Not that you asked, but I have some things to say.

Do you remember the G.I. Joe series? Not the 'Kung-Fu Grip", bearded, larger model. Think more of the later series where there seemed to be as many specialized characters as there are Hindu gods....Got it? Good. I recall snow specialists, explosives experts, HALO jumpers, communication engineers, Ninjas, and a flame-thrower operator. The folks that made these action-figures would crank out a new one, seemingly every few days. So....what's my point??? They were really on to something. The 'Team Joe" mentality translates well to the world of sales teams. They all were focused on warfare and the defeat of COBRA (if you don't understand, go look it up). But they were defined specialists that put forth a unified point. None of my team can be summed up very easily. We all have specialties that transcend our job titles, we all have specific approaches. My team seems to use the GI Joe approach. As we target our clients (for this analogy, COBRA is the client...which is

Today, I took a nap on the couch I have in my office. Yes, I have a couch that is designated for nap time. It's quite comfy. Mid-day naps are endorsed by many psychologists and Japanese businessmen. Also....I am at roughly 200% of my monthly quota, and about 170% YTD. So....what's my point?? Well, other than the fact that I am a tad lazy? It's that I have 10 years plus of momentum under my belt. In my last blog titled "There is no Secret Sauce (Part 1)" I discussed the fact that there are really only two ways to be/get better. The first is to work your ass off. Hustle, hustle, hustle. Set 2, run 2, smile and dial. This level of activity drives the second part. OTJ!! On-the-job training. Be a sponge, soak up knowledge, make contacts, build relationships, etc. Unless you are a moron (and many in my line are) you will grow away from outright activity and gravitate towards an approach with more finesse. If not, activity will be your friend. And the world needs the bac

well....OK...there is. Inherent capabilities are possessed by some. Wit, intelligence, humor, general attractiveness, assertive nature....kavorka.....there are things that people are (eye-roll now) just simply born with. It's a fact of nature. But I will not focus on these things. What I intend to discuss are those things which can be implemented, available to all. Monkey in a suit?? Even you may be successful. There is an old saying that asserts 'if you put an infinite amount of monkeys in front of an infinite amount of typewriters, one of them will crank out the entire works of Shakespeare.' It boggles the mind, but statistically is correct. So...what's my point?? It's the infinite part. With enough blind work, even a monkey will stumble upon 'Hamlet'. Persistence can outdo talent most of the time. Step 1, make 50 calls, set 2 appointments, run 2 appointments....daily. These are the basics of my sales world, translate this to yours. Many of you who know me

I received a quote for a rather extensive home remodeling job. The amount quoted fell within my expectations. I spoke with my fiancee and she felt the price was fair. ...and then a funny thing happened. We realized that we had no real basis on why we felt the quote was fair, or how we created our expectations. We discussed this a tad more and realized that the ability for a crew to come in and rip out something as seemingly permanent and solid as walls and structure, and then recreate an even more solid and permanent structure was a tad magical. What would be accomplished with hammers and nails could just have easily been accomplished with wands and spell books (in our simple minds). So what's my point??.......My industry seems to have lost it's magic. This seems ironic to me, as telecommunications/technology is very intangible, incredibly impacting to the world around it, and evolving at lightning speed. Very few can understand what it takes to pick up the phone and make a cal

St. Lucia or St. Lucy is the Patron Saint of salespeople. Her story?? She stood strong in her faith and was persecuted because of it. She was hooked to a team of oxen, but could not be moved. She stood strong in her beliefs. Then she had her eyes cut out and was stabbed in the throat. Nice metaphor. In October, I missed my 'quota' for the first time this year. My 2010 personal goals allowed for this (plus one actually), but I was attempting to pitch the sales equivalent of a no-hitter. I missed. Even though I am still at roughly 150% YTD Even though I am guaranteed to go to President's Club (they've already listed it under 'taxable gift' on my last paystub). Even though I will almost assuredly be in the Top 10 nationwide..... Even though I have not been dragged away by a team of oxen, I still feel my eyes on a plate. But, I'm the one doing the gouging. There is no one as critical of me as me. Self-flagellation....works well with the Patron Saint/Catholic mot

Using an RFP to select a vendor is like selecting a girlfriend by how well she writes a book review....of a bad romance novel. It is my experience that RFPs are for suckers and chumps. They tend to only benefit consultants and write down revenue for incumbents. They are a 'price-first', one-sided discussion that tends to rob the bidding parties of any ability to bring value. As you may guess, I am working through an RFP bid. It's a biggie, and I am hopeful and optimistic (both of which are signs of weakness in the sales world). But my company is truly a great fit. I made several mistakes in this particular process, all of which could be traced back to my general distaste of RFPs. Ten years of training has ingrained in me this is a lost cause 95% of the time. I was apathetic. This particular RFP seems to fall in the other 5%.....we will see. I will embrace this process, push to win, and act as though the RFP is my best friend. I will put on my suit and a smile. I will do eve

I crave, long for, desire, and pray for the ability to be precise. I strive to eliminate as much guess work as possible from my line of work, and be an expert...a consultant...a highly valuable resource. But....I realize more and more that I am a blunt instrument. At my best (and I am one of the best), I am still more of a baseball bat than I am a scalpel. I am realizing that this is not a unique situation to me. Our world is filled with experts. These experts, however, are generally no more than educated guessers. I have discussed in the past that the more moving parts something has, the more likely it will break. I think the same could be said for experts. The more we need to know, the less precise we will ultimately be. I have to study my clients, create urgency, understand my service offerings, understand my competitors, study the technology that my service plugs into, read minds, win hearts, overcome objections, change perceptions, psychoanalyze, pontificate, evangalize, etc. etc.

As my career has advanced, I find myself constantly evaluating the opportunities I encounter. Every solution, once designed and quoted, gets a mental forecast. I evaluate the likelihood of winning 'the deal' and then assign a percentage in my mind. It is an atypical process. I have to be an optimistic skeptic. On many occasions I have been overly optimistic, thinking to myself "I got this", only to lose. Ironically this scenario seems to occur when I never had a chance to begin with, when the final decision is more of a non-decision or when there is an unknown obstacle. On many occasions I have been overly skeptical, thinking to myself "No chance", only to win. Ironically this scenario seems to occur when I did have all of the facts, and just didn't trust them. To be truly objective about a situation that you are emotionally and financially involved in is tough. The incentive and drive to win can make accepting loss very difficult. However, the more succ

According to many sources there are roughly 154,000 deaths in the world daily. Today I lost a family member to cancer, my aunt Bobbie, a wonderfully unique woman. She stood apart from the rest of our family. She was individualistic, headstrong, and pragmatic. She seemed to know how to carve out the life that she wanted, from what was available. She was often 'alone' by societal standards , i.e. unmarried, but seldom seemed lonely. She was enviable in her ability to be self-sufficient. More than most people I know, she lived according to her standards. She seemed to often befuddle those around her with her choices. Mostly, due to the fact that she didn't strive to live up to someone else's definition of normal. I'm sure many in her life could have been often disappointed.....people carry too many expectations. I found her rather inspiring.More than any other person in my family, she served as a role model on how to be true to your self. To be well balanced, we must b

I try to avoid any soda that uses high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). I have my concerns about the impact of HFCS on overall health, and studies show that HFCS may be more difficult to metabolize, hence harder on the body, than cane sugar. I don't really drink that many sodas, and I have about a dozen things I would prioritize as more important to my overall health (i.e. getting my lazy ass to a gym.) But..I can tell a major taste difference. HFCS sodas have a distinct taste that, when compared to sodas using cane sugar, are just.... different. I can tell, even in a blind taste test, the absolute difference. So.....what's my point? I would be willing to bet that more than half of the people I know would tell me I was crazy. They would insist that there was really no difference. I find this amusing because there is a definitive and empirical difference. HFCS is not the same as cane sugar. Do a little research on how the two are made....it will surprise you. How many of you in the s

I saw a play today. It was based on a movie that had, as one of it's primary characters, a very famous person. Fans of the movie will love the play. Many critics will have a field day with this play. It, for me, wasn't great. I took my mom to see it, and we had a nice bit of brunch beforehand, so it had that as a positive. My primary issue? It was too long. Two and one-half hours. It was longer than the movie it was based on. It also had, at it's center, a somewhat outdated and highly repetitive theme. It took two hours to repeat the same concepts a movie had made, much more enjoyably, two decades earlier. 'Les Miz' gets a much larger point across, in less time. So...how does this translate to my 'somewhat-business related blog?" Be Succinct. We strive daily to make our points. We inform, persuade, and influence our clients by making a point. We also (and I can be one of the worst) tend to prattle on. We like to hear ourselves talk. Let's work on that.

Around 2:49 into the enclosed link (click on the blog title) an amazing statement is slipped into the famous rant by Alec Baldwin's character in GGGR. "...and your name is 'you're wanting'..." Mull it over, sip it, roll it around your tongue like a fine red wine. Getting anything? The comment is made to Jack Lemmon's character, Shel 'the Machine' Levine. Shel is a once-great salesman with little control over his situation. He was a superstar in his heyday, but as the movie progresses you see that Shel is no longer 'the Machine'. This could be one of the scariest thoughts about the existential truth of 'being great'. Could it slip away? Could it be situation vs you? Oh Shel, there but for the grace of God go I????? As I rise within my industry and make my name in it, I sometimes feel the scratching, gnawing fear that something outside of my control could bring everything down. At some point every one of us has looked in the mirror an

"He was the first casualty of the next great war." were the words spoken by Charles Lewin at the funeral of his son Daniel Lewin. Daniel Lewin was on Flight 11, one of the planes that slammed into the World Trade Center on 9/11/01. Mr. Lewin, once a member of the Israeli Special Forces was killed by the terrorists. FAA reports suggest that Mr. Lewin attempted to defend the take over of the plane by the terrorist hijackers. Had he been successful, the events of the 9/11 attack could have been very different. One man, ironically trained in counter-terrorism by the Sayeret Matkal division of the Israeli Defence Force, gave his life fighting the terrorists. It is believed he was the first death of the 9/11 attack. סיירת מטכ"ל is the motto of the Sayeret Matkal and means "Who Dares Wins". Mr. Lewin dared to take on roughly half a dozen armed attackers. He went out fighting. Today I will remember the events of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and how it has chang

Hard work, pain, adversity, struggle.....I was raised to believe these things created character and should be embraced. I've spent my time with manual labor, I've worked through the pain, I've walked it off, I've bided my time, I've persevered. I'm sort of done with all of that now. I've got character out the wazoo. In this day and age a measure of a man should be his ability to avoid pain, not endure it. To select one's pursuits is a benefit of selective evolution. When we were fighting off bears, natives, and cholera such ruggedness made sense. Now, I should be celebrated as a "Man of Leisure". Our current evolutionary path should favor my success-pouch (gut) and intellectual-hands (i.e soft as a girls). So....any tree chopping and earth moving will be hired out, I will buy my food already picked or slaughtered, and I'm updated on all of my immunizations. The 'Marlboro Men' were rugged embodiments of the 'tough guy, all-Americ

When (if ever) have you put pen to paper and listed out your annual goals? All studies done on goals indicate that by simply writing them down, you have a higher chance of accomplishing them. Just saying them may work, but write them down anyway. Done? If not, go ahead and come back to this post. OK...great. Now look at them. Are they goals or wishes? Do you have a realistic, attainable goal? Is it defined as specifically as it can be? Can you measure it? Does the goal have a time frame? (many of you who have studied the "S.M.A.R.T. Goals" know what I am talking about already). A few examples of a wish are: I want to make more money / I want to be a better _____ / I want to spend more time with my family / etc etc etc. These are good things and are the first step to creating a goal. Take it to the next level. A few examples of a goal: 150% of quota minimum monthly/ 200% average or above quarterly / return EVERY call or email within 24 hrs / 1 family only-day (no Blackberry/La

I have been told by many of my friends and family that sometimes I am a tad brash. That my personality, while often refreshing, can sometimes be somewhat off-putting. I may occasionally push certain boundaries of acceptable communication. This is often, paradoxically, a serious understatement of what they are actually thinking. What they are thinking is "You can really be an ass." See the irony....I would probably, in their shoes, just say "You can really be an ass." There is just not enough honesty in the world. In the beginning of my career I did everything I could to win the hearts of my co-workers and clients. I've never been meek or subtle, but there was a time that I was more.....subdued. More political, and with a desire to please. It was maddening, disingenuous, and rather ineffective. To thine own self be true. So....I now speak my mind openly, freely, and without much of a filter. I am results oriented, you can like me later. Or not. I honestly no long

Friday I donned green tights and a lemon suit. The event was a grand opening for a community business heavily impacted by the flood. The theme was "Making lemonade when life hands you lemons" (hence the lemon suit). I enjoy doing odd things for the overall experience, and this was no exception. I had a ball. Most of the time was spent outside of the establishmend waving at traffic. I had hundreds of waves, horn honks, and several obscene gestures (one from a lovely young lady, that was suggestive to the point of making me blush....not an easy task). It was the best laugh all week. My fee for this 'gig' will be donated to charity. So I'm getting Karma points all over. Plus the laughs... I noticed something funny. When I waved at people I received both good and lackluster responses. But when I waved to people it was a different experience. It took focus and more physical energy to mix it up, but the change in overall response was exceptional. I would give the &quo

Beginning last week, I made the declaration of "Flexible Fridays"....and defined my Fridays as belonging exclusively to me. I will choose to not work most Fridays. My work load may make this difficult, but it is up to me to control this. I am going to focus on writing/completing my novel. I find myself repeating this to people. I feel like I have to justify such a radical decision as declaring Fridays as no longer a part of what my base salary covers. I shouldn't have to justify this with words....my past performance, choices, and personal goals justify this decision for me. My sales have been and continue to remain in the top tier within my market and company. I often forget what my quota is. I can tell you what my top accelerators are, and what my commission caps are. My quota, I have to back into or check my comp plan. My choices have been pretty relevant to this decision too. I have weathered storm after storm for the past 9 years with the same company. I realized the

I am pushing 40, but still get Gold Stars. This is amusing to me. I love them...this is even more amusing. Let me clarify...I am using 'gold star' as any form of recognition not in monetary form. I am also using this term literally. Within my sales group, actual gold stars are given to grown people. Again, this is amusing to the Nth degree. But...it's also affective and effective (yes, go look it up). These stars are symbols of a culture that my team stepped into almost 10 years ago. That culture, while constantly evolving, still lives. The ethos that we attempt to live up to is one of excellence, teamwork, gratitude, and accountability. Half a dozen leaders have been a part of this team, and they all buy into this approach. It is a tide that rises all ships. The stars are small, but important, physical manifestations of our approach. They symbolize the need to create goals and hold ourselves accountable to something more than just money. Don't get me wrong..the money i

My father did everything he could to teach me what he knew. One lesson he ALWAYS pushed was how to have patience while doing something you don't necessarily want to do. "They wouldn't call it work if it was fun, numbnuts." The nickname is not embellished, he often drove his points home with this one. I would spend countless hours of my youth on some project that he had assigned. I would curse him under my breath the entire time. Why would anyone care about leveling a part of the backyard that was deemed "a little off" ?!?!?!?! It's a yard. Damn. It was his nature to create work for himself....he enjoyed it. As I became an adult and entered into the working world, I saw many around me that had a different approach. "If you don't want to do it, don't do it." It was revolutionary and freeing. I also noticed these people didn't get very far in life. They seemed to be lacking in many areas. There had to be a middle ground. As I have beco

"Hi John...I'm (fill in blank)....nice to meet you." "Ummm...yeah....we've met....a few times actually..... *i casually ignore offered handshake*" 2 thoughts on this one. I didn't do a good job making an impression. Me?? I tell dick-jokes to nuns. You could easily say I've made a bad impression, but impression made. or The clueless joe has the attention span of a tsetse fly. I recently saw a guy that I hadn't seen in 15 yrs and had only met about 3 times total. I detailed the party bus that the group of folks rented that night (leave the previous sentence alone, please). He vaguely remembered, but it had been 15 yrs...I can live with that....funny side note....I said to him "It must have been 10 yrs or more." ..... he replied " has to be over 12 yrs, I've been locked up since '98" So moving forward unless you can say 100% that you've never met the person, shake their hand and say "Nice to see you." It

Let's say a random issue arises. Three parties involved (in this case I'm breaking it down to carrier, equipment, and end user). The answer to the problem lies somewhere within one of the three parties, or some combo of them. How do you approach this issue? Do you: A) Immediately assign blame, based on no actual facts? B) Think to past events and try to see commonalities in this problem and any past issues? C) Start at the "Is the power on" beginning, and try to troubleshoot with little to no assumptions or emotion? I'm a big fan of option C. I seem to often be in a minority. Option A is, of course, the most counterproductive option. The ability to troubleshoot all three parties requires flexibility and the desire to fix. The desire to assign blame, in my experience, creates an environment of hostility, defensiveness, and lost focus. Angry, unhappy people generally use Option A....some even enjoy the problem. These people are the types that smile while at funerals

Today marks a special day in history. The United States (currently the only country to use nuclear weapons during war) tested it's first bomb on this day, in 1945. The greatest minds in the western world were gathered together to solve a problem. They did. The impact changed our world. Robert Oppenheimer (one of the primary scientists studying the technology) was at the Trinity Test Site when the first test occurred. He was rumored to have quoted a line from the Bhagavad Gita...."Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds." He knew that in that bright flash, the world had changed. It is said that the resulting attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki saved hundreds of thousands of lives. Some scholars even suggest that the Japanese required a massive and immediate attack that would allow them to surrender in a manner that would save face. Had the US not dropped the bombs, the required land-force attacks would have created massive casualties on both sides, taking years to bri

There is an old fable about a young knight who goes into a small town. Everyone is hungry as food production is minimal, and each family only has a few items from their own tiny gardens. The knight assesses the situation and decides to take action. He builds a large fire and fills a large pot with water and a very large stone. Several of the villagers pass by and ask what the knight is doing. 'Making stone soup' he replies..'it's really filling, but could use a little flavor.' The villager replies 'It's not much, but I have a few meager onions. They could improve the flavor of the soup." The knight agrees with a smile and promises the villager a heaping helping of the end product. Several other villagers see the interaction and come to the knight with the same offer. Some have a few potatoes, some a few handfuls of wild greens, one villager even has a small ham bone to offer. Before long a roiling, gurgling pot of soup is on. That evening the knight and

It's not official, but I'm working on it. But on July 1st go hug a sales rep...... tell them Johnny sent you. Salespeople are often scorned, belittled, hated, stereotyped, parodied.....you get the point. The most common complaints: 1. Too much freedom 2. Too much pay 3. Too much....literally, just too much. If you don't understand #3 go hang out with a sales team To some degree the above are all true. But those of us that are truly good earn it. We earn our pay by breaking many of the 'social-contracts' that other walks of life wouldn't fathom. Have you ever called a C-level executive and explained why he can't do his job without you? We have. Have you ever created a sense of urgency and generated revenue for your company that wasn't there yesterday? We have. Have you ever felt the pressure of an entire team/market/region looking to a select few to be the difference between success and failure? We have. On July 2nd you can go back to hating us, but on Ju

"Everything that can be invented has been invented" ....Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, U.S. patent office, 1899 A few words for Mr. Duell: myopic, hubris, closed-minded, jaded. One of the more dangerous and limiting side-effects of expertise is the tyranny of one's own opinion. Those who know me know I often speak with passion and conviction, and am also highly opinionated. Those who know me also have often heard me say "I will screw up a percentage of everything I touch." I work very hard to keep the percentage low. If I can get it to single digits, that would be great. It will never reach zero. I try to keep this in mind at all times. Action requires decisiveness. Decisiveness means risk. The more decisiveness the more risk, the more risk the more mistakes. Babe Ruth struck out more often than most of his counterparts. It's a difficult thing in life to take a stance, push what you think, and drive action. It's even more difficult to be open to the con

Relevant....with a big 'R'. Would that classify you? A new friend used this word to describe one of his employees. It was a high compliment. I will now attempt to summarize what I think he meant. 1. He cares....probably not 'warm and fuzzy" type of care, but more integrity based care. 2. He has an educated and strong opinion. It's based on hours and hours of 'trial by fire' experience, and when he gives his opinion it comes with the scrapes, cuts, and bruised knuckles (literal and metaphorical) of building something right. 3. He plans ahead. Training, demos, webinars, etc, etc etc. Keeping ahead of the knowledge curve. 4. Ability to see the big picture. If the product is great, but the manufacturer is heading in a wrong direction he can weigh that out, understand the client needs, and consult accordingly. Buying a product and doing business with a company are two different things. These are just a few. I'm sure I've missed something. But what an hon

English clergyman and poet, George Herbert, is credited with the quote "The best revenge is living well." I use the quote often, and strive to live up to it's message. It's an incredibly comforting idea, and seems to suggest one should free their mind of petty angers and focus on the pursuit of success and happiness. Are you waiting for a 'but, here's the thing'??? Happy to oblige..... Sometimes the best revenge is.....revenge. A common etymology is shared by the words 'vindictive' and 'vindicate'. The former has a large degree of negativity associated with it, the latter not as much. "Vindicate" is given the following meanings: "To provide justification or defense for."....."To maintain a right to" ......an obsolete definition is simply "to set free". So....one of my primary job requirements is to make suggestions, consult, recommend. I'm paid when clients buy from me, but I'm paid well and c

In a conversation with one of the largest companies in town the other day, the following was discussed: Me: "OK...small, but important call center. And you currently use...?" Client:"AT&Z"....... (I've changed the providers name for anonymity) Me: "And tell me again, your issue?" Client: "We keep going down. It's an issue with the facilities coming into the building. We need some sort of backup." Me: "Agreed. Who have you looked at for this backup?" Client: "We talked to our AT&Z team." Silence for a few seconds........ Me: "OK...how'd that work for you?" Client: "Well the corporate IT team seems to prefer AT&Z, but you guys are more attentive, provide better service, are more nimble, and are a tad less expensive. Plus your fiber is in the building, which means we could eliminate the single point of failure by using you guys." Me: "Agreed. So what are our next steps?" Clien

Yes...I know....the title is grammatically offensive. That's my point. In the age of Social Media everyone seems to be posting, blogging, or tweeting to their hearts content. Language and it's rules have become subverted and I understand, but will not condone, the abbreviated and code-like vernacular that goes so well with our digital communication. I believe our 'digital shorthand' all started with the advent of email and IM. Mobile devices, with their tiny keypads, seem to drive the bastardization of language. Tweets almost require abbreviation to get your point across in 140 words, so LOL/OMG/ROFL/etc have become a reality. Facebook allows for more lengthy interactions, but the abbreviated vernacular seems to be how people seem to think. I'll tolerate it. What I can't tolerate is when I see professionals slaughter the English language on business related blogs, websites, or posts. LinkedIn is a good example. Today, I read a thread on LinkedIn that was chock

I often feel a tinge of guilt for never serving in the US military. My father's service, spanning from Vietnam to Desert Storm, deepens that feeling of guilt. The fact that he never really wanted me to be in the military helps me overcome my guilt a tad. It's complicated. The mandatory service in the Israeli military seems like it could do our population some good, but I'm not sure how good it would be for the overall of our country. Again, complicated. But one thing I can say, without hesitation, is that this weekend is a holiday dedicated to people who have embodied so many of the traits that I hold dear, aspire to, or am shamed to not possess. Some gave all, paying the ultimate price in war. Some, with minimal fear, took the approach of "once more into the breach". Others, drenched in sweat and fear, pushed forward while every cell in their body screamed 'no'. Many surely cowered when surrounded by the chaos of war, but were still there for the fight. A

Today, in our standard Monday morning sales meeting, the topic of 'attitude' came up. I would wager that over half of ALL sales-team meetings include the idea of attitude. It has become a mantra. But what do they mean by 'having a good attitude' ??? If the reiteration of the term 'attitude' underlies a desired goal, and that goal is to 'have a good one', then how would one define 'a good attitude'? Is it a variable? Does one's chosen field create the definition? Does the meaning differ between a florist and a police officer? "Nice guy? I don't give a shit. Good father? Fuck you! Go home and play with your kids. You wanna work here - CLOSE!" ....these words from Glengary Glen Ross (added for the movie, not a part of the original Mamet play) are a glimpse into an alternate definition of the word 'attitude'. Underlying the tirade from Alec Baldwin's character is one hint towards a different definition of 'attitude&#

Today, at the annual Technology Nashville event I was given the opportunity to introduce two key speakers at a breakout session focused on the music industry. I had received information on the two speakers the day before, but didn't really research them. This led to me giving, possibly, the worst introduction ever. I was to intro two people. I assumed their bio's were in the program being handed out. One presenter had a lengthy bio. I read it. Most of it. It sounded like someone reading a bio from a pamphlet. That sound is flat, unprepared, and boring. This was the good part of the introduction. The next person had an extensive and impressive background in the music industry. Several big-name stars were managed by this individual. I didn't know this, because I did not do any research. He was also not in the pamphlet. So I gave the nice folks in attendance his name, and suggested HE tell them a little about his background. If everyone in the room didn't wish some mild pa

The 1953 ad campaign created by Ogilvy and Mather for Schweppes is credited for the roughly 500% increase in sales that Schweppes experienced over a five year period. 500%......wow. Commander Whitehead, the "Ambassador from Schweppes" was the central figure of this campaign. The Commander was a dashing dandy from the UK, generally in tweed and with a uniquely dignified VanDyke beard. The ads would depict him flirting with lovely damsels, relaxing at a picnic, or gracing a red-carpeted tarmac. His persona was grandiose, charismatic, rakish. He embodied the image of the British Scoundrel, surely at home with a gin-and-tonic in his hand. Happy Hour began for the good Commander whenever the mood might strike. The role of Commander Whitehead was played by one of David Ogilvy's acquaintances (both men being actual Brits). The persona of the Commander was an exaggeration (but only slightly) of Mr. Ogilvy himself. David Ogilvy took the things that set him apart from his New York

I am absolutely amazed out how my fair city has rallied around the people impacted by the 2010 Nashville Flood. But if you thought that this blog's title alluded to a gushy homage to the "flood" of support that has descended upon Nashville, you are only half correct. I have an observation to make. Not a critique, not a complaint, just an observation. It's probably going to piss a few of you off. The "flood" I refer to is one of bottled water, specifically the cases of it that can be found at any of the Information Centers, Relief Sites, or scattered about the neighborhoods impacted by the flood. Saturday, May 8th, I helped in the clean up efforts in a Nashville area neighborhood (one seriously impacted). At one point, there were four of us pulled away from the job of ripping out soggy drywall to move cases of water. We moved roughly thirty cases of water, at one house. As we were moving these cases of water, we noticed a large truck with a flat-bed trailer t

In 1955, the now legendary Ogilvy and Mather advertising firm began their campaign with Dove. "One-quarter cleansing cream" is, to this day, a corporate tag-line for Dove. The company was profitable in its very first year, an extreme rarity in personal-care products. Ogilvy and Mather stress their ad campaign and the Dove tag-line they created as being responsible for such success. Dove's ubiquitous tagline was created when David Ogilvy, the dynamic mind behind Ogilvy and Mather asked the question "Well, may I know the formula?" When the good people at Dove explained the ingredients, Mr. Ogilvy found out that the soap he was hired to advertise was only three-fourths soap. One-fourth of Dove soap was a compound with the generic name of "cleansing cream". Mr. Ogilvy saw this as a major differentiator and helped create a brand that became a household name. His trademark pursuit of an exceptional story to tell for his clients, created an approach that

There comes a transcendent time in the lives of many people when they are afforded an opportunity to stop, look around, and feel blessed. It's difficult to do every day. This last week, in light of the Nashville flood, it's much easier to count your blessings. Watching my friends and neighbors who have experienced loss of every degree, I find myself wondering "Why them, not me?" There aren't any answers. Over the past few years I have felt more and more need to give. Over the past week I have felt it even more. So I'm just going to say it....if you are a successful member of your community and you aren't trying to give back, you're an asshole. Locally, nationally, globally...pick 2 or 3 causes/charities/foundations and make a difference. Give to the Nashville Flood Relief. www.cfmt.org , www.hon.org , www.nashvilleredcross.org ; these are just a few. Your money, your time, preferably both. But don't stop there. Pick 1 or 2 more and set a goal for t

My father taught me to never forget the "6 P's"...... "Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance". Failing to plan is planning to fail. But there is a natural human tendency to overplan. I've often heard it called "analysis paralysis". When a project is defined by all analysis and no execution, what exactly is being accomplished? Colin Powell stated (and I am paraphrasing) that in planning, you can never achieve more than 80% assurance. He also states that when you hit that level, any further effort for more assurance is wasted time. In my experience I have seen hundreds of examples where there is no exact answer. The answer is created as action is taken. Often, the things which are unclear to us, are revealed in increments as we move towards a goal. So it seems to me the answer lies in the following three steps: 1. Prepare for your future. Train, study, practice. Keep "sharpening your saw". When a situation comes up, you will only be

This particular post will be a massive rant. Do not read any further if you are easily offended...especially if you are easily offended...consider yourself warned. Seriously...take heed. Only one thing offends me. People that are easily offended. Pride, arrogance, condescension, anger...I can look past all of these traits much easier than I can of the easily offended. Get over it. Grow up. Stop taking yourself so seriously. A well placed expletive can be the most succinct way to your point So many of these thin-skinned individuals spend too much time looking for something to get their knickers in a twist about, when they should be more focused on self-development. Many of these people possess boring, single-faceted, insipid, luke-warm, myopic, reactionary, hypocritical personalities. The irony is that so many of these people so focused on the appearance of "good" do little real good. It seems their nature to focus on the superficial and never on the depth of the world around

Success begets success. It's funny, but it's true. People love to be around a winner and get nauseous when they sniff a loser. Sadly, there have been times in my career where you could hear the desperation in my voice. When this happens, one tends to lose bargaining power.....or more accurately, one bargains less efficiently. Desperation always leads to leaving money on the table. No more will I allow this to happen. The reverse, also, has always seemed to ring true. There is a cheesy line from "Boiler Room" where Vin Diesel's character says "I don't need your business, I value it." It's a guilty pleasure, but damn I love that line. Having a bad month? Write it off. Make the next month a bang. But do not chase that particular rabbit down a hole. Having a bad quarter? Shit happens...... (more than that however, and you may need to look into the food-service industry or possibly hit the diesel college). For those of us who believe that there is an

I suck.... At a lot. I also do not have the true objectivity to know how bad, and at how much (have at it haters, give me hell) None of us do. It's something to strive towards, but never achieve. It's a process. Step one of any self improvement begins with that statement. Remove all emotion. What's your percentage? If you screw up 25% of everything you touch, is that acceptable? 10%? 5%?...... the closer you get to zero, generally the less likely you are being honest with the question (Dr.s kill people, NASA misses planets, planes crash, etc). My father had a saying about "Keeping the shit to shoe level." I always loved that statement. It was realistic and pragmatic.....and funny. My blog vents in an acerbic and caustic manner about certain "personalities" that I struggle with in the course of a work day....it's by design. But let me make the following disclaimer...I'm human....I will be wrong, I will fail, I will make wrong decisions. It is my a

Relax. Breathe. Count to ten. Tell me the issue. Now know that I will prioritize you. Feelings hurt? Ask your self why. You are only one of roughly 25 of my clients. It is possible that one of my other clients has a need much more urgent than yours. The same could be true of your need. It may be much more urgent than anything else I am working on. It may go to the bottom of the list. Hence, prioritization. Many people expect their issue, regardless of true urgency, to be treated as though it were crisis. They do not want to feel minimized, especially during a time of high emotion. But, when everything is an escalation, then nothing is an escalation. I want every issue to be resolved with the utmost expediency, for three reasons. The first is integrity. I must believe in my product to be able to use a consultative approach. The second, I'm greedy. I want my clients to continue buying, and nothing is more difficult than overcoming service issues. The third, I often have little patien

My father, until he retired, was a mechanic. He worked at the same place through two owners and roughly thirty-five years. He was uncompromisingly good. He worked harder and stronger than anyone else there. He made a modest living, which was generally more than any of the other mechanics. He did this simply by working harder. He never took a lunch break, my mother would hand him a brown paper sack in the morning filled with handheld food items. Horribly unhealthy, but highly functional. In a business where a job pays a flat hour amount (regardless of how much time it may actually take), an extra hour could translate into four hours of pay. He is a great man. He never has and probably never will fully understand that. It's possible some of the fire in him was due to something else missing. He seemed to always have something to prove. I don't know if he ever knew who he was trying to prove things to and he seemed to never be able to prove it. As I write this, I realize I inherite

I had a 300%+ month in March, ending a fantastic quarter. I am already well over 100% for April (yes, I sandbagged a tad) and have the equivalent of 200% more on the hook that could fall in April or May. I have been quite busy. But the weather Monday was incredible. I had some things to do that weren't work. I look around, assessed the situation and called in "well". Emailed actually (it's the boss' preferred method of calling in, sick or well). The email was something to the effect of "Can't possibly fathom why I would come in on such a perfect day. I'm taking a well day!!" There are many things that I love about my line of work / sort of job, and this is one. You build momentum within your personal business approach. You grow, build, design, arrange, meet, conf call, brainstorm, etc, etc, etc, and the momentum grows to a point where you have to only keep the plates balanced on the sticks and give them a little push every now and again. So, it i

"The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation." ....Henry David Thoreau A personal favorite. It so succinctly speaks volumes. Thoreau could have chosen more direct words to convey his message. He could have spoken of what "the mass" might be missing in life, or focused on the pain that comes with the inactive desperation, or used some derogatory wording. But what he chose was "quiet desperation". The minimalism of these words and the ability of "quiet" as an adjective to ironically amplify the "desperation". The words play on each other to build and create a higher meaning together, to convey a situation in which I strive to never, eve find myself. I'll tie this into business, hang with me...... Look around you at work tomorrow. Look at yourself. Happy? Feel as a part of something? Are you a self-actualizing part of a team? Good..now go do it better and try to learn every second. Are you there to collect your pay? Do you feel tra

I once thought in weeks and months. I grew to think in months and quarters. I have, lately, been viewing things in quarters and years. I am not sure when this really happened, but probably somewhere around my seventh anniversary with my current employer. There could be something to the seven-year-itch concept, but that is for a later post. So as this mindset sets in, I see a degree of patience that I never thought capable. Don't get me wrong, I will never have a tolerance for certain things (decisions contrary to one's own self interest, not understanding one's own self-interest, refusal to grow or develop, under/over estimating, certain forms of inefficiency, accepting an inherently broken process simply because it is process that is in place, etc, etc). But when things get complicated, when things change, I see it as inevitable. Too many things in the course of my career have ended up heading in one direction, only to land in another place entirely. John Lennon said &quo

I was with my family today and speaking to a relative who is not in the IT industry. He asked the question "What makes your company different?" I answer his question with simple and accessible answers. Not only is what I say to him easy to understand as a concept, it is also factual and not just opinion. Where I can truly benchmark my company, I do. I give him fact based, empirical differentiators. And here's the amazing thing, he simply trusts what I am saying. He views me, correctly, as knowing more about the topic than he does. It could be debated as to whether I should be classified as an "expert", but I can without debate be classified as "knowledgeable." He has no base of knowledge and thus sees me as a expert, at least in relation to his own knowledge level of the topic. So....why is it that many IT decision makers (for future reference "decision maker" will be shortened to DM) require years for me to gain their trust enough for them t

What makes us, as salespeople, good? Easy......Work ethic, product knowledge, sales techniques, etc, etc. What makes us great? Much more difficult question... but the answer is probably between your ears. What am I talking about? ...I have watched some of the greatest salespeople and their secret is always a mental choice. Attitude is a tiresome and overused word. It has become trite and cliche. We are told to keep ours "positive." This is too simplistic an approach and will only serve those that are in the "good" category. I, however, will use attitude as synonymous with choice. Once one makes a choice to run their world instead of being run by it, their entire approach can be described as attitude. Therefore it can be neither positive or negative, when truly at it's best. What people are generally referring to here is "mood." Leave your mood at home. Many in our world approach things as a job or a task. These people are in their own way. They are vi

Across the world today, monthly-quota-based salespeople are either celebrating being at or above "the number" or scrambling trying to get there. The monthly quota and relative commission incentives are a great idea, based on a myth. Like money or wealth itself, it only exists, in so much as we allow it to in our minds. Need to buy something? Find out if the sales representative has a monthly quota. If yes, wait until the last day of the month and call them. See how flexible they are. I do have a monthly quota. But if you call me at the end of the month, you generally will not hear any desperation whether I am at a billion percent to quota or zero. No artificial timelines for me. I see that the entire concept is basically made up anyway. I may have a monthly quota, but that means I'll have one next month too. Everybody Relax.

A manager within the sales group asked the following: "How can we shorten the time from quote to close?" My answer...."Don't send a quote." I'll add a few caveats. I have a few clients that require, based on their internal processes, that I send quotes. One account in particular requires one or two quotes almost every day. They are high volume, and high-maintenance. They will never fit the desired level of efficiency I seek in clients. Oh well. But most of my clients will not see a quote from me. My contract is my quote. In a truly consultative approach a white-board, a good note pad, and a comfortable seat is what is needed. High-tech A/V isn't evil, just typically unnecessary to me. Every meeting should be focused on the design and engineering of the end solution. I may bring network maps, or diagrams to help the client visualize the concept. But I avoid presentations at all costs. When done with a handful of truly engaged design meetings, any present

As salespeople (for this post, I speak of all salespeople not just tech) we are often trained to have delusions of grandeur. Our jobs require us to engage people in a manner often outside of the “normal social contract.” We must, to be the best, strive towards an accountability and subsequent stress level that is typically reserved for C-level executives. We ofen fit in rather high tax brackets. These things create a maverick attitude with grandeur at it's core, so be patient with the following point if it seems a tad delusional. Salespeople are more numerous in the business world than are Corporate Presidents and CEO’s. Our collective income as salespeople would probably border, equal, or possibly even rival their collective income. This is a statistically unfounded guess, possibly even a delusion, but it helps prove an abstract point so I will use it anyway. Work with me here. Too many of my sales counterparts are replacement specialists. They look to replace existing services, w

Sadly, this is a telecom mantra. I've never been a true fan of the actual concept, but the saying can elicit a few laughs. But here's the thing..... We don't suck. Call me simple minded, but I am amazed at what my industry accomplishes every day. There is almost no other industry with more actual "moving parts". The ability to send an email or make a phone call still makes me feel a tad giddy. The ability to empower a large call center, or a data center, or a chain of locations operating with the singular mind of HQ.....utterly confounding. So what's the comment here? People suck. I'm including myself here. I take for granted the things around me that I don't understand. I strive not to, but it happens. Arthur C. Clarke said that any new technology appears as though magic (paraphrased). But it seems after a while we become jaded, take it for granted, and forget what it was that amazed us in the first place. We become demanding and myopic. We operate wi

Fungibility is a fun word. I look forward to beating several CIOs and IT Directors over the head with it. Fungibility seems to be the defining word for what makes a commodity. The nut-shell definition for fungibility is "the same regardless of who creates it." Every telecom provider has a multitude of differences, therefore they are not fungible. Since most people tend to LOVE to talk about the negative, let's focus there. Ask any IT professional about their telecom provider. They will generally grumble and whine (typically these people hate their lives) and tell you about EVERYTHING that is wrong with their telecom providers. Each story will have different issues and problems. Each will show the weaknesses of a given provider. Logically this shows that we (telco's) are all different and not fungible. Also if each provider has different weaknesses, we must have strengths. There is an old telecom mantra "Everybody sucks, we suck less." In future blogs I will

In 1996 the 104th Congress approved, and President Bill Clinton signed into law the Telecommunications Act of 1996. This law created many things, but one thing it created was my job. As Telecommunications Companies have flourished and floundered over the past decade, one recurrent theme has weighed upon the heads of many telecom reps. The theme, that our services are a commodity. The below is a definition of commodity from Wikipedia: A commodity is some good for which there is demand, but which is supplied without qualitative differentiation across a market. It is fungible, i.e. the same no matter who produces it. Dictionary.com provides the below definition of commodity and fungible: Commodity: an article of trade or commerce, esp. a product as distinguished from a service. Fungible: being of such nature or kind as to be freely exchangeable or replaceable, in whole or in part, for another of like nature or kind. So based on the above definitions, we have a slight problem. My them