You Haven't Hit Your Peak Yet! Uncommon Wisdom for Unleashing Your Full Potential

Advice from one of America's most respected and well-connected business leadership gurus

If you haven't reached your peak, you're not alone. But still, you're doing something right. Sound strange? Well, any businessperson worth their salt knows it takes determination to reach the finish line. The business world is constantly changing so it’s essential to learn, adapt, and grow.

In all-new pieces of wisdom, common sense, and advice, Harvey Mackay shares his decades of business leadership acumen to show you how to stay relevant, fluid, and on the path for success.

• Find out how adversity can be your best friend
• Use humility in your successes to make good business partners
• Stop riding a dead horse
• Discover how recognition does wonders

Told with the sort of straight-shooting humor that only Harvey Mackay can deliver, You Haven't Hit Your Peak Yet is your personal road map for the route that can take you to the top.

HARVEY MACKAY has written seven New York Times bestselling books, three reached ^#1, and two were named by the New York Times among the top 15 inspirational business books of all time—Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive and Beware the Naked Man Who Offers You His Shirt. His books have sold 10 million copies in 80 countries and have been translated in more than 50 languages. Harvey is a nationally syndicated columnist whose weekly business advice appears in 100 newspapers and magazines around the country. He was named one of the top five speakers in the world by Toastmasters International and speaks to corporate audiences around the world. Harvey is chairman of the $100 million MackayMitchell Envelope Company in Minneapolis, which he founded in 1960.

Foreword xv

Acknowledgments xix

Introduction xxi

Section 1 Adversity 1

Adversity can be your best friend 3

Bouncing back from deflating times 5

The worst failure is the failure to try 8

Section 2 Attitude 11

Take charge of your attitude 13

A smile adds face value 16

Arrogance and business don’t mix 18

Happiness breeds success 21

Section 3 Believe in Yourself 23

People achieve to the degree they believe in themselves 25

Give your self-confidence the boost you need 27

Humility, success make good business partners 29

Section 4 Business Basics 31

The best job lessons I ever learned 33

How not to ride a dead horse 35

Discipline is the order of the day 37

Winners set goals, losers make excuses 39

Ethics is about what is right, not who is right 41

Section 5 Coaching 43

Lessons from John Wooden: Build a pyramid of success 45

Good bosses improve good employees 47

A great work environment is an excellent motivator 49

Recognition does wonders for your sense of hearing 51

Lou Holtz coaches you all the way to #1 53

Section 6 Competition 55

Know thy competitors 57

How to beat your competition 59

Competition teaches you to outswim the sharks 61

Winners thrive on competition 63

Section 7 Creativity 67

Creativity does not require genius 69

Cultivate creativity to grow success 71

Imagination is the fuel for success 74

Section 8 Customer Service 77

Warning—Customers are perishable 79

Taking care of customers is taking care of business 81

Create a service culture 83

The art of the apology 85

Section 9 Hiring/Firing/Jobs 87

Hire a professional 89

Make a bad hire and your plans could backfire 91

Firing is like public speaking; few like to do it 93

Employee retention: A cause for reflection 95

Getting a job is a job 98

How do you get better at your job? 101

Section 10 Humor/Laughter 103

Laughter: The natural high 105

A sense of humor is no joke 107

Humor works at work 109

Section 11 Ideas/Innovation 111

Ideas without action are worthless 113

Big innovations start with little ideas 115

Spark innovation in your company 118

Section 12 Leadership 121

Attention: Leadership lessons from the Marines 123

Good leaders bring out the best in employees 126

Real leadership often defies the rules 129

Section 13 Negotiation 131

Successful negotiations start with stellar preparation 133

Negotiating 101: 50 years of experience 135

Everything’s negotiable—and here’s how to do it 137

Section 14 Networking 141

Dig your well before you’re thirsty 143

How does your networking report card stack up? 145

Get to know the gatekeeper 148

Make friendships work at work 150

Section 15 People Skills 153

Ten Commandments for the office 155

Bad manners are bad for business 157

Maintain a civil tongue 159

2, 4, 6, 8—Who do you appreciate? 161

Harvey’s short course in class 164

Who’s buttering your bread? 166

The best ship to sail—friendship 168

Section 16 Persistence 171

Never too late to succeed 173

Trying times are no time to quit trying 175

Section 17 Quality/Values 177

Good enough never is 179

Do it right the first time 182

Values determine who we are 184

Section 18 Roadblocks 187

If you don’t have a plan B, you don’t have a plan 189

Stop procrastinating before it stops you 191

Don’t let fear of success hold you back 193

Section 19 Sales and Marketing 197

Law of large numbers pays large dividends 199

What makes a good sales rep? 201

Putting the sway in persuasion 203

Sales—up close and personal 205

Knowing something about your customer is just as important as knowing your product 208

Use the Mackay Sales Scalpel to sharpen selling techniques 211

Sales is everyone’s business 213

Section 20 Self-Improvement 217

Who do you want to be when you grow up? 219

Never leave well enough alone 221

Strengthen your memory 223

Experience is the name people give to their mistakes 226

Section 21 Success 229

The Seven Cs of Success 231

Success is the difference between working hard and hardly working 234

Make like a pencil and get the lead out 237

Sam Walton’s rules for success 239

Become “the most likely to succeed” 241

For long-term success, give up these detrimental traits 244

Section 22 Teamwork 247

Look for these traits in successful team players 249

When we find each other, a miracle begins 251

When “go, team, go” becomes “stop, team, stop” 253

None of us is as good as all of us 255

Section 23 Time Management 257

How to keep time on your side 259

Take the time to manage your time 261

Make the call to improve phone skills 264

Section 24 Trust 267

Who packed your parachute today? 269

Whom do you trust? 271

Section 25 Vision/Visualization 275

Visualization helps you live your dreams 277

Your vision shapes your reality 279

Section 26 Watch Your Language 281

We learn more by listening than by talking 283

Wash your mouth clean of these career-killing phrases 286

Spread the word: Don’t gossip 288

Section 27 Final Thoughts 291

The Other Seven Wonders of the World 293

The Second Ten Commandments 296

Things I’ve learned in life 298

You get what you give 300

Lifelines beat deadlines any day 302

Happy people make other people happy 304

Thoughts for a richer life 307

About the Author 311

Index 313

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