Roy's Blog: Your Life
November 2, 2020
Why the ‘Magic Question’ is important to your career
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Why the ‘Magic Question’ is important to your career.
Everyone looks for a silver bullet to have a successful career; the one piece of advice that if practised consistently and correctly will result in a rewarding future.
I’m not a believer in singularity; that there is one factor that explains the essence of anything in life.
Ceteris Paribus — all other things being equal — is not an assumption that’s particularly helpful in most instances because all other things surrounding any particular issue or challenge matter are NOT and never will be ‘equal’.
Attempts at formularizing messy real world outcomes have never been particularly effective since they rely on a degree of predictive precision — y = f(x) — that doesn’t exist when there are so many random variables at play.
No one variable can accurately determine a successful career.
That said, I did develop a simple but very effective qualitative tool that was amazing in terms of helping me in my career; I called it ‘the magic question’.
In retrospect, it was probably the most useful thing I used to successfully navigate my way through several positions in the organization to eventually reach president.
Of course there were other factors at play in my journey — right place-right time, personal relationships, mentoring — but I am absolutely convinced that the magic question had the most influence.
Are you ready for the question?
‘Now that I find myself in a new position in the organization, what do I have to do differently?’
The need to ask the question is triggered by change. Whenever you find yourself in any of these common circumstances, pose the question and spend serious time answering it.
— There has been a major organization change and you have been appointed to a new position.
— You are being moved laterally to another job in the existing organization structure.
— You are promoted to a higher level role.
— Your existing job role has been changed; you have either been given added responsibilities or the scope of your current role has been reduced.
— You, unfortunately, have been demoted to a lower level position in the organization. You need to include this possibility in your thinking even though it is unpleasant.
— You’re a small business owner that’s just expanded into a new market.
There are 3 possible outcomes in terms of how you approach the question.
1. You don’t ask the question
You continue in your new role acting the same way that you have in the past irrespective of the new challenges that you face.
You assume that the things that got you here will get you where you need to go in the future. After all, you have attained success so far by practicing certain skills and competencies; why shouldn’t this work on a going forward basis?
Momentum continues as you practice what you are used to. There is no change in your behaviour and you eventually fail.
New challenges require new thinking and new ways of doing things; repeating what got you here in an entirely new set of circumstances will simply not work.
2. You ask the question but answer it incorrectly the first time
In this case you are at least on the right track having asked yourself the question, and you enter the trial and error process of discovering the essential things you need to do differently to succeed in your new position.
The result of your efforts might be eventual success, but it takes a while as you iterate among several possible answers to find the right blueprint.
You need to get on with finding the answers FAST if you are to survive long enough to see the final result. What you learn from your first one or two attempts is crucial to your eventual success.
You don’t have the luxury of pondering what changes to make in your strategy for very long, so do a quick study of what isn’t working, then act quickly to implement what you think you learned and monitor the impacts. Then move quickly to another tactic if you see more shortfalls.
3. You ask the question and you nail it
You discover and successfully execute the essential thing you needed to do differently to be effective in your changed position.
Your bosses and others in the organization are amazed how quickly you adapt and learn in the face of a new challenge.
The results of your efforts produce success not only in terms of your productivity in the new position but also in the growth of your personal currency for future career advancement in the organization.
‘The magic question’ process is not an easy one; it’s arduous and time consuming. It requires honest self analysis, development of options and selecting a path that you believe will yield the success you expect. And being prepared to modify it on the run as you experience results.
Use feedback you receive from your boss, colleagues and those that report to you to decide what you have to do differently.
Be prepared to make agonizing decisions that place yourself at personal risk, but have faith that it will work out for you.
The question requires dedication and discipline. You can’t casually approach it; you must be all in otherwise don’t waste your time.
In every leadership position I held, I coached my team to employ this process to enhance their career; the ones who chose to do the work were rewarded.
Cheers,
Roy
Check out my BE DiFFERENT or be dead Book Series
- Posted 11.2.20 at 05:30 am by Roy Osing
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October 26, 2020
6 tested ways to handle a really distrustful person
Source: Unsplash
6 tested ways to handle a really distrustful person.
There is one person in your group or on your team that is a 180 degrees out of phase with everyone else.
I’m not referring to someone who aligns with the values of their fellow teammates and merely finds a unique and special way of expressing them; a person who imprints their personal signature on everything they touch; who finds conformance to standard pedagogy repugnant.
No. I’m referring to an individual who is ideologically distant from their colleagues in literally every respect; someone who is constantly in the ‘no’ position when everyone else is ‘yes’.
And who is a condescending specialist who constantly criticizes past efforts of others.
It’s exhausting dealing with an outlier person because you know with every issue comes a battle with a predictable outcome.
And at some point, after trying all the conflict management and team building tools espoused by the experts, you have no choice but to adopt more draconian measures to deal with the dysfunction the outlier creates.
As the leader of a team with an outlier you and others have to work alongside, what can you do to press ahead in spite of them?
1. Know and ‘accept’ the beast
Accept the reality of who the person is and that they will forever be out of synch with the rest of the team; this is the hand you’ve been dealt so work with it.
This is all about setting realistic expectations of what they will do and how they will do it in order to manage them in a team setting. Consensus is impossible; achieving likemindedness on any issue is the impossible dream.
Some will say this is a defeatist attitude and they’re right in a sense. But it’s also a necessary and realistic one that defines the context within which a leader sometimes has to work if any progress is to be made.
With an outlier the leader’s energy must be challenged into managing the beast rather than trying to change them.
2. Call for a vote
Forget about investing the time and effort in trying to reach consensus on an issue; it won’t happen.
Of course you have to engage in conversation on the topic at hand, but realize at some point as the outlier lands on their polarized position you have to call for a vote to move things forward.
More debate with an outlier isn’t productive; it merely gives them a platform to promulgate their narrative.
So allow a certain amount of air time for discussion — call the vote — make the call.
3. Avoid entrapment
These types love to carry their narrative on and on and on and suck others into the never ending conversation hoping they will be able to sway you to their side.
But the conversation and email string never end. There’s never closure because they want their minority view to win the day.
The only way to avoid entrapment in the discussion do-loop is to state your views once and let it go at that. You may think that by continuing to engage with them that they will moderate their position to that of the rest of the team, but they won’t ..... ever!
This is where resisting the temptation to engage and feed the outlier’s narrative is essential.
4. Be polite
After all, we shouldn’t stoop to their level should we?
For me, gritting my teeth and biting my tongue are the tools I rely on to get me through experiences with the outlier and masking it ever so genuinely by being polite (or at least as much as I can stomach).
Otherwise I would be ‘stressed to the nines’ constantly with nothing to show for it but high blood pressure and migraines.
Politeness is supposed to be a Canadian thing so it should come easier to me, but it doesn’t when it comes to dealing with an outlier. But soldier on, wear the grin, pretend you care about their message… but never relax.
5. Call them out
The outlier needs to understand when they have pushed too far and are pummelling the needs of the majority.
These are the times when they need to be rocked back on their heels forcefully (but politely) and told that they have occupied way too much airtime and are infringing on the rights of others.
You need a call-out tool for such circumstances; one that allows you to cease the unacceptable behaviour of the outlier.
Mine is always to literally say ‘STOP!’ directly to them and ask that everyone move on to resolve the matter at hand. It’s not a comfortable action for the leader to take, but it’s essential if productive work is to be achieved.
6. Find greener pastures
For the greater good, the outlier must eventually move on and find another environment where perhaps they will find greater comfort and prosperity — they will be happier as will your team.
The leader must take responsibility for seeing whether a change can be made and to make it happen.
It’s tough to do because of the bad blood that exists with the outlier; working with them to find another role is at best an unpleasant task.
Let’s face it, as a leader we always would prefer pleasure to pain. The outlier represents the latter; the 6 actions we discussed will not only make your life easier, they will also allow you to maintain the effectiveness and harmony of your team.
Cheers
Roy
Check out my BE DiFFERENT or be dead book series
- Posted 10.26.20 at 05:29 am by Roy Osing
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October 11, 2020
My 50+ audacious podcast shows will help you and your business soar
Check out these podcast shows—over 75 now!—where I break down my seventh book, Audacious Unheard-of Ways, and show you how to grow your business and your career.
***NEW! In this episode Chris Dubois and I break down the Moves I made and the Methods I used to incorporate the right business toolset to stand apart from the herd and get a BILLION DOLLARS IN SALES! Unbound
***NEW! “Business plans are traditionally too expensive, they take too much time, they’re too rigid, and they’re not properly implemented. Roy Osing advises on his Strategic Game Plan with a rule of three: focus on the three things that will produce 80% of your results.
Beware, though, of being diverted by what he calls the “Yummy incoming”, the distractions that will pull you away from your game plan.” — Chris Ashmore, for Business Essentials Daily. Don’t Be Distracted by YUMMY!
***NEW! “We All Live in Red Oceans” podcast on Business is Blumin!
Some people preach that you should look for a “Blue Ocean” where you have ZERO competition. That would be nirvana, but for most business leaders, we have to learn how to win in “Red Oceans” with hungry competitors and powerful customers.
Listen and learn how I not only survived in a Red Ocean, I grew a startup business to A BILLION IN SALES!
***NEW! “Osing’s mantra—be different or be dead—has been the backbone of his audacious journey, driving him to constantly innovate to create ripples of value for his customers.
Osing dissects the magic of differentiation through offering customer experiences that customers can’t resist while ensuring that you’re the only game in town offering it.
This discussion is peppered with personal encounters of working with small companies, outlining the significance of differentiation, and the power of prioritizing the customer experience above all else.
Osing also dives into the world of audacious Leadership by Serving Around and how this seemingly simple idea can pave the way to success in business.” The Power of Differentiation and Audacious Leadership
***NEW! In this Mindset for Growth Show, we unpack my crazy secrets to growing a startup TO A BILLION IN SALES. They’re not complicated but they work.
Pick one gem to try and see what happens! From a Startup to A BILLION IN SALES | Part Two
***NEW! “Ready for a jaw-dropping journey into the world of audacious entrepreneurship? I just had a mind-blowing chat on the Grownlearn Podcast with none other than Roy Osing, the genius who took a startup to a BILLION in annual sales!
We spilled the beans on “The Audacious Entrepreneur’s Guide: Roy Osing’s Journey to a Billion in Annual Sales.” From crafting bold brands to tackling those make-or-break business moments, Roy’s story is nothing short of extraordinary.”
From a Startup to A BILLION IN SALES | Part One.
What’s the motivation to BE DiFFERENT? Why go on this “painful” journey? Why put up with the backstabbing? Why be The ONLY One? The Mindset Growth Podcast.
In this episode, I discuss why most organizations are too myopic in their #sales #strategy, pushing monthly or quarterly goals rather than embracing a long-term strategy for effective sales. I share my ‘customer report card’ Move to refocus sales teams on nurturing the customer rather than foisting pushy sales techniques. Business Essentials Daily
In this Chasing Happiness episode, we strip the layers of a journey that transformed a startup into a billion-dollar powerhouse.
Roy Osing, a maverick in the business world, shares his unfiltered, raw insights on what it takes to scale the heights of entrepreneurial success. From laughable mistakes to strategic masterstrokes, get ready for a rollercoaster ride of emotions and lessons.” Turning Bold Ideas Into Billions
The Audacious Unheard-of Ways of Using Practical and Common Sense Strategies to Drive Success, The Disruptive Minds Podcast
“Special guest Roy Osing shares very thought-provoking and audacious ideas to help you differentiate yourself from your competition, so you can achieve your goals sooner rather than later and maybe even exceed what you thought possible. This is a must listen to interview.”, The Accountability Podcast
Audacious Leadership is all about breaking away from the normal way leaders practice their art. In this ‘Biz Gone Social’ show we explore the Moves I made to successfully grow a startup to A BILLION IN SALES! Biz Gone Social Podcast
“Roy discusses the importance of breaking out of the “sameness” that businesses have accepted as the norm and standing out to be the ONLY ONE doing……(fill in the blank). We discuss practical ways to make that happen and touch on some of the points from Roy’s many books.”, Customer First Podcast
“This week I was lucky enough to interview a very cool and articulate guy named Roy Osing. One of the highlights of Roy’s illustrious career was driving a company to a BILLION in annual sales. Roy documented his journey in a book - not the ordinary how-to textbook type - but based on what he did differently to actually grow a business to a billion in annual sales.
Let’s fly all the way to Vancouver and explore Roy Osing’s ocean of thoughts through his book ‘Be Different or Be Dead’!”, The First Customer Podcast
A Journey to A BILLION in Annual Sales. “Join me this week as I talk with Roy Osing, Author of “BE DiFFERENT or be dead,” about his journey to bring his company to $1 billion in annual sales. Roy and I talk about how he reached this milestone through learning on the run, “leadership by serving around” and building trust and consistency within his organization. Roy shares many tips that he has implemented throughout the years and encourages front line recognition and a strong culture to create a successful team.” The Positive Polarity Podcast
From a Startup to a Billion Dollar Sales. “In this episode, host Michael Brooks dives deep into the world of business success with Roy Osing, a renowned business advisor with a remarkable journey. Roy takes us through the audacious strategies he employed to take a small data company and grow it into a billion dollar industry behemoth. If you’re an entrepreneur, business owner, or aspiring leader looking for practical, real-world strategies to scale your business, this episode is a goldmine of insights you can’t afford to miss!”. The Scaling Edge Podcast
Growing Business at an Audacious Level, Your Spectacular Life
The Audacious Unheard-of Ways Roy Osing took a Startup to A BILLION IN SALES. “Roy provides tangible tips and frameworks for developing effective business strategies, leading teams, standing out from the competition and more. You’ll come away with new perspectives and motivation to take your business to the next level.” The Profit Answer Man Show
Famous Interview with Roy Osing. “ Roy is a stellar man with a grand vision and unique walk .. very cool cat….” Joe Dimino, Neon Jazz
Unleashing Audacity: Being DiFFERENT and Dominating the Market. “ This is an episode you won’t want to miss, packed with practical advice, proven strategies, and audacious ways to break away from the norm. Join us in the conversation and learn how to stand out in today’s competitive business landscape. So, tune in, get inspired, and learn how to be audaciously different.” Financial Freedom for Physicians
How a Guy Took A Startup To A Billion In Sales. “Dive into the remarkable journey of Roy Osing, a true powerhouse in the business world. Roy has seen it all and done it all.”, The Pete Primeau Show
Breaking Away From The Herd: Why it’s critical to break away from the herd, be different and the key elements of an audacious leader, The Audacious Living Podcast
How to be the ONLY ONE who does what you do, In Turn Podcast
How to Avoid Being Forgotten, Design your Legacy
Keys to a Great Sales Team, Business Essentials Daily
Standing out. Defining the Fox. Being The ONLY One, Remarkable People
Your Mistakes Could Win You Business, Business Essentials Daily
Differentiation. Why? Why now? Ian Selbie Sales Pro
Being Memorable with Dazzling Customer Service, Business Essentials Daily
What’s Wrong With Blue Ocean Strategy? Business Essentials Daily
How to Build a Remarkable Personal Brand, Author to Authority
How to Stand Out, Spark The Genius
You Can’t Sell People on Ideas Alone, You Must Deliver Results, Time to Shine Today
Building a Unique One-of-a-Kind Business Strategy, Business Essentials Daily
Executing Bold Moves to Unlock Billion-Dollar Growth, The UNLOCKED Show
A Journey to A BILLION IN SALES, From Embers to Excellence
Roy Osing Helps People Cut Through The Noise, Life’s Essential Ingredients
Don’t run with the herd! Business Essentials Daily
How Being Different is the Real Path to Success, Hurricane H
Small Business Mobes for Unbelievable Growth and Success, Time to Thrive Show
How to be Audaciously Different, The KAJ Masterclass LIVE Podcast
Why Compliance Sucks, , Coaching in Session
I’m a guy who took a startup to A BILLION IN SALES, The 12|30 Podcast
Win In A Competitive World With Strategic Differentiation, CPA Marketing Genius
Roy Osing, The Original “How To” Guy, Online for Authors
How to Outperform Your Competition and Achieve Astonishing Growth, Biz Help for You
How I Took a Startup to a Billion in Sales, SalesPop!
The Contrarian Leader, The Introspective Manager
How to Use Books as a Strategic Tool to Standout, The Author Factor
How to Build Your ONLY Statement to Declare Your Uniqueness, Mind for Success
How to Build a Remarkable Personal Brand, Stuck in My Mind
Satisfy Cravings not Needs, Business Essentials Daily
Avoid the Price Trap, Business Essentials Daily
Breaking Through the Noise: Building a Winning Brand that Stands Out From Everybody Else, Curate Your Success
BE DiFFERENT or be dead, Deep Conversations with Dope Individuals
Hiring people Who Like People, Business Essentials Daily
Making Your First $1 Billion, Late Boomers
Debunking Leadership Myths, Business Essentials Daily
The Audacious Communications Skills I Learned as a Leader with Roy Osing, Publicly Speaking with Peter George
Breakaway from Boring! Be Different, Be Audacious, Straight Talk About Small Business Success
Avoid the CLAPTRAP and Move to the ONLY, Weekly Wins and Losses with James Heppner
Differentiating for Success, Success for Life
Creating an ONLY Statement to Differentiate Your Organization, Lubar Executive Education
How to Differentiate your Business and YOU, Terminal Value
Being an Audacious Leader is about Breaking away NOT Pivoting, Leading to Fulfillment
How’s That for Marketing, Leadership Powered by Common Sense
To Have a Successful Career, It’s Important to be YOU, Pursuit of Relentless
It’s Not Complicated. Look Here For the Roy’s Simple Stuff That Works, Business That Matters
Don’t be #1… be the ONLY ONE, Business Essentials Daily
Behind the Numbers is a Different Leader that ‘Lights Fires in People , Behind the Numbers
Be Audacious with Roy Osing, Straight Talk No Sugar Added
Be Audacious and Different, OR Be Dead, InnovaBuzz
Roy Osing’s Leadership Rules for being Audaciously Different, Zoe Routh on Leadership
How to Break Out, Be Different and Make an Audacious Impact, Evolution of Brand
Here’s What Sales Must Do To Succeed In 2022, The Confessions of a Sales Pro
Be Different or be dead Leadership, Tech Pro Unicorn
The ONLY way to Build a Great Business, Hive with Us
From a Startup to a BILLION, Science of CX
Audacity or Death, Fire in the Belly
If Your Sales isn’t Different, it’s dead (or soon will be), The Business of Sales
Going Boldly is about Being DiFFERENT, Russ the Big Guy
Audacious Leadership - Why it’s Absolutely Critical to your Organization’s Success, Lubar Executive Education
Why Innovation Needs You Need to be an Audacious Leader, Mind the Innovation
Roy’s Unheard-of Ways to Achieve A BILLION IN SALES, Aim to Win
How to be Different and Audacious, Leadership is Changing
An Audaciously Different Brand Story, BrandAPeel: Brand Storytelling in a Digital Age
To Live Your Best Life, Live Label Free (But BE DiFFERENT), Label Free Podcast
Cheers,
Roy
Order your copy of ‘Audacious’ NOW at:
Amazon
Google Books
Barnes and Noble
Indigo.chapters.ca
Books-A-Million
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- Posted 10.11.20 at 06:23 am by Roy Osing
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September 5, 2020
7 exciting bucket list ideas to consider when you want to retire
7 exciting bucket list ideas to consider when you want to retire.
If you’re like majority of people, your biggest retirement concern is likely whether or not you’ll have enough saved when it comes time to step back from your career. If you aren’t careful, you can find yourself focusing so much on your retirement finances that you forget to plan anything else.
That might not seem like a big deal, but it’s part of the reason that the probability of experiencing clinical depression rises by about 40 percent after retirement.
When people concentrate all of their energies on making sure they can retire, they’re much more likely to feel lost once they actually do.
As you begin thinking about your retirement lifestyle, one tool you may consider is a bucket list.
Bucket lists can be great for bringing an element of specificity to your plans for your future, but only if approached the right way. Many bucket lists are comprised entirely of extreme, once-in-a-lifetime goals that are more fantasy than reality.
While these “wish” style bucket lists are great, they won’t bring you any closer to crafting a specific image of what your day-to-day will look like in retirement.
Consider getting started with one of these printable retirement bucket lists, created by the team at Annuity.org.
Each of the seven lists is catered to a particular lifestyle, and they all have sections for hobbies, challenges, experiences, skills, and travel to help you flesh out your ideal retirement life. You can start with one of these lists and modify or add to it as you go.
Having a concrete list of ideals will also help you budget accurately for retirement — those who opt for the “luxurious” bucket list will likely need larger savings than those who select the list for nature lovers.
— Amanda Pell is a writer and content strategist who specializes in personal finance and lifehacking content, covering everything from moving tips to investment ideas to travel hacks and more. When she’s not knee-deep in research, you’ll likely find her hiking with her dog or with her nose in a good book.
- Posted 9.5.20 at 05:10 am by Roy Osing
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