Having Fun?

I can’t tell.  I’m a bit too far removed.  Let me ask you.  Are most people having fun in their jobs today?  I wonder. 

Yes, yes, “It all depends” as my Father-In-Law used to say.  I have been in jobs where I was unhappy and I wasn’t alone: 

Oh, you hate your job?  Why didn't you say so?  There's a support group for that.  It's called everybody, and they meet at the bar. 

Drew Carey 

Nonetheless during the vast majority of my career I have had a lot of fun.  I believe fun is a critical component for success.  When invited to review a client’s sales and business processes, I always ask their managers and leaders, “How fun are you to work for?” 

That Mary is the Under-Vice President of Expectation Deflations for the western semi-region tells you nothing.  That Mary is wicked smart, totally frank, and a trip to work with tells you everything. 

Rick Levine 

I’ve been fortunate to work for many managers and clients who were “… a trip to work with…”  I can remember to this day the first phone call I made to Doug Johnston, Owner of DataPro Solutions in Spokane, Washington and a company my company was interested in acquiring.  “He’s not available.” I was informed.  “He’s outside barbequing lunch for the company.”  I immediately thought, “How fun is THAT!” 

If you’re not fun and you have direct reports, this advice comes from the movie Stripes and the character Sargent Hulka who said, “Lighten up Francis.”

My career as a sales professional has been so much fun I’m continuing it via independent advisory engagements.  When I interact with business people I always come away learning something.  I suppose in some cases I’m actually re-learning what I used to know – used to do – but somehow wandered away from.  For me, these interactions are fun! 

Today, I worry about this perspective from the book Get Back In The Box©: 

Although we claim we want more leisure time, we are much more likely to find an opportunity for genuinely fulfilling engagement and learning at work.  Unfortunately, however, most work environments are not set up to maximize these experiences, and our attitude towards work keeps us from experiencing or remembering nearly any of it as fun.  The overall message we get from our workplaces is to produce more, complain less, and ignore stress. 

Douglas Rushkoff 

I sure hope we aren’t devolving into “… produce more, complain less, and ignore stress.”  

Many are focused on their career; receiving recognition; getting a pay increase; earning a promotion; ignoring stress!  Balancing those goals with maintaining meaningful relationships; enjoying our family; engaging in our favorite recreations can be a challenge.  How do you do it?  (And how are you doing at doing it?) 

I like this idea that Jerald M. Jellison offered in his book Managing the Dynamics of Change ©: 

Take a few minutes right now to make a list of what reinvigorate you. Yes, actually write it down because the miracle of activation comes from doing, not just thinking.  Now look at your monthly schedule. How much time have you been setting aside for these uplifting activities?  ... Do something soon - now. 

Please consider my perspective; I’ve been a career sales professional for more than 4 decades and it has been a blast!  If your career aspirations are more stressful than enjoyable you might just have to change professions.  Life’s too short. 

                                                            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 can celebrate 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.

The Sales Triangle…

How about a little basketball-business “crossover dribble” today?  I love basketball.  I’ve also tried to apply many basketball concepts to the business world throughout my career.  They are especially applicable in the sales profession. 

I was a Chicago Bulls fan during Michael Jordan’s NBA Championship years.  More than Jordan though, I’m a Phil Jackson fan.  Phil Jackson wasn’t Jordan’s first head coach in the NBA.  Michael didn’t win a championship before (or after) his time under Phil.  Know what?  That applies to Kobe Bryant, too  Even Shaquille O'Neal won just one of his four NBA championships under a coach other than Phil Jackson. 

Lest you believe Jackson’s success was confined to Chicago and LA, Phil won an NBA championship as a player on the New York Knicks, plus he coached a Continental Basketball Association championship along with earning Coach of the Year honors.  Phil Jackson knew how to win. 

According to Wikipedia, “Jackson is known for his use of Tex Winter's triangle offense as well as a holistic approach to coaching that was influenced by Eastern philosophy, garnering him the nickname "Zen Master".  True, I’m no Zen Master. My positivity is reinforced by our favorite, Unknown Sage: 

The pessimist may be right in the long run, but the optimist has a better time during the trip. 

The “Triangle Offense”?  THAT is something I continue to coach today, albeit as the “Sales Triangle”.  At a high level, the Sales Triangle has these corners; the When; the What; and the Who: 

 

Our sales managers (and for that matter all God’s children) love to focus on the When. “When will your deal close?” is a question we hear countless times throughout our sales career. Now I’m not saying the When is not a key component of the sales triangle. It’s just the When question is not a very effective approach to forecasting.  I’ll delve into forecasting tools, tactics and techniques another time. 

Next sits the What.  In my experience others on the operations side of my company often worry if we sales types have committed (or over-committed) some capability that stretches our product or service to its limits.  They don’t seem to appreciate that all of the “vanilla” deals are already sold.  The only ones left are those that have “hair”. 

Oh, our companies want our deals; and at full price thank you.  But too many times our colleagues don’t want the complexity or the demanding nature of the client.  They overlook: 

You can't just lust for a client's money - you have to take the client too. 

                   Gary A. Pokorn 

Yet IMHO, it’s the Who corner of the sales triangle that is the most overlooked; mis-managed; and too often taken for granted.  Something as simple, yet as important as knowing the “Who” can make the difference between winning the deal vs. playing that game we all hate called the “Loooong Loooose”.  David Yesford, Senior Vice President, Wilson Learning Worldwide put it this way: 

Sales representatives need to build and explore a network of multiple connections within their customer organizations in order to gain a full understanding of how the organization’s strategy plays out vertically and

horizontally across the organization. Salespeople who can bring a thoroughly informed perspective of the customer organization find that senior executives welcome their insights. 

Phil Jackson’s teams leveraged the triangle offense and consistently won championships.  Perhaps mastering the sales triangle, especially the org chart corner, can do the same for us. 

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 …

I’m fascinated by cowboys and the great traditions of the American West.  Now, I’m no cowboy.  Nonetheless, I think we all could make a big difference in our daily lives if we heeded the advice found in one of my favorite books Cowboy Ethics © by James P. Owen: 

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

I’ve always believed it’s not how much you make; it’s how much you save.  Balancing income and expenses is certainly a huge challenge but “net worth” is a worthy difference. 

My son Kevin makes a difference in his life.  He does it the cowboy way; hard work; modest life style; knowing what’s important.  Before reaching his 40^th birthday (next Tuesday) he has achieved what others say is becoming out of reach.  Because he always pays his own way he has reached an “American Dream”… owning a house on 2 acres of property in Wyoming – MORTAGE FREE! 

I thought you might like this present I gave him for his birthday several years ago.  It's based on his cowboy (and rodeo) experiences and 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.

Yes, 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.

Checklist? Check…

We went on a vacation this past September.  We always enjoyed going on vacation; even more so perhaps back in the day when I was working fulltime: 

A vacation is what you take when you can no longer take what you've been taking. 

Earl Wilson 

When preparing for our trips we use a checklist.  I’m a huge fan of checklists.  I suppose I developed this appreciation during my 40+ years as a sales professional.  In his book The Checklist Manifesto©, Atul Gawande put it best, this way: 

You want people to make sure to get the stupid stuff right.  Yet you also want to leave room for craft and judgment and the ability to respond to unexpected difficulties that arise along the way. 

“…get the stupid stuff right…”  I love that! 

In my experience, one of the most common opportunities for issues to “arise along the way”  comes during that phase of the software selling motion referred to as “The Demo”.  There are terrific resource available to those of us involved with product demonstrations.  One of my favorites is this Self-Evaluation Form provided by Julie Hansen.  However, Atul might say to Julie, it’s actually what happens before the demo that counts. 

I can remember to this day a demo I was scheduled to deliver to the Missouri Dairy Association back in 1985 (the Dark Ages).  They were interested in hiring my company to craft a custom “Personal System” but for dairy cows vs. actual people.  (I know, right?)  Because it was a custom project, I worked with my development team to go over MDA’s specs and come up with a workable solution. 

Once we thought we were ready, I traveled to Springfield, Missouri to demonstrate a mock-up.  Before leaving on the trip, I checked and doubled checked that I knew the log-in to our development system; I had my demo flow scripted and rehearsed; I brought a “Memorandum of Understanding” outlining the parameters of the project (e.g. price; development timeline; implementation; training; ongoing support; the works).  I didn’t have an actual checklist, but I was confident I had all my bases covered. 

Arriving at the prospect’s offices the first thing I realized was I was the only one suited-up.  Cowboy hats, belt buckles, and boots were preferred by my prospect.  I totally missed the “stupid stuff” about checking on appropriate attire.  However, they were accommodating (amused, too I bet!) and we settled in to a cramped and dusty office for the meeting. 

I successfully logged in and tested my connection to our development system (located in Chicago).  Everything was going according to plan.  That’s when Atul’s “unexpected difficulties” arose.  A message was broadcasted across my screen that the HQ IT staff would be “rebooting the development system in 5 minutes.  It will be offline for the next 2 hours”!

You guessed it…  in all of my preparation I forgot to confirm the development system would be available at that specific date and time.  (We never took the demo system down during business hours.  I assumed… well… you know how that saying goes!)  I was unable to reach the development team in time to prevent the impending doom.  As we were all were gathered around my PC we watched the system (and my deal) go dark. 

That trip contributed to my fledgling Dark Ages Computing ® library of experiences and my growing appreciation for checklists. 

When I returned …  I was ready for a vacation! 

GAP 

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