Bold? Courageous? Or…

It’s 2022 year-end.  Time to reflect?  Time to plan and prepare for 2023?  Time to quit and change jobs? 

I continue to read about people quitting their jobs in search of “better”.  Are those in that movement bold?  Courageous?  Self-confident?  “Betting on themselves”?  Or not.  I’m permanently out of the game, having retired in 2022.  So now I’m just an observer; a sideline commentator. 

I’ve noticed many of my former colleagues at my last company have changed companies; several times actually, all just in the past couple of years even before I retired. Would you call that courage?  Would you assume they are seeking “better”?  Shall we assume because they keep quitting they’re still seeking? 

“Stay and make a difference” was the advice I offered for those who asked my opinion.  Having sought “better” many times over, I successfully tried that myself for the last twelve years of my career.  It was tempting to quit, but I decided for once not to.  I decided my friend Robyn Nicholson was right in her assessment of continuously changing jobs: 

            Same circus; different clowns. 

I know there is risk in staying at your current company and trying to “make a difference”.  Truth is, there is danger in any direction we select for 2023: 

Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure.  The fearful are caught as often as the bold. 

Helen Keller 

Truly, I held various jobs for several companies throughout my career.  I too changed to something “better” many times.  Mostly “greener pastures”; occasionally “browner”.  Was I being bold? Courageous?  Or not. 

Courage doesn't always roar.  Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, “I will try again tomorrow." 

Mary Anne Radmacher

I learned about the importance of “trying again tomorrow” from a friend and former colleague of mine, Gary Givan.  His advice was to focus on each day; making the day a good day; taking things one day at a time.  Gary would say when you string together as many good days as possible the rest of the year will take care of itself.  Gary’s wasn’t a bold, risk-taking approach.  More of a quiet, disciplined, yet courageous mind set. 

I was willing to take risks, that’s for sure.  But perhaps taking risks was the easy way out.  Rather than facing up to each day’s challenges; striving to get better; figuring out a way to conquer; is it easier to just quit in the name of finding something “better”?  Staying with our current job takes courage, too: 

Courage is a special kind of knowledge; the knowledge of how to fear what ought to be feared and how to not fear what ought not to be feared. 

David Ben-Gurian 

Should our current situation be feared?  Are we afraid we might miss out if we don’t leave at the end of 2022 in pursuit of our next adventure in 2023?  Well, only each of us would know what is best for our individual situation, but the odds are we should not fear staying vs. quitting.  In reality, either option will require steadfast, daily commitment to succeed. 

So here’s to your success in 2023!  Be bold! Be courageous! Be fearless no matter who winds up signing your paycheck.  Take each day, one day at a time, and focus on getting better today.  May the wind of your effort fill your sails, speeding you towards “better” in 2023 and beyond. 

GAP 

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

Christ’s birthday…

It’s Christmas eve!  Of course, Christmas is more than just one day, true?  Nonetheless, I’m wishing you a day of peace, hope, joy and celebration with family and friends. 

Whatever our spiritual beliefs, may each of us find meaning to our life during this season in a way that lasts throughout the entire year.  While we may not want to look back and celebrate all of what’s happened in 2022, I’m sure we are looking forward to a better 2023! 

Lest there be any confusion, may we be reminded of that which was important this year, and that which wasn’t. 

We are reminded by bankers to be of good cheer: 

A little boy received a new drum for Christmas.  Shortly thereafter, his father came home from work and the mother told him, “I don’t think the man upstairs likes to hear Georgie play his new drum, but he’s certainly subtle about it.”  “How do you know”? asked the father.  “Well, this afternoon he gave Georgie a knife and asked him if he knew what was inside the drum.” 

Herbert Prochnow

We are reminded by the gospel to be satisfied with who we are not what we bought: 

You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are – no more, no less.  That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought. 

Matthew 5 

We are reminded by the novelists to remember (and be thankful for) our “fortunes”: 

Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has many; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some. 

Charles Dickens 

I am reminded to offer His blessings to you and yours from me and mine. 

“Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!” 

GAP

Recognition…

In my opinion, we all have time to offer recognition and positive reinforcement to those in our lives.  Permit me to take another moment and recognize you! 

I know how busy you are; and Lord knows the volume of incoming emails, texts, phone calls, and other interruptions you face each day.  So again, THANK YOU for choosing to read me! 

Speaking of thank-yous and of recognition… 

I have written often about the motivational power of recognition in the business world.  I continue to believe it is one of the most under-leveraged and perhaps even misunderstood tools available to managers, coaches, and leaders.  That may be especially true during these times of “work-at-home” settings and "quiet quitting" employees.  What do you suppose your best employees are up to at this very moment? 

Re-Recruiting… 

If you’re not recruiting your best people; you’re the only one who isn't. 

                   Beverly Kaye 

I know wage increases get a lot of publicity these days, but is that the only way to retain employees?   In the book, Love 'Em or Lose 'Em © Rosabeth Moos Kanter offered: 

Compensation is a right; recognition is a gift.

Take the sales profession for instance.  The novice believes money drives performance.  Study after study has shown money doesn’t even make the top 10 in what drives sales behavior.  I suspect that holds true with many professions. 

Performance can be propelled in other ways.  Recognition is powerful, but only if it is offered.   Back to Love 'Em or Lose 'Em © and Beverly Kaye: 

A study of more than 4,000 businesses across Australia and New Zealand found that three-fourths of employees are starved for recognition, receiving it from their managers only monthly, quarterly, or once a year.  And 11 percent received no praise at all! 

Warren Bemis added: 

Think about how you felt the last time someone thanked you.  If it feels so good to receive it, why would we so often fail to give it?  So many otherwise able managers act as if compliments come out of their bank accounts. 

Is this a common phenomenon in your world?  Do your managers give positive reinforcement frequently?  Or have they become so busy; so automated; so inundated; so robotic; they don’t easily pause to say, “Thank you for your work” very often? 

Of course, there are many ways to offer genuine recognition to employees.  Take patience and the opportunity to learn from one’s mistakes as an example.  It works for even the most high-powered executives: 

A senior manager made a mistake that cost his company $10 million.  As he walked into his boss's office, he anticipated anger and most probably a firing.  His boss asked him what he had learned from the mistake, and he quickly listed all the things he would do differently next time.  Then he waited for the ax to fall.  And he waited.  Finally, he asked, "Aren't you going to fire me?"  The boss answered, "Why would I fire you?  I just invested $10 million in your learning. 

Harry Beckwith

Getting back to top salespeople for a moment, it’s been my experience that they in particular are not motivated (or retained for that matter) by mere money.  However, I have never met a successful sales rep who didn’t shine upon receiving recognition.  I bet this principle applies to all types of employees; readers too! 

So, thank you again for reading my periodic posts.  It’s the type of recognition any author (especially this one) appreciates. 

                                                            GAP 

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

Common enemies…

“OK Pokorn”, you might be thinking… “How will you correlate that title with peace and positivity?”  Well, there is actually great power found in emotional negativity that can be harnessed for the greater good.  It is the appeal to the greater good that we should remember. 

Today, America recognizes Pearl Harbor Day.  Eighty-one years ago, December 7, 1941, an emotionally negative event occurred that summoned a powerful, driving force for the greater good.  From a factual standpoint according to Google: 

In total, 2,335 Americans died and 1,143 were wounded. 

Nothing remarkable in the annals of bloody combat, or even the bloody headlines of today, true?  But the highly-charged political discourse that followed, epitomized by President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “Infamy Speech”, (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infamy_Speech ) united our country against a common enemy.

Negative emotions can be a powerful driving force.  But always a force for the greater good?  With the difficult events that have occurred almost daily throughout 2022…where will we find the greater good from “recession”; “mid-term elections”; “ negative politics”; or “global warming”? 

The significant problems we face cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them. 

Albert Einstein 

If the hyperbole of current events is similar to the highly-charged political discourse that followed the attack on Pearl Harbor, have we become our own common enemies today?  Are we willing to think differently? 

I always feel good when everyone says I'm nuts because it's a sign that we're trying to do something innovative. 

Larry Ellison 

Thinking differently may offer us hope, but different does not have to be radical; dis-uniting;  or mean-spirited.  Our thinking should create more friends and allies than it does enemies.  Back to Larry: 

On the other hand, when people say you’re nuts, you just might be nuts… You don't want people saying you’re nuts too often - once every three or four years is good.  Any more than that, and you should be worried because no one's smart enough to have a good idea more than once every three or four years. 

In the business world we often see evidence of power when a company unites against common enemies.  Steve Jobs continuously crusaded to be taken seriously – until Apple rose to dominate personal, technology devices and the way we consume entertainment and information.  The common enemy was their adversity facing marketplace disrespect.  That negative driving force drove Apple to astronomical heights. 

"ADVERSITY”: 

Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents, which, in prosperous circumstances, would have lain dormant. 

Horace 

The American Red Cross inspired from the carnage of our Civil War, formerly launched in 1881 in Washington D.C.  This powerful organization is also untied against common enemies – the devastated; the wounded; the needy; the destitute. 

Yes, there are many common enemies that coupled with the negative, emotional reactions they stimulate give rise to harnessing power for the greater good: 

In every community, there is work to be done. 

  In every nation, there are wounds to heal. 

    In every heart, there is the power to do it. 

Marianne Williamson 

Here’s to Pearly Harbor Day and all the power it generated to propel our country forward in the face of common enemies.  What lessons have we learned?  How will we propel America and our fellow Americans, forward this December in the face of today’s common enemies?  

Yes Marianne, in every community, there is work to be done.  In our hearts and minds, we all have the power to do it! 

GAP 

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

Modern workers…

Modern workers; aka younger workers; aka millennials; aka scary!  How would you manage a team of those today?  Maybe you already know.  Please share your leading practices with the rest of us, OK? 

I try my best to stay abreast of day-to-day business matters, especially in the technology sales field.  I wonder how anyone manages a young, technology sales team today. 

In Triggers ©, Marshall Goldsmith offers guidance: 

Situational Leadership 

Hersey and Blanchard's premise was that leaders need to adapt their style to fit the performance readiness of their followers.  Readiness not only varies by person it also varies by task.  Followers have different levels of motivation and ability for different tasks. 

Leaders and managers adapting their style to direct reports’ tasks; is that how it's done?  I suspect when a leader does adapt, their people have a better situation to succeed.  Yet, I doubt most leaders approach it that way.  You don’t think so either?  If not, why do you suppose not? 

Much has been written about the behavior of modern workers; their lack of company loyalty; today's era of "quiet quitting"; work-life balance; etc.  Truthfully as a member of the Baby Boomer generation, I'm not sure our younger workers are that much different than I was at their age.  Of course, my generation didn’t get as much publicity back in the “Dark Ages”.  Thank you social media, HaHa! 

Daniel Pink wrote in Drive © another perspective: 

So perhaps it's time to switch the focus of some of our workplace policies and use them to unshackle the hardworking majority rather than inhibit the less noble minority.  If you think people in your organization are predisposed to rip you off, maybe the solution isn't to build a tighter, more punitive set of rules.  Maybe the answer is to hire new people. 

You might be thinking… Gary, it's easy to say "hire new people"; that's hard to do in today's tight labor market.  I agree. 

If we’re going to retain our modern workers, I believe now more than ever training needs for managers and leaders is paramount.  (I feel management training is an event at most companies vs. a commitment to continuous people-management improvement, right Elon Musk?) 

What do you think of the approach articulated by none other than that legendary management consultant Peter Drucker: 

We spend a lot of time teaching leaders what to do.  We don’t spend enough time teaching leaders what to stop.  Half the leaders I have met don’t need to learn what to do.  They need to learn what to stop. 

Do you think this tug-of-war between modern workers and their companies results in a lose-lose proposition for both?  What do you think leaders should "stop" to help things to go? 

Seth Godin weighed in on “responsible stewardship”: 

Do you have to abandon the old ways today?  Of course not.  But responsible stewardship requires that you find and empower heretics and give them the flexibility to build something new instead of trying to force the Internet to act like direct mail with free stamps. 

I imagine empowering today's "heretics" is a bit scary for managers and leaders; it certainly would be for me.  Before I retired, however, I had the opportunity to work with and alongside modern workers at my company.  They quickly erased my stereotypical fears.  

Today's modern workers may approach things differently, but...  

                 they          are          awesome!  

Managers and leaders might do well to stop trying to stop them.

                                                            GAP 

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

Thank you again and always…

‘Tis the season of thankfulness.  Not that we should wait throughout the rest of the year but certainly November and Thanksgiving remind us of our blessings, don’t you agree?  So before I go any further - permit me to say, “Thank you”! 

Thank you for reading me.  Thank you for commenting on my little ditties.  Thank you for respecting my viewpoints; even those you disagree with.  Thank you for encouraging me to continue.

I am blessed with many people who enrich my life beyond count.  Thankfully, smart people have put counting in the proper perspective: 

Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted. 

Albert Einstein 

I can’t count all that I am thankful for; nor all of the times I have wanted to thank someone for their kindness.  But I am thankful for sure. 

I’m thankful for living in Denver – most of the time anyway: 

Welcome to Denver: 

The morning rush hour is from 5:00 to 10:00 AM. The evening rush hour is from 3:00 to 7:00 PM.  Friday's rush hour starts on Thursday.

Forget the traffic rules you learned elsewhere.  Denver has its own version.  The car or truck with the loudest muffler goes next at a 4-way stop.  The truck with the biggest tires goes after that.  Blue-haired, green-haired, or cranberry-haired ladies driving anything have the right of way all of the time.

North and South only vaguely resemble the real direction of certain streets.  University and Colorado are two boulevards that run parallel.  Geometry evidently not working at altitude, these streets intersect south of C470.

Highway 285 runs North, South, East and West and every direction in between; it can be found in every section of the Denver area making navigation very interesting.  You can turn west onto southbound 285; you can turn north onto westbound C470; and you can drive southeast on the Northwest Parkway.  This is why Denver uses the additional driving directions of “out”, “up”, “in”, “down”, and sometimes “over”.

Construction barrels are permanent, and are simply moved around in the middle of the night to make the next day’s drive more challenging.  When you see an orange cone, you must stop and then move ahead slowly until there are no more cones.  There need not be construction, just cones.

If someone has their turn signal on, wave them to the shoulder immediately to let them know it has been accidentally activated.

If it’s 70 degrees, Thanksgiving is probably next week; if it’s snowing, it’s probably the weekend after Memorial Day.

If you stop at a yellow light, you will be rear-ended or cussed-out.  A red light means four more cars can go through.  Not three; not five.  Four.  Never honk at anyone.  Ever.  Seriously.  Never yield at a “Yield” sign.  The yield sign is like an appendix; it once had a purpose but nobody can remember what it was.

Just because a street on the east side of town has the same name as a street on the west side of town doesn’t mean they’re connected. 

Unknown Sage 

Thankfully, we will be with family, friends, food, and fun… maybe even a little football during the Thanksgiving holiday.  Let’s take a few quiet moments to reflect on all we have to be thankful for: 

Thank you Lord.  I may never have a lot; but I have always had enough. 

Gary A. Pokorn 

Thank you again and always. 

GAP 

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

Diplomacy…

Well… the mid-term elections are over.  What do you think?  Is there still hope for America?  Will you miss the political ads; emails; texts; and phone calls?  

I confess; when American politics turned to a negative campaigning technique it turned me off vs. encouraging me to "lean in".  Thankfully my wife is adept with the VCR.  Now we only watch TV shows we've recorded so we can fast-forward through the commercials.  Don't you wish we had a way to block the mass of incoming political texts; emails; and phone calls? 

I don’t know, "Who let the dogs out?" do you?  (Although here's one explanation offered by American Songwriter).  What I want to know is who turned the VOLUME UP?  Susan Cain wrote in her book Quiet © that our current predicament involving relentless, extroverted, bombardment of shrill, negative messaging might be even worse than we realize: 

We are ourselves a nation of extroverts - which means we've lost sight of who we really are.  Depending on which study you consult, one third to one half of Americans are introverts - in other words, one out of every two or three people you know. 

Hopefully, you have not lost sight of who we are.  We 33% to 50% need to find a way to reverse the trend of extreme, extroverted voices dominating daily broadcasts, true?  It's OK to have disagreements.  But do we have to be so disagreeably LOUD when advocating a point of view?  Can we no longer find that lost land called "common ground"? 

I'm thinking our day-in and day-out discourse could use a little more positivity, true?  Wouldn’t you rather see diplomacy emphasized.  One online definition of "diplomacy" comes from Oxford Languages: 

the art of dealing with people in a sensitive and effective way.  "his genius for tact and diplomacy" 

Does that sound like our current setting to you?  Again, how much diplomacy went into the ads leading up to November's elections?  (Sorry, sore subject I know.  Not very sensitive of me. I apologize.) 

I'm optimistic that the mass of Americans are ordinary, reasonable, tactful people just like you and me.  We ordinary, introverted types can still influence things through diplomacy: 

Diplomacy is the art of letting someone else have your way. 

Daniele Vare

Call me old fashioned, but I miss the quieter times of statesmanship; courtesy; tact.  No longer do candidates promote their action plan; their track record; their specifics.  Attacking the opponent now overshadows the way of the world.  It's an age-old strategy: 

The best way to defend is to attack and the best way to attack is to attack.  At Chancellorsville, Lee was asked why he attacked when he was outnumbered three to one.  He said he was too weak to defend. 

George Patton 

Of course, focusing on negativity is not isolated to famous military generals or American politics: 

A story is told of a Woman Member of Parliament who, after an extensive tirade at a social function, scornfully told the Prime Minister, “Mr. Churchill, you are drunk”, to which Churchill replied, “And you Madam, are ugly.  But I shall be sober tomorrow.” 

Do you know when or where we left the diplomatic path that had been in place for centuries? 

Every action done in company, ought to be with some sign of respect to those that are present. 

French Jesuits in 1595 

A sign of respect in every action - now that's something I, for one, would vote for! 

GAP 

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

To our cowboys …

One year for Halloween I went as a cowboy.  In the real world, I'm no cowboy.  My wife is not a cowgirl either, although she met Sharon Magness Blake who is one.

Yes, I’m fascinated by cowboys and the great traditions of the American West.  Businesses executives and leaders in this country could make things better for us all if more of them heeded the advice found in one of my favorite books (and a source for more than a few quotes when writing these little ditties) Cowboy Ethics © by James P. Owen: 

I have come to realize that anybody can make money; it is much harder to make a difference. 

The book was a gift from a friend and former client of mine several years ago before he died, Steve Major.  Steve Major made a difference in my life.  He was not a cowboy either. 

My son Kevin on the other hand continues to make a difference in my life and the lives of others.  We are celebrating his birthday this coming Monday – I thought you might like this present I gave him several years ago.  It's the opening to chapter seven of my book, The Peace & Power of a Positive Perspective©.  Enjoy! 

Chapter VII:  Cowboy Up – You’ll Get Through It! 

Dedicated to the American Cowboy – may we all learn to be more like them.  

Now, I’m no cowboy; but I know one. 

Cowboys are quiet, polite - men of few words; comfortable just listening while others around them bark at the moon nonstop. 

No, I’m no cowboy; but I’ve heard one. 

Cowboys have a reserve of strength far and above the average person – physical strength to be sure; but also great emotional strength.  

I’m definitely no cowboy; but I’ve seen one. 

Cowboys have the ability to remain in control even while every living thing around them, man and beast, spooks in mortal fear.  

True, I’m no cowboy; but I’ve been protected by one. 

Cowboys remain focused even with adrenaline rushing through their veins when they’re bull riding, or racing flat out, one-handed on horseback, to rope an escaping calf. 

Yes, I’m no cowboy; but I’ve lived with one. 

Cowboys are fearless especially at the age of 15 when they look down in the shoot and prepare to mount a bare back bucking bronco at their very first high school rodeo competition. 

Absolutely, I’m no cowboy; but I’ve filmed one looking down that very shoot. 

Cowboys always believe they can.  The cowboy feels that sigh of relief when he’s all twisted up in the dirt, having fallen off a stumbling horse and the rodeo announcer comes on the PA system and says, “Well folks, he’ll have an option for a re-ride.” 

So, I’m no cowboy, but I’ve sat next to his Mother in the stands when we heard that rodeo announcer come over the P.A. System to say, “Well folks, he’ll have an option for a re-ride.” And as the announcer glanced down to the stands to see her reaction he quickly added, “But his Mother says NO!” 

You see, I know a lot about cowboys.  That’s why I’m so sure I’m not one.  No, I’m no cowboy, but my son Kevin is.  And every day I try to be a little bit more like him. 

American cowboys are still among us and making a difference.  My son is one of them.  Happy birthday Kevin!  I love you, Dad. 

GAP 

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

It's common knowledge that how we word what we have to say goes a long way in determining how our message is received and in turn the outcome; yes?  Of course, thinking through how a text or email might be received by the recipient seems to have become a blind spot in our electronic communications these days.  For me, there are occasions when I carefully take my time to choose my words when preparing a message; and then… there are those other times. 

This came to mind during a recent lunch I enjoyed with a friend and former colleague.  He is, and has been, the top sales rep for his company over the past four years.  During lunch he conveyed great frustration over his company's internal processes and politics.  Expressing frustration to a friend over lunch is one thing.  However, he told me he was similarly expressing his frustrations to his management "up line" reaching the point that his VP scolded him about how he was saying what he was saying.  I suggested he might consider being more aware of his wordsmithing. 

It doesn't matter whether the topic is something heavy or serious; wordsmithing is material.  Take this historical example: 

     The battlefield was not a testament to heroism.  It was an ugly health hazard - a field of corpses that deeply concerned Pennsylvania's governor.

     Nor was that corpse-strewn field a monument to greatness.  The North's general, Meade, had so bungled the battle, leaving Lee to regroup, that he submitted his resignation to President Lincoln.  But Meade's opponent, Lee, had done no better, marching blindly into slaughter - a blunder so great that he submitted his resignation, too. 

The battlefield was Gettysburg... 

     The enormous gulf between the perception of Gettysburg and the reality can be explained in 276 words: the Gettysburg Address.  With one deft speech, Lincoln changed almost everything...

     Lincoln's address vividly demonstrates the generative power of words: the power of words not simply to describe reality, but to create it. 

                   Harry Beckwith 

Setting the magnitude of war aside, even everyday occurrences are impacted by our wordsmithing: 

Two monks were meeting in the hall.  "Good day, Brother John.  You look a bit down in the mouth."  "Yes, Brother Mark.  I just asked the Bishop if it was alright to smoke while I prayed, and he said, "Absolutely not!"  " That is interesting, Brother John, because just yesterday I asked the Bishop if it was alright to pray while I smoked, and he said, "Sure." 

                   Harlan Goehger 

These are examples of carefully crafted messages.  It usually comes down to taking the time to think about what we're going to say plus thinking about how we choose to say it vs. quickly blurting out whatever is on our mind.  For me, the blurting out occurs when my emotions arrest control from my intellect.  I've made that mistake too often throughout my life: 

Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret. 

Ambrose Bierce 

Harry Beckwith reminds us that controlling and maximizing the impact of our words can be… well… impactful: 

The Value of Publicity 

There are six peaks in Europe higher than the Matterhorn.  Name One. 

Of course, not every attempt at wordsmithing results in a successful result.  Here's Harry again:  

            I used up all my sick days so I called in dead. 

Tried that one?  Well if not, may I suggest a little more wordsmithing might be in order. 

                                                            GAP 

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

Behavioral economics…

Sales sand bagging defined by a Nobel laureate… who knew? 

I recently finished Thinking, Fast and Slow ©.  Amazon.com's summary (my highlights added); "Thinking, Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman, world-famous psychologist and winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics, takes us on a groundbreaking tour of the mind and explains the two systems that drive the way we think." 

Kahneman's tour was above my mind; but I was able to follow his practical examples on how we make everyday decisions.  One of his topics pertained to "prospect theory".  According to Behavioral Economics Outlines, prospect theory, "suggests that people view the outcomes of risky decisions not in overall terms, but as gains or losses relative to their reference point."

Risky decision making - now we're cooking.  I've never been comfortable making risky decisions.  My life has evolved as much from coincidence as it has from carefully thought through, decision making.  Nonetheless, things have turned out pretty darn good.  I might be a poster child for the saying from our Unknown Sage: 

            It's better to be lucky than good. 

Even so, I enjoyed the treatment of prospect theory though I need a better understanding of how "reference points" are established.  That's for another day.  Today I was able to follow their example of how we think and how we perform as related to a golf reference point: 

     Every stroke counts in golf, and in professional golf every stroke counts a lot.  According to prospect theory, however, some strokes count more than others.  Failing to make par is a loss, but missing a birdie putt is a foregone gain, not a loss.  Pope and Schweitzer reasoned from loss aversion that players would try a little harder when putting for par (to avoid a bogey) than when putting for a birdie.  They analyzed more than 2.5 million putts in exquisite detail to test that prediction.

     They were right.  Whether the putt was easy or hard, at every distance from the hole, the players were more successful when putting for par than for a birdie...

     If in his best years Tiger Woods had managed to putt as well for birdies as he did for par, his average tournament score would have improved by one stroke and his earnings by almost $1 million per year. 

                        Daniel Kahneman 

Making decisions and the outcomes of how we perform based on loss aversion vs. foregone gains is powerful, yes?  $1 million annually powerful for Tiger. 

Prospect theory applies to the sales profession, too.  Early in my career when someone asked, "How are you doing?" I coined this response:

            Nothing a deal or two wouldn’t solve. 

Now I chuckle every time I observe a behavioral economics based compensation plan that flies in the face of prospect theory.  On the one hand there are higher commission percentages for every deal turned in after achieving monthly, quarterly and/or annual quota levels.  On the other hand?  

It's not called loss aversion in sales; it's called "sand bagging."  That's when a sales rep trades foregone gains from higher, current commissions by waiting until next month, quarter and/or year to turn in a sales order (or two).  

I understand why the "What have you done for me lately" phenomena in sales can cause salespeople to sandbag to avoid winding up under quota in the future.  More powerful than the foregone gain of a few extra dollars in their comp plan.  Yep in sales, loss aversion screws up behavioral economics. 

                                                            GAP 

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

High School Sweethearts…

We just returned from our fifty year high school reunion.   It was titled 50 +1 because our actual fifty year mark from high school graduation occurred in 2021.  Due to the pandemic, our gathering was pushed back one year to assure the best time possible could be had by all.  High school had such an impact on my life that I like to post this little ditty each October and reminisce about that joyful time. 

Fall; October; football; high school; Homecoming – do you remember your first high school sweetheart?  High school is a very special and memorable time for teenagers; it certainly was for me.  And I always enjoyed the autumn season when I was in high school – Homecoming; Halloween; dating; parties (most chaperoned, some not). 

Fifty two years ago, this very time of the year, I asked the prettiest girl in my high school out on a first date.  I guess it went well enough because here we are fifty two years later, and I’m still awe-struck by the glow of her beauty. 

I hope you enjoy this opening to Chapter XII True North of my book, The Peace & Power of a Positive Perspective © as much I enjoyed writing it: 

Dedicated to… a crisp night in October; with a slight breeze blowing through bare trees – waiting for the coming winter.   Close your eyes.  Can you smell remnants of autumn leaves burning? 

To winning the homecoming football game.  To being carefree. To a Saturday night party at the teenager’s house whose parents are away.  Can you hear the kids having fun in the kitchen; the basement; and the backyard, all to the beat of the Rolling Stones? 

To couches, blue jeans and sweaters.  To the floor lamp reflecting on her blond hair making it shimmer with silvery streaks of light.  To the nervous small talk of a teenage boy in the presence of a varsity cheerleader.  To the patience of the teenage girl sitting on the couch with the captain of the varsity basketball team.  Can you remember when you could actually hear your heart throbbing? 

To throw pillows, which come in handy when the small talk runs out – what else can a young boy do?  And to playful pillow fights; which lead to gentle wrestling and ultimately to that first kiss. Remember how delicate she felt in your arms – the hint of her perfume – the taste of her lips? 

To first dates – dinner and a movie.  To the movie Catch 22 and the Oriental Theatre in downtown Chicago.  To dating the prettiest girl in your high school; to falling in love; to asking her father’s permission for her hand in marriage.  Were you ever so nervous? 

To the tears welling up in my eyes even as I write this short memoire.  To all those emotions; all the happiness; all those hopes and all those dreams; some fulfilled, some yet to be; and all that I can remember today as if it just happened yesterday – that I will remember everyday, as long as I live.  How can someone be so lucky? 

To 1970 - and that Saturday night in October in Elmhurst where I kissed Debbie for the very first time.  And to the friend’s house whose parents were out – to their couch, their floor lamp, to their throw pillows; and to the Rolling Stones music.  Can you imagine being so young, so infatuated, and so in love? 

I still am.

GAP 

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

Giving our best…

Football is my favorite sport.  A bit ironic I suppose, because football is the epitome of a time in my life that I did not give my best.  Actually, it was worse than that.  It was the one time in all my competitive pursuits (athletics or in business) that I quit.  I’ve lost many times; won my share too.  Quit?  Once.

I quit my high school football team two weeks into the start of my junior year season.  It was the only time in my life that my Mom told me I disappointed her.  I can remember going into the head coach’s office to quit as if it was yesterday.  Totally ironic, because after being a starter and co-captain my freshman and sophomore years, I was not even planning to play my junior year.  I planned to focus on basketball. 

Over the summer the coach called and asked me to reconsider.  I agreed, but when I showed up I wasn’t prepared to give my best.  He and his coaches weren’t prepared to coach me up either.  At the age of sixteen, I decided that quitting was my only escape.  I’ve regretted it to this day.  It’s not the not-playing that I regret; it’s the not giving my best.

I bet there have been special coaches and mentors who have had a positive impact on your life.  Coaches come in all shapes and sizes and use a wide variety of styles and techniques.  Some coaches resonate with us; others don’t. 

Here’s a 6 minute movie clip about high school, an underdog team, and their coach’s expectation about giving one's best: Facing the Giants

Probably not a technique that transfers into the business world today - but the message does, true?  Yes, the sporting world is different than the business world.  Nonetheless, we don’t have to go it alone.  Even the best-of-the-best have coaches.

In business, our favorite, Unknown Sage offers this:

Common misconceptions about coaching in the marketplace: 

“Coaching is primarily for correcting behavior” - If we only coach people when they do something wrong, we have missed the point.  It’s about building not fixing. 

“Coaching requires giving up power and control” – The manager relies more on influence. The person is still accountable. 

“Coaching takes too much time” – Coaching takes too much time if you don’t do enough of it and you don’t do it correctly.

“Coaching is soft stuff” – The manager who avoids soft stuff usually does so because it is so hard.  The work is easy; people are difficult. 

“Coaching is laissez-faire management” – Freedom in the workplace, actually just about anywhere, is rooted in strict discipline. 

“Coaching is simply being a good cheerleader” – A good manager has the courage and inner strength when needed to tell people the truth. 

“Coaching is like therapy” – To be a good manager and coach one does need a basic understanding of human behavior and motivation, but therapy has no place in your relationship with the people you are leading.

Coaches enjoy occasional accolades, too.  The best I ever heard was a tribute to Bum Phillips, former head coach of the then, Houston Oilers.  It was once said of Bum:

He could take his and beat yours - and then he could take yours and beat his. 

As a coach, he was able to get his players to give their best; they had no quit.  Imagine – what could we accomplish if we committed to giving our best? 

GAP

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

Is your world flat?

It’s been 11 years since I ventured out into the social media world for the very first time.  I know I wasn’t the original “explorer”, but it was still a big move for me.  Permit me to share an updated, slightly wordsmithed post from back in the day - beginning with 

People told Columbus the world was flat.  He didn’t insist it was round.  He got in a boat.  

                        3Com Advertisement 

How cool was that!  No debate; no argument; no headlines; no hype.  They said, “Impossible!” he said, “Get me to a boat!”  Then Columbus got in that boat (funded by an original venture capitalist); and proved his point.  

What a stellar example of commitment to success!  “Hey Chris, the world is flat you know.  If you go out there, you’ll sail right off the table into oblivion.”  “That’s OK”, he might have said, “I think we’ll be all right.”  He wasn't alone: 

What about you?  What are “they” saying you cannot do?  Do you agree with them?  Are you staying close to shore keeping land in sight to make you feel secure?  Or are you looking out across the vast ocean and on to your future?  Are you debating – or are you doing?  Where are you turning for the fuel to maintain your positive, can-do attitude?  

     It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up. 

                        Babe Ruth 

If you’re reading this, then you’re in my boat.  Welcome to The Peace & Power of a Positive Perspective©.  The next time you’re having one of “those days”, filled with too much negativity from “them”, come back aboard for a little positive reinforcement. 

It is the 21^st century after all.  Some people today might say, “Gary; Linked In, Face Book, Twitter are fun and all; but a vehicle for ongoing business-to-business, business?  Impossible!”  Well, what do I know?  

I spent over four decades of my career trying to perfect professional selling skills.  You know – permission-based prospecting; discovering the customer’s goals; presenting solutions… Remember?  Are any of those skills relevant today? 

Or have we in the sales profession shifted to Likes, TikToks, Tweets, and other, electronically-impersonal means of getting ink and contract to meet and money to change hands?  Were professional selling skills important only when the world was flat?  Well, what do I know? 

Best-selling business author Jim Collins wrote this: 

     The Tyranny of the OR vs the Genius of the AND.  

To me, it’s not social media – or – the old way.  I think social media is important.  I also believe that building trust still plays a key role in the customers’ success; and in turn, our success.  I would like to believe that knowing what you’re doing is still critical to a salesperson’s achievement.  Being a product expert + a technology expert + a competitive expert + a businessperson are the key characteristics our customers value.  But, what do I know? 

Similar to Christopher Columbus, no one can predict ahead of time what changes the online world will bring to the future of the sales profession.  I’m certainly not going to argue about it.  I’m just getting in my social media boat and setting sail – I believe I won’t fall off the face of the earth. 

I hope you join me for the voyage and visit https://gpokorn.blogspot.com/ often.  Bring a friend!  After all: 

No sense in being pessimistic.  It wouldn’t work anyway.    

                        Unknown Sage 

Here’s to the New World.  Thanks again Chris! 

                                                            GAP 

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

I want it…

A while back I wrote a little ditty about financially justifying the purchase of technology. (See Cost or Value).  Since I spent 40+ years in technology sales, I felt comfortable with my credentials in discussing sales justification. 

In that write-up I mentioned that there are "justifications" and then there are "justifications".  The main difference between the two is those deals where the customer "needs it" (usually to alleviate some sort of business "pain"); and those where the customer "wants it".  Which motivation do you think is more powerful? 

Have you ever spent more than you intended on something because you, or a loved one, not only needed it but wanted it?  Permit me to offer this little story about the power of want. 

When my younger son was 10 years old he was in his second year in a youth horse riding program. I have written about the Westernaires often.  Feeling confident in his commitment, my wife and I decided to buy him his own horse.  (He had been renting a Westernaires' string horse and needed his own to advance in the program.) 

We learned about the Bureau of Land Management's wild horse adoption program out of Canon City, Colorado where a Mustang could be adopted for $125.   Following adoption by properly caring for the horse and passing the BLM's inspections, you would receive ownership papers after two years.  I'm thinking… my son needed a horse; we could adopt one for $125; the investment justification seemed straight forward. 

Interestingly, the BLM adoption center in Canon City was located on the federal penitentiary grounds known then (and still today) as "Super Max".  It housed some of the most infamous criminals of modern times.  The "Una Bomber"; "El Chapo"; and other "worst-of-the-worst" killers.  But I digress… 

We went to an adoption event at the prison one spring day.  We were escorted by two armed guards the entire time.  I thought we were "just looking" for a horse.  After all, it was our first "presentation of a solution".  What I didn’t understand is that my wife, and more importantly my son, were there to "buy".  It was a little gray mingled among a herd of some sixty Mustangs that caught my son's eye.  The four year old horse had the coloring of a blue roan.  It was at that very moment he decided this was the Mustang he wanted. 

Silly me…  I'm thinking well it's only $125.  And if that was the horse to make my 10 year old son happy, then it was a pleasure to buy him a horse of his very own.  It was easy for me to "justify" the $125 "investment".  Well within our "budget".  Little did I know how the money works when it comes to horses. 

Within the first three months, here's what we actually spent for adopting that $125 Mustang: 

90-day training with feed, farrier, and gelding           $   600

Bridle, bit and reins                                                    $   250

Big Horn cordura saddle                                            $   400

Saddle blanket                                                            $     75

Halter and lead rope                                                    $     45

2-Horse, horse trailer to transport the horse                $2,500

Chevy Suburban (used) to haul the horse trailer        $6,000

                                                             Total cost        $9,870

That was a cost overrun of 7,896%!  But for the horse my son wanted?  Worth every penny.

Sooo, when selling to a buyer, it's nice to justify their spend based on what they need.  It's much more powerful to sell based on what they want.  Don’t you agree? 

                                                            GAP 

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