"Progress is Rarely Achieved Alone"

"If I have seen farther than others,
it is because I was standing on the shoulders of giants."
Isaac Newton

 by Skip Cohen

Author Lou Mitchell shared the quote above in this morning's motivational piece on positive thinking. He went on to write: Progress is rarely achieved alone...Reflect on the people and ideas that have influenced your achievements. Who are the "giants" whosd shoulders you stand on?

It's Marketing Monday, and the quote got me thinking about how many giants, or better put, how many shoulders I've been lucky enough to stand on in my life. Take a minute right now and think about those people who have helped mentor you through a wide variety of challenges.

Staying in the business category, I was thinking back to my role as a marketing manager at Polaroid. I put together a number of good programs for the photo specialty dealers (camera stores). But I never came up with them on my own. All the answers were out there, somebody just needed to ask the right questions.

For example, during my visits to retailers around the country, I'd ask the same question, "What are you going to need from us to sell twice as much Polaroid product next year?" After they rolled their eyes and gasped, it was amazing the ideas that came forth. From more advertising, to promotional bundles, to new products, extended dating terms, and price reductions, everybody answered the question. Then I'd modify the question for the Polaroid salespeople I worked with, "If we doubled your sales quota for next year, what would you need from the company to make your number?"

Here's my point - we all have people we've worked with over the years who have earned our respect and admiration. They've given us guidance when we needed it most--even at times when we were clueless about our fate related to a direction we were headed.

"It takes a village" couldn't be more relevant when it comes to all of our careers and accomplishments. Even when things haven't gone as anticipated, and you hit a wall, we all have a small core of people in our network who were there, willing to lend a hand.

As you look towards fourth quarter seasonality, what are your plans? Don't plan things in a vacuum, but take the time for a few sounding boards; people you respect and know your skills. They can help, in the same way you'll be there or have been for them.

Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo,
but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down!
​Oprah