I’m from Texas and, for better or worse, learned much of my business “attitude” from business people such as Ross Perot, Stanley Marcus and Roger Staubach (yes, he used to play football too.)

There are not too many people more bold than Ross Perot. In 1962 Ross Perot started Electronic Data Systems (EDS) with $1,000. In 1984 General Motors purchased EDS for $2.5 billion (That’s with a B)

There are probably dozens, if not hundreds of stories and lessons you can learn from his 22 year trek to the top, but one of the most important lessons I learned is Perot's experience after the sale. After GM purchased EDS Perot found himself on the GM Board and it wasn't long before he became frustrated (to put it mildly). Perot was all about action. GM seemed to be all about meetings. Here's how Perot put it.

"At EDS, when you see a snake you kill it. At General Motors, when you see a snake, first you seek out the best consultants on snakes. Then you appoint a committee on snakes. And then you study snakes for a year or two."

You can laugh, but we all need to be wary; there is a lot of truth to that story. Think about yourself and your crazy schedule, the fires, the meetings, the tasks. I know how critical envisioning, thinking and planning are; much of my business is built around just that. However, it is also important not to confuse thinking with action. Here are my Bold Rules for Moving Forward.

Thinking about business is not business.

Business planning is not business.

Only doing business is business.

Most of us don't have problems with taking action in the parts of our business that we like and are comfortable with. If you like to sell, getting out and selling will not be a problem. Ditto if you like drafting a training plan. You'll get right to it.

The time you need to step up and be bold is when you aren’t comfortable or you don't like to do what you know you should do. That's when it's easy to procrastinate. That's when it's easy to confuse thinking and actually doing business; or doing the right business.

An action step is something you do to improve your business that is visible from the outside. Making a sales call is an Action Step. Making a phone call to make an appointment is an action step. Deciding to make that call is not.

There are times when you need to think about your business. There are times when you need to decide what to do on a client project. Just remember: if that thinking or deciding doesn't result in something visible from the outside it's not an Action Step.

So when you think about your business, think about what has to happen to get the result you want. Then Do It. When you decide what to do on a client project, Do It and make that decision visible.

Action Steps

Pick something in your business that seems blocked. Identify the next Action Step to move it forward. Do It.

Pick some area of your business that you don't enjoy. Identify the next Action Step to move it forward. Do It.

For the next two weeks, make up a daily To Do list of five Action Steps that will help you move your business forward. End each day being able to cross the Action Steps off your list. Carry over any uncompleted steps to the next day.

Be BOLD. Take Action.

Do you need help staying on track, taking the time to envision, think and plan yet take consistant action? Sponsored by Bold Vision Consulting, the Ocular Forum is a membership based confidential peer group for non-competing business owners and independent professionals eager to support each other in growing a successful business.

An Ocular Forum membership supports long-term and annual planning with a system for implementation and follow through, support, encouragement, and confidential advice while your partners hold you accountable for taking the actions important to your success. There are two Ocular Forum memberships being formed:

Portland Maine – Applications due September 14

Waltham, Massachusetts – Applications due September 14

Meetings are monthly and membership in each Ocular Forum group is limited to 6 members.

Call 207-221-3492 or visit http://www.boldvisionconsulting.com/OcularForum.php for more information.

The #2 business challenge I hear most often is “I have no work/life balance”. I’m sure you know it’s an issue because it's hard to get through a week without seeing another article, book or TV show about "Work/Life Balance." Speaking from experience, I know work can easily consume not only your time but your mind.

However, I’ll disagree that the issue is balancing your work and your life. While the phrase is catchy, it is not work and life that you need to balance. It is blancing your life; bringing all the parts of your life into balance, not just work. Work is one part of your life. (important, yes, but just one.)What about all the other things you do? You have to choose between many options, one of them being work.

In the Ocular Forum, we begin the discussion of success with just this topic, balance. Just think about your roles and how you spend your time. You're a “Businessperson”. You may be a “Spouse” or a “Partner”. You might be a “Parent”. You spend time on personal development and education so you might be a “Student”. You may participate in a church or community organization so you might be a “Community Volunteer”. You have family and friends that you have relationships with so there are those roles as well.

Having a balanced life is not balance like a scale, either. Scales work fine if you have only two things to balance and the “value” of each is equal. This life balance is like balancing colors in a room.

First, there is a limited amount of space to put color; the physical size of the room. That's like your limited amount of time. No matter how we try, there are only 86,400 seconds in a day.

What you do with one color affects how you experience the others. Let’s say you love the colors Royal Blue and Soft Butter Yellow. Imagine the difference in a room with Royal Blue walls and a Butter Yellow sofa. Now imagine the room with Butter Yellow walls and a Royal Blue sofa. It makes a difference, right? As my Mom says, “Sometimes a little goes a long way.” Life is like that, too. When your work is Royal Blue it can sometimes overpower the Soft Butter Yellow parts of your life.

Also, how you choose to spend your time affects more than just you. There are key stakeholders in your life. They're people who love you, people who depend on you and people you have relationships with. It is important for you to keep them in mind when you're making decisions about your time.

Just as with choosing colors for a room, there's no right way to live your life. In the 1970s, the Caterpillar Tractor Company ran a famous series of ads with the tagline: "There are no easy solutions, there are only intelligent choices."

That's what you're left with: intelligent choices. If you choose to take time to exercise, that's time you won't be spending at a community function. Is one more important or less important than the other? Only you can say. You can make bold choices consciously or you can let them happen to you. What choices are you making?

Action Steps

Make a list of all the significant roles in your life.

List the stakeholders in your life.

Determine which two or three are getting the most attention. If you're in doubt, review your checkbook and calendar.

Make note of anything you want to change. Before you stand up, define one action that will take you in that direction. Put it on your calendar or To Do list.

The #1 challenge? Marketing and promotion; what else? Stay tuned.

Sponsored by Bold Vision Consulting, the Ocular Forum is a membership based confidential peer group for non-competing business owners and independent professionals eager to support each other in growing a successful business.

An Ocular Forum membership supports long-term and annual planning helping you keep your eye on the “prize”. You get a system for planning AND implementation and follow through, support, encouragement, and confidential advice while your partners hold you accountable for taking the actions important to your success. There are two Ocular Forum memberships being formed:

Portland Maine – Applications due September 14

Waltham, Massachusetts – Applications due September 14

Meetings are monthly and membership in each Ocular Forum group is limited to 6 members.

Call 207-221-3492 or visit http://www.boldvisionconsulting.com/OcularForum.php for more information.

I don't know if it's true, but I've heard that people are more afraid of making a speech than they are of dieing. I do know that many people I work with are “scared to death” by the thought of speaking in public, much less actually having to walk in front of a room and speak.

You know, it's really hard to be BOLD if you're terrified. If the above describes you, read on. I'm going to share an idea that will help take away some of the fear and improve your performance.

Let's begin when get the invitation to speak. What did they ask you to speak about? It's about something you know well, or at least you should know well, right? For example, if you're a marketing consultant, it's probably something to do with marketing. (duh) If you're an architect, it may be about the top 5 features that make a great house.

Now, here's the key to a great speech and one that's easy to put together-
STORIES.

Do you know any stories relating about your work? How about memorable incidents in your life or career?

They don't have to be stories about you. For example, the architect can tell Frank Lloyd Wright stories. Stories communicate messages in a more personal and powerful way than reciting facts and figures.

Stories are the way that human beings naturally organize, remember and share information. That means stories are also easier for you to remember than the lists of facts and figures – which means your audience will remember them, too.

There's another advantage to using stories to organize your speech. You can make lots of different points from the same story. Pick a story you want to tell the audience. Then determine what points it makes for them.

Stories are the best human communications tool ever invented. Humans have been using them to communicate and pass down history since before time was recorded. Stories will make your speeches better and make you more comfortable delivering them.

Action Steps
Write down notes on three stories or incidents about your work.

Start a "stories" file with notes on stories you like.

If you're scared of making speeches, you should know that the thing that makes them great also makes them easier to give. Practice, practice, practice. Contact a Rotary Club, Kiwanis Club or Business Association and inquire about speaking opportunities. Be BOLD!

Sponsored by Bold Vision Consulting, the Ocular Forum is a membership based confidential peer group for non-competing business owners and independent professionals eager to support each other in growing a successful business.

An Ocular Forum membership supports long-term and annual planning helping you keep your eye on the “prize”, gives you a system for implementation and follow through, support, encouragement, and confidential advice while holding you accountable for taking the actions important to your success. There are two Ocular Forum memberships being formed:

Portland Maine – Applications due September 14
Waltham, Massachusetts – Applications due September 14

Meetings are monthly and membership in each Ocular Forum group is limited to 6. Call 207-221-3492 or visit http://www.boldvisionconsulting.com/OcularForum.php for more information.