Are you looking for Tigers or are you looking for excuses?
There's only one way to build an amazing team. That's to look for "Tigers."
The centerpiece of Accenture advertising is focused around Tiger Woods. One of my favorite print ads is a shot of Tiger Woods teeing off. The sky behind him is dark and clouds block the sun. The caption reads: "Why high performers shine even when the sun doesn't."
There is another Accenture print ad that John Maxwell references in his book, "The Difference Maker" with the caption that reads: "Waiting for ideal conditions is rarely an option." Here, Tiger is focused on his goal amidst a rainstorm, yet it does not seem to faze him a bit. Below the image of Tiger it says, "Go on. Be a Tiger."
If you're looking to build a team, build a team of Tigers: people who perform even when 'the sun doesn't shine' so-to-speak. Leaders who do not wait on perfect conditions, they make any condition work.
You will run into only a few of these people. The ones who you should avoid are the ones filled with excuses, the ones who do not take ownership for their success.
I just recently I ran into a business prospect who I introduced my business to about 8 months ago. He said, "Hey - you're the guy who owns 'that' network marketing business right?"
I smiled, "That's me!"
He went on to explain that he just wasn't ready, too busy, working, trying to learn the stock market, etc. no time, no extra money and maybe its not for him.
Funny thing is, I didn't ask for an excuse he just had to give me one. I played it quickly in my head... what a list: wasn't ready, too busy, working, trying to learn the stock market, no time, no extra money and then finally - its not for him.
I felt like asking - what's not for you? You don't even know what "it" is yet because you never ventured to inquire more about it before. I also felt like saying, I understand its not for you - financial freedom isn't for everyone.
He then asked, "So, how do people get the product?"
"It comes right to their door." I said proudly. "UPS!"
I knew what he was getting at. He probably heard from someone how hard, how tedious, and how difficult network marketing is. You store product as inventory, you have to deliver the 'goods' to people, and next thing you know, the garage is filled with inventory you can't sell.
He didn't even know about the business but it 'wasn't for him'.
Again, I didn't ask for an excuse, I didn't 'hound' him about it and we've run into each other several times. He still was compelled to give me a list of excuses.
That brief conversation taught me a lot. First, I do not want to work with people filled with excuses. The excuses stand in their way of their success and they will stand in the way of mine.
"The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don't know anything about." Wayne Dyer
Tiger Woods NEVER makes excuses for anything he does. If he has a bad round, it is about his performance: not the putter, the driver, the weather, the greens. It is about what he did. It is about his actions. No excuses; despite the dark sky or the rain in the above excerpt. In his head, the goal is clear. In his head, the rain is part of the journey.
It is all about focus. It's about being a Tiger.
That prospect I ran into - he's not a Tiger.
"Tigers" are rare. Literally and figuratively. "Tigers" are extremely rare.
But that's you should be looking for and that's who you should strive to be. That's who you need to build an amazing team.
Build your business and don't look for kittens. Don't look for excuses. Look for Tigers.
"Go on. Be a Tiger".
See some Accenture ads feature Tiger Woods: Accenture Print Ads