Getting the mojo back

A couple of years ago, my husband, Dave, and I, by accident, were shopping at a supermarket during a double-coupon sale. The store was very crowded. It was difficult to maneuver carts through the narrow aisles, shoppers were kind of grumpy, and just when I thought I’d seen it all, along comes a very senior citizen in a running suit with a jacket that read “Local Racing Team.”

She was moving right along at a good clip, with others moving their carts to make way for her. Well, let me tell you, I was a bit taken aback by her speed, her senior status really threw me (she looked like she was in her 90s), and I was extremely impressed with her “mojo”! I wondered if she had worked in a powerful position “in her day” because she seemed to know how to get exactly what she wanted. Even though I was kind of tired after a long day at work, her “mojo” inspired me.

Mojo can be described as enthusiasm, energy, or focus … even all three at once. Businesses and organizations have their own kind of mojo that grows from the energy and focus of their managers/leaders. People responsible for the company’s success (whether or not they have other employees) have to make sure their own mojo is replenished daily. This can be difficult at times, so the old saying “fake it till you make it” applies.

Just like the Broadway show that must go on, even if the star has a bad cold, daily business can’t be interrupted. Customers don’t want to feel the bad cold – they want to feel like their call, visit, or email is the best part of your company’s day. They need to know that the stars are performing just for them. They need to know there is good energy ready and waiting to serve them. They need to feel the mojo that tells them everything is right with the business!

So how does a company keep the motivation level high, on a daily basis, especially during a tough economy? Here are a couple of ideas that could help to change the feeling/thinking/attitude of leaders, so the trickle-down effect of enthusiasm goes to work:

• Hang out with positive-thinking peers and mentors.
• Focus on “igniting the fire” that helps the energy flow go from boring to exciting. It’s time to get those creative juices flowing. Begin planning for a hugely successful fall, or end-of-year, sales campaign. Make a list of new prospects to cultivate.
• Shake up the routine. Whatever the standard has been for daily tasks, change it around. Team members might like the change, and it might be just the perfect solution for improving everyone’s mojo.
• Bring in a business coach.
• Hold a “brainstorming” session with local business friends.
• Make a list of everything that’s problematic. Then it’s easier to prioritize goals to work through the challenges. Chunk out the goals into smaller, more reasonable pieces that will lead to quick success. Once one goal is accomplished, the others fall into place, too.
• Get out of the “comfort zone.” Go work on a different kind of project … switch tasks with someone … learn a different task.
• When stuck, stop! It does no good to keep doing the same thing in the same way to get the same result. Look for another option that can change the “oomph” factor.

Mojo stimulates actions and keeps us up when the economic climate is down. It helps us to bounce back from challenges. Mojo helps keep the desire for what we do at a peak. We get a core energy from our daily mojo.

I suspect that the mojo-filled senior citizen I encountered in the supermarket has her good and bad days … we all do … and I suspect she calls on her mojo to take charge on her bad days. She looked like she wouldn’t let anything scare her off. Her mojo must have included optimism, enthusiasm, determination, focus, confidence, and courage. John Wayne said, “Courage is being scared to death and saddling up anyway!” Well, if she can saddle up, so can I!

Sign up for the free IB Update – your weekly resource for local business news, analysis, voices, and the names you need to know. Click here. If you are not already a subscriber to In Business magazine, be sure to sign up for our monthly print edition here.