THE CONSTANZA

                                 

 The best employee Vandalay industries have ever had..

For quick clarification, THE COSTANZA – it's not about building a small shelf in your desk so you can sleep ( that would be awesome though…)

Who has a desk big enough for them to sleep in ? Send pictures ...

It's about making drastic changes in your approach or procedures to help create changes in outcome.

In Seinfeld, season 5 episode 22, George Costanza makes a decision that he will do everything opposite what he has been doing in order to try to get better result at work, dating, etc... To test this out, he walks up to a girl and says“ Hello, My name is George. I'm unemployed and I live with my parents."  He gets the date. 

  The basic idea of The Costanza is that if what you are doing isn’t working try doing some thing different or the opposite.  Albert Einstein  once said “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results". So, If what your doing isn't working, change it!!!  Maybe do something opposite of what you have been doing might help you take a step forward toward your goals instead of doing what you have been doing and spinning in place. 

  If what your have been saying to your prospective clients is not working--change it drastically !

If you been coming in early is not helping you get what you need done, try staying a bit late.

If, in your personal life, you are meeting  "the wrong people"--try going someplace new and doing something you wouldn’t normally do.        

 Not getting through to your staff with compassion, try a swift kick in the ass. Or vice-versa...

Basically, if your experience has told you to always do “XYZ” try "YXZ" or "ZYX" or "MRZ"...
  

At best, it may help you find a new ways to get closer to your goals and develop different skills, meet different people, and learn something new. Worst case scenario is you make a few calls, do a few meetings, or change your day or style for awhile and some of the monotony of your day has been broken up and you got some good stories to tell about how crazy you are ...

      Reversal : Don’t Pull the Constanza it if what your doing is successful !

 Also, give it some time to work.  Maybe  try doing the opposite for an hour a day for a few weeks .. Give it a real college try and be consistent for. 

Don’t be afraid of being a bit uncomfortable for awhile. If it was too comfortable for you to do at first then your probably not doing it right.  Understand that there are many ways for us to try to secure the results we want. As you develop different techniques while doing The Constanza , you will be able to pull from those skill at the appropriate time . 

That being said ,  if your unemployed, bald,  short, and living with your parents – and you wanna date the hot girl… you should probably not expect George’s results – if you get one date after asking  500, you're doing great… 

Have some specific ways you want to pull The Constanza in your marketing, business, or personal life ?  

Tweet us at @TLConGrp  

LIVE FROGS FOR BREAKFAST

Do the hardest, most difficult, and ugliest task first.

I think it was Brian Tracey who is generally credited with the Live Frogs for Breakfast concept--

“If you gotta eat a live frog, looking at it for a long time won't make it taste any better.”

Neither will putting it in your morning cup of joe…

( I’m slimy, not delicious, full of caffeine and willing to fight to the end …)

                                                     

A frog is, of course, a metaphor for our most difficult and unpleasant task. And, if that frog is the worst thing that you do today, once it is out of the way the rest of the day should be easier and a whole lot less stressful.

We often get trapped into pushing the things we consider the most uncomfortable off and then those tasks hover over us for the rest of our day like a dark cloud.

For me--it is the gym, any uncomfortable calls, or meetings, etc...

I tend to want to exercise about 5:30 am and start my calling at 7 am (decision makers tend to be in early). When I don't attack these tasks, they get pushed back, and back, until the day is over and I am anxious about getting the things I need done and worried that I will have to push them off until tomorrow–thus starting the cycle again.

By doing my most hated and uncomfortable task first, I tend to feel less anxious about my day, I am more productive, happier in my duties, and way less stressed. And often, those frogs aren't as bad as we think they are going to be. Plus, I get it over with early so I can't even remember the bad parts!!! 

Now, of course, you can't always do the worst thing you need to do in the morning–life doesn't always work like that. If that's the case, put that frog on the top of your daily to-do list IN CAPS. Make sure you physically write, check, scratch, whatever it off –that will give you personal satisfaction with your day and make you feel calmer just knowing that the hardest task is done. Don't trick yourself into thinking that getting all the little things on your to-do list done will compensate for not doing the difficult, froggish task–if it is small, less important, and easily accomplished, won't it be even easier if the larger, harder task is already done?

If you don’t eat up that frog today, put it in BIGGER caps for the next day,  AT THE TOP OF YOUR TO-DO LIST or put it down TWICE. Skip it again?--THREE TIMES. Scratching off large to-dos or multiple large to-dos will give you a greater sense of accomplishment. Remember, when you can't face the frog, it becomes more powerful than you. 

 And it's not.

 It's just a frog.

OK, this guy might a bit more trouble...

                                                                      

Need help working through your frog? 

 Feel free to contact us directly...