Last Time I Did That I Got Yelled At

"Last time I did that I got yelled at!"  No you didn't.  No you didn't.  Well, probably you didn't.

I sometimes hear that from the people I work with.  "I got yelled at.  I got in trouble."  No you didn't; in the last 20 years in the work force the only time anyone raised their voice was to be heard over the laughter.

Statements like that are indicative of a deeper issue - whether they red-flag a buried issue between supervisor and direct report, or a thin-skin.

Sue Shellenberger, in her blog post "How to Take Criticism Well" suggests that the ability to take criticism is a well-developed skill.  She includes a nifty chart on how to react, and what to do if you react badly.

Read the full article here:  http://goo.gl/uqmzj6

Corporate Sociopath

I started working full time and in earnest in the 80s.  It was a different time.  Unnecessarily long hours.  Cutthroat workplace competition for the next promotion.  C-Level by the age of 30!  Absolute fear of committing a CLM (career limiting move).

At one point early in my career I found myself working side-by-side with a corporate sociopath.  I didn't know it until I happened upon an article describing her qualities to a tee.  Armed with that information I was able to share it with others who were in danger, which was frankly, anyone standing between her and her goal.

The attached article lists the signs of a sociopath.  She displayed easily 5 or 6 of them.

The good news was, as long as she didn't report to you, you were safe.  Everyone, and I do mean EVERYONE who she ever reported to ended up unemployed as she plotted her upward mobility.  Those of us who reported to her, which I at one point I did, were perfectly safe as long as she detected no threat.

The truth is that the few years we worked together were the most productive of my career mostly because I knew her game and I played my part well enough that she gave me leeway.  I was, in no way, a threat.  In fact, working around her corporate sociopathic idiosyncrasies I gained many skills I wouldn't have otherwise, such as learning to recognize her many great qualities and to work together to achieve our departmental goals.

Is there a corporate sociopath in your workplace?  It doesn't have to hurt you, necessarily.  Read the article here: http://goo.gl/gNVcgU

Cold Call Hell

I like getting cold calls from sales people.  I learn a lot from them.  Some of them are very good and walk me through the buying process expertly.  I literally take notes.

I always try to return calls to sales people who leave me a voice mail.  I know how frustrating it can be to not get a call back.

Sometimes, and frankly not very often, a really bad sales person will call.  Today was one of those days.  The guy launched right into his spiel for a product we could never possibly use, and after talking a mile a minute for about 3 minutes he asked me if it was something in which I'd be interested, a direct question that invited a direct answer.  Not a "how does that sound?" open ended question, but a closed yes or no question.  "Is this something that interests you?"

I gave him a chance to clarify.  "Are you asking me if I'd be interested in buying your product?"  "Yes," he said.  "Is this something you could use in your operation?"

"No," I responded politely.  "No, it's really not."  I waited for him to probe a bit, try again, restate his case...anything.  After a prolonged period of uncomfortable silence he finally thanked me for my time and hung up and went back to his misery of unsuccessful cold calling, probably wondering why nobody's buying.

Networking

Charlie Chaplin and Albert Einstein

You never know what happens when two people from different vocations get together.

Who knows what these two were talking about?

Meet someone new.  Before you do that, read this: http://goo.gl/4xkECi

The Man in the Mirror

Say what you like about Michael Jackson, his song "Man in the Mirror" perfectly addressed matters of conscience, and judgement.

Recently there was a heated and frustrated conversation in our office regarding the obvious dishonesty we had encountered from sources outside of our venue, and thus far beyond our control.  On our team it is understood that misrepresentation of product or circumstance is not tolerated or supported.  What that means, practically, is that if we tell you we have someone else interested and we need you to make your buying decision it means that we have someone else interested and we need you to make your buying decision.  It isn't a tactic.

When I first started traveling for business I did so with people on a per diem.  They didn't need to collect receipts for meals.  That wasn't my situation - I paid for everything on my personal credit card and submitted an expense report.  One of my peers offered me his receipt, worth a few bucks more than my actual meal cost.  It happened again a couple of weeks ago - a dinner receipt worth more than what I actually spent.  The idea was that I'd claim the higher amount and pocket the difference.  I'm told it happens a lot.

I'm not saying I'm a saint, I'm not saying I wasn't and haven't been tempted, but I do know this.  It's  already not pretty when I look in the mirror.

I don't want to make it any uglier by seeing a liar staring back.

In the Company of My Peers

I had the opportunity to spend a couple of days with an elite group of men and women, less than 20 in all of Canada who specifically do what we do.  I realized a few things.

I'm not the smartest guy in the room.  Never have been.  I'm sometimes I'm amazed to find myself in the company of some of the people in whose company I sometimes find myself.  From co-workers to board members to regular folks with common interests, I'm usually in awe.  But if I'm smart enough to get into the room I make it a point to shut up and to listen.

I don't have all the answers.  See above.  But I do have lots of questions, and I sure do learn a lot when smart people get talking to each other.  The trick is to stay engaged by contributing, asking a few questions and seeking clarification, and then repeating back what you think you've heard.

I don't fake the answer if I don't know.  That's painful, and I don't mind asking someone to explain an acronym or forgive my ignorance.  I admire people who rattle off stats from the top of their head, but if it doesn't help me achieve my goals, I don't waste a lot of gray matter on it.  Not a lot available.

A good laugh goes a long way.   And I'm occasionally funny.

Dad Brags

My son will have written his last exam at university by the time you read this.  He's the youngest of our three who all attended university.  He may well go on for even higher education, his choice, and I am confident of his and all of my kids' success in their careers and in life.

Here's why I'm bragging.

• All three of our children chose programs they really wanted and stayed at home while they studied.  That can't have been easy as normal household life did go on, although we did try to accommodate around crunch times, exams, etc.
• Our kids paid for their own education  (they had part-time jobs through high-school and university and saved their money)
• They all finished university debt free without having taken loans for tuition
• They're pretty darned normal - not bookworms or lifeless study hounds.  They had active social lives.

Their mom and I are average folks in an average income bracket - so not a lot of help there.  I attribute their success to a few factors, as well as to their own drive.

• A stay-at-home mom for most of their lives, who was relentless in her support of their education
• My kids like and support each other
• An outstanding Catholic education system that provided a solid moral compass
• Mass together as a family, weekly (with occasional exceptions for work, travel or frankly, let's admit it, post-Saturday night blues)

Claire and I are kind of proud of them.

It's Your Thing

"It's your thing, do what you wanna do.  I can't tell you who to sock it to"  Isley Brothers

It takes all kinds.  Here are three things I've learned from people I don't normally run into socially, but have had the pleasure (and occasionally the displeasure) of interacting with professionally.

1.  Your thing is not necessarily my thing.  I'm as much into inclusiveness as the next guy, but it's hardly inclusive if all we're doing is tolerating each other's presence.  I may not understand or embrace your cause, but I get that you do.  If we're going to do business, the faster I appreciate your enthusiasm the sooner I can get you to open your wallet and share a little of what's inside of it with me.

2.  "Let's not make a thing of the thing until it becomes a thing."  My old boss used to say that to remind us not to escalate a situation prematurely, but that doesn't mean she wasn't perfectly capable of doing so if it was called for.  No need for confrontation, but that doesn't mean acceptance.  I don't buy the "if it's not hurting anyone..." argument; dig deeper - what's the real story?

Some people you just can't do business with, and that's OK.  Just don't assume, but when the decision is made, commit.

3.  Good things may come to those who wait but good things come sooner to those who go out and get them.   There are all sorts of potential customers out there, and going through the usual channels just puts you in line with every other sales person going through the usual channels.  Read a newspaper, watch the local news, pay attention to your community.  There may be business walking right by the front door because we haven't asked them to come in.

Nobody's Buying!

"Nobody's buying!"  I've heard sales people get together and whine about it.  Hell, I've done it.  Sales are down ergo the world is to blame.  The weak can always find someone to commiserate.

That's too bad.  There are lots of mitigating factors that can affect sales, many (most?) out of our control.  The price of the dollar, the state of the economy, the peace of the nation....But I am also reminded that excuses don't put bread on the table.

If what I'm doing isn't working then I have two choices.  Change how I'm selling or change what I'm selling.  Neither is easy.

Nobody's buying?  Maybe.  Sometimes if feels like nobody's selling.

Focused Effort

One of the cool things about social media and general sociability is keeping in touch with like-minded individuals, discussing business and learning from their success and failure.  I freely confess I have had the knack of knowing which of my peers' best behaviours I should imitate, even if their business is completely different than mine.  Someone else's good idea modified to fit my situation is potentially a great, new and innovative approach.

With permission, one of my successful friends has agreed to let me share the three steps he took to hit some very steep sales goals last fiscal, which I shamelessly emulated (copied).

• He kept his eye, and his team's eyes, on the goal.  The sales target seemed impossibly high, in fact it was common knowledge that there was no way for the team to achieve it (they did).  He eliminated all distracting behaviour with one simple question, "will this help us to achieve x$?"  (the annual sales goal).  If not, the intended activity was not approved.  As he likes to say, "strategy exists so we can say 'no' to some very good ideas." 
• Measurable activities were broken down into manageable daily goals.  X number of prospecting calls per month meant X number per day, a more achievable goal.  Same for sales calls, trade show leads, you name it.  Do the math.
• Time periods are front end loaded.  Want to make X number of calls in a month?  Do the math, dividing the number by 15 days (3 working weeks) instead of 20 days (4 working weeks) so even if you fall a bit behind or have to do other activities that take you away from the phone, you're not scrambling in the last week (along with all the other mediocre sales people dialing for dollars).  The same for the year - divide the annual sales goal into 11, not 12 months and spend the last month with maybe a bit of catching up instead of desperately begging your customer for a signed contract just to hit the sales target.

What I noticed most was what he didn't say.  None of the old "if you believe it, you can achieve it" horse crap plays into his plan.  It's all about straight up focused effort and uncompromising vision.