TECH LINK UP

Much of my working time is spent on jet airplanes flying all over the world. An airplane, as you probably know, is an excellent thought-generator—particularly on long flights.
During these long fights I often analyze my life, my work, and my family. I also analyze the lives and work of my friends and business associates. The many hours I’ve spent bouncing along the world’s airways have taught me that analysis of one’s life and work is an excellent way to improve your ability to cope with life and its many problems.
Equally important is another truth the analysis-in-the-sky sessions have taught me. This truth is: Every time my business associates or I have a planned goal in life, we achieve It. Our greatest financial successes come when we plan for them. This secret truth can be worth millions of dollars to you. Let’s see why.

Another part of that distortion is necessarily a product of our biases about leadership. Our point of view is that some leaders want to be leaders and see themselves as leaders. Others rise to the occasion. In either case they see what has to be done and they do it. They provide stability and support while defining goals and providing reassurance. Sometimes they become leaders when they become angry about something, catch fire, and start to lead. The leader’s mistakes outshine others’ modest successes. Leaders state needs, formulate goals, and institute realistic methods for reaching them. They inspire and help others develop competences they need to serve the organization effectively. Managers become leaders when they learn to take a stand, to take risks, to anticipate, initiate, and innovate.
Leaders have a personal strategy, often vague, but nevertheless a blueprint that guides their careers. Leaders understand that big plans start small. Priorities and timing are of the essence. Step by step they build their integrated structure beneath them, not a single Maginot line but each step a platform for building more. They know what they do best and like best, and how to make those preferences and abilities valuable to others. They have a sense of what they want and a realistic, if not always conscious, understanding of how to get it. The leader is goal-obsessed. The goal may not be altogether clear, but the leader is always thinking about what should be done and how it can be accomplished, both in terms of life goals and organizational attainment. Their mental pictures of themselves as they would like to be in the future have an idealistic and idealized quality; therefore we speak of them as ego ideals. There is an intense striving for personal purpose which is translated into striving for organizational purpose, as differentiated from objectives and definable goals. And they become the leaders of others when they create the conditions for identification with themselves and thereby with the organization. By so doing they become the psychological glue that binds their followers together on behalf of the organization. The personal strategies of leaders, in the service of their ego ideals, breathe new life Into their organizations and attract others to their efforts, to sharing their vision and their sense of purpose.
Leaders work at getting support—from above, below, and way off on the peripheries. Early in their careers, they sense who likes them, trusts them, and appreciates them, and they find ways for these people to support their efforts. Leaders understand that without supporters, they simply won’t have the power to pursue their ideals. But they also understand that no supporter has to be behind all the leader’s goals, or even to fully understand what the leader is after. Generally, leaders are especially alert to people who respond positively to them—and they are astute at assessing how these people can give them leverage to get things done. Leaders get support because they give support. They seek people out, listen to their concerns, and help them understand and resolve the problems they confront. Leaders understand that disappointment and defeat are inevitable in everyone’s experience, and they help people anticipate and cope with them. Leaders also help others become more competent by sharing their skills, expertise, and political sophistication. They put their energy behind other people’s projects and find ways for others to share in their own success.
Leaders also build support by holding themselves up as models whom others want to emulate. They teach others how to persevere in the face of defeat, how to develop their abilities, and how to pursue goals that are worthy. Though leaders may demand more of their subordinates than other bosses do, their followers willingly give their best because they know they are doing more, learning more, and growing more than they thought possible. Leaders ultimately hold on to their followers because they impart great excitement and enthusiasm about their own work and devotion to the organization, and in that way spark their supporters’ creative energies.
Leaders are able to use their power base and implement their strategies because they are thinkers as well as doers. When a program, product, or strategy isn’t working, they don’t throw up their hands—they figure out what has to be done, confident that their efforts can make the future better than the present. Leaders enjoy conceptualizing, projecting, fantasizing. Where others dread afiibiguity, leaders welcome it, seeing opportunities to shape new directions. True leaders are not afraid to take over a failing unit or company, embark on a risky long- term venture, or face a sea of conflicting pressures: they welcome the challenge. And they know full well that safe ventures quickly go stale and never lead to significant success.
Because leaders are always figuring out how they can try new methods, take on more responsibilities, develop their people, and serve their organizations in new ways, they are never bored. They immerse themselves in their work because they love the process, and they seek the gratifications of mastery, usefulness, and creativity. Ultimately leaders are captivated by what their work means. They appreciate the larger social context of their work, and they shape their work to the significant social contribution they hope to make.
It is true that many people demand such perfection of leaders that no one could possibly measure up. Indeed, some demand that of themselves. But leaders cannot be leaders if they are driven by intense internal demand that denies them patience, timing, and flexibility. No leader can lay a major problem to rest in a matter of months, or sometimes, even years. Though necessarily heroic models, leaders cannot expect of themselves the wisdom to right the ills of the world. Wise leaders are those who are willing to propose, attempt, and initiate. They are leaders because they are ready to act when others are still confused, afraid, and indecisive. Leaders test their powers and expand their horizons, generating a life of creative activity that is, in itself, a gratification. Richard Nixon admired de Gaulle’s view of a leader as one who aims high, shows that he has vision, acts on the grand scale, and so establishes his authority over the generality of men who splash in shallower waters.’ 2 We agree.
Despite our experience and our biases, we learned much that surprised us (which we discuss fully in chapter 8). For example, we did not anticipate the degree of self-doubt several of our leaders verbalized, nor the effectiveness with which they mastered it. Although Levinson wrote a book, Executive, ‘‘ urging executives to be teachers, we did not anticipate the huge amount of time leaders at this level spent developing other people and ensuring succession. Nor did we appreciate the significance of the huge amount of money these leaders risked in research and capital expenditures as investments in an ambiguous future. Although the popular literature has it that the best place for innovation is in garages—in “the skunkworks”—the reality is that massive sums are required for systematic research. These sums were risked in three cases by leaders who were not themselves technically trained, and who overruled their own engineers and scientists to commit their companies to distant technical horizons. Despite much of the managerial literature advocating that management hang loose, all of the leaders were directive and demanding. Although they made a point of almost never giving orders, they got what they wanted because they didn’t tolerate for long not getting it. We were surprised by how willingly five of the six men handed over the reins to their successors, though each could have maneuvered to hold on longer. Finally, we were surprised that these leaders themselves were so willing to talk to us, and so easy to talk to. We were also struck by their modesty.
These, then, are our synopses of the experiences of six leaders, all of whom headed major corporations at the time of the interviews, one of whom still does. We think that what we have written accurately describes these men as they practiced their leadership and provides a reasonable basis for understanding their impact on their organizations. The reader can now test that understanding and share our surprises.

Without an income goal of a certain number of dollars per year or a specific sum by a given date, most people have trouble directing their moneymaking efforts. They wander from one idea to the next, earning little or nothing from each idea.
This lack of a specific income goal has, I believe, caused me the loss of nearly half a million dollars in my lifetime. Why? Because for about fifteen years I had only four goals in life. These were (a) to earn more money, (b) to hold a top executive job, (c) to write successful books and articles, and (d) to run several profitable spare time home businesses.
For about five years these goals worked well for me. My income and responsibilities increased, as did the number of books carrying my name as author. Then my income leveled off—for about six years it didn’t vary by more than $1,000 per year.
It was during one of my “sky-analysis” sessions that I suddenly realized that I was in a rut. True, it was a fur-lined rut that 99.5 per cent of the people in the world would love to be in for the rest of their lives.
But I wasn’t making progress. Why? I had goals; I worked hard; I lived a wonderful life; I was happy, but unhappy. Why was I unhappy? I wanted to earn more money. And why didn’t I earn more; why had I topped out at a high level? Because I lacked specific income goals.

I made a very common error. I mistook a general desire to earn more money for an income goal. A general longing to earn more money is an excellent motivator. But to convert this longing to dollars you must have a specific income goal.
What’s a specific income goal? It’s a goal that
(a) Specifies the exact dollar income you seek
(b) States the date by which you’11 earn this amount
(c) Tells how youll earn the desired income
Thus your goal tells you the what (amount), the when (date), and the how (method) of your home fortune hunt.

Here’s a handy form on which you can record your home-business income goal now. Decide how much you’d like to earn. Be realistic
— you might want to earn one to two million dollars per year at home, but this is almost impossible, unless you turn your home into a factory. You can, however, easily earn $100,000 to $500,000 per year at home without turning your living room into a warehouse. So, during the course of four or more years, you can earn one to two million dollars in the privacy of your own home. But if you want to earn, let’s say, two million per year, you’ll have to rent, buy, or build a factory or office/warehouse and work away from home.
Enter your income goal in the form below before reading further. Just the act of writing down a realistic income goal puts you one step closer to that flood of wonderful money you can earn in your own home.
My Home-Business Income Coals
By I want to earn $ per year.
(date)
By Iwillbeginmy
(date) (type)
business in my own home.

Money has many important characteristics. Probably the most important one to you in your search for home riches is that money will never seek you out. You must seek out money.
Sitting and dreaming about what you’d do if you had a million dollars is a good way to prepare yourself for the home riches you seek. But these riches won’t come to you until you take action— until you action your search for riches. Dreams, plans, schemes, and hopes mean little until you go out and do something about them. But once you begin your search for home wealth using the ideas In this book you’ll find that big money is easier to earn than you ever thought possible.

Look around your neighborhood today. Note who has the largest income. In most neighborhoods you’ll find that people in business for themselves have the largest incomes. True, a few corporation executives earn as much, and possibly more, than certain people in business for themselves. But, in general, the successful man in business for himself earns more than the man working for someone else.
In my visits to all kinds of home-operated businesses—electronics, metalworking, boatbuilding, printing, publishing, and many others
—I see many highly successful people in business for themselves. They are prosperous, happy people who enjoy earning large incomes. Their home business activities are a constant challenge which keeps these men and women active, alert, interested, and busy. It almost seems that their way of relaxing is to work harder in their own business. As one businessman notes, “My home business is my hobby; my hobby is my home business. I’m the happiest guy in the world—and someday I may be nearly the richest.”
Successful home businessmen usually have the best cars, nicest homes, longest vacations, and other evidences of a larger-than- average income. When you build your riches at home you can obtain similar possessions, if you want them, or you can spend your money in other ways. Perhaps you’d like to own a fast, fully equipped private jet airplane, or a healthy young racehorse, or an expensive antique car. All these can be yours if you have the money to buy them.
For example, William J. Casey, a successful lawyer, is also author of some thirty excellent books on legal practices, taxation, real estate, and other business subjects. These fine and useful books are said to have paid him more than two million dollars in royalties. Because he has such a good income, Mr. Casey is able to own a 100- year old, Gothic-Victorian mansion, which is one of his main hobbies. He enjoys every moment he spends in his beautiful home.
Actionize your search for riches now by deciding that you, too, will build riches in a home business of your own. You’ll be your own boss, free of worry over layoffs, firings, and the political intrigues of the usual job in a large or small corporation. What’s more, if you have a physical handicap of any kind, or if you’re over 65 years old, you can “hide” behind a home business having a well-chosen name and a good reputation. Nothing will stop you in your search for wealth at home, if you put your plans into action. Let’s see how you can start.

In any home business you have two kinds of expenses—( 1) fxed expenses which are also called overhead expenses, and (2) variable expenses, also called volume or out-of-pocket (oop) expenses.
The beauty of any home business is its low fixed costs like rent, depreciation, manager’s salaries, etc. Why? Because the lower your fixed costs, the sooner iou break even. In any business you reach break even when your sales income equals your fixed plus variable costs. Let’s see how this works.
Suppose you have a home business in which you sell one product—a large cut-glass bowl. You sell this glass bowl at $10, after paying in variable costs (cost of bowl, shipping cost to customer, etc.) on each bowl. Your fixed costs (rent, depreciation, etc.) are $300 per year. What is your break-even point?
On each bowl you sell you have a contribution of $10 — $7 = $3. When you’ve sold just enough bowls so that the sum of the contributions from each sale equals your fixed expenses, you will break even. Or, fixed expenses / contribution per sale = break even. For this business, break even = $300/$3 = 100 bowls. Once you reach break even, the contribution per sale = profit per sale = $3 per sale in this business. And your profit percentage, after you reach break even = contribution $/ sales $ = $3! $10 = 0.30, or 30 per cent.
Now what is your potential home profit in this business? We know that you’ll earn a profit of $3 on each bowl you sell, after you reach break even. But how many bowls will you sell per year? If you sell 100 bowls your profit will be zero because you will just break even. Let’s say, however, that you think you can sell 500 bowls a year. What will your profit be? Find the difference between your expected sale and the break-even quantity and multiply this by the profit per sale, or (500 — 100) ($3) = $1,200. Thus, you’d have a profit of $1,200 per year, or $100 per month, from your ivime business.

I’ve helped several hundred people get started in their own home business. Not one of these people failed. Several went on to earn more money each year from one home business than I earn from all my many activities. As I tell these more successful ex-students when I meet them “I’ll be over to negotiate a loan!”
What is the outstanding characteristic of these highly successful home business operators? It is this:
The big successes in a home business are achieved by those people who know the cost of doing business at home.
Is the cost of doing business at home high? Most people don’t think it is. Let’s see if you do.
To start your own home business you’ll generally need these
Items:
Business registration $ 25
Letterheads and envelopes 100
Pencils, paper clips, stapler 8
Cardboard file 4
Total $137
Thus, you need only a small sum — $150 or less — to start your home business. The registration fee, shown here as $25, could be higher or lower, depending on where you live. It seldom exceeds $25 and can be as low as $1. You can easily start your home business on money you save from your regular salary.
In some businesses you must, of course, invest in some inventory—i.e. in items you will offer for sale. To keep your starting cash as low as possible, I recommend:
(1) Obtain orders before you invest in inventory.
(2) Use borrowed money for inventory purchases.

I learned a long time ago that selling is the highest paid hard work—and the lowest paid easy work—that I could find. And I also found out another exciting thing about selling—the choice was mine, all mine. By myself, I could make it the highest paid hard work, or I could let it be the lowest paid easy work.
I discovered that what I’d achieve in my selling career was entirely up to me, and that what anyone else wanted wasn’t going to make much difference. What anyone else would or wouldn’t give me wasn’t going to make much difference, either. The only thing that really mattered was what I did for myself, and what I gave to myself.
Will you agree with me on that? I hope so, because the whole point
is that the skills, knowledge, and drive within you are what will make you great, and that these qualities can be expanded and intensified—if you’re willing to invest time and effort and money in yourself. Is there any better investment than in yourself? Most of us know there isn’t, but many of us don’t act often enough, or decisively enough, on that belief.
You are your greatest asset. Put your time, effort, and money into training, grooming, and encouraging your greatest asset. Let’s talk about some of the advantages of selling.
The first advantage and the reason I love selling is its freedom of expression. Ours is one of the few professions left in which you can be yourself and can, in essence, do what you want to do. This freedom you’ve won for yourself by successfully competing where resourcefulness and perseverance are demanded and highly valued. No activity is more vital to the economy’s health than selling; no activity is more dependent on individual initiative than selling.
The second advantage of selling is that you have the freedom to become as successful as you’d like to be. In our profession no one limits your income but you. There are no income ceilings. You may question that statement. You may think the limit is the highest income anyone has yet made selling for your company. Does that mean it’s not possible to earn more? Of course not. But it does mean that all the salespeople in your company who aren’t earning the highest income aren’t applying all the strategies and techniques of the Champion.
The third advantage of selling is that it’s a daily challenge. You can go into almost any business and have no challenge. That’s never the case in selling, where every day you’re confronted with new challenges. Let that fact refresh you, not weary you. Glory in it. Our over regulated and highly organized society provides few lucrative work activities where the end of each day isn’t known before that day dawns. You are privileged to be involved in one of those precious few activities where freedom and challenge aren’t rarities, they’re constant companions. In sales, you never know- what opportunities the day will open up, what prizes will be offered that you can win—what catastrophes may befall you. To the salesperson, every day is an adventure. Working at this profession, we can go from the heights of exhilaration to the depths of discouragement within forty-eight hours— and climb back to the heights again the next day. Isn’t that exciting?
Say yes.
Every morning, tell yourself that challenge is exciting, it’s fun, and you look forward to it. Tell yourself that—and mean it. Psyche yourself up to enjoy challenge. Then go on the prowl for it, find it, and overcome it. If you want to be better than average, do that. If you aspire to greatness, you won’t hesitate. The shortest route to high earnings goes straight through the challenges you’ll encounter.
The fourth advantage of selling is that it offers high potential returns from a low capital investment. What does it cost to gain entry into this profession that has no income ceiling? Compare whatever you think that cost is to the investment required for one of the fast food franchises that have been so successful, Typically, the owner of a new location invests $200,000 or more, works long hours, and pays himself a small salary. He does all this in the hope of a $40,000 return on invested capital the second year. You can launch yourself into a sales career for a tiny fraction of the franchiser’s investment and, by applying the systems in this book, have greater earning power sooner. This enormous leverage on the small investment that getting into selling requires has always fascinated me. What an exciting prospect!
The fifth advantage of selling is that it’s fun. Do you know how many people aren’t having fun with what they’re doing for income? My philosophy is that if it’s not fun, it’s not worth doing. Life was meant to be fun, and there’s no reason not to have some of it while you’re earning a nice income for your family.
The sixth advantage of the selling profession is that it’s satisfying. You feel good when your client walks out with your product. It’s a thrill to know you’ve helped people when you go home at night and can say, “1 got another family happily involved in what my company provides.” When an executive or official signs your purchase order, it’s exciting and satisfying to know you’ve helped that organization carry out its purposes. The people you serve benefit in direct proportion to your ability and skills. The better you are at sales, the more you benefit others—your clients, your family, and the nation’s economy.
No one limits your growth but you. If you want to earn more, learn more. That means you’ll work harder for awhile; that means you’ll work longer for awhile. But you’ll be paid for your extra effort with enhanced earnings down the road.
Most people in this world have jobs and professions—existences-—that can’t fulfill their potential. The scope of their labor is confined to narrow limits; their toil hinders rather than fosters their growth; they dislike everything about their employment except the sense of security its familiarity has bred in them. So, instead of venturing into what they don’t know and might love, they allow themselves to be trapped by what they do know and don’t
like.
The professional salesperson recognizes no limits to his or her growth except those limits that are self imposed. They know that they can always reach out for more. They know they will grow in direct proportion to their competence. And they have little fear of the unknown in change because overcoming the unknown is their daily work. That’s the seventh advantage of being a professional salesperson: it stimulates your personal growth.
To earn more, develop more competence. Study this book’s sales skills. Study your product or service. Study your customers and your territory. Practice your growing skills at every opportunity. Do what you know you should do. Follow that program and you can’t fail to push your earnings to a much higher level.
That’s my purpose in life—to help you make more money. Please don’t let me down—develop more competence, earn more money, get your share of life’s good things. Developing competence is the only way. I know many salespeople making over a hundred thousand dollars a year, and some making over half a million dollars a year, and I’m always intrigued by the variety of their backgrounds, the diversity of their personalities, and the range of their interests. Yet they have many things in common, foremost of which is this quality: they are competent. They know exactly what they are doing. There’s an obstacle to learning how to become competent that we meet with here.