Deck Plate Leadership Series Article
The below article is for publication in your flotilla, division, or district newsletter.
YA GOTTA BELIEVE
By Randy Ventress
TSgt, Tennessee ANG (Ret)
DCAPT-South, D8ER, USCGAux
USCG Leadership Competency: Leading Self – Accountability & Responsibility
Have you ever stopped to take an objective look at people that are succeeding in Life, careers, family, sports, and the list goes on. Anyone that is successful has one common denominator that is the driving force in her or his being successful. The word of the day here is believing.
Anyone that is successful in any of the above areas and anything else believes in the best for the end result, success. The sales person wants to have the top sales in the company, the professional sports person wants to be Champion, the career driven person wants to be CEO of the company. These are all great goals, but the real drive is in believing in what each is doing.
My first encounter with Direct Sales was as a twelve year old. One Summer I was reading a comic book about Super Heroes and when I finished came across an ad on the back cover. The ad was for a petroleum jelly that was on the consistency of Vaseline, a well-known cure all. (Axle grease for the bones) The name of the "cure all" was Cloverine Salve. I will never forget it, the product came in a small, round, thin tin.
I thought, what a great way to "get rich" and not have to mow lawns all summer to make money for more comic books. I "borrowed" a stamp and envelope from Mom, filled and cut out the ad with my mailing information on it. About a month later I got this fantastic tube in the mail, delivered by our Postal Employee. I couldn't wait to get it open, get started and make enough to buy that new baseball glove that the ad said I could get.
However, not ever having any prior experience in Direct Sales, and not having any knowledge of what "my" companies product could do, I found that selling my product became a difficult task. After a few knocks on the doors of my immediate neighbors, I realized one thing. Each one of them asked me a few questions. "What does it do? Do you use it? Does it come with a guarantee?" My responses were "I don't know. No. And what's a guarantee?"
You can see where I'm going with this. I had no knowledge of the product, I didn't believe in it enough to use it, and I had no idea of what the end satisfactory result should be. I did not know what the end consequences would be if my product did not live up to specifications.
So it is as both members and Leaders of our organization. In order to become successful, we have to believe in our product. In order to believe in our product, we have to study and learn about our product. We have to use the product to gain more knowledge in the makeup of the product. Once these three areas are addressed, then we can move on up the path of success in the organization.
Ya Gotta Believe.
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