Table Of ContentPraise for Repeat the Remarkable
“One of the demons that overcomes individuals and organizations is
complacency. This book contains the perfect antidote. Holley uses his
IBM experience as a powerful metaphor for the value of discipline that
ultimately inspires individuals and teams to soar to new heights.”
—Jack Zenger, coauthor of the bestselling The Extraordinary
Leader and The Inspiring Leader
“Perry is a natural teacher. You walk away from each chapter with
renewed enthusiasm for personal improvement change.
And it works for life as well as work!”
—Jon Prial, IBM WW Vice President, Sales Enablement (retired)
“In Repeat the Remarkable Perry reveals a step-by-step approach to not
only achieving remarkable, but a proven plan for being able to repeat
your remarkable performances. It is easy to fall into the trap of compla-
cency after the big win. Perry lays out a plan to help you avoid that trap
and become intentional about higher performance.”
—T. Falcon Napier, founder, The Institute for Productive Tension
“I am endorsing this book because Perry is Remarkable. Thirty years
of remarkable success is proof. If you too want to be remarkable and lead
a remarkable team producing remarkable results—buy, read,
and study this book. It’s all in there.”
—Darren Hardy, publisher of SUCCESS, CEO mentor, and
New York Times bestselling author of The Compound Effect
“In today’s economy, the pressure is ON to deliver better results every
year. Perry artfully explores those internal motivations that inspire
pervasive personal leadership. These motivations have the potential to
transcend people from one-hit-wonders to truly remarkable ‘chronic
overachievers.’ Repeat the Remarkable is full of great ideas to help you
lead yourself and lead your team to greater heights.”
—Mike Madsen, Vice President, IBM Software Group, Mid-Atlantic
“I found Repeat the Remarkable to be eminently practical and full of
real-world advice. This book will affirm and influence those who are
called to a leadership role. From chapters on clarity, authenticity, [and]
leaders on cruise control to reaching the hallmark of remarkable and
then repeating the effort, this book offers meaningful help for everyone
at every rung of the leadership ladder.”
—Anne Bruce, “The Authority on Motivational Leadership” and author of
Discover True North and The Manager’s Guide to Motivating Employees
“Finally a book that lays out the seemingly simple truths for someone
wanting to be more than a one-hit-wonder. . . . Thank you, Perry!”
—Bruce Mante, IBM software sales executive
Repeat
the
RemaRk able
how stRong leadeRs
oveRcome business challenges to
take theiR peRfoRmance to the next level
Perry M. Holley
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This book is dedicated to those who model remarkable
in my life every day,
my wife, Bonnie, and my children, Katie and Paul.
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content s
Preface vii
acknowledgments xi
IntroductIon 1
paRt i: the foundation foR RemaRkable
1 Remark-ability: Enter Here—
chaPter
Laying the Foundation 13
2 Clarity and the Leader in the Mirror 29
chaPter
3 What Keeps People from
chaPter
Following My Lead? 41
4 Finding Your Authentic Self 53
chaPter
5 I Didn’t Intend for That to Happen 63
chaPter
paRt ii: the fRamewoRk foR RemaRkable
6 The Model for Remarkable—
chaPter
the Framework That Makes Remarkable Work 75
vi / contents
7 Cruise Control 93
chaPter
8 The Most Difficult Person to Lead 103
chaPter
9 Fighting the Resistance 113
chaPter
10 This Is Your Masterpiece 123
chaPter
11 What Just Happened Here? 139
chaPter
paRt iii: the functionality foR RemaRkable
12 The Model for Remarkable—
chaPter
Adding Function to Your Form 151
13 The Hall of Remarkable 163
chaPter
14 Staying the Course Even After Success 175
chaPter
15 Inspire Me Toward Remarkable 189
chaPter
16 Losing Your Way 201
chaPter
17 Focus, Focus, Focus 211
chaPter
18 From Remarkable to Memorable 221
chaPter
notes 231
Index 235
pReface
a friend of mine once attended a performance of the famous group
Cirque du Soleil. As you may know, Cirque du Soleil is an award-
winning show featuring amazing feats of strength and dexterity all
staged to music. The troupe describes itself as a “dramatic mix of circus
arts and street entertainment.”1 When I asked my friend how he liked
the show, he replied, “It was amazing—truly unbelievable.”
“So, it was good?” I asked.
“No,” he replied. “It went sailing way past being good. It was truly
remarkable.”
sailing Past good
Those three words, sailing past good, resonated in my mind, and I
began to think about my life and my job at IBM. My mission there
is to help salespeople, sales managers, and sales executives “sail past
good.”
Being good is no longer enough for anyone; and actually, it never
was. If you stop at just being good, then you are more than likely los-
ing ground with the truly top performers in your industry or area of
specialization. Being good is the mere ticket of admission for being in
business today.
Being remarkable, on the other hand, is what drives great results
quarter after quarter, year after year. Being remarkable is what brings
customers to you—instead of requiring you to go out and find them.
Being remarkable activates that internal motivation we all need in
order to go out every day and find a way to do it better, faster, and
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