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

I'm sure this translates to many occupations other than sales, so view this through whatever personal lens you may. A problem, a negotiation, a need arises. There are multiple ways to approach said situation. Have you ever been overwhelmed with the angles and facets that are at your disposal? Have you ever seen a beginning and an end, and then in between lay a forest of options at which to hack and hew and saw? Think of a circular room with a dozen or so doors, only half of which will lead you to where you need to go. Now pick a door. Oh, and one of the doors has a big alligator behind it....and he's hungry. So as you work your way through a tough situation, there is that moment where you reach a singularity. Maybe it's a great win-win situation, and the corks start popping. But....sometimes it's just not. Sometimes you hit a point where a line is drawn, and 1) That line could be the spot where two parties accept a bit of give and take, and shake hands. They s...

This weekend I attended the 2013 Sales Kick Off (SKO) for my company. It was a great event, dare I say extravaganza. In this post I won't really discuss the SKO specifics, but more about the inflection and resulting motivation it imbued. At SKO, my company announced the 2012 President's Club winners at a lovely dinner on the first night there. Our President of Sales gave a brief summary of every winning rep, and a snapshot of the successes they had that led them to win the honor of this trip. It was inspiring. I have attended many President's Clubs with my previous employer, enough to instill an understanding that my ability to claim true success meant going to "Club". Since joining my new company, my sales have been less than stellar so far. I am building, and expect 2013 to be the year of change. Back to the Future. As they read off the winners I had a mix of emotions....reflection on my past successes, an odd acceptance of my current situation of "...

I have avoided taking on a managerial role, since the early 2000's. I tried it, and it wasn't exactly for me. That could change, as I grow older, but for now I believe I will remain the reluctant leader....the Sergeant in the trenches, a guide on the side. I filled out a questionnaire recently on best practices of leaders, when you aren't in a direct managerial/leadership role. It was difficult to sum up the hundreds of ways leadership happens. But the questionnaire asked to summarize and list three things that make the biggest impact. Today, I'll focus on just one... Community. Every year I pick some form of community involvement...something I can throw myself behind or into as a way to give back to the community that I am a part of. I've spread myself thin in the past, so this year I have picked just two. One is related to a more altruistic charity, the other is more of a way to give back to the Nashville Technology/Business community. This isn't that impo...