management

Top 10 Ways to Inspire Others (and succeed in the business of sports)

kirk_wakefield 2013, Careers, Integrity, Lead, Learn, Personal Development, Work ethic , , , , , , , , , , 0 Comment
Top 10 Ways to Inspire Others (and succeed in the business of sports)
by Frank Miceli – November 2013

Growing up in south Philly

Growing up in Philadelphia a block away from the sports complex I always dreamed of someday working for the Philadelphia Flyers.

As a 16-year old I was inspired by the story of Ed Snider after reading a magazine article about him and his business philosophy.  I just knew working for the Flyers was my destiny. But after writing 44 letters of application and along the way completing my college degree at the University of Scranton, I was still no closer to my dream job. Their 44 kind letters of rejection made it clear I needed to prove myself and bring something more to the table than a college degree

Gaining some success in retail advertising at Gimbels , Wannamaker’s, and Strawbridge & Clothier along with a chance meeting working late one night turned into the opportunity of a lifetime. What seemed like a normal Wednesday night preparing Sunday’s ad copy turned into meeting Milt Beaver, a senior executive who later opened the door to my dream job and incredible 18-year career with Comcast-Spectacor.  I was excited every day of work then and every day I go to work now as Senior Vice-President for  Spurs Sports & Entertainment in San Antonio, Texas. I am so very proud to have my name next to the Iconic Spurs logo on my business card and I never take that blessing for granted.

Secret to Success

My secret to success is there are no secrets. As Colin Powell said, “There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work and learning from failure.”

The recipe to success is the same for me as it is for you. I love the word-picture of “Pound the Rock” by the Danish American social reformer Jacob Riis:

“When nothing seems to help, I go look at a stone cutter hammering away at a rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing. Yet, at the hundred and first blow, it will split in two, and I will know that it was not that blow that did it but all that had come before.”

What I’ve learned since moving from that street row house in south Philly to one day working for one of the best franchises in pro sports is this: Everything you need to succeed is under your control. All you need to do is inspire others.

What does it take to inspire others?

Here’s my Top 10 list of ways you can inspire others. All of these are completely up to you. Do them and you’ll succeed. As Steve Mariboli says, ““When you are living the best version of yourself, you inspire others to live the best versions of themselves.”

  1. Be passionate.
    • Really.
  2. Have a positive attitude regardless of road blocks.
  3. Make others great around you.
    • Think Tim Duncan.
  4. Be loyal.
    • Loyalty to others builds your brand reputation.
  5. Work hard.
    • “Most people have the will to succeed, but few have the will to prepare to succeed.” ~Bobby Knight
  6. Embrace change.
    • Change is opportunity dressed like a problem.
  7.  Speak up. Be heard.
    • “Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.” ~Bobby Kennedy
  8. Never stop learning.
    • Like Walt Disney, practice an Hour of Power: 20 minutes learning something new; 20 minutes of meditation, and 20 minutes making someone smile.
  9. Give back.
    • “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.” ~ Zig Ziglar
  10. Have fun.
    • At least once a day!

 

Dealing with frustration in sales

kirk_wakefield 2013, Integrity, Lead, Learn, Sales Management, Sales Training , , , , , , 0 Comment
Dealing with frustration in sales
by Dan Rockwell – August 2013

The way you deal with today’s frustration reflects the leader or the salesperson you’ll become tomorrow.

Frustration is an alarm clock; a spotlight pointing: a match burned too long.

Frustration is a gift that says pay attention.

Don’t get frustrated with frustration. Frustration is feedback on decisions and relationships.

Frustration’s goal

The singular message of frustration is change.

  1. Usually it’s you.
  2. Sometimes it’s others.
  3. Perhaps it’s processes and procedures.

Repeated frustration

Frustrations that return want attention like neglected children.

Ignoring frustration makes frustration mad.

Successful people choose responses. The weak react.

Choose

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Ben Milsom
Ben Milsom

“Frustration, like nerves, can either benefit or tear down. I tell our salespeople that the only person frustration hurts is yourself–it’s all internal, not external. The opportunity is still there to find out what others need or want and to find solutions.”tampa_bay_buccaneers[/dropshadowbox]Choose who to be:

  1. Welcoming. Open up don’t close down. “Come in, let’s talk.”
  2. Calm. Cool down don’t heat up. Nothing says confidence more than calmness during frustration.
  3. Able. Assume a do-something posture.

Bonus: Optimistic. Express optimism while acknowledging realities.

Choose what to do:

  1. Acknowledge don’t ignore. “That’s frustrating,” is better than, “It’s not that bad.”
  2. Run toward not away. Deal with it now or you’ll deal with it later. Curiosity coupled with courage expands leadership and productivity.
  3. Stay focused not distracted. Frustrations that distract from the big picture grow larger than they are.

Bonus: Involve others. Don’t act alone. “What can ‘we’ do,” is better than, “What can ‘I’ do.”

Three warnings

  1. Frustration in one area tends to bleed into others.
  2. Don’t let short-term frustrations make long-term decisions.
  3. Frustration’s biggest danger is its ability to create imbalance.

Rudyard Kipling wrote:

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
…
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it …

How do you deal with frustration?

 

S3 Board Member Spotlight: Kris Katseanes, FC Dallas

kirk_wakefield S3 Spotlight, Work ethic , , , , , , , , 0 Comment
S3 Board Member Spotlight: Kris Katseanes, FC Dallas
by Travis Martin – January 2013

Kris Katseanes, Vice President of Ticket Sales and Service for FC Dallas, has been an invaluable member of the S3 Advisory Board. Because of Kris’ leadership and willingness to mentor the careers of young people entering the profession, Baylor’s S3 program annually places interns and new employees with FC Dallas.

Kris Katseanes
Kris Katseanes

Each fall semester Katseanes visits the Baylor campus to interview S3 students for internships the following summer. For most juniors this is the first real interview with a team. Katseanes helps calm the tension as students walk into the one-on-one interviews. As with other on-campus interviews with board members, students meet with the S3 Program Director, Dr. Darryl Lehnus, to help learn for the next interview.

All the students who meet with Mr. Katseanes quickly learn about his opinion of the value of hard work. His strong work ethic was instilled in him since he was a boy. Growing up on a potato farm, hard work was the only way to go when your day starts at 4:00 am.

One demonstration of this kind of dedication came one afternoon when Katseanes found inefficiencies in the team’s database. Salespeople were wasting time and it was clear the system needed organizing. Since the team did not have a specific person assigned to the database, Katseanes took it upon himself to work from 7:00 pm that night to 7:00 am to clean up the leads in the system. This not only helped them gain more sales, but gained admiration around the office for making everyone’s life easier.

Along with integrity and networking, work ethic represents part of the Baylor S3 W-I-N acronym instilled in students. Katseanes believes we reap what we sow and luck finds people who work hard. For young professionals, the best way to improve your career is to volunteer for anything and everything. This puts you ahead of the person next to you and gets you noticed by the right people.

“But, you have to be careful,” Katseanes says. “I see young professionals always looking to the next step so much that they can’t be content with the current. The grass isn’t always greener on the other side, so find a place where you can be happy.”

Vice President of Marketing, Communications & Strategic Planning FC Dallas
Kelly Weller

“He’s fair, creative, solution and result oriented,” said Kelly Weller, Vice President of Marketing, Communications & Strategic Planning with FC Dallas. “Everyone has a chance to succeed with him.  They are given all the tools, resources and time to perform their best to not only hit their individual goals, but to help achieve the overall objectives of the company.  He’s one of a kind in my book!”

Katseanes loves working with the S3 program because of the leadership the program offers to its students. At FC Dallas, Katseanes has developed a leadership development program that helps employees set written goals with measurable results and deadlines. Katseanes enjoys working with the the S3 professors and S3 graduates, because the emphasis is on preparing to enter a career and not just get a job.