How A Tiny 10 Year Old Girl Can Throw A 20 Stone Man - 3 Key Lessons In The Gentle Art Of Business

Half my immediate family trained in Judo and excelled in competition. I was always fascinated by the way in which my younger brother and sister (who were small for their age) were able to throw much bigger opponents with seemingly little effort.

I remember vividly watching a training session where my sister easily threw another student flat on his back. What staggered me though was the size of the student.

He was huge.

But she didn't strain or struggle. She simply appeared to step calmly backwards as he approached and let him fall over her in a big circle to land flat on his back.

I was amazed and by the look on his face so was he.

You may be mistaken in thinking he was going easy on her, but he wasn't. There was something in the way she reacted to his movement which gave her this enormous power.

Something in the technique she used that enabled her to lift a 20 stone man off the ground and plant him flat on his back.

I'm now going to share her secret with you with ideas for applying these principles to your own business...

Dr. Jigoro Kano, the founder of Judo devised a theory known as "kazushi" which essentially means, "Using a minimum amount of strength, it is possible to throw your opponent if you force him off balance by breaking his posture."

Kazushi (unbalancing your opponent) is effectively promoting the idea of "Minimum Effort - Maximum Impact". Which, by no coincidence, happens to be the key concept behind Lean Marketing.

This understanding of Kazushi is what gave my 10 year-old sister the power and belief she needed to throw the 20 stone man.

She yielded to his forward momentum and put her foot in a position low enough to act as a lever which had the effect of disturbing his balance with the full force of his own momentum and weight behind it.

In other words she harnessed all 20 stone of his weight, combined it with her own and used it all against him!

So How Do You Use Kazushi In Your Business?

Key #1 - Balance Jim Rohn once said, "The same wind blows on us all, what matters is the set of the sail." You need to make balanced, reasoned decisions to be most efficient.

This means you need to realise the harmony in all parts of your business. It's no good chasing new business if you ignore the clients you already have. There's no point in striving for financial success at the cost of your health, friends and fun.

Balanced thinking also means the ability to put things in perspective. Small problems affect us all. It's when we see these small things as big that we get carried away and can over-react.

Key #2 - Momentum I talk a lot about using pain and gain as a motivator. This is essentially a tool for creating momentum. But momentum without a direction is waste.

Make sure you have vivid, powerful goals. Keep your end in mind and be willing to go with the flow and will of others where necessary so that your outcome can still be realised.

Don't tackle problems head on but guide people in a direction that is mutually beneficial. Argument and conflict is wasteful and should be avoided where possible.

Pace people. Show them you understand them. Then guide them and allow their own momentum to do the rest.

Don't get carried away pursuing things that do not lead to your desired outcome - otherwise your momentum may be the very thing that trips you up.

Key #3 Leverage By recognising levers you'll be able to harness the power of momentum and make it your own. Effectively harnessing energy in the same way that a sail on a boat uses the wind to make it move.

Knowing where and when to take action and understanding that the little adjustments and small things can make the big difference will give you unlimited power.

Gain support. Ask for favours. Use your network. Make other people's time and money work for you and them simultaneously and you'll achieve a lot more a lot sooner and with a lot less effort.

As the saying goes: "If you give enough people what they want - they'll help you to get what you want too.

4 Out Of 5 Small Businesses Go Bust Inside 5 Years! Finally - A Guaranteed Way To Make Sure You're Not One Of Them... http://www.leanmarketing.co.uk/toolbooks

In The News:


pen paper and inkwell


cat break through


Make Your Marketing Solve a Problem

You may be engaged in a marketing activities that are... Read More

Dont Think Like A Package Designer - Think Like A Customer

Some of the most successful package introductions have come from... Read More

Marketing Strategy - Shift the Focus

Most of the service providers I've worked for or with... Read More

Marketing On The Cheap: Join The What?

Your local Chamber of Commerce.Now before you stop reading, I... Read More

Website Promotion Strategies For Targeted Web Site Traffic

If you're looking to drive more targeted traffic to your... Read More

For Market Breakthroughs, Put Timing on Your Side

In today' s marketplace, the pressure for immediate bottom-line results... Read More

How To Choose a Qualitative Research Market

Qualitative research, whether individual interviews, in-homes, focus groups, ethnographies and... Read More

Marketing to Women -- Can I Buy You A Clue?

A while back a small business owner paid me a... Read More

Sell Your Name, Not Your Product

Do you know what the majority of people sell? I... Read More

Why Market to Generation X?

Generation X"--the 40 million or so people born between 1965... Read More

Market Yourself as the Expert

As a small business how do you compete with the... Read More

Let Your Survey Write Your Business Plan

Most entrepreneurs first write their business plan and then develop... Read More

Free Marketing Tips

Dumb Excuse #1"I'm not sure I want to invest any... Read More

Promotional Marketing Products ? Selecting the Perfect Item

People are known to shop on impulse- buying an item... Read More

Secret of Strategy - Part 1

A step-by-step guide to creating a growth strategy... Read More

What Does Your Logo Color Say About Your Business?

And not only your logo, but also your website, your... Read More

5 Tips on Establishing Yourself As An Expert In Your Community

Wondering how to get new patients into your practice? Wondering... Read More

Fax Marketing : Reaching a New Niche of Customers

Traditional marketing and advertising assumes that all of your customers... Read More

How to Protect Yourself Against the Hidden Cost of Shipping to Trade Shows

Trade Shows are lots of work, but they can generate... Read More

How to Really Get Your Customers

What Really Makes Your Postcard Mailing Successful? The biggest single... Read More

Multicultural Marketing ? Taking Care of Business At Hand

Multicultural marketing mirrors the changed face of America and is... Read More

Peek a Boo - We See You -- 7 Trade Show Tips for Marketing Managers

Peek a Boo - We See YouDoes your company have... Read More

Marketing With Brochures

With the explosion of the internet and online businesses many... Read More

Helping Your Prospects Overcome ?Buying Fears? By Using Testimonials

You DO use direct marketing for your small business? right?... Read More

Meaning and Marketing - The Trigger

In previous articles under "Meaning and Marketing", we have learned... Read More

Do You Know Where Your Marketing Dollars Are Going?

We all know the importance of marketing to increase sales... Read More

The Benefits of a Marketing Plan

What is a Marketing Plan? Marketing is to do with... Read More

Marketing Strategy 101: 10 Marketing Strategies I Learnt From My Oral Surgeon

This is how the conversation went on my follow-up visit... Read More

Make More Money with Marketing Metrics

Do you know how effective each of your individual marketing... Read More

Step by Step Guide to an SMS Campaign

SMS is good for:? Short lead times and immediacy ?... Read More

Does The Market Really Want It?

At the very heart of any successful marketing strategy is... Read More

John Kerry, Amazing Direct-Marketer!

If you want to uncover a little secret about how... Read More

Sage Advice from a Marketing Expert!

An international hair-cutting chain opened a new store directly across... Read More