Top Performance

by Zig Ziglar

  I went to see Chuck Bellows, and twenty minutes later we had made a deal for the automobile. The reason I decided so quickly was because Chuck had been working on me for twenty-three years. I realize that sounds like a contradiction, but twenty-three years earlier he had made the decision that he would spend his career selling Cadillacs at Rodger Meier Cadillac. To do that he knew he had to build a reputation on integrity. He had done that. When I went to see Chuck Bellows, I did not go to look at a Cadillac; I’d already done that. I went to buy a Cadillac. Yes, reputation—if it’s a good one—has serious advantages.

  It’s a matter of fact that The New England Primer was taught for nearly two hundred years in our public educational system and that of the first 108 schools and universities founded in America, 106 were founded to teach Christian values. The biblical principles that were taught then are actually ridiculed today, along with the people who claim Christian values and profess Christianity. I challenge you to explore character very deeply as you build your career. There is a reason the leaders of yesterday had more integrity than the leaders of today.

  We will also deal with trust in our relationships as we go along, but for now I will simply state that all long-term happy, successful relationships are built on trust, and trust definitely affects national performance. Francis Fukuyama wrote the book Trust: The Social Virtues and the Creation of Prosperity. He studied several cultures over several generations and concluded that the progress of a nation could be measured by the level of trust in that nation.

  There is a huge lack of trust in our society today, and that lack of trust has impacted our economy. Recent corporate scandals have resulted in the loss of untold billions of dollars. Tens of thousands of retirement funds have been depleted, thousands of jobs have been eliminated, and confidence in life itself has been damaged for millions of people. As a nation, we have come to realize that we must look toward reinstating our character qualities in every phase of our lives. As you move up in the corporate world, your success will be largely measured by the amount of trust others have in you combined with your effectiveness in what you do.

  Just how important is trust? One study reported by Walker Information and Hudson Institute revealed that if the associates and employees did not think management was ethical, only 9 percent of them were committed to staying where they were. On the other hand, if trust in management was evident, 55 percent of them had every intention of staying where they were. Since the cost of replacing valued employees is enormous, creating a foundation of trust is essential to having a successful business.

  In the world of sales we have long known that of the five major reasons people do not buy—no need, no money, no hurry, no desire, no trust—the last one is the biggie. Most prospects will not arbitrarily say, “You know you’re stretching the truth” or, “You’re lying about this,” but there is something they just feel. Because they feel that something is amiss, they simply do not buy.

  While the main thrust of Top Performance will be in the management and personal responsibility area, we will also recognize the fact that in small companies the leader and the manager are often the same person. The example I use of my mother with her family (which you’ll read about later) clearly shows how managers are often leaders as well.

  Creativity has a critical role in the leadership/management world—not only creativity on your part but your ability to teach your people by example how to be creative. It’s important that you understand that the more you know about any one subject, the more creative you will become as you expand your knowledge in any area.

  A classic example is my book Secrets of Closing the Sale. I wrote the book after I had been in the selling profession for thirty-six years. As a result I was knowledgeable about the profession. Several years before I wrote the book, I had read an article that included three short paragraphs entitled “The Heart of the Sale.” I took those three short paragraphs, which included several gems that triggered new approaches to the information I had already acquired through experience, and expanded them into seventy pages of my book. New information triggers the imagination, and creative ideas result.

  One of the classic examples of creativity under even the most unique circumstances is this simple little example: Matt Boswell is in the dog-waste removal business, and his promotion is truly unique. On his business card it states, “Too Pooped to Scoop? Reclaim your yard. The Pet Butler. Picking up where your dog left off since 1998.” Then, “Our business stinks but it’s picking up.” His name, “Matt Boswell, Entre-manure.” He’s actually a “Fecal Matter Removal Technician” and claims to be “Number One in the Number Two Business.” He closes out his card, “For Dogs on the Go” and “Not Too Cool to Get the Stool. Your Pet’s Business Is Our Business.”

  Chances are good you won’t go into competition with Matt Boswell, but it is safe to say that he used his creativity effectively to build a business—and you can use yours to improve your business. Integrity, character/values, trust, and creativity make up the cornerstones of your foundation for management style, leadership style, and lifestyle.

  PERFORMANCE PRINCIPLES

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  Your foundation determines how successful you will be.

  Character, integrity, values, and trust are the four cornerstones of a good foundation.

  Creativity pulls everything together.

  Choosing to Be a Top Performer

  We are free up to the point of choice, then the choice controls the chooser.

  Mary Crowley

  Our success in life is determined by the choices we make. You are going to be making choices that will determine your success as you learn to manage yourself and others. To be effective in making proper choices, you must understand the difference between reacting and responding.

  One January I was in Kansas City, Missouri. It had been one of those weeks. As we’d say down home, “I’ve been drove hard and hung up wet!” I wasn’t just whipped—I was whupped! And there is a difference. That particular morning I had a lengthy recording session. When I record, of necessity I must turn up my volume and tempo a couple of notches. The only means of communication I have on a recording is my voice, so I must utilize it to the fullest or the people who listen to the recording might let their minds drift and miss the message.

  That morning for four solid hours the session was wide open, full speed ahead, no holds barred. (I speak at about 280 words a minute with gusts up to 450.) I finished at exactly one, and since we had a 3:00 P.M. departure time for Dallas, we had to hurry. The airline had told us to get to the airport at least an hour early to secure our recording equipment, which is very heavy and bulky. My son-in-law, Chad Witmeyer, who was the general manager for At the Top, the recording and cassette-duplication corporation we ran at the time, packed our gear as quickly as possible, and the two of us made a mad dash for the airport, which was a thirty-minute trip from downtown Kansas City.

  We pulled into the airport at exactly 2:00 P.M. There were two long lines, and we selected the shortest of the two. I noticed almost immediately that one of the ticket agents was walking around behind the counter, and I saw a Position Closed sign at one end. My experience told me she would remove Position Closed and replace it with Position Open, so I mentally and physically got ready to make a quick dash to the counter when she opened the other line. In a matter of minutes she walked over to the Position Closed sign and flipped it to Position Open, and smilingly announced to the group, “Those of you who have a seat on the three o’clock flight to Dallas come over here.”

  Surprise, Surprise!

  Quick as a flash, I ran to her position and was first in line. The ticket agent looked at me, smiled, and said, “The three o’clock flight to Dallas has been canceled.” To this I enthusiastically responded, “Fantastic!” When I said that, the ticket agent, with a puzzled expression on her face, asked, “Now, why in the world would you say, ‘Fantastic,’ when I’ve just told you the three o’clock flight to Dallas has been canceled?” I smi
led back at her and said, “Ma’am, there are only three reasons why anybody would cancel a flight to Dallas, Texas. Number one, something must be wrong with that airplane; number two, something must be wrong with the person who is going to fly that airplane; number three, something must be wrong with the weather they’re going to fly that airplane in. Now, ma’am, if any one of those three situations exists, I don’t want to be up there. I want to be right down here! Fantastic!”

  Hot Dog, I’ve Got Some Bad News for You!

  Have you ever noticed how some people seem to delight in delivering bad news? It’s as if they just can’t wait to let you know that life is tough and you’re in for a tough time. To my response, the ticket agent put her hands on her hips in an authoritative, “I’m not through with you yet” kind of position and said, “Yes, but the next flight doesn’t leave until 6:05.” To that I responded, “Fantastic!”

  By now the other two lines of people were looking in my direction and undoubtedly wondering, Who is that nut who says everything is fantastic? The lady herself looked at me in complete shock and said, “Now I’m really puzzled. Why in the world would you say, ‘Fantastic,’ when I’ve just told you that you’ve got a four-hour wait in the airport in Kansas City, Missouri?” “Why,” I said, “Ma’am, it’s really very simple. In all my years of living, never before in my entire life have I had a chance to spend four hours in the Kansas City, Missouri, airport. Do you realize that at this moment there are literally tens of millions of people on the face of this earth who not only are cold but also are hungry? Here I am in a beautiful facility, and even though it’s cold outside, it’s comfortable inside. Down the corridor is a nice little coffee shop. I’m going to go down there, relax for a few minutes, and enjoy a cup of coffee. Then I’ve got some extremely important work that I need to do, and here I am in one of the nicest buildings in the whole area. It is easily the biggest, most comfortable, rent-free office I’ve ever had at my disposal. Fantastic!”

  That’s Pretty Strong—Even for Positive Thinkers

  Now, I’m reasonably confident you may be saying to yourself, “Ziglar, I’ll go along with a lot of this ‘positive thinking’ stuff, but man, that’s a little strong!” You might even be saying to yourself, “I wonder if he really did say that?” As we’d say down home, “On my scout’s honor, that’s exactly what I said.”

  To this you might well say, “Okay, Ziglar, you said it. But now tell me the truth—did you really feel that way?” To this I respond, “Of course not!” At least initially I didn’t really feel that way. Like most travelers who’ve had a tough week on the road, I would have preferred to have been on my way home, but for the next four hours I did not have that option. However, I did have two other options to choose from. I could have chosen to respond—which is positive—or I could have chosen to react—which is negative. I chose to respond.

  If react and respond sound like the same thing to you, let me explain the difference. You go to the doctor, who gives you a prescription and tells you to come back the next day. When you go back, if he looks worried and tells you he needs to change the prescription because your body is reacting to the medicine, you’re probably going to be concerned. On the other hand, if he tells you your body is responding to the medicine, you’re going to smile, because you know you’re on your way to recovery. So, to react is negative and to respond is positive—the choice is yours! It’s a fact that you can’t tailor-make the situations in life, but you can tailor-make the attitudes to fit those situations before they arise.

  When the ticket agent told me my flight had been canceled, I could have reacted sarcastically and said, “That’s great! That’s just great! I’ve had reservations for this flight for over a month, and I’ve had the ticket for two weeks. I’ve done everything you’ve told me to do, including nearly breaking my neck to get here an hour early. All I need is my boarding pass and my seat assignment, but without explanation and without apology you tell me somebody has canceled my flight! Well, I want to know why the flight was canceled! As I drove up I saw several of your airplanes sitting out on the runway, not doing a cotton-pickin’ thing. Why can’t you take one of them and fly us to Dallas like you are supposed to? What are they doing out there anyhow? Who made the bright decision to cancel my flight to Dallas, Texas?” I could have reacted in that sarcastic manner. And the next flight still leaves at 6:05!

  (Many years after this incident, Krish Dhanam repeated a version of this behavior in another airport and was asked, “What are you? Some kind of Zig Ziglar?”)

  Respond—for a Better Tomorrow

  Now, my reading friend, there are some things you simply are not going to change. If you were born white, you’re going to stay white. If you were born black, you’re going to stay black. I don’t care how much thought you give it, you’re not going to add a single cubit to your height. You’re not going to change when you were born, where you were born, how you were born, or to whom you were born. As a matter of fact, you’re not going to change one single whisper that’s taken place in the yesterdays of your life.

  Tomorrow is a different subject. Regardless of your past, your tomorrow is a clean slate. You can choose what you want to write on that slate. You make that choice each time you decide to respond to negative events or react to those negative events. As a manager, when your employees act in a rude, thoughtless, and inconsiderate manner and are impossible to deal with, please understand you can still choose to respond or react. Your choice will play a major role in your relationship with your employees. Obviously, this doesn’t mean that to lead others you, the manager, must be “perfect” and never blow your cool. Not only is that unrealistic, it is impossible—and maybe even undesirable. After all, managers are people, too, and our employees need to know we are human and have feelings. On balance, however, we need to be careful that we choose to respond far more often than we choose to react, and that when we react, it is under control and directed to the action the person took and not to the employee personally.

  My friend Fred Smith, now retired, but truly one of the outstanding consultants and management experts in America, gives helpful advice on this matter in his excellent book You and Your Network. Fred says that when others deal with us in a mean and vicious way, in most cases it’s not because they want to hurt us. It’s far more likely that they are acting that way because they are hurting. Please understand that every obnoxious act is a cry for help. Recognizing and accepting this fact makes it much easier for us to take a calmer, more levelheaded approach to our functions as managers and as people.

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  Every obnoxious act is a cry for help.

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  It’s Up to You

  All of life is a series of choices, and what you choose to give life today will determine what life will give you tomorrow. You can choose to get drunk tonight, but when you do, you have chosen to feel miserable tomorrow. You can choose to light up a cigarette today, but when you do, you have chosen to die fourteen minutes early. You can choose to eat properly today, and when you do, you have chosen to be healthier tomorrow. You can choose to be overweight, or you can choose to be the right weight. You can choose to be happy, or you can choose to be sad. You can even choose, according to some authorities, to be insane—and some people make that choice to escape the responsibilities of dealing with life on a daily basis.

  For twenty-four years of my adult life, by choice I weighed over two hundred pounds. I say this because in my lifetime (at least since infancy), I have never accidentally eaten anything! Every bite is carefully planned and deliberately taken. I even set aside at least three times every day when I concentrate almost exclusively on taking those bites of food. When I choose to eat too much today, I have chosen to weigh too much tomorrow. In 1972 I chose not to be overweight and took the appropriate steps to reach and maintain the correct weight. It was one of my better choices.

  Never will I forget the night my wife (whom I affectionately call “the Redhead”) and I were in our favo
rite ice cream parlor when a young man and his girlfriend walked in. He appeared to be about twenty-three or twenty-four years old. I gently nudged the Redhead and pointed out the couple, and the following dialogue took place.

  Zig: “Do you see that couple?” The Redhead: “Yes, I do.” Zig: “Wonder what happened to him.” The Redhead: “What do you mean?” Zig: “Well, just look at him! He’s been in some kind of accident. He’s hurt!” The Redhead: “Aw, honey, he’s not hurt! He’s been to the barbershop.” Zig: “You mean he paid money to look like that?” (In my lifetime, I’ve never seen a human being that badly mutilated from the ears up. It was awesome!) The Redhead: “Sure, honey! He’s trying to be different and original, so he’s chosen to imitate some rock star.”

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  Every choice we make, whether it is good or bad, has consequences!

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  Don’t misunderstand, one of the things I love best about my country is the fact that we are free and can choose to look any way we please. The major point I wish to make is that when that young fellow chose to look that way, he had also chosen to eliminate 98 percent of all employment opportunities. For example, we could not consider hiring him at our company. He would be a total distraction, and we’d have to spend half our time just explaining him!

  When a young person chooses to sit up late at night watching television or socializing, he has chosen to be sleepy in class the next day and, consequently, absorb less of the information he needs to know in order to be successful in the competitive world in which he lives. When we choose to be mean, nasty, and ornery to other people, we have chosen to be treated in a mean, nasty, and ornery fashion by others. By the same token, when we choose to be thoughtful and considerate, we’ve chosen to be treated in a thoughtful and considerate manner. The list is endless, but the message is always the same: You are free to choose, but the choices you make today will determine what you will be, do, and have in the tomorrows of your life.