Jim Rees On Learning

Hi and welcome to the I'm 10 Motivation Club. I'm here today in Central Leeds, down by the river. I've been meeting a friend of mine for the day, for breakfast, for lunch and probably for a curry tonight. A guy by the name of Jim Rees. Jim Rees is an expert in emotional intelligence and how you can use that to be more effective in sales, in leadership and in life. In this little motivational message, Jim is going to be telling you about the, the importance of personal development and how you need to take responsibility for your own success and your own resilience.

Yeah, hi and great to be here this afternoon with you, Gavin, and the conversation's been brilliant. But for me to be able to give you some of my insights from my learnings, I'll have to go back about 20 years. So we're going to rewind back 20 years. So back into when I was a sales manager, the pharmaceutical industry and was getting great results, actually, I was a great salesman, I thought, anyway, and I then went into sales management and was taking the company team from 19th, which was bottom of the company, to first within the space of 18 months. And I was really quite excited about the results that I was getting and really, really pleased with the fact that I'd gone to number one and then was really, really disappointed and completely and utterly gutted and bemused at the fact that the company weren't developing me. You know, we're talking a big global organization and here I was number one in the company in the uk and I wasn't being developed, I wasn't being put on the talent watch and being sent on various leadership programs. And I couldn't understand why. And I started to actually become what we know in our world as a mood Hoover. I actually became a bit of a mood Hoover. I was one of the sort of the Eeyores within our sales organization. You know, top, top guy, top sales results. And then I started becoming a bit of a mood Hoover. So I started throwing in grenades at sales management meetings. And, you know, and it wasn't until I, in a sheer desperation, I started to. Because I was looking for answers, I started working, taking on board Amway. I don't know whether any of you have ever tried Amway, but I was attempting to sell Amway in Yorkshire, which I suppose is a bit like trying to sell cream teas to the Eskimos. And it didn't go down too well. But what I got from Amway was the realization that actually I needed to take personal responsibility for my own development. And here I was in the corporate world thinking that because I'd got great results, I was just going to automatically be sent on the various leadership programs, etc. What Amway taught me, what I learned from Amway was that actually they sent a book a week, sorry, a book a month and a tape each week. And they were very inspirational, very motivational and they chose very specifically those books that were all around self help and self development. So that's the thing that actually got me into, swung me into taking personal responsibility for my own personal development. And I read the book a month for six months and then continued that. And that's become a habit for me in the work I do as a coach now. So that's something that I'm absolutely passionate about. I use my journal, take any inspirational nuggets that I get from the books that I read. That's in that field of self help, self development. And it's something that I encourage the people that I work with one on one or within the teams that I work with when I'm working with an organization. Okay, so my advice is very simply, if you're looking to increase your sales or you're looking to improve an element of your emotional intelligence as a leader or as a salesperson within your team, look at the aspects that you're wanting to improve and then go and look and research on Google because you can Google it nowadays. Back in my day it was going into a bookshop and looking on the bookshelf. But actually nowadays, very simple, Google and see what shows up for you. See what books are written around influence, around persuasion, around being a rock star in the sales arena. So look at those books and then go out and buy them. Do your own research or look for recommendations from other people that are doing extremely well from your industry and other industries. So look for those books that will help you accelerate you becoming a better version of yourself.

And Jim, I've got to ask as you're here, if there was one book that was going to change people's lives that was just a general sort of recommend, what would you recommend?

I think very simply, you put me right on the spot because that was a curve ball you've just thrown me. I'd say the Four Agreements is the book I'd recommend a very simple book, a really lovely read. But if you could get those Four Agreements nailed as a human being, it would transform you as a parent, as a brother, as a leader, you'd be a better all round human being.

Thanks very much, Jim.

You're welcome.