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While the definition of success may be debatable, most people would agree that the leaders of companies getting good traction have likely garnered some measure of it. Want to know how high achievers get to the top? Here are quotes from 20 founders and CEOs on the daily habits that help them get more out of business and life.

1. Prioritize a daily to-do list.

I've got a running task list called "near-term," which contains things that I want to get done during the next one to two weeks. Every morning over coffee, I pull from that list to build a task list called "today." I make a commitment in the morning to clear this and make sure to deliver at the end of each day.

--Sean Duffy, CEO of Omada Health, a digital-therapeutics company that was selected by Fast Company as one of "The World's 50 Most Innovative Companies."

2. Remember names.

Not just staff members but also their spouses, kids, and even pets, if appropriate. Obviously I don't interrogate people for these names, but as they come up in conversation, I try to make a mental note. It helps me to get to know my team...and your team [notices] that you are actually paying attention.... There are several tricks you can do to try to remember someone's name. I always repeat the name when I hear it and then say it a few times over in my head.

--Jonathan Cogley, CEO and founder of IT security company Thycotic which ranks at the 2,671 on the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest growing companies in 2014, up 760 spots from 2013.

3. Research people before meeting with them.

Before a meeting, I always do research on whom I'll be meeting with. Understanding the person's work history, the school they went to, or even knowing their hometown helps me tailor the way I communicate with them.

--Mike Zivin, cofounder and CEO of Whittl, an online appointment booking platform for neighborhood businesses, which recently raised a $3.3 million series A round with backing from GrubHub co-founder Mike Evans as well as GrubHub's first VC, Origin Ventures in Chicago.

4. Schedule family time.

Most small-business owners and entrepreneurs start a business to make a better life for their families. If you get caught in the trap of working 20-hour days, your business may thrive, but at what cost? You may be able to send your kids to a great college, but if they've never spent an afternoon with you in 18 years, is it worth it? I'm very conscious of making time for my kids, whether that means working with them (my oldest is interning in the office this summer) or carving time out to go to tournaments and games. It's easy to get caught up in the day-to-day, but it's so important to step back and look at the big picture.

--Ted Devine, CEO of online small- and microbusiness insurance agent Insureon, a company at the 107 spot on last year's Inc. 5000 list.

5. Walk while working.

Part of being a successful executive is being able to interact with people at a moment's notice, which requires a fair amount of stamina. To achieve that, I work at a treadmill desk all day, and end up walking about eight miles each day.

--Douglas Merrill, former CIO of Google and now CEO of ZestFinance, a big-data startup that uses more than 100,000 data points about an individual to figure out if he or she will pay back a loan.

6. Avoid all habits.

I think having randomness in my day is critical and keeps my brain active. I see too many people whose habits ultimately stifle them. They won't try something new because it conflicts with something they've always done. When I feel I'm falling into a rut, I try to find a way to change things up. That's one of the reasons I travel so much. Of course, it gets me in front of clients, which is critical, but as much as anything, always being in new environments keeps my mind sharp and my thoughts flowing.

--Rodney Williams, cofounder and CEO of LISNR, a new communications technology company that sends data over sound waves (such as streaming video) and recently won the Gold Cannes Lion for Innovation in Mobile.

7. Purge your email inbox.

I get my email inbox to one page by day's end. My job is to communicate and build relationships with clients, prospects, and employees, and all email is dealt with, responded to, or filed as complete. It only stays in the inbox if it needs further follow-up. People need to know they can get response from me, not just the other way around.

--Darin LeGrange, CEO of Aldera, a company that provides health plans (insurers) with the back-office technology that handles billing, claims processing, coverages, and more.

8. Avoid all carbs before noon.

That's my peak energy time, and too many carbs throw me off my game. The momentum created in the morning goes a long way into the afternoon. If you don't start strong, you don't finish strong.

--David Kalt, founder and CEO of Reverb, a marketplace for musical instruments and gear that has raised about $5 million in funding and expects to do $130 million in transactions this year, up from $40 million last year.

9. Don't dive right into work in the morning.

Without fail, I start every morning off with a cup of "proper English tea," even when traveling in San Francisco, and leisurely check the daily newspaper headlines on my tablet, before diving into email and catching up on the company Chatter feed. Having a slower-paced morning routine helps me work more efficiently as the day goes on.

--Jeremy Roche, CEO of FinancialForce.com, an ERP solutions provider built on the Salesforce1 Platform which equips customer-centric businesses with a unified cloud platform and all the applications necessary to grow both the top and bottom line.

10. Make small but meaningful personal statements.

After the ritual coffee every morning, I make sure I have a clean pair of crazy socks. No crazy socks, no glory. They anchor my confidence and remind me that different is good. Everyone could use a personal statement.

--Ahmed Albaiti, founder and CEO of Medullan, a digital health innovation company that works with payers, providers, and pharma on patient engagement.

11. Quantify your life.

There are 8,760 hours in a year, and I know exactly how many of them I have spent working, with family, exercising, or on community activities. For the last 15 years, I have kept a matrix of how I spend each hour in the day in an effort to live a balanced and optimized life. I've had nine major surgeries as part of a lifelong battle with Crohn's disease, so tracking my time and health is essential to helping me maximize every moment. It's also provided the perspective of both a patient and an executive to my companies.

--Jeff Margolis, chairman and CEO of Welltok, creator of CafWell, the health optimization platform that helps consumers achieve optimal health. Previously, he founded the health IT company TriZetto, and took it from startup, through IPO, to a $1.4 billion leveraged buyout.

12. Pay attention to people, not devices.

Put the cell phones away. I try to keep them out of sight when I'm around my kids and in all executive meetings.

--Rick Morrison, CEO of Comprehend Systems, which works with big names in the life-sciences industry, such as Boston Scientific, Astellas, and AstraZeneca, modernizing and improving the quality in their clinical process through cloud-based tech.

13. Wake up early and swallow the frog.

Mark Twain was onto something when he suggested you should tackle your most challenging project first thing in the morning. I wake up at 5 a.m. almost every morning, including weekends. My mornings are a time to tackle thought-intensive tasks, or approach projects with a new perspective. I consider 5 to 8 a.m. my power hours, and try to get through one significant undertaking by 8 a.m. every day.

--Neha Sampat, CEO of digital tech solutions provider Built.io, which powers innovation at the intersection of enterprise mobility and the Internet of Things (IoT) for startups and Fortune 500 companies. Sampat also co-founded KurbKarma, was named a "San Francisco Business Times 40 under 40" honoree, as well as one of "50 Women in Tech Dominating Silicon Valley" in 2015.

14. Don't "find" time for family, make time.

As the CEO of a rapidly growing company, it's easy to let the job consume you completely, to the detriment of those closest to you: your family. It's not enough to "find" time to spend with your children, because the job will always find a way to fill every minute. So I make it a priority to spend two hours a day focusing only on my children. It helps me to recharge my batteries, think more creatively, and it also gives me that daily reminder of why I work so hard.

--Ratmir Timashev, CEO of Veeam, a data center backup company founded in 2006 which now employs more than 1,500 employees around the world and brings in hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, with its sights on reaching $1 billion in revenue in the next five years.

15. Talk constantly with your team.

Team culture is critical in the American service economy. The only way to make sure that your team is working together at an optimal level is to make sure that you talk both formally and informally with your team.

--Vikram Aggarwal, CEO of EnergySage, a solar-marketplace company that recently secured a $1.5 million Series A round of funding and announced a partnership with Green America.

16. Drive your kids to school every day.

Sure, I would love to sleep later than 6 a.m. every day, but that half hour we spend in the car is amazing. I also try not to schedule client or internal meetings at 3 p.m. That's when I have a scheduled conference call with my sons. They get on board the bus from school, and that's our time to chat about the day so far. Finally, in the evenings, from the moment I walk in my home until they go to bed, my phone stays at the front door so they understand that family time is a priority.

--Sandy Rubinstein, CEO of DXagency, an ad-engagement agency with clients that include DirecTV, HBO, MTV, and Whole Foods.

17. Meditate daily.

Twenty minutes upon waking and 20 minutes as soon as I walk in the door at the end of a day helps me maintain a level of mindfulness that enables moment-to-moment awareness. Meditation has strengthened my ability to be open to new possibilities and ideas without attachment to "my way," and has helped foster a level of communication amongst my team that respects and celebrates new ideas, the very thing that inevitably moves business forward.

--Ernie Capobianco, CEO of digital marketing agency Sq1, which serves clients including Michaels, Jiffy Lube, Shell, and Papa Murphy's.

18. Plan for tomorrow.

At the end of each business day, I take some time to regroup and think about the most important items that need to be accomplished the next day, as well as what actions the team needs to take to accomplish those tasks.

--Michael MacDonald, CEO of nutrition and weight-loss company Medifast.

19. Exercise at least five times a week.

I either hit the gym or get 90 minutes on my mountain bike in the morning and start at 6 a.m. At first it was hard, but now I can't go without it. It de-stresses and sets the tone for the entire day.

--Jason van den Brand, co-founder and CEO of online mortgage refinancing startup Lenda, which graduated from Silicon Valley-based 500 Startups last year. Since then, the company raised its first round of funding, has been growing 40 percent month over month since December, and recently passed the $40 million mark in loans financed through the platform.

20. Publicly commend an employee.

I try to give a written compliment to an employee on something they accomplished the previous day that aligns with our company's core values. The written compliment is public to the entire company through a platform we use called HighGround. I think that doing so helps reinforce our company's core values and helps us live our values every day.

--Ethan Austin, founder of the online fundraising website GiveForward, which has raised more than $150 million and hosts 20,000 active fundraisers at any given time.

What daily habits help you achieve more in business and life?

http://www.inc.com/christina-desmarais/the-daily-habits-of-20-highly-successful-people.html

Source: www.inc.com

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William J. Howery is a former Air Force Intelligence Officer. He retired in 2012 as a Lieutenant Colonel and began his career as an insurance agent with Physicians Mutual that same year. He has a bachelor’s degree in communication from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and a Master of Business Administration from Norwich University. He is currently enrolled in the Certified Financial Planner ® course at Syracuse University. Will speaks near-fluent German, is married to a native German and has a 2½-year-old daughter at home.

LHP: As a relatively new agent, what are some of the biggest challenges and struggles you face?
WJH: When I first started, I had no real experience in insurance, sales or cold calling, and call reluctance sidelined me more often than I care to mention. I just didn’t know how to handle the objections, and I was taking the rejection personally. I’ve since learned how to overcome call reluctance. The objections no longer bother me the way they did. I’m still working to be better at keeping my pipeline full. I know that I need to have a good mix of prospecting approaches. I just need to get a strategy and be more intentional in my prospecting.

LHP: Why do you think the “survival rate” is so low for new agents, especially in the first few years? What tips, advice or encouragement would you offer to other new agents who might be struggling?
WJH: I think work ethic and cash flow are perhaps the two biggest obstacles for new agents — the former having a dramatic impact on the latter. Being an insurance agent offers a great deal of freedom, and the income potential is simply amazing. What many new agents don’t understand is that with the newfound freedom comes a great deal of responsibility. When new agents aren’t making enough sales, it’s very hard to generate the income needed to stay afloat. Then they start thinking: “This insurance business is much too unpredictable. I can work at XYZ and earn more money each week.” I have had those same thoughts. However, what I’ve learned in the last two years is that discipline and consistency pay dividends. For those who treat their insurance business with the same commitment that they give their jobs, the sales will come. LHP: Talk a bit about the current state of the Med Supp market. How is it changing, and what are your predictions for the next few years? WJH: I see the Med Supp market as a great opportunity! I’m always amazed when I visit with a prospect just one or two months from their birthday and find out that they have never been contacted by another agent. That, to me, illustrates the vastness of the market. I don’t know if there are enough agents out there to meet the demand.

LHP: How do you adjust your sales approach for each prospect based on age, income, gender, etc.?
WJH: I have found that asking questions helps me to zero in on their needs as well as identify important clues on how to handle them. Some people just want the facts; others want to be more relational, and some just want to get it all over with. I’m sensitive to the cues that I’m given and adjust accordingly, while making sure they have the information they need to make informed decisions. I make it a point to make sure they feel like they’re in the driver’s seat and not just having a product pushed on them.

LHP: How do you expect the demographics within your client and prospecting base to shift in the coming years, and how will you adjust as more boomers retire?
WJH: More and more seniors are choosing to continue working beyond 65, so those who have decent group coverage are choosing to postpone their Medicare Part B enrollment and Medigap coverage. Many of the baby boomers are still energetic and active contributors in the workplace, and they’re not ready to hang up their hats. That shift will naturally require me to adjust my prospecting to include more people who are beyond 65 years old and perhaps eventually make them my primary focus.


http://www.lifehealthpro.com/2015/02/24/how-one-agent-overcame-a-fear-of-cold-calling...

Source: lifehealthpro.com

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Why do so many salespeople refuse to learn new prospecting strategies and change sales tactics that don’t work? Change is the only way to grow and excel, so why not follow the path to the highest commissions, fastest closes, best meetings and most powerful relationships?

Much of this reticence comes from the fact that change feels uncomfortable. Change is hard. Change makes us vulnerable. We no longer have a clearly defined path. We’re not certain where our next steps will take us or exactly what to do when we get there.

Just as important, many sales leaders don’t know how to evaluate change, so they measure their reps on legacy activities — even when they know that change is essential to deliver significantly improved results.

Change starts at the top
In his amazing article “Do You Lead from the Top or Within?” businessman Ali Soheil offers an insightful perspective on what it takes for leaders in various industries to keep up with the pace of change in today’s quickly evolving business world. Put simply: To lead the effort for change in our organizations, we must first change how we lead.

“Only a small group of leaders truly understand and more importantly embrace good change management competencies. What most people talk about and label as change are in fact the antecedents not the change itself.”

Let me use a real-life example. A good friend of mine decided on a goal of losing some weight and getting healthy. He renovated his basement and bought some expensive exercise equipment and a fantastic sound system to stay motivated. Six months later, I asked how his training was coming along. He confessed he hadn’t done any.

This is a classic case of confusing the antecedent (obtaining the equipment) with the change itself. Change will not happen until behaviors change. Every antecedent is followed by encouraging or discouraging behaviors. In my friend’s case, the discouraging behaviors stemmed from a tired body at the end of the day, a couch, a bag of chips and his favorite TV show­ — things he had no plan to overcome.

As leaders, we make the same mistake every day. We get comfortable and declare a “win” too soon when all we’ve really done is introduce the antecedents. When you make changes which impact your customers or employees, you must take adequate time to understand the implications and plan for them. Otherwise you’ll have wasted your time and resources.

Source: lifehealthpro.com

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