CAWA CONVENTION
HYATT REGENCY MONTEREY, MONTEREY, CA. NOVEMBER 1993

I like meetings. I like education. I like to talk about change. Because you come here to share knowledge. It’s about knowledge. Knowledge is like love: you don’t get it until you give it away.

There are 14 women for every 74-year-old man. That is the most useless figure I’ve ever heard.

I like to be associated with winners. When I do my job, I get the chance to work with the best people in the world at what they do. I love the intensity of the action. I love working at a higher level.

There’s always strength in everybody working together.

My theme: let’s get the MAGIC out.

M is for Magic. This implies producing results through mysterious influences or unexplained powers. Center on the word power. That’s what you have now — personal power (as opposed to position power). This has nothing to do with what others say you are. It comes out of who you are. The more of you you can take into any relationship, the less vulnerable you are to position power. It comes from a feeling of self confidence. It’s already there, but we inhibit it. We need to believe what we do. Can you get strength from failure? You bet. You ever had a bad day, a bad week? Failure does not come from falling down. Everyone does that. Failure comes from not getting up after you fall down. You’ve got to stay in the moment. When something goes wrong, you’ve got to block it out and go on to the next thing. We say you’re only as good as your next call. Focus on your strengths. When you focus on your failures, you keep going down. It’s important that you really believe that.

A is for Awareness. Being alert to what to do. Why aren’t we better at what we do? Awareness. We have blind spots. Are you really aware of what you’re doing? Are we really aware of our business? Are you thinking about doing your job better? Preparation is the key. It is the answer. Every NFL team spends 50 to 60 hours a week for a one-hour performance. What makes the difference? Execution. Do what you do well over and over. That’s what makes a difference in doing what you do well in your business.

G is for Goals or Game Plan. What is your direction? What are you doing? What’s your purpose? What are you all about? There is a goal line on the football field. That’s why they’re there. What are you in business for? Customer service? There is a simple formula: (BE)2= business success B= belief in products and services. Do you believe in what you do? E=excitement. To talk with excitement about what you do. How is the E in your business? Build. Are you building relationships or are you just selling products? How many times do you take the time to call a customer, any customer, and ask how are things going? That’s what makes sales go up. Exceed, exceed customer expectations every time.

I is for Innovation. Creativity. Things from the imagination. We all do have an imagination. Imagination is the capacity to see what is already there. Einstein had it. Picasso had it. Einstein didn’t invent relativity. He discovered it and explained it to us. Peter Drucker said "The best way to predict the future is to make it happen." There are three kinds of people: those who make it happen, those who watch it happen, and those who say "what happened?" In psychology, we call it a self-fulfilling prophecy. Athletes always plan ahead. They know ahead of time what they are going to do. Do that through visualization, mental imagery. Can you imagine a positive course? Imagine it, see it, then make it happen.

C is for cohesion. The act of uniting. CAWA is about teamwork. Teamwork starts with me. Take responsibility to make it happen. You’re successful — trust in what you do. When you become tentative — that’s when you throw the interception. Then trust in other people. Trust in each other. Do you trust your spouse? Trust your kids? If you tell one lie, are you a liar? I think we give up on people too soon. Maybe we should adopt the Kenny Rogers school of management. He says you’ve got to know when to hold ’em and know when to fold ’em. He was talking about cards, but I’m talking about people. You’ve got to know when to hold ’em…and know when to let go. People who work for you, people in your family don’t want to fail. When they’re down, they don’t need people to hold them down. People like to succeed. Build them up. That’s how you build a team.

The greatest team I’ve ever seen is the family. Tell me, who is the greatest member of your family?

Think about the word: TEAM or Together Everyone Accomplishes More.