1:  The Rainmaker knows. 

If we are at a cocktail party with customers, we are not there to party.

If we are playing golf with a client, we are not there to play golf.

“These are business meetings or sales calls or both,” Jeffrey Fox writes in How to Become a Rainmaker: The Rules for Getting and Keeping Customers and Clients.

“Some salespeople,” Jeffrey observes, “actually care what golf … continue reading

1: “Customers buy for only two reasons,” Jeffrey Fox writes in How to Become a Rainmaker: The Rules for Getting and Keeping Customers and Clients.

“To feel good or to solve a problem,” he notes.

“Going out to dinner, buying scuba equipment, or getting a new puppy fall into the ‘feel good’ category,” Jeffrey observes.

Businesses typically purchase to solve a problem.  And, the solution can always be expressed … continue reading

1: Getting better at getting better is what RiseWithDrew is all about.

Monday through Thursday, we explore ideas from authors, thought leaders, and exemplary organizations. On Friday, I share something about myself or what we are working on at PCI.

This week, we’ve been exploring ideas in Fred Kofman‘s book The Meaning Revolution.  Fred believes that to be a truly successful leader, “We need to make our lives … continue reading

1: We are finishing up another school year.

As parent-managers, we want our children to do their schoolwork before they play.  So, we try to motivate them. 

“I incentivize them by threatening to take away their iPhones if I see them using them before their work is done,” Fred Kofman writes in The Meaning Revolution: The Power of Transcendent Leadership.

“I add a carrot to the stick, promising that … continue reading

1: “People with targets and jobs dependent upon meeting them will probably meet the targets, even if they have to destroy the enterprise to do it,” observed W. Edwards Deming, the eminent scholar and management theorist. 

Our “real job” is to help our company win, Fred Kofman writes in The Meaning Revolution.  “That is, to accomplish its mission profitably and ethically.”

But that’s not what we … continue reading

1: In 2014, Veronica Block called Comcast.   She wanted to cancel her internet service. 

“She was immediately transferred to a ‘customer retention’ representative who argued with her for ten minutes about why she wanted to cut off the service,” Fred Kofman writes in The Meaning Revolution: The Power of Transcendent Leadership.

“Every time Veronica asked the representative to simply terminate the service, the rep argued with her,” Fred notes.  … continue reading

1: It was a brutally hot day in Las Vegas.

The conference room where the meeting was being held was freezing, however.

“The participants of my ‘Conscious Business’ workshop pulled their jackets tight and grimaced. They weren’t just cold; they were pissed off,” Fred Kofman writes in The Meaning Revolution: The Power of Transcendent Leadership.

“They looked at me icily,” Fred remembers.  “I’ve been in situations like this many … continue reading

1: To perform at the highest level, we must tap into our intrinsic motivation, Steven Kotler writes in his book The Art of Impossible.

Intrinsic motivation refers to behaviors that are driven by internal rewards. We engage in activities because we find them exciting and internally satisfying. 

Steven identifies five intrinsic drivers: Curiosity, passion, purpose, autonomy, and mastery.

2: One of my goals for 2024 is to be intentional … continue reading

1: We are chasing the impossible. Peak performance is our goal.

Step one: Align our intrinsic motivators: curiosity, passion, purpose, autonomy, and mastery.

Step two: Layer in our goals.  

The final piece of the puzzle? Seven daily practices and six weekly practices. These are our non-negotiables. 

“If we want to sustain peak performance long enough to accomplish the impossible—whatever that is for us—we’re going to need to weave these items … continue reading

1: Our goal?    Peak performance.

In the final chapter of The Art of Impossible, Steven Kotler gives us “a meta-strategy for consistent peak performance.” 

There are steps to this process, and we must follow the steps in a specific order.

We begin by aligning our intrinsic drivers or motivators: curiosity, passion, purpose, autonomy, and mastery.  

Steven writes: “Because of the nature of intrinsic motivation, we have to start … continue reading