Imagine that you are offering ideas, models or knowledge that help to raise people’s awareness about a particular topic. This may well work for a certain time and pay the rent. But then the work can run out. Why is this the case?

People want to continue increasing their awareness. But, after a while, they realise there are only so many ‘eternal truths’. The key is to apply these principles successfully.

Certainly if you are a genius it may be possible to keep providing breakthroughs. Most suppliers, however, are judged by how the awareness can be applied in action and deliver achievement. Let’s explore these three steps.

Awareness

Imagine that you love to provide knowledge that helps people to expand their awareness about a particular topic. This might be in an area such as education, health, teamwork, technology, sales, business, environmental improvement or whatever.

You will constantly explore the area to gather information. This may lead to developing models, tools and ideas that you can share with other people. Passing on this knowledge can help to increase their awareness about a particular topic.

Try tacking the exercise on this theme. This invites you to do two things.

Describe the specific theme in which you like to pass on knowledge and, if appropriate, help people to expand their awareness.

If possible, write this in ‘How to …’ terms. For example: How to take charge of their careers … How to build great terms … How to increase sales … How to build eco-friendly sustainable houses … How to pass exams … or whatever.

Describe the specific things you can do to continue to learn, develop and pass on more knowledge to people about this topic.

For example, you may wish to run seminars, do coaching, write articles, build successful prototypes, develop your web site, make videos or whatever.

Application

“For many years I was one of the few people spreading knowledge in a particular field,” said one person.

“This led to many invitations to do presentations and share the ideas with customers. But then the work began to dry up.

“People went onto the internet to gather knowledge. There were also many suppliers offering services in my specialist area. One potential customer said:

‘The services that people offer seem to come back to the same principles. Words are easy and anybody can call themselves an expert.

‘Being a pragmatist, I want suppliers who can translate the ideas into practice and deliver positive results.’

“Bearing this in mind, I became more hands-on. I decided:

To do in-depth project work with three of my favourite customers.

To agree on the specific goals and get a clear mandate.

To apply the knowledge and perform superb work.

“This helped to build credibility – both with these customers and with other potential clients.”

Bearing in mind your area of expertise, try tackling the exercise on this theme.

Describe the specific things you can do to help people to move from awareness to application.

Achievement

“The teams I was working with achieved their goals and produced success stories,” said the person. “These results provided currency that paved the way to future opportunities.”

People buy success; they don’t buy the theory of success. So it is good to build a track record of achievement. This can lay the foundations for future work.

One other point is worth remembering when aiming to get business. Imagine a scenario where two potential suppliers have been invited to present to a potential client.

Supplier A starts by saying what they aim to achieve in terms of delivering success to the client.

Supplier B starts by spending a lot of time explaining their philosophy and how they will raise people’s awareness about the particular topic.

Which approach is likely to grab the potential customer’s attention?

People want results. So the first step is to do your homework and, as far as possible, clarify the customer’s picture of success.

Building in the vital elements of customisation, it can then be useful to describe what can be delivered in terms of:

* The potential achievements.

* The potential methods of application.

* The potential methods of expanding people’s awareness.

Bearing in mind your area of expertise, try tackling the exercise on this theme. This invites you to do two things.

Describe the specific things you can do to help people to move from application to achievement.

Describe the specific things you can do to explain the specific results your services can deliver to potential clients in terms of achievements.

There are many approaches to doing fine work. One approach is to share knowledge that increases people’s awareness.

Many buyers now want something more. They want suppliers who apply the knowledge and help them to achieve success. The suppliers who make this happen are more likely to attract buyers for their products and services.

Each of us makes choices every day. Each choice does, of course, have consequences.

Good decision-making often calls for clarifying the choices, clarifying the consequences and choosing the way forward. We can then work had to achieve concrete results. Let’s explore these concepts.

People make choices

People make choices all the time. They can choose, for example, to be positive or negative, to take responsibility or avoid responsibility, to count their blessings or count their burdens.

Viktor Frankl’s book Man’s Search For Meaning showed how, even in the concentration camps, people who focused on hope brought meaning to their days. He wrote:

Man is not free from his conditions, but he is free to take a stand towards his conditions.

Al Siebert’s work on resiliency shows how people choose to behave differently in the face of hardship. Some choose to be creative and find solutions to challenges. Some choose to complain and give up.

People choose their attitude. They can then choose the way they feel, behave, speak, deal with setbacks and encourage other people. This leads to the next stage.

People can recognise that
each choice has consequences

Good decision-makers recognise that, whichever route they choose, there will always be consequences. Even doing nothing has a consequence.

“But you don’t always have choices,” somebody may say. “There are some things you cannot change.”

Peak performers focus on ‘controlling the controllables’. They build on what they can control and manage what they can’t. They do whatever they can to shape their future.

There are many models for decision-making. One approach is to employ the 3Cs: Clarity, Creativity and Concrete Results.

Imagine that you face a challenge. You may start tackling it by working through the following stages.

People can make choices, manage the consequences
and work hard to achieve concrete results

Good decision-makers often make decisions based on the consequences of each option – rather than the options themselves.

Such people can therefore be considered to, in some way, ‘choose the consequences’. They then find ways to build on the pluses and minimise the minuses on the route to achieving success.

Imagine you have outlined the potential options, you will then come to your conclusions. You will aim:

* To choose the route forward.

* To, if necessary, make clear working contracts.

* To translate the ideas into action and deliver concrete results.

So you may consider some going through the following steps.

We always have choices; even if these are limited to choosing our attitude in a given situation. Some people find this liberating; others find it challenging.

People who embrace this approach are more likely to take responsibility and accept the consequences. They can then work hard to achieve their picture of success.