New England – Don’t Like The Way Things Are Going?

In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue…Ok, I got the Italian reference out of the gates quickly today! In 1620, the Pilgrims landed on North American soil in what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts. During my New England trip I got to visit this town and take in the sights. As I stood at Plymouth Rock it was mesmerizing. Ok, it was absolutely terrible weather for sightseeing! But one of the things I love most about travelling the country performing the “Influential Leader” series is learning about the area’s history. On this day though, history-schmistory…The thoughts racing through my head were pre-empted by “What if…”. So I thought to myself there in that brutally cold March day with the gray clouds above and the rain/ice pellets blowing sideways into me…”I wonder if the Pilgrims were happy with where they landed?”.

I know that you can say that they didn’t know any better, right? I mean, they were pursuing the very freedoms from which they were persecuted for back home. That’s one of the reasons why they left in the first place. I’ll give them that…It’s a very compelling reason at that! So with the weather being the weather and all, I couldn’t help but think “If they had only caught a different trade wind or coastal current I could be standing in sunny and warm 80* temperatures in Plymouth, Florida”!

I read a book on the plane ride home by Timothy Koegel called “The Exceptional Presenter” (You can visit Tim at http://www.theexceptionalpresenter.com/ ). I am always looking to “flex” my Influential Leader mind and even though I hadn’t heard of Tim the title caught my eye so I picked it up. Reading the book proved to be some of my best spent time of the entire trip! One of the thoughts that he pursues is that you must exercise daily to see long term results. In other words, if you make minor modifications to your course today, you will reap huge benefits from that original modification years down the road. Want big results? Do a little each day that works towards those results.

Tim’s thoughts on changing course is kind of similar to our Pilgrims! If only they had caught one of those trade winds or currents, their future would have been forever changed. Deep Thought: Not only would their futures have been different, but so would our present!

Here’s the message…If you are unhappy with the current place you are in, then you need to do the things daily which will lead to long-term success. Don’t think that you can “flip the switch” down the road and make it happen. You’ve got to start now and stick to it. This will take discipline. This will take courage. This will require you to become an “Influential Leader”.
I told this during one of my Influential Leader sessions. A lady raised her hand and told me that the official term for the weather I experienced is “Raw”! Did I mention that I left my coat in Texas…

New England - The "Rock"!

The last two weeks travels brought me to another Sam Palazzolo first…The New England states! There are several highlights to the trip, and several lowlights! Over the next several weeks I’ll write about them all. One of the high’s was going and visiting Plymouth, Massachusetts…Home of the Plymouth Rock.

I couldn’t help but stare at this iconic masterpiece that stands for so much. Imagine being there in 1620 with the Pilgrims as they set foot on land. If it was a day like mine, it was gray, cloudy one with an occasional misting rain that blew sideways in the bitterly cold 33* weather (Wind chill temperature=27*…Sam’s coat=Still in Texas!). Imagine the hopes and dreams of those involved that would get them to set out on a boat the size of most average houses today. Imagine the long, long, long journey across the Atlantic. Imagine what greeted them in Plymouth…Nothing. Nothing or was it Everything? I mean, today I can barely travel without a great cup of coffee in the morning, noon and night (Insert Starbucks plug here!). You know that the coffee generation is in full swing when people give you directions by telling you “You’ll drive a mile, take a right at the Starbucks and …”.

As I sat there and stared at this rock, I asked myself “What were they thinking?” and “What are you thinking not bringing a coat?” Perhaps their thoughts back then can give us some insight as to how we should think today. If your thought patterns are driving you to give everything that you have up in order to go for something you believe in is better, then you’ve arrived at the Rock with me that afternoon. I remember reading a quote from Tom Peters back in 1995 when he was saying “If you’re not pushing hard enough to get fired, you’re not pushing hard enough”. There weren’t any Pilgrims during my visit that weren’t made of cement or metal (i.e., Statues)! Who can blame them with the weather and all? If there had been, I bet we could have found out some pretty deep “Influential Leader” qualities. Qualities that would lead an individual to truly influence their future. Qualities that lead individuals to change the course of their future, and in so doing change history as we know it.

What are you doing? What are you actually doing to influence your future? Are you leading yourself to be something better? Are you pushing hard to get fired? Are you changing the course of history for yourself and others? If not, be more like a Pilgrim!

Here is how the story ends…Now a rock in any other town is simply called a rock. But not this one, this is the “Plymouth Rock” we’re talking about. Sean Connery and I met later that evening at a pub to discuss the Rock as it’s known locally and…

What FedEx Kinkos Could Learn From The Marriott?

I had a conference a few weeks ago in San Francisco, CA...Ahh NOCAL! I love that part of the country. There just seems to be something there that sets me at ease...Perhaps its the people, perhaps the food, perhaps the drink (Perhaps a combination of all the above?).

Regardless, we had a great stay in Sonoma at one of the Marriott's properties (http://www.marriott.com/) and something special happened. Not only did the staff upon check-in invite my wife and I to a wine tasting that evening, but when they found out that it was her birthday they sent to our room an assortment of chocolates (My wife's favorite even!). It was an awesome experience and I couldn't thank the staff enough for their hospitality.

And now, the 360* turn...

I am preparing to go out on the road for two weeks to support my new book, "The Influential Leader". I prepare a one-page summary handout for those that join me for my presentations which I send over to FedEx Kinkos (www.fedex.com/us/officeprint/main/). I've done this for the past 4 years and it usually is a piece of cake. I upload my Adobe file (Much more reliable than trying to determine if my fonts will come through in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel or whatever). I then drop by the location (10 blocks from my house) a few hours later (They usually call me within a 2 hour window to let me know the job is done) and I am all set.

This time, my job could not be done to my specifications. They tried calling (I was giving a keynote, so I did not get their message until later in the day). When I called to check on the status (I was planning on going over to the store to pick-up my order), they couldn't really tell me what was wrong, something like the "cutter" wasn't working? I don't know all the FedEx Kinkos lingo, so I was a little lost. So I asked "Well what are you recommending?" which I didn't think was unreasonable. I had already paid for the job that now was not completed and they couldn't do the job (That much I was able to make out of the conversation).

They asked me to call another Kinkos to see if they could do it. They were even going to be nice enough to tell me which ones they recommended for the job. I didn't get it and I still don't? I told them that I was unwilling to contact another location and that they should do it for me...Then they should send over my files for production...Then upon completion, I'd like a call letting me know this. They said that I'd have to wait for the person that called and left a message on my machine!

About a half hour later the person that contacted me and left me a message called to say that she couldn't do the work. I explained to her that it would have been nice if she could have called me earlier (The window which I needed the product had long since passed!). She basically told me the same information as the previous unhelpful associate. I explained to her that that was not going to cut the mustard and on and on we went.

I finally picked up my material at 9:00pm that night at a location that is nearly 20 miles from my house (Versus the 10 blocks!). I got home and looked at the copies and they were all screwed-up! This morning I called and talked with a great/friendly associate that promised to get my jobs resubmitted and done properly. She went back and forth between me and the store to insure that the job would be done right. The only down-side to this was that (1) I would have to make the 20 mile treck back to the store, (2) it's put me way behind in the other tasks I need to knock out before going out of town and (3) this phone conversation with all the back-and-forth took 40 minutes!

The Marriott during our evenings provided a turn-down service in which they would leave my wife and I a special note..."Happy Birthday", "We're So Happy You're Here", "Please Join Us For a Welcome Reception Tonight"...Those cards and those times seem like ancient history (It was only 2 weeks ago!). Needless to say, the process has left me deeply influenced. I am considering a new provider for my copy needs...But my hotel will stay the same. I almost can't wait to get to one this week!

Can You Be Influential On LinkedIn?

LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com) is one of those "virtual networking" opportunities. You have the opportunity to meet people from all over the world in your profession or in totally different ones and "network" with each other (Who knows what type of projects may come your way?).

The process of setting up ones profile and sending invitations to people for them to join your network seems harmless. But I had a question posed to me..."Can You Be Influential On LinkedIn?" I started wondering, as you probably wonder, is LinkedIn like second life? Is it really cool to be there but not a lot of money is being made? Exactly what type of influence can you have there?

You can view my profile by visiting www.linkedin.com/in/spalazzolo/

Please let me know your thoughts, or you can visit my website www.pathosleadershipgroup.com and get a FREE chapter from our new book, The Influential Leader.

Why Influence Matters?

Over the next several days I will be posting comments/questions from a recent client engagement on my latest book, "The Influential Leader: 10 Critical Skills You Must Possess for Success!".

But before we do that, let's throw this one out to you. A client recently asked me if there was anything they could do to get people to "like" them better? So what do you do to get more people to like you, versus dislike you?

Some interesting conversations were had regarding:

•Physical Attractiveness
•Similarity
•Compliments
•Contact & Cooperation

But I'd like to know your thoughts...please drop me a line at spalazzolo@pathosleadershipgroup.com and I'll email you a summary of the results later in the week. You can always visit me online at www.pathosleadershipgroup.com, where I manage Pathos Leadership Group LLC. I often get asked, "What do you do?", well...we help organizations and their individuals master the "Science of Influence" so that they can become more efficient and make more money. If you've ever wondered why you did the same actions as a coworker and yet they got more recognition/rewards, then we're the guys to call!