Daniel Skognes

When you are interviewing someone for a job, you are trying to look through the fog and see if they are a good fit for your company.  You are trying to see what drives them and what things might be stumbling blocks, right? You are looking for any fatal flaws that might actually infect the corporate culture that you are seeking to protect.

So, how do you do that?  How do you get the mask to come off and see the real person?  Ask the right questions, then listen.  This is not an all-inclusive list.  I am sure there are a hundred more that could be asked as well, but these are thought provoking questions that will help you see if you are trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.

• “Tell me about yourself.”  This is a great open-ended question and it is amazing what some people will tell you.
• “If money were no object, what would you want to do?”  I love this question because it cuts to the chase.  It uncovers what they are really pursuing.  Encourage them to pursue their passion, not the paycheck.
• “What is pressure to you on a job?”  This uncovers things that could be ticking time-bombs.
• “Why are you leaving, or why did you leave your job?”  This will be a great question to uncover what issues they may have had in the past.
• “What is your current financial situation?”  This is particularly important to know you are hiring someone for a commission type job.  It they don’t have any cushion and they pay cycle is long, they won’t stick around.
• “Why would you be interested in working with us?”  See if they have done their homework.  Do they even know what you do? Are they just using you as a stepping stone until they can find something they really want to do?
• What would your spouse or best friend say about you…good or bad?  Are they willing to be transparent and admit they are not perfect?  Do their strengths line up with your job description?

If you think about it, we have it backwards.  We typically are quick to hire and slow to fire.  It is extremely costly to hire and train someone.  Many man hours go up in flames every day because we don’t ask the right questions.  If we succumb to the pressure to fill the slot and put a warm body in there, we may just be inviting in a virus that could spread and infect everyone.  As Sweet Brown said, “Ain’t nobody got time for that!”

Let’s reverse the curse.  Let’s not throw bodies against the wall to see who sticks.  That is a waste of everyone’s time.  If we can just be willing to be honest with ourselves and with the candidates we are interviewing, that could solve a lot of the problems.  Not everyone who walks through the door looking for work is right for the job.

One of the best things that happened to me was when I was interviewing for a job many years ago.  The HR lady gave me a reality check.  I was desperate for a paycheck, and was willing to do whatever I had to in order to survive.  She looked at my resume and noted that every one of my jobs had entailed outside sales.  She said, “Dan, you would go crazy sitting behind a desk all day.  That is not you.”  She was right.  When she put it that way, it made perfect sense to me.  I was so focused on getting a paycheck that I had put my common sense aside.  How ridiculous was that?  I was going to do something that would have just made me crazy, and would probably not have lasted a week.

So, next time you interview someone, ask the right questions and then listen.  It is better to be honest with someone up front than to endure having a trouble maker and having to fire them. If you are the one being interviewed, you might want to think through your own answers to the questions up front. There is a good chance that some if not all of these will be asked of you.

Shalom!

Dan Skognes

What do Oprah, Donald Trump, Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Sam Walton, and Carlos Slim all have in common?  They are all uncommon people.

• They all think outside the box.  They are not constrained by budgets or time because their vision supersedes that. They have a vision, and it is big.
• They have harnessed the power of relationships.  They know that relationship building is critical to success, and they make having healthy relationships with the right people their job.  Some super wealthy people never went to college, and some did.  Regardless of whether they did or didn’t, they understand the value of building relationships.  THAT was their education. The ones that did not go to college were mentored and taught how to build bridges to people and how to sustain them.  The ones that did go to college didn’t go to get their degree so they could get a job.  They went to college to learn, of course, but more importantly, they went to find their passion, or expand their passion, and to build relationships that would fulfill their passion. Look at the number of Presidents and industry leaders that have gone to Harvard and Yale, for instance.  You think that is a coincidence? I don’t think so.  It is pretty obvious.
• They understand that you have to have more than just a vision of what you want.  If that is all you have, you are just a dreamer.  The world is filled with dreamers.  Just look at the millions of people that line up for the Lotto, hoping and dreaming of winning.  My father-in-law spent a fortune on Lotto tickets.  We found a barrel full of tickets in his home after he passed away.  He literally spent a fortune on Lotto tickets…hoping for his big payday to come in.  What a waste.  The super wealthy know that along with vision, you have to have the commitment to work and an unwavering desire to achieve it. Otherwise, you might as well get in line at the 7-11 for your ticket. Success is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration.
• They are optimists and opportunists.  They are positive, can-do people that find a way over, around, and through the obstacles that they face.  They don’t whine.  They don’t have poor me parties.  They don’t make excuses.  They take responsibility for their dreams and stay focused.  They shake off disappointments and defeats, knowing they are one step closer to their goal. They find a way to make things happen when most people would have thrown in the towel. They don’t go looking for opportunities.  We will have thousands of opportunities that will come to us in our life. Most of them are not worth our time.  The key is recognizing the RIGHT opportunities and latching onto them like a bulldog on a bone. That is an art that the super wealthy are very good at.  They all have the gift of discernment when it comes to financial issues, then they act upon it and commit to it.
• The super wealthy people of this world have super wealthy friends.  The poor people of this world have poor friends.  You are a reflection of who you hang with.  Want to change your circumstances?  You might have to change your circle of friends.  Seek to be with people that you aspire to be like.
• They have all learned to manage their money, instead of their money managing them.  They all have debt, but their debt is controlled and does not control them.  As long as debt is your master, you will never master your dreams.
• Being wealthy is not just a matter of accumulating money.  It is having a wealth of knowledge, a wealth of experience,  a wealth of understanding, and a wealth of desire and drive. With that, the money comes.

There are three basic types of people that you can put everyone on the planet into:

• The doers. These are the movers and shakers.  They are decision makers, leaders, influencers.  They are the ones that make things happen.  They cast the vision and command the ship.
• The wanna-be doers. These people have the desire to be a doer, but lack the skills or the self-confidence to be a doer.  Often times they have the ability, they just don’t know it yet.  That is where a doer can help them by mentoring them and elevate their thinking.
• The watchers. Unfortunately, a large portion of our population falls into this category.  These are the ones looking for the hand out.   They are lazy, apathetic, and are takers by nature.  They expect the doers to take care of them and have a twisted desire to have things that they did not earn and are unwilling to work for.

So, are you ready to Think And Grow Rich, as Napoleon Hill wrote? Are you ready to be a doer?  The real question is, are you willing to change your thinking and then actually do what it takes to succeed?  It begins with your mind, and then you simply have to go to work.  I have to remember that “If it’s going to be, it’s up to me.”

Shalom!

Dan Skognes

I am not talking about pride or arrogance.  I am talking about how you see yourself and as a result, how others see you.  Do you approach customers with a beggar’s mentality that you are desperate for a sale?  Do you bend over backwards, sideways, and upside down to make the client happy while sacrificing your own dignity?

Now wait a minute.  I can hear you thinking, Dan does not know my situation.  If he were in the financial chaos that I am in, he would be begging too.  Well, for those of you who think that, you would be wrong.

How you see yourself is how others are going to see you. It is so easy in this world to beat yourself up and think that the only way out is to get on your knees and beg for business.  I am suggesting that you break that mirror.  Get rid of that image and start seeing yourself winning. See yourself getting the deal, making the customer happy, but retaining your dignity and self-respect.

A Baron (or Baroness) does not beg.  Why?  They know who they are.  They set the expectation for how people will be allowed to treat them.

What do you do when a customer stands you up for a confirmed appointment?  Do you get mad?  Stew about it?  Get depressed?  What does that accomplish?  Nothing good.

Let me suggest that when that happens, leave a note and a phone message if possible letting them know that you were there on time for your confirmed appointment, and to please call to reschedule.  If the client is a decent person and this was an honest mistake, they will call you and you still have an opportunity for a sale.  If they don’t call you back, you did not have a sale to begin with.  Move on.  Let it go.  Brush the dust off your shoes and say, “Next.”

I realize that is hard to do. I am the type of person that would never stand somebody up intentionally, and if I ever did, I would be apologizing over and over, because I know firsthand how that feels.

I had one lady that I had a confirmed appointment with that actually stood me up twice!  I drove over an hour each way to meet with her each time.  That one really frosted me because I confirmed both appointments the day before, and she had my name and number to reschedule if necessary.  So, I am telling you that because even if you do everything right you are going to run into knuckleheads out there.

Don’t let them steal your joy.  Shake it off, bless them instead of cursing them, and move on to your next client.  After all, you never know what is going on in their life.  They might just be dealing with a tragedy that they are struggling with and can’t talk about.   We all have our issues. Right?

Even if they don’t deserve it, bless them.  I guarantee you that they will not expect a blessing from you when they have behaved so rudely.  Try dropping them a note to let them know you were praying for them.  Don’t be sarcastic about it, be sincere. That will shake them up.  LOL.

The only word of caution with someone like that is if you are going to try to meet with them again after they stood you up the first time, they should come to you on your terms at your convenience.  That way if things go south again you did not drive across town and waste your time and gas.

So which are you, a Baron or a Beggar?  Everyone wants to be the Baron, but it is up to you to change that perception.  Here is to you, your Highness.

Shalom!

Dan Skognes

When I say the word Beamers, what comes to mind, BMWs?  Right?  Well, I am not talking about cars, as much as I love them.  What I am talking about is us.

We are all beamers.  We have beams that we have to remove from our eyes.  Picture this, everyone, including you, is walking around with a big beam in his eye.  That is a pretty funny visual, right?  Well, it would be funny if it were not painfully true.

All of us have experienced the pain of having something get in our eye.  My wife has incredible eyes, but sometimes she wakes up and can hardly open them.  They are red and irritated, and she can’t even look towards the light at times.  Imagine sticking a beam into her eye.  That would be pretty painful, wouldn’t it?

Well, we all have issues.  We may not want to admit it, and most of us are oblivious to it, but we all have beams in our eyes.  They are painful too.  They hurt our relationships and keep us from having a servant’s heart.  Beams are the result of pride.  They are there because we think we are somehow better than someone else.  It could be because of color, because we live in a better neighborhood, have a better job with a fancy title, or, God forbid, we drive a Beamer.  LOL.

How do we “fix” this problem, since we all struggle with it?

• Look at people through God’s eyes.  After all, He loved YOU in spite of yourself.
• Admit you have beams in your eye and remove them.  If you refuse to admit it, you will just plain look ridiculous walking around with beams sticking out of your head. By the way, everyone else can see them.
• Judge the sin, not the sinner.  I do believe we have to call sin for what it is, but we have to extend grace regardless.  We are all one step away from being homeless, drunkards, drug addicts, or criminals (take you pick). It is only by the grace of God that WE have not crossed that line, so for those that have, they need to be restored, not condemned.  They need to be loved, not rejected.  They need to know that they did not commit the unpardonable sin. They need truth and grace.

Next time you are driving down the highway and see a Beamer, remember this: you ARE one.  I am too.  I am NOT judging you.  LOL.  Here is to getting the beams out and extending to others what we all desperately need:   truth, grace, mercy, restoration, faith, hope, and love. The Beatles had it right with the lyrics….All You Need Is Love.  That one word pretty much wraps up everything else.

Shalom!

Dan Skognes

Are you one of those people who always has to be right?  Do you always have to have the last word in an argument? Can I tell you a secret?  You are the only one who is being fooled.  People that are always right are like folks that have to brag all the time about what they have done.  They are building themselves up in their own eyes.  They are trying to convince everyone that they are the ones who are right and everyone else is wrong.

It is really kind of twisted when you think about it. Why would someone put being right over having relationship?  Well, in a word, it is insecurity.  Someone who has true self-confidence does not have to be right all the time.  They recognize that it is better to admit it when you are wrong for the sake of relationship.

Basic truths:

• Relationships are more important than being right.  Even if you are right, find a way to maintain your relationship.  Forcing your “right” down someone’s throat will hurt your relationship, and possibly kill it.
• Admitting you are wrong is a sign of maturity.  Grow up and be transparent.  Relationships can’t endure in a self-righteous atmosphere.
• If you are right about something, learn to speak the truth in love.  There are a myriad of ways to say the same thing.  Some of them are humble, kind, and yet to the point.  Some of them are proud, cruel, and cut to the bone.  Think about “how” you say something is just as important as “what” you say.
• If you remember nothing else, remember this, “Being right all the time is simply wrong.”  It is wrong on so many levels.  You are lying to yourself, you are offending others, and you are missing the blessing of having healthy relationships.

So, how are you doing on the “I am always right” meter?  I hope that if this is you, that you wake up, grow up, and make up if you have to.  Relationships are important to everyone on this planet.  I am not right about everything….but I am pretty sure I am right about this one.

Shalom!

Dan Skognes

This is Latin for “Seize the Day.”  Or in today’s English, “Seize Today.”  These two words are going to rock your world if you understand them and embrace them.

Two Primary Principles:

• You can’t seize today if you are looking into the past, holding onto regrets or even past glories.  Let them go. It is ok to remember the past and learn from it, just don’t live there.
• You can’t seize today if you are worried about tomorrow.  You certainly want and need goals, but don’t worry about the “What ifs” that might or might not happen to keep you from attaining your goals. Stay focused on today.  In the end, that is all you are guaranteed anyway.

So that is great advice, right?  We all KNOW that we need to seize today, but HOW do we do it?  Very simple.  There are two things you must do:

• Change the way you think.  Concentrate on the glass half full, not the glass half empty. Be thankful for what you have.  Set and focus on what you have to accomplish to meet your goals, and refuse to get sidetracked with pity parties, negative talk, or time wasting activities.  Think out of the box.  Think bigger than yourself.
• Change what you do.  If you ever expect to change your circumstances, once you have changed the way you think, employ the rule of massive energy.  It takes an enormous amount of energy to get a jet off the ground, but once airborne, they can literally put it on auto-pilot. Be willing to put massive energy into what you want to do.  If you are making 50 calls a day, do 100.  If you are knocking on 20 doors a day, do 40.  If you are setting 5 appointments a week, do 10, 15 or more.  If you are working out for 30 minutes a day, workout for an hour.  Throw what you have been doing out the window.  It is not getting you where you want to be more than likely (unless you have already changed the way you think and applied the rule of massive energy).

You may be looking at me side-ways right now thinking I must be smoking some wacky- tobaccy.  But think about this analogy.  See yourself in a beat-up car that is struggling to get uphill.  You are out of fuel and have the car stuck in neutral.  That is not a pretty picture, is it? What happens to a car going uphill that is in neutral?  It actually starts going backwards!  That could apply to your finances, your relationships, your faith, or whatever you have in your life that is important to you.

Now what if you apply Carpe Diem?  What if you change what you think, and change what you do?  What if you put fuel in your vehicle that propels you OVER the mountain and you coast from that point forward.  What would THAT look like to your finances, your relationships, your faith, etc?

It takes 21 days to create a habit.  I am throwing out a challenge to you.  I don’t care what goal you want to pick.  It could be to lose 10 lbs, to exercise every day, to make X amount of calls a day, to close X amount of deals a week.  Whatever you choose, make today day 1 of Carpe Diem.  Set the goal higher than you think you can normally do.  Why?  You have to stretch beyond your expectations, then be willing to apply the rule of massive energy.  Do THAT for 21 days, and you WILL see results.  You will see improvement in every area of your life simply because you are starting to put to work the gifts you have already been given.  You do have what it takes, you just have to use it.

I can show you how to light the fire, but it is up to you to light it. Seize today.

Shalom!

Dan Skognes

Kids seem to learn at a very early age how to bully others.  I am not sure what it is in our nature that wants to dominate someone, but obviously, it is more prevalent in some folks than in others.

When you look past the false bravado, there is a wounded soul.  There is someone who has become warped into thinking that bullying someone is going to get them their way, and that their deviant behavior is acceptable.

We see bullying even evolve with adults who bully their spouse, their children, and their employees.  How can adult hold on to such childish behavior? Good question, and not a simple answer, but I think it boils down to this, wounded people wound people.

This is in no way justifying what someone is doing, but it is simply understanding what you are dealing with when you are confronted with a bully.

The only thing that seems to get through to a bully is to stand up to them.  You have to let them know they crossed the line, and that may not be an easy thing to do if they are volcanoes waiting to spew all over you.  Who needs or wants that?   But what are the alternatives?  If you allow a bully to continue, someone is going to get hurt…if not physically, at least emotionally.

We all read the articles about kids who have been bullied at school and were so desperate and hopeless they took their own lives.  The same things have happened even to adults who just could not take it anymore from a spouse or boss.

Sometimes it is cyber-bullying.  I can’t believe what some folks post on Facebook and Twitter.  That is NOT the place to be trashing someone….but it happens every day (not that you should be trashing people anyway).

I guess what made me think about this was a kid that bullied me in school.  I was not big enough to stop him.  My older brother intervened and he never bothered me again.  Can we agree to just speak up next time we see bullying happen?  Whether it is with someone we know or a stranger, speak up.  The bullying won’t stop until they are confronted.  Let’s do our part to tame them. No child or adult should have to live in fear. You just may save a life.

Shalom!

Dan Skognes

It is OK to own a weathervane.  They are actually useful in letting you know which way the wind is blowing, and they look pretty cool.  Just don’t BE one.  You probably know at least one person who is like this:

• They are always calling you with the latest get rich quick scheme. Forget about the last 50 that did not work out.  THIS one is the one.  You have to give them points for being optimistic at least.
• They never seem to focus on any core business. Because they lack focus, they can’t say “No” to new opportunities.
• They are super excited about what they are doing. Here again they get points for making this sound like the greatest thing since sliced bread. If only I had not seen this  50 times before.
• They never stay with anything long enough to get traction.  Why?  They just bought in to the next greatest thing.
• They have a problem keeping relationships intact.  They never seem to be satisfied.

This has become an epidemic in this country.  I call it “The Quitter Mentality.”

• Kids seem to be born with it.  They have to be taught to stick with something long enough to make it work.  They have to learn that losing is part of life. Nobody wins all the time at anything.  Seek to win, but learn how to lose without losing hope.
• People in business have it.  If their job is not successful their first week, they are out of there.  If they didn’t make a sale this week, they are out of there.  If they did not get the raise or promotion they expected, they are out of there. The average tenure on a job these days is only 18 months.  Pretty sad statistic.
• People in families have it.  If their relationship is not working out, they quit and move on.  I realize this is a very touchy subject and probably hitting a nerve with just about everyone.  The divorce rate is over 50% for first time marriages, and even higher for second and third marriages.

What is the lesson that jumps off the page?  The grass is not greener on the other side of the fence.  The grass is greener where you water it. Whether you are in a relationship or a business, let the roots grow.  That takes time.  It takes work, and it takes focus. It takes the C word….commitment.

Don’t we have enough divorce in this country?  Don’t we have enough people out of work?  Don’t we all have enough stress as it is without heaping more onto the plate?  Learn that it is OK to say “No.”  Focus on what you have.  Bloom where you are planted. We all could use some stability in our culture, don’t you think?

Shalom!

Dan Skognes