As a mentor to board level directors and senior managers, I am used to being around leaders (and was one myself until quite recently) so I worry that if this level of insolence, and indeed intolerance, continues, it will become the endemic culture of a large number of companies. And as many of them are international, the tentacles of this unpleasant behaviour will spread far and wide and rapidly.

People who are adept at delivering the quick one liner put down are actually not being clever – they are bullies. They might get an instant reaction of “approval” from those around them but they will never be liked. Pitied yes and feared certainly, but never liked. And by behaving in this way they demonstrate that they are narrow minded and “little” people.

If the world is being taken over by pygmies, I need to find a blowpipe. Fast!

---

Copyright © 2009 Philip de Lisle. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact legal@www.philipdelisle.com so we can take legal action immediately.
Plugin by Taragana

View Rainmakers Bio
Go to Source