Throughout the year, I spend a great deal of time talking to business folks. I talk to sales professionals, health care professionals, restaurant owners, importers/exporters, retailers, etc. For the most part, it’s both fun and rewarding. But nothing is perfect.
From time to time, I have to
deal with a SEG.
A SEG is a person who tries endlessly – to find a flaw in the system (even if one does not exist), and who loves to be the person who’s the fly in the ointment. If you speak or consult for a living, you know who and what I’m talking about. They come up to you during breaks at your seminars or raise their hands and ask questions like, “Duh, you’re not saying that I have to do A, B, and C…ARE YOU?” They don’t just ask those kinds of questions, but do so wearing what is frequently called a S**t-Eating Grin (aka SEG). And THAT is where the name comes from.
The SEG is trying to find a potential weak spot in a given plan – ANYTHING that will help the SEG continue to live safely in the world of FAILURE. The SEG can then go home to his/her spouse and say, “I WOULD be successful, but…but…but…but…but…”
Most speakers just let the SEG have their day in the sun. Most speakers allow these folks to take their egos and attitudes out for a little stretch. It’s just part of being successful. The more successful you are, the more folks who think they are on your level, attempt to take you down.
Like I said, most speakers
and consultants take it.
BUT NOT ME!
In 2010, I made it my NEW policy to shut these idiots down – and do so in a way that destroyed their fragile ego. You see, I have a choice: I can stand there and allow someone to belittle my information OR I can sleep at night by shutting down a person whose only agenda is to make him/herself feel better by pointing out the one tiny cloud (real or NOT) on what is, for the most part, a cloudless day.
I choose the latter, because if I don’t do
anything, then who will?
What makes a SEG a SEG?
For starters, the SEG is usually very insecure and has a history of having done “okay” but NEVER great. In other words, in their opinion, they’ve always been just “a thread away” from doing GREAT, but reasons A, B, and C held them back from their success.
The SEG believes that their success, let’s say – as a carnival barker-style chiropractor (for example), somehow allows them to sit at the same table as me in terms of business. But WE ALL know that their success had NOTHING to do with their business know, rather, just how well they were able to lure prospective patients in with FREE EXAMS, and then bill their insurance like they were robbing the patient’s piggy bank. That’s not success in business – that’s just a person who is able to add different services (each of which has a special billing code) so that they can stack the bill to the insurance company. Are their charges REALLY in the patients’ best interest?
I guarantee you that chiropractors who
lack integrity won’t be “LIKING” this blog.
As a business owner, the SEG is typically the guy who’s won the BEST BUSINESS AWARD from the Chamber of Commerce, but only because of who he “stroked” to get that award (LOL).
When I’m speaking, I can immediately spot the SEGs in any audience. Those who speak for a living can probably do the same. I can look at a person and KNOW that, at the end of the day, they will only get half way up the ladder of success. They sit there with that grin on their face – hoping to find a little gap that lights the path that will further cement their never-ending failure. During the seminar breaks, they try to find other SEGs with whom they can commensurate and find the finite flaws in what was presented. If they were watching the Miss America Pageant, it would go something like this:
“Duh…those legs are way too long and cut for me, and did you notice that freckle just behind her left ear. Like…OMG!”
Another Example:
DR. MARC: “In order to be successful, you must actually WORK….”
SEG: “Hey guys…teehee…did you hear what he said – he said that we have to WORK! Like – no way man. Like who the heck is going to do thaaaaat. I just want to sit around and play on the internet all day.”
What the SEGs do is find reasons why other people and/or entities are keeping them from their fortunes. There is always something else or someone else to blame. That’s why the SEGs are always looking to change something (additions) rather than make something better.
SEG: “Dr. Marc, our pizza place can’t survive just selling pizza, so we’re adding sushi rolls to the menu.”
DR. MARC: “Isn’t it possible that your pizza formula needs improvement…kind of like Domino’s bravery and what they said about their pizza? Isn’t it possible that you suck at making pizza, and are now making the pizza the scapegoat for your…err..short-comings? Isn’t it possible that you have lousy employees who wear a facial expression that looks like they’re constipated all day? Isn’t it possible that you don’t do anything to make your business stand out as a pizza place, rather, that you’re just average with nothing really special going on?”
SEG: “Dr. Marc, see – you don’t like expansion and you don’t know anything about the pizza business. The pizza business is DIFFERENT from all other businesses. You are STUCK in the mindset that a pizza place should focus on making and selling…err…the best pizza. Silly goose!”
DR. MARC: “Yes – I hear that about EVERY business – that EVERY business is DIFFERENT. That’s a load of crap. Business is business when it comes to the core of any FOR-PROFIT organization.
SEG: “Errr…uhm…uhhh…that’s because you market well.”
DR. MARC: “So you want me to apologize for marketing well? Is that correct?”
SEG: “Yes.”
DR. MARC: “Did you ever stop and think that – maybe you shouldn’t be in the pizza business?”
SEG: “NO! Instead of me becoming a better pizza maker, I’m just going to add stuff to my menu that makes absolutely no BUSINESS SENSE. I’ll show you! You’ll see!!!”
The SEGs are always the ones who talk to ME in a way that suggests that, “You’re a stereotypical used-car salesman just like me.” Point of fact, I am NOTHING like you, and you will NEVER be anything like me (never mind even coming close to success). I don’t have to play games with people, and I don’t have to add sprinkles and tons of other toppings to my gourmet ice cream. That’s the problem: Most of you are selling plain old store-brand, freezer-burned vanilla. It’s not even made with real vanilla bean!
The SEG tries to play the role of the honest business person, but just beneath the surface is a scum-bag that can hardly contain him/herself. You can even spot a SEG as they approach the podium or the front of the room. They walk up to you like a person who’s going to attempt to sell a snow cone to a snowman.
I always wonder why SEGs attend seminars. I think it’s because they want to feel like they’re doing SOMETHING – even though they’ll never do ANYTHING. At the end of the day, the SEG attends the seminar and then finds excuses to only implement 10%-20% of what was recommended. It’s tragic, yet common.
When SEGs return home from a seminar, they take the form of someone like your husband or wife. They only have problems and live in a constant state of crisis and failure. If you spot a SEG, run in the other direction – FAST! They are thieves of energy and the cure for happiness.
There will be no additional
blog posts this week.
Have A GREAT Day!
…Dr. Marc