Wooden You Like To Be Successful?

Colleen Stanley
Wooden You Like To Be Successful?

John Wooden is known as one of the finest basketball coaches in America. He took his UCLA team to the NCAA playoffs 10 of 12 years and was named coach of the Century by ESPN. John Wooden was a great teacher and coach.

The brilliance of his teaching is that he focused on the mental aspect of the game as well as the technical skills of basketball. John Wooden repeatedly told his team that controlling emotions was at the core of winning the game. He never referred to this control as emotional intelligence, however, when you further study him and his philosophy that is exactly what it was teaching and demonstrating.

John Wooden made it a goal to never lose his cool. He knew what the experts in emotional intelligence know. When you lose control, your clarity of thought and execution become clouded.

Many people think that a coach with this type of record must have focused solely on winning. John Wooden won games by living by a different definition of success. “Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best you are capable of becoming. Then perhaps when circumstances come together, we may find ourselves number 1.” He knew that self improvement is in every salesperson’s control. He knew that improvement and mastery were based on wise choices.

John Wooden’ posted this note on his team’s bulletin board:

There is a choice you have to make,

In everything you do.

So keep in mind that in the end,

The choice you make, makes you.

Here are three choices to consider:

1. Choose to be a life-long learner. In the emotional intelligence world, life-long learning is defined as self-actualization. Research shows that top salespeople score high in this emotional intelligence competency. They are on a continuous journey of self improvement and professional improvement. Lifelong learners make the choice between watching reality TV or reading a book that will help them become masterful. They make a choice of being the lone ranger or seeking out mentors. They make the choice to take risk and fail in order to learn the lessons that come only from leaving the status quo.

2. Choose to become masterful. The world is full of average so that seat on the bus is taken with a waiting line. Many salespeople learn sales techniques, however, few master influence and persuasion. It’s fairly simple. Choose where to focus and what to focus on. Pundits are predicting that the profession of sales will be dramatically reduced due to e-commerce and the free information found on the internet. It is our prediction that only the masterful will survive and thrive.

3. Choose to plan your work and work your plan. We have smart phones, Franklin Covey and yellow sticky notes. Salespeople should be the most organized people on the planet. Unfortunately, salespeople waste 1-2 hours every day because they did not make a choice to do the basics of time management.

  • Make a to-do list everyday. One minute of planning saves 10 minutes of wasted time.
  • Calendar block prospecting and client retention activities. If you don’t block it, you will lose it.
  • Manage email and phone calls. Yes, you can go for one hour without technology and focus on strategic work.

4. Choose to sell a product or service that you love. John Wooden was a great coach because he loved being a teacher, coach and mentor. He made a choice to be in the profession of coaching.

If you are not passionate about sales, the company you work for or the products you sell, add another item on your to-do list: Find another job. You will never reach your full potential as a person, salesperson or sales manager because two important ingredients are lacking in your success plan called passion and conviction.

5. Choose to manage your emotions. Get some downtime and figure out what is triggering you to act or respond in a manner that is less than beneficial. Ask yourself, what would have been a better reaction? What’s the reason I allowed a comment or behavior to "get to me?" The power of the question is the power of the answer.

Make the right choices and a funny little thing called winning is usually the result.

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About Colleen Stanley

Colleen Stanley



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