A CEO’s Review of Author Dusan Djukich’s best-selling Straight-Line Leadership: Tools for Living with Velocity and Power in Turbulent Times
By Ray Titus
Of the 40-50 books I read each year, few have had the impact on me that I felt from Dusan Djukich’s Straight-Line Leadership: Tools for Living with Velocity and Power in Turbulent Times. It’s a powerful look at how real success happens and how goals are achieved. The journey runs along a simple, direct path: the straight line.
As Djukich describes it, straight-line leadership means seeing our life and work with honesty and without fear. They see what must be done and then make the decision to move forward and then get it done. I’ve spent my career on the straight line, setting goals and driving toward them resolutely, and Djukich has handed me another tool for motivating my organization to follow the same path.
I wish I could claim credit for discovering this book, but it was given to me by one of our franchise owners. One reason it makes such a difference with people is that it’s written in short chapters, and they can fit in two or three chapters when time allows – if they can put it down.
Takeaway #1: It all begins with the Inner Stance.
Turning uncertainty into action starts by analyzing what Djukich calls your “inner stance” – the place where you begin your journey. He defines the stances of three common personality types: Circle people, who delay action because they think they need more information; Zigzag people, who constantly shift from high energy and excitement one moment to uncertainty and confusion the next; and the ideal, Straight-line people, who simply get things done by focusing on the road ahead and move decisively toward it.
Takeaway #2: Decisive action is the cure for fear.
Fear has always been a great motivator for me – not mine, but other people. I learned early in my business career that I could surpass others by outworking them, especially those who were so afraid of looking bad if they didn’t even try. Djukich sees fear stopping people from accomplishing their goals; they’re so afraid of looking bad, they’re paralyzed. His solution: “decisive action.” Define the actions you need to take and then – well, to steal a famous slogan, just do it.
Takeaway #3: It’s all about attitude.
One of the ideas in this book that most resonated with me was the optimism, the message that it’s all in your attitude and how you approach things. I’m a very positive person; that’s how I live my life. But for someone who is maybe a bit more negative, they might find it hitting them right between the eyes. It’s all in your approach and your attitude and the way you accept things. For instance, there’s worry versus concern. Worry is a negative emotion that does nothing to move you forward, while concern will focus you and lead you to action.
Bottom line: Don’t stand still.
That’s where it begins, with realizing what you must do and taking action to do it. Don’t stand still worrying and delaying. Focus on the future. How are you going to make the decisions you need not just to grow as a person but to grow your business as well.
Bonus Read: Selling Today, by Ray Titus
I love to help people achieve what they’re looking to achieve – being a connector and connecting the people with their dream – and sales has been so important in growing United Franchise Group. I get so many questions about selling from our franchise owners, I decided to write this book sharing time-tested principles of selling.
The book runs through all the sales techniques and attitudes you need, from cold calling to closing, with advice in between like dressing professionally and carrying a positive attitude into every interaction. Of all of them three have made the biggest difference for me:
Every salesperson should use consistent messaging, with a standard presentation template for every call. You’ll customize it for each prospect, but every presentation should have the same overall message every time.
Salespeople should make cold calling a regular part of their daily routine, and that includes attentive follow-up. It’s what sales is all about. It amazes me how many sales never come to fruition simply because the salesperson didn’t follow up and ask for the business or check in with an existing client to make sure they keep the business.
The selling process should also include a daily sales review. Set your sales goals and then work backward to plan the steps it will take to get you there. Like Djukich, I believe in setting a clear path for where you want to go and then taking decisive action to get there. Before you can move forward, you must know where you are, and then choose to move forward.
There’s an old saying that nothing in business happens before you have a sale. Selling Today will help you get it all started.
