Personal Development | A Sales Guy

They are Called Spoils for a Reason – They Spoil

The mechanic who became a mechanic to join the union for the benefits, is rarely a good mechanic.

The aspiring actor who moves to Hollywood to be famous, can’t cry on demand and almost never makes it.

The person who gets into sales to make the big money can’t be counted on to make quota.

The kid who takes up golf to be the next Tiger Woods (OK, Phil Mickleson) can’t correct his slice and won’t make the H.S. Golf team.

The singer who auditions for American Idol because they want to be the next Mariah Carey has zero range and almost always gets their butt handed to them from Simon.

The person who wants to be CEO to live the CEO lifestyle and be the king at his H.S. reunion, can’t lead and won’t get out of the mailroom.

Becoming famous, the CEO lifestyle, the big money, being the next Tiger Woods or Mariah Carey are all the spoils of hard work. They are what you get after years of hard work becoming the best at what you do. They are the spoils of success.

The spoils aren’t a reason to do something. A focus on what you get at the end never yields results. A passion for what you do does.

The great mechanic doesn’t need a union.

The amazing actor who can cry on demand becomes famous.

The sales person who loves selling always makes quota.

The kid who is obsessed with golf and sneaks on to the course in the dark to hit balls becomes the next Tiger Woods

The singer who does everything with headphones on and is passionate about music becomes the next Mariah.

The person obsessed with growing a business, working with people and understanding finance, ends up living the CEO lifestyle.

Getting the spoils comes from focusing on everything EXCEPT the spoils. Focusing on the spoils is what spoils the dream.

Focus on the trip, focus on the journey and the spoils will come.

Because it will make you rich, famous, secure, popular, or attractive is never a good enough reason. Because you love it, want to do it everyday and want to be the best there has ever been is.

The spoils do just that — spoil. Do it because you love it, not for what you’ll get.

August 25, 2010 | Filed under: Personal Development | View Comments |

The Right Angle Matters

I led a strategy session not too long ago.

It started it with a bitch session. Everyone had 60 minutes to bitch about everything they didn’t like, that wasn’t working, what was keeping them from being successful, that made their life difficult. Nothing was off limits. For 60 minutes that’s all that was done. Everyone bitched, complained and whined. No solutions, no growth, no action, everyone just sat in it.

After the bitch session, the team had 60 minutes to discuss what WAS working. For 60 minutes they shared successes, described what was working, where they were happy and what they did like.

During that 60 minutes something else happened. The team started identifying solutions and opportunities to improve the situation. They focused on action. They created ways to make what was working go further. They became productive.

Nothing had happened between the bitch session and the “what was working” session. All the same problems were present. All the same challenges were undermining efforts. The only thing that changed was their angle of perspective, how they were viewing their environment.

When we focuse on what’s broken and what doesn’t work, we stew. We sit and bitch. We don’t gravitate to solutions or improvements. Inertia sits in.

When we focus on what IS working, we naturally move towards action. We see opportunities. We find paths. We move. Inertia is broken.

When things aren’t going as planned, try to change the angle of things. The right angle matters.

August 18, 2010 | Filed under: Personal Development | View Comments |

Saying I Can’t is Easy

Saying I can’t is easy. It absolves us of ownership. When we say we can’t it allows us to avoid the effort. It let’s us stop. Saying we can’t allows us to avoid failure. It’s easy to say I can’t.

The problem is, can’t is almost always code for . . . I don’t know how.

Saying I don’t know how is more difficult. Saying I don’t know how makes the effort ours to fix. It puts the onus on us. It forces us to do something about it. It makes the problem our responsibility. It’s an indictment on our capabilities. It’s admitting a weakness.

Because we don’t like to admit we are incapable of doing things we say we can’t. Saying we can’t let’s us off the hook.

We can’t get to quota, because it’s too high. We can’t beat the competition, because we don’t have that feature. We can’t get to the executives, because we don’t have the right title. We can’t lose weight because we’ve tried everything. We can’t travel to Europe, because we don’t make enough money.

Saying I can’t stops the discussion. Saying I can’t allows us to walk away and feel OK about it.

Saying I don’t know how changes everything. When we say I don’t know how we have to go figure it out. I don’t know how to beat the competition, without that feature. I don’t know how to make this high quota. I don’t know how to get to the executives with my title. I don’t know how to lose anymore weight. I don’t know how to travel to Europe on my salary.

Saying I don’t know how hurts, but at least once you start saying it, you’ll know what to do.

July 28, 2010 | Filed under: Personal Development | View Comments |

It’s Hard

It’s hard -

to be successful
to challenge the status-quo
to exercise everyday
to be comfortable making your customers uncomfortable
to eat well
to fire someone you like
to recycle
to read 10k’s everyday
to read a book a month
to blog everyday
to create new stuff
to get up at 5:00 am
to go to bed at 2:00 am
to tell the boss you can’t because of your kids football game
to accept you made a mistake
to change direction
to not quit when it sucks
to do the paper work that HAS to be done
to sit in the pain
to call out the elephant in the room
to call yourself out
to accept criticism
to keep learning
to do the hard work
to NOT do the easy work

It’s easy -

to take credit for others work
to quit while you’re ahead
to blend in with the crowd
to be agreeable
to say yes
to let others do it
to accept excuses
to blame others
to spectate
to ignore
to procrastinate
to settle
to take the shortcut
to ignore the data
to do the easy work
to NOT do the hard work

There are two paths to chose from, one sounds easy and one sounds hard, chose carefully.

July 9, 2010 | Filed under: Career Development,Personal Development | View Comments |

A Change of Pace

I spent the entire day landscaping my front yard. I wish I had taken before and after pictures. It was a lot of work. I pulled 8 or 9 shrubs, raked up 400 square feet of mulch, put down new metal edging, moved 4 sprinkler heads, and put in place 18 new shrubs which will be a new hedge. They still have to be planted. I did this with my brother in-law who is a great landscaper.

I’m exhausted.

I spend most of my days sitting in front of a computer. I’ve become extremely sedentary. Most of the hours of my day are spent like this one; in front of a computer. A change of pace felt great.

I used to do a lot of manual labor. During the summers when I was a kid, I did construction, learned to roof, did landscaping, and washed dishes. I did it all. I learned what hard work was early. I don’t do much hands on work anymore and I miss it, kind of.

It was hard for me to get into this “change of pace”. I instantly realized I’m not nearly as strong as I once was. It took me a little while to let myself get dirty and submerge myself in the effort. Once I did, it was great. I was working outside. I was covered in dirt. I could see the progress we were making. I was learning new things. I was getting exercise. It was a complete change of pace and I loved it.

A change of pace is good. It refreshes the mind. It works other muscles, intellectual and physical. It breaks the cycle. It’s all too easy to become single threaded.

Although I’m tired, I feel great. I didn’t think about many of the things my mind spends most days pondering, translating, evaluating and processing. My brain went on a mini vacation.

On Monday, My brain and I will be back in front of the computer for 8 plus hours and my ass will be stuck to a chair. But, this Monday I suspect they will be a little more rested than normal.

Break up your day, your week or your month. Do something you haven’t done in a while. Wake up at 4:00 a.m. and go for a walk on the beach until the sun comes up. Build a dog house. Become a Big Brother/Big Sister. Play on a softball team. Do something you don’t normally do. Do something your not specifically good at. Get out of your comfort zone. It’ll give your mind a rest. It’ll make you feel good. When you get back to your regularly schedule program the story may be a bit more entertaining than you remember.

Despite all the work done today, I still have 18 shrubs to plant. That means 18 two feet by 3 feet holes to dig. Isn’t change of pace great?

May 22, 2010 | Filed under: Personal Development,Random | View Comments |

Knowing When You’re Right or WRONG!

I struggle with knowing when I’m right and when I’m wrong.

I am not afraid to have an opinion. I’m quick to express myself. I am normally quick to see the ending, what needs to be done, why something isn’t working, what’s missing, and more. I’m the guy who says; “Hey, there is an elephant on the table.”

The problem is knowing when I’m right versus when I’m wrong.

I’m a passionate guy. I am convicted when I draw a conclusion. I believe strongly in my positions and execute and espouse them with conviction and passion.

The problem occurs when I am challenged.

Despite my passion and conviction; I understand, I don’t know everything. Therefore, I am very open to contrary opinions and ideas. I embrace dialog and debate. I thrive on it. But, many times, I’m not swayed and this is where things get messy.

I struggle at knowing when I’m wrong and need to concede versus knowing when I’m right and need to hold firm.

I easily acquiesce when labeled inflexible. I don’t want to be perceived inflexible. I give in or quickly look for compromise, not because I believe I’m wrong, or because I believe there is a better way, but because I don’t want to be considered as stubborn or not collaborative.

Other times, I question my position. I still “feel” like I’m right, but insecurity sets in and I begin to doubt my position, and I give in. This happens most when I am debating what to do with someone I consider more experienced or with more knowledge. The sad part being it’s not always someone with more wisdom.

What kills me is, about 75% of the time, particularly on those things I am MOST passionate, I am right and my acquiescence cost us/me a deal, an opportunity, money, or worse we DIDN’T avoid a failure, incident or loss.

I get PISSED when this happens. The anger and disappointment inside boils over as I mull about in the thought of how it all could have been avoided if I hadn’t rolled over.

There are times where I was wrong and I didn’t give in. It too cost us big. I’m not happy here either. However, I take ownership, evaluate the situation so it doesn’t happen again and grow from it.

There are also those times, where I was right and stayed the course and where I was wrong and agreed with a different direction. Those are the good times.

For me, the hard part is knowing when I’m right and when I’m wrong AND when to stay the course at all cost or give in to a better path.

Having the humility to know when your wrong is admiral. Knowing when you’re right and not budging is critical. Having the ability to determine which is appropriate, is everything.

How do you know when to hold your ground OR when to give in?

How do you know when you’re right versus when you’re wrong . . . because I’m still trying to figure it out.

March 30, 2010 | Filed under: Career Development,Leadership,Personal Development | View Comments |

You Can Do It, Go Figure It Out!

What do you think? How do you want me to do it? Can you take a look? What are you looking for? Can I get your opinion? These are all questions asked to overcome our lack of confidence.

Organizations are making us afraid of our own capabilities. We question our talents. We lack confidence that we can do our job. To mitigate this, we ask permission. We ask for direction. We ask for agreement.

We check with our supervisor for direction. We look to our peers and friends for feedback. We look for templates and paint by number instructions.

Our fear of failure is making us all grey. It is keeping us from adding our own unique and special talents to the effort.

When I was a kid, I would ask my dad for help. He would always look at me and say; “Figure it out yourself, you can do it.”

He was right, and when he was wrong, I learned a lot. It was a great confidence builder.

Sucking the confidence out of employees hides the problems, creates bottlenecks and kills creativity and diversity of thought. It’s not empowering.

The next time an employees asks you for a template or how to do something, say to them, “you can do it, go figure it out.”

They will and if they don’t you’ll quickly find out where the real problems are.

You can do it, I know you can. Go figure it out!

March 18, 2010 | Filed under: Career Development,Leadership,Personal Development | View Comments |

Is it Bull Shit when Public Speakers Swear?

Robin Dickenson over at Radsmarts, posed a killer question; Is it OK for public speakers to swear?

This question has been ruminating in my head for awhile. Not just the question of profanity, but the idea of a reduced sense of formality; swearing in blogs, wearing jeans in the work place, access to authority, etc.

Are we becoming a less formal country and is that OK?

My thoughts are yes and YES!!!

The formality of this country has been steeped in its Puritan ethic, going all the way back to the first day the Pilgrims stepped onto Plymouth rock. It has dictated our behavior for 400 years. In my opinion, it has stunted innovation, communication, collaboration and engagement. It has created social hierarchies and limited the spread of information and ideas. Formality, is a social contract that says; “I will act a certain way until a particular level of engagement or interaction has been established” OR worse, the formality is the result of a hierarchical structure. It says; I will act a certain way because of WHO you are.

I say BULL SHIT!

The erosion of formal social contracts is accelerating interaction. It is getting to the core of issues. It’s not shackling ideas. It’s calling out the elephant on the table. It’s cutting to the chase. It’s getting real.

Professional speakers dropping F-bombs that enhance authentic, real, presentations where the swearing brings value is exactly what we need. Gratuitous swearing does none of this and therefore I’m not a fan.

I’d like to see greater erosion of social formality. It allow people to focus on the message. Informality puts people at ease. We let down our guard. It allows us to quickly assess our environment. Asking; is this a person I want to spend time with? Is this a message that resonates with me? Not, who is the person really. Are we still being formal? What do they REALLY think? Can I say what I want now? Can I be me?

Enough with the formality. Let’s get right to it. Let’s open the flood gates. If you are a swearer, then let em fly in your presentations. As Nick comments in the post: Be who you are, swears and all.

I think that people should be themselves on stage no matter what. If they swear a lot while talking normally, then they should swear on stage. AUTHENTIC speakers grab my attention, not their cuss words. -Nick Campbell

March 6, 2010 | Filed under: Personal Brand,Random,What I Think! | View Comments |

I’m Fighting the Loser

I’m fighting the loser tonight. The loser is the little guy in all of us who looks to sabotage our efforts.

What sucks about the loser is he only hurts us. He never helps us.

The loser tells us to do it later. He tells us we’re too tired. He convinces us it’s not our job. The loser blames others when we screw up so we don’t have to blame ourselves. The loser is behind most of our failings.

The loser knows when we are vulnerable. And that’s when he’s at his best. When we are tired, frustrated, down, and feeling helpless, the loser in us springs into action convincing us that it’s OK to deviate from our goals, to push off our objectives or to avoid our commitments. The loser does everything he can to make us fail, to lose. That’s why he is called the loser.

The loser has been working on me all night. I wanted to do a blog post tonight. But, I am not feeling well, I have ton of other work, I wasn’t coming up with any good blog ideas and I had to write the post from my Iphone. (doing an Iphone experiment).

This is the type stuff the loser loves. It’s the ammunition he uses to thwart your efforts He uses it to get you to blow off what is important and then convinces you it’s justified.

The loser was telling me I didn’t have to, it was OK.

The loser is a master. He knows how to distract you and get you to take your eyes off the goal.

The loser will win everyone once in awhile. He’s that good. The key is to beat him more than he beats you.

He almost got me tonight. But, in the end I just couldn’t let him have this one. It never feels good when the loser wins.

To get where you want to go in life you have to get good at beating your loser.

How do you beat the loser?

March 2, 2010 | Filed under: Career Development,Personal Development,What I Think! | View Comments |

Why Care

Caring means you have to commit. Caring means you have an interest in a positive outcome. When we care the little things matter, we go the extra mile, we take ownership. Caring is hard. It saps our energy, it works our self-esteem, and holds us accountable.

Caring also is rewarding. It gives us a sense of accomplishment. It tells people who we are and what we focus on. Caring creates followers and builds leaders. Caring is a key part of success.

Caring is a lot harder than not caring Not caring is easy. It absolves us from ownership and responsibility. It allows us to make our issues other peoples problems. When we don’t care we avoid accountability. When we don’t care the outcome doesn’t matter. Not caring doesn’t make a difference.

Care about what you do. It makes a difference.

If you don’t care about what you do or the people you do it with, do everyone a favor and care about doing something else.

Even that will make a difference.

March 1, 2010 | Filed under: Personal Brand,Personal Development,Uncategorized | View Comments |