Fine line…

There’s a fine line among accountability; criticism; and coaching, true?  It can be easy to criticize.  On the other hand many people are motivated by coaching - when it’s done right.  In his book Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise©, Anders Ericsson offers: 

… meaningful positive feedback is one of the crucial factors in maintaining motivation.

Note the qualifier, “meaningful”.  Not all coaching is motivational.  It’s also often easier to coach someone you like; someone who’s already preforming well.  It’s those you don’t like; those who suck that are the challenge.  Yet a sales manager can’t simply ignore the under-performers.  Ignoring is not on the path to superior performance.  It’s not fair to the team.  It’s not fair to the under-performer: 

… if the person is struggling, it is actively uncaring to allow him to keep playing a part that doesn't fit. By this definition, firing the person is a caring act. 

Marcus Buckingham 

There’s that fine line… The path between the books-ends of coaching and firing is narrow.  That’s where we find accountability.  In my experience the best salespeople accept accountability for their own responsibility e.g. sales performance.  Beyond our individual people’s attitude, applying accountability is a management skill: 

Accountability, particularly when executed well, trumps coaching and enabling every day of the month and twice on the day that the sales report gets published. 

Mike Weinberg 

Note the qualifier, “when executed well”.  That’s the skill. Otherwise, accountability attempts can send the wrong counter-productive message.  It’s a fine line: 

Great managers want each employee to feel a certain tension, a tension to achieve. 

Marcus Buckingham 

The “feel of tension to achieve” is a great feeling!  However, it’s found on a very narrow path indeed aka a fine line. 

GAP 

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

Anger…

What do you think about getting angry?  At work, does the boss get mad at you?  Or you at the boss?  Ever write a nasty email?  Ever find yourself yelling at someone?

Customer service reps are a frequent target.  Of course, they’ve been trained:

How to Manage an Irate Client Call: 

“I’m sorry you’re so upset.  I really feel your pain.  No, I don’t think we can fix the problem.  No, you can’t get your money back.  Well, I am the supervisor.  Let me transfer you to Mr. Dial Tone…” 

Unknown Sage 

I tried to temper my anger over the years.  Then I read an article published in Sales and Marketing Magazine ©,  “Is There A Place For Anger In Management?” .  Paul Nolan offered several points backed by research suggesting anger is more good than bad in the work place.  Here’s one example: 

We’re more likely to perceive people who express anger as competent, powerful and the kinds of leaders who will overcome challenges.  Anger motivates us to undertake difficult tasks. 

Competent and powerful… motivate to accomplish difficult tasks… I don’t know – what do you think?  Apples’ Steve Jobs was infamous (or perhaps famous) for his tirades. 

A final view about anger comes from two, fictitious monks: 

Two monks were strolling by a stream on their way home to the monastery.  They were startled by the sound of a young woman in a bridal gown, sitting by the stream, crying softly.  Tears rolled down her cheeks as she gazed across the water.  She needed to cross to get to her wedding, but she was fearful that doing so might ruin her beautiful handmade gown. 

In this particular sect, monks were prohibited from touching women.  But one monk was filled with compassion for the bride.  Ignoring the sanction, he hoisted the woman on his shoulders and carried her across the stream - assisting her journey and saving her gown.  She smiled and bowed with gratitude as the monk splashed his way back across the stream to rejoin his companion. 

The second monk was livid!  'How could you do that?' he scolded.  'You know we are forbidden to touch a woman, much less pick one up and carry her around.' 

The offending monk listened in silence to a stern lecture that lasted all the way back to the monastery.  His mind wandered as he felt the warm sunshine and listened to the singing birds.  After returning to the monastery, he fell asleep for a few hours.  He was jostled and awakened in the middle of the night by his fellow monk. 

'How could you carry that woman?' his agitated friend cried out.  'Someone else could have helped her across the stream.  You were a bad monk.' 

'What woman?' the sleepy monk inquired. 

'Don't you even remember?  That woman you carried across the stream' his colleague snapped. 

'Oh, her' laughed the sleepy monk.  'I only carried her across the stream.  You carried her all the way back to the monastery." 

Buddhist parable 

I suppose anger boils down to a matter of degree and the context of the situation. 

I don’t always succeed in controlling my anger.  However, I do try to avoid “carrying it all the way back to the monastery”. 

GAP 

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

 

Business Fun…

A sales rep, an administration clerk, and their manager are walking to lunch when they find an antique oil lamp.  They rub it and a Genie comes out.  The Genie says, “I’ll give each of you just one wish.” 

“Me first!  Me first!” says the administration clerk.  “I want to be in the Bahamas, driving a speedboat, without a care in the world.”  Puff!  She’s gone. 

“Me next!  Me next!” says the sale rep.  “I want to be in Hawaii, relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of Peña Coladas and the love of my life.”  Puff! He’s gone. 

“OK, you’re up,” the Genie says to the manager.  The manager says, “I want those two back in the office after lunch.” 

Brenda Morris 

Sound like your Manager?  Sound like you?  Question:  How much fun are you to work with or work for? 

I’ve often felt that a primary role of our business leaders is to keep their followers appropriately entertained so the followers will solve the big, business challenges the company has for our leaders.  This from none other than WWII General George Patton: 

Don’t tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results. 

I expect my manager to incorporate “Business Fun” into our day.  What’s that you ask?  Well, if we have to work for a living + put in extra hours + bring our work home from the office + be available 7x24; then at the very least we should be able to have a little fun doing it, don’t you think? 

I’m not implying the, “whistle while you work” kind of cartoon fantasy fun.  I mean, it’s nice when our Manager surprises us when she sends a Starbucks gift card; or tells us, “take the afternoon off to be with your kids”; or simply has something nice to say to start our day. 

Yes, yes, I know – we get paid for our work.  But is that good ‘nough?  Sports fanatics and media proclaim that when complaining about some star athlete who is not starring.  “So and so should be dominating the league – after all, he’s being paid $50 Million a year!”  When you’re having, “one of those days”, do you merely think about your coming paycheck, and that makes it all better?  Me either. 

That’s not how comp plans work in the first place: 

The purpose of a compensation system should not be to get the right behaviors from the wrong people, but to get the right people on the bus in the first place, and to keep them there.   

Jim Collins 

I would offer, once you get the right people on your bus, a little “Business Fun” helps to keep them there.  For leaders – like it or not – talented people can get a job anywhere.  Even in a down economy, if you think your people should be thankful you gave them a job, beware.  That theory only applies to the untalented!  Just ask our favorite, Unknown Sage: 

Among the chief worries of today's business executives is the large number of unemployed still on the payrolls. 

So business leaders; lighten up!  We’ll get the job done.  Believe me; it will be easier on you if you think about ways to lift our spirits.  Otherwise, we can always entertain ourselves by making you the brunt of our amusement (while spending company time looking for another job, that is). 

                                                            GAP 

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

Success…

How do you define “success”?  Is your success the result of your dedication and effort.  Do you make things happen?  Or does the phrase, “right place; right time” apply?  It’s OK.  Our favorite, Unknown Sage once said, 

People can be divided into three groups:

1. Those who make things happen,

2. Those who watch things happen, and

3. Those who wonder what's happening. 

I myself feel a bit clueless from time to time (and Lord knows my wife and family think of me as being permanently associated with Group 3, HaHa!).  I really do try to focus on the first group; making things happen; driving my own success.  I know it’s not easy.  

Like many of you, I’ve always worked for a living – I mean blue collar type of work – I mean taking the long way – I mean overcoming setbacks.  Regardless of the sales year I had, I tried to follow this African Proverb credited to none other than Mother Nature:

Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up.  It knows it   must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed.     Every morning a lion wakes up.  It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve.  It doesn’t matter    whether you are a lion or a gazelle. When the sun comes up,   you better start running. 

Now don’t get me wrong; I was very much a white collar, sales professional.  It’s just that meeting my goals usually took me longer than my friends and colleagues who are blessed with greater talent.  They figured out how to work smart, not just hard.  Me?  Well, maybe I dipped into that 3^rd group more frequently than I’d like to admit.  I know I tasted failure on many occasions: 

It seems to me that the largest impediment to a healthy attitude toward failure is our inability to distinguish between just plain being stupid and failing on the way to great success.

Unknown Sage 

I’ve always believed that thinking positively, optimistically, with great self-confidence was a “healthy attitude toward failure”.  That’s why one of my favorite hobbies is writing.  I like the way it helps me channel random input from various Thought Leaders coupled with a positive attitude that can lead to, “failing on the way to great success”. 

I know that success is defined various ways and is a very personal matter.  I remember working for Mike Martone, ADP National Accounts VP of Sales, “back in the day”.  The National Accounts Division was “killin' it”.  I too, was enjoying some of the best sales achievements of my entire career.  It would have been easy for me – and Mike – to be satisfied with our success.  That’s when he delivered his "I'll be satisfied when..." presentation at a company-wide sales meeting.  

Rather than dwelling on our success, he had a different message.  Mike brought a list of five or ten additional goals and he prefaced each with the repetitive line, “I’ll be satisfied when we…”.  Then he described his expectations emphasizing his definition of success was achieving those additional goals.  That’s when I started thinking of success as a journey; not a destination. 

Carmen Mariano seems to agree and offers us this view: 

Success never rests.  On your worst days, be good.  And on your best days, be great.  And on every other day, get better. 

So here’s to today – good, great, or better.  We best get up early; start running; make things happen; true? 

GAP 

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

Book titles...

I was commiserating with a colleague of mine about work stuff a while back.  You know - the usual complaints followers have about leaders and the HQ staff: 

Corporate Staff: 

Known in some quarters as Sea Gulls for reasons relating to their propensity to fly round the country leaving their mark wherever they have alighted. 

Norman R. Augustine 

During our chit-chat she said we could write a book and that led to an impromptu, humorous bit of brainstorming on book titles about bad leadership.  I offered, "You can't make this shit up" as a title idea.  That was what a friend and former colleague of mine, Jim Robertson, used to say when faced with maddening, corporate bureaucracy: 

I don’t know why anyone would shell out lots of money for a computer game when you can have more fun and a greater challenge playing CSCP - Circumvent the Stupid Corporate Policy. 

Dan Danborn 

She countered with, "I wasn't going to drink today but", and our little game was on!  I came back with this little ditty from my friend Robin Nicholson when her company was acquired back in the day, "Same circus, different clowns". 

Why were we going through this banter, you might ask?  Well, other than sharing a little comic relief I got nothin'.  Here’s a couple more from the Corporate Staff’s steering committee, "We're lost, but we're making good time"; and from the front-line workers, "MBA's; seldom right; never in doubt". 

Now to be fair, we all know that leading a company is extremely challenging.  I mean for one thing leaders have to deal with employees like me and my colleague who can sour on company B.S. which leads to a loss of trust for our cause.  (Side note:  My colleague at the time of this exchange is now my former colleague – deciding to leave and join a new circus.  Me?  I chose to stay to try to make a difference.  But I digress…) 

Leaders always have the opportunity to gain (or re-gain) our trust.  I’d rather rise every morning charged up to go to work!  Wouldn’t you?  I’d prefer to trust that my contributions make a difference.  Trust – definitely a force multiplier:

There is one thing that is common to every individual, relationship, team, family, organization, nation, economy, and civilization throughout the world - one thing which, if removed, will destroy the most powerful government, the most successful business, the most thriving economy, the most influential leadership, the greatest friendship, the strongest character, the deepest love. 

On the other hand, if developed and leveraged, that one thing has the potential to create unparalleled success and prosperity in every dimension of life...  That one thing is trust. 

Stephen M.R. Covey 

That’s the good news for leaders (and their staff).  Many, many followers really do want to follow; really want to be engaged; really are ready to excel.  We just need a little… well… trust: 

Surround yourself with people of integrity, and get out of their way.  The right people will feel far more pressure to perform well when they are trusted. 

          Jim Anderson 

And there are plenty of book titles to help leaders lead.  Even leading people like me LOL!  Because I know there are also many book titles directed at my profession - the sales profession - one goes like this, "The salesman promised you WHAT??!!" 

After all, "turnabout is fair play" for leaders.  (Oh, and that book title? It’s already taken.) 

GAP 

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

Management observation…

In my recent post “Gaming the System” I suggested sales rep quota performance (and ethics) is heading in the wrong direction.  That puts pressure on front line sales managers.  How is your company responding?

My company is rolling out sales manager training.  When I looked into the possibility of participating in the skills side I was told our initial content was “very tactical”.  Tactical is important for sales managers to master.  However, there is so much more.

How does your company define the front line sales manager role?  One option is to have sales managers sell – a combination of manager plus individual contributor.  Bob Croston of the RAIN Group suggested in the Nov/Dec 2019 issue of SMM Connect ©:

Sales Managers shouldn’t sell…

·       Too busy to coach/mentor their reps

·       Decreases respect from subordinates

·       Recruiting is dropped

·       Observation and accountability are compromised

Observation – now there’s a key skill to sales manager success.  I mean, how would you know if your reps are doing the right things, in the right way, on a consistent basis if you don’t regularly observe?

You can observe a lot by just watching. 

                         Yogi Berra

Do your Sales Managers observe?  Or, as one of my sales manager mentees asked me when he was first promoted from rep to manager, “Gary is my job to be the super-sales-closer or an observer?”  My view is Sales Managers must help each of his or her reps become the super-sales-closer.  That is a more scalable approach and it helps prevent reps from gaming the system. 

That led to his next question, “What if my rep can’t be a super-sales-closer?”  I responded he must then replace said under-performing rep.  Ahhh yes… “off-boarding”… there’s a skill-oriented managerial process, true?  Do you think your Sales Managers discharge people fairly and with dignity?

I believe the managers' job is to get the job done through his/her people – current people or future people – which is up to each sales rep’s ability to do the job they are hired for.  Easy for me to write about – hard to execute in the real world.  It’s not unique to sales management:

By Thursday evening of the 1974 Open, that atmosphere was toxic. After the first round at Winged Foot, there was not a single player under par. The best one among them, Jack Nicklaus, had rolled his first putt that day right off the green. With each passing moment, Tatum, the man largely responsible for the course setup, said, "It felt like radiation was spreading."

And so came the line, the one you hear every year at the U.S. Open, and likely will for as long as they play it.

"We're not trying to humiliate the best players in the world," the chairman of the USGA's competition committee declared that day. "We're simply trying to identify who they are."

                         Sandy Tatum

Identifying who to keep (and who to cut) without humiliation.  Or, without avoidance either.  Another negative trend my former manager mentioned to me recently is:

Management by email

Now there’s a tactical-oriented  sales management approach in today’s online world.  Do you have regular, live interactions with your manager?  Or, does your manager consider email, Slack, texts, and team web-meetings, good ‘nuff?

I believe the best way for sales managers to prevent gaming of the system by their reps is live contact, encouragement, observation, and coaching on a regular basis.  Letting their people know “No gaming needed - we are in this together”.

GAP

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

Mandatory…

I was chatting with an Assistant Vice President I mentor periodically.  During our conversation he used that famous phrase that seems to be so popular in the workplace these days, “… I will hold them accountable…”  I also observe the close cousin to that phrase often… the single word, “mandatory” (sometimes communicated in ALL CAPS – bold even!).

Do you ever want someone else to do what you tell them to do?  I know I do.  I wonder why what others do, or how they do it, is so important to me.  I mean, if they get the job done their way vs. my way, isn’t that OK? And vice versa – if I get the job done should my managers be overly concerned if I did it their way or not?

This idea of getting the job done has fascinated me in the business world for quite some time.  Different approaches and techniques spanning different generations and even different countries have been well documented.

Perhaps the first time I started to pay attention to this was back in the day that Japanese companies re-invented their reputation – and success.  There was a period I can remember when “Made in Japan” represented cheap, low-quality products.  Somehow, some way the Japanese completely changed that image, true?

Alan Deutschman wrote in Change or Die ©:

Toyota gave responsibility and accountability to its production workers, and the workers responded by acting responsibly and accountable.

That same book offered a little more explanation behind why people act the way they do:

People don’t resist change; they resist being changed.  

               Dean Ormish

Sounds personal, doesn’t it?  Do you take your work personally?  I’m not sure if it’s good or bad, but I definitely take my work personally.  I take to heart Tom Connellan’s thought:

One with passion is better than forty who are merely interested.

                                                                                   

One problem with my personal, passionate approach is dealing with my emotions during occasional workplace conflict.  I’m 45 years in to the working world and still trying to keep calm when someone tells me to do something their way when I believe I know how to do that same something better – my way. 

For me, my passion for getting the job done the best way it can be done is easily misinterpreted as being arrogant; or uncoachable; or just being a general pain in the ass.  I’d like to believe all that is inaccurate – I certainly hope it is.

But having someone tell me they will “hold me accountable” or that completing thus and so is “mandatory” is not the way to unleash my full potential.  I liked what Bob Nelson wrote about this company’s culture:

In a visit to a utility company to study its best practices, teams from Sprint Corporation in Westwood, Kansas, were shocked to learn that some corporate cultures weren't quite as rigid as theirs.  When the Sprint teams asked questions regarding dress code and attendance policies, the firm responded that its policies were come to work, and wear clothes.

I know all of us must adhere to certain rules and related codes of conduct (including wearing clothes to work).  But for many of the tasks we are assigned to get our jobs done, wouldn’t it be better if our manager helped motivate us to want to complete those tasks successfully vs. dictating that said tasks are “mandatory”; or “MANDATORY”?

Easy for me to say – but it’s hard to make someone else “accountable”, true?

               GAP

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