Andy was a thorn in my side.
Great guy, top-notch advisor…loved going out for a beer with him.
But he constantly moaned about his business. Two or three times a week, he’d wander into my office to say he was “stuck”.
He just needed one “BIG idea”.
What made it worse…he managed more assets than me. I was working my butt off to climb above him in our firm’s rankings.
Plus, he never listened.
During his whining sessions, he rarely shut his mouth. He might ask a lot of questions, but he’d never waited for an answer.
And the answers were OBVIOUS (to me).
Then one day, I had enough. I had just lost out on a proposal for a huge new account.
I was in a foul mood.
I can remember thinking…if I can land these assets, I’ll leapfrog Andy in the rankings.
But I struck out…big time.
Unfortunately, that’s when Andy wandered into my office.
I let him have it.
Told him to shut-up and listen. Otherwise, he should just keep his idiotic questions to himself.
I immediately felt awful.
Yet, to my surprise, Andy didn’t back away. He called me a jerk (which I was) and said his ears were wide open.
He challenged me to give him a “BIG idea”.
I spent the next 15 minutes breaking down the one thing that was getting in his way. The obvious (to me) blemish in his business model. (Just a tweak to the way he was prioritizing his time.)
Andy didn’t say a word.
When I was done, Andy got up and THANKED me for being “such a jerk”. He admitted he had been missing this clear flaw for months.
He said it was the “BIG idea” he had been looking for.
I felt better. I have always enjoyed solving challenges with simple solutions.
In this case, it was better than apologizing.
About 30 days later, Andy walked into my office with a huge smile on his face. He just had his best month ever.
Andy admitted that I had given him one of the best pieces of advice he had ever received.
His “BIG idea” was just a new way of looking at an old challenge.
After that, Andy still wandered into my office. We’d talk about different ways we could apply other “BIG ideas” to our businesses.
We BOTH ended up having record years.
As we head into the second half of the year…
…Are you on pace for a breakout year?
…Are you looking for your own “BIG idea”?
…Or just a review of your current strategy?
I’d like to help.
==> Just click here to go directly to my calendar to find a time that fits your schedule.
I promise not to be a jerk!