Genius Training

I was a little apprehensive about this New Year. After all, it is 2013, as in the 13^th year of this century. If buildings don’t number a 13^th floor because of superstition, why are we having a 13^th year? All my fears about 2013 however, were put to rest at our monthly meeting of the National Speakers Association (NSA) Mountain West Chapter. By the time the evening was over, I knew 2013 would be a very lucky year.

Are you are familiar with the saying, trying to drink from of a fire hose? January’s meeting was more like standing directly under Niagara Falls and trying to take a drink. My head felt like it would explode from all I learned.

During our afternoon session Dave Crenshaw presented his program entitled, How Entrepreneurs Can Outwit the Forces of Chaos. In a clever and informational presentation, Dave invoked superheroes and villains as metaphors for the challenges and solutions you face when building a business. In your fight for justice, peace, and profit, you are constantly under attack by the forces of chaos – Chaos, Inc. – to be more precise.

This evil organization is full of evil bad guys who want to destroy you and your business. They are an insidious group of seven operators; The Con, Jack-Of-All, Overload, Gorilla, Ms. Opportunity, Siphon, and Jumbler. It’s up to you to be the Superhero who combats these villains. Fortunately, Dave presented a utility belt of superhero tools to do just that. Villain by villain, Dave walked us through their despicable modes of operation and told us how to combat them—one-by-one.

The Con tells you, “It will be worth it in the end.” The Con would have you making sacrifices in the name of family, relationships, health, and even values. You overcome The Con by using the Harvest Strategy. Instead of living for tomorrow, live for today. Take rewards now. Take rewards each day, each week, and each month. Take something that gives you joy and pleasure now – not simply someday when the “big payoff” finally comes.

The Jack-Of-All Trades is a nefarious operator who would have you believe that, “No one can do it as well as you.” After all, if you want it done right, you had better do it yourself. Rather than try to do it all, determine your Most Valuable Position. This is the most important role you have in your business, the thing that when you do it, it makes you money and adds the most value to your business. Delegate the other roles.

Overload wants you to believe, “There is one right answer.” Not so, it turns out. Rather than strive for perfection, strive for continued improvement. Identify your Most Valuable Indicators—the numbers that tell you if your business is growing and profitable. Track them and improve on them.

The Gorilla is quick to tell you, “You need me.” He may be an extremely valuable employee or a top producing salesperson but the price you pay to keep him or her around is high. The Gorilla antagonizes everyone else in the organization, he is a bully, she exists for herself at the expense of everyone else, and all suffer as a result. You can use one of two strategies to combat the Gorilla: a short-term or long-term one. The short-term strategy is to put the Gorilla in a cage, i.e. define and enforce behaviors or release him or her into the wild. Your long-term strategy is to define what makes your Most Valuable Employee the most valuable employee. Hire people with those traits.

Ms. Opportunity whispers, “Don’t leave money on the table.” She will temp you to chase every opportunity that comes along. Rather, define your Most Valuable Line—what do you sell that makes you the most profit? Spend time building up these areas rather than chasing the next big opportunity.

The Siphon will ask, “Can’t you make an exception?” The Siphon makes you think you are serving your customers when you’re actually compromising your integrity. Here, your Most Valuable Customer is the weapon of choice – cultivate and serve them. Your Most Valuable Customer is the one who buys your Most Valuable Line.

Finally, there is the Jumbler, who insists, “You can do anything for anyone.” In the speaking business, the Jumbler would have you tell a prospective client, “Yes, I can speak on productivity, or increasing sales, or safety, or motivation, or management training, or theoretical physics as applied to the workplace—just tell me what you want.” Rather, you need to identify your Most Valuable Message, which is the reason why your Most Valuable Customer buys your Most Valuable Line. It is the message that speaks to them and their needs.

Dave needed to leave right after his presentation. As he exited the building we were left asking, “Who was that masked man?” Except, he didn’t wear a mask. Since we meet in a bank building wearing a mask could be troublesome—even for a superhero.

Our intrepid leader and President Elain Witt stepped up next to lead us in an exercise in creating metaphors as a way to communicate ideas. Yours truly made his group proud when I shared a metaphor involving a black scorpion.

Mentally exhausted and physically hungry, we broke for dinner. I haven’t previously mentioned the dinner break we have each month that separates our afternoon and evening sessions. The whole group heads over to the Lion House for a delicious dinner—compliments of our membership fees.

The second part of the chapter meeting began with two of our own, Ken Gallacher and Jeanie Cisco-Meth. They both gave five-minute presentations on who they are and what they speak on. Ken told a very funny story about some life lessons learned as he courted his wife before they were married. Jeanie generously offered everyone at the meeting an opportunity to attend her upcoming seminar free of charge.

Next up was guest attorney Evan Witt who spoke on copyright law and what speakers needed to know in relation to using copyrighted materials in their presentations. His presentation was followed by an announcement from Kathy Loveless, inviting everyone as her guest for the next evening to hear and learn from Jeff Fleming. Jeff is a humorist and the current President of the National Speakers Association of Indiana.

The headliner for the evening was John Bytheway, a successful author and speaker who spoke on, The Bumpy Road of Book Publications. John is a prolific author. He has written nearly two-dozen books. He is also the creator of audio and video works. And he’s also a very funny guy. How many people do you know who can do a spot on impersonation of Barney Fife—the Deputy Sheriff of Mayberry? His impersonations are both spooky for their accuracy and laugh-out-loud funny.

If that wasn’t enough, John launched into a whole routine about his last name—Bytheway. The antidotes ranged from toilets on a roadside (as in a john by the way) to enduring countless comments to the effect of, John . . . by the way, did you know . . .

John has been with Deseret Book his entire publishing career and spoke very candidly about his experiences as an author. At times, you might have wondered if he was biting the hand that fed him. But never did we doubt his appreciation for the mutually beneficial relationship he enjoyed with them for so many years. We learned about contract clauses and negotiations. And like a family relationship, we learned that a relationship with a publisher is a mix of wonderful and wacky.

John was equally candid about his personal writing style, personal motivations, and work routines. He explained what he strove for when he sat down to write a book and who he wanted to reach. He shared his story of how he started as an author and why he continues to write.

By the time John finished his presentation, I felt like I had a new friend. John’s warmth, intimacy, and authenticity were infectious.

If by now you aren’t convinced that you could gain something from being a part of NSA Mountain West, then I can only shake my head in bewilderment. Come be a part of the fun, learn more than you ever thought possible, and connect with great people. See you soon!