Infinite Awarded National Recognition for Sales Performance

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20131112005164/en/Infinite-Awarded-National-Recognition-Sales-Performance

November 12, 2013 06:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

DES PLAINES, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Infinite, an outsourced sales and marketing company headquartered in Illinois, announced that they have earned a prestigious sales trophy for their excellent performance on behalf of a major national telecommunications client during the third quarter of this year.

    “We are honored to be recognized for our dedication and hard work.”

Infinite was chosen to receive the campaign trophy based on their leading quality indicators and sales performance. Selected among 13 offices eligible for the award, Infinite is planning to meet the winning criteria for the final quarter of this year. Infinite was also the recipient for the fourth quarter of 2012 and the first quarter of 2013.



“Our team is happy to receive this award,” said Kaitlin Moore, Director of Human Resources at Infinite. “We are honored to be recognized for our dedication and hard work.”

Specializing in marketing and sales for leading clients in various industries, Infinite works to bring long-term customers in on behalf of the client. Infinite employs an in-person, business to business approach to sales, providing dependable growth opportunities for the client. Infinite was nominated as one of Chicago’s 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For in 2013.

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About Infinite

Infinite is a premier outsourced sales and marketing company that provides cutting-edge solutions to their clients. Representing well-known companies across North America, Infinite is committed to providing outstanding service and results to the client, effectively growing their customer base. For more information, call 224-567-8502 or go to http://www.myinfinite.net/.

Contacts

Infinite
Kaitlin Moore, 224-567-8502

Mission Leadership: 4 Principles For Creating Corporate Commandos By Denis Wilson

http://www.fastcompany.com/3003397/mission-leadership-4-principles-creating-corporate-commandos

Much of the post-Petraeus talk has centered on the crisis of leadership in the military's top echelons. But on the ground, innovation doesn't spring from "command and control," but from mission leadership, something commando-turned-consultant Damian McKinney can teach you a thing or two about.

There seems to be a misconception that the military operates strictly by way of a rigid hierarchy, as if every last move on the frontline is orchestrated from atop the chain of command and those in the thick of it wait for the orders to trickle down. Not so--especially in the post-9/11 era of uncertainty.
In fact, when Damian McKinney entered the private sector after serving 18 years in British Royal Marines, the commando-turned-consultant found the business world to be more rigid than the military and that in many cases, corporate soldiers were not empowered to carry out their missions.

Shake-ups like the financial crisis only served as a reason for leadership to tighten their grip. In the military, this top-down management system is referred to as "command and control." You might call it micromanagement.

But the nature of conflict has changed significantly since the trench warfare of World War I and II. To reflect this, McKinney says a massive cultural shift took place among NATO forces during the 1980s.

“Suddenly you’ve got this guy called a terrorist appearing. And a terrorist doesn’t operate like a conventional soldier,” says McKinney. “So you’ve got a situation where an 18- or 19-year-old is faced with this guy standing in front of him and he does not have time to go through the normal chain of command and ask for permission to do something. So we had to turn the system on its head.”

Turning the system on its head meant transitioning from command and control to mission command. With mission command, everyone is closely aligned to the mission, trained to make appropriate decisions, and given the trust and support from leadership to follow through. The mission dictates what is to be done, but the how is, to a greater extent, in the hands of those tasked with execution.

Upon entering the private sector, McKinney quickly saw an opportunity to bring mission command principles to corporate leadership. In 1999, he founded management consulting firm, McKinney Rogers, which counts among its clients Walmart, Bacardi, and HBO. And this year, he published The Commando Way: Better Business Execution. In a nutshell, McKinney thinks that commando thinking is ideally suited to meet an unstable, uncertain business world. And so as to avoid the proscriptive connotations of the term "mission command," he calls it mission leadership. Here are its fundamentals.

Mission Leadership Requires A Deal 

McKinney recalls an anecdote from 1990 when a young major was explaining to a mixed audience of generals and young Marines why adopting mission command was a good idea. A general stood up and expressed his doubts that those with less experience and a lower rank could make the critical decisions that this empowerment calls for. “One of these young Marines stood up and said, ‘With all due respect, general, you’re asking me with this new doctrine to make these big decisions. How can I trust you to support me?’”

Empowerment is a two-way street. If leadership can provide a clear mission, reports should be trusted to carry out that mission with greater independence. “Essentially, it’s a deal. You’re gonna say, “Look, guys, I need to make sure we’re really clear that you all understand why we are doing what we’re doing, what we need you to do, and the boundaries within which you have to operate. You’re going to hold yourself accountable for that. But in exchange, I have to give you the freedom.”
And McKinney has all the confidence that given the opportunity to operate with more discretion, employees will thrive. “If you do that, it never ceases to amaze me how successful people can be and how innovative and creative they can be.” He suggests taking a lesson from the military, where everyone is expected to be able to operate at one or two levels above their rank, because if someone falls in battle, there’s no time to run off to management training while the enemy waits. “It has to happen there and then. So it allows you to be thinking and operating at a very different level. And so you get high levels of performance with smaller groups of people.”

Have a Vision for Success

When McKinney resigned from the military in 1997 and decided to go into business, he fully expected to leave the military mindset behind. But on morning one as a consultant, he was listening to a project presentation and at lunch asked someone to explain the “end state” of the project. “In other words, what does success look like and why are we doing it? The senior partner looked at me and said, ‘You’ve clearly been in the military too long. There is no such thing as an end state.’” McKinney was shocked: “For me it’s just an excuse--poor planning and poor understanding of what success looks like.’”

McKinney’s takeaway was that leaders should be less concerned with controlling every aspect of a project, and more concerned with outlining a clear outcome for a mission. “There’s a very simple human need here: Tell me where we’re going, tell me what part you’d like me to play--in other words, a plan--tell me the boundaries within which you want me to operate, and then just let me go.”
McKinney continues: “The one I use always because I just think it’s the best I’ve ever come across, is Kennedy’s 1961 vision. Where he stood and he essentially said, we’re going to put a man on the moon and return him safely by the end of the decade. It was powerful because it was really simple. You could listen to it and see a man standing on the moon and I can see him coming back. It was also time-bound. So I say to all these companies, everyone needs a destination. So the starting point is what is the vision for success.”

Also, Have a Purpose

What most companies call a mission statement is actually their purpose, says McKinney, and most of them are poor. A strong purpose is something you can always come back to. It’s the reason why a company exists. “Having a purpose is really important because it defines who you are,” says McKinney. “Your visions may change over the years, but your purpose should never change.”

McKinney has worked extensively with Bill Simon, president and CEO of Walmart U.S. In his work with Walmart, the company’s purpose consistently informs their strategy. Their purpose, “Saving people money so they can live better,” actually led to the company’s game-changing $4 generic drug program. “What we did is start off by saying, ‘What effect can we have on medical health care in the U.S. that actually drives costs down? Where do people pay a lot of money? They pay on their prescriptions, particularly old people. Well, then why don’t we try to drive the price of that down?’ So we literally went from $20 to $4. A massive change. We did a whole vision and strategy over four days, we launched it a week later, we went right through the U.S. in four months, and we saved the average middle-aged patient $200 a month.”

Empowerment Leads to Innovation

The most basic tenet behind mission leadership that is once a mission is laid out to an individual or team with absolute clarity, they should be allowed to run with it. “An individual needs to know the what and the why--the mission, the boundaries within which they operate, and then frankly, you never tell somebody how to do their job. You should just let them go.”

McKinney cites Diageo, the maker of Johnnie Walker, Guinness, and Smirnoff, as one company that’s had success with mission leadership tactics. For example, as the tastes of vodka drinkers started to shift from Smirnoff to premium brands like Grey Goose, Diageo knew it needed to move into that space. At the time, Steve Wilson, was the global head of innovation with Diageo, (Wilson now serves as an advisor to the McKinney Rogers board), and he tasked his product development team to come up with a new brand.

The key to success was empowering the team to to be creative with their solution, says Wilson. “Empowerment where you actually tell people what you want them to do, but you don’t tell them how they’ve got to do it.” As a result, the company ended up with the very successful vodka brand, Ciroc, which is different from most vodkas in that it’s derived from grapes, rather than the more common grain alcohol.

Given the freedom, the team came up with the answer: “The answer was, ‘Let’s go do vodka that’s made from grapes.’ Why grapes? Quite simply, what is the most luxurious product that you can drink? It’s probably Champagne. So what about a vodka that’s made from Champagne grapes?”
Without telling the team exactly what to achieve, but sticking to the mission, Diageo ended up with a winning vodka. “You get a good mix of people,” says Wilson, “Tell them what it is you want them to do, tell them when you need it by, then you just give them the freedom. And they’ll make it happen.”

Five New Year's Resolutions Every Leader Should Make

http://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesleadershipforum/2012/12/03/five-new-years-resolutions-every-leader-should-make/

This article is by Nathan Bennett, a professor of management at the Robinson College of Business at George State University.

The time for resolutions is rapidly approaching. You should take deciding what to resolve seriously, so it’s not a bad idea to begin thinking now about what you might want to accomplish as a leader in 2013.

To help you focus your self-reflection, I conducted a strictly unscientific survey of my social network on Facebook and LinkedIn. I’ve been a professor for more than 20 years, so my networks are made up largely of former students. I’d guess the preponderance are working individuals between 27 and 47 years old who have MBAs. I suspect that makes them quite a bit like the teams you lead. I simply asked them what New Year’s Resolution they’d like to see their bosses make—and keep—during 2013. Here are their top five.

5. Resolve to be the kind of leader we want to follow.

Be consistent. We can tolerate even a poor leader if he isn’t channeling a different sort of poor leadership each day. Be real. Let us see how you as a leader effectively manage emotions and frustration at work.  Show us what excites you about the challenges ahead. Help us celebrate when we overcome a perplexing challenge. Set an example. Everyone watches you—how you dress, how you treat others, when you come to work, and when you leave. Your behavior is the best argument for how you would like us to behave.

 How To Pick And Stick To Career Goals Susan AdamsForbes Staff
Oops... Assumptions Can Make an Ass of You and Me! John BaldoniContributor

4. Resolve to help us understand how we can develop.

This helps us be better in many ways. It allows us to understand our future with the company; it gives us a way to structure our efforts to learn more about our jobs, our company, and our industry; and it shows that you have a personal interest, because you have made an effort to know our individual strengths and weaknesses.

3. Become a better listener.

We have ideas. They won’t all be great ideas, but if you listen to us you can coach us to develop our ability to better vet and sharpen the next one. Listening is one of the most considerate things one person can do for another. What better way to earn loyalty and respect than by being a genuinely interested listener?

2. Hold the micromanagement. Let’s talk trust.

Nothing is more frustrating than to be prevented from just doing the job you hired me to do. We understand that it can be uncomfortable to delegate work. We understand that in many cases it is your reputation on the line when our team fails to produce something to our standard. We get the risk to you. But when you micromanage, what you are saying is that you don’t trust me. Was I a hiring mistake? Did you get stuck with me on your team when you really wanted someone else? These are not thoughts that are going to help me become a better employee. Instead, let’s get the issues of risk and trust on the table. Let’s acknowledge what’s real and then work together to find a plan that allows me to make steps every day to earn your trust. And let’s make sure that plan gives me room to contribute and to grow.

1. Hold poor performers accountable. If they can’t improve, pay the price necessary to cut them loose.

What could be more damaging to the morale of the team than the struggle associated with carrying dead wood? We understand that you may not want to lose a position, that you may have some hope that you can magically restore someone’s motivation or suddenly implant some talent, or that politics may provide the poor performer with protection. We don’t care. Those are your problems, not ours. Our problem is that we see the ironic truth in the expression “addition by subtraction.” We would all be better with this person gone. The fact he or she remains does a lot to erode your credibility, and broadly, not just in regard to what you might consider an isolated situation.

These top five resolutions are not that surprising. They are frustrations I hear repeatedly in class and have heard for more than 20 years. So they are formidable challenges. But I don’t think they need to be destiny. Let’s make a start this year. I invite you to take some time during this last month of the year to think about the resolutions above. What would your team think if you were to announce that your goal for 2013 was to improve on one of them? How much might a real effort to improve make your life as a leader more enjoyable?

What will make your resolution work? We know that promises that are made publicly and negotiated with others involved are the most likely to be kept. You can talk with your team about the list above. There may be one item that will provoke smirks and chuckles around the table because it clearly is your Achilles heel. Or maybe your team would prefer you work on something else. Once you’ve identified your assignment, work with the team to agree on what success looks like. Make sure that process includes agreement on metrics and milestones. You all know how to manage a project. Make this a project. Your team will thank you, and I expect you will be surprised at how much easier they become to lead.

And, team members: This doesn’t have to begin with the leader. The conversation can begin with you. Make it one of your resolutions to share this article with a leader you’d like to see get better.

Effective Leadership Produces Enthusiastic Followers - By Michael Mink, For Investor's Business Daily

http://news.investors.com/management-leaders-in-success/112712-634769-lead-people-right-and-get-results.htm

The expression "you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink it" illustrates a key point: Effective leadership is proportional to inspiring willing and engaged followers. "As a leader, you'll never accomplish anything big if you try to do it alone. Your role is to unleash the power of people working together," David Novak, CEO of Yum Brands (YUM) and author of "Taking People With You," told IBD." Tips on doing just that:

• Share the outlook. Do your people know what success looks like for your business? So asks Erika Andersen, author of "Leading So People Will Follow."

Tell your people about your vision of success, she said: "What will your business or group look, feel and act like two years from now, or three? What will you be focused on and accomplishing? People want leaders who can articulate and guide them toward a compelling and inclusive future."

• Be resolute. No leader "ever accomplishes much by starting out with the 'maybe' attitude," Novak said. "Successful leaders recognize the first responsibility is to define reality and create a shared vision."

• Provide tools. Novak, whose firm oversees Pizza Hut and KFC, says leaders must back their plan by putting the right resources in place.

"This says to your team you really care about getting it done vs. giving it lip service," he said.

• Be courageous. Ineffective leaders often evade or blame others rather than taking responsibility. "When you make a mistake, do you apologize?," Andersen said. "The next time you stumble, say you're sorry and what you'll do differently going forward." This creates loyalty and followers.

• Demonstrate generosity. Do it with more than money.

Try giving others credit for a job well done, Andersen said: "Reflect on how you handle those things, and think about specific ways you can share that wealth."

• Show trust. "Don't make promises you can't keep," Andersen said. "Don't talk about one employee to others. Don't shade the truth. Remember that when you're the leader, people are watching everything you do to see if it lines up with what you say."

• Listen and act. Novak said hearing those you lead is "the most powerful way to motivate your people." Take what they tell you seriously, or they will lack commitment.

• Know your people. By getting inside the heads of those you lead, "you'll have the best chance of motivating them to help you achieve big things," Novak said. "I always ask: 'What perceptions, habits and beliefs do I need to change, build or reinforce to take people with me?'"


• Define your culture. People want to work in organizations that inspire them, Novak says. How a leader conducts himself greatly influences that.

He asked: "What sort of values are you projecting? What kind of atmosphere are you creating? Does it motivate your team to come to work every day feeling supported and appreciated?"

Novak said there's a "tangible difference in results between people working toward a goal because they're being paid to do it vs. working toward a goal because it is a rewarding experience."

• Be complete. Human beings are wired from ancient times to look for certain qualities in leaders, Andersen said: "On an almost instinctive level, we still take that decision very seriously. We need to see those time-tested qualities in a leader before we'll fully sign up."

Doing that gives people the best chance of becoming the best leader they're capable of being, she said, "the kind of leader people look to and say, 'I'm with you — let's go.'"

How Successful Companies Sustain Innovation By Faisal Hoque

http://www.fastcompany.com/3002324/how-successful-companies-sustain-innovation

Innovation is widely regarded as the single most important ingredient in today’s economy. But innovation as a destination isn’t enough.

Sustained innovation is a high-productivity state in which an organization strives to innovate in all aspects of its business, including management, divisions, operations, customers, and suppliers. It requires a seamless, structured management approach that begins with board- and CEO-level leadership and connects all the way through technology investment and implementation. Above all, sustained innovation is a journey, not a destination. The enterprise doesn’t stop innovating after attaining one goal; it’s engaged in a continual process of reinvention, invention, and discovery.
Consider the following three examples:

• The one-hit wonder: The smartphone market is red-hot, with Apple and Samsung engaged in the most fierce race for dominance via product innovation. But let’s not forget the once ubiquitous handheld of choice for most employers and business people: the BlackBerry. A mere five years ago, Research In Motion was one of the most celebrated technology companies in the world, as the BlackBerry, or “CrackBerry” as it became known, led the smartphone market. But the meteoric rise of the iPhone and Android devices has made R.I.M. and its big innovation a relic in a world of constant reinvention.

• Rising from failure: In 1919, Cornelius Vander Starr was the first Westerner to sell insurance to the Chinese, and he did so successfully until Communism drove him and American International Group back to the U.S. in 1949. AIG quickly grew it business globally, and in 1962 Starr gave management of the company's slowing U.S. holdings to Maurice R. "Hank" Greenberg, who revitalized the company by moving from personal insurance to high-margin corporate coverage and selling through independent brokers rather than agents to slash those salaries. The company went public in 1969 and continued to thrive until 2005, when AIG became the high-profile subject of fraud investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission, U.S. Justice Department, and New York State Attorney General's Office. Greenberg was booted amid an accounting scandal in February 2005 and the company was battered by a liquidity crisis when its credit ratings were downgraded below "AA" levels in September 2008. Thanks to government bailouts in 2008 and 2009, AIG has bounced back and regained its status as a vital American multinational corporate titan. AIG isn’t taking its rescue for granted. The insurer unveiled a new corporate logo as part of a major rebranding overhaul aimed at its continued growth and success.

• Ongoing success: Pfizer, the world's biggest pharmaceutical company by revenues, constantly develops blockbuster medicines and vaccines with household names like Zithromax, Lipitor, and Viagra. Founded in 1849 as a manufacturer of fine chemicals, Pfizer's discovery of Terramycin a year later launched its successful and ongoing expansion into a research-based pharmaceutical company. The drug maker has augmented its research by building its brands, pipeline, and profile through a series of major acquisitions. The company continues to lead the market with treatments for myriad maladies. Last month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Pfizer’s Bosulif, which treats a rare type of leukemia that usually affects older adults.

3 Principles for Sustained Innovation

Sustained innovation is powered by people who come together to share ideas, compare observations, and brainstorm solutions to complex problems. Enterprises with a strong focus on sustained innovation share three common principles that act as the glue binding people together in productive collaboration. They are:

1. Converged disciplines: Ideas aren’t isolated; they’re celebrated in groups that enable the entire organization to act as one entity. Of particular importance is the convergence of business and technology management to ensure that no one unit or division is missing the opportunity to capitalize on new ideas and possibilities.

2. Cross-boundary collaboration: No enterprise operates in a vacuum. Every manager, employee, and contractor potentially has a piece of the puzzle to create a new breakthrough business opportunity. Suppliers, partners, distributors, and customers are an equally valuable source of information and ideas.

3. Innovative business structure: Not every organization can empower an unstructured development culture like the Lunatic Fringe who led innovation at groundbreaking tech pioneer Texas Instruments; most require structure that compels convergence of disciplines, management, and operational units.
To bring these principles to life, enterprises operating with sustained innovation focus on three distinct, intimately related practices that require business/technology/management convergence to perform at a high level of organizational maturity.

Sustained Innovation Playbook

Designing and operating organizations capable of sustained innovation requires a playbook that demands a systemic process constructed around the following core steps:
• Listen broadly for ideas through vision, innovation, and external networks. Listen to the customer. Listen to the front lines in your organization.
• Understand who your actual and potential customers are, what they want and need, what they will need, and why those needs have not yet been met.
• Organize the innovation team to include those with a stake in the innovation, organize the innovation program, and organize the resources and investments needed to address the problem.
• Create an environment and capability for innovation by giving the team the ability to fail. Create many alternative solutions by leveraging the cascaded innovation lifecycle.
• Experiment and learn from failure. Conduct many experiments in parallel, using prototyping and other iterative, feedback-driven techniques.
• Listen again to the customer to help them imagine. Use prototypes to elicit feedback. Listen to customer acceptance/buying criteria. Listen to what could go wrong, but don’t let the devil’s advocate take control.
• Design the concepts to address customer-centric values, such as cost, intuitive use, ease of change, and sense of enhancement.
• Implement the final go/no-go decision. Consolidate or eliminate competing alternatives to a manageable number. Send concepts back for reinvention, retesting, or redesign. Implement the second stage of the innovation lifecycle: manifestation
.
Get Out of the Garage

Sure, some people work better alone. But most people are more prolific as part of a team or extended community of ideas and talents that fosters some of the world’s most important inventions. Garage inventors can’t possibly compete with myriad breakthroughs born from sustained, systemic innovation. The first single chip microprocessor publicly introduced by Intel in 1971, the first car safety air bags offered in the 1973 model Chevrolet, and the depression game changer drug Prozac in 1988, are all considered great innovations developed and perfected by teams, not individuals. Even Oppenheimer needed the Manhattan Project team to create the atomic bomb. The true test of sustained innovation isn’t the invention itself, but the ultimate and ongoing benefit produced by the innovation for the business.

Discipline and innovation are not opposites, but complements. Establishing an innovation culture consumes a great deal of organizational energy in overcoming the forces of inertia and entropy. But once an idea has been successfully commercialized, respected champions emerge to drive new sources of the energy, creativity, discipline, and resources that sustain and grow an enduring culture of innovation. Successful organizations manage innovation from concept to commercialization so that good ideas not only get created, but also continually find their way into the products and services portfolio.

--Faisal Hoque is founder, chairman, and CEO at BTM Corporation and founder of research think tank BTM Institute. His newest book is The Power of Convergence. Follow him on Twitter @faisal_hoque.

Inside the Successful Leader's Mindset

As a business leader, you are mired in the everyday details of your company's success. You're worried about your bottom line, your sales goals, or your next board meeting. Amid the chaos, it's easy to forget that intangibles -- like your beliefs -- play an important role in your success.

The most successful entrepreneurs share a set of core beliefs that help them persevere as they grow their businesses. These four tips will promote a positive mindset and increase your chances of success:

1. Trust that you'll adapt to new challenges. Successful entrepreneurs approach uncertainty with confidence. When faced with an unfamiliar challenge, they think of similar situations they've handled before or skills sets that might apply. "Focus on the abilities you do have and apply your general knowledge to whatever comes your way," says Matthew Della Porta, a positive psychologist and organizational consultant.

If you focus on your current skills and your ability to learn new ones, you'll be less likely to feel overwhelmed. "Trust your ability to adapt," Della Porta says.

2. Attribute your success to hard work, not luck. Successful leaders believe their achievements are due to hard work, not just lucky circumstance. "That's a result of self-efficacy," Della Porta says, meaning that people who believe they've worked hard trust their ability to master new or unfamiliar skills.

Leaders who are confident in their ability to learn are more likely to seek out and persevere through tough challenges, increasing their chances of success.

3. Believe that you are unique. Every great entrepreneur stands on the shoulders of giants, but successful leaders champion their individuality. In other words, they don't try to become "the next Steve Jobs." To be successful, learn from the people you admire but don't try to emulate them.

"You need to focus on being the first you, not the next someone else," Della Porta says. If you foster the unique strengths that you bring to the table, then you will be far more likely to stand out in a crowded industry.

4. Challenge your negative beliefs. If you want to succeed, stamp out negative beliefs that might be holding you back. "People have a tendency to self-handicap," Della Porta says. For example, an executive who believes he won't meet his sales goals is more likely to prioritize other tasks, giving him a preemptive excuse for a poor performance. His belief becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Notice the goals or tasks that you shy away from and articulate your beliefs about them. Challenge any negative thoughts by reminding yourself that you will succeed if you apply yourself. When your beliefs are confident and positive, your actions will promote success.

Infinite Plays in Charity Kickball Game on Ford Field

While attending a leadership conference in Detroit, the executives of Infinite were able to join consultants from across the country to play in a charity kickball tournament on Ford Field.
Having fun and giving back at the same time!

Infinite Attends Leadership Conference In Detroit At Ford Motor Company,Gets A Change To Play On Ford Field and MORE

Executives from Infinite were invited to a leadership conference at the Ford Motor Company.  In addition to some great speakers and lessons from successful consultants, the weekend included a trip to the Ford Museum, a charity kickball tournament at Ford Field and a look inside the Lions' locker room.

How to be Successful Before Breakfast - Tom Fox

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tom-fox/how-to-be-successful-befo_b_1846255.html

Laura Vanderkam is a nationally recognized writer whose focus is on helping her readers rediscover their true passions and beliefs in pursuit of more meaningful lives. She is the author of the new book What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast. Vanderkam spoke with Tom Fox, who writes the Washington Post's Federal Coach blog and is the director of the Partnership for Public Service's Center for Government Leadership.

Can you share some of your favorite anecdotes about how successful people use their mornings to accomplish tasks?

I learned that successful people know that mornings are a great time for getting things done. They are the high-impact activities that are important but aren't urgent--like exercise, strategic career thinking, creative work and even focused time with your family.

One of my favorite anecdotes came from a university administrator who had trouble getting things done because of her open-door policy. People would come in her office every few minutes. She figured out a way to fix this. Her daughter played water polo, so she had to be at the pool before 7 a.m. Rather than just bring her daughter to practice and then go home, she decided to go to work.

She would use that early morning quiet time to do focused, big tasks she had to get done because no one was interrupting her at 7 a.m., and then later in the day she would deal with email. She joked that she was doing more before breakfast than she used to get done in a week.

What tips do you have for federal employees who may not have a daughter playing water polo?

Often times, we are not aware of how much time is passing between when we wake up and when we actually start work. I tell people to picture what the perfect morning would look like. What are things you're not doing in your life that you'd like to be doing more of? And are there ways that you can make those things happen in the morning? Work through the logistics and map out a morning schedule. The harder part, of course, is turning it into a habit.

What obstacles do leaders face in implementing this sort of morning plan?

I think the biggest problem is that people wake up in the morning and don't want to get out of bed, and often that is because they've gone to bed too late. The solution to morning problems lies in the night before. The evenings can get away from you. We get distracted on the Internet, watching television or puttering around the house. It is better to give yourself a bed time and then you can reclaim some of those morning hours for something that really would move your life forward and help you achieve your goals.

From your experience, why do so many people struggle with time management?

Since the hours will be filled by something no matter what we do, sometimes it's easier to just go with it and let life happen to you. A lot of problems with time management stem from not thinking about how we'd like to use our time. We just accept that our time is what it is, as opposed to viewing it as a result of the various decisions that we've made over the years.

To quote the late Stephen Covey and 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, begin with the end in mind. People don't think about how they spend their time and what their big goals are. The biggest time management problems are not spending too much time on Facebook or running errands. People often ask things like "How can I spend less time emptying the dishwasher?" That's not what time management is about. It's about getting the big things right and making sure that you're investing the right number of hours in things that are important to you.

What keys to success can federal managers learn from highly productive people?

Keep a time log so you can see where the time really goes. From looking at the time logs of extremely successful people, I've learned that they focus on three categories: nurturing their career, nurturing their family and nurturing themselves. As much as possible, they ignore, minimize or outsource everything else. It's not that these people are racing around from one thing to the next. Instead, they are choosing to do things in their down-time that are meaningful and important to them.

Who do you consider to be your role models?

She's not a household name, but I've gotten to know an entrepreneur named Amanda Steinberg. She runs an email financial newsletter called DailyWorth. What I find so fascinating is that she started the company basically the same week she gave birth to her second child. She has shown how you can build a successful small business while also spending a lot of time with your children. Just seeing how people make time for everything that really matters to them has helped me to realize there is nothing incompatible with achieving great things in your personal and professional lives at the same time.

This post was originally featured on The Washington Post's website.

What's Going On With Infinite This Month

Congratulations Lindsey and Eric on your recent promotions. We are excited to see you take on your new responsibilities as the company grows. Keep up the good work!

Fun times at Infinite! We went to Minor Tavern last week and were surprised to be joined by The Drive radio station. Kaitlin won two seperate rounds of most puts sank in a minute AND 2 seperate rounds of golf to Bowlingbrook golf course. Great times. Looking for another great week of team outing fun this week!


Congratulations Lindsey and Eric on your recent promotions. We are excited to see you take on your new responsibilities as the company grows. Keep up the good work!

Congratulations to executives at Infinite for being rewarded with a trip to visit a client office in Indiana.  

Read More About Our Leadership Conference Key Note Speaker - Edsel Ford

http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=180

Infinite Executives Travel To Detroit For Leadership Conference - Edsel Ford - Keynote Speaker

Executives from Infinite will be attending a weekend leadership retreat in Detroit.

The company will be joining executives from corporations across the country to share successful management techniques and learn from consultants tips on successful business practices.  In addition, the grandson of Henry Ford, Edsel Ford will be the Keynote Guest Speaker.

It will be an exciting weekend and we expect even more growth based on what we bring back from the experience.

Five business lessons from Bradley Wiggins

http://www.managementtoday.co.uk/features/1144259/five-business-lessons-bradley-wiggins/

By Vicki Bennett Friday, 03 August 2012

Bradley Wiggins is the first Britain to win the Tour de France and the most-decorated Brit following his performance in this year's Olympics. Here are five lessons business leaders can learn from 'the Mod' of cycling.

Think like a winner

Wiggins’s revolutionary tactic in cycling training was to race less often but to always race to win. His team got used to leading a race rather than chasing the lead. Perhaps one of the most powerful elements in his 2012 success is the idea that Wiggins and his team already felt like winners. This is linked in to the idea that visualizing things can help to lead up to their creation.

When someone begins to think differently they begin to feel differently and, in turn, this can change their actions: they can become a different person. Adopting the 'as if' theory to business may encourage a world of fresh possibilities. As Henry Ford said ‘If you believe you can or you believe you can’t you’re probably right’.

Never stop learning from your mistakes

Wiggins’s training programme drew inspiration from the sport of swimming (working at top intensity from the start vs. a steady build), which completely changed the way he and his team trained. That said, he also learned from his past mistakes, and made sure to pace the start of a time trial to leave enough power in his legs to finish.

Many may find reviewing their own failures a painful process but, as Wiggins has shown, it is crucial in order to progress towards goals. In Joseph Campbell’s book The Hero with a Thousand Faces, the hero has to learn from each of the tasks and ordeals presented, or he is forced repeat the lesson over and over. The art for the business leader therefore is to be able to identify and learn from past experiences in order to achieve their goals.

Working with and for others

Leadership is rarely just a solo act. Wiggins’s path to his 2012 success has seen him perform as a member and leader of a team as well as a solo competitor.  In the Tour he was lead in the team and is seen as the winner but he would be first to say it was a team effort.  He worked in close unison with the rest of the team, leading out the ‘Sky Train’ to set up Mark Cavendish to win the last (most prestigious) stage.

In the Olympic men’s race, victory escaped them in the end but it was Mark Cavendish who was in the frame for the win; Bradley was (in effect) a stage pace leader in service of Cavendish’s gold medal aims. Of course Wiggins’ solo effort in the individual time trial did lead to Olympic gold.

Wiggins’ ability to work with and for others demonstrates that sometimes leadership can be best played out by working in the service of others. Successful business leaders know the importance of empowering their team, with each member sharing objectives and working collectively in pursuit of a common goal.

Plan but be flexible

Wiggins raced five times in the lead up to the Tour de France. Each race was a mini-goal in his overall strategy; first to win the Tour and then the Olympic time trial. Although Wiggins felt at his peak at the start of the Tour, he had accounted for every possible scenario (from crashing out to winning).

If you have a clear sense of the direction you are heading in and what you are trying to achieve in each year, month, week, day, each moment, you are far more likely to be effective in your work and personal life. Keeping on track means both dedication to the programme and flexibility in the face of a changing landscape.

Success is as much about aligning and planning as it is about knowing when to be flexible and agile enough to meet new market demands as the external environment shifts. Robert Fritz (Corporate Tides, 1994) reckons that the hallmark of a leader is their ability first to articulate a desired state whilst remaining closely in touch with the current state (how things are right now) and second to sustain this tension without letting go of either vision or reality, until it can be turned into effective change.

Keep it real

On returning home to Chorley, Wiggins commented that he felt overwhelmed and that one of his first tasks was to take his son to a rugby camp in Wigan. This British sporting hero is first and foremost a dad and a husband who recognizes the importance of this team’s effort in his success. Described as a ‘nice guy’ by fellow competitors, Wiggins is authentic in his approach to life and his sport.  Leaders are often held as role models in their organizations so need to act with integrity and authenticity in pursuing their business goals.


Vicki Bennett is a partner at change consultancy Sheppard Moscow

Anthony Robles - Guest Speaker at Our National Client Conference

Anthony Robles, collegiate wrestler turned motivational speaker, was the special guest at our national conference. What an honor.

Here is his story:

http://anthonyrobles.com/bio.html

On July 20, 1988, the doctors were not prepared when, Judy Robles, age 16, gave birth to a baby boy who was missing his right leg. The doctors could not explain what went wrong or why I was missing a leg. My mom, however, always told me growing up that "God made me this way for a reason" and she made me believe it. I finally realized what that reason was when at the age of 14, in Mesa, Arizona, I tried out for the wrestling team. My first year was horrible. I was the smallest kid on the team weighing in at a whopping ninety pounds and without question, the worst wrestler; finishing my first year with 5-8 record and in last place at the Mesa City wrestling tournament. Not many people believed that a tiny kid born with one leg, the worst wrestler in the city, would ever excel in such a demanding sport . However, with the support of my family and my coaches, I believed I could one day be a champion wrestler; I believed that I could be UNSTOPPABLE. Despite various obstacles along the way, I went from being last in the city to finishing my junior and senior years at Mesa High School with a 96-0 record , a 2-time Arizona State Champion and a high school National Champion. Despite finishing with an awesome high school record , few college wrestling programs believed I could excel at the next level. They thought I was too small to wrestle in college and that a one legged wrestler could never compete with the nations best college wrestlers. My mom raised me with my head in the clouds, so I believed I could do anything I set my mind to. This way of thinking compelled me to walk onto the Arizona State University wrestling team to prove to them, and the world, anything was possible. Through trials and hardships, both on and off the wrestling mat, I finished as a 3-time All-American and the 2011 NCAA National Champion. Although my competition days on the mat are over, I will continue to wrestle the opponents life brings my way all the while believing that I am UNSTOPPABLE.

Olympic Athletes: 7 Skills They Use for Success by Linda Durnell

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/linda-durnell/success-tips_b_1687173.html

While we were watching the Olympic trials, my husband asked me, "Could you have done this when you were younger?" I thought about what it took for these athletes to make it to the Olympics. If you believe we all have the ability, given the right conditions, to have an extraordinary life -- whether it is as an Olympic athlete, scientist or teacher, what can we learn from Olympic athletes to turn our dreams into reality?

What skills do Olympic athletes use to succeed?

Unrelenting movement towards the goal: The sustained effort of these athletes is a perfect example of the concept of "massive action." They never lose sight of their goals and every moment of every day is focused in some small or large part toward action, which in turn allows them to achieve the goals. If you never looked at the clock or the calendar, how long would you work? If you were passionate about what you were doing or creating, my guess is that you would work harder and longer -- as Olympic athletes do.

Knowledge is only useful when incorporated with action: The amount of knowledge these athletes have is impressive. They have trained to become experts in nutrition, their physiology, psychology and the mechanics of their sport. These athletes are constantly learning and when they take this knowledge and apply it, they become stronger, faster and more prepared. Most of us know that knowledge needs to be followed by action, but we don't apply it. Our lives are going to stay the same if we are only reading or watching TV more. We can't turn our lives around until we decide to make use of our acquired knowledge and take action to make things happen.

Tap into the state of unlimited possibilities: For Olympic athletes, the impossible becomes possible. There is a Chinese proverb that states, "The person who says something is impossible should not interrupt the person who is doing it." If we allow miracles to be available to us, there exist infinite possibilities every day. If you have limiting beliefs about what you can or cannot accomplish, work diligently to let those beliefs go.

 Sacrifice: There are many things we enjoy that are sacrificed by these athletes in order to attain their goal. Their singular focus leads them to choose hard work and dedication above vacations, parties, hobbies and participating in other leisure sports. For us to succeed in our lives, we need to become comfortable with short-term sacrifice for us to enjoy long-term success. As many a coach has repeated, "keep your eye on the prize."

Can't go it alone: Athletes have an extensive support team that works with them, for them and because of them. Teamwork is essential in the success of every endeavor and whether you call it mentoring, parenting, teaching, investing, managing or coaching, it is the support that most success requires.

Nothing lasts forever: Olympic athletes' skill in planning, preparation and execution does not end once the Olympics are over. They continue to plan for what is next and switch their energies to the next challenge in their lives. Kerri Walsh, the Olympic gold medalist in volleyball, planned on having a family, and then took her children to her workouts as she trained for the 2012 Olympics. Peggy Fleming, the 1968 gold medalist in ice skating, uses her Olympic fame to support many non-profits and her community. I dated a three-time Olympic athlete, and once he stopped training, he used his drive and knowledge to help others in the fields of training, athletics and coaching. As parents, we experience 18 years of dedication to our children, and eventually we must prepare to move forward into another cycle of accomplishments. Change simply means something new: Start-ups eventually are sold, companies merge or close, we age, relationships begin and end. Accepting the changes and the subsequent new opportunities is essential for continuing the success in our lives.

Everyone has a genius: We may not all choose to be an Olympic athlete, a Steve Jobs of high tech,
or a world leader, but we all have a spark that can be nurtured, supported and worked on until we create our gold medal in life -- it is just waiting to unfold and be recognized.

 

5 Business Lessons From Zimbabwe’s Richest Man, Strive Masiyiwa

http://www.ventures-africa.com/2012/07/5-business-lessons-from-zimbabwe%E2%80%99s-richest-man-strive-masiyiwa/

VENTURES AFRICA – Last week, Econet Wireless celebrated its 14th anniversary. It was the celebration of an ongoing fulfillment of the age-long vision of its founder to connect every Zimbabwean to a mobile phone.

Today, Econet Wireless is an investor’s delight and it is easily Zimbabwe’s most successful corporation. It is Zimbabwe’s largest mobile Telecoms firm with a subscriber base of over 6 million. Its profits for the year ended February 2011 stood at over $145 million and the Johannesburg-Headquartered company has operations everywhere from Burundi and Lesotho to Kenya, Nigeria, Botswana and Rwanda. Econet has a market capitalization in the region of $1 billion.
Strive Masiyiwa, the unassuming and soft-spoken founder of the Telecoms giant is the richest person ever to emerge from Zimbabwe. With a fortune estimated at over $600 million, Masiyiwa has thefortune of our dreams.
You can glean important business and life lessons by taking a close look at what made Strive Masiyiwa a successful billionaire telecoms tycoon.

Identify A Human Need And Reach Out To Meet It
According to Masiyiwa, this is the most surefire way to succeed in business.
In 1994, 70% of Africans had never heard a Telephone ring. People all across Africa desperately needed a reliable and cost-effective means of reaching out to their loved ones and associates wherever they were in the world. That was a human need. Masiyiwa, as a young engineer set out to change that. He had the technology to do it and access to substantial resources. “We didn’t wake up and say we wanted to make billions of dollars; we said we wanted to extend telecommunications to all the people of Africa,” Masiyiwa stated during a recent commencement address to graduating students of Morehouse College. If you reach out to meet the needs of the people around you, you will wear the crown.

Be Patient And Relentless; Never Give Up
Few people are as patient and as relentless as Masiyiwa. In 1993, when Masiyiwa set out to establish Zimbabwe’s first independent mobile telecoms network, he encountered stiff opposition from the Zimbabwean government. The Zimbabwean Post & Telecommunications Corporation (PTC) – a government-owned entity held a monopoly over the telecommunications business in the country and the corporation was vehemently opposed to granting Masiyiwa a mobile operating license. The Government threatened to prosecute him if he dared to proceed with his venture. Masiyiwa took the battle to court, and the case lingered for close to five years. It was a slow and long process, but Masiyiwa never gave in. Of course the government tried to subdue and frustrate him, but Masiyiwa was resolute. He was determined to challenge the government’s monopoly of telecommunications services in the country and was keen to launch his own mobile telecoms network. His persistence paid off. By 1997, the court ruled in his favour and Masiyiwa was able to launch Econet wireless. Develop a tough skin; be relentless, and be patient. Success hardly occurs in a split second; you need to learn to wait for your moment.

Work Hard And Stay Focused
This is a no-brainer. Nothing good in this world comes easily, least of all, success. You may have identified a need and possess the most brilliant business ideas. You may even have the praying spirit of Jesus; but if you are lazy you’re doomed to fail. Success requires hard work. Masiyiwa works long hours every day and has cultivated the requisite discipline to be focused. Work Hard And Stay Focused!

Pray Hard
“God will do nothing except you pray; and you have to be clear what you want”- Strive Masiyiwa
This might sound like illogical business advice particularly if you’re an atheist. But according to Masiyiwa, a devout Christian, prayers are essential for success in business. Masiyiwa has stated countless times that when he was battling the Zimbabwean government in court for the right to operate a mobile Telecoms license, he prayed fervently. While the court case lingered, Masiyiwa prayed for victory. Even though it took four years, Masiyiwa’s prayers were eventually answered. Employees at Econet and people close to Masiyiwa confirm that the tycoon never takes any important business decision before first going on his knees. Judging by Econet’s raving success, Masiyiwa’s prayers actually work. Prayers may work for you as well.

Give Back
What you give comes back to you ten-fold. Masiyiwa is Zimbabwe’s biggest philanthropist. Along with his wife, Tsitsi, Masiyiwa is a co-founder of the Capernaum Trust, a Zimbabwe-registered privately funded Christian charity which sponsors the education of over 28,000 Zimbabwean orphans. Apart from providing scholarships to these children, the organization also provides food packs and healthcare for them. Masiyiwa funds the trust from his own personal resources with support from Econet Wireless. The Universe seems to have rewarded his generosity with brilliant success and a $600 million fortune.

This is a non-biased comparison that nails our cable/telecom client as the greatest value on the market.

Comparing Cable Costs

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/06/05/comparing-cable-costs-savings-experiment/?icid=maing-grid7|maing8|dl6|sec3_lnk3&pLid=175503&a_dgi=aolshare_facebook
By Nadine Cheung       

Do you have cable?

There are many different cable providers out there, but how do you know which one to choose? Here, our experts break things down between four major companies so you can ultimately figure out how to cut your monthly costs.

In this scenario, we compared the basic cable packages from Comcast, Time Warner Cable, DirecTV and Verizon Fios. As a general rule of thumb, the number of average channels affects the monthly cost -- the more you have, the more you'll spend. However, when we broke things down to a per channel cost, Comcast, Time Warner and DirecTV were roughly the same, while Verizon Fios was notably cheaper at 45 cents per channel. That package offers 200 channels, but at $90 per month.

By this rationale, you might think that your cable bill is dependent on how many channels you're willing to pay for, but there's one more factor to consider. Most households own an high definition television on which you'll want to watch HDTV. So, to get your money's worth, you need to consider how many HD channels are offered by each provider.

Of the total number of channels offered in the basic plan, only a fraction are offered in HD. In the cases of Time Warner, DirecTV and Verizon Fios, only 21-26 percent of their channels are high definition. However, a whopping 95 percent of Comcast's programming is offered in HD, which makes it the clear winner.

Find out which cable providers service your area and do a little price comparing while keeping these points in mind. If you decide to stay with your current provider, try asking a customer service representative how you can lower your cable bill. You may be able to take advantage of a current promotion, and the provider will usually go the extra mile to keep good customers happy.

Tagged: cable providers, CableProviders, comcast, cutting cable costs, CuttingCableCosts, directv, HD cable plans, HdCablePlans, lowering cable bills, LoweringCableBills, Savings Experiment,

Infinite Expands Again This Month

Infinite is excited to expand again.  The company will be opening a new office in West Chicago this month.  The expansion, headed by executive Serena Mennen, will open up room for the newest promotion in our Park Ridge office.   Juan will be taking over the executive responsibilities in the Park Ridge location.  

The growth does not end there.  Infinite expects to open at least three more offices in the next 12 months.

Infinite Expanding This July

We are opening another location this July.  Juan, one of our newest promotions to our executive team, will be heading the expansion.  We will also be taking on a new client.

This is just the beginning.  We expect to more than double in size by the end of the year.

More Growth At Infinite

We are excited to announce we have another promotion to our executive team.  Congratulations Albert!

You have worked hard to deserve your recent promotion and we are excited to see what you accomplish in the coming months.

Keep up the good work.