We are nearing the end of our banter-filled and informative failproof video series. (Also the tax year. Write offs, darling. Write offs.)

Thank you all for the lovely things you’ve been saying about the videos, the training, and my various… assets. All are appreciated, but you know what’s appreciated the most? People DOING STUFF! Check out a random sampling from Twitter:

“Thank you so much for your generous videos. Because of you, I’ve made $100 in the last 24 hours, with promise of $250 more!” – @WildWomanFund

“I LOVE vid 4!!! I just wrote my new free gift while listening, and yes while full of turkey, on Christmas!” – @SueBates

“Building lists for profit and also profit. < - this training is so good I almost bought it a 3rd time” – @IainTGray (He’s the guy who inspired the gun to your head product we talked about in Episode 5)

You’re already starting to kick an unholy amount of ass and we are so, so proud of you. (I speak for Dave here, mostly because his hands are tied and everyone knows when you tie an Italian’s hands together, they lose the ability to speak. Don’t know what I’m talking about? Episode 5, darling. Episode 5. B-o-n-d-a-g-e. That’s all I’m saying.)

In this video we’re talking about how to actually create an offer – not a product or a service but an OFFER – that people seriously can’t resist. (Don’t know the difference between a product or service and an offer? That’s what the video’s for, silly!)

A lot of gurus will talk about making things that people can’t resist, and they’re usually talking about the kind of “can’t resist” that means piling a huge amount of bonuses and freebies so that your customer just gets totally worn down. (“If you order in the next 34 seconds, we’ll throw in THREE MORE BLENDERS at no cost to you!”)

This is a great strategy if you want the kind of customers who only buy stuff when they can get additional kitchen appliances tossed into the deal. For you and me, though, we’re creating really great stuff and we want the kind of customers who understand it’s really great stuff and would buy it even without the extra ability to crush ice or blend kale and Snickers smoothies.

This is where the art of the truly irresistible offer kicks in.

Here’s what we talk about in today’s video:

The one thing you need to do before you create your own custom irresistible offerHow to know what to put in “the box”The difference between resistance and objectionsThe totally (un)magic formula for creating utterly tempting bonuses – no matter what product or service you sell, including physical productsHow to get over your (wildly unreasonable) fear that customers don’t have any money once and for allHow to figure out exactly what people want to buy – and what they don’tPlease remember, tomorrow is the last day to register for the Failproof Bundle with Building a Responsive List, Creating Products That Sell, and High Conversion Sales Pages. Three hundred bucks and a few hours of your life can change the whole game, darling. It did for me.

(Also? Thank you to all of the people who signed up with the payment plan yesterday. Now I don’t look like a dick for demanding one for you.)

Everyone has a lens through which they view the world. Religions, philosophies, therapies, authors, speakers, gurus, and candlestick makers all perceive the world through a particular mind-set. What you’ll learn is how to use a new lens to dissolve all other lenses. And once you succeed, you’ll be at the place I call zero limits.

You Don’t Have a Clue What is Going On

It is impossible to be aware of everything happening in and around you, consciously or unconsciously. Your body and mind are regulating themselves right now, without you being aware of it. You are indeed co-creating your own reality right now, but it is happening unconsciously, without your conscious knowledge or control. This is why you can think positive thoughts all you like and still be broke. Your conscious mind isn’t the creator.

You Don’t Have Control Over Everything

Obviously, if you don’t know everything that is happening, you can’t control it all. It’s an ego trip to think you can make the world do your bidding. Since your ego can’t see much of what is going on in the world right now, letting your ego decide what is best for you isn’t wise. You have choice, but you don’t have control.You can use your conscious mind to begin to choose what you would prefer to experience, but you have to let go of whether you manifest it or not, or how, or when. Surrender is key.

You Can Heal Whatever Comes Your Way

Whatever appears in your life, no matter how it got there, is up for healing simply because it’s now on your radar. The assumption here is that if you can feel it, you can heal it. If you can see it in someone else, and it bothers you, then it’s up for healing. You may have no idea why it’s in your life or how it got there, but you can let it go because you’re now aware of it. The more you heal what comes up, the clearer you are to manifest what you prefer, because you will be freeing stuck energy to use for other matters.

You Are 100% Responsible for All You Experience

What happens in your life is not your fault, but it is your responsibility. The concept of personal responsibility goes beyond what you say, do, and think. If you take complete responsibility for all that appears in your life, then when someone surfaces with a problem, then it is your problem, too. In short, you can’t blame anyone or anything for your current reality. All you can do is take responsibility for it, which means accept it, own it, and love it. The more you heal what comes up, the more you get in tune with the source.

Your Ticket to Zero Limits is Saying the Phrase “I Love You”

The pass that gets you peace beyond all understanding, from healing to manifestation, is the simple phrase “I love you.” The idea is to love everything. Love the extra fat, the addiction, the problem child or neighbor or spouse; love it all. Love transmutes the stuck energy and frees it. Saying “I love you” is the open sesame to experience the divine.

Inspiration is More Important than Intention

Intention is a toy of the mind; inspiration is a directive from the divine. At some point you’ll surrender and start listening, rather than begging and waiting. Intention is trying to control life based on the limited view of the ego; inspiration is receiving a message from the divine and then acting on it. Intention works and brings results; inspiration works and brings miracles. Which do you prefer?

2. Know the right people, and be friendly with them. (This is called sucking up. Do it the right way, and management will like you. Do it the wrong way, and management will despise you.)

3. Don’t be afraid to tell people when they are wrong, especially management. They will respect you for having a spine. (Once again, do it the right way‚ the wrong way will get you labeled a trouble-maker)

4. Appear competent. (Notice I didn’t say be competent. Perception > reality, especially in corporations.)

5. Notice I’ve given conditional statements to 2,3 and 4 above‚ I can’t tell you *how* to do these things‚ either you’ve learned them through your interpersonal working relationships over the past 20, 30, 40 or 50 years, or you haven’t.

6. Be a problem solver, not a problem creator. (There are two types of employees, period. Make sure you know which one you are. You’d be surprised how many bad employees think they are good employees. This is coming from someone with extensive management experience.)

OR, you can ignore all the above, and become a complete sociopath in the corporate arena. Backstab, belittle, undermine, flatter, lie, scheme, circumvent, lie some more‚ in other words, do whatever it takes. Soon, you will be an executive.

You might read the Statement above and think it is meant as humor. It isn’t.

An objective assessment using output metrics from your processes offers a complete view of your company’s health, assuming the metrics directly link to your strategy. If they don’t, you may be measuring the wrong things. A strategy road map that is linked to a balanced scorecard is the tool BIC companies use to monitor the state of their business. If you are missing one or both, or if they are not linked, you need to create them as soon as possible! If you have both but the balanced scorecard does not roll up to the strategy, you need to align them.

A strategy road map usually has five elements that are common to most companies. You can have more elements, but make sure they are truly things that are critical to your business. If you are not willing to put the effort into tracking an element, then it must not be absolutely critical to the running of your company. Even manual monitoring is better than nothing. The five common strategic elements are:

1. Improve operations quality and efficiency.
2. Grow through innovation and technology.
3. Increase customer satisfaction and retention.
4. Improve financial performance.
5. Empower the organization.

Within each of the strategic elements listed, more specific actions need to be implemented to impact the outcome. These actions are measured, and they are what make up the balanced scorecard. For example, a balanced scorecard action that would impact the first item, improve operations quality and efficiency, could be to become certified by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) at all the manufacturing plants in the company or to make enterprise resource planning (ERP) the standard platform across the company. These changes are very easy to measure and track, and they clearly tie to the strategic element of improving operational quality and efficiency.

Another way to improve operational efficiency is through the use of systems and improved service from information technology (IT). This is where an IT balanced scorecard at the subprocess level is critical to meet the balanced scorecard action of improved service from IT.

A balanced scorecard action that ties to the third strategy road map element, increase customer satisfaction and retention, might be: Provide on-time warranty service personnel. For example, customers might say they are willing to wait up to 15 additional minutes after the scheduled time of service. If someone does not arrive within the 15 minutes, the metric would indicate that they were not on time, therefore impacting your customer satisfaction level. If you are able to provide personnel to a customer location for warranty repair or service on time, your satisfaction levels will increase, and that in turn will drive customer retention.

Our final example of a balanced scorecard action that ties to a strategic road map element is something that not all companies feel is important but is actually what differentiates great companies from good companies. It falls under the fifth strategic element, empower the organization, and involves the training and development of employees. Having a balanced scorecard action to “Provide the best training programs so our employees can be empowered,” for example, goes a long way toward quicker decision making and employee-driven process improvements.

This action could have projects under it that detail the types of training necessary to allow the employees to be empowered. For example, technical training empowers the employee to be a better service technician. Another project could be to train personnel on change acceleration program (CAP) and facilitation skills, which gives them tools to act in an empowered way.

In the end, we spend a good deal of our putative computing time trying to learn new tricks–and that’s not always easy for some of us old dogs. In my case, for example, I’m limited by the fact that I have only a finite (and steadily decreasing, apparently) number of functioning brain cells. It’s obvious that the reason it’s difficult to learn new technology is that our brains are cluttered with old technology.

For example, I still know how to program a VCR. I will never again program a VCR. I may never again even see a VCR. I simply don’t need to know this, and yet I do know it. Why is this still taking up space in my brain? Similarly, I remember perfectly well how to test and replace a vacuum tube. Do I need to know that? Of course not! Why would I want a vacuum tube? And where would I find one of those tube-testing stations that for years were standard in every drugstore and hardware emporium in America?

There’s almost no end to the list of technology-related stuff I still recall but for which I now have absolutely no use. I still remember how to change a typewriter ribbon; double-clutch a car; tune the antenna on a CB radio; thread a reel-to-reel tape recorder; place a tone arm on a vinyl record without scratching it; retouch a film negative; use a cassette tape-equipped answering machine; rebuild a carburetor; use a slide-rule to calculate the volume of a room; copy a document using a “wet” photocopier; and adjust the hue, tone, and contrast on a color television set. In the meantime, I can’t for the life of me remember how to add a network connection in Windows XP without looking it up each time. All of these skills of dubious value are using up brain cells; frankly, I’m in no position to be wasting them.

Of course, my brain is also full of obsolete and irrelevant (but amazingly persistent) facts related specifically to older computers; naturally, these serve only to confuse me when I’m dealing with newer systems: Why should I be expected to recall how to insert an em dash in Microsoft Word when I still know the embedded dot-codes we used to invoke formatting in WordStar? How am I supposed to burn CDs and DVDs when I can still remember how to connect and search a Commodore 1530 tape drive? Why is it that I can remember exactly how to set an environment variable in a DOS batch file, but I have to consult a manual in order to invoke a simple Office macro?

Why should I be expected to remember how to connect my laptop’s modem, when the last real modem I used came with an acoustic coupler? And how can I be expected to remember which one of my four hard drives contains a specific application when I still vividly remember “notching” the reverse side of single-sided diskettes so that we could save data on both sides? This technique worked roughly 90% of the time, which meant that there was a one-in-10 chance that when you went to look for it, your Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet would have been reduced to random ASCII characters.

Then again, there was already a one-in-10 chance of that happening, apparently based either on your proximity to any large magnets or on the phase of the moon. Hmmm . . . so, does that mean that, considered together, there was actually a one in five chance, overall, of your spreadsheet self-destructing? Rats. I guess I’ll have to go dig out my slide rule, because I can’t remember how to use this fancy new calculator they gave me.

Talking straight doesn’t mean you have to make others defensive. People get uptight when their control is removed or when their self-esteem is under attack. When you speak up, use clear, descriptive language. Avoid words such as “always” and “never” — even if you are complimenting someone. It’s a no-brainer that it’s infuriating to say to someone, “You never say anything nice.” But think about the impact of saying to someone, “You always do a great job!” You might be implying that the person better not have a “bad day.”

If you can describe someone’s behavior — without interpreting it — you will be far more likely to address the problem without offending the person. Better to say, “You are not letting me finish” than “You don’t care what I have to say, do you?” In addition, don’t control the solution by saying something like “We must stay within our budget,” when you could share the problem by saying, “I’m worried that we are over budget. What can we do about it?”

Let’s apply this advice to an everyday situation at work. Imagine that you have been upset about an overly friendly co-worker (a “schmoozer”) who hangs around you a lot, chatting about matters that are not work related, and doesn’t give you enough privacy or time to get your work done. Sometimes you try to get rid of the schmoozer with some excuse, but he doesn’t pick up on your hints. You realize that the time has come to address the problem. How might you deal with this situation?

You might continue hinting with words like “Boy, is it 11 o’clock already?” Or you might try to gamely continue working in his presence, giving him just the slightest attention until he picks up the hint. Or, in frustration, you might try a little veiled ridicule or embarrassment with words like “Don’t you ever have work to do?” Instead, consider a more straightforward approach. Concentrate on what you are experiencing because of his schmoozing: “I have a problem. When you come to visit me, I enjoy our conversations, but I get behind in my work. It would help me if we could ‘shoot the breeze’ over lunch instead.”

It’s hard enough to speak freely about your ideas and feelings. It’s even tougher when you are asserting your needs. For example, others may want something from you and you would rather not do it (your boss wants you to undertake an assignment that is not a good use of your talents), or you want something from others that may be an imposition (assistance in completing a project).

Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place, and I don’t care how tough you are. It will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life.

But it ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep movin forward. It’s about how much you can take and keep movin forward.

That’s how winning is done.

Now if you know what you’re worth, then go out and get what you’re worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hits and not be pointing fingers and saying ‘it’s because of him, or her, or anybody’. Cowards do that, and that ain’t you. You’re better than that.

Here is a great rule for success: Think on paper. Only about 3% of adults have clear, written goals. These people accomplish five and ten times as much as people of equal or better education and ability but who have never taken the time to write out exactly what it is they want.

There’s a powerful formula for setting and achieving goals that you can use for the rest of your life. It consists of seven simple steps. Taking any one of these steps can double or triple your productivity if you’re not currently using it. Many graduates of my training programs have increased their incomes dramatically in a matter of a few years, or even a few months, with this simple, seven-step method.

Step 1: Decide exactly what you want. It’s amazing how many people are working away, day after day, on low-value tasks because they’ve not decided what they want.

Step 2: Write it down. Think on paper. When you write down your goal, you crystallize it and give it tangible form. You create something that you can touch and see. On the other hand, a goal or objective that’s not in writing is merely a wish or fantasy. It has no energy behind it. Unwritten goals lead to confusion, vagueness, misdirection and numerous mistakes.

Step 3: Set a deadline with your goal. A goal or decision without a deadline has no urgency. It has no real beginning or end. Without a definite deadline, you’ll naturally procrastinate and get little done.

Step 4: Make a list of everything you can think of that you’re going to have to do to achieve your goal. As you think of new activities, add them to your list. Keep building your list until it is complete. A list gives you a visual picture of the larger objective. It dramatically increases the likelihood that you’ll achieve your goals as you have defined it and on schedule.

Step 5: Organize your list into a plan. Organize your list by priority and sequence. Take a few minutes to decide what you need to do first and what you can do later. Even better, lay out your plan visually, in the form of a series of boxes and circles on a sheet of paper. You’ll be amazed at how much easier it is to achieve your goal when you break it down into individual tasks. With a written goal and an organized plan of action, you’ll be far more productive than someone who’s carrying his goals in his mind.

Step 6: Take action on your plan immediately. An average plan vigorously executedis far better than a brilliant plan on which nothing is done. For you to achieve any kind of success, execution is everything.

Step 7: Resolve to do something every single day that moves you toward your major goal. Read a specific number of pages on a key subject. Call on a specific number of prospects or customers. Engage in a specific period of physical exercise. Learn a certain number of new words in a foreign language. Never miss a day. Keep pushing forward. Once you start moving, keep moving. Don’t stop. This decision, this discipline alone, can make you one of the most productive and successful people of your generation.

Clear written goals have a wonderful effect on your thinking. They motivate you and galvanize you into action. Goals are the fuel in the furnace of achievement. The bigger your goals and the clearer they are, the more excited you become about achieving your goals, the greater becomes your inner drive and desire to accomplish them.

by Brian Tracy

Three researchers are beginning to get a handle on measurable and meaningful characteristics through which corporate culture manifests. Corporate policies captured by investment and financial styles and operational budgeting provide windows into a company’s culture. In their January 2007 working paper, Does Corporate Culture Matter for Firm Policies?, Henrik Cronqvist and Mattias Nilsson, assistant professors of finance at Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, respectively, and Angie Low, a Ph.D. student at Ohio State University and Nanyang Technological University, suggest that when companies spin off new business units, those new corporations will inherit their parent companies’ culture. This inheritance, the authors propose, is evident in the comparison of the corporate policies of parents with their spinoffs. They looked at 217 spinoffs (excluding those forced by mergers and those owned by multiple parents) from 1980 through mid-2005 to see whether those companies’ policies more closely resembled those of their parents or their industry peers.

The authors’ findings confirmed that the apple does not fall far from the tree: The spinoffs’ policies tended to be more similar to those of their parents than to industry norms. This held true for each of the dozen policies that the researchers studied, including those in the categories of investment styles (such as preferences for growth by acquisition), financial policies (such as financial leverage, cash holdings and dividend policies) and budgeting practices (such as research and development spending and advertising budgets).

The authors also found that culture tends to be more evident in spinoffs’ policies when the parent companies are older. Additionally, the cultural resemblance between parent and spinoff lasts a long time: “Up to 10 years from the date of the spinoff, parents and spinoffs still have significant similarities,” reports Cronqvist. These findings support the notion that companies’ cultures become more ingrained and distinct over time. As a result, culture is likely to persist — and resist management efforts to change it.

Of course, culture is just one factor that could be inherited from a parent company. Other factors include written procedures, tools such as Six Sigma and even the people themselves. But, notes Cronqvist, “Some of the variables that we look at are influenced by the chief executive officer or other top executives.” In order to distinguish between culture and top managers’ individual styles, the researchers looked at whether the spinoffs in their study had new CEOs. They found that even when a spinoff ‘s CEO is relatively new to the organization, the company tended to be similar to its parent. This suggests that it is the corporate culture, not the style of the CEO, that is inherited.

Of course, corporations tend to hire CEOs that “fit” with the company’s culture, so, from that perspective, the cultural norms are self-perpetuating. Indeed, the fact that culture persists, for better or for worse, is among the researchers’ major conclusions. “Even if [senior managers] recognize there is something about firm behavior that is not the way they’d like it to be, they have to respect the fact that the shared norms, beliefs and values of different employees will take a long time to change,” says Cronqvist.

In Cronqvist’s view, the high-level policies measured in the study are symptoms of the underlying culture — the shared norms, beliefs and values of a company’s employees, as he defines culture. These policies thus are representative of the culture as a whole. “We would expect the inherited policies to apply not only to these high-level corporate policies that we study,” says Cronqvist, “but perhaps to other aspects of culture as well.” For example, if a spinoff inherits its parent’s attitudes toward mergers and acquisitions and dividends, the similarities most probably would carry over into more difficult-to-measure areas such as the formality of reporting structures or the entrepreneurial culture.

For two companies considering a merger, it’s possible that these corporate policies provide a proxy for the fit of the companies’ overall cultures — a vital hint as to the merits of the merger and the potential ease of integration. So even if corporate policies are just a part of the corporate culture — along with, say, dress codes and work hours — they might help identify that culture in a more tangible and measurable way.

To obtain more information, download the paper from here.