Nothing But the Truth

When I sold Saab vehicles years ago, we had an agreement between salespeople.  Since no one could reasonably expect to work 12 hours a day, six days a week, there would be times when we would have to cover for each other.

On one occasion a client to whom I had shown no fewer than 5 vehicles finally came in, ready to buy.  On previous occasions when he would walk in, my sales partner would look up and say "Jeremy, you're guy is here."  However on this, my evening off, he came in and she sold him a very nice car, kept the commission and took credit for the sale.  Her explanation?  He didn't ask for me.

When I approached the dealer principal, he told me it was my problem.  "No," I said. "It's yours.  If she's stealing from my family, she's stealing from you."  Several months later she was fired from the Saab dealership for dishonesty and misuse of company property.

I'm pretty keen on sales people telling the truth.  If they'll lie to a customer, they'll lie to their employer. 

If a salesperson is too embarrassed by the truth - either of their own lack of ability or of the shortcomings of the product they sell, they need to find new employment and maybe even a new career.

And that's the truth.

Let it Go, Let it Go, Let it Go!

I have a friend, a Christian businessman, with whom I agree (surprise!) when he says, "Let it go!"

He is referring to the holiday season debate - whether his team should implicitly recognize Christmas by wishing all of their many customers a Merry one, or with a non-denominational "Happy Holidays!" or "Seasons Greetings!"

His answer to his people is simple.  "Wish our customers a "Happy Holidays" in respect that their beliefs may not be your own, and vice versa.  Wish a "Merry Christmas" to those whom you know celebrate."

"Live your Christian beliefs, those you have (if any), year round.  Live to company standards of integrity and respect for each other and our clients year round, these are non-negotiable."

His place of business is decorated for the season, as are the back offices.  Christmas trees and coloured lights abound.  "It's just good business," he says.  He doesn't see the point in getting all worked up over the way others celebrate when he goes out shopping himself.  "If it (Christmas decor) was offensive, I wouldn't do business with them, that's all.  So far I've never seen anything offensive to the Christian belief.  Just a whole lot of good cheer."

Most of all, when confronted with this new Christian activism that insists on shaming people into recognizing the Christ in Christmas, he just smiles and sings, "Let it go, let it go, let it go."

Strategic Discomfort

There will be times in our careers when we are confronted with situations we'd rather not face.  Sometimes it's because we're in over our heads, other times we're blindsided, still others it's a train wreck in progress and we don't even realise it until it's too late.

• The incredibly bad boss who seems bent on making the lives of every living being miserable by his very presence
• The corporate sociopath who operates according to her own agenda, bringing down bosses and peers in her single minded ruthlessness
• The sales presentation gone awry because a customer takes Kevin O'Leary style rudeness as his aspirational modus operandi
• And whatever is occupying your head as a result of the actions of others...

One way to survive is to treat such hardship as a learning experience.  I am suggesting that it be embraced in a "gonna put this on my resume" type challenge.  Research it, read about it, practise it, consult with others and develop a strategy that goes beyond coping or surviving, to thriving.  Develop strategy by reading articles like this one about bully bosses: 12 Smart Ways to Deal When Your Boss is a Bully

It's one way of making the best of a bad situation, of turning other people's shortfalls into our own professional gain.  It's a great way to take back control.

But What Will They Say When We're Gone?

I heard the tale of a long serving assistant around whom the entire operation revolved.  Nothing moved unless it had her stamp of approval, and in time nothing was created without her fingerprints all over it.  Give up any bit of control?  Not on her life.  People quit doing business with, or working for the company rather than deal with her.  And she was not management, not front line and possessed only institutional knowledge - she knew what she knew because it was all that she knew.

Eventually she overstayed her welcome, making one too many demand, playing one too many department heads against each other, and she was forced to flee to "a better job."  Many people mourned her loss and wondered how the company would ever survive without it's "heart and soul."  Many, many more kept silent and held their breath until she had walked out of the door for the last time.

And then life went on.  People discovered work unfinished.  Her manager began to realise just how many times she had thwarted his leadership.  The final landmine left for her successor was defused.  They're still cleaning up the mess she left behind, and some relationships will never be healed.

I like to occasionally use "hit by a bus" thinking - what would they find if I didn't have time to clean it up one last time because I was unexpectedly hit by a bus on my way back from Starbucks?  Am I proud of what I would leave behind?  Is there anything that needs to be fixed/cleaned up/finished RIGHT NOW?

Most of us are not like the exec assistant in our story.  They'll say good things about us after we're gone.

#bullytweet

I shudder to use the word "bully" to describe anything other than actual bullying, of which I have experienced very little in my life, either as victim or perpetrator.  I'm not saying I haven't, I'm saying it was nowhere near as widespread as it appears to be today.  As it appears to be today...

I have, however, witnessed a few prominent personalities on Twitter using their 140 characters to bully tweet.  In 140 characters or less, here's my definition:

#bullytweet: Influential social media "celeb" identifying business by Twitter handle to be overcompensated for real or perceived slights  A person who bully tweets is a #twit. 

You see, when you name the business there's a good chance their social media person will catch it, and rush to overcompensate to avoid public relations damage.  I once watched a weekly TV consumer show take a company to task because they had tweeted a problem, and a full 30 minutes later they had not been contacted.  Wow, they had to wait 30 minutes.  They could have asked for the manager on duty, had the conversation, solved the problem and been on their way home in less time.

• Not long ago I followed a well-known twit as she had a meltdown and blamed her intern for deleting some very important files.  There is no doubt that her intern follows her on Twitter and must have been humiliated.  She went on to berate me with uncomplimentary nicknames for pointing it out.  #twit #bullytweet
• Recently a renowned twit and keynote speaker decided to name his hotel in a 140 character complaint about the view from his room.  If memory serves, this same guy whined about his kid's cheeseburger at McDonald's, identifying the location and an employee.  #twit #bullytweet
• A well followed travel expert tweeted about a problem in his hotel room, and fortunately the manager happened to follow this guy and had someone knocking on his door with a solution in less than 10 minutes.  Unfortunately there was no follow-up tweet of appreciation. #twit #bullytweet

It seems to me there was a time when one just picked up the phone and called the front desk when you had a problem. 

Back then, however, the whole world would never know how so very important you are, in 140 characters or less.

No #twits were named in this blog.

Leading with Love

We so often mistake the concept of love to refer only to romance, to sexual intimacy, to familial relationships.  Love can also refer to the bond between friends.  Love, we have heard, is a verb.  It is an action.  It is joyful work.

Leaders must (oh, this is uncomfortable...) love their direct reports.  They don't have to particularly like them, but they must love them.  And subordinates should endeavour to lvoe the boss, with all the same caveats.  And that love must never be expressed sexually or inappropriately.  Never.  If it looks like it's a possibility, someone has to quit.  Period.

Respect, integrity, empathy, discipline and a genuine concern.  I know a guy who prays for his worst performers, his biggest PITAs (pain-in-the-asses).  His theory?  You can't think the worst of someone and pray for them at the same time.

Love thy neighbour, we're told.  You know, the ones right outside your door.

Ain't Nothing Free

I have a friend, a social media expert, who advises never to pay for anything on the internet you could otherwise get for free.  Good advice, and I have followed it.  Good advice, but not great advice.

As a result, I have free apps on my smartphone that do half the job, which is fine when it's only half a job I need.  And so, from time to time, my knowledge is incomplete (by half) but my wallet remains full. 

Trouble is, ain't nobody looking in my wallet.  They're just listening, reading, waiting for me and wondering why I don't always have the full picture.

Ain't nothing free.  There's a whole lot of something out there that doesn't cost money.  Instead it costs in service, in time, in frustration and in reputation.  It costs in lost privacy, in information bombardment (to quote the title of Nick Bontis' book) and in an erosion of expectation

"You get what you pay for," was yesterday's advice.  I'd suggest that's still good advice for today.  I'll still be downloading apps without paying out of pocket, but I am under no illusion that any of them are free.  And feel free to demand all sorts of "freebies" from the people with whom you do business, but make no mistake; ain't nothing free.

Nurturing Thunderbeast!: Customers and TLC

I drive a '96 Thunderbird with 230,000 kilometres on it, nicknamed "Thunderbeast!".  I recently began a new assignment that will take me from almost never driving to work, to putting about 50,000 km annually on Thunderbeast!  I hope to get two more years out of it.  Her.  "Thunderbeast!"  (raises right fist, punches the air)

There are two kinds of people who should ALWAYS drive a beater (old car):

• A young man's first car should be a beater.  (Sorry, but I prefer that a young lady drive a safe and reliable vehicle at all times.)
• A salesperson's personal vehicle, if circumstances allow.  Failing that, he should never forget the lessons learned as a young man in his first car.

When you drive a beater you develop important habits.

• Always be attuned to the details.  One annoying squeal can turn into one huge repair if not dealt with promptly.  If you disregard a customer who's trying to get your attention for too long he will let you know in catastrophic, expensive ways.
• Some things are nice-to-haves, some things are have-to-haves (the difference between a functioning radio and functioning ABS brakes.)  Review your relationship with your customer regularly.  Maybe the have-to-have's of yesterday are the nice-to-have's of today, and she'll appreciate you taking the initiative to suggest it.  Maybe she's missing some have-to-have's but doesn't know it.
• Check the important things frequently, like oil and other fluid levels, tire air pressure, brake pads, tire wear, etc.  Do regular maintenance.  You wouldn't let your old car go more than 5000 km without an oil change, and yet we regularly let our best customers go months without a check-in to ensure they're being looked after properly.
• Some things don't need to be fixed, they just need to be jimmied.  Like a door key that works only if you turn it only a certain way.  Sure, you could invest in a new mechanism or you could just adjust your style.  Friendships and relationships, personal and professional are a lot like that, and the new guy trying to win the business isn't going to know the inside stuff.  Our clients should know we're part of their inner circle by the way things happen intuitively, and it doesn't hurt to point that out.
• Of course, you're not doing anybody any favours by ignoring the things that just need to be fixed.  Let's just be honest with each other, we'd both be better off if we address that nagging detail we're pretending not to notice, even though it drives us both crazy.  Good friends can speak plainly.
• NEVER drive your old beater past a dealership lot full of new vehicles while you stare at them with lust in your heart.  A beater is like your long established customer - if they sense you're playing them, you will wish you had never even let the thought cross your mind, and rightly so. 

Come to think of it, this is all good advice for a marriage , and yes, I am the old Thunderbeast in the driveway of our 30 odd years together.  Insert your own metaphor here.

Sell the Truth

I guess we all know sales people who would rather lie than even admit a passing acquaintance with the truth.  From the gal who claims her product can do things it can't, to the guy I know who continues to lie about his marital status just to get his "hot" customers between the sheets, and/or onto the balance sheet.  (The same guy claims commission on purchase orders that don't exist, and adds notches to his belt for conquests he's never had.)

People lie because they're embarrassed by, or afraid of the truth.  Add one more reason for sales people to lie:  the truth they fear is that they're lousy sales people.

Sell the truth.  It takes more talent, it takes a little longer, you lose some sales until you realize that selling to the wrong customer may be part of the problem.  Once you focus your efforts, prepare,  build your product and market knowledge, the truth will set your fee; nice and high.

Sell the truth.  Watch this rant:  http://youtu.be/sr3NTmv5sIk

The Professionally Ambitious

There was a time when I worked for a large multi-national company that was making aggressive inroads into Canada.  I was a young, eager, hungry and tireless manager competing with countless others for the next promotion, and the one after that.

In a well established company, that level of ambition is a little harder to find.  Perhaps it's because everyone has a different start date (as opposed to the thirty of us who all began on the same day; surveying the room and and sizing up the competition).  Perhaps it's because opportunity comes less often when a business is growing slowly, or not at all.  Perhaps it's because there isn't a culture of ambition.

Whatever the case, I know two things to be true.

• Professionally ambitious people are rare.  I'm not talking about people who want a bigger salary, longer title, or a corner office.   I'm talking about people who feel it their moral professional duty to take on more responsibility for the good of the company, and for the good of their careers, and because they know no other way.   Those people are hard to find.
• If someone has expressed an interest to move out of their current position and up in the company, the leadership ignores him/her at their own peril.  They've basically given their notice by expressing a desire to move on, so the question has to be asked, "when he leaves this current position, will it be for another in this company, or for one at a competing company?"

If it doesn't matter, hasten the departure and help him to find a new job elsewhere, fast.  If we can honestly answer the question "do I want this guy competing against us?" with a "who cares?", then let him go.  

If he's worth saving, but not quite ready for promotion, then the leadership has a moral professional duty to 

• acknowledge the ambition
• redirect the ambition if necessary
• harness the ambition if a promotion isn't immediately in the cards
• encourage the ambition 
• support the ambition by working with the employee on a professional development plan

Most of all, we have the obligation,as leaders, to take our subordinates seriously.  If we don't, someone else will.