Are you a “dog”?

I’m a dog person.  Our dogs were terrific companions; part of the family; social; lovable.  But today’s context isn’t about that kind of dog. 

While at a local King Soopers grocery store recently, Sherry, a store team member, bought a copy of my book.  While I was signing it, she shared one of her hobbies; sculpting custom wolf images:

But today’s context isn’t about that kind of wolf. 

At that same store a customer came by wearing a high school wrestling team T-shirt with this: 

     Everyone is fatigued         

          Everyone is frustrated 

              Everyone has an excuse 

                   Don’t be an everyone – be a Dog! 

Dogs; wolves; sports competition.  Who came up with, “be a dog”?  The Google machine says it originated with the idiom, “It’s a dog eat dog world” and that originated as early as 43 B.C. in ancient Rome.  (Sounds like a Roman thing, yes?) 

Sports fan hear lots of boasts these days about being “a dog”.  The context applies to great players; tough players; competitive players; no excuses players like the customer’s T-shirt said.  One legendary collegiate basketball coach put it this way: 

Al McGuire, former head basketball coach of Marquette University, once said, “A team should be an extension of the coach’s personality.  My teams were arrogant and obnoxious.”

“Arrogant and obnoxious”… sounds like the recent WNBA Hoo-Ha involving Caitlin Clark,  physical/flagrant fouls, and all of the off-court barking about it.  As a rookie in the professional ranks, maybe she’s being tested to see if she’s “a dog”. 

Angle Reese, women’s college basketball star at LSU and the #7 draft pick by the WNBA Chicago Sky, was being interviewed recently after her team beat the Indiana Fever (team of Caitlin Clark; #1 pick in the same 2024 WNBA draft and considered by many as the greatest women’s college basketball player of all time).  Angel outplayed Caitlin and when asked about her motivation she proclaimed, “I’m a dog.” 

Coincidentally during this year’s NBA Championship playoffs, one of the greats passed away.  Jerry West.  The person whose very image is the NBA logo itself.  Many might describe Jerry as “a dog”.  After all, he still owns the NBA record for the highest scoring average in a playoff series of 46.3 points per game.  46.3 – before the 3-point shot era! 

But Jerry never boasted he was “a dog”.  In fact, I can’t remember Jerry West boasting at all.  Once, when pressed, he said he was a wolf, adding: 

Wolves eat dogs 

Are you competitive?  Are you a tough, no excuses person?  I know lots of people, everyday people whose competition is getting up and going to a job they hate.  Or having a loved one with cancer.  Or, thinking they will never be able to afford their own house. Or; or; or.  Yet there they are showing up; giving what they’ve got; doing the best they can.  They’re tough because they have no other way: 

Tough times don’t last; tough people do. 

Mike Shanahan 

No one is interviewing these everyday people.  They’re not boasting about being some type of canine.  They know – we all know – many around us are dealing with a heavy load.  Philo Judaeus in the book The Fred Factor © put it this way: 

Be kind.  Everyone you meet is fighting a tough battle. 

I may be “a dog” (actually, my co-workers described me as a “lone wolf”) but I know I’m not alone…  no boasting, T-Shirt, or interview needed. 

                                                            GAP 

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

Hooks…

Do hooks lead to successful performance?  I mean marketing professionals and salespeople like to leverage some sort of “hook” when prospecting for prospective customers, true?  I’m no different.  I’m selling my book, The Peace and Power of a Positive Perspective ©, at King Soopers grocery stores in the Denver area thanks to the Authors in Grocery Stores program.  Can you guess my hook?

During a recent store event I sold a few books; got the proverbial “definitely maybe” from others; and received several compliments…  mostly about my shirts vs. my book.  Ironically, one of those compliments came from none other than the King Soopers store manager.  I hooked him to the point that he said, “Gary, I need to up my shirt game” and he did.  (Hard to see but under his work vest is a very cool, Jurassic Park design.) 

This event reminded me of my years as the Master Sales Enablement Advisor at Oracle NetSuite.  (BTW - I’m still offering sales enablement consulting; shirts and all.)  The challenge back then was working with senior, successful, business owners and sales professionals in NetSuite’s Partner Channel.  My assignment centered around a 3-day, in-person, “selling fundamentals” class.  Imagine; senior, successful sales and business professionals spending 3 full days with me; in-person; in a ”fundamentals” class no less! 

Now the class was anything but Sales 101.  The class title was a hook.  The “fundamentals” part focused on the key aspects of selling NetSuite.  I needed hooks to keep my audience engaged.  The loud shirts helped but there was more to it than that.  In fact, every visual I used throughout the 3 days; every exercise; every role play (yep, role plays); everything designed into the class had hooks. I know how hard it is to keep a salesperson’s attention let alone a successful business owner.  After all, I are one HaHa!  But it takes more than hooks to succeed. 

Sales success is all about performance.  I was chatting about performance as related to hooks and attention spans with a friend and former colleague of mine recently, Mike Demmert.  (He attended my class but really only remembers my shirts!)  One of the positioning statements I used then and continue to use today comes from Anders Ericsson in his book Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise© 

You seldom improve much without giving the task your full attention. 

Ah yes, “full attention”.  How do you compete for your customers’ full attention in today’s day and age?  Successful performance and full attention is a two-way commitment.  As a customer have you ever dealt with a salesperson who seemed distracted; seemed not to be giving you his or her full attention?  Me too.  Who wants to do business with someone who isn’t giving their full attention? 

Mike shared this formula about performance that comes from The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance ©: 

P = P – i 

W. Timothy Gallwey 

Performance is equal to Potential minus interference. 

Makes sense, yes?  When you focus on the task at hand your potential is high.  Unfortunately, there’s lots of interference reducing that potential.  Our Unknown Sage wonders if appearances (aka hooks) have become more important: 

Peter's Placebo 

An ounce of image is worth a pound of performance. 

Well, I can’t deny the impact image (aka hooks) have on attracting potential customers.  But to keep them as a customer, it’s performance that makes the difference.                                   

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 Dad…

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

We fathers are so proud when our children demonstrate the skill of common sense we hope we have instilled in them: 

Kid wisdom: 

When your Dad is mad at you and asks you, “Do I look stupid?”  Don't answer him. 

Michael 

Sometimes our Dads employ “tough-love”.  The worst years of my life occurred when I tried that approach.  I wasn’t skilled at it; didn’t like the outcome; and today would caution any young father to be wary of this idea.  If I could do it over again, I would do it differently. 

The good news is my children are resilient.  Yours are too I bet.  (Passed down from us?)  If we are tough with them from time-to-time, they know it’s not permanent - kids are smart: 

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 

Some fathers have a very entertaining 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 great pride in continuing to provide a home for their families, 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, too: 

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, my Dad ate 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.  So long, that the employees all thought Al Pokorn actually worked there.  One summer, he was even invited to their company picnic!  I didn’t mind this innocent charade.  But when he won the TV in the employee raffle, I told him he had to give it back! 

We are all a little quirky I suppose.  Today when my children use one of my little sayings, or demonstrate a family value or 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.

Memorable…

I’m reading Churchill A Biography © by Roy Jenkins.  Churchill of course, was a world famous leader with a world famous persona and someone often quoted even today - 59 years after his passing.  59 years after?  I’d call that memorable. 

His critics (of which he had many) would suggest what he spoke about and how he spoke it was, 

     More memorable than meaningful 

                        Roy Jenkins 

Winston Churchill certainly had a memorable style.  He was meaningful, too.  Here’s what I found on Google (but don’t ask me to remember where I found it): 

Historians widely attribute Churchill with being “the greatest statesman of the 20th century.” Churchill was an effective leader and statesman because of his tremendous ability to inspire people; his unique strategic insight; his relentless passion; and his imperturbable personality. 

In addition to being highly publicized during his time, Churchill was highly criticized.  To be fair, that’s nothing unique.  He was a politician and a leader.  Plenty of fodder for criticism there: 

The trouble with practical jokes is that very often they get elected. 

Will Rogers 

When I led sales teams I always worried about connecting with my salespeople.  When criticized, it made me feel I was failing them; made me question my inspirational skills.  Criticism can have that effect.  We all have our critics, even the great ones.  But meaningful leaders don’t let criticism get in the way: 

The secret of managing is to keep the guys who hate you away from the guys who are undecided. 

Casey Stengel 

I get the challenge of being meaningful in the 21^st century.  As a leader or a parent or a teacher or just an individual, meaningfulness in today’s day and age seems to be fleeting.  Is it going the way of memorable? 

Have you noticed the disappearance of memorable, especially as it pertains to social media?  Maybe it’s related to our ever-shortening attention span which I wrote about recently.  (Did you see it?  Do you remember it?)  Maybe we are losing “memorable” on purpose: 

Irish Blessing: 

May you never forget what is worth remembering, or remember what is worth forgetting. 

Unknown Sage 

Struggling with “worth remembering” vs. forgetting happens to me all the time.  I see something posted on LinkedIn, Facebook, or some other social media site and it doesn’t register immediately.  When I go back and try to find it I feel the weight of 2.5 quintillion bytes of Internet data (that’s 2,500,000,000,000,000,000) created each day preventing the ability to retrieve anything.  Meaningful; memorable; it doesn’t matter; it’s buried. 

“Don ‘t worry, Gary” you might offer; just use the Google machine.  Ian Leslie wrote this about that in Curious ©: 

Human memory is inefficient and unreliable in comparison to machine memory, but it's this very unpredictability that's the source of our creativity.  It makes connections we'd never consciously think of making, smashing together atoms that our conscious minds keep separate.  Digital databases cannot yet replicate the kind of serendipity that enables the unconscious human mind to make novel patterns and see powerful new analogies, of the kind that lead to our most creative break throughs.  The more we outsource our memories to Google, the less we are nourishing the wonderfully accidental creativity of our unconscious. 

Not being “wonderfully accidental” might mean we are all becoming less memorable (and less meaningful, too).  Relying on Google and the AI machines can lead to diminishing meaningful, don’t you think?  Ah yes, “thinking”… don’t get me started! 

                                                            GAP 

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

Unnatural acts…

I was chatting with a friend and former colleague of mine.  He’s still “in the game”.  His company’s sales year runs through May 31^st; just a few hours until “year-end”! 

Year-end in the sales profession?  Always a wild ride!  It brings out many creative (and entertaining) ways sales people try to produce a sense of urgency to close that last-minute deal.  I refer to it as performing “unnatural acts.”  In the retail business the slogan is, “All items must go!”  Laughably, that slogan applies to application software business, too. 

Today the challenge is in the customers’ mind - it’s just May.  That’s why my friend is working so hard to create urgency aka perform unnatural acts.  However, even the ancients knew: 

Very few things happen at the right time, and the rest do not happen at all. 

Herodotus 

When trying to close that last, year-end deal, what do sales people say when they don’t really have anything meaningful to say?  “Hi Mr. Prospect. I’m just checking in…”  Or, “Ms. Prospect, I’m following up…”  “Checking in”; “Following up”; sounds like a peddler, yes?  Jill Konrath in her book Selling to Big Companies © suggests salespeople avoid this technique: 

Because peddlers can't be trusted, don't peddle!  You hate doing it, and they hate hearing it.

Jill Konrath 

Besides, when the customer is ready to buy they contact us.  They don’t wait for us to “check in”.  

The cadence and psychology around sales year-end has always intrigued me.  At my last company (Oracle) our end-of-year was May 31^st; ADP’s year-end was June 30^th; other companies I’ve worked for it was December 31^st.  In literally every instance, that last month of the sales year always saw a huge uptick in sales - no matter what month of the year.  Lots of unnatural acts being performed I guess.  Truth be told, I performed many myself. 

Customers usually think of “year-end” as… well … the end of the year; December 31^st; New Year’s Eve.  If that’s accurate, why do you suppose customers go along with transacting at a higher volume for salesperson’s sales year-end?  I mean, what’s their “urgency” and where does it come from? 

Could it be stress?  Could “there” for the customer be an end to the rep’s unnatural acts trying to get their business? 

Stress is caused by being "here" but wanting to be "there". 

Eckhart Tolle 

Yes, closing deals on or before the last day of the sale year is stressful. That stress is felt by the sales rep.  Their sales managers are carriers, too! For customers, it’s just another day or in the case of my friend it’s just spring.  Outside of farming, there’s no urgency in the spring, is there?

I wonder (and occasionally laugh)… Is the year-end “sense of urgency” all in the sales reps’ mind?  If so, how do these salespeople operate throughout the rest of the year?  Maybe they’re thinking, “There’s plenty of time to sell my quota.”  Is it only when there is no longer plenty of time that salespeople start to feel that sense of urgency?  And said urgency often brings out said unnatural acts. 

That’s the downside of a companies’ sales years.  In the customers’ eye the “year-end’ part is fabricated.  Worse - when a smart customer finds out it’s our year-end they can hold out their decision until they see the stress get to us.  They wait for salespeople (or our sales managers) to perform unnatural acts. 

                                                            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 was fearful.  I remember.  It was a time of social upheaval across the country.  It was the era of the Viet Nam War.  It was the last period when we had military conscription, aka “the draft”.  My draft number in 1971 was 271.  I remember. 

Today, I can only imagine the commitment, self-sacrifice, and bravery our country’s veterans must have had to preserve our way of life.  Thankfully members of our armed forces are continuing their commitment on our behalf. 

Monday, 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 156 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 battles for our freedom continues.  What are our “weapons” of choice? 

David Major, Course Director for Senior Enlisted Blended Seminar Program for Marine Corps University, taught a leadership class, Law of War and Profession of Arms at the Marine Corps Base in Quantico, Virginia.  One of the leaders he cites 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 we get too carried away 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 adds: 

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. 

“A matter of personal choice…”  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 

Memorial Day enables us to remember; to pause our work; to honor the men and women of our military; especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice: 

Then it’s back to work.  Hopefully, with character; integrity; ethical standards; using personal choice to do what’s right; leveraging value-based decision-making; and more… 

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… 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 48 years May 18th – 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.