To be clear, asking for directions has never been my strong suit.  This could be the result of my male upbringing, my male stubbornness, my male pride… or perhaps, my wife!  With the emergence of any number of navigators available to us all now, from time-to-time, we still need to rely on others to provide directions for us.

It seems that most of us who need directions need them because the path from Point A to Point B is not a straight shot.  There are twists and turns, and lefts and rights, and the sheer number of decisions that need to be made can be intimidating.  That is, unless you take these twists and turns one at a time.  Unfortunately for me, that’s not how my wife gives directions.  The moment I start the car and pleasantly ask for directions, (it’s my story, and yes, I do ask pleasantly,) I hear, “take a left out of the driveway, make a right on Stanford, left on Wisconsin, and follow that to 495 East until you hit the fork in the road…”  That’s about the time my eyes roll up in my head and I kind of pleasantly ask, “Can you just give me the turns one at a time, and only after I’ve made the turn you’ve given me?”

Maybe it’s just my simple mind not being able to process all that information at once, but I’m of the belief that all information that requires multiple decisions needs to be processed the same way; one move at a time.

For instance, think about how challenging it can be when you search for a new job.  That particular goal might require updating your resume, cleaning up your LinkedIn site, preparing and perfecting your elevator pitch, chasing down network connections, attending job fairs, and more.  Each of these goals comes with their own set of tasks, and each group of tasks can come rushing at you all at once, just like that wall of directions.  It’s not unusual to hear that some people can spend well over a year working on a resume.  In truth, it isn’t the resume that holds these people up; it’s the distraction of a sea of other tasks they are also trying to work on simultaneously. A cluster of tasks can be overwhelming, so they are often left unfinished. It takes discipline to focus on one task at a time, without being distracted by other responsibilities. Clearly, you’ll be able to navigate your way a whole lot more effectively if you do.

I’ve been helping people with time management challenges for years.  It seems to be such an overwhelming issue for many, yet the solution to most time management challenges isn’t quite as difficult as you might imagine. When it comes to conquering time management, there appears to be a lot of moving parts to tackle.  The things that usually need attention are issues like prioritization, goal setting, interruptions, planning, procrastination, scheduling and more.  It can sure seem intimidating… that is, until you establish a priority to the tasks before you, work on one identified set of skills at a time, and don’t stop until you’ve mastered it.  Another way of saying this is simply this: Take one turn at a time.

It can be as simple as giving a team a new set of procedures to learn.  It would certainly make sense to concentrate and master one task at a time, but that’s not how your typical new set of procedures gets rolled out to a team.  Like that series of twists and turns, it can be overwhelming to master, and that can significantly impact implementation.  But working through them, one turn at a time, step by step, can allow you to perfect the steps you are learning.  It can also allow you to build up momentum for the other steps ahead.

I don’t mind having a look at the big picture represented by a series of tasks. However, once you know the end result you are after, you’ll be a lot more effective if you take each task one by one, and step and step.  No matter how daunting the task may be, you’ll get to your final destination on your trip if you make sure to take it one turn at a time.

What do you get when combine energy, enthusiasm… and great content?  You get a “Pocket Sized Pep Talk!”  Tune in and you’ll hear a collection of BLArticles®, conversations, and interviews that are sure to teach, motivate, inspire, and dare I say, entertain!   https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pocket-sized-pep-talks/id1497772972

News & Announcements

I Zoomed my way to India to speak with Motivational Diaries, and Ashish Janiani.  We spoke for about 30 minutes about sales processes and training for success.  It was a fun and informative interview!

Sales Process To Sales Success || Interview With Robert Jolles – YouTube

If you want to read some “Life Lessons” I was able to share in a recent interview, you’ll find them here:  https://worldclassperformer.com/short-life-lessons-from-robert-jolles/

I had the pleasure of appearing on Robert Miller’s, Follow Your Dream Podcast and thoroughly enjoyed the discussion.  We go way back in this conversation to my first memories of performance… at age four!  I’m sure you’ll enjoy it!  https://follow-your-dream.simplecast.com/episodes/rob-jolles-superstar-salesman

I also mixed it up with a wonderful podcaster, Terry McDougall on her Marketing Mambo show.  As she puts it, we “Cha-cha-chatted!”  If you want to hear sales and marketing go toe-to-toe, you’ll enjoy this show. https://www.buzzsprout.com/1569061/8172686-the-art-of-influence-in-sales-and-marketing-with-rob-jolles

I recently did a podcast with a wonderful, new, and up-and-coming star named Jahmaal Marshall.  His podcast is called, “Listen Then Speak.”  I’ve done a lot of podcasts, but we got into topics I rarely talk about, and I’m quite sure you’ll enjoy the show!  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/listen-then-speak/id1550684472

I’ve appeared on the “Small Business Advocate Show” with Jim Blasingame for almost 20 years now, and you’ll find dozens of our conversations on his website.  We just sat down a few weeks ago for a great conversation about selling fundamentals and the strategic use of stories.  Here’s a link to over 100 interviews done over the years, including my most recent interview that explores our many behaviors we display that are based more on a default mechanism than actual logic. https://www.smallbusinessadvocate.com/small-business-experts/rob-jolles-134

We posted a video series on delivering amazing online presentations with my friend, Jeremy Webb.  We go over some great stuff including:

• How to Select the Best Equipment for Online Presentations
• Pro Tips for Sustaining Interest in Online Presentations
• How to Look Like a Pro!
• Public Speaking Anxiety Tip
• Virtual Office Setup for Online Presentations

You’ll find the whole playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRO7BsBDl6oL-6ZPW3O01x-g5PiR38ljL

I was recently interviewed on the “Salesman Podcast,” which was a lot of fun. If you’re looking to Change Minds, check out this podcast: https://www.salesman.org/the-simple-step-by-step-process-to-influence-anyone-with-rob-jolles/

I loved talking about the book, Why People Don’t Believe You on a podcast that I’m sure you’ll like called Onward Nation: https://predictiveroi.com/podcasts/rob-jolles/

After 30+ years as a professional speaker and trainer, one of the most common questions I get is this: “How do we make sure the training sticks?”  Take a moment and listen to this podcast; “SalesChats” with John Golden.  If you want to know why most training fails, listen up! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KR3dDOlTK7U&list=FLxBXKhqz0xBwbUPMqNthAJA&index=2&t=1293s