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Research suggests that people will be more engaged, more productive and considerably happier at work when they use their strengths.

(This has been extensively researched by the Gallup Organization and the results of their multi-year survey have been published in the best selling book “Now, Discover Your Strengths” authored by Marcus Buckingham.)

An optimist would say that when lemons are all you have, make lemonade. The current issue of Best Life Magazine details 10 of the greatest career moves of all time.

Here are the stories of two men that turned around difficult situations in their careers.

Karen Danziger, of Howard-Sloan-Koller Group in New York, states, “A great idea often starts with one person and is refined by another … if you see something you are passionate about, get on the bus. It’s better to be a bus on a passenger on a bus that’s going somewhere where you want to go than the driver of the bus that’s heading for a dead end.”

Carl Bernstein had been employed at the Washington Post for six years. He didn’t have a college degree; he started as a copy boy and worked his way into a reporting position. During his tenure he had managed to anger almost all of his colleagues and all but one of his supervisors. He had probably violated more company policies than the next 250 employees combined.

What Bernstein had was an incredible background of knowledge as well as contacts in Washington, D.C. He used this strength in his research, reporting and writing. But in the late spring of 1972 he was banished to what was the Washington Post version of Siberia: Covering local Virginia politics. Having angered one too many bosses, he was on the verge of being fired.

It seems Bernstein had spent a year’s worth of budgeted expense money in a very short time as he ate his way through the fine dining establishments while reporting in Virginia. In his enthusiasm to get to a story, he had rented a car and when he was finished using it, simply parked it, forgetting to return it to the rental car company. The bill was enormous. Bernstein’s days were numbered.

In mid-June 1972, Post reporter Bob Woodward was assigned to cover the break-in of the Watergate complex, because it was deemed a metropolitan (local) story. Bernstein’s instinct kicked in and behind Woodward’s back, he took on the role of refining and editing Woodward’s articles.

While not pleased with what Bernstein had done, Woodward appreciated the effort that resulted in a better, more detailed and understood story. This uneasy truce soon developed into a “dynamic duo” of reporting, with both Bernstein and Woodward bringing to bear their respective strengths.

As the story grew, Bernstein’s local knowledge, connections and persistence uncovered more than anyone at the Post thought existed. He and Woodward won a Pulitzer Prize for their reporting in 1973 and wrote two books about the Watergate affair, “All the President’s Men” and “The Final Days.”

In the movie version of “All the President’s Men,” Bernstein was played by Dustin Hoffman. He later published books on his parents, who were communists (“Loyalties: A Son’s Memoir”), on Pope John Paul II (“His Holiness”) and most recently on Hillary Clinton (“A Woman in Charge”).

Around that same time, a tie salesman became a $10 million-a-year fashion guru, but his business was going broke. The man, Ralph Lauren, was an excellent designer but manufacturing costs were driving him out of business.

Lauren took a step back and assessed his strengths. According to Bill Pullen, a career coach in Washington D.C., one of the least applied concepts in Corporate America is assessing strengths with objectivity and then concentrating efforts for success.

What did Ralph Lauren do? He outsourced production and marketing on everything but the men’s line. He took his life savings and applied them to his plan. It was a huge gamble.

Just as a reminder, the economy in the early 1970s wasn’t so hot either. Inflation was a much more serious problem than today; unemployment, already high, was growing, gas prices leaped to unheard of levels (53 cents a gallon in 1974) from what we were used to (29 cents a gallon).

What happened to Ralph Lauren? Within a decade he was doing $1 billion a year in business.

On the verge of failure, Carl Bernstein and Ralph Lauren played to their strengths. What are your strengths and are you using them to the best of your abilities?

Reading an article some time back I came across a philosophy of life. I don’t remember who wrote the article (it might have been Harvey Mackay) and I am sure I can’t remember all the parts of it, but one portion surfaced last Saturday. It was “Whenever there is a lemonade stand, stop and buy some from the proprietor. That child is going to be running his or her own business some day and they need to be encouraged.”

As I turned into my neighborhood I spotted a young man about 10 years old waving a sign. I pulled up to the curb and bought some lemonade (two cups) and gave a very nice tip to keep the young man’s spirits up in the heat of the midday sun. This young man is not going to be fighting the industry leaders in the lemonade business.

Later I reflected on what this young entrepreneur was doing and why it was working. There are lessons we can all learn from him and his lemonade stand.

First, his location selection was excellent. He placed his stand on the corner of his parent’s lawn, where there was plenty of room for his facility but more importantly, for his customers. The stand stood where there was room for his customers to pull up to the curb, out of the traffic flow, where he could safely serve them. His understanding of the importance of his site (location, location, location) would make every real estate agent nod in appreciation.

Second, his signage was effective. He did not leave to chance that people would see the stand on the lawn; he had created a sign that was easy to see, easy to read and easy to grasp what he was selling: Lemonade $.25. The sign was lightweight and was easy for him to hold and wave at potential customers. The whole thing was so simple it would make an advertising professional proud!

Third, he was precise in defining his target market. This young man was focused on a specific demographic in a specific geographic area, in this case, his own neighborhood. He waved his sign and did business with those driving automobiles and trucks on that specific street during the time he was open for business. He wasn’t trying to reach everyone because everyone wasn’t his customer. His focus would make a marketing expert smile!

Fourth, he priced the product for profit. His retail price was $.25 per cup and his cost of goods sold was less than a nickel, meaning his gross profit margin was more than 80 percent, unheard of in most businesses selling a product. He ran a low overhead operation; rent was covered, advertising was a one time expense (the sign) and he did not have to maintain a presence if he needed to take a break or shut down early. His financial savvy would bring joy to any CPA.

Fifth, his commitment to service and his enthusiasm for what he was doing was contagious. He knew his product was filling a need (selling a cold drink on a hot afternoon to thirsty consumers) and he was delighted to be there. It could be argued that he was smiling all the way to the bank but my take is that he was delighted to serve others. And, they were happy that he was there to serve them. His attitude towards making people smile would be the envy of any company; in fact, Ritz Carlton might want to consider hiring him to train their staff.

Sixth, he provided a quality product. It was so good that after purchasing one cup of lemonade I bought a second one. I am sure that this young entrepreneur went through some sort of quality control testing to make sure that the product was attractive to look at and great tasting. Maybe he asked for some input from a focus group (his parents or siblings) or maybe he just used his own taste buds as his sampling tool, but in either event it worked. His product would make the quality control manager at Godiva Chocolates proud.

Seventh, he had developed a good revenue model for his business. If you wanted to buy his lemonade you paid him in cash, in advance. This kind of cash flow system is something that he might have learned the hard way but more than likely the young business owner decided that he didn’t want to wait around for someone to pay his bill for cold lemonade in 30, 60, 90 or more days, long after it had quenched the customer’s thirst. This kind of thinking would make a banker proud; this young man was running his business like a bank, one without subprime mortgages on the balance sheet.

Eighth, he has a board of advisors to provide him with advice and counsel. Whether you are 10 or five times that age, there is plenty to learn in business and life. The young entrepreneur has issues and concerns, and needs to be able to turn to people that he trusts for candid advice. His advisors will probably teach him some things so he does not have to learn lessons the hard way. And, while his advisors want the lemonade stand to be a success, they realize that at the end of the day, it is the young entrepreneur’s business and he will ultimately succeed or fail based not on what they say but on the choices he makes. http://www.kineticdiecasting.com/renaissance.html

Down the road, when he is older, if he decides to pursue the honorable profession of business ownership, I am sure he will be notified about all the things that business owners have to deal with, including collecting sales taxes, getting the right permits, having insurance to protect the business, leasing space, hiring employees, payroll taxes, competition and all the rest. All of these things, he will learn, are not obstacles to ignore or fight but a part of doing business.

Between now and then, I am confident that he will work on upgrading the signage, maybe consider offering a larger size, changing the packaging, lowering his cost without impacting the quality, perhaps raising the price, seeking out advice from others in order to make better decisions and choices.

Above all, it is my hope that he never loses his passion and enthusiasm for taking care of his customers. Because the most important lesson this young business owner has learned is that while he has a lemonade stand he is in the business of providing excellent service to his customers. It’s a lesson we all could benefit from being reminded about from time to time.

Dear Job Seeker: We have posted this letter on the company’s Web site and it is also available to individuals who come to our office and ask our receptionist if we are accepting applications.

The reason we hire people and keep them employed is based on the contribution an individual makes to the organization. We receive many more applications than we have available positions. That is because we seek to hire the very best.

Please take a few minutes to review this letter before you complete the application and ask for an interview.

Job skills
When we post an opening, we expect the individuals who express interest to have, at a minimum, what we are seeking in terms of work experience and education.

If you don’t have that, please do not complete either our online application or a paper one. You will be wasting your time.

Passion
We hire people with a passion for what they do. Employees in this company wake up and look forward to being here, making a difference for our clients and for each other. We have discovered that passion energizes people and is highly contagious.

Values
If hard work, integrity, loyalty, honesty and teamwork are part of your nature, then you will fit in here. You aren’t likely to be hired if you are not in sync with our core values. We’ll be asking you about this should you be interviewed.

Jobs Available

Energy level
Focused high energy is the fuel that propels this company forward. A lack of energy, or enthusiasm, means you won’t last long here. We can usually see what a candidate’s energy level is during the interview process. (If you walked in and asked the receptionist for an application, the interview process has already started. If you filled out the online application we timed how long it took you to finish it. Energy = Speed).

From very humble beginnings, Brian Tracy has risen to a position of respect in the international world of business. Now living in Southern California, he has traveled the world, speaks several foreign languages and has business interests. He is an author, speaker and consultant, helping thousands of individuals on a daily basis through his books, tapes, speeches, email newsletters and coaching programs. Here are some of his thoughts about how you can become a better leader in your organization.

Optimists and Pessimists
There are three basic differences in the reactions of optimists and pessimists. The optimist sees a setback as temporary, while the pessimist sees it as permanent. The optimist sees an unfortunate event, such as an order that falls through or a sales call that fails, as a temporary event, something that is limited in time and that has no real impact on the future. The pessimist, on the other hand, sees negative events as permanent, as part of life and destiny. Make sure your associates are the optimists.

The Profession of Selling
Selling is hard. It always has and it always will be. Even for the best and most experienced salespeople, it is a continual effort. A person can make it easier by developing skills in the critical areas of prospecting, presenting and closing sales, but it is unlikely that someone can make selling an easy profession. However, once it is accepted that selling is a hard way to make a living, it somehow becomes a little easier. When someone stops expecting it to be something other than it is, much of the stress of selling goes out of it. As William James said, “The first step in dealing with any difficulty is to be willing to have it so.”

The Key Question
Continually ask, “What is the most valuable use of my time, right now?” And whatever it is, work on that. The ability to have self discipline to work on those few tasks that can make the greatest difference in life is the key quality that makes everything else possible.

Clarify The Desired Result
Start by asking “What are we trying to do?” Whenever becoming frustrated with slow progress for any reason, step back and ask this again and again, “What are we trying to do?”

Analyze Current Methods
Clarify the process of what is trying to be done by asking “How are we trying to do it?” If resistance is being experienced, perhaps the method is wrong. Be willing to objectively analyze the approach by asking, “How are we trying to do it?” Is this the right way? Could there be a better way? What if our method was completely wrong? How else could it be done?

The Narrow Margin
The game of life is very competitive. Sometimes, great success and great failure are separated by a very small distance. In watching the play-offs in basketball, baseball and football, the winner can be decided by a single point, and that single point can rest on a single action, or inaction, on the part of a single team member at a critical part of the game.

The Winning Edge
Life is very much like competitive sports. Very small things that are done, or not done, can either give the edge that leads to victory or takes away the edge at the critical moment. This principle is especially true with regard to accepting responsibility for individual actions, including everything that happens to you.

A Go-Giver; Not A Go-Getter
Someone has observed that no one ever built a statue to a person to acknowledge what he or she got out of life. Statues are built only to people to acknowledge what they gave. The most powerful, influential and successful people you will ever meet always look for ways to do nice things for others. When you meet someone under almost any circumstance, one of the best questions you can ask is this: “Is there anything that I can do for you?” Always look for ways to put in rather than to take out. The successful man or woman of today is a “go-giver” as well as a go-getter.