Lower the Bar

"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm." Ralph Waldo Emerson

I'm so excited. I got a cool new power point template with orange and yellow flames. It's not too much (well, maybe it is), but I don't care. I like it.

So I transferred my regular presentation to the new template. I got some mesmerizing slide transitions like Jim Edwards used (spinning boxes and such that the audience at Big Seminar were oohing and aahing about). My handouts were ready to go.

Then I find out -- they don't have a projector where I'm speaking.

Bummer.

So I freak out. I call my marketing buddies, who don't answer their phones (they're busy marketing). I dial up my mastermind group. No go. I beg to borrow my ex -husband's projector and big 'ol screen to drag on the one day roundtrip flight. He says yes. I don't know how to set this up. Now my husband John usually goes with me. But since this is just one day, he opts to stay at home and take care of the kids. So I figure I can just figure it out and follow the manual (never mind that techno geek John was unable to set this monster up at the last event and we had to borrow someone else's).

My flight is an hour so I'll have to go through security, take off my shoes, get pat down by the female guard (those metal things are set so low now even my belly ring makes it beep) all while dragging around a 6 foot screen that weighs about 45 pounds, a projector, a laptop and a purse.

Hmmm. This isn't sounding like such a good idea.

Finally, I whine to John. But he's used to me making a big deal out of little things. So he just waits for me to get a grip. Why is it so easy for him to not get mired in the details? Because he's good at seeing the view from 10,000 feet. He's a big picture guy, while I'm stuck staring at blades of grass up close and personal.

Handouts. We nix the projector idea and decide on handouts instead. "Well, there can't just be ANY handouts," I say!! "They have to be eye- catching and fancy. I want them spiral bound with a clear cover and black back. The front page should be color. Oh and they have to be ready by this weekend, John. Thank you very much."

"Lower the bar," he reminds me. He has an annoying way of remembering all the chunks of wisdom I tell him then feeding them back to me. He reminded me that Tom Antion widely distributes a recording with some very bizarre background noises (that's a whole different story I'll tell you sometime). One of John Reese's most highly acclaimed articles is about writing "cr@p" for the internet. My gal pal, Alexandria Brown even told me sometimes those of us who care try so hard for perfection, we don't get anything done.

Lower the bar. That does NOT mean under-deliver. Far from it. All it really means is don't worry so much about perfection. I say this for you as much as I say it for myself, because I know other people suffer from this same affliction. You are an expert in your field, right? So just share that information and people will be able to improve their businesses. They don't need shiny covers on their handouts. They don't need eye-popping power point presentations. All they need is information. Information given to them from a place of empathy for what their needs are. And your expertise. So I'm going to go to my event and share some down and dirty information that will undoubtedly help them with their marketing and their businesses.

Lower the bar enough to step into your own power.

World class copywriter, Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero is the author of the highly acclaimed home study course, Red Hot Copy to Woo Your Target Market and founder of the online copywriting school Red Hot Copywriting Bootcamp, (http://www.red-hot-copy.com/rhcbootcamp.htm). Learn insider secrets to great copywriting from a pro who's been in the trenches with Lorrie's f^ree ezine, Copywriting TNT. Sign up at http://www.red-hot-copy.com.

---

Get Out Of The Stone Age: Give Leadership Talks

160 years ago, the newly invented electric telegraph carried the... Read More

How to Create a Trusting Manager-Employee Relationship

BUILDING TRUST AS A MANAGER: 1. Be reliable. Follow through... Read More

Managing Employees Is A Little Like Herding Cats

Q: I started my small business about a year ago... Read More

Magnificent Meetings - 5 Tips for Success

Your impact at meetings will determine in a big way... Read More

The Dark Side of Help Desk SLAs

You just signed a Help Desk Service Level Agreement (SLA)... Read More

People Skills: Eight Essential People Skills

Being able to communicate effectively with others requires people skills,... Read More

Dialogue: the Four Dialogic Principles For Successful Communication

"But you don't understand!" exclaimed the manager, "this new initiative... Read More

Time Management - How to Have Productive Meetings

One of the greatest time wasters of all are unnecessary... Read More

A Winning Way to Handle New Ideas

Janet DiClaudio, who was charge of medical records at two... Read More

Five Problem-Solving Success Tips

The ability to solve complicated problems quickly is more important... Read More

Managing Rebellious Employees

Surveys of executives reveal that many companies fall short of... Read More

Enable Continuous Improvement of IT Services through ITIL

One of the major benefits, if not THE benefit of... Read More

Building Bridges of Communication

Building a 'bridge of understanding' between parties is... Read More

The Seven Cs: Partnership Danger Signs - Conflict Becoming the Norm ? Part 1

A series of articles exploring the seven critical areas that... Read More

Hire Winners: Ask the Right Questions

How do you as a manager, supervisor or team leader... Read More

The Rise of Corporate Chair Massages

Employers have rapidly begun to understand the importance of stress... Read More

Unravelling the Data Mining Mystery - The Key to Dramatically Higher Profits

Data mining is the art of extracting nuggets of gold... Read More

Catch Your Staff Doing Something Right

A long time ago, I learned something about being a... Read More

Five Ways to Influence Change in Others

Because of my work as a consultant, trainer and coach... Read More

Overcoming Resistance

Virtually any type of organizational change involves role transitions of... Read More

Take the Easy Route - Delegate

It was 2.30 am. It was cold and dark and... Read More

Leadership Skills

Recent studies have shown that industrial supervisors are working at... Read More

Are You Using the Right Form of Energy?

As we near the end of summer, here is a... Read More

The Idol-Makers

The end of the television season in May included the... Read More

The Challenges of Human Resource Management

IntroductionThe role of the Human Resource Manager is evolving with... Read More

Being a Great Boss

Are you one of those bosses that people just love... Read More

Setting Direction Within an Organization

FINDING DIRECTION: An organization can't succeed without direction. Direction means... Read More

Increase Productivity: Five Powerful Actions

How can you make the best use of your energy... Read More

Radical Creativity from Incremental Creativity ? large movements from small changes

Positive radical movement is the holy grail of nearly every... Read More

Coaching Can Get The Boss In Shape

Who tells the boss that they can improve their management... Read More

Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: A New Managers Tale

This article relates to the Manager/Supervisor competency, commonly evaluated in... Read More

Why Saying Well Done Works

Encouraged by the recognition, Sarah Lewsiton went home from work... Read More

Employee Motivation: It?s More Than A Paycheck

Managers often ask, usually with exasperation, "How can I keep... Read More