A CEO used the term “golden telephone” to describe the phenomenon of salespeople waiting for the phone to ring instead of making calls to get appointments to close sales.

In an interview, the comedian Kevin Hart expressed his frustration with managers who just told him to wait and be patient for roles to come to him.

“Do they even know I’m home waiting for the phone to ring?? Do they even know I’m home??”

Kevin decided to hit the road and tour aggressively so he could show he could deliver an audience for movies or TV. “Once I did that, then they knew they had to talk to me as a businessman.”

(BTW in the interview he shared he sold over 1.2 million tickets on one tour and kept 95 percent of the gate. That’s some CRAZY math!)

What’s the message here? 

Don’t wait for the golden telephone to ring. It won’t.

Be proactive. Stay proactive. Get your team to be proactive. Create the conditions that will lead to future success. You can see the top companies doing it everywhere. You can too.

What can you put in place in the next two quarters that would dramatically increase profits, visibility, or impact for your business?