SUCCESS PRINCIPLES BY MONTE HOLM
KEYS TO GREATNESS
World Financial Group believes in the power of a performance-based leadership team. That is why building a No. 1 company requires more than believing in the WFG mission: to create financially independent families positioned to realize their dreams. It takes real commitment to furthering the mission through an ongoing series of actions.
First, totally commit yourself every day toward achieving your business goals, then follow these Success Principles.
WFG SUCCESS PRINCIPLES
- Focus on Self-mastery. You have to master you - the six inches between your ears. Improve your attitude, expand your vision, set goals and repeat your affirmations daily. Mentally and physically discipline yourself, and develop a great work ethic.
- Believe in the Cause. Our mission is to create financially independent families positioned to realize their dreams. Do you believe in that? To take a stand, you must make a major commitment to WFG. Too many people fail because they mistake the beginning for the end and don't allow their efforts time to compound. Give it a sustained effort over an extended period of time.
- Acquire Specialized Knowledge. Become a student of all that WFG has to offer, such as the Business Format System, leadership system, industry trends and adjustments, etc. Never, ever, stop learning about the industry.
- Be a Do-It-First Leader. Lead by example, get organized, pre-plan each day and max out each day. Always walk, talk, act and dress the part. Plan who you personally recruit and who you personally build. Become personally and professionally financially stable, and complete the necessary tasks for each week, one week at a time.
- Build a Big Base Shop. You must be the example - there are no words you can say that are stronger than what you personally do. Remember that you can only control your base, and you have to show the way to the rest. Your base is your bread and butter, and you will find your future MDs and leaders from there. Above all, keep in mind that it is fun to have a big base shop - there is less pressure!
- Practice the Exchange Principles. Practice the Law of Reciprocity or the Law of Givers Gain in personal sale, market, guideline and builder's exchange. These exchanges keep base shops strong and help to avoid the generational creep (the incremental moving of your business generationally away from you).
- Build Personal Relationships. People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. Always remember a human's most basic need is to belong, and that people are the end, not a means to the end. Work with commitment, not potential, and get to know and reward good people who commit and perform.
- Conduct Great Meetings and Events. Treat every meeting as a life-changing, powerful, well-organized event. Become a front-row person and build a front-row team. Great meetings have agendas, workshops, power speakers, music, banners and handouts.
- Stay in Compliance. The best short cut is to do it right the first time. Remember, there is no right way to do the wrong thing, and no pillow is softer than a clear conscience. Always manage professionally, guard words and actions, investigate and document, get help, and be consistent and professional.
- Write Quality Business. The only business that pays is the business that stays. Conduct yourself properly at the first visit ("The Presentation"), second visit ("The Close") and third visit ("The Delivery"), if applicable.
- Make Good Business Decisions. Become a well-rounded person. The business of business is to make money, and the first order of business is to stay in business. Be conservative, and prepare your finances and expenses professionally and ethically.
- Be a Great Leader. Know that leadership is everything - and then a thousand times more than that. Great leaders commit to constant personal communication, personal motivation, personal accountability and overlapping leadership. Create an atmosphere where associates interact with established leaders across generational and hierarchal lines. Pay attention to the signs of strong leadership - plan, affirm that plan, set goals, share goals, etc. - and the signs of lazy leadership - casual attitude, discipline, dress standards, etc.
Leadership is not a magnetic personality that can just as well be a glib tongue. It is not "making friends and influencing people" - that is flattery. Leadership is lifting a person's performance to a higher standard, building a personality beyond its normal limitations.