I've spent two intensive days this week, and much of the last 10 days studying Sales and Account Management methodologies from The TAS Group. The content is first class and well worth it, and it reminds me how often we need to do such things - invest our time and energies in a proven, smart way to accomplish a task. Investing in ourselves.
It seems the exception rather than the rule that we ensure we're optimally tackling the job before us. "We all know how to do this, and so we don't need any training, do we ?" Or - "it's two days out of the office, I can't afford to take that time, right now." The excuses are many and varied as to why we don't make the effort to improve ourselves, to ensure we're leveraging all our experience, smarts, and capabilities, in the best of all possible fashions.
Did I know this stuff before I started to focus on it two weeks ago..? Well, yes I knew about it roughly, and I could have given it a reasonable facsimile of an effort - but I couldn't have been excellent at it. To get that final 10-15% of performance has required as much time as the original learning of the ideas - and it's only by going over it again with experts, being critiqued and guided that I'm getting sharper with it. Seth Godin recently wrote (May 20th, 2010) about the investment needed to get that 10% advantage - to be the best in a given field, and I'll admit I'm prone to agree to both his points in terms of required investment, and the worthwhileness of trying.
Excellence is a place where few of us dare ever venture, but we admire greatly - just look at the fuss made over super-athletes in the world cup frenzy, or a new baseball pitcher's first day in the big leagues lately. It's a brain-cramping situation, as clearly we think being the best is worth doing - but we're unwilling to do it ourselves. Much like dieting, we admire the end result, but it seems like too much work to make happen or maintain.
Which tells me that there's a huge opportunity for those astute enough to see it, and focused enough to pursue it. Coincidentally, those themes are the underlying thread of what I've been studying from the TAS Group...outselling & out-managing the competition. (Don't you love it when things come together like this ?)
As I seem to enjoy, let me leave you with a question - are you willing to aim for excellence, and invest in yourself to make it happen ? I'll share that it does feel pretty good. Think about it.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder over a Car
OCD isn't a joking matter, I get that, but I fear I might have a touch myself you see, as I'm quite in love with my car.
I wash it and wax it regularly, take it for drives for no reason and sometimes find myself just looking at it. I think it's beautiful in a way few other things are.
I understand this is slightly problematic, as when I park it miles from the place I need to go to ensure no one parks beside it, or when I won't pick up my kids in it...if it's rainy outside. There's some roads I refuse to drive on as they're too bumpy. I know every mark on the car inside & out.
While I enjoy music tremendously, I rarely listen in the car as I like listening to the car instead. And I dislike the odometer telling me how much experience the car has day by day. It's not getting older, it's getting classic.
Which is why I'm selling it.
I think my love for the darned thing (a gorgeous, glossy seal grey thing) is getting in the way of normal stuff, and I've never been one for any kind of crutch in my life. So it has to go. But I admit I'll miss it, and I might even shed a tear. Or two.
(Sad music plays as writer exits to the left, waxing cloth dangling limply..)
I wash it and wax it regularly, take it for drives for no reason and sometimes find myself just looking at it. I think it's beautiful in a way few other things are.
I understand this is slightly problematic, as when I park it miles from the place I need to go to ensure no one parks beside it, or when I won't pick up my kids in it...if it's rainy outside. There's some roads I refuse to drive on as they're too bumpy. I know every mark on the car inside & out.
While I enjoy music tremendously, I rarely listen in the car as I like listening to the car instead. And I dislike the odometer telling me how much experience the car has day by day. It's not getting older, it's getting classic.
Which is why I'm selling it.
I think my love for the darned thing (a gorgeous, glossy seal grey thing) is getting in the way of normal stuff, and I've never been one for any kind of crutch in my life. So it has to go. But I admit I'll miss it, and I might even shed a tear. Or two.
(Sad music plays as writer exits to the left, waxing cloth dangling limply..)
Selling your Company - Selling Yourself
Do you represent your company ?
I mean really represent it - walk the desired culture, do all possible to deliver customer value, and support those stakeholders, employees and customers in the manner that your positioning reflects..?
That's great if you can answer a heart-strong yes to the above question, and really mean it. All too often, the values a company reflects into a marketplace are just marketing spin that the employee group doesn't really pay attention to. Which is kind of unfortunate, as customers often interact with employees, and if your organization positions & prides itself on first class service, and yet your call center or customer services staff aren't happy in their roles and that comes across to your clients....well, it somewhat torpedoes the marketing efforts and expenses.
It's hard to maintain a 100% sunny disposition - after all we all have down days, but it's the responsibility of the empowered front line manager to replace that person that day. Not punitively - it's rare someone will shape up after being threatened - but rather give them the benefit that the customer gets and be understanding and generous with your patience and goodwill. The end result is a happier staff, and one that feels valued for their contribution...and therefore willing to go that little bit farther and walk the talk.
Building mind-blowing companies that seamlessly mirrors the company value proposition is hard - ask the good folks at Disney how easy it is that their cast members always have another smile for a young child. There will be mistakes along the path of building it for certain - but there's real value in the trying.
If you've elected not to build a company that has every staff member religiously convicted about the value that you create - then you must not be very serious about that value.
Think about it.
I mean really represent it - walk the desired culture, do all possible to deliver customer value, and support those stakeholders, employees and customers in the manner that your positioning reflects..?
That's great if you can answer a heart-strong yes to the above question, and really mean it. All too often, the values a company reflects into a marketplace are just marketing spin that the employee group doesn't really pay attention to. Which is kind of unfortunate, as customers often interact with employees, and if your organization positions & prides itself on first class service, and yet your call center or customer services staff aren't happy in their roles and that comes across to your clients....well, it somewhat torpedoes the marketing efforts and expenses.
It's hard to maintain a 100% sunny disposition - after all we all have down days, but it's the responsibility of the empowered front line manager to replace that person that day. Not punitively - it's rare someone will shape up after being threatened - but rather give them the benefit that the customer gets and be understanding and generous with your patience and goodwill. The end result is a happier staff, and one that feels valued for their contribution...and therefore willing to go that little bit farther and walk the talk.
Building mind-blowing companies that seamlessly mirrors the company value proposition is hard - ask the good folks at Disney how easy it is that their cast members always have another smile for a young child. There will be mistakes along the path of building it for certain - but there's real value in the trying.
If you've elected not to build a company that has every staff member religiously convicted about the value that you create - then you must not be very serious about that value.
Think about it.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
What's worse than selling...buying !
As you may have gathered, we recently sold our home. As that particular fact would have made us homeless in a while, we found ourselves plunged head-first in the house-buyer role. That means going to open houses, seemingly endless tours through other people's lives and a frequent sense of regret that we didn't act fast enough as nice place after nice place was snapped up around us.
In a sense, I wish I'd delayed wring my previous post until after I had gone through this experience. A couple observations I might offer:
A few common themes emerged in this exercise to what I see in business everyday. Sellers weren't adopting the buying perspective; Sellers had a concept of the value of goods that they offered, and were unable or unwilling to match that to the buyers concept; when a deal was offered and rejected, there was a blind belief that there might always to more from another party around the corner.
This last item is of particular interest, and I always think of it as the herd effect. When we see good times - we assume they'll last forever. We let greed dominate our intelligence and always look for just a little more. It's like we park our thinking ability. I suppose it makes stock markets function and real estate too, but it does seem a little off.
In the end, we purchased a lovely new home, and one that we'll be very happy in. We didn't purchase a few other homes though, and have left sellers probably wondering what happened. In short - they happened. I'd bet they don't see it that way though. I wish them luck finding another buyer whose expectations coincidentally match their own.
In a sense, I wish I'd delayed wring my previous post until after I had gone through this experience. A couple observations I might offer:
- It's hard being a buyer
- Sellers rarely adopt the buyer perspective, and instead are caught up in what their own world is about
- While buyers actually set the sale price, a seller can be very difficult to move away from preconceived notions of value
- With a finite supply, the invisible market forces have areal impact on buyer behavior
A few common themes emerged in this exercise to what I see in business everyday. Sellers weren't adopting the buying perspective; Sellers had a concept of the value of goods that they offered, and were unable or unwilling to match that to the buyers concept; when a deal was offered and rejected, there was a blind belief that there might always to more from another party around the corner.
This last item is of particular interest, and I always think of it as the herd effect. When we see good times - we assume they'll last forever. We let greed dominate our intelligence and always look for just a little more. It's like we park our thinking ability. I suppose it makes stock markets function and real estate too, but it does seem a little off.
In the end, we purchased a lovely new home, and one that we'll be very happy in. We didn't purchase a few other homes though, and have left sellers probably wondering what happened. In short - they happened. I'd bet they don't see it that way though. I wish them luck finding another buyer whose expectations coincidentally match their own.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Selling Your Home - The Business & the Emotional Rollercoaster
Ever sold your home ?
Doing so requires putting a piece of yourself out there for all to see, inspect and judge. Buyers look at the quality, design and execution of the house as a piece of meat. While emotions can and do get involved, buyers often repeat the real estate mantra (location, location, location) to themselves quietly so as not to get over-awed by your personal choice of colours, sofa, or flooring choice.
It's a game of distraction and decoys, as houses can get staged so that they look like an
"ideal-home" one might view in a magazine or a TV set. Indeed we have baskets of green apples for show, a vase of lemons and quite specifically arranged towels. Garbage cans are hidden away, the way clocks are absent in casinos - lest we be reminded of the real world around us. These props are supposed to foster in our buyer a feeling of how excellent their own life will be should they live in your house.
The improvements made to get the defined result of a high price drive out a curious response in the owner - rarely does a house retain its 100% clean, staged look in our everyday lives - no laundry to be done, no dishes to be cleaned and an expectation that some movie star will round the next corner. It's enough to make the seller want to stay - to fall in love with their home all over again. Uttered frequently is the "we should have done this before" statement, though clearly there was never time, desire or thought to do so. The work involved in maintaining this staged state is high however. Any real house-work has to be done clandestinely, just in case someone comes by on short notice. So the beauty of what you have is stress-filled - just like anything in life I suppose.
The seller can't get emotional, while hoping the buyer does to put price secondary to desire, and the buyer shouldn't get emotional, and instead needs to see a house's flaws to keep the price low. In many way this parallels any other business transaction and all comes back to whatever rules the day - the head, or the heart.
PS - Wanna buy a house ?
Doing so requires putting a piece of yourself out there for all to see, inspect and judge. Buyers look at the quality, design and execution of the house as a piece of meat. While emotions can and do get involved, buyers often repeat the real estate mantra (location, location, location) to themselves quietly so as not to get over-awed by your personal choice of colours, sofa, or flooring choice.
It's a game of distraction and decoys, as houses can get staged so that they look like an
"ideal-home" one might view in a magazine or a TV set. Indeed we have baskets of green apples for show, a vase of lemons and quite specifically arranged towels. Garbage cans are hidden away, the way clocks are absent in casinos - lest we be reminded of the real world around us. These props are supposed to foster in our buyer a feeling of how excellent their own life will be should they live in your house.The improvements made to get the defined result of a high price drive out a curious response in the owner - rarely does a house retain its 100% clean, staged look in our everyday lives - no laundry to be done, no dishes to be cleaned and an expectation that some movie star will round the next corner. It's enough to make the seller want to stay - to fall in love with their home all over again. Uttered frequently is the "we should have done this before" statement, though clearly there was never time, desire or thought to do so. The work involved in maintaining this staged state is high however. Any real house-work has to be done clandestinely, just in case someone comes by on short notice. So the beauty of what you have is stress-filled - just like anything in life I suppose.
The seller can't get emotional, while hoping the buyer does to put price secondary to desire, and the buyer shouldn't get emotional, and instead needs to see a house's flaws to keep the price low. In many way this parallels any other business transaction and all comes back to whatever rules the day - the head, or the heart.
PS - Wanna buy a house ?
Monday, May 17, 2010
What are your Limits ?
A friend has suggested we climb Kilimanjaro this summer, or more precisely winter as it lay just below the equator. We'd go with our sons and it would be an experience of a lifetime. As this sounds a fantastic challenge and something well worth doing, I've been doing some research on it.
Kilimanjaro is 4th amongst the seven sisters - highest peaks on each continent and is an achievable objective without strong mountaineering skill. It's exceeded in height only by Everest, McKinley and Aconcagua in Asia, North and South America respectively. It's an inactive* volcano (that's what the experts think anyway!) and is 5895 meters tall, or 19,341 feet. Anything over 17,000 feet is generally considered to be extreme altitude, so its still not something that should be approached lightly. It's large enough to create its own weather system, and is one of the world's largest free standing mountains.
Ascents are guided, and porter-assisted. They range in length from five days to ten days, and the longer time depends on route taken and the time spent to acclimatize to the altitude - the longer you take, the better your chances of summitting. That's the goal, as it would be a tremendous shame if you didn't summit, having trained, planned and so on for the months previous.
That's really the place my own head is at now with this adventure in mind...what's my limit, and what's the limit of those I'll climb with. We regularly hike together, and living for a week in a tent is something we do for fun. (At this point as a Canadian, we normally break into Monty Python's "Lumberjack song" but I wasn't sure how to embed the sound clip.) The hardship of being away from civilization isn't concerning, and I've been to Africa more than a few times, so know what to expect there too. The concern keeping me thinking is how we'll deal with the extreme stress when our foggy, oxygen deprived brains tell us to stop, but our will wants to push forwards and upwards. At the heart of it, that is what makes this effort a defining one.
The nature of pushing yourself to the limits of your ability to cope - and the idea that this is considered a desirable thing to pursue...that's interesting on so many levels. There are obviously parallels in other parts of our lives - any moment of significant changes, but when it's attractive just for the sake of it..hmm. One of the things that stuck with me from my youth that I'll randomly attribute (incorrectly I'm sure) to Sir Edmund Hillary was the answer to the question as to why to climb Everest - "Because it's there". As an answer, it's simple, it's elegant, and it's accurate. It's why I want to go to Kilimanjaro - because I want to be there and overcome the obstacle.
The climb as I've become boringly fond of saying begins today.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Highs & Lows
It's been a funny week. Funny-odd actually. Some great developments and some sad ones.
I was able to help a close friend as he moved. While he ultimately didn't take on-board my suggestions for the organization of the dishes (Which I didn't take personally), I know that leaving his new place with a bed set up, boxes unloaded and gone, and an ability to actually see the floor in most of his new home is a huge accomplishment. For anyone that's moved, you know it's a big job - one that easily overwhelms and depends tremendously on good attitude, a strong work ethic and an ability to organize one's thoughts and stuff. It sounds a lot like work. It was terribly rewarding personally to help, and know that I was able to make a difference. That was a real high-point in the week.
At the other end of the spectrum, someone close to me hit a financial wall, and seemed about to be homeless. Very sad as it was the result of their own mismanagement and choices, and it's always pity to see someone get themselves in that situation. It brought out a very paternal response in me (it wasn't one of my kids), as it always seems the right choice for me is to teach someone to survive, rather than carry them through difficult times. It's really tough to let someone go through this though, as part of the process is hitting the wall. We learn best from our mistakes, and if we rescue someone...then the implications of their mistakes never materialize and they don't learn and won't avoid this in future. So, tough emotional times when your brain thinks it knows the answer, but your heart wants to do something else.
And I've been studying..that's happily a positive thing. Learning new things, becoming competent in new skills. It seems a luxury to spend time doing dedicated learning, and I have enjoyed it. Like physical exercise, I've always found that pushing your brain on an ongoing basis is a great way to maintain mental health (and balance, well being etc). I highly encourage it and it can take different forms - an evening reading on your favorite topic, cooking classes, yoga or whatever. Always keep pushing yourself.
Will next week be different. And the same. That's just life.
I was able to help a close friend as he moved. While he ultimately didn't take on-board my suggestions for the organization of the dishes (Which I didn't take personally), I know that leaving his new place with a bed set up, boxes unloaded and gone, and an ability to actually see the floor in most of his new home is a huge accomplishment. For anyone that's moved, you know it's a big job - one that easily overwhelms and depends tremendously on good attitude, a strong work ethic and an ability to organize one's thoughts and stuff. It sounds a lot like work. It was terribly rewarding personally to help, and know that I was able to make a difference. That was a real high-point in the week.
At the other end of the spectrum, someone close to me hit a financial wall, and seemed about to be homeless. Very sad as it was the result of their own mismanagement and choices, and it's always pity to see someone get themselves in that situation. It brought out a very paternal response in me (it wasn't one of my kids), as it always seems the right choice for me is to teach someone to survive, rather than carry them through difficult times. It's really tough to let someone go through this though, as part of the process is hitting the wall. We learn best from our mistakes, and if we rescue someone...then the implications of their mistakes never materialize and they don't learn and won't avoid this in future. So, tough emotional times when your brain thinks it knows the answer, but your heart wants to do something else.
And I've been studying..that's happily a positive thing. Learning new things, becoming competent in new skills. It seems a luxury to spend time doing dedicated learning, and I have enjoyed it. Like physical exercise, I've always found that pushing your brain on an ongoing basis is a great way to maintain mental health (and balance, well being etc). I highly encourage it and it can take different forms - an evening reading on your favorite topic, cooking classes, yoga or whatever. Always keep pushing yourself.
Will next week be different. And the same. That's just life.
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