Death of a Lawnman

My lawn man died.  It took me by surprise when my mother-in-law showed me the obituary a few months ago, but there it was in black and white… Dennis was gone. Dennis was a real nice man and although I didn’t know him very well, we did have a couple of meaningful conversations leaning against the fence that separates my property from Mrs. Smith’s.

I grew up cutting grass. As a boy in Auburn, Alabama, I mowed almost every yard in my neighborhood, and as I painstakingly manicured the lawns of the Bent Creek subdivision, I used to fantasize about one day having a lawn man to do it for me.  I did – and now he was gone.  I will miss him, but now I faced a dilemma. Dennis charged the same rate for twenty-five years. Even when gas spiked at over three dollars a gallon, Dennis held firm. His rate was far below what the big landscaping companies in our area charge -- and there was no way I was going to pay that -- so I decided to man up and get back into the business of mowing lawns.  My lawn.

After a testosterone-filled trip to Lowe’s Home Improvement Store (full of grunting, pointing, and kicking the tires of the zero-turn-radius lawn mowers), I arrived home with a new mower (not a zero turn radius), a weed eater, and a high-powered blower. I was locked, cocked, and ready to rock.

For three months now I have been mowing my own lawn and have discovered a few truths that I feel are worth sharing. First of all, I love mowing my yard. I feel a sense of pride and satisfaction when I am finished that I never did as a kid. This came as quite a surprise to me, because for years the smell of fresh cut grass reminded me of hours of hard labor in the unforgiving Alabama sun. Secondly, I discovered that I do a better job than Dennis did. Don’t misunderstand me, I am not disparaging Dennis in any way, but I wasn’t paying him enough to pick up sticks, trim shrubs, and edge the driveway.  He came once a week, mowed and left. Finally, I now know every inch of my property. This sounds a bit silly, especially since I have lived in my house for four years, but when you are responsible for managing your own yard, you become familiar with every nook, cranny, root, rut, and problem area.

So why now? Why do I now feel differently about doing something I despised as a kid? One word:  OWNERSHIP. I own my property, therefore I take pride in its appearance. I own my property, therefore I take responsibility for its functionality and purpose. If I don’t manage a routine maintenance schedule, the blame for the appearance of my yard lays with me.  Why? Because I own it.

 Why would it be any different in your business? The most successful salespeople are the ones who take ownership.  You may not sign your own paycheck, but when you take ownership of your customers, clients, product lines, and territories, you begin to control your outcome.

Here are three ways to OWN THE SALE:

GET YOUR HANDS DIRTY. I once spoke for a restaurant chain that required all of the management trainees sweep the parking lot for a week. I was told that at the end of the week the trainees will be able to fully understand and appreciate the job they are asking a restaurant employee to do -- as well as know EXACTLY how long it should take to complete the task.

INTIMATELY KNOW YOUR YARD (PRODUCT).  My friend Jimmy Prophet sells industrial batteries. He not only knows his product, he knows so much about the equipment that utilizes his product that company engineers call him in to solve problems they can’t. Do you think his competition can intimidate him by undercutting his price? NO WAY. He is a valuable resource.

MAINTAIN YOUR MOWER.   It is amazing how much easier it is to cut my grass when I have the blade sharpened regularly. Is your company too cheap to buy you a new laptop? Buy your own. Boss too stingy to reimburse for client meals? If it closes the deal, pay for it yourself. You are the owner.  It’s time to stop complaining and cut the grass. 

Patrick Henry is a songwriter, author, and professional speaker, who shows clients how to create distinction in the market place and blow away the competition with the four keys to becoming a “ROCKSTAR IN A ROOM FULL OF KARAOKE SINGERS”. Patrick’s entertaining programs show audiences what happens when Keynotes, Comedy, and Concerts Collide. For more information go to www.PatrickHenrySpeaker.com

Fatback and Gefilte Fish

I am a Southerner. I am not a confederate flag waving “if the South would’ve won, we’d have had it made” Southerner, but I am proud to be from the South. I grew up in Alabama, went to college in Mississippi, and my roots are known to show from time to time. Not many of my friends, however, know that I was born in Silver Spring, Maryland.

For the first four years of my life, my father was a lobbyist in Washington, DC, and we were the only non-Jewish family living in an all-Jewish neighborhood. From an early age this Southern Baptist Alabama boy developed a taste for Jewish cuisine. Lox, bagels, chopped liver, and gefilte fish were common fare when I was playing with the Lieberman or the Rosenthal kids.

Years later, when I was living in Nashville, Tennessee, as a single musician, I befriended an older Jewish woman who lived in a small house in my neighborhood in Hillsboro Village. I was finishing a jog one afternoon and as I passed her house, I noticed that she was trying to mow her lawn and seemed to be having trouble. I stopped and introduced myself, and then offered to finish the job for her. After mowing her yard, she invited me into her home for lemonade. We talked for a while and she shared with me pictures of her children, grandchildren and even a picture of her ex-husband --  “May God rest his soul….soon” (her words). On her mantle was displayed a beautiful menorah so I told her of my early years in the all-Jewish neighborhood outside of Washington D.C. She said we were the “token gentiles”. We came to an agreement on that day. I would mow her yard in exchange for her homemade chopped liver. Music City had never seen such a deal and probably never will again.

I’ll never forget the advice Mrs. Frank gave me one afternoon over lemonade. She said  “Bubbulah, it is just as easy to marry smart and beautiful as it is to marry dumb and plain”. I married a smart and beautiful woman and I thank God every day that my wife never met Mrs. Frank for fear that she would have followed her advice and done the same. Mrs. Frank was right. It is just as easy to marry smart and beautiful as it is to marry dumb and plain. Just as it is as easy [if not easier] to surround yourself with talented and motivated people rather than those who bring you down.

My favorite quote comes from High Point University President Dr. Nido Qubein. Standing in his office many years ago, I asked him  “What is the secret to your success?” He pointed to a beautiful credenza on the far side of the room and said “Go push the button.” I walked over and pushed a button on the front of the credenza and to my surprise the lid began to fold back and a crystal statue arose from the interior like something out of a James Bond movie. The statue was three figurines holding hands. Dr. Qubein told me that the statue was a gift from his mother and the figure in the middle represented himself, the figure on the left represented Albert Einstein and the one on the right Jesus Christ. The inscription at the bottom of the statue simply read “If you want to be great, walk hand-in-hand with greatness.”

Are the people you are surrounding yourself with pulling you forward in your career or holding you back?

Here are three ways to maintain positive relationship capital:

1. ELIMINATE NEGATIVE PEOPLE FROM YOUR SPHERE Of INFLUENCE.
The biggest and most delicious fruit comes from trees that have had the dead branches pruned away.

2. CREATE RELATIONSHIPS WITH SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE.
A rising tide lifts all boats.

3. FIND A MENTOR.
A commonality of successful people is GREAT MENTORS. Seek out a mentor who is where you aspire to be in their career; has a similar set of values; and is accessible.

Patrick Henry is a songwriter, author, and speaker who teaches clients how to create distinction in the marketplace and blow away the competition with the four keys to becoming a “ROCKSTAR IN A ROOM FULL OF KARAOKE SINGERS”. Patrick’s entertaining programs show audiences what happens when Keynotes, Comedy, and Concerts Collide. To book Patrick Henry for your next event, visit www.patrickhenryspeaker.com