Make a Difference!

Is it better to talk about it or really do something about it? About what you might ask. About anything important to you. How much do you invest of yourself in really making a difference in this life?

I think your calendar and your checkbook will tell you a lot. What you treasure will be found in the time and financial history you are writing. Check it out.

I do believe talking is important. I just think you need to be talking about things that make a difference with people who will join you in making a difference.

How much "sports" do you really need to discuss (I love sports. I play sports. I spend too much time watching, listening, and talking about sports). What about the time you spend listening, reading, and watching things you cannot change? How much "waste" can you, or we, afford?

We are living in a day when we need to actively contribute. To the degree you don't choose to contribute, to that degree you don't really have anything relevant to say about those who are in the arena trying. Neither do I. Do we? Do well, my friends.

Don't Forget!

Welcome to Tappe Talk, a Purposed Connection podcast by The Tappe Group. Have you ever experienced a week where you end up leaving a trail of things behind you? Allen spends some time on the thought of NOT forgetting:

• Slow down.
• Stay present.
• Allot more time.

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To comment on this blog, click on the COMMENTS link located directly below. I would love to hear your thoughts!

Who Qualifies?

You have probably noticed you have alot of people in your world. And, with all of those people, you have roles and responsibilities to go along with them. Take a few moments to write down the names of those people who are most consistently present in your life.

Now that you have a little more clarity, who chooses how your life is going to go? How is all going to fit together? It is your life. You are writing your story. So, who is going to be holding the pen? I think it is more important than you may know.

To begin with, you are purposed in this life. You have been placed here for a reason. Every day you have a distinctive part to play. With that in mind, no one qualifies to create your life but you. I personally believe the only one who qualifies but you is the God who created you. Begin with Him. Listen. Stay aware of His lead.

The alternative is to play the victim. Let someone else choose and you will always have someone to blame. Unfortunately, victim's aren't highly valued in this life. They are pitied. They are looked upon as the unfortunate. Who wants to live that way, on purpose?

The reality is yours. You choose how your story will be written. God has great intentions for what He has created. Others don't qualify. They aren't responsible for your choices. You are. Celebrate it. Do well, my friends.

Take the Lead

Leadership is a big topic in the marketplace today. Initiatives abound. Mission and vision statements are being rewritten in order to include the new leadership emphasis. Of course, some organizations have been talking about it for a long time. People are being encouraged to lead, take responsibility, and own their performance. Accountability is a big word in our new economy. The word is clearly out there. It is the "how to" that is missing.

Forever, position has been the sign of the leader. Executives and managers are recognized as leaders because of the role they play. The problem is that position does not automatically make a leader. People can wear the tag and not have the effect. Organizations can no longer afford to have a small segment of their people owning the responsibility of leadership. The need is to have it define their culture because everyone has influence.

The truth is we are all leaders. We were born that way. We all make a difference. We all influence the lives of others. What we do with our reality is another matter altogether. In my podcast this week, I focused on one very practical way for you to take the lead. Ask questions. Become a master at it. Ask people about what they are thinking? Ask people to help you understand? Ask people about their lives? Leaders ask more than they talk. Leaders begin with others. Leaders make a purposed difference in the lives of others.

Don't wait for organizations to ordain you as a leader. Take the lead. Play the role you were created to play. Begin with the people around you. Lead the way through the power of communication. Make others the object of your attention. Ask your way into their lives. They will love you for it. They will follow your lead. Do well, my friends.

Who is Leading Who?

Welcome to Tappe Talk, a Purposed Connection podcast by The Tappe Group. Every person is born into this world comes with influence. In that sense, every person born into the world is a leader. Allen shares a few thoughts this week on how to increase the amount of influence you have.

• Ask questions about them and about things of interest to them.
• Ask open ended questions.
• Ask follow up questions.
• Answer and invite feedback.
• Ask questions that feed their strengths.
• Ask questions that invite mutual insight
• Ask questions that provide direction.

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To have this weekly podcast automatically upload to your mp3 player visit the iTunes Store and Power Search "Tappe talk" and then subscribe.

To comment on this blog, click on the COMMENTS link located directly below. I would love to hear your thoughts!

What Are You Selling?

Are people buying what you are selling? If they don’t think what you are selling will fix something, or answer a question, for them then they won’t be buying even if they are kind enough to show some interest. So, how relevant and valuable are you to the world around you from their point of view. Remember, perception is everything.

Selling a product, tangible or intangible, requires recognition of the effect represented for those who are buying. You have to begin with them. Once upon a time, you were probably encouraged to spend a great deal of your time in your presentations explaining the unique features you and/or your product represent. Things then evolved into a more “relational” sell where you focused more on getting in touch with their needs. Things have now shifted again to a more “resource” driven sell where you must help them recognize their needs and at the same time identify for them the answer you represent. You need to know them better than they know themselves.

Value is found in relevance for you personally and for the products or services you represent. Engaging and impressing others will involve communication that connects. Connection will be found only in, and through, mutual understanding. Becoming a student of the world must become more than mere rhetoric. It must become a lifestyle. Your quality of life depends upon it.

Creativity is significant as long as it addresses the needs and concerns of the world. Creativity for creativity’s sake or simply for personal expression will have limited impact. Recognizing and presenting thought in creative new format and technologies can answer questions and launch new insights into the needs of the world.

The challenge is to connect. Connection is made through communicating messages that will serve the needs of those around you. Keep learning. Ask more questions. Pay attention. Apply yourself. Create value by meeting needs. The world will buy what you are selling.

What's the Problem?

Welcome to Tappe Talk, a Purposed Connection podcast by The Tappe Group. There may not be a more relevant question to be asking today than "what's the problem?". Allen shares some suggestions for getting in touch with the needs of the world around you.

1. Read More...
2. Ask Those Who Know...
3. Create Beta Sites...
4. Ask Those Who Are Not Interested...
5. Invest in Yourself...

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Listen to Seth Godin's Blog on "Sell the Problem"

To have this weekly podcast automatically upload to your mp3 player visit the iTunes Store and Power Search "Tappe talk" and then subscribe.

To comment on this blog, click on the COMMENTS link located directly below. I would love to hear your thoughts!

Where Are We?

If you are reading this blog, you are here. I saw a moving recently where the defining actor kept repeating this thought at strategic moments throughout the film, “We are here but where are we?” I love the reflection because, on one hand, it states the obvious. On the other, he asks a significant question. We have survived but where are we now?

There is so much to be said about the journey we have experienced over the past three years. The most significant one might be that we have shared it together. Much like 9/11, we have worked through a perilous period of time and, in many ways, our world has changed. Large companies have gone down as well as many smaller ones. Personal bankruptcies are at the highest point in history. The same is true for foreclosed homes and property. Few have dodged the bullet.
At the same time, we have all grown together through the same experience. Maturity might be a good word to describe what we have experienced. We have been forced to come to grips with our lack of discipline and irresponsibility with regard to our affluence. Debt has been exposed and is now being seen for the bondage it represents. Jobs can no longer be taken for granted. Entitlement is a vanishing spirit. Where there is a lack of performance changes have to be made no longer how long you have been on the job.

While we have matured in many ways, there are still some areas where our immaturity is being exposed. Our still young nation with its proud democracy is being challenged like never before. Some of our top governmental officials believe we need to morph into something else entirely. The “greener grass” syndrome comes to mind. Maybe we just need to work harder at restoring the spirit and substance of what we have been given.

The reality of the reigning tendency among us to “play the victim” is being made painfully obvious. Disengaged employees is now the greatest challenge we face in today’s marketplace. “Employees showing up” is not necessarily good news for employers. Blame is being cast widely and personal responsibility is being avoided.
So, “where are we?” We are alive. We have survived. My prayer is that we have learned and that we will continue to learn forward. We are in a new place. There is no return to “the good old days”. I am not really sure which ones we would choose anyway. Do you? Do well, my friends.