A new year to rebuild has started. There are some
stumbling blocks to cross MENTALLY before settling in on
a continuum of growing revenue share, albeit much more
competitive with new media and newer venues with which to
reach the mobile consumer. The housing slump is sucking
out a large segment of the consumer’s purchasing power
as consumers use the value of their homes to borrow more
money to buy things such as furniture, floor covering, remodeling
and consumer electronics. Those who bought homes at
prices far more than they can afford will be affected, as will
consumers who bought homes with subprime mortgages.
The housing credit crunch is spreading to credit card debt,
and while the fed is trying to stimulate the economy or keep
it from reaching greater recessionary risks, speculation is
that the $150B stimulus package being offered by the Bush
administration is not enough.
If businesses panic and do not continue to maintain their
market share, local share of voice and media marketing
against the competition, for sure they will promote themselves
into their own recession. As in the past, panic breeds panic
and crisis management takes over. You must head it off by
constantly reminding your clients that history shows those
businesses who stayed the course during difficult times
doubled their market share when the economy resumed its
upward course.
But what do we do with sellers during these times who
have let themselves slip into a slump as a result of all the
negative news, or those who have found the media feeding
frenzy they once enjoyed come to a pause and they have
peaked? Let’s discuss peak performance and what is seen
when it takes pause.
I just finished a conference call with a management
group whose sales team traditionally hits the mark every
quarter, and has had strong revenue years. They said the
bloom has recently fallen off the rose. The managers and I
discussed what to do; how to get the most out of each team
member every waking moment; how to squeeze maximum
sales performance and every dime out of every budget for
which you compete and, more importantly, how to keep peak
performance in continuum before experiencing total burnout.
More turnover in the sales arena, in addition to economic
woes, manifests chaos in revenue growth; a situation managers
do not need to face.
Peak performers are often silent counselors to those who
are up and coming even during tough times like these. If those
top dogs get complacent, they may send the message, “If you
have enough pitches out there and throw enough against the
wall, money will come.” The behavior of the new hires often
reflects what they hear and see from successful peers and
they respond accordingly.
To help motivate those who have reached a peak, some
managers hire those motivational speakers during hard times
to eliminate the “dreaminess” or slacking, but the results are
expensive and short lived.
Peak performance is mostly interdependent of each sales
individual’s ability and drive. If one visualizes positive growth
in difficult economic times, their sales intensify. Hindering sales
growth may come for other factors such as an employee
whose spouse or significant other is making a good living
and the employee is coasting, has no drive, no motivation.
The results become evident.
Sure, one of the things to do with those who have fallen
off their horse is to counsel having a positive mental attitude
all the time; good time management techniques, drive, courage,
intellectual and cognitive skills, as well as the ability to
write imaginative copy for the client are excellent tools. But
the model of how to get more out of life or when everything
in life isn’t enough isn’t “Drive! Drive! Drive!” In its stead is
the reallocation of energy.
Jim Loehr, Ph.D., who wrote The Power of Full Engagement
says there’s more than toughing it out every week, month
after month. If you are going after it constantly but seemingly
getting nowhere fast, you’re suffering from “disengagement.”
Being disengaged or emotionally spent costs media companies
millions of dollars each year. A dead employee is even
more expensive.
With everything in the media business changing so rapidly,
peak pressures in media are every day of your life. It seems
with the multitasking that is expected of everyone today,
nobody seems to have time for proper exercise, nutrition
or rest. Everyone seems to have the same old excuses. No
one thinks of rest, or resting the mind and body…it’s one
slam after another. The body best regenerates energy when
appropriate rest is taken. Yet most people don’t stop until
something serious happens. In tough times, healthy nutrition,
exercise and mental rest helps rebuild stamina and the
immune system.
The media world is one where many eat in their car, have
sleepless nights, and don’t disengage from a work situation
when the body is signaling to rest. It’s always run-run-run,
pick up the kids, pick up the dry cleaning, make dinner, wash
the dishes, do the laundry, put the kids to bed, watch the 11
o’clock news, write copy for the client, then go to bed.
If you’re going to grow your company as well as yourself,
start thinking like an athlete–maybe a corporate media
athlete–who understands energy, concentrating on things
that are top priority when necessary, and letting go when
you’re done.
There are three main elements that produce
stress: Physical, weight loss and mental stress.
Riding a stationary or street bike, lifting weights,
running, jogging, or forms of aerobic exercise,
when done right, produce stress where it counts,
in the muscles and vital organs of the body. The
entire physical exercise initiative is to ‘stress’
the muscles in your body, followed by a recovery
period. I mentioned weight-loss because I have
observed media people eat–in terms of what
and when they eat–and it is greatly distressing.
Obesity stresses your heart and vital organs,
which, in addition puts stress on life and living.
When exercising, the fundamental consideration
is cardio-training. In addition, proper nutrition is
vital to stress reduction.
Mental stress causes eventual burnout. You,
a loved one or colleague, may be suffering from
burnout, not just from pushing hard during tough
economic times, but as a result of everything
seemingly coming at you at once. Here are some
early warning signs to watch for:
1. Chronic fatigue, exhaustion, a sense of being
physically run down all the time
2. Anger at coworkers, the boss, family or loved
ones who are making demands
3. Self-criticism for putting up with the demands
4. Cynicism, negativity and irritability
5. A sense of being besieged by everything
6. Exploding easily at seemingly inconsequential
things such as taking out the trash or watching
little Joshua
7. Frequent headaches and gastrointestinal
disturbances
8. Weight loss or gain
9. Sleeplessness and depression
10. Shortness of breath
11. Suspiciousness
12. Feelings of helplessness
13. Increased degree of risk taking
Stress is thought to increase the risk of heart
disease and stroke in a variety of ways, such as
raising blood pressure and affecting how the
blood flows and clots. Sometimes we are not able
to change our environment to manage stress.
Imagery is a useful skill for relaxing in these situations.
Imagery is a valuable method of stress reduction
when you combine it with physical relaxation
techniques such as the breathing exercises I
learned from Dr. Andrew Weil. [See drweilselfhealing.
com or drweil.com] Try to get Dr. Weil’s book
Breathing: The Master Key to Self Healing, or
check out Conscious Breathing by Gay Hendricks;
Bantam Books. I read it 12 years ago and it still
works exceedingly well. The principle behind the
use of imagery for stress reduction is that you can
use the vividness of your imagination to recreate
and enjoy a scenario that was relaxing and extremely
enjoyable. The more intensely you imagine
the scene, the more relaxing the experience will
be. With self-guided imagery, you substitute your
actual experience with scenes from your imagination.
Your body reacts to these imagined scenes
as if they were real, thus calming you.
Other things you can do to reduce stress and
maintain peak performance are massage therapy,
acupuncture, and taking what I call a “news fast.”
The media lately is a constant source of worry
and fear. Even though it’s “part of the business,”
watching TV, listening to radio, going on the Internet
or reading the paper, all can cause stress.
Think of how we are bombarded with “bad
news.” Whether it’s the ongoing war in Iraq, high
energy prices, the housing fallout, fears of recession,
“if it bleeds, it leads!” Now, combine that kind
of news input in your brain with the pressures of
making budget, making collections, keeping the
job, cold calling, the new job, paying bills, the
kids, arguments on the home front, getting that
overdue promotion, getting fired, having road rage
in rush-hour traffic, the divorce, the wedding, the
new baby, the new house, credit cards maxed, I’d
say you’ve got a lot going on in your mind.
How about just turning off the media for a few
days? See if just that small change in your life
can make a difference. Go shopping. When I was
stressed (and made budget for the quarter), I’d
buzz off and buy something nice for my wife, the
kids or myself. That made me feel great! Sometimes
just blowing off the day when you have reached
your peak of stress is also good for a little peace
of mind. Wearing the stress in front of the client
isn’t cool either. They see it. So, blow off for a day.
The day after will be better.
Stress and anxiety attacks don’t go away unless
your mind tells them to. Hug your spouse. You got
married for thick or thin, in sickness and in health,
for better or for worse. That’s your real support
system. Take your spouse out to dinner, have a
glass of red wine. Unload some of the stuff. Love
is a great healer. Love IS the drug!
Take the kids to the ball game, play with them,
talk to them, and involve yourself in them. Hug your
pet. Research has proven that the unconditional
love we get from our pets is great for stress reduction.
Whenever I hold my little schnauzers Tigger
and Luci Roo, all my stress goes away. Get a copy
of Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff—and It’s All Small
Stuff by Richard Carlson. He says, “Often we allow
ourselves to get all worked up about things that,
upon closer examination, aren’t really that big a
deal.”
One last idea: Laugh more. There is nothing
like a good belly laugh. It’s so healing. Happy
people generally don’t get sick. You don’t stop
laughing when you get old. You get old when you
stop laughing.
Henry Ward Beecher once said, “A person
without a good sense of humor is like a wagon
without springs…jolted by every pebble in the
road.”
Whether you’re in a slump or have reached a
peak in your career, it’s time for rebirth.
Sooo. get on it already and stop the whining….lol.
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