Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody’s going to know whether you did it or not.

- Oprah Winfrey

Do you notice a pattern in my weekly motivational quotes? I don’t do it on purpose it just sort of happens. It seems the greatest ones are about doing the right thing when nobody is looking. “So how on earth am I going to get that promotion if nobody even knows I am honestly and fairly outworking my peers and my competition?” you ask. Well don’t sweat it because you WILL get noticed…by YOU.

The more great things you do for the right reasons (noticed or unnoticed) the more you understand how valuable you are to your company. The first person that needs to believe is you. So this week, work longer hours, be more creative, come up with that solution, take that risk and surprise that customer. And don’t take short cuts to get it done.

By doing these things well, you will become more confident in your ability to perform at a high level. And once you believe in yourself, others will follow…and those barriers to “the top” will come crashing down.

Are anything “good things” happening in the world? Well, perhaps there is only one place to look…Google(TM). So today, I searched “good things happening in the world” and according to the world wide web, there aren’t any. And if Google can’t find happiness, how the heck can we?  Well I’m not buying it! In fact, I propose that we create a new search engine and call it …YOU.

And while all the others, including the media, are quickly searching and finding problems, hassles, anger, negativity and grumpiness, I propose the YOU search engine finds only solutions, challenges, warmth, positivity and smiles. And if this search engine, powered by YOU, spends more hours throughout the day SEARCHING for little victories at work, a new and exciting way to serve a customer, a better way to coach a co-worker, or a selfless way to help a stranger, YOU can become the most powerful search engine in the world.

While I can’t promise the financial profits of Google, I can promise you much  more. Because the more YOU searchfor good news, the more good news YOU will create. So this week,search for good while others are not. Then share your findings with everybody you touch. By doing so, YOU will sell more, lead more, and influence more. And the next time somebody does a Google search on TOP PERFORMER, your name will come up first.

Listen to Brian discuss the power of the positive mind with Willie Jolley, author of the best selling book, “It Only Takes a Minute to Change Your Life.” This interview will get you “fired up.” Go to www.preciseselling.com/Radioaccess.htm to listen. President of Kansas City-based PRECISE Selling, Brian delivers seminars and internet training programs on sales, customer service, leadership and presentation skills to companies of all sizes. To find out more, visit him at www.preciseselling.com or email Brian at bsullivan@preciseselling.com

“Honesty is not the best policy,
it’s the ONLY policy.”

Howard Putnam
Former CEO of Southwest Airlines

Blagojevich, Madoff, Enron, ugh! What is happening? When did the word LEADER become synonymous with dishonest? Well friends, it’s time for the rest of us to take over. Because the lesson learned from all of this is that while deception, half-truths, and manipulation may get some to the top, the chances of staying there without a foundation of integrity aren’t very good.

So let’s make it our objective in 2009 to be the types of leaders that USE honesty to get to the top, regardless of how difficult being honest can often be. In fact, research done by the Tom Peters group shows us the most important elements followers look for in leaders are as follows:

·      88% say HONESTY

·      75% say VISION

·      68% say INSPIRING

·      63% say COMPETENT

Now here’s the prep. There will be some time over the next 48 hours when you will have a choice to make. And at that moment you will be given the choice to deliver your message with 100% honesty or something less. And once you choose honesty, you have set in motion your greatest asset to becoming a top performing salesperson, manager, CEO, friend, spouse or parent. And I can honestly say, I can’t wait to see how many lives you positively influence in 2009.

Listen to Brian discuss honesty and FUN with former Southwest Airlines CEO Howard Putnam on his weekly radio show by visiting http://www.preciseselling.com/Radioaccess.htm. President of Kansas City-based PRECISE Selling, Brian delivers seminars and internet training programs on sales, customer service, leadership and presentation skills to companies of all sizes. To find out more, visit him at www.preciseselling.com or email Brian at bsullivan@preciseselling.com. To learn more about Howard Putnam’s outstanding leadership programs, visit him at www.howardputnam.com