Slowdown – Is it the economy or you? Economy was in boom. You could sell anything to anybody. You didn’t even need to own it yourself. As long as you worked, or even went to work, you made money. Then there was a storm. A storm brought about by the negative attitudes and acts of people; A storm very destructive. It first struck and made its signs apparent in the stock market. Then lightening struck everywhere. After that there were more rough seas as the financial hurricane struck and continued to strike with all its fury. Sounds familiar! Am sure it does. Though, am not talking 2008. Am talking October 1929, a storm termed the Great Depression. Black Tuesday the 29th was the day that the stock market crashed. Isn’t it intriguing though, how similar it all is. It is true that the environment has changed. It is true that everyone will feel the impact of this in their work, in their business. It is true that the papers were then, and will be now, filled with daily stories of tragedy. It is true that incomes will drop. There is one truth that is even stranger though – if your business or sales are dropping, they are because of you and not the ‘recession’. I’ll narrate a bit of a story here. A few years ago - when there was no recession – in the middle of a boom actually - Fifth Quadrant (my company) was feeling a bit of heat. The business was down. The volume was down. Sales were lower. People were low on inspiration. For those few months it was depressing. We weren’t crashing. BUT We weren’t growing. I couldn’t understand – why? We were doing the same things that have been successful for years. There is no program or training program – better than ours – we have so many past clients. Why aren’t we selling? One day we had a meeting. We decided that whatever we are doing to get additional clients isn’t working. So lets stop it. We decided to focus only on existing work at hand. And not worry about growth. I took a three month holiday. I worked in between but only executing programs. I kept travelling for three months. All over India. I was in this place up North called Kasauni – close to Nainital. I was reading a book and came across this line in it: Because man is a product of his environment, he should purposely choose that which develops him best towards his objectives. And then I endeavored to do just this. There is a great statement: Almost anything can be found in a book. I realized instantly that ‘the three months’ were a result of change in environment. I had moved to Delhi. I didn’t like it AT ALL. I was uninspired. I had also succeeded in de-motivating my colleagues. That day my holiday ended. I took a decision to move back to Bangalore. Almost did that overnight. I changed the environment. It changed everything. At Fifth Quadrant in financial year 2006-2007. We only worked six months. Inspired by my holiday – everyone took one. Can you believe it? However - our sales in six months alone were more than they were in 12 months of 2005. In seeking the right environment – several things happened. Many disadvantages were turned into advantages. Because I was on a holiday and all the people engaged in sales were told not to sell and had free time. They were writing training manuals for new programs. These manuals last year has fetched more money than any program could. These were programs, we could never execute. Someone else could. And is now. You see, am trying to make a very valid point here. We are products of our environment. We see so much of publicized negativity. We somehow cannot ignore it and it creeps into our environment. We MUST choose the environment that will best develop us toward our objective. Analyze your ‘performance’ in these times in terms of the environment you have created in your office, your work surroundings. Are the things (people, talks, voices, mails, news, discussions) around you helping you toward success – or are they holding you back? There is nothing to fear but the fear itself. This statement by the president of United States symbolized changed from negative to positive attitude on part of government, newspapers, radio, business leaders…. …. People… And with this began new life, new strength and new progress. Over the weekend I was analyzing – I was thinking – Why didn’t Fifth Quadrant see a slow down in sales last year? Why were we successful in selling training when people were cutting budgets and saving cash? Why were we successful in selling to people who may be negative and already decided on not availing our services? Here’s the answer – All of you in Sales – please write it and paste it on your walls and read it every single day. Success In Sales IS Contingent On The Attitude of The Seller – Not of the Prospect or The Buyer. There is an old story of a man named Floyd Patterson – the world heavyweight champion. One time in the ring, seconds later, Floyd crashed and was no longer the heavyweight champion. Ingemar Johannssen was crowned. No heavyweight champion in history had ever won back the crown. Floyd was written off by every expert. But Floyd made public statement – “I will do it.” He said. He took the help of former champion Joe Louis who said, “To win you have to change your mental attitude. The way to get Ingemar is to get him to miss. Then step inside. Control your urge to hit. Practice.” Floyd Patterson made him miss. He didn’t take a proper shot till the fifth round. He won. The reason am telling you this story is a statement Patterson made to the press before the bout, when they were clicking pictures. He said The most important thing you can’t get any picture of; because the most important thing for me is my mental attitude. Floyd had changed his negative attitude to right attitude. Thus his future was ahead of him. Is your future ahead of you or behind you? Are you guided by the environment or guiding the environment? It takes a lot less effort to succeed than to not. Because to not succeed, you have to call 1929 and 2008 – A depression. Being depressed consumes more energy than being positive. That is matter of character. Floyd Patterson had character. He didn’t have greater skill. By no means and history testifies this. Good luck or bad luck – recession or growth – as the days pass into weeks – success or failure as the weeks pass into months or years – which will it be for you? The choice is yours. YOU – are the environment. But Why do some people like Floyd create an environment, while others fall accept what they get? Why do some organizations thrive on competition, while others are crushed? Why does one entrepreneur beat unfathomable odds, while others give up? Why do some parents rear children who are good citizens in neighborhoods riddled with violence and drugs? Why does an individual beat the odds, overcoming an abusive childhood when most do not? Only one in seven people attempting to climb Mt. Everest, actually succeeds! What is so special about him? Why do so many gifted or high IQ people fall far short of their potential? I myself seek answers to these, however, I invite you read through this quote John Greenleaf Whittier, Maud Muller, 1856, Stanza 53 For of all sad words of tongue or pen, The saddest are these, “It might have been!” Not only the saddest, also the most convenient. Lou Holtz, Notre Dame football coaching legend, has no tolerance for excuses or inaction. Holtz had a miserably poor childhood. He was a social misfit with a terrible lisp. He feared public speaking so violently that he would skip class on days of oral presentations. One day he learned the power of setting goals. He set 107 goals, including dining with the President of the United States, rafting the Snake River, meeting the Pope, skydiving, coaching Notre Dame, winning Coach of the Year, and winning a national championship. As of last count, he has accomplished 98 of his 107 goals. Holtz has earned fame as a man who creates the capacity to win and talks about what can be, not why it can’t be. I believe the answer to all these questions is very simple. Some people choose not to quit! They adapt. They move. Look, no one can promise that life is fair. Some assume it should be. Hence keep quitting in search for a fair life. Sometimes we think the unfairness is a price we must pay for reaping rewards. So we start to persist. Though somewhere down the line, we’ll rationalize risk, life, responsibilities and say ‘enough is enough’. Yet there are few who understand that adversity is a part of life – by avoiding adversity you avoid life. In the end I think, it ‘s about as philosopher put it – “God is a good God. Those who believe this achieve the strangest of results in the most adverse circumstances. Those who don’t believe, have a God to blame, it’s as simple.” The economy is slowing down.. Alright!! I can guarantee though that on the brink of revival of this crisis – you will hear stories aplenty of people who grew, who didn’t fetter, who blossomed even then… However it is very convenient to ‘crib’ and ‘slow down’ in the name of economy. You have a reason. An Unquestionable one. The Majority one. The self-defeatist one.