Tayo Solagbade’s
Performance Improvement IDEAS
(PI Squared) Newsletter
Monday 24th October 2016
NB: This PI Squared newsletter will be published weekly, on Mondays, in place of the Speaking/Web Marketing IDEAS newsletter, starting from today – 15th February 2016. I’m reinventing my Monday newsletter content and theme, to accommodate my vision of serving the growing audience of serious minded individuals and organizations reaching out to me, with information, education. news and research findings designed to help them do what they do better.
**********
    
PII 037: Beware of Naughty/Misguided Advisers [Deciding Who to Listen to When Searching for YOUR Success Formula]
In my 14 years as an entrepreneur, I’ve often been amused by arm-chair theorist kinds of people I’ve frequently met.
They have little or no experience at what they see YOU trying to do, but they will repeatedly insist on giving YOU advice on how to go about it.
People have the benefit of being able to sit on the sidelines and watch you fall flat on your face and get up each time, as you battle to find a formula that works to achieve your valued goal.
Before you start doing it, they have little or no concrete advice or even suggestions to offer. But they make a point of keeping tabs on you to check on your progress or otherwise.
Then using the feedback they get either directly from you, or via enquiries they make to those they know are close to you, they come back to present themselves as being “wiser” about what you’re trying to do.
However, challenge them to go out and put their proposed ideas to work for themselves, and they’ll come up with countless reasons why they should not do it, or why it would not be the right time.
Yet these same people, knowing they fear going out to get themselves dirty in the process of DOING, will continue loudly professing themselves as authorities of sorts, using the benefit of hindsight based on their knowledge of what you (and others like you) have been (or as passing) through.
Don’t get me wrong.
There are sometimes people who fall in this group who possess the rare ability to extract valuable insights and lessons from ANALYSING successes and failures of others, in order to condense success rules, principles and guidelines for others to follow.
Such people often go on to write excellent books that end up helping others achieve successes they would otherwise not have recorded.
A good example is the timeless classic – Think and Grow Rich, written by Napoleon Hill, who interviewed hundreds of authentically successful persons to author that wonderful piece of work.
The difference between these few exceptions and the larger misguided majority is however that the former NEVER forget to accept and acknowledge the EXPERT AUTHORITY status of their subjects i.e. those they choose to use as their models/sources/references.
Without those DOING it, there would be nothing for the critics and theorists to refer to, in order to draw their wonderful conclusions, be they positive or negative.
This point is VERY important and needs to be kept in mind at all times in evaluating the performance of any person, in any area of endeavor.
Soccer fans and their analysts, indeed sports fans and enthusiasts of music, entertainment and others vocations, worldwide are renowned for their ability to pass unbridled comments on the individuals under the spotlight – DOING the performing.
Most of them however have NEVER had a single moment of conscious experience DOING what they boldly assess those trained professionals they pass comments on.
Yet that never stops them for volunteering their opinions.
And that’s all well and good, since in most cases, the decision makers who really matter rarely pay attention to uninformed opinions from the public in planning what is to happen.
The danger I see however is when some people who belong to that misguided group of people who HONESTLY believe they know enough, gain access to positions or channels that enable them INFLUENCE decision making that impacts the individual DOING the work.
Thankfully, the chances of that happening in professional circles are slim, which explains why we are often able to enjoy the best quality of performance most times.
However, there is one area in which these people can – and sometimes do – get to have more than a passing influence of others.
A good example of an area damage can happen is found on the Internet – specifically REVIEWS of products, services and other solutions by self-appointed reviewers.
This process involves giving their (presumably informed) opinion about the value to be had from a product, service or solution on offer by an individual, group or organization.
What I’ve noticed is that there such reviewers often fall into 3 categories:
- The Good
These are the guys who know what they are doing, and who understand how it needs to be done, to ensure their followers get the accurate picture to take correct decisions.
- The Naughty
These are the guys who know what they are doing, but are working a negative agenda, for themselves and/or a paying client, to paint an inaccurate/misleading picture as possible, about rival others, so as to “herd” readers/followers to adopt a different option.
Personally, I believe these guys are in the minority, and often easy to spot.
- The Misguided
My experiences and observations indicate that this 3rd group of people are in the majority, and tend to do the most damage – though they actually do NOT intend to!
You see, they are people who think they KNOW, but do not actually know ENOUGH. They think they understand, but do not actually understand ENOUGH.
As a result of that double malady that afflicts them, they end up giving what often results in VERY misleading advice to trusting followers looking for guidance about what to do and how.
A specific instance in which I have repeatedly seen this 3rd group of people act in this manner is with regard to their assessment of how effective Web Marketing is for instance.
My personal story illustrates this quite well.
In 2004, I decided to formally begin using the web to market my products and services when I found that I could no longer afford to explore the channel of paid paper advertising – which had yielded practically NIL results for me.
At the time, I was not even aware that I could succeed in selling online – locally and internationally – like I do today, without meeting people face to face. But I felt, from reading the works of top web marketers at the time, that I could find a way to leverage the low cost nature of web marketing, to boost my marketing reach and impact within Nigeria.
However, looking back at the barrage of criticisms, tactless comments, and unsolicited advice I got from people who were mostly clueless about the web, talk less the nuts and bolts of web marketing, I cannot help feeling sorry for others who passed through a similar phase, without having my kind of mental attitude.
You see, since I did not start out knowing how to make it all work right, I practically had to learn as I worked. So I did LOTS of falling and standing up and falling – again and again and again. It was very messy, and for a guy who often lacked cash flow, it was damn costly.
I got ridiculed and reminded that I was in Nigeria and that the idea of using Web Marketing the way I’d conceived it would only work in Oyinbo land.
Guess what? I ignored ALL of them, with few exceptions.
One major reason why I did that was the lessons I’d learned from succeeding in my previous life as an employee – and also from what I’d read in many success books. I
knew that persistence/perseverance, determination and vision were the most critical ingredients needed to make the impossible happen. So, each time these people offered their one sided views, I simply used what they said to focus my energies and refine my approach, until I made it.
An Important Note: I saw from studying most of them carefully, that they lacked the self-discipline to stick long enough with ANYTHING that did not work out quickly.
So, it was obvious to me that they got easily frustrated and therefore tended to voice their negative opinions about the workability of an idea or opportunity based on their THEIR personal limitations, and not on reality.
Taking advice from such people would therefore amount to letting them impose THEIR limitations on me. I was NOT wired that way – so I tuned them out.
Fast forward to today. THIS moment. Now.
None of them have taken the pains to advance significantly in their know-how as it relates to using the web for marketing.
This despite the fact that some now run their own business. But they no longer cast aspersion on my announced approach to DOING it – because the NEWS is all over the place that I’ve been excelling and setting the standard for DOING it.
I’ve honed (and continue to hone) my expertise in attracting buyers at low to zero cost for the solutions I offer, without needing to meet them in the flesh. I enjoy growing name/brand recognition that others who use paid advertising routinely cannot boast of.
Excel-VB Driven Ration Formulator
1. Click here to learn more about this app – watch demo videos etc
2. Click here to watch a 4 part video in which I demonstrate how to use this app to formulate rations using real life data sent to me by an Algerian PhD student.
Click here to contact me about purchasing this product.
And I NOW leverage that to add traction to my marketing efforts.
My Web Marketing success is happening for me because I chose to IGNORE the naughty and especially the MISGUIDED reviewers and opinion givers/advisers who came around me while I was still learning.
Instead, I looked for people who I could see KNEW what they were talking about, and devoted quality time and effort to LEARN from them, then apply what I learned from them to suit my unique needs.
The result is the powerful visibility I enjoy today, for what I do.
EXCEL-VB DRIVEN POULTRY LAYER FARM MANAGER SOFTWARE
Click here to download a detailed PDF user guide and watch 15 screen shot user guide tutorials of the Monthly Poultry Farm Manager that I now offer Farm CEOs.
Click here to contact me about purchasing this product.
Here’s my advice to you:
Do NOT let yourself be misled by the naughty and misguided people running around like “fear merchants” offering unfounded views and opinions. Focus on finding people who are DOING IT, and DOING IT RIGHT, and who are willing to tell you the truth about what it takes to succeed.
I happen to be one such person. I KNOW my stuff. My work/reputation speaks for me.
All that I have learned in Web Marketing, I’m now putting into use to build an additional stream of passive income based on a business model I’ve carefully studied for 15 long years. I’m building a team to work with me, in a win-win arrangement.
Click here to learn how you can join me.
SDN Blog™
New posts from last week*
Monday:
[Tuesday]:
[Wednesday]:
[Thursday]:
[Friday]:
[Saturday]:
[Sunday]:
|
