Harnessing the Athlete's Mindset for Success in Business

In this CORE Communications blog post from January, we discussed ways that playing sports in the past can teach you about being successful in the business world. We feel like our blog article pointed out a lot of great similarities between superstar athletes and superstar business people, but we wanted to take it a step further and give some great tips on thinking more like an athlete (even if you aren't one at all) to get ahead in business.

1. Be Passionate: One big commonality between a lot of superstar athletes is that they are known for their passion. In order to do well in professional sports, athletes must be passionate about what they do. Imagine if Michael Jordan kind of enjoyed the game of basketball; there's no way he would have ever been the legend that he is today. Now, that doesn't mean he loved every single thing about the NBA, the game, or even his teammates. There are always parts of the business that you are passionate about that you won't love as much. Seek out being involved in an industry or a company that you can truly be passionate about. If you are already doing what you're passionate about, remember to keep that fire burning by challenging yourself at all times and focusing on your vision.

2. Practice Like You Play: Talent really is never enough. In order to be great in business or in sports, you must spend time preparing and planning in order to shine in those big moments. In the sports world, that means being focused and intense in practice, and hitting the gym as much as you need to in order to be your best. Some of the greatest athletes we know, including Kobe Bryant and Tiger Woods, are known for their insane work ethic and discipline with practicing and preparing for greatness. In the business world, this equates to keeping up with industry news and changes, continuing to learn, and also role-playing and practicing out loud before sales presentations and public speaking.

3. Aim for Consistency: Consistency is not the most glamorous or exciting word when it comes to true greatness, but those who are really great in the sports or business world are consistently great, not just great sometimes. Derek Jeter and Michael Jordan wouldn't be the legends they are in their respective sports if they'd only been great every 3rd season. Sure, everyone has a bad game every now and again, but Jeter and Jordan both could be expected to be amazing no mater the day or the opponent. When people think of you, do they wonder how you'll perform that day or have they come to expect greatness from you? Focus on becoming consistently great at what you do.

No matter the field you are in, or what your goals are, if you focus on staying passionate about what you do, preparing for greatness, and being consistently amazing (not just amazing every now and again), you will be sure to succeed!

Copyright 2014 CORE Communications, Inc. Houston. Sources: Entrepreneur.com

3 Toxic People To Avoid

Flu Season is here! We all know to arm ourselves with flu shots, and avoid people who are coughing or sneezing. Similarly, we should avoid a different kind of toxic person, someone who has the ability to steer us away from our goals. Sometimes, these people are very close to us or even family members. When you can't avoid spending time with a toxic person, at least determine what topics are best to stick to around them. These are three different kinds of toxic people that you may want to consider spending less time around:

1. Negative People - If someone is angry and resentful all the time, it can bring everyone around down around them. If you are focused on doing big things and setting goals for success, it's not a good idea to spend too much time around someone who is a dark cloud.

2. Victims - Those who are always the victim look for others to blame and never take accountability for their shortcomings. If you know someone who always talks about how "unlucky" they are or how bad things always happen to them, the victim mentality can rub off on you if you aren't careful. It's best to spend your time with people who take responsibility for their actions.

3. Envious People - Those who are constantly jealous are not ever satisfied with what they have, and can never truly be happy for your success. Oftentimes, those who are envious will not say so, rather they will pick at your successes and try to bring you down to their level.

What toxic people are you spending your time with? Who can you spend more time with instead that can help you hit your goals?

Copyright CORE Communications, Inc. Houston, TX. Source: inc.com

Dallas Leadership Conference

While Ryan and Lauren were soaking up the sun in Malibu, the rest of the CORE Communications leadership team spent a day in Dallas for a regional conference on all things leadership. Breakout sessions on leading with confidence, leading through support, and situational leadership were on the schedule. CORE Communications top leader Lina Lopes was also recognized with a leadership pin for doing a great job leading by example. Great job, Lina!

Copyright 2014 CORE Communications, Houston

A Weekend In Malibu

Over the weekend, CORE Communications, Inc. Managing Partner, Ryan Caugherty, and Top Leader, Lauren Bruckner, spent time in Malibu, CA for business and of course a little beach fun. CORE Communications was nationally recognized along with just two other companies for outstanding sales results for one of our clients, Quill.com (a subsidiary of Staples, Inc.). On the trip, Ryan and Lauren got to spend quality time networking with other business owners, as well as client representatives from Quill.com's headquarters in Chicago. "Quill is such a massive campaign for our business, and we are honored and excited to be a part of the future," said Caugherty.

On a business front, they spent time discussing the future of the relationship between CORE Communications and Quill.com, marketing and sales dollars, sales rep compensation and exciting bonuses, as well as future expansion into European markets. As if that wasn't all exciting enough, Ryan and Lauren were invited to stay with the group in a $4MM beachfront home in Malibu, had some fun in the water, ate amazing food all weekend, and went on a wine safari. Thanks to our amazing client for the recognition of all the hard work we do!

Please check out our company Facebook page for more pictures of this fun trip!

Copyright 2014 CORE Communications, Inc. Houston.

How to Be More Confident

Confidence affects your success at work, in relationships, and even in your ability to get a good table at a restaurant. While a lot of our team members at CORE Communications are naturally confident, we could all use work sometimes at being bigger fans of ourselves. Here are some great tips for becoming more a more confident person:

1. Focus on yourself, not others. When you focus on your own personal growth, you can be proud of how far along you've come. When you spend too much time comparing yourself to others, you tend to become envious and think down on yourself for not being where they are. "The only person you should compare yourself with is the person you were yesterday."

2. Identify your strengths. We are all great at being our own worst critic and reminding ourselves of all the shortcomings we have. Instead, learn to focus on your core strengths. “One of the best ways to build confidence is to get clear on your strengths and find ways to integrate those strengths into what you do everyday,” says William Arruda, a personal branding expert and author of Ditch. Dare. Do!

3. Work on your weaknesses. If there are weaknesses standing in the way of your success, make a plan to work on them and improve. Rather than beat yourself up about them, determine ways to overcome them. Even a little progress will boost your confidence.

4. Become your own cheerleader. Wouldn't it be great to have someone follow you around all the time and encourage you by saying, "you're doing a great job!" or "you got this!" Unfortunately, you aren't likely to find someone willing to do this for you, so you will have to learn to do it yourself. Especially in those moments that you're really doubting yourself, make it a point to give yourself a little pep talk. It will seem cheesy at first, but once you get into the habit, positive self talk will become natural and very helpful. 

Copyright 2014 CORE Communications. Sources: forbes.com

CORE Communications Wins Pacesetter Award!

CORE Communications, Inc. of Houston, Texas was nationally recognized this week as a Pacesetter for our Fortune 500 client. This honor means that we are in the top 10% of all sales in the country. President Ryan Caugherty accepted the award at a ceremony in Los Angeles this weekend. "This an awesome honor, and it means that all the hard work our team puts in is paying off in a big way," said Caugherty. "I am very proud of our guys, and I know the rest of 2014 will be even bigger."

Copyright 2014 CORE Communications, Inc.

Encouraging Leadership on All Levels

One of the best things a company can do is to encourage its team members to challenge themselves and step into new roles. Not only is this great for the company culture and employee satisfaction, but this is also a great way to hear new, fresh ideas that can help the company prosper. Senior leaders can encourage employees that are not in a leadership position within the organization step into one. Most people do better work when they feel their responsibility extends beyond themselves. Even if a company is not ready to offer new positions or higher pay, it can be a great idea to reward team members that perform at a high level with a little opportunity to lead from time to time. At CORE Communications, we have an amazing Leadership Training Program, where we encourage everyone on our team to constantly work towards higher and higher levels of leadership. Due to this structure of leadership promotions, we've seen great leadership traits develop from some pretty surprising sources. If your company has more of a closed structure where people can only stick to the exact roles they were hired for, you may be missing out on giving your business the gift of great leadership from people you've never even considered for a management position. Here are a few ways that the management team at CORE Communications has found to foster a culture of leadership:

1. Keep an open mind about employee roles. If you wanted a larger leadership role, you probably wouldn't answer back to a request with "that's not in my job description." As a leader, you should also avoid putting your employees in similar boxes. If you want their help with something, never assume they will feel bothered or like they are owed something if they oblige. Most people are flattered when asked to help with something that goes above their title. If in this situation your team member does answer back with a snippy, "you don't pay me enough to do that," then they are probably not someone you should consider for a leadership role or management position in the future. 

2. Provide small opportunities to lead. You may not have a management position available to officially promote one of your team members into, but look for opportunities to give someone small leadership tasks. You can learn a lot about how well someone handles the role, as well as the added responsibility. Be careful not to think of these opportunities as "tests," because then you will probably just be waiting for a small slip-up to show you that the particular employee would not be a good leader. Even the greatest leaders (even you!) make mistakes, especially if it is a completely new skill set. So, rather than cross them off your list of people with great leadership potential, look for opportunities to teach and guide your team member. Then, you can assess how well they implement your feedback.

3. Allow people to develop their leadership wings over time. If you see leadership qualities in one of your team members, offer them small opportunities to lead at first (as mentioned in #2), but then keep offering them larger and larger opportunities after that. For example, ask them to start out by training your summer intern. In the fall, ask them to oversee one full-time employee. In the spring, ask them to sit in on the interview process for a new employee and give input. By the summer (one year after training that first summer intern), they should be ready to hire, train, and oversee a team of two or three summer interns. And voila! You have a new leader on your hands. Make sure to have open dialogue along the way, and look for opportunities to guide and teach leadership lessons. 

4. Flatten the hierarchy. Visualize this concept as tearing down cubicle walls. The fewer walls or barriers-to-leadership, the more people can see what is going on in the organization beyond just their individual role. One way to do this is by holding meetings weekly or monthly where all team members can feel free to voice their opinions on the biggest areas of improvement within the organization. If you notice people are worried to speak their mind, start with an anonymous survey or suggestion box. You want people to feel that they won't be criticized or condemned for their thoughts. The more you encourage this type of communication, the more it will become a part of your company culture.

At CORE Communications, we feel most people have the desire to lead, and the raw characteristics of leadership within them. Sometimes, people just need a little opportunity and a little guidance to step into a leadership role. 

Copyright 2014 CORE Communications

Sources: www.entrepreneur.com