Followers…

I read this headline in CNBC recently, did you see it? 

I wish I’d known earlier in my career that no one actually knows what they’re doing. 

Anjali Sud 

Well, OK.  A fairly unfair statement by the CEO of Tubi.  It could have been in jest (headlines rarely provide proper context) and to be fair I didn’t read the full article.  Even so, I’d like to believe that in my career I “knew what I was doing”.  To remain fair…  I didn’t always lead well.  And when I led poorly, my direct reports let me know. 

Much has been said and even more written over the decades about leadership; the qualities of leaders; the importance of leaders; all things leadership related.  Lord knows in our country today, many leaders are blanketed with riches beyond imagination.  But not all leaders stand above their followers:

Today, permit me to honor those followers.  To be a good and competent follower is a noble role, don’t you think?  I mean we’ve all worked for one of  “those” bosses.  And when we do, it makes our job harder.  But as a follower, we still need a leader.  And good followers have been “managing their managers” for years, true? 

"EXECUTIVE” (high powered): 

A golfer who calls the office from a cell phone every five holes to make sure employees haven’t left for the day. 

Martin A. Ragaway 

When I led teams, I welcomed their feedback on what I was doing, right or wrong.  Admittedly, when my people criticized me, it hurt.  I remember to this day one of my best salespeople (Lisa Kwiecien) speaking up in sales meetings when, as a leader, I wasn’t “connecting” with my team.  “Gary”, she would say, “You’re killin' me.”  Her facial expression that went along with the critique was priceless. 

Sometimes I backed off when criticized, sometimes not. All in all, I take great pride in the success many of my followers went on to achieve.  Perhaps along they were simply helping me learn to be a “better leader”: 

Good leaders inspire their followers to have confidence in them. Better leaders inspire followers to have confidence in themselves. 

Ron Meyer 

I don’t know how many of my followers went on to leadership roles.  In my case, after leading, I returned to a follower role for the last 15 years of my career.  As a follower, I earned great recognition because my leaders gave me the confidence that I “knew what I was doing”. 

So, “Thank you!” to those who followed me.  You helped me become a better leader.  In turn, I hope I helped you become more confident in yourself. 

GAP 

When life gets tough we could get a helmet… or… we could leverage the peace and share the power of a positive perspective.

Luv rules…

Every year Valentine’s Day give us an opportunity to do something special for that special person.  Yes, we should treat our loved one special throughout the year, but you know, life can get in the way.  However this coming Saturday unfolds, it’s OK because: 

Love rules without rules. 

Italian Proverb 

And there’s plenty of time before Saturday to display your love for your love:

Who says men are oblivious? 

OK –  I can’t take credit for creating this awesome display of love for my love.  That was someone else’s awesome display on the outskirts of Kewanee in western Illinois farming country. 

Of course, we hope our women display their love for the men in their lives even when we don’t recognize the signs: 

You know “That Look” women get when they want sex?  Me neither. 

Steve Martin 

Saturday may be a special day in my marriage, but our relationship over the years has taken constant care (and patience).  Thankfully, my wife has patience: 

Patience strengthens the spirit,

   sweetens the temper,

      stifles anger,

    extinguishes envy,

  subdues pride,

bridles the tongue,

   restrains the hand,

      and tramples upon temptation. 

George Horne 

My wife and I will do something quiet this Valentine’s Day.  We enjoy our quiet time together - always have.  Our conversations will span many topics; children, friends, happy memories.  Of course, we will also synchronize our calendars, debate upcoming projects and review our finances.  Yuck! 

At the end of it all we will be reminded: 

A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person. 

Mignon McLaughlin 

May you enjoy Valentine’s Day with someone special in your life.  And if you’re with someone but you’re not sure if he or she is “the one”, don’t worry – trust your gut feeling: 

Love is not finding someone you can live with; it’s finding someone you cannot live without. 

Rafael Ortiz 

Love rules without rules on Valentine’s Day – and every day. 

GAP 

When life gets tough we could get a helmet… or… we could leverage the peace and share the power of a positive perspective.

Lasting impression…

I was chatting with a friend and colleague of mine recently.  He bought 10 copies of my book, The Peace and Power of a Positive Perspective ©, to use as gifts for his best clients, partners, and colleagues.  He did so in part because I’ve been meeting with him regularly to offer a little sales coaching/mentoring/friend-who-listens support.  

I was introduced to him years ago when I was a volunteer mentor for the former American Association of Inside Sales Professionals.  He was my mentee and we have continued a meaningful relationship to this day. 

After several years, I finally asked if he would consider using my book as a “company gift” and send in the receipt for expense reimbursement.  At $15 on Amazon, I believe this is a gift that leaves a lasting impression.  Inside the front cover, I even have a page for adding a personal note. 

Being the thoughtful person he is, he ran it up the corporate ladder, first.  I have to admit I wasn’t surprised with the response: “Nope.  I’m not an authorized vendor.”  The Marketing Department authorizes items to be used as gifts and I’m not on their list.  Yes, red tape still exists in Corporate America.  It’s worse in government: 

To the government, cutting red tape often means slicing it into long strips lengthwise. 

Norman R. Augustine 

Continuing to be the thoughtful and kind person he is, he paid for the books out of his own pocket saying, “Gary, you’ve earned it.” 

He could have just continued to send the traditional (authorized) gift his Marketing Department has approved.  Even at a cost that’s more than twice the price of my book.  The limitation with that approach is obvious – it doesn’t leave a lasting impression.  All God’s children send those mugs and here’s what their (your?) clients/prospects/partners do with them:  

In the sales field today, it’s more important than ever to stand apart from others.  I’ve already spoken about the homogenization AI is creating with sales and marketing messaging.  Are we sure we want our client appreciation gifts to all look the same, too? 

GAP 

When life gets tough we could get a helmet… or… we could leverage the peace and share the power of a positive perspective.

Department transfer…

I spent so much time in the Department of Unintended Consequences during my sales enablement role at NetSuite, I often wondered if I was transferred just awaiting the paperwork. 

One of the things I really liked about working there was the encouragement of personal initiative.  NetSuite’s CEO Zach Nelson coined the phrases, “Take the hill”, and “We must” offering recognition for employee initiatives during his quarterly “All Hands” meetings. 

Has this happened to you?  You know, you’re trying to “take the hill”; “go the extra mile” because “we must”; and Boom!  Word comes down from the Department of Unintended Consequences (aka DUC aka duck!): 

            Harrison's Postulate: 

For every action, there is an equal and opposite criticism. 

Unknown Sage

I remember once I had formulated a plan for a local client meeting.  My Regional Managers had been speculating about a “Client Day” for months.  Well, after “talking about it”, I decided I would “take the hill” and make it happen.  Someone yell, “DUC”! 

Evidently, the Regional Managers expected me to form a committee first.  They wanted to offer their input on how to do an event.  My bad – I actually knew how to do events.  Plus, I didn’t have patience for committees (still don’t): 

Another mystery commonly observed by committee pathologists is that the time consumed in debate is dominated by those with the least to offer. 

Norman R. Augustine 

Well, word from the Department of Unintended Consequences came down.  A Regional Manager wanted to know exactly who authorized me to “take the hill”.  Huh?  The committee was assembled. 

What started as a local, casual, inexpensive event morphed into something where clients and Regional Managers were flying in from all corners of North America.  Thankfully, my VP shielded me.  He knew I was trying to execute with excellence.  He also knew when I got criticized (inevitable for us all), I would seek comfort from the wise: 

The incident of an undersized lawyer in an acrimonious stump debate with the massive Robert Toombs. Toombs called out, “Why, I could button your ears back and swallow you whole.”  The little fellow retorted, “And if you did, you would have more brains in your stomach than you ever had in your head.” 

Abraham Lincoln 

Thinking better of it, I decided to keep Abe’s counsel to myself.  The client day turned out well; the clients were pleased; the Regional Managers enjoyed themselves; the hill was taken! 

Afterwards however, word from the Department of Unintended Consequences was heard from again.  I had misspelled the company name on one client’s name tent.  He was upset enough to email me, “cc all” and included a cell phone picture of my error.  My bad.  Someone yell, “DUC”! 

                      GAP 

When life gets tough we could get a helmet… or… we could leverage the peace and share the power of a positive perspective.

 

 

Directions…

I was wondering the other day if my Android cell phone’s GPS works with artificial intelligence.  Turns out, it does: 

AI helps analyze vast data, identifies landmarks from images, and offers conversational guidance, making your journey more intuitive and efficient. 

                        AI 

AI talking about AI, hmm.  But I digress.

My curiosity was stimulated when leaving a parking lot after a recent book signing.  I was in an area I wasn’t familiar with so naturally, I turned to GPS (aka the machines).  It's directions started with only two words, “head south”.  Head south??!!  Like I have a compass handy.  It reminded me of this recent post on social media about how we humans give directions.  Did you see it?

I know we rely on the machines often.  Maybe too often.  And I know we’d like the machines to be fool proof.  Here’s the problem with that expectation: 

Naeser's Law: 

You can make it foolproof, but you can't make it damn-fool-proof. 

Unknown Sage 

If you think about it, how did Lewis and Clark navigate the wilderness in their time?  OK, they “drafted” help from Sacagawea.  But how did she navigate?  

Well, unlike us if one of them suggested they “head south” each of them would have likely known which way south was.  Just like today’s machines! 

GAP 

When life gets tough we could get a helmet… or… we could leverage the peace and share the power of a positive perspective.

 

Soaring…

I love to see someone’s joy!  His shadow makes an even bigger impact:

Joy – what a great feeling!  We often hear a pro athlete after making the “big play” say they used to dream about being in that moment during their childhood.  They used to imagine soaring.  Such joy is not limited to sports. 

Bill Gates’ marathon coding sessions to become the first to create an operating system for PCs (e.g. DOS, the Disk Operating System) are legendary.  Though a self-proclaimed introvert, I bet he was joyous when his operating system booted up for the first time.  Maybe he didn’t physically soar for a dunk, but I bet he was more than happy. 

The variety of sources that give us joy are further defined by experts.  In Daniel H. Pink’s book, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us ©, we find: 

The performance of the task provided intrinsic reward…  The joy of the task was its own reward. 

Harry S. Harlow 

Regardless of what we get paid to do, is the joy of the task our own reward?  Assuming we are doing something that drives us, of course.  Daniel H. Pink goes on to clarify: 

… true motivation comes from autonomy, the desire to direct our own lives; mastery, the urge to get better at something… 

What do you think?  Are we spending most of our time self-directed; autonomously pursuing and yearning for mastery?  Or, are we stuck in our daily routine?  Autonomous motivation is easy to write about, but it’s hard to soar in the real world, true?  Nonetheless, we are wise to heed this advice: 

If you're not enjoying the journey, you probably won't enjoy the destination. 

Joe Tye 

My friend Dom above reminds us of what joy looks like during the journey.  And who knows what his destination might be:  

See the similarities?

GAP

When life gets tough we could get a helmet… or… we could leverage the peace and share the power of a positive perspective.

 

Discernment…

If you’ve read me for a while you know I continue to be more of a Luddite than a technology enthusiast.  Artificial Intelligence and the machines scares the GPUs, TPUs, and NPUs out of me.  Not familiar with what those are?  They’re just a few of the technology things that in a single data center consume more electricity than all of Lucas County Ohio, home of the city of Toledo.

What does that mean for the rest of us?  Exactly.  Our future living with the machines is a bit obscure in my mind.  Obscure?  Well, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary offers: 

Dark; Shrouded; Mysterious; not clearly seen or easily distinguished 

But Gary, you might think, what about all of our conveniences courtesy of artificial intelligence?  I get it.  And truth be told, I too benefit from the machines.  I’m simply trying to learn the full picture of how AI is impacting us.  It’s the full picture that scares me.  I’m aligned with this charter school in Lakewood, Colorado: 

We believe that ability to discern is what separates us from beasts and is worthy of lifelong study. 

Addenbrooke Classical Academy 

Discernment?  Back to the dictionary: 

the quality of being able to grasp and comprehend what is obscure 

Merriam-Webster Dictionary 

Ian Leslie in his book Curious © cautions: 

… digital technologies are severing the link between effort and mental exploration.  By making it easier for us to find answers, the Web threatens habits of deeper inquiry - habits that require patience and focused application… there are those who argue that by releasing us from the need to use our memories, the Internet is allowing us to be more creative.  But such claims fly in the face of everything scientists have learned about how the mind works.

What I’m curious about is why we the people are not more curious about the adverse impacts of  technology.  After all, most of us enjoy chocolate but we also know that over-consumption of it can adversely impact our health, true?  

Have you noticed the machines don’t eat chocolate?  My discernment skill makes me suspicious. 

GAP 

When life gets tough we could get a helmet… or… we could leverage the peace and share the power of a positive perspective.