Razflections » Playing to Win

The Video of the Year!

Raz — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 15:56:09 +0000

So here it is…The Video of the Year! At least for Univera. It’s an amazing HIGHLIGHTS reel from ’09. During what was probably the MOST difficult business climate since the Great Depression–we, and specifically each of you, played to win. And win big we did. Take a look at what’s an amazing highlights reel of results from 2009.

The October Road Tour: LA, PHX, CHI

Raz — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:17:33 +0000

I had so much fun on the road the last week of October, and even since then so much has happened–including a SOLD OUT EBI in Lacey w/ nearly 300 attending the Corporate Office, along with a road show this week where we’ve been to about 20 cities. I am sitting in the Seattle airport having just flown in from Reno this morning and am on layover to Vancouver, having spent earlier this week in San Francisco, East Bay, and Sacramento. So back to the last week of October…Meeting with great leaders and getting to sit in as well as present in some incredible meetings with various teams! As you know from reading your weekly news and from e-mail announcements we’ve recently made, the Executive Team has been out and about, drumming up support for you as you optimize the 50% Matching Bonus for your Teams and your prospects. I know the other execs have equally impressive stories to tell about the Teams they hung out with, but since this is my blog, I’ll go ahead and tell mine. It was a great group of leaders in Los Angeles this past Monday — lots of Vietnamese attendees and a pretty mixed crowd on top of that. The event was at this swanky restaurant and we had it exclusively for our use that night! We had more than 100 people in attendance and it was standing room only, so there was tons of great energy where probably 35% of the people were guests. The host, Khai Huynh, did a great job, the varied business and product testimonials were strong and moving as well, and to top off the evening, the power went out! So we finished the last 20 minutes or so by candlelight. A few people in the front were even shining the lights from their phones onto the speakers so that everyone could see them. It was very fun and it was so obvious that the Team there is committed to transforming Los Angeles! On the way out, a 75-year-old lady told me “I’m all in. I signed up last Wednesday, made a commitment to JUST DO THIS so I flew up to Portland for the Super Regional and had a great time — now I’m here on Monday night and I’m ready to go! I feel so much more energy since starting these products a week ago, and this is going to be an entirely family activity. Go Univera!” Now THAT’S COMMITMENT: ‘In’ on Wednesday/Portland on Friday-Saturday/Back to L.A. working the biz and bringing guests on Monday…love it. Tuesday at another restaurant in Phoenix was equally awesome though with a more intimate group of about 35 people — I’m thinking about 1/3 of them being guests. Barry and Connie Lucas were the hosts, and Connie kept answering most of the questions that I was asking of the audience! I couldn’t blame her — she knew all the answers… When I left at 9 p.m., the group was still going strong. It’s so much fun to see the nucleus of energy of a small group that’s committed to making it big. Phoenix has huge potential and NEED given the debacle of real estate, and this is the group that will help transform it. I ran into a woman who was a realtor and has only been in for a few months, but said she was SO RELIEVED to find Univera. As a realtor, she’s busy but her work now is all in foreclosures, and said that it’s emotionally challenging and gut wrenching to see all these families once filled with so much hope facing the dejection of being forced out of their own home. So, in addition to the income, she loves the opportunity to bring about meaningful change to people, and that it’s so refreshing to be able to come to an event and have people that are uplifting, positive, focused on personal development — all things that are apart from the income that can be earned at Univera. Then, Chicago…Just off the hook. Ylinen’s led a great meeting, I even had dinner with “The Legend”, one of our next Diamonds, and spent some other time with fab Univera leaders. And, Kenny, totally rocked the close. Meeting was off the hook…And so is the momentum. Thanks to all the people in Univera that are making this dream possible for so many, and the contribution that’s led to SUCH A BIG WIN IN 2009! And there’s still more to come, we ain’t done “bringing it!” just yet…

Winning Big in a Down Economy

Raz — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:32:11 +0000

It’s tough to win big in business even in a good economy. It’s competitive and challenging, but it sure is easier in a boom marketplace than in a down economy. There’s never been a more difficult business environment in most our lifetimes than what we’ve experienced this past year.

But what IF, in a down economy, you could win?

And win big?

Take a look at the Univera plan we put forth on January 1st ’09, our collective approach towards “Playing to Win 2009″ delivered first half results that any Executive would be thrilled to see even during good times. Considering the challenges of the past year, we’ve got a lot to both celebrate and for which we should also give thanks and gratitude.

Yet, the game’s not over! And we need to place into high gear a new level of hustle and humility so that we can accomplish the objectives we set forth nearly ten months ago. If you’re new to Univera, never heard of Univera, or are a longtime associate, you’ll love the difference–the renewal–that you can achieve through Univera.

We’ve put together a few key components to drive the second half to even greater heights. In fourteen minutes, you’ll see what we’ve done and how we’re going to finish the second half of this year in a VERY big way. Take a look, get engaged, and let’s finish the second half of this game playing all out!

PLAYING TO WIN IN 2009

Raz — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 02:05:00 +0000

As many of you saw and heard today, we launched a very aggressive plan for this year via a video on our corporate site (us.univera.com), followed by a live call which is available for playback (check your back office for numbers).

It’s a plan to go on offense.

It’s a plan to win.

It’s a plan for your success.

If you have any interest in achieving economic, physical, and personal renewal in 2009 take 28 minutes to watch this video. The decision that you make to get engaged, or more engaged, in Univera can change your life.

BUT, any plan–however good–is only as strong as the execution of that plan.

So today’s entry, albeit a little on the long side (I’m excited!), is about getting it done. Making it happen. Crossing the goal line.

It’s about heart, effort, discipline, and your ultimate success this year. And you can’t wait until June to start to plan for your success if you’re already engaged, you’ve got to start now.

Everybody in this industry talks about goals and dreams (the terms, to a degree, are somewhat interchangeable–though I think goals are more finite and short-term oriented, and dreams often convey a “bigger than life” scenario that are longer-term but oftentimes too esoteric and intangible).

Yet, often with all this great discussion there’s a vitally important missing step.

Action.

There’s a big difference between an accomplishment-oriented dreamer and a daydreamer.

An accomplishment-oriented dreamer sets tangible dreams. A daydreamer doesn’t.

An accomplishment-oriented dreamer tracks and assesses her progress. A daydreamer doesn’t.

An accomplishment-oriented dreamer knows precisely the next action steps needed to move the few steps closer to accomplishment. A daydreamer doesn’t.

The biggest difference is in the action of it.

For example, I hear people tell me all the time they want to “Go Diamond”, and while I think they think they mean it what they often don’t realize is there’s a giant chasm between their desires and accomplishment of their dream. And often it’s the “Next Action Steps.”

Sometimes people don’t realize what it takes to achieve success, but others people know it will require hard work but they just haven’t specified how to begin.

There’s a really good book on organization skills called “Getting Things Done” by David Allen. Pages 75-77 explain a simple concept that’s critical for the success of project management, but dream/goal management isn’t really that much different. It’s just a really really big project. And a really really important one.

The magic on those pages is the simple concept of a “Next Action” for each of the projects. Specifically, every project needs to have a “Next Action” that is required in order to keep it moving. And it’s not what you need to do next year, next quarter, or next month. It’s what you need to do today, tomorrow, or this week.

At Convention I challenged everybody with the “Dream Cubes”, and to try to set an achievable dream/goal in each quadrant of your life: business, cultural, physical, personal.

Then, perhaps equally importantly, on the flip side of the cube there’s a square that lists out the “Next Actions” in order for you to accomplish these dreams. It’s the very things you need to do this week, however small, to move you closer to your dreams.

I’ve been following this process as well, with both some success and failure. Right after Convention I completed my Dream Cube, and I’m including a picture of the front and back below.

The front, of course, are my dreams. These are simply stated, and each of them has a timeline for completion–all of them are to be done by the end of 2009. Yours might be radically different, the dreams might be for three or six months from now, or maybe not for another 12-years. Whatever works for you. But once I’m done with one quadrant I’m going to re-up for something that’s bigger or different in each part of my life.

As you look to goal setting for 2009 I would really encourage that you think about the balance in your life and the various areas where you want to make an impact–the business is vitally important, but so are the other areas as well.

For example, for me there are a few important areas outside of business that I’m focused on. One of my culturally dreams is on my mind right now; when we talk about the importance of Servant Leadership in our Company, I think it’s not just about what we do and how we act at the Company but how we serve outside of it. If I’m ONLY trying to serve associates, well, this is good–but there’s a part of my life that is unbalanced, whether that be serving my family, community, etc. So a part of my cultural dream for the next year is to spend some time at an important place to me for a few weeks volunteering, while also participating in some consistent volunteer organizations in my local community.

Naturally, I’m pretty aggressive with my business dreams–being aggressive and focused on the business dreams has never been a problem, though this year I’m writing some very specific “Next Action” steps for each of the areas important to me including the business dreams.

It’s important that each of us realize that if we had a mediocre plan for 2009, we could still achieve great success through phenomenal execution.

But here we are today, with a PHENOMENAL plan. It is unequivocally the best in the industry, created by countless hours of benchmarking, incorporating field feedback, and retrospective analysis of the things that have generated our greatest growth.

We’re here with…

A completely committed team.
The best leadership in this industry, both inside and outside the Company.
The number one compensation plan in Direct Selling.
The most superior science of any nutritional products company.
An incredible owner filled with passion and commitment, coupled with resources.

And it’s all tied together with a purpose to be the best in the world, and the best for the world.

Which, in part, means binding together the culture that’s so important to each of us. My encouragement to you today is to take and understand our “Playing to Win 2009″ plan for your success, and to sit down and ensure you’re working towards targeted goals/dreams in each quadrant of your life, with the appropriate and visible Next Action step required in order for you to move forward today towards your success.

Best of success, health, prosperity, and relationships to each of you and your families in 2009.

A great story about winning

Raz — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 16:27:00 +0000

This article was recently passed onto me by my best friend (my dad) and I thought it was simply terrific…A story of both challenge and victory; some of the most important characteristics of leadership–in my opinion–include passion (which includes strongly an element of a positive outlook) and perseverance. This story speaks beautifully to both.

Clemson coach Swinney’s life has been full of turnaround stories, success

CLEMSON — To understand how Dabo Swinney was able to turn the fortunes of the Clemson football program around after it appeared everything was spiraling out of control in mid-October, you first have to understand who Dabo Swinney really is and where he comes from.

“When he was about four years old, I saw that there was something different and real special about him,” Swinney’s mother Carol McIntosh said.

Though she did not know it at the time, it was Swinney’s upbeat and positive outlook on life that helped her and her family through some of the most difficult times in their lives.

Click here to read the full article.

A pretty big day

Raz — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 03:28:00 +0000

Yesterday was a big day. Really big. Not JUST for Univera and its associates, but for people across North America who need some form of physical, financial, or cultural renewal.

If you missed it, listen to the replay: 512-703-6112 option 7

January 1st will be an even bigger day when we announce our “Playing to Win” plan for 2009.

At a time when many companies are “hunkering down” and “playing defense” and forging forward with “layoffs”, “commission reductions” and “product de-hancements”, we’re instead taking the alternative approach.

We’re going on offense.

We’re getting more aggressive.

And we’re playing to win.

January 1st at 9am PST will unveil the “Playing to Win” plan via a video launched on www.univera.com, followed by a live field call (for anybody and everybody) to kick off the new year at 10am PST. Yesterday’s announcements were just a few examples of how we’re taking the current market scenario and moving aggressively to provide solutions and opportunities to those who need it the most.