Maurilio Amorim

Author: Maurilio Amorim

  • Managing Expectations: The Difference Between Success or Failure

    I love to say “YES.” It’s more than just the salesman in me who wants to promise the moon in order to get the deal. I thrive on the challenge to help someone accomplish a goal or seize an opportunity. I specially love tell “yes” to my clients on projects that I know will make a difference in people’s lives. But behind every “yes” there are moving parts, deadlines, budgets and deliverables that most often are beyond my control. I’ve struggled over the years to balance my can-d0 attitude with the realities of resources and realistic time lines. But over the years in business I have come to believe while my clients appreciate my willingness to understand and even share in their sense of urgency, they appreciate even more my honesty on what can realistic be done.  Managing expectations has been the most difficult lesson for me to learn, but it has been one  the most important

    Managing expectations

    Early on in my business career, I was often quick to promise solutions to my clients without much thought on how to deliver them. Sometimes it worked, often it backfired. I was constantly putting my team at a disadvantage because of the unrealistic expectations I had setup with clients. Honestly, I haven’t changed. I still want to say “yes” to every request, but here’s some safeguards I have put in place in order to manage expectations:

    Know what you know. I usually get in trouble when I find myself in a space I don’t have any expertise in. The variables I know I can speak confidently about, but when I make the mistake of promising something outside my comfort zone, I’m in for trouble. Take, for example, my first stab at developing an iPhone App. I charged the client 8 times less than it cost to develop it.

    Build in safeguards. No matter how excited I am about a project, I can no longer agree on a deliver date. I always make sure I get a firm commitment with the people who’s actually delivering the product or service before a timeline is finalized. This action alone has saved me a lot of grief.

    Stand your ground. Sometimes an over-eager potential client will push back and want to manage or even dictate every aspect of a project. I have regretted every single time I’ve given in to demands I knew were unreasonable for the sake of  getting the business. Unreasonable people are like spoiled, undisciplined children who, no matter what you give them, always want more from you and are never satisfied or grateful. If they’re not willing to work with you on the front end, then you’re in for a tough time for the remainder of the relationship. If you blindly give in, you’ll lose the project, the relationship and the money. There are no winners here.

    The bigger the stakes the bigger the trust. My best projects and products have been forged during the mutual exchange between our clients and my team. Without mutual trust and honest exchange, projects take an ugly turn where stakeholders watch out for miscues and mistakes. But when you let them know from the beginning that this is “collaborative effort” and that “we’re together in this” grace abounds and instead of blame, people focus on solution. This never happens without trust.

    I’m sure this list could be longer. How do you manage expectations?

  • Take Your Brand to the Next Level with Two Questions

    The question is almost always the same: how can I improve my __? Whether the question refers to a skill, a product, an experience, it’s ultimate about a brand.  How can I improve my brand, then becomes the question. There are corporate, product and individual brands. A brand represents a promise that it makes in the mind of its intended audience. A successful brand evokes positive feelings and delivers in its promises. We all want to improve and grow, but the answer to that question is not as obvious as you might think. Before we can get to the next level, whatever that might mean, we must know at least two critical concepts. What’s my brand promise? Who’s my audience?

    Taking your brand to the next level

    Your Brand Promise. That’s what your audience/customer/client can expect to get from you. Walmart’s brand promise is simple: everyday low prices. There’s a lot of things you don’t expect from a Walmart experience, such as great customer service or amazing facilities, but you know that if you want the cheapest prices, you’ll find them there. If you can define your brand promise, you’ll be able to stay focused on your message as well as your product.

    Your Audience. Understanding your audience is key in order to communicate the brand promise. Your promise must be delivered in the medium and language of your audience. Nordstrom knows that its audience is willing to pay a little more for a great shopping experience. Their sales associates or personal stylists are some of the best in the industry. I had a handwritten note from a personal stylist at a Nordstrom in Dallas after she helped me with a purchase. By any standards, I didn’t spend enough money with her to warrant such attention. Her note communicated everything the Nordstrom brand stood for: customer care, quality, attention, service.

    Are you fully aware of your brand promise and your audience?

  • Sometimes All You Need Is To Show Up

    It’s a cliche, but it’s a good one: “Sometimes all you need to do is just show up.” I have seen its power in my own life. As a matter of fact, it works for me on a daily basis.

    Sometimes you just need to show up Maurilio Amorim

    I cannot tell you how many times I have abandoned personal growth goals because I was too afraid, too lazy or too discouraged to even try, so I didn’t even bother showing  up.

    You can’t fail if you don’t try, right? Wrong.

    For me the greatest battle is winning over my mind. Waking up at 5 am and dragging myself to the gym when I don’t feel like going is not always easy to do. Sitting down and working on a project that’s important but not urgent is tough to do sometimes.

    But there’s so much more than just showing up at the gym or getting your job done. Sometimes just showing up at a potential client will get you the sale because you’re present at the right time. Showing up at a counseling session when you don’t feel like it, might be the first step to making the changes you need in your life. Showing up at your child’s dance recital after a hard working day might create a bond that could last a lifetime.

    So we need to be present, fully engaged and committed to make the kind of progress we want. However, these are secondary actions. They don’t matter if you are not there. Because before you can engage, you must first show up.

    What area of your life do you need to just show up?

  • The 10% Rule of Life

    We judge most things and experiences on details. I call it it the 10% rule because most of that what makes the details worth of notice usually happen at the very end of a project, building construction, manufacturing, design, experience–the last 10% of completion.That’s why finishing well is not just a good idea, it’s the difference between mediocrity and greatness and even success and failure.

    10% ten percent rule of life

    I don’t care how solid the foundation of a house is or how well-framed the walls are, if the painting is sloppy the entire structure gets devalued. “It’s just cosmetic,” you might say, but in the minds of most people the entire product gets devalued because of the last 10% of effort was not done well.  The opposite is true as well. Sometimes a beautifully finished building will garner top price before its owners find out that at core the structure is substandard. The value, rightfully or not, is mostly assessed by our first impression of the very last phase in any project. In construction we have even named them  “finishes.”

    Your last 10% can also be more than just an impression. It can be the difference between success or failure. I’ve been in multi-million dollar church facilities where I couldn’t hear or see well. After millions spent on steel, concrete, pipes and electrical wires, costs overrun “value engineered” sound, lighting and video to something inadequate.  The 10% rule comes to bear here and the entire church experience gets downgraded because the most important aspect of it, the message, gets no priority.

    Over the years, I have stopped using some very talented freelancers because they constantly break the 10% rule. They can get projects close to completion with brilliant ideas, but fail to deliver at the very end. They often “disappear”, miss deadlines, can’t get corrections and fixes done, or are not able to take direction to bring their vision and the client’s expectations in line.

    What are you thoughts on the 10% rule?

     

  • Facebook Hashtags and Your Marketing Opportunity

    Facebook is late to the hashtag game, but with 1.15 billion users, it really doesn’t matter. Use the hashtag effectively and you can harness its power to grow your brand or further connect your message with your target audience. This infographic from PiJnz

    facebook-hashtags-infographic

    Tips for using hastags

    • Don’t overdo hastags – use them sparingly and not in every post.
    • Hashtags must be all one word (no spaces).
    • Capitalization doesn’t matter.
    • Before you use a hashtag, do research and ensure that it will work.
    • Encourage users to make their posts public to increase reach.

    What has been your experience with hashtags?

  • Vision, Tenacity and Your Success

    I was recently reminded that great organizations, missions and even products were ideas in the mind of a visionary who more often than not, did not have the proverbial two dimes to rub together when they saw the opportunity and set out to seize it.  Such dynamic has always fascinated me. For me the question has always been, “Did it succeed because it was a good idea or because the sheer tenacity of its visionary leader?”

    vision tenacity, Mount Rushmore
    Gutzon Borglum”s vision and tenacity built Mount Rushmore

    After going back and forth on the answer, I have come to believe that the answer is both –a good idea in the hands of a passionate and committed visionary.  I have seen great ideas, quantified by research, die because it lacked a champion that drove through the obstacles and refused to let roadblocks stop it from coming to fruition.

    I have also seen strong, hard-driving leaders hold on to a bad idea and pour their lives and resources into something that was ill-conceived or too far ahead of its time.  If you pour resources into a bad idea, you will only cause it to die slower.

    Success lies in the integration of a good idea and the resolute spirit that will not let it alone until it is born, grows and thrives.

    Now when I’m faced with an opportunity I always ask myself these two questions: “how good of an idea is it?” and shortly thereafter, “Am I passionate enough about it to make sure it can come to life and grow?”

     Have you ever had a great idea? What happened?

  • We Need More Encouragement Than We Realize

    I have days I don’t feel quite right. I’m sure you have those as well. You’re not physically sick, but there’s this feeling down deep in the pit of your stomach that nags at you as if to say, “something is wrong, but I don’t know what.” It’s more of a psychological issue than a physical one. Sometimes fatigue combined with stress can wreak havoc on our bodies and minds. Yesterday was one of those days for me. Interestingly, I found that for me there is a antidote to that depressing ambiguous feeling: encouragement.

    Because we all need encouragement

    Just as I was pushing through the day and pressing forward I got a call from someone who during our conversation took time to encourage me. Those were kind words that I didn’t expect to hear but they worked themselves deep into my soul and began to soothe and comfort in a way I had not expected. Within minutes, my outlook had changed and the nagging void that once bothered me for most of the day, suddenly disappeared.

    I’m thankful for people in my life who bring so much healing to my soul; however, I was personally convicted about my missed opportunities to encourage others. I heard my pastor say that we judge others on their actions while we judge ourselves on our intentions. That resonated with me. I seem to judge everyone on their actions and myself on my great intentions.

    I’m convicted about being intentional on becoming the encourager for those around me. I find that those who seem to “have it together” are often the ones most encouragement-depleted.

    Who do you need to reach out to today and speak blessings into their lives?

  • Before You Send That Nasty Email Response, Read This

    It was a great, nasty, email. I had written everything I wanted to say to the recipient and then some, just in case he didn’t get the point the first 12 times I made it. I finally had enough of being polite and trying to be the “bigger man”, so the gloves were coming off. It was the kind of email I always wanted to send to some board member when I was in the ministry, but due to my pastoral position, I could never do it. So there it was, the perfect retaliation email: a masterpiece of both logic, passion and a big opened can of whoop, well, you know. But I never sent it.

    In retrospect, I’m glad that email didn’t go out. It would have been disastrous. I have a few rules about emotionally charged emails.

    1.  Write the email while you’re in the “moment.” Writing has a way to transfer a lot of emotion and frustration from my mind into a document. I close my door and just have a mind dump while everything is fresh and clear.

    2. Walk away from it for at while. It’s amazing what a night of rest will do to your reasoning and perspective. Don’t skip this step.

    2. Be passionate, but stick to the subject matter. I don’t know about you, but sometimes the frustration I have with the person, finds its way into the email. You need to be able to stay with the facts, and most important, the facts about the subject matter–not the facts about all the other frustration you are trying to clear up.

    3. As much as you’re able, try to put yourself in the recipient’s place. Obviously, you’re not on the same page, but it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be able to anticipate a response or reaction. I’m convinced that it’s more important to understand your audience’s motivation and responses than to rely on flawless logic of reasoning. The older I get the more I understand how little reason has to do with how people think and act.

    4. Offer a solution. Before beginning to compose a reply, answer the question: what outcome do I want out this? Email rants only serve to get more drama. Write with a solution in mind and make sure that is clear throughout.

    5. Have a trusted source read it. Does it say what you think it says? Emotions have a way to rob us of objectivity. A good friend, or even your lawyer, will help you stay on point.

    6. Pick up the phone and call. After all of this, sometime the best thing to do is to talk or, even better, have a face-to-face meeting. Email is a cold, easy and often cowardly tool. Chances are you didn’t enter into this relationship via email, and you probably shouldn’t use an email to end it.

    What’s your strategy in writing a tough email? What else should I consider?

  • Given the Chance Would You Relive the Good Ol’ Days?

    Lately I have been struggling with the complexity of my life. My mind is occupied with my aging parents in Brazil, my son in his first semester in college, starting a new business; it all can be overwhelming at times.  I have longed for the simple, uncomplicated days of yesteryear where there was freedom and opportunity. Well, that was until I started to think more clearly about the good ol’ days. Once I woke up from my glamorized stroll down memory lane, here’s what I really gave up:

    Would You Travel back to Your Good Ol' Days?

    I had $25 dollars left to my name during at the end of my freshman year of college. I certainly would not want to relive that.

    I didn’t own a car until after I graduated from college. How in the world did I get around?

    I was cleaning toilets my second week of school. Then I washed dishes for another year. I didn’t wise up and got a library job until half way through my sophomore year.

    I lived in an apartment the size of my current bathroom after graduating from college. Ok, I just measured, my bathroom is actually bigger, and that doesn’t even count the closet.

    I had a budget $20 per week worth of groceries in my early 20’s. If I managed my money well, I would have $3 left  by Friday so I could get a Big Top burger. Thankfully I knew how to cook so I ate better than my friends who survived on Ramen noodles and Spam. I would not want to relive that season either.

    At  age 22 I opened a checking account and took out $30. The banker jokingly said, “big weekend plans, huh?” Sadly, she was right.  I had huge weekend plans for that kind of money

    I commuted for nearly 2 hours every time I drove to work.

    I could hear the sexual escapades of my next-door neighbor through the paper-thin walls of my tiny apartment. “Hey, I’m trying to have a Bible study here!”

    While my life is complicated, it’s a good one. And no, I wouldn’t trade it for my 20-something self. Now if I could keep the learning, experience and wisdom I’ve gotten so far AND get my 25 year-old body back, well that’s a deal I wouldn’t refuse.

    What season of your life do you miss the most? Would you want to relive it?

  • How to Become More Likeable

    Likeable people do better in life in general. They attract more people to them, along with opportunities and invitations. Some say they are likeable because they get more “breaks” than the average person. I think it’s the opposite, and there is a lot of research to back up my opinion. I wrote about the happiness advantage here. But if likeable people get further in life, can we become more likeable, or are we dealing with an inherited genetic code that has our gregarious dial preset before birth? No matter what our natural predisposition is, I’m certain we all can improve our likeability factor by changing a few key behaviors.

    how to become more likeable

    Stop talking about yourself. When we meet new people, the natural tendency is to tell them all about us. Likeable people do the opposite. They find a way to engage the other party in talking about themselves. The more someone talks about themselves, the more they will like you. Just don’t be the one doing all the talking.

    Smile. It amazes me how many people walk around looking like they are ready to pick a fight. Next time you’re in a crowd of people you don’t know well, try smiling. You’ll find people walk over to you and introduce themselves to you. Just don’t smile and wink at the same time. You’ll attract a whole different type of attention.

    Don’t argue. This goes hand in hand with listening more than talking. Likeable people focus on what they have in common with their audience instead of their differences. Argumentative people want to know your political and religious views right off the bat so they can make clear where they stand. If you start there, expect people to slowly walk away from you and your diatribes and join the smiling pleasant guy on the other side of the room.

    What other behaviors of pleasant people would you include in this list?