Union - upheld…

Tuesday, Americans will celebrate our Independence Day.

It’s Monday July 3^rd however, when Americans should commemorate the event that upheld our country’s union.  This event may have literally prevented the United States from being split into two, separate countries.  And it came with a horrific toll.

On July 3^rd, 1863; the third and final, bloody day; the Battle of Gettysburg ended.  Of all the Americans who have died in all the wars our country has ever fought, almost half - 620,000 - died in the Civil War.  Of all the Civil War battles, the one battle with the highest number of casualties was Gettysburg – 51,000 Americans.

There are many stories related to Gettysburg.  Here’s one from my Integral Systems colleague:

As a graduate of The University of Notre Dame I learned that Father William Corby was the chaplain to the Irish regiments who fought for the Union.  Father Corby is the only non-military person with a statue at Gettysburg Battlefield.  It shows him with his hand raised blessing the soldiers.  Today, there is a replica of that statue at Notre Dame and the students call it “Fair Catch Corby”.  Anyway, that is the reason why Notre Dame, founded by French priests in 1842, are called “The Fighting Irish”.

Frank Dunn

I believe every American should visit the Gettysburg National Military Park and pay tribute to the memory of those Americans that preserved the continuation of our union.  

Thankfully, the Union, and the succinct commemoration by one of our greatest leaders (who also gave his life for his country) prevailed: 

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. 

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. 

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. 

Abraham Lincoln spoke to unite all Americans, North and South.  July 4^th, as well as July 3^rd, are days for us to remember; to honor; and to celebrate a united, United States of America.  

May God bless you; and may God bless America! 

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 Grid…

Recently, I was pontificating about selling to goals (Link).  I summarized it this way: 

Goals are the dog; Pain is the tail.  Sell to the dog, the tail comes with. 

Of course, I broke one of my cardinal rules by emphasizing “what” to do vs. elaborating on “how” to do it.  OK, today permit me to elaborate on the “how”. 

First… and here it comes again… let me establish a little context.  (Because in today’s modern marketplace context is… well … you already know that from my previous post LOL!) 

The marketplace is disproportionately weighted towards small and medium sized businesses.  The vast majority of companies in North America are privately owned vs. publicly traded.  Therefore, at the top of every organization is one individual, or a group of partners, or perhaps a family that are personally vested in the success (or failure) of their company.  Frequently the value of the company is the owner’s single, largest, personal asset.  So when we’re selling to goals it’s not just business – it’s personal.  It’s the “dog”. 

Let’s move on to how business owners prioritize their time.  After all, they can’t be involved in every single decision that goes on at their company.  That is the road to burnout, or worse! 

Make sure you don’t wind up the richest person in the cemetery.  You can’t do business from there. 

Colonel Harlan Sanders 

Successful business owners and executive teams are delegators.  But how do they decide what to delegate?  Well, I believe in sales situations prospective clients are a lot like horses.  I know … I know … WHAT???  Tell you what; I’ll blog about that in a few. 

Suffice it to say for today that we can observe the behavior of business executives, in this case what they delegate, and anticipate their behaviors.  I’ve done just that over the course of my sales career and created the Executive Attention Grid.  When interacting with a prospect the way to sell to their goals is shown on the Grid:

The bottom-left box is the tactical side of our deals.  Now, we need to win this tactical side, too.  It’s just that the Owner/Executives don’t play much of an active role here – they delegate these meetings/presentations to their managers and end users.  That’s why CEOs rarely sit through product demos.  Do you see any of your selling phrases in this box?

Worse - this bottom-left box is problematic because we get delegated to people who have the ability to say, “NO” but don’t have the authority to say, “Yes”.  This box is where our single, biggest competitor lurks.  We know it as NO DECISION! 

The top-right box is the strategic side of our deals.  We need to win this side; otherwise: 

Not to decide is to decide. 

Harvey Cox 

Strategic meetings are when the Owner/Executives not only attend, but actively participate in dissecting the validity of the business case behind our deals.  It’s been my observation (and personal experience) that the sales rep who “connects” their sales proposal to the top-right box wins their deals more times than not. 

Finally, the topics within the top-right box are not all equal.  If we can possibly connect the value of our offering to “Shareholder Value” or “Business Threats” (to shareholder value) we are selling to the shareholder, aka the Owner, on a very personal level.  We are selling directly to the value of their single, largest, personal asset. 

And THAT’s the dog! 

GAP 

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

Happy Father’s Day this coming Sunday!  Fathers and grandfathers are great, don’t you think?  The memory of my father still brings a proud smile to my face… and to my heart!  If you’re lucky enough to have living fathers and grandfathers, give them a big hug Sunday. 

We fathers are so proud of our children.  And we know the value of that love: 

A father carries pictures where his money used to       be.

Unknown Sage 

Dads know how to be supportive as well.  Kara Goldin, successful businesswoman, offers what many of us have experienced ourselves: 

Dad would say, 'you always think that 'no' means 'maybe' and 'maybe' means 'yes'! 

Of course, there are those times when I actually have to say “no”.  The good news is my children and grandchildren are resilient.  Yours are too I bet.  (Perhaps passed down from their grandfathers?)  If we are tough on our children from time-to-time, they understand - kids know: 

A flustered father, stressed out from his day at work, was unsuccessfully texting his kids to come in for dinner.  Finally, he walks out on his porch and yells for his kids to come in. 

At that point one youngster turns to his brother and asks, ‘I can’t remember, which one am I - Jesus Christ or God Dammit?  

Unknown Sage 

Overall, men have our own, unique view of the world.  Take Mike Jaeger’s: 

Tell a man there are 300 billion stars in the universe and he'll believe you.  Tell him the plate you're handing him is very hot and he'll have to touch it to believe it.

Dads today take pride in continuing to provide a home for their families too, even as the definition of “home” evolves: 

Home, nowadays, is a place where part of the family waits ‘til the rest of the family brings the car back. 

Earl Wilson 

Because my sons have children in their lives, I get to be the grandfather now!   Being the grandfather has responsibilities: 

Sometimes the only difference we can make is passing our wisdom on to someone else who will make the bigger difference. 

Linda B. Gray 

The older I get the more appreciative I am of the love and devotion I received from my father.   He wanted his sons to make a difference.  He also wanted us to be patient with his quirks.  I remember after my Mom died (all too young) my Dad continued eating his dinners at the hospital cafeteria two blocks from his house.  It might have been for the convenience; maybe for the memory of the last place he saw his wife alive. 

He ate dinner there every evening for over twenty years.  Such a long and consistent period of time that the hospital employees all thought Al Pokorn actually worked there.  One summer, he was even invited to their company picnic!  I didn’t mind his innocent charade.  But when he won a TV in the employee raffle, I told him he had to give it back! 

Yes, we are all a little quirky – me too:  

Today when my children use one of my sayings, wear mouse ears, or demonstrate a family tradition that has been passed down from father to son, it brings a proud smile to my face… and my heart! 

So, here’s to my Dad; and your Dad; and everyone’s Dad and their family traditions.  They have helped us all make a difference - a tradition to be passed down. 

GAP 

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

What beats What…

We played Tripoley with our dear friends Pat and Monica recently.  Ever play?  Tripoley starts with betting your poker hand.  Since we don’t play poker very often we always have to ask, “What beats What?”  Thankfully, our hosts had printed a helpful reference:

Playing Tripoley reminded me of a common discussion I have had throughout my sales career centered around “What beats What?”  I still coach sales reps on this topic, today.  Every time I hear a sales rep; sales manager; trainer; or coach talk about “selling to pain”, I think of the sales-poker hand.

I’ve known Tony Marabotti for decades.  My friend, mentor, and former boss, he had this view on the question at hand:

To a prospective customer evaluating vendor products or services, to quote a poker term, here's “What beats What”: 

·         Better features beats lesser features

·         An existing business relationship beats better features

·         Saving money beats an existing business relationship

·         Pain trumps all

What do you think?  Does “pain trump all”?  I was taught to sell that way “back in the day”.  But that was literally last century. 

Today, I believe the Modern Buyer has a different view; a different ranking.  During the final 10+ years of my career as the Master Sales Enablement Advisor at Oracle NetSuite I would coach my sellers specifically not to sell to the alleviation of pain.  Would you like to see my sales-poker hand?

First, a little context.  (BTW – I also coach my sellers that in the modern marketplace of this century, context is a killer app!)  Contextually, selling to pain might still work for small, less-risky purchases.  Pain-alleviation is closely associated with convenience and who doesn’t like convenience, HaHa! 

However, in a Business-to-Business setting; meaningful, expensive, risky, business purchases… alleviating pain no longer trumps all.  Truth be told, too many times I see sellers describing pain alleviation as “automate manual processes”; “save time & money”; “eliminate duplicate data entry”; and other light-weight, feature-based, sales pitches.  This tactical selling technique does not resonate with strategic business decision makers.  It’s analogous to selling technology: 

Selling technical benefits to strategic buyers is like dogs watching TV - they sit there and nod, but you know they can't possibly be understanding any of it. 

Madeline Ossit 

In the case of selling to pain, Strategic Buyers understand the sales pitch; they simply aren’t motivated by it.  It’s because manual tasks; duplicate data entry; and almost every other business pain sellers gravitate to are not pain points felt by the Business Owner or Executive Team.  Worse, if that’s the extent of the seller’s justification the seller actually invites a change of context to “price”.  With price-based decisions, the Modern Buyer is motivated … to get a lower price aka Discount!  We do it to ourselves! 

I like Anthony Parinello’s reference on how to sell to strategic buyers in his book Selling to VITO ©.  I believe Very Important Top Officers live with business pain.  Since they don’t feel it personally, we have to sell differently to motivate today’s VITOs. 

How?  Sell to goals.  I like to say: 

Goals are the dog; Pain is the tail.  Sell to the dog, the tail comes with. 

 With respect to my friend Tony and all of the dogs, here is my sales-poker hand ranking: 

·         Seek to alleviate pain

·         Better features beats pain

·         An existing business relationship beats better features

·         A lower price beats an existing business relationship

·         Selling to business goals trumps all 

GAP 

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

Rules…

Now there is a word that stimulates lively conversation, true?  When someone tells us not to “break the “rules”, I sometimes feel we take actually it as a challenge, LOL!  Other times when we see some blatant infraction we’re not as understanding, are we.  Speeding and weaving on the highway gets my goat.  Others too I’d say, based on increased incidents of “road rage”. 

I get it…  we like to believe that rules are for those “other people”.  Afterall, we have a good reason why we need to break the rules, don’t we?  Malcolm Forbes reminds us there’s even a rule for that: 

There are no exceptions to the rule that everybody likes to be the exception to the rule. 

People my age like to point at those darn young people!  Do you think its generational?  Well, breaking rules has been occurring regularly over the years; occasionally for the greater good: 

Rules?  There ain't no rules here.  We're trying to accomplish something. 

Thomas Edison 

Truly, there are rules and then there are rules.  Like you, I feel some of today’s rules are stupid, especially those dreamed up by our elected officials: 

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

Norman R. Augustine 

Have you ever noticed how someone responds with an excuse or explanation when they get caught breaking some rule?  I bet it happens often – and yes, I’m guilty.  However, when it comes to business performance, personal success, and related, heeding rules can make a real difference. 

Rules help us with all sorts of things in life, big and little.  For instance, Thomas L. Friedman offers us this practical rule: 

The First Rule of Intelligent Tinkering: 

Save all the parts. 

There are rules to help us at the other end of the little to big spectrum, also.  I read Tony Dungy’s book, Quiet Strength © recently.  I especially liked his approach to performance.  The context was professional football but I think it applies beyond sports.  Short, sweet, applicable to so many situations - “No excuses.  No explanations.”  Here’s how Tony put it: 

I told them that I expected our team to live and play by the concept, Whatever it Takes, then ended with a second basic phrase which I posted in our locker room, No excuses. No explanations. 

                   Tony Dungy 

I’m not sure when or why we began over reliance on excuses and explanations.  Maybe it’s not more common today than the generations before us but it sure feels so.  (People parking in handicapped spaces with the excuse that they’re elderly or overweight vs. those with true handicaps gets my goat.) 

On the other hand, maybe it’s my goat that needs adjusting.  I mean it’s not like someone is taking my parking space.  I don’t park in handicapped.  Those zooming past me on the highway are the ones that risk getting a ticket or getting in an accident, not me.  I’m not the traffic enforcer. 

What’s best for me is to focus on those rules that make a difference in my life.  You know, healthy diet; courtesy towards others; contributing my fair share; honoring my family; operating dangerous machinery safely; keeping my commitments; and of course, minding pool rules:

Did Nordstrom get office rules right perchance? 

Nordstrom Rules: 

Rule # 1 - Use your good judgment in all situations. 

   There will be no additional rules. 

Bob Nelson 

Now there’s a rule we should follow.  No excuses.  No explanations. 

GAP 

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

We remember…

I never served in the military.  I didn’t want to in those years of social upheaval.  My draft number during the Vietnam War was 271.  Now, I can only imagine the commitment, self-sacrifice, and bravery our country’s veterans must have had to preserve our way of life.  Today, our armed forces continue the tradition. 

On Memorial Day we will pause to remember those who served; who sacrificed; who died; for our country; for our freedom.  It is a “day of remembrance”. 

According to Wikipedia this history of remembrance goes back 155 years: 

In 1868, General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic called for a "Decoration Day", which was widely celebrated. By 1890, every Northern state had adopted it as a holiday. The World Wars turned it into a generalized day of remembrance, instead of just for the Civil War. 

The struggle for our freedom continues.  We Americans must address many difficulties.   This is nothing new.  What “weapons” will we use?  

David Major is Course Director for Senior Enlisted Blended Seminar Program for Marine Corps University.  He teaches a leadership class, Law of War and Profession of Arms at the Marine Corps Base in Quantico, Virginia.  In David’s class one of the leaders cited is General Charles C. Krulak: 

The military has a tradition of producing great leaders that possess the highest ethical standards and integrity.  It produces men and women of character. 

Were those the “weapons” you were thinking of?  Ethical standards; integrity; character?  

It’s easy to turn our media-fueled attention towards our country’s leaders.  It’s easy to criticize the behaviors we’re seeing from our elected officials.  Before going too far down that path though, General Krulak offers additional guidance: 

Based on (character), we commit to doing what is right.  We expect such commitment from our leaders.  But most importantly, we must demand it of ourselves. 

Character; integrity; ethical standards; doing what is right; these are the weapons we all must use to protect our freedom.  David Major goes on: 

Ethical decision-making reflects a cognitive process by which one makes decisions based on value judgements. While influences such as culture, upbringing, religion, nationality, and organizational culture can shape our ethics, ultimately, values-based decision-making is often a matter of personal choice. 

Ahh, adding-in value-based decision-making and personal choice.  Combine those with integrity and we increase the power to protect America’s freedom.  Back to General Krulak: 

My challenge to you is simple but often very difficult…  wear your armor of integrity… find comfort in its protection… do not become lax.  And always remember that no one can take your integrity from you…  you and only you can give it away! 

Each of us.  It’s our choice.  Only in America can cultures of diversity live together united.  Truly, we have our differences and there is plenty of strife.  Americans have much work to do in the pursuit of a more perfect union: 

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 

On Memorial Day let’s remember.  Let’s pause our work to honor the men and women of our military; especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice: 

Then let’s go back to work Tuesday – with character; integrity; ethical standards; using personal choice to do what’s right; leveraging value-based decision-making; and our hearts! 

Yes Marianne, “In every heart, there is 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.

Mental Health

Tough topic today… but it’s always been a tough topic.  And it takes tough people to deal with it.  According to research: 

Mental health has grown to be an outsized problem in the United States, with 90% of Americans saying it is now a crisis.

Let’s be more aware when we ask someone, “How are you doing?”  If we hear, “I’m doing alright” it can mean so much more.  Like Eric: 

I have known Eric for 47 years tomorrow – his birthday.  Over that period Eric’s Mom and Dad have shared some of his most joyous occasions and some of his most upsetting events.  In between these highs and lows Eric would tell you that he has been doing alright.  For Eric, doing alright shows how amazing he truly is. 

You see, Eric is the toughest person I know.  I’ll give you an example.  Close your eyes and return to the happiest day of your life – feel how you felt during your most exhilarating moments.  OK, now think back to how you felt on your saddest, darkest, most depressed day ever.  Set those mental bookmarks in your mind’s eye.  There is an unbelievably wide and powerful range of human emotion, yes?  

For most of us, we migrate from our highest highs to our lowest lows slowly; with long, “recovery” spans of simply feeling average in between.  Unfortunately, Eric is different.  His mood swings back and forth, between euphoric highs and debilitating lows in a matter of minutes - multiple times - every hour!  Now picture your life with his type of mood swings – as if our other challenges aren’t enough to deal with.  

Rapid Cycling – that’s the term for Eric and others who suffer from Bi-Polar Disorder.  Eric lives every day with this unwelcome guest.  Medical science is not much help.  Bi-Polar Disorder is an affliction of the brain, very difficult to properly diagnose and treat.  Trial and error, mostly.  That means people with Bi-Polar Disorder typically wind up dealing with this on their own. 

Most can’t hold down a steady job.  Eric can – and he has consistently been a “go to” person for his company.  He is a skilled tradesman; good with customers; dependable; hard working; shows up no matter what; a positive attitude; an outlook that no job is too tough; that’s Eric.  Most people with Bi-Polar Disorder can’t live independently.  Eric does – and if you met him, you would never know the internal turmoil that lives with him.  He has a pleasant personality; a nice sense of humor; knowledgeable of current events; just like the rest of us. 

But Eric isn’t like the rest of us.  Merely getting up and facing the day; every day; takes enormous strength.  He offers no excuses – never has.  Eric has earned success and experienced failure.  No matter; Eric treats each day anew, the best he possibly can. When you greet him with, “Hi. How you doing?”  you will almost always hear him say, “I’m doing alright”.  

If Eric is tough enough to be “alright” each and every day even though feeling uncontrollable mood swings – should we do any less?  

No, I don’t have Bi-Polar Disorder, but it lives next door. Although I don’t have it, I can see first-hand the toughness Eric has as he lives with it.  Eric is my son and I’m proud of him.  One day I hope to learn the source of his amazing toughness so I too can be, “doing alright”. 

GAP 

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