If there is one single most important message I want to give you in this chapter, it is this: ‘For things to change, we must first change ourselves.’ When we take responsibility for what we get and change ourselves, everything and everybody else will change with us!
One time the managing director and owner of a chain of boutiques attended my training program. He complained that all his staff were unmotivated, uncommitted and incompetent. He also complained that he kept getting clients who were prone to bargaining and had little purchasing power. ‘For some reason, the staff that we get are always lazy and useless, we never get the hardworking, ambitious type’.
I sat down with the man and asked him to list down the attributes of his ideal staff. He took about five minutes and came up with an incredible list of the perfect staff.
The person had to be highly motivated, responsible, have good work experience, strong track record, passionate… the list went on. I took a look at the list and a look at the MD and asked, ‘Would this ideal employee want to work for you?’
Initially he was taken aback by my comment, but pretty soon, he was getting my point. I went on to say, ‘If you want to attract the best employees, you have to be the best company (in your field).’ ‘If you want to attract the perfect staff, you have to be the perfect boss.’ For things to change, he had to change first.
He caught on. Over the next six months, he asked himself, ‘How do I make this company the best place to work for, such that the best and brightest will want to join me?’
He started to put in a rigorous recruitment selection scheme, an exciting profit sharing plan, new classy uniforms, a re- branding campaign for the company and created an honest and open communication culture. And he also started giving more autonomy to staff in decision making.
Sure enough, many of the old, unmotivated staff started leaving because they could not take the pressure of the new weekly feedback sessions and the performance-based pay scheme. But then young, energetic and motivated people started coming in and the whole business turned around. At the same time the 80
81 THE KEY TO ABSOLUTE POWER
new image created by the company’s re-branding campaign, its new culture and bright new and knowledgeable staff started attracting higher spending customers who didn’t haggle.
Does this only apply to business? Of course not! This applies to virtually anything in your life.
I once met a woman who could not find the right partner and she had been looking for the last 20 years. She was in her late 30s and getting concerned she would never find her ideal guy. When I asked her what she was looking for, she started describing this perfect man who had to be rich, handsome, humorous, sensitive and charming. Again I asked her very bluntly, ‘Would this man with all these traits want to marry you?’ ‘Would this ideal guy be attracted to someone like you?’ If you want to attract the perfect man, you must first be that perfect woman to attract him!
There was a mother who complained to me that her son was not motivated at all to learn Mandarin. He kept giving the excuse that Mandarin was really difficult and that he did not need to learn it. She kept trying to convince him that if he put his mind to it, he could do it. She also kept trying to make him see that Mandarin was an important language to learn.
‘I’ve tried everything. He just won’t listen and change his mindset about learning Mandarin.’
I asked the mum, ‘Do you speak Mandarin at home?’ ‘No, my husband and I can’t speak the language as we were both from English speaking backgrounds,’ was her slightly surprised reply.
I then asked, ‘Have you thought of learning the language yourself and speaking at home so your child will have more exposure?’ ‘Oh, it’s just too difficult to learn. Anyway, we don’t have to use it’, was her reply.
She had given the reason why her son was so resistant to learning Mandarin. I explained to her that although she was verbally telling her son that Mandarin was easy and important, her actions communicated the total opposite, and she was responsible for him not being motivated at all.
Fortunately, I convinced her. When she decided to put in the effort to learn together with her son and use the language at home, her son started to get motivated as well.
MASTER YOUR MIND DESIGN YOUR DESTINY 82
So…
If you want to attract the best staff, be the best boss If you want to have the best kids, be the best parent If you want the perfect wife, then be that perfect husband If you want the highest income, add the greatest value
If you want to attract the best customers, become the best company