Cost or value?

A friend of mine is a Project Manager for a national insurance company.  He recently submitted an updated investment justification for a technology purchase that was originally approved three years ago.  Turns out, the annual maintenance costs exceeded the initial projections.  The company's executives wanted to re-visit (and re-justify) the cost. 

I found this remarkable because in my sales career, my clients rarely went back and re-justified their purchases.  Let me ask you… post sale, how often did your clients go back to re-confirm the original cost justification?  

Products or services, I believe they all work the same.  George Eckes, a subject matter expert in Six Sigma manufacturing processes, chimed in…  (According to Wikipedia, “A six sigma process is one in which 99.99966% of the products manufactured are statistically expected to be free of defects”): 

About 30 percent of my clients have had a true Six Sigma cultural transformation; about 50 percent of my clients have obtained tactical results that justified their investment in paying my outrageous fees.  And about 20 percent of clients have totally wasted their money.           

Not every technology purchase has to be “justified”.  Here’s an excerpt from an interview published in the March 2012 issue of CFO Magazine: 

CFOs need to understand that you have to keep the core running, says NetSuite CFO Ron Gill.  Sometimes the CIO will say the phone system needs upgrading.  The CFO will ask, ‘What will we get from the upgrade?’ The CIO says, ‘Phones.' 

Way back in 1979 during my very first, B2B sales training class, we worked on feature-benefit drills.  Anytime we came across a feature we couldn’t immediately connect a benefit to, we were taught to use that famous, catch-all, cost justification phrase:  “Save Time; Save Money!” 

Over four decades later, I’m amazed at how often I still hear this phrase.  Maybe you say it yourself.  Oh and there’s the popular derivation that goes like this:  “With our automated, online, interruption, peddle, your people currently performing this task can do more important things for the company…”  More important things?  Such as? 

Much has been said and more has been written on how sales professionals can “cost justify” the sale of technology products and services.  “Value Proposition”; “Return On Investment”; “Total Cost of Ownership”, “Time to Value”; “Automating manual tasks”; what is your favorite justification technique?  (“Save Time; Save Money” you say?  Just shoot me!) 

When the client values the technology we're selling and wants the technology we're selling; they don’t always need a formal justification.  Don’t take my word for it.  ROI and the fact that it is often unneeded has been part of the technology industry for as long as there has been a technology industry: 

What's my return on investment in e-commerce?  Are you crazy? This is Columbus in the New World.  What was his ROI?

                        Andrew Grove 

In my experience, when I understood how the client valued my proposal a closed sale was at hand.  Of course, the term "value" is vague and varies by client.  We know it exists because it connects to the client’s “discretionary funds”.  Discretionary funds includes their original “budget” plus whatever it costs to get what they want.  They may not need it but if they value it and want it, who am I to say no? 

We might all consider seeking to understand what the client wants and then selling to the value.  After all, this approach could Save Time; Save Money! 

GAP 

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

Facing our daily fears…

Where do you turn to find the courage to face your day these days? 

We face much fear, uncertainty, and doubt as witnessed by the blaring news headlines, true?  The de-valuing of our 401k; global warming; job security; what our children post online.  In fact, it was the news of our modern day that stimulated the creation of my slogan: 

When life gets tough, you could get a helmet or … Arm yourself with the Peace & Power of a Positive Perspective.

Fear; uncertainty; doubt; often appear as a “surprise” in my life.  I hate surprises – even good surprises.  I’d rather be in “control”.  

My wife hosted a Halloween, surprise birthday party for me once.  All of our guests dressed in old people costumes.  It was great fun right up until everyone yelled, "surprise!" and my birthday cake appeared.  After the party I thanked my wife but admonished her never to throw me a surprise party again, Halloween or otherwise.  (BTW - my birthday is in February so I was definitely surprised.) 

Sometimes I find myself trying to “control” the lives of my children and grandchildren, too.  I try to protect them from those unknown, painful surprises impacting us all.  Impractical I know; I just can’t help but fear the unknown for me and others. 

I do turn to our favorite Unknown Sage often for encouragement.  He tries to help in the fear, uncertainty, and doubt department with a reminder: 

            Fear makes the wolf bigger than he is. 

German Proverb 

You should consider yourself very lucky if the size of the wolf in your mind has not grown during recent years. 

Perhaps modern man can learn how to face our difficulties from ancient societies.  The ancient Greeks believed their gods inspired man to approach the unknown without fear.  Imagine what our life would be like if we approached the unknown without fear.  

Imagine more faith; less control; more peace of mind; less fear; more courage, even in the face of less certainty.  Where the ancient Greeks emphasized faith and inspiration, are we emphasizing antacids and high blood pressure medication? 

One would expect that the advancement of modern science and our higher level of thinking serve to lessen the fear, uncertainty, and doubt while increasing courage in our lives.  David Ben-Gurion suggested that knowledge and courage are linked: 

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. 

OK then; we obviously have things we ought to fear.  We can’t think those things away; or will them away; or gain such tight control over every aspect of our life that we never have to worry about another "surprise".  

Can we apply business knowledge to better understand life’s fears? 

Two types of uncertainty plague most efforts to introduce major new products: known-unknowns and unknown-unknowns. 

Norman R. Augustine 

“Known-unknowns” and “unknown-unknowns”?  The wolf is getting bigger!  Where is an ancient Greek when we need one? 

Can the remedy for the fear we face in our modern lives really be as simple as having the type of faith that prevailed in ancient times?  

To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary.  To one without faith, no explanation is possible. 

Thomas Aquinas 

Thomas Aquinas, a 13^th century theologian and philosopher.  He may not be on Facebook, but he's still a little more modern than the ancient Greeks. 

GAP 

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

Agreeing to disagree…

I'm sensitive about the topic of retirement.  I know the vast majority of my readers are actively employed.  Even my wife is running a successful ecommerce business.  However now that I'm on the sidelines, perhaps I can offer a glimpse into what's happening to people in the working world; the other parts of the world, too.  Seems to be a lot of consternation and conflict, true? 

Ian Leslie wrote in his book Curious© this: 

A user of the social news and discussion site Reddit recently posted the following question: If someone from the 1950s suddenly appeared today, what would be the most difficult thing to explain to them about today?  The most popular answer was this one: I possess a device, in my pocket, that is capable of accessing the entirety of information known to man.  I use it to look at pictures of cats and get into arguments with strangers. 

Curiously, I am from the 1950s and we do use social media to get into arguments with strangers.  I worry how much I've been impacted: 

When I retire, I'll have the time to rediscover myself.  I used to be a nice person. 

Jeri Sedlar 

I've been thinking a lot about my skill and ability to disagree with someone else's point of view without coming across disagreeable.  I mean discussing or even debating different points of view is one thing; raising the temperature to a full blown argument and blasting someone online is something altogether different, don’t you agree? 

There, I said it (actually I wrote it), I'm trying to persuade you to agree with my point of view.  According to this 2020 post from thebalancecareers.com: 

Persuasion is convincing others to change their point of view, agree to a commitment, purchase a product or service, or take a course of action. Oral and written persuasive skills are valued in the workplace. Sales is the most obvious form of persuasion, but this skill is used in many other positions as well. 

Selling skills aside, I've noticed that I become angry too easily these days when I see or hear things going on around me that I disagree with.  Has the art of persuasion been usurped by social media and the ability to just lambast others and their points of view?

The article The persuasion triad - Aristotle Still Teaches, published in 2016 and referencing thought leadership from 23 centuries ago reminds us: 

Aristotle determined that persuasion comprises a combination of three appeals: logos, pathos, and ethos. Anyone seeking to persuade an audience should craft his/her message with facts (logos), tapping an argument's emotional aspect (pathos), and presenting his/her apparent moral standing (ethos). 

Facts, emotions, and moral standing?  I have improvement work to do.  Whether I'm right or wrong, I don't always have to look for a fight.  It's OK if we agree to disagree. 

According to Wikipedia, the phrase "agree to disagree" appeared in print all the way back in 1770:

…a phrase in English referring to the resolution of a conflict (usually a debate or quarrel) whereby all parties tolerate but do not accept the opposing positions. It generally occurs when all sides recognize that further conflict would be unnecessary, ineffective or otherwise undesirable. They may also remain on amicable terms while continuing to disagree about the unresolved issues. 

Agreeing to disagree; remaining on amicable terms.  There's a skill I can work on in retirement.  Wish I started working on it years ago. 

GAP 

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

Missing the point?

We're witnessing powerful trends in the workplace today.  Working from home; the "great resignation"; employee empowerment; a 4-day work week…  Although employees at many technology companies might be feeling less empowered these days - who can miss the headlines about Oracle's layoffs? 

            “EMPOWERMENT”: 

A term meant to give survivors of restructure the illusion they have a role in the company's future.

Unknown Sage 

Then I read in LinkedIn that those laid off employees have received an average of 70 new job offers.  Truthfully, it's hard for me to believe that those 70 new opportunities are equivalent to the jobs they lost.  But that's not the point. 

Emphasis on work-life balance makes me wonder if employees believe their managers are opposed to work-life balance.  I don’t think so, but I turned to a subject matter expert for further insight. 

Wikipedia states, "Clayton Magleby Christensen was an American academic and business consultant who developed the theory of "disruptive innovation", which has been called the most influential business idea of the early 21st century."  Now we're getting somewhere.  Clayton offered: 

In most companies, however, individual managers don't have the luxury of surviving a string of trials and errors in pursuit of the strategy that works.  Rightly or wrongly, individual managers in most organizations believe that they cannot fail:  If they champion a project that fails because the initial marketing plan was wrong, it will constitute a blotch on their track record, blocking their rise through the organization.                        

True enough, but I don’t feel managers avoiding career-threatening mistakes is the point. 

Malcolm Gladwell, bestselling author of  Blink© and The Tipping Point©, thinks remote work is actually hurting society.  As told on the “Diary of a CEO” podcast hosted by Steven Bartlett, Malcolm believes people need to come into the office to regain a “sense of belonging": 

"If we don’t feel like we’re part of something important, what’s the point?” he said. “If it’s just a paycheck, then it’s like what have you reduced your life to?” 

Have you noticed the key, missing element in this discussion?  While employees and employers are playing tug-of-war, there's been a dearth of discussion about the customer.  Another thought leader offered this wisdom:           

The problem was that nobody stayed with the customer to make sure they knew how to use the product… Consequently, they built an eighty-percent market share of unhappy clients. 

                        Rick Page 

I don’t know, and frankly don’t care, whether an employee is working from home; in an office; dressed in a 3-piece suit; or wearing yoga pants.  I believe the main point is how do these work-place trends impact customer satisfaction. 

You tell me…  when you’re interacting with an employee at a company and hear their dog barking or their baby crying in the background, is it distracting to you?  How can it not be distracting to the employee too.  As the customer, do we actually believe a distracted employee delivers better customer service? 

Distractions occur at the office you say?  I agree.  So tell me, do more tenured, more experienced employees do a better or worse job of overcoming distractions at the office?  Again I ask, how can a less tenured employee, who moves from company to company during this period of the "great resignation" provide better customer support than a more experienced employee? 

To me, the point being overlooked is this; lose your customers; lose your job - wherever your job is located and however you’re dressed.           

                                                            GAP 

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

"That" goal…

Since retiring five months ago, I find myself making progress towards a goal I haven't been consciously trying to reach.  I can't explain it, but I'm not complaining.  I'm within 13 pounds of my target weight; over 20 pounds closer than I was in February. 

Several years ago my doctor suggested it would be better if "there was a little less of Gary".  My BMI was in the overweight category, bordering on obese.  I tried all the usual dieting approaches to no avail. 

I remember thinking back then that I will have to “bite the bullet” (which is better than biting the donut!), and actually change what I ate.  There.  I said it.  I would have to eat healthier foods and stick to it.  Discipline – that’s what it would take: 

"DISCIPLINE”:  The ability to do what you don’t want to do to become the person you want to become. 

Unknown Sage

I did get down to 212 pounds once.  It was in 2011.  I was following a "crash, 13 week diet" coupled with the P90X workout all coordinated through a chiropractor, Dr. Joe.  After thirteen weeks, I was “hoping” I would continue down to 200 pounds (my collegiate playing weight).  Well, “hoping” is not the same as setting a goal and sticking to a disciplined action plan to achieve it. 

After hitting 235 pounds, I knew I was going to need a little help.  But where do we turn when we’re seeking the motivation and support to achieve success?  Maybe Winston Churchill? 

Success is the ability to move from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm. 

Great advice; I am definitely enthusiastic.  But the "British Bulldog" was also known to have been a bit of a kook. 

Like the story 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 Madame, are ugly.  But I shall be sober tomorrow. 

Through all those tomorrows, I have been overweight.  Starting on a plan to lose weight is admirable.  Thinking about it; talking about it; seeking support from others is one thing.  I’ve been enthusiastically thinking about getting back to 200 pounds for years; decades actually.  However finishing what we start is something else. 

Where else could I turn?  Well, our Unknown Sage hinted my wife might help: 

My wife says I should cut down on meat, and eat more fruits and vegetables.  But what does a cow eat?  Corn.  And what’s corn? Vegetable.  So a steak is nothing more than an efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to your system. 

See what I'm up against?  Myself!  Although my wife has been a terrific influence my entire life, she can't lose the weight for me.  So now what?  Where can I find the peace of mind that I'm on the right track?  Well, that same Unknown Sage suggested therapy: 

My therapist told me a way to achieve peace was to finish things I started.  Today, I finished 2 bags of potato chips, a lemon pie, a fifth of Jack Daniels, and a small box of chocolate candy.  I feel better already! 

Managing our weight - easy to think about; easier to talk about; but success?  That will take an ongoing, daily commitment.  I'm eating healthier in retirement; trying to achieve a "little less of Gary".  Lord, help us all whose doctors recommend we address "that" goal. 

GAP 

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

Paying attention…

There's so much going on around us these days; so many distractions.  What do you think?  Are people paying more attention to others and to their surroundings, or less?  Here's a representation reflecting the opinion of a professional trying to help us all pay attention:

I think I do a pretty good job of paying attention.  Of course, what worries me is if we were to conduct a survey I wouldn’t be alone:

      In his seminal research David Dunning in conjunction with Justin Kruger uncovered a powerful phenomena, that most of us over-estimate our abilities… Dunning puts it like this; the dumb get confident, while the intelligent get doubtful. 

                   Jim Keenan 

I don’t think the research suggests that just because we don’t pay attention that alone makes us dumb; but it sure feels like dumbness when someone isn’t paying attention, true?  Thus, we compensate for "those people": 

You'll notice that the airport buildings are in the distance.  We don't land at the terminal because it scares the heck out of the people inside. 

                   Mark Sanborn 

The real issue is why don’t we pay closer attention?  As a retired sales professional my profession is known as a profession of talkers vs, listeners: 

… the person doing the talking is always interested in what is said.  It isn’t the lecturer who falls asleep.

                    Phillip S. Wexler 

My former Manager believed (and I agreed with him) that "Discovery" is the most important aspect to a B2B sales process; yet it is an area that most salespeople do poorly.  “Discovery”; “Analysis”; “Requirements Definition”; it goes by many names.  Whatever you call it; it is best completed by paying close attention to what the prospect says; who says it; how they say it; and what they mean. 

Doing an effective Discovery certainly is not easy.  Getting the prospect to tell you what their needs are; tell you about their current shortcomings; sharing their goals; permitting you to meet with their full staff; complete interviews with their executives; etc., requires the utmost of skill and discretion.  

All challenges - yet most often a bad Discovery is due to poor skills on the part of the salesperson.  We’re too anxious to sell; too high pressured in our questioning; in too much of a hurry.  We like to speak – not listen; we want to dwell on “us”, not focus on “them”.  And, we can over-think things instead of simply paying attention.  It's happened before.  Just ask our Unknown Sage: 

            The Lone Ranger and Tonto went camping in the desert.  After their tent was set up, they fell sound asleep.  One hour later, Tonto wakes the Lone Ranger and says, “Kemo-Sabe, look towards the sky.  What do you see?”  The Lone Ranger replies, “I see millions of stars.”  “What that tell you?” asks Tonto. 

     The Lone Ranger ponders for a minute and then says, “Astronomically speaking, it tells me there are millions of galaxies and potentially millions of planets.  Astrologically, it tells me that Saturn is in Leo.  Time wise, it appears to be approximately a quarter past three in the morning.  Theologically, it's evident the Lord is all-powerful and we are small and insignificant.  Meteorologically, it seems we will have a beautiful day tomorrow.  What's it tell you, Tonto?” 

     Tonto is silent for a moment, then says, “Kemo-Sabe, you dumb a$$! Someone stole tent." 

Imagine what we could notice (and how many tents we could save) if we all simply paid attention. 

                                                            GAP                                                                                                                                              

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

Integrity…

David Major is Course Director for Senior Enlisted Blended Seminar Program for Marine Corps University at Marine Corps Base Quantico, VA.  He and I were recently pondering value from a military and non-military perspective: 

As a Nation, we typically see the military being recognized at sporting events but how often do we see teachers, nurses, social workers, hospice caregivers get the same recognition.  Are they just as important to the Republic? Show me what a country values and I will show you what a country is. 

In  his class, Law of War and Profession of Arms, leadership spoke of value: 

The word integrity itself is a martial word that comes to us from an ancient Roman army tradition.  During the time of the 12 Caesars, the Roman army would conduct morning inspections. As the inspecting Centurion would come in front of each Legionnaire, the soldier would strike with his right fist the armor breastplate that covered his heart. The armor had to be strongest there in order to protect the heart from the sword thrusts and from arrow strikes. As the soldier struck his armor, he would shout "integritas", which in Latin means material wholeness, completeness, and entirety. The inspecting Centurion would listen closely for this affirmation and also for the ring that well-kept armor would give off…

     At about the same time, the Praetorians or Imperial Bodyguard were ascending into power and influence. Drawn from the best "politically correct" soldiers of the Legions, they received the finest equipment and armor. They no longer had to shout "integritas" to signify that their armor was sound. Instead, as they struck their breastplate, they would shout "hail Caesar", to signify that their heart belonged to the Imperial personage – not to their unit – not to an institution – not to a code of ideals. They armored themselves to serve the cause of a single man.

A century passed and the rift between the Legion and the Imperial bodyguard and its excesses grew larger. To signify the difference between the two organizations, the Legionnaire, upon striking his armor would no longer shout "integritas",  but instead would shout "integer".

Integer means undiminished – complete – perfect. It not only indicated that the armor was sound, it also indicated that the soldier wearing the armor was sound of character. He was complete in his integrity … his heart was in the right place … his standards and morals were high…

The armor of integrity continued to serve the Legion well… but by 383 AD, the social decline that infected the Republic and the Praetorian guard had its effects upon the Legion.

As a 4th century Roman general wrote, "when, because of negligence and laziness, parade ground drills were abandoned, the customary armor began to feel heavy since the soldiers rarely, if ever, wore it. Therefore, they first asked the Emperor to set aside the breastplates and mail and then the helmets. So our soldiers fought the Goths without any protection for the heart and head and were often beaten by archers. They took their armor off, and when the armor came off – so too came their integrity" it was only a matter of a few years until the Legion rotted from within and was unable to hold the frontiers … the barbarians were at the gates. 

                   General Charles C. Krulak 

I often wonder what led to the demise of the Roman Empire.  

Does America's individual and collective value of integrity feel heavy?  I wonder… 

GAP 

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