[Gary] Peeples Helping People, LLC

Connect with people through these 5 rules of Improv

I'm not an Improv actor or anything, but I am fascinated by it. I have read up on it; I've known people that do it; and I've even considered "getting into it" myself.

I believe there is a LOT that can be learned from the basic principles the art follows — and not just for business — I'm talking: for life, for friendships, for relationships, and anywhere else you "connect" with people.

Here are 5 basic rules that may help you in building connections with people:

1. Don't deny — Say "Yes(!)-and".

In Improv:

Denying or disagreeing will cause the scene to come to a halt. A scene beginning with "I'm Gary and the view from this mountain is great" will be killed if the response is, "this isn't a mountain it's a living room and you are Patricia". 

In Life:

It does the same thing. Accept the content or story or argument that is given to you as a reality [it often is for whoever gave it to you]. Agree and add.

2. Don't ask open-ended questions — it makes the other person do all the work. 

In Improv:

After the Yes(!)-and, add new information. "Yes, and the fresh air is probably really helping our simultaneous cases of athletes foot."

In Life:

Same thing; don't make the other person do all the work by continuing to pound them with open-ended questions. Add value to the conversation; state your opinion; help them help you. 

Personally, I think people in sales are over-taught the open-ended question process. It has it's place, but how quickly you can come off as passive-aggressive, if you never add value to the conversation. In my opinion.

3. Don't TRY to be funny — focus on here and now and on creating an interesting scene.

In Improv:

The process of creating an interesting scene, between two people working with each other, who have no idea where the other will go next, will create the comedy. And it won't be forced. Let it happen naturally.

In Life:

Replace "funny" with whatever the context is. Don't TRY to sell them a car. Don't TRY to win the argument with your significant other. Don't TRY to get a raise. Focus on here and now — and on doing the right thing — and whatever IT is, will happen naturally.

4. You can look good if you make your partner look good.

In Improv:

Don't get too caught up in your own character. Figure out how to help your partner advance their character. It will be funnier then trying to get all your jokes in about your own character.

In Life:

Don't get too caught up in your own character. Figure out how to help your partner advance their character. 

That was perfect, I didn't need to change it.

5. Tell a story.

In Improv:

Establish a location and provide details that add to the story. The audience is looking for a good story. And again, the natural details — that are being created between two individuals, on the spot — will be funny on its own.

In Life:

A story "humanizes" the situation. You want to connect with your audience — your boss, your loved one, your son or daughter, your customer — give them a story about you. You know, "about a time when..." Tell it from the heart. Emotion builds connections. Usually.

 If you don't know where you are going, any road will take you there. 

-Lewis Carroll, "Alice in Wonderland"

Why CPG brands spend boatloads of money on brand advertising

First, I just pictured a real boatload of money.

It’s a ship like on Deadliest Catch for some reason. I don’t know why. So now that is my picture for this.

ANYWAY, CPG brands spend boatloads because it works. 

Sure, they don't always get it right, or spend it in the right places.

Here are some failures [depending how you view it]: 

The Pepsi Refresh Project — reportedly done instead of Super Bowl advertising — had mixed reviews: "The Failure Of Pepsi Refresh Project"

New Coke was BLASTED and basically failed because there was nothing wrong with old coke.

Sorry, both of my examples are in Beverage, but you get the point.

Without these typically-monstrous branding efforts, though, consumers have nothing to emotionally connect to. And beneath the surface:

emotion plays a major role in driving nearly everything. 

There is scientific proof that emotion drives decisions — USA Today Article — but how fun is that?

Let’s look at some more-fun examples:

Think of the last time you went clothes shopping. Felt Good to get some new stuff. “Gots to look fresh-to-death”, right?

Or think of the last time you were at Target on a spree; you got that Feeling of “yeah, gonna buy some stuff” in the back of your head.

Or at the end of a work-week; when you decided to do a happy hour because you wanted to relax, cut loose, and Feel Good.

Or when you bought your house — or decided on your apartment or condo — you analyzed the pros and cons, sure, but at the end didn’t it just Feel Right?

We are all looking for experiences; that is one of the essences of life.

It doesn’t change because you are a business, or brand, or product.

And the boatloads of money are spent by these companies to give you that which you are looking for: an experience that is just right for you.

Alternatively, I suppose they would look to spend this money somewhere else, rather then retain it; but where?

Maybe on retail? How much impact can that really have — Crazier displays? Buying down the retail prices? Who knows?

Or maybe something else, but who cares?

Isn’t money better spent figuring out how to emotionally connect with you, then it is in any other way?

Plus we get all those funny commercials out of it. 

What do you think?

Now back to my Deadliest-Catch boatload of money.

5 important questions to ask right now

1. What should our business be worried about?

If your answer is: nothing, economy, or competition. #yourdoingitwrong.

Nothing is BS. Economy is an excuse. And competition is not specific enough. 

What are your customer preferences? Are they changing? Do you serve a young demo or an older? Are you at risk of not attracting new business? When's the last time you took a chance? Changed something? Maybe it's time.

2. Is what we are doing today going to work for tomorrow?

There is managing for NOW and there is preparing for tomorrow. Sometimes tough to do both, but if you don't have an idea of what tomorrow looks like you are too short sighted.

What can you add, to that which you currently do best, that will serve to build for tomorrow without turning off your current success? Can you add a service to attract a new demo without changing the service that serves your core? For example.

3. Do we have the right people — in the right jobs — and are they happy?

"Right people" is though. In the right jobs is a challenge. Keeping them happy should be easy. 

At the core of it all, you need to understand people.

When you hire them — what makes them tick? Do those things resonate with your business?

The right jobs — what are their personal goals? Are you putting them in roles that will allow them to get after those dreams?

Keeping them happy — what makes them feel important? Do that.

4. What is slowing down our customers buying process, or causing them to choose elsewhere?

Again, understanding people — but this time: your customers. What makes them tick? What makes them feel important? Do that.

There is always a better option in this world. It's too big and there are too many options. You don't have to be the best. You just have to be the best to them in a way that makes them feel important.

If everyone only ever chose "the best", there would only be one of everything in this world. -Me, just now

Can you imagine: one operating system, one supermarket, one car?

People chose the best for them out of the options for a million reasons. Figure out what those reasons are.

5. What items on the expense side of the P&L can we get rid of or decrease?

Break out the ole P&L and go down the list. Where are you spending money? Do you need to be?

Some things are musts: you have to keep the lights on, you have to have a certain level of manpower, you have to keep advertising.

Others are maybes: you might have two people doing the job of one, you may be outsourcing something that can be done internally, you may have an expensive vendor you can replace.

Every business owner should be thinking these things daily. And as with most things I blog about, I would suggest starting with the numbers.

With each of these questions and answers you should be able to assign a number; a number you are either currently achieving or trying to achieve. Goals and metrics.

If you can't put a number to it, stop doing it.

These 5 questions were paraphrased from a recent post on inc.com 5 Questions Businesses Owners Should Be Asking. They have cool pictures too.

The most important thing ever

Think of a time when:

you received excellent customer service;

you got a promotion;

you received an award;

you fell in love.

Now think of a time when:

you received poor customer service;

you were passed on a promotion;

your teammate or co-worker got the award;

you didn't get the girl or guy.

We've all been through all of these — many of us, many times. 

In the first set you felt good; at varying degrees. In the second set you felt bad; also at varying degrees.

The reason why has something — not everything — to do with how IMPORTANT you felt.

Put differently:

Make someone feel important; they will likely have a good experience. Make them feel un-important; they will likely have a bad experience. 

It applies to everything above:

You get a promotion = you're important to us, here's more responsibility. You were passed over for a promotion = [Pete Tequiza] is more important then you. Also, Pete's a nerd.

A busy waitress stops by to say she's super busy and will be right back for your drink order = you're an important customer to her. A busy waitress that zips by a trillion times, without saying a word, ignoring you while you die of hunger = you're less important then the other customers.

You get the girl = you're important to her. She's not that into you = you're not that important. Also she's an idiot, and how could she not see how awesome you are. Just saying.

Even if you only remember to do this 50% of the time, my suggestion is for you to figure out what makes people — and everyone is a little different — feel most important in this world. And do that.

In business, in friendship, in love, and in life — it will make a world of difference.

Create your own road in 4 steps

HOW TO CREATE YOUR OWN ROAD:

Step 1: Write down where your road would end.

Step 2: Write down what road you are on today.

Step 3: Ask yourself if your current road leads to end road. 

Step 4: Start a new road that leads you there. Right now. Go.

There is absolutely nothing stopping you, but you, so take the first step and don't look back.

Figure out what trees to go around, what bushes to go over, what bridges to build, or what tunnels to dig, along the way.

Because no one does anything on Friday

You follow road maps, blue prints, guides, manuals, instructions; all these things were written by someone. Ever stop to think about that?

Have you ever thought about making your own?

Make today the day you stop following a map.

Start drawing one instead.

OKAY...Okay...okay...maybe Monday then. No one does anything on Fridays.

I love it when they call me Big PARPA

In a 3 minute video found on the Harvard Business Review website, Tony Tjan sums up the process of creating a flexible business plan. It's succinct and spot-on, in my opinion. 

Assuming you either:

(1) write business plans for a living;

(2) have to sell for a living;

(3) have to pitch ideas to internal business leaders for a living;

(4) plan anything, at all - ever; or

(5)  have any goals in life, period;

I think this is good advice. Just swap the business-y words for your personal goal-setting words and it should still work for you. 

Below are the key points [which I qualified with a word that I've chosen to represent each step]. If you have the 3 minutes, though, it's a good video and he explains what these points mean.

How to build a flexible business plan

1. Start from the heart. [Passion]

2. Think big, but start small. [Actionable]

3. Have a basic framework. [Realistic]

4. Know the trade-offs. [Prioritize]

5. Keep it iterative. [Adapt]

So, P.A.R.P.A. — I suppose — is another way to sum it up.

Which is good because I happen to love it when they call me Big PARPA.

Again, that video can be found here: Tony Tjan's video on hbr.org

What do you think? Thoughts, advice, experience writing plans? Please share.

Shirtless in the Arctic Circle

This was last week when my buddy Ryan and I were in Iceland.

After driving around the country — making our way North — we took a 3-hour cargo ship from Siglufjordur to Grimsey Island.

The Northeast tip of Grimsey is the only part of Europe that barely makes it within the Arctic Circle [the 66th degree, or whatever]. It was cold.

Naturally, we took our shirts off.

The other day I wrote about doing the unexpected to create a memory. I realized, you may not know where to start sometimes.

It's not that hard to do; here's a suggestion:

Try starting with the opposite of what you would normally do and brainstorm your way back to "normal". Somewhere along the line you'll find something that might work.

I mean, sometimes you just have to go shirtless in the Arctic.

Be more successful right now - with this one word

First, here's a list [and videos if you have time] of successful people:

1. Steve Jobs

2. Bill Gates

3. Frank Lloyd Wright

4. Buckminster Fuller

5. James Cameron

6. Mark Zuckerberg

7. Tom Hanks

8. Harrison Ford

9. Lady Gaga

10. Tiger Woods

All completely different personalities, careers, and specialties; but with one common thread: They each have an unmatched PASSION for accomplishing their goals.

Someone once told me:

I never went wrong when I hired the person who wanted it the most.

Want to be more successful? Be more PASSIONATE.

PS. No one on that list graduated College.

How to be more memorable

I just got back from a trip and it reminded me of an interesting concept:

The unexpected is the most memorable. 

Think about it. 

Take any recent vacation; you probably remember the unplanned parts [the detour you took or the scary road conditions] before you remember the hike you took or the beach you sat on.

Or any recent party you hosted or went to; you likely remember the things that went wrong [the burned main course or the spilled wine] before you remember a conversation or a joke.

The unplanned, the interruption, the unexpected — it burns in your brain. You didn't see it coming and it stands out. 

If you want to be more memorable, seek to provide the unexpected.