Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com July 31, 2017 • Hartford Business Journal 21 BIZ BOOKS Understanding the laws of success "T he Law of Success" by Napo- leon Hill (deluxe edition, Penguin, $28). Originally published as a self-instruction course in 1928, Hill's insights stand the test of time. Here's a look at the stage-setting intro- duction and three of the course's 15 lessons: Introduction: Embracing change as a lifelong learning experience ensures you're not looking at your future as an extension of your past. Start shaping your future by examining past decisions and their effects on today's circumstance. Your goal: learning from "woulda, coulda, shoulda." 1. "A Definite Chief Aim." While "singleness of purpose" drives success, singleness relies on an ever-inquisitive mind and the ability to work with others to understand various perspec- tives. Whether you're leading a small business, a project team, a department, a division or a firm, incorporating the knowledge of others allows you to develop and properly assess alternatives. The relationship with others must build bridges, not walls, because success requires allies to make things happen. Think of the peo- ple with whom you interact as "master mind" groups. Your "definite chief aim" involves doing what you can to ensure everyone contributes to the success of whatever the group works on. It's all about "orga- nized effort." When everyone contributes, everyone learns. As they learn, they think big- ger — they always think "What if?" and "How can I help?" 2. "Self-confidence." When doing different things or doing things differently, there always some doubt about the outcome. Don't let doubt become fear, which whispers "I can't do it — I'm afraid of what others might say — I'm afraid I'll fail." When the whispers become loud voices, inaction follows. When fear takes over, you succumb to what I call the poverty of desire. You see every struggle as an obstacle, rather than an opportunity to find a solution. To overcome fear, you must realize that doing nothing comes with a price. It won't change the current situation, and in many cases, will make it worse. Think of yourself as a salesperson who hears "No" more than "Yes." The first per- son you must convince is you. Hill relates a story about a salesman who called on a cus- tomer every day for a month — and heard "No" from the merchant every day. The merchant finally asked the salesman: "Why have you wasted your time?" The sales- man replied, "I have been going to school and you have been my teacher. Now I know all the arguments a merchant can bring up for not buying, and I have developed coun- ters." The merchant responded, "I, too, have been going to school, and you have been my teacher. You have taught me a lesson in per- sistence." The salesman got the order. 8. "Habit of doing more than you're paid for." When you really care about what you do, you're always willing to go that extra mile. Those extra miles are essential to achievement. Doing what you want to do isn't always easy. Life can get in your way. Hill stands as an example. Rather than pursuing a career as a "law of success" author and teacher, his family believed that he should take a real job because he had a family. Taking a cue from lesson two (above), he persisted. Lacking familial support, Hill relied on a master mind group (lesson one above) for support. A newspaper publisher, who had attended one of his presentations, became a member of his group, and Hill was offered an opportunity to write a weekly business column on "Law of Success." The column caught the attention of local business executives and Hill's course began selling. His group grew and was responsible for introducing him to the movers and shakers whose interviews translated "Law of Suc- cess" into "Think and Grow Rich." n Jim Pawlak is a nationally syndicated book reviewer. Jim Pawlak STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT Business development in the 'post-truth era' By Christopher Coyle "P ost-truth," the Oxford Diction- ary's 2016 international word of the year is defined as "relating to or denoting circumstances in which objec- tive facts are less influential in shaping pub- lic opinion than appeals to emotion and per- sonal belief." Oxford Diction- ary's president com- mented that the high- ly charged political and social discourse, and the rise of social media as a news source, elevated the concept of post- truth. But, post-truth also has important implications for busi- ness development strategy; the facts that underpin your value may not only be less respected, they may be consciously discounted. Would your competitor use outdated data to bolster their pitch, misstate a few key facts to close a deal or fail to include vital context that would change the meaning? Do some businesses leverage the megaphone of mul- tichannel communication to increase the volume of their pitch, while their value is declining? Inject emotion to cloud reasoning? In this post-truth era, count on it! Here are a few thoughts on the symptoms of the post-truth era: Omnicompetent prospects In the book "How America Lost Faith in Expertise And Why That's a Giant Problem," by Tom Nichols, the concept of "omnicompe- tence" is presented as a cultural characteris- tic; the belief that without much special prep- aration, the common man was fundamental and indispensable with the ability to pursue the professions and run the government. You have likely encountered the omni- competent prospect; those with a veneer of knowledge supporting an attitude of subject matter self-satisfaction ("I know, I know what I need to know") if not superiority ("I have been doing this a long time and know all about this area"). Trying to convince such self-appointed experts that they may be missing something or relying on old data is an unproductive strategy. And in the post-truth era, any affront to per- sonal belief, however objective and fact-based, risks being personally offensive. Availability bias "Availability bias" means information that was recently and personally observed is often the most memorable. When the mind is stimulated more by one idea (e.g. evokes positive emotion) vs. another (e.g. a logical presentation) the emotional memory is more often recalled. We have all dealt with "smoke and mirrors" competitors, but today's abil- ity to weaponize false claims by escalating the volume of their delivery through multiple communications channels and puffing the apparent authority of their source represents a whole new ball game. Backfire effect According to the Economist ("The post- truth world; Yes, I'd lie to you," Sept. 10, 2016), research from Dartmouth College and the University of Exeter indicates that in some cases confronting people who have a pre- existing bias with correct facts can actually strengthen their beliefs, even if demonstrably wrong. In the business world, directly attack- ing competitors has usually been a taboo, but in this post-truth era, it could have even greater consequences. The intertwining of the explosion of data and opinion often posing as facts, the personal- ization of experience and a cultural gravitation away from objective debate and reasoning now profoundly affects how we sell. While the busi- ness world is often perceived as consciously removed from such subjectivity, the humans who make the buying decisions are not. As one considers the implications of post- truth for your business development strate- gy, we can no longer trust, trust. In my next article, I will drill into strategies and tactics to address the impact of the post-truth era: recalibrate, reorient and reinvent. n Chris Coyle is managing director of business development services for CBC GROUP, which helps companies improve differentiation. Christopher Coyle ▶ ▶ Embracing change as a lifelong learning experience ensures you're not looking at your future as an extension of your past. Start shaping your future by examining past decisions and their effects on today's circumstance. ▶ ▶ The intertwining of the explosion of data and opinion often posing as facts, the personalization of experience and a cultural gravitation away from objective debate and reasoning now profoundly affects how we sell. While the business world is often perceived as consciously removed from such subjectivity, the humans who make the buying decisions are not.

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