Which will it be? If you have been in the sales business 6 months or 25 years, the coming year is certain to have landmines for you and your clientele. You will need to be on offense and defense. Surveillance, intelligence and strategy are your mantras. Leadership as a given. Communication is vital. Sounds like a military position?
When our military is in a situation of protecting our interest, are they risking their lives for themselves or for a higher cause? A miscalculation would not be a simple mathematical error as with a financial projection. A bad decision could cost them their life. It’s a serious proposition. Do we feel the same weight of responsibility in working with our clients and other professionals?
Question: When you look at the year ahead, do you feel any higher sense of accountability, or will it be business as usual? Will you be a sales rep…or a change agent?
Some may believe that a “change agent” is the clone of a “rainmaker” (see ZDT post dated 10-14-2010). But, while the change agent is seeking effective/measurable change (not just the goal of change); the rainmaker is more concerned with production, achievement and accomplishment.
Note: These qualities can certainly be within the same person.
How various contributors view change agents:
“Being a change agent is as more about identity and character than it is about definitions.”
“A change agent looks as much to the future, as they do the present.” To a certain extent, a change agent is dissatisfied with what they see around them, in favor of a much better vision of the future.
“A change agent is fueled by passion, inspires passion in others and realizes that it will require hard work.” It takes a lot of energy.
“A change agent has a strong ability to self-motivate.” The change agent needs to find it within themselves to get up every day and go to work and risk being misunderstood and not appreciated, knowing that the real validation may be far in the future and could even be claimed by someone else.
“A change agent serves people.” This kind of change is about people. If you change everything but the people, you will be ineffective as a change agent. Change will really "stick" when people buy-in. In all, change is part sales, part counseling and part encouragement. It's all about the care and feeding of people.
And further, from the HBR authors:
As a change agent, do you see opportunities the competition doesn't see?
The most successful companies don't just out-compete their rivals.
They redefine the terms of competition by creating unique ideas in a world of “me-too” thinking.
Do you have new ideas about where to look for new ideas?
Ideas that are routine in one industry can be revolutionary when they move their template to another industry.
Are you the most of anything?
You can't be "pretty good" at everything anymore. You need to be the most of something: e.g. the most affordable, the most accessible, the most elegant, the most colorful, or the most transparent.
Can your customers live without you?
One of the make-or-break challenges for change agents is to become irreplaceable in the eyes of their customers.
Are you consistent in your commitment to be a change agent?
The problem with many organizations is that all they do is change. They lurch from one consulting firm to the next, from the most recent management fad to the newest. Your priorities and practices need to stay consistent in good times and bad to build trust.
Are you learning as fast as the world is changing?In a world that never stops transforming, change agents can never stop learning. How do you push yourself as an individual to keep growing and evolving, so that your audiences will do the same?
Credits and full article:
HBR Contributor: William C. Taylor is cofounder of Fast Company magazine.
http://blogs.hbr.org/taylor/2009/06/the_10_questions_every_change.html
ZDT Author’s comment:
In summary…will you begin this year seeing your role as a rep or an agent…or someone with a much higher calling, vision and mission…a change agent?
It could be a game changing decision for this New Year. And remember, this could apply to anyone since we are all selling something.
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Friday, December 31, 2010
Thursday, December 30, 2010
New Year’s Resolutions: Make a Plan not a Promise
Re-Posted with permission:
Peter J. Weiss, Wellness Evangelist, is an internal medicine physician and former health plan CEO. He is author of More Health Less Care and can be reached at More Health, Less Care: Building America’s Wellness System.
I hope you had a Merry Christmas and we’re looking at New Year’s Eve coming up. It’s the middle of the holiday season, and I want you to have a happy new year. I’d like to talk to you about New Year’s resolutions today because hopefully you haven’t made any yet.
So many New Year’s resolutions fail. People say, “I’m going to do this. I’m going to lose twenty pounds. I’m going to eat differently. I’m going to start working out. I’m going to go to the gym. I’m going to do this, that or the other thing.”
They embark on this “new thing” on January first and by Valentine’s Day it’s all over. They haven’t made it and then they beat themselves up emotionally and say, “I’ve got low willpower. I’m a weak person. I can’t do it.” And that just makes it harder to change.
I don’t want you to repeat that cycle. I don’t want you to go through this cycle of making a promise to yourself that you can’t deliver on, not delivering on it, and then beating yourself up which makes it that much harder to change in the future. I’d like to see you change for the better.
There are two problems with most resolutions:
1) They don’t represent a commitment to most people
2) Most people don’t have a good enough plan to make it happen
Often a resolution is like a casual promise that “I’m going to do it,” but there’s not a lot of depth behind the promise. People haven’t put the same kind of commitment to it that they would put into other major decisions in life.
In my book, More Health Less Care, I talk about thinking about this like enlisting in the military, getting married or buying a house. Those are huge commitments. You can’t get out of them easily. You’re going forward, and there are consequences to commitments like those. So that’s the way I’d like you to think about your New Year’s resolution.
If you’re going to make one, make it at a serious level. This is going to require a lot of thought, a lot of reflection, maybe even meditation and prayer, and you might not even want to make it on New Year’s. You might want to wait a little bit to make sure you’re really ready to make the commitment.
And as you’re thinking about this, you can begin to think about, “What concrete steps am I actually going to take to build this into my life in such a way that it is going to work? That it’s not going to fail the way things have failed for me before?”
Then you can begin to build a plan, a plan to make it work and a plan to adjust if it’s not quite working the way you want as opposed to just quitting.
When you have a plan and a commitment, then you’re ready to move ahead. But until then, don’t make a resolution because it’s really not that helpful and could be harmful as we’ve talked about.
When you’re ready…go for it. You can do it.
Article and credits:
http://www.drpeterjweiss.com/2010/12/new-years-resolutions-make-a-plan-not-a-promise.html#
ZDT Author’s comments:
Excellent article, and to the point. Again, why even make a New Year’s resolution (decision) if there is no commitment to carry it out?
Peter J. Weiss, Wellness Evangelist, is an internal medicine physician and former health plan CEO. He is author of More Health Less Care and can be reached at More Health, Less Care: Building America’s Wellness System.
I hope you had a Merry Christmas and we’re looking at New Year’s Eve coming up. It’s the middle of the holiday season, and I want you to have a happy new year. I’d like to talk to you about New Year’s resolutions today because hopefully you haven’t made any yet.
So many New Year’s resolutions fail. People say, “I’m going to do this. I’m going to lose twenty pounds. I’m going to eat differently. I’m going to start working out. I’m going to go to the gym. I’m going to do this, that or the other thing.”
They embark on this “new thing” on January first and by Valentine’s Day it’s all over. They haven’t made it and then they beat themselves up emotionally and say, “I’ve got low willpower. I’m a weak person. I can’t do it.” And that just makes it harder to change.
I don’t want you to repeat that cycle. I don’t want you to go through this cycle of making a promise to yourself that you can’t deliver on, not delivering on it, and then beating yourself up which makes it that much harder to change in the future. I’d like to see you change for the better.
There are two problems with most resolutions:
1) They don’t represent a commitment to most people
2) Most people don’t have a good enough plan to make it happen
Often a resolution is like a casual promise that “I’m going to do it,” but there’s not a lot of depth behind the promise. People haven’t put the same kind of commitment to it that they would put into other major decisions in life.
In my book, More Health Less Care, I talk about thinking about this like enlisting in the military, getting married or buying a house. Those are huge commitments. You can’t get out of them easily. You’re going forward, and there are consequences to commitments like those. So that’s the way I’d like you to think about your New Year’s resolution.
If you’re going to make one, make it at a serious level. This is going to require a lot of thought, a lot of reflection, maybe even meditation and prayer, and you might not even want to make it on New Year’s. You might want to wait a little bit to make sure you’re really ready to make the commitment.
And as you’re thinking about this, you can begin to think about, “What concrete steps am I actually going to take to build this into my life in such a way that it is going to work? That it’s not going to fail the way things have failed for me before?”
Then you can begin to build a plan, a plan to make it work and a plan to adjust if it’s not quite working the way you want as opposed to just quitting.
When you have a plan and a commitment, then you’re ready to move ahead. But until then, don’t make a resolution because it’s really not that helpful and could be harmful as we’ve talked about.
When you’re ready…go for it. You can do it.
Article and credits:
http://www.drpeterjweiss.com/2010/12/new-years-resolutions-make-a-plan-not-a-promise.html#
ZDT Author’s comments:
Excellent article, and to the point. Again, why even make a New Year’s resolution (decision) if there is no commitment to carry it out?
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
The Best Decisions: Those We Must Live With
Re-posted by permission:
http://marxsoftware.blogspot.com/2010/12/best-decisions-are-those-we-must-live.html
We have all been the victims of others' poor decisions. This is especially painful when we, and not those making the decisions, are the victims. I have seen many times in my career a particularly bad idea was implemented because the person making the decision had no relevant experience to understand the consequences of his or her decision. These same people often do not have to implement the poor decision and therefore do not learn from their mistakes. In this post, I look at ways to reduce or avoid this cause/effect.
Most decision-makers (managers, leads, customers) want to succeed and try to make good decisions. The problem is that they may lack a full understanding of the total costs, risks, and the unintended consequences of a particular decision. It is sometimes sufficient to point out the total costs, the risks and the potential unintended consequences of the decision to head the poor decision off. Unfortunately, expressed risks, costs, and unintended consequences are often dismissed as overstated or not likely to be incurred.
Help or Allow the Decision Maker to Taste the Idea
A group of fellow developers and I stopped a particularly bad idea from being implemented when we helped the management team make the decision to visualize the true costs (time and schedule) of the decision. As they envisioned themselves implementing the onerous approach, they realized what we had been trying to tell them: their idea sounded good at first, but it was very inefficient when considering the realities of the tools we had at the time. Only when they pictured themselves waiting on this tool to run did they understand how inefficient their idea really was.
It is more effective when the decision maker has to personally experience the negative consequences of a particular idea…helping them imagine it is the next best thing. If imagining the consequences of the decision is not enough, it may be possible to implement a solution on a trial basis without a back out plan. This allows only minimal loss to be incurred until the decision maker realizes the downside. The actual experience or realistic imagining can help make the costs, risks, and unintended consequences more "real" or more concrete to the decision maker. It’s like a simulation exercise.
Enlist Recognized Experts
If the significance of a decision warrants it, it may be advisable to bring in a colleague who is a recognized authority or expert in the particular area to provide credibility to your argument. Such outside influence will be most effective if the person brought in has real life experience with something similar to the decision being made.
Recognize Your Own Deficiencies
It is also important to realize that everyone makes mistakes and everyone is limited based on lack of experience or knowledge in certain areas. Especially in the case where peers do not seem to agree with our position, we should ask ourselves, "Am I the one with the bad idea here?"
Leave the Situation
In the most severe cases of a pending poor decision, when all else fails, it may be advisable to remove oneself from the situation entirely. If the results of the decision are highly likely to lead to significant negative consequences that the decision maker does not have to deal with, it may be best for the potentially affected developer to make sure that he or she will not be the victim of the decision either. Removing oneself from the situation may be as easy as working on a different part of the project.
It's Easier to Choose Poorly When It Impacts Someone Else
The decisions that I have been most disappointed with and most frustrated with in my career have generally been made by people who don't have to live with the consequences of the decision. It's all too easy to avoid the effort involved in researching an issue and thinking about the wide range of choices and associated consequences (obvious and unintended) when one knows that he or she is not the one who suffers from being not putting in the requisite labor.
When we don't have to live with the consequences of our decisions, it changes what we think is the best decision. I contend that we will generally make the best decisions when we have a stake in the outcome. When we envision how we would implement a decision ourselves, we start to realize more fully how good or bad the decision is.
Conclusion
There are few things more frustrating to a software developer than being the victim of particularly poor decisions whose negative consequences are obvious to everyone but the decision maker. Assuming that the decision maker really has the organization's or client's best interests at heart, one important step to helping that person make a better decision is to help that person better understand how the organization or client is severely and negatively impacted by that decision. In cases where the decision maker only cares about himself or herself, it probably won't matter how bad the consequences are if he or she will not be affected by those consequences.
I think most people would agree that decisions and plans are best implemented when the people who must implement them take ownership of the decision. Therefore, it's fairly obvious that decision makers should get buy-in from the would-be owners of the decision's implementation. When decision makers don't get buy-in from those implementing the decision, the implementation may be found lacking. Getting buy-in from the implementers of a decision is also important because the very process of doing so may help the decision maker make a better, more informed decision.
Posted by Dustin Marx at 8:54 AM on Dec 27, 2010
ZDT Author’s Comments:
We have selected what we consider the key issues here to shorten the size of the post. For the full article, please see the credit line above.
A different POV.
http://marxsoftware.blogspot.com/2010/12/best-decisions-are-those-we-must-live.html
We have all been the victims of others' poor decisions. This is especially painful when we, and not those making the decisions, are the victims. I have seen many times in my career a particularly bad idea was implemented because the person making the decision had no relevant experience to understand the consequences of his or her decision. These same people often do not have to implement the poor decision and therefore do not learn from their mistakes. In this post, I look at ways to reduce or avoid this cause/effect.
Most decision-makers (managers, leads, customers) want to succeed and try to make good decisions. The problem is that they may lack a full understanding of the total costs, risks, and the unintended consequences of a particular decision. It is sometimes sufficient to point out the total costs, the risks and the potential unintended consequences of the decision to head the poor decision off. Unfortunately, expressed risks, costs, and unintended consequences are often dismissed as overstated or not likely to be incurred.
Help or Allow the Decision Maker to Taste the Idea
A group of fellow developers and I stopped a particularly bad idea from being implemented when we helped the management team make the decision to visualize the true costs (time and schedule) of the decision. As they envisioned themselves implementing the onerous approach, they realized what we had been trying to tell them: their idea sounded good at first, but it was very inefficient when considering the realities of the tools we had at the time. Only when they pictured themselves waiting on this tool to run did they understand how inefficient their idea really was.
It is more effective when the decision maker has to personally experience the negative consequences of a particular idea…helping them imagine it is the next best thing. If imagining the consequences of the decision is not enough, it may be possible to implement a solution on a trial basis without a back out plan. This allows only minimal loss to be incurred until the decision maker realizes the downside. The actual experience or realistic imagining can help make the costs, risks, and unintended consequences more "real" or more concrete to the decision maker. It’s like a simulation exercise.
Enlist Recognized Experts
If the significance of a decision warrants it, it may be advisable to bring in a colleague who is a recognized authority or expert in the particular area to provide credibility to your argument. Such outside influence will be most effective if the person brought in has real life experience with something similar to the decision being made.
Recognize Your Own Deficiencies
It is also important to realize that everyone makes mistakes and everyone is limited based on lack of experience or knowledge in certain areas. Especially in the case where peers do not seem to agree with our position, we should ask ourselves, "Am I the one with the bad idea here?"
Leave the Situation
In the most severe cases of a pending poor decision, when all else fails, it may be advisable to remove oneself from the situation entirely. If the results of the decision are highly likely to lead to significant negative consequences that the decision maker does not have to deal with, it may be best for the potentially affected developer to make sure that he or she will not be the victim of the decision either. Removing oneself from the situation may be as easy as working on a different part of the project.
It's Easier to Choose Poorly When It Impacts Someone Else
The decisions that I have been most disappointed with and most frustrated with in my career have generally been made by people who don't have to live with the consequences of the decision. It's all too easy to avoid the effort involved in researching an issue and thinking about the wide range of choices and associated consequences (obvious and unintended) when one knows that he or she is not the one who suffers from being not putting in the requisite labor.
When we don't have to live with the consequences of our decisions, it changes what we think is the best decision. I contend that we will generally make the best decisions when we have a stake in the outcome. When we envision how we would implement a decision ourselves, we start to realize more fully how good or bad the decision is.
Conclusion
There are few things more frustrating to a software developer than being the victim of particularly poor decisions whose negative consequences are obvious to everyone but the decision maker. Assuming that the decision maker really has the organization's or client's best interests at heart, one important step to helping that person make a better decision is to help that person better understand how the organization or client is severely and negatively impacted by that decision. In cases where the decision maker only cares about himself or herself, it probably won't matter how bad the consequences are if he or she will not be affected by those consequences.
I think most people would agree that decisions and plans are best implemented when the people who must implement them take ownership of the decision. Therefore, it's fairly obvious that decision makers should get buy-in from the would-be owners of the decision's implementation. When decision makers don't get buy-in from those implementing the decision, the implementation may be found lacking. Getting buy-in from the implementers of a decision is also important because the very process of doing so may help the decision maker make a better, more informed decision.
Posted by Dustin Marx at 8:54 AM on Dec 27, 2010
ZDT Author’s Comments:
We have selected what we consider the key issues here to shorten the size of the post. For the full article, please see the credit line above.
A different POV.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Debt Decisions
“If your outgo exceeds your income, your upkeep becomes your downfall.”
“Debt is related to greed. It becomes the opposite of giving. Debt is exhausting the future to fill the present. Giving is empting the present to fill up the future.”
“The wicked borrows and does not repay, but the honorable shows mercy and gives.”
“You shall lend to many Nations, but you shall not borrow.”
“The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.”
“Asset values rise and fall, but the debt total remains the same.”
“A person in debt is the definition of a slave” (the same is true for nations).
“Debt is the curse of slavery of the free.”
“Debt is the fatal disease of republics, the first thing and the mightiest to undermine governments and to corrupt the people.”
“A national debt, if it is not excessive, will be to us a national blessing…yet excessive, a national catastrophe.”
“A small debt produces a debtor; a large one, a terrible enemy.”
ZDT Author’s Note: The above are only a few meaningful quotes that could be food for New Year resolutions for individuals, entities and governments for the coming year.
We are recording them to remind ourselves (and any readers) how the simple things still continue to confound the wise, and that the subject, consequences and principles of debt have not changed since the beginning.
“Debt is related to greed. It becomes the opposite of giving. Debt is exhausting the future to fill the present. Giving is empting the present to fill up the future.”
“The wicked borrows and does not repay, but the honorable shows mercy and gives.”
“You shall lend to many Nations, but you shall not borrow.”
“The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.”
“Asset values rise and fall, but the debt total remains the same.”
“A person in debt is the definition of a slave” (the same is true for nations).
“Debt is the curse of slavery of the free.”
“Debt is the fatal disease of republics, the first thing and the mightiest to undermine governments and to corrupt the people.”
“A national debt, if it is not excessive, will be to us a national blessing…yet excessive, a national catastrophe.”
“A small debt produces a debtor; a large one, a terrible enemy.”
ZDT Author’s Note: The above are only a few meaningful quotes that could be food for New Year resolutions for individuals, entities and governments for the coming year.
We are recording them to remind ourselves (and any readers) how the simple things still continue to confound the wise, and that the subject, consequences and principles of debt have not changed since the beginning.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Getting ready, to get ready, to get ready…
We all know people like this. They will circle the wagon endlessly. (Hey, it could be us?)
The telling signs:
A salesperson with educational plaques and certificates all over the wall who can’t meet minimum production requirements
A business owner without a written plan
Someone who simply will not discuss the subject of eternity
Someone who truly believes that a broken relationship will heal itself without serious self examination and adjustment
One who will not return calls or messages
One who avoids the decisioning process like its poison
You get the picture. It’s the problem of procrastination, evasion or escape. Hardly a mantle to be proud of.
After seeing these signs repeatedly over the years, the best response I’ve ever seen…is “fight or flight.”
Unfortunately on the flight side, when one gets to the point of decision, and simply will not rethink or make the effort to fight in any capacity…that generally results in a defeated or illusionary condition.
There are two types of fights. One is for show. The other is to win.
Not much has ever been achieved by avoidance of action. Today is an ominous environment. It takes fortitude to get out of any ditch. This one starts with acknowledgment and proactive effort to win this fight.
Why bring this up? Sadly, I have some friends who have, over the years, repeatedly used these excuses rather than to actually produce something. And now, it has lead to a life of catch up. They are engulfed in “get rich quick” schemes, pyramids and deals. So, unfortunately, they will have to be avoided.
Bottom line: Consider adopting a method or system to help you in the fight and confront decisions on a timely basis, rather than a life of flight, that could easily land you in the wrong place.
The telling signs:
A salesperson with educational plaques and certificates all over the wall who can’t meet minimum production requirements
A business owner without a written plan
Someone who simply will not discuss the subject of eternity
Someone who truly believes that a broken relationship will heal itself without serious self examination and adjustment
One who will not return calls or messages
One who avoids the decisioning process like its poison
You get the picture. It’s the problem of procrastination, evasion or escape. Hardly a mantle to be proud of.
After seeing these signs repeatedly over the years, the best response I’ve ever seen…is “fight or flight.”
Unfortunately on the flight side, when one gets to the point of decision, and simply will not rethink or make the effort to fight in any capacity…that generally results in a defeated or illusionary condition.
There are two types of fights. One is for show. The other is to win.
Not much has ever been achieved by avoidance of action. Today is an ominous environment. It takes fortitude to get out of any ditch. This one starts with acknowledgment and proactive effort to win this fight.
Why bring this up? Sadly, I have some friends who have, over the years, repeatedly used these excuses rather than to actually produce something. And now, it has lead to a life of catch up. They are engulfed in “get rich quick” schemes, pyramids and deals. So, unfortunately, they will have to be avoided.
Bottom line: Consider adopting a method or system to help you in the fight and confront decisions on a timely basis, rather than a life of flight, that could easily land you in the wrong place.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
It’s a Marketing War
It would seem that we are quoting the obvious, but today we can’t take anything for granted. We can look at various sectors of our government, industrial, social and religious organizations to find that many of these are not aware of or acknowledge that they are in a war for their very existence.
In Marketing Warfare, Al Ries and Jack Trout (marketing experts) argue that marketing is war and that the marketing concept’s customer-oriented philosophy is inadequate. Rather, firms would do better by becoming competitor-oriented. If the key to success were to introduce products closest to those wanted by customers, then the market leader simply would be the firm that performed the best market research. Clearly, much more is required.
There is much that marketers can learn from military strategy. Ries and Trout tell the story of several famous battles in history that illustrate lessons of warfare. These battles range from Marathon in 490 B.C. when the Greeks used the phalanx to defeat the more numerous Persian invaders, to the Normandy invasion of the Second World War.
The lessons from these famous battles illustrate the strategies of planning, maneuvering, and overpowering the opposing side. These principles are relevant not only to warfare, but also to marketing.
Considering this concept, there are valuable lessons, tactics and decisions that can help business owners weather the economic battlefield they are now facing.
What do many great leaders do when they realize they are going to war, or already in one? First, they determine to fight or flight. Then, if they fight, they have to make some hard decisions. Here are just a few strategic considerations and determinations:
Decide who will be the leader
(Or leaders)
Identify the enemy (or target)
(Have you correctly identified who, what and where they are)
Before you make the commitment…be sure you have counted the cost
(“For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it”)
Decide if you will you go it alone or build a team (or an army)
(“There is wisdom in many counselors”)
Distinguish that the objective is either a game or a war
(One is for sport…the other is for keeps)
Consider if you will you seek guidance and/or help
(“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in times of trouble”)
Establish and communicate written strategic plans (including the SWOT exam)
(The emphasis here is “strategic [offense-defense]” with the goal to win)
Include: Responsibilities-Accountabilities-Actions-Contingencies
In summary, (back to Ries and Trout) they believe in having relatively few people involved in the strategic process. They believe the organization needs a strong marketing “general” to formulate the strategy from the tactical realities. An effective marketing general should have the following characteristics:
Flexibility: To adjust the strategy to the situation
Courage: To make a decision and stand by it
Boldness: To act without hesitation when the time is right
Know the facts: In order to formulate strategy from the ground up
Know the rules: But internalizing them so they can be forgotten
ZDT Question: Is it better to know you are in a war, and plan to win, or to take an “a-kicking” and never realize you were ever in one?
In Marketing Warfare, Al Ries and Jack Trout (marketing experts) argue that marketing is war and that the marketing concept’s customer-oriented philosophy is inadequate. Rather, firms would do better by becoming competitor-oriented. If the key to success were to introduce products closest to those wanted by customers, then the market leader simply would be the firm that performed the best market research. Clearly, much more is required.
There is much that marketers can learn from military strategy. Ries and Trout tell the story of several famous battles in history that illustrate lessons of warfare. These battles range from Marathon in 490 B.C. when the Greeks used the phalanx to defeat the more numerous Persian invaders, to the Normandy invasion of the Second World War.
The lessons from these famous battles illustrate the strategies of planning, maneuvering, and overpowering the opposing side. These principles are relevant not only to warfare, but also to marketing.
Considering this concept, there are valuable lessons, tactics and decisions that can help business owners weather the economic battlefield they are now facing.
What do many great leaders do when they realize they are going to war, or already in one? First, they determine to fight or flight. Then, if they fight, they have to make some hard decisions. Here are just a few strategic considerations and determinations:
Decide who will be the leader
(Or leaders)
Identify the enemy (or target)
(Have you correctly identified who, what and where they are)
Before you make the commitment…be sure you have counted the cost
(“For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it”)
Decide if you will you go it alone or build a team (or an army)
(“There is wisdom in many counselors”)
Distinguish that the objective is either a game or a war
(One is for sport…the other is for keeps)
Consider if you will you seek guidance and/or help
(“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in times of trouble”)
Establish and communicate written strategic plans (including the SWOT exam)
(The emphasis here is “strategic [offense-defense]” with the goal to win)
Include: Responsibilities-Accountabilities-Actions-Contingencies
In summary, (back to Ries and Trout) they believe in having relatively few people involved in the strategic process. They believe the organization needs a strong marketing “general” to formulate the strategy from the tactical realities. An effective marketing general should have the following characteristics:
Flexibility: To adjust the strategy to the situation
Courage: To make a decision and stand by it
Boldness: To act without hesitation when the time is right
Know the facts: In order to formulate strategy from the ground up
Know the rules: But internalizing them so they can be forgotten
ZDT Question: Is it better to know you are in a war, and plan to win, or to take an “a-kicking” and never realize you were ever in one?
Monday, December 20, 2010
What If “All Sales Were Final?”
Why do we ever see these notices anyway? Is it…defective merchandise...loss leaders…inventory clearance…going out of business?
What if you are the buyer in this exaggeration? You would have different levels of response based on the cost or value of an item. Getting home with an ill fitting dress worth $59 is one thing, but driving home a malfunctioning car valued at $33,000 is quite another predicament. You would have no recourse in either situation.
In this case as a buyer, you would know that the minute you swiped that card, the product is yours for keeps. So, you would be apt to do more research, due diligence and reading buyer/consumer reports, etc. The bigger issue is that impulse buying would probably dry up, big purchases would slow down and the “returns” line would completely disappear. “Buyer’s remorse” would take on a whole new meaning, and Consumer Protection would become obsolete.
What if you are the seller, you would probably re-think everything you ever learned about selling. All you would need to do is to become the world’s best presenter and closer. Because once you handed over the item, your job is done. No loss to you over returns, lapses or disappointments.
A sale is a decision. The seller presents, and the buyer decides. There are several lessons that could be sited in this supposed situation, but let’s focus on just two.
The seller has an obligation to present the truth, and not deceive or misrepresent in order to make the sale, yet without some “limits,” it could be like driving a car at 120mph with no fear of a ticket. Today, we have clear guidlines, and lawyers to enforce them.
Conversely, the buyer has the responsibility to act in good faith. Example: At one electronics store, the clerk said they now have imposed a handsome restocking fee for buyers who purchase a $5000 TV to see the big game (as an example), and then bring it back the next day. Today, that trick could be replayed with most any product at any time.
The purpose of this exercise is to imagine what it might be like to have a “no fault” proposition in the world of selling, and to be thankful that we still have a free enterprise system with safeguards in these transactions.
So, this year during the season, when you see the long “returns” line beginning on 12-26-10…let’s be thankful for a free market system that still functions largely through responsible self governess…so far.
Just thinking.
What if you are the buyer in this exaggeration? You would have different levels of response based on the cost or value of an item. Getting home with an ill fitting dress worth $59 is one thing, but driving home a malfunctioning car valued at $33,000 is quite another predicament. You would have no recourse in either situation.
In this case as a buyer, you would know that the minute you swiped that card, the product is yours for keeps. So, you would be apt to do more research, due diligence and reading buyer/consumer reports, etc. The bigger issue is that impulse buying would probably dry up, big purchases would slow down and the “returns” line would completely disappear. “Buyer’s remorse” would take on a whole new meaning, and Consumer Protection would become obsolete.
What if you are the seller, you would probably re-think everything you ever learned about selling. All you would need to do is to become the world’s best presenter and closer. Because once you handed over the item, your job is done. No loss to you over returns, lapses or disappointments.
Question: Why would we pose such a scenario?
A sale is a decision. The seller presents, and the buyer decides. There are several lessons that could be sited in this supposed situation, but let’s focus on just two.
The seller has an obligation to present the truth, and not deceive or misrepresent in order to make the sale, yet without some “limits,” it could be like driving a car at 120mph with no fear of a ticket. Today, we have clear guidlines, and lawyers to enforce them.
Conversely, the buyer has the responsibility to act in good faith. Example: At one electronics store, the clerk said they now have imposed a handsome restocking fee for buyers who purchase a $5000 TV to see the big game (as an example), and then bring it back the next day. Today, that trick could be replayed with most any product at any time.
The purpose of this exercise is to imagine what it might be like to have a “no fault” proposition in the world of selling, and to be thankful that we still have a free enterprise system with safeguards in these transactions.
So, this year during the season, when you see the long “returns” line beginning on 12-26-10…let’s be thankful for a free market system that still functions largely through responsible self governess…so far.
Just thinking.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
“I’m just not feeling it”
That statement can go in several directions. But, in the world of decisioning, it has a special meaning. When you look at the numerical stats from an extensive search on the net of how people decide, you will probably come to the same conclusion we did.
It’s right down the middle. Decisions made by gut feeling, instinct or emotion (subjective) versus decisions made by logic, facts or rationality (objective) are about 50/50.
Questions: Is one better than the other? Is one for one kind of decision and the other for another? Do guys versus dolls use one over the other? Can they be equally important? Left brain/right brain, and a zillion others?
In all, this is probably an unanswerable question as to absolutes. So, here is a practical suggestion: If you are prone to be heavy on one side or the other…borrow from the opposite side. In other words, if you tend to rely almost exclusively on your gut feelings in deciding on highly important issues…toss a good measure of logic and objectivity into the equation for a more balanced response…preferably using a proven model or system.
Remember, the goal here is not the right or wrong technique. The goal is the best possible decision.
If this seems too simple, it must be…you decide?
It’s right down the middle. Decisions made by gut feeling, instinct or emotion (subjective) versus decisions made by logic, facts or rationality (objective) are about 50/50.
Questions: Is one better than the other? Is one for one kind of decision and the other for another? Do guys versus dolls use one over the other? Can they be equally important? Left brain/right brain, and a zillion others?
In all, this is probably an unanswerable question as to absolutes. So, here is a practical suggestion: If you are prone to be heavy on one side or the other…borrow from the opposite side. In other words, if you tend to rely almost exclusively on your gut feelings in deciding on highly important issues…toss a good measure of logic and objectivity into the equation for a more balanced response…preferably using a proven model or system.
Remember, the goal here is not the right or wrong technique. The goal is the best possible decision.
If this seems too simple, it must be…you decide?
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Zillion Dollar Thought
Americans eat 18,000,000,000 hot dogs a year…since the first dog (worldwide)…Zillions.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
How to Increase Your Readership
The Decision to Read and Write
We all know folks who are top salespeople, professionals, business owners, parents and notable others. Although successful, many of them will not even read an email from top to bottom, let alone a full article, a book, a manual or a prospectus. There are several legitimate (and other) reasons to avoid real reading…such as:
I’m too busy
It’s boring
It takes me away from selling (or sleeping) time
The facts are confusing
I lost my concentration
My dog ate the email
The print was too small
I had other priorities
My computer crashed
Point is that today many of us are manufacturing reasons not to read. Just think, back in the day: No TV, radio, phone, computers…nothing but reading to get the point or message. Today, we have all the digital apps that allow us the best excuse yet; “just let technology solve it for us.” Not the ideal solution.
Congress gave us the best reading example this year with: “let’s pass the bill first, and then we can read it.” That is really scary when we consider that it probably will never be read, and now its law. What kind of a top down statement is that sending to us and our kids? There must be a better approach.
Maybe there is a mysterious connection to reading, and it could be writing? Consider that when you read, it’s tempting to stop short, skim, skip and/or read ahead. But, when you write, you have to cover it all from top to bottom and not skip any steps.
When you write, you create, connect, edit, stylize, organize and on and on. You are interactive with your subject. You are connecting. You are communicating. You are growing. You are thinking (more about what you are reading).
Consider reading with a more critical attitude, maybe with the idea that you will need to respond to or summarize what you are processing. The product could be that you become a better reader simply by approaching this subject from the writer’s perspective (left brain/right brain).
One up-shot of today’s networking communication is that we have to think through our comments and statements, and condense them into a relatively few words (e.g. Twitter). But, the longer version of authoring a blog, website or commenting on other blogs or articles is a great place to start developing your craft. It could lead to newsletters, columns, hard books, e-books and any number of other opportunities. Write-Read…Read-Write…
Summary: Writing could potentially make us better readers.
Worked for me…you decide.
We all know folks who are top salespeople, professionals, business owners, parents and notable others. Although successful, many of them will not even read an email from top to bottom, let alone a full article, a book, a manual or a prospectus. There are several legitimate (and other) reasons to avoid real reading…such as:
I’m too busy
It’s boring
It takes me away from selling (or sleeping) time
The facts are confusing
I lost my concentration
My dog ate the email
The print was too small
I had other priorities
My computer crashed
Point is that today many of us are manufacturing reasons not to read. Just think, back in the day: No TV, radio, phone, computers…nothing but reading to get the point or message. Today, we have all the digital apps that allow us the best excuse yet; “just let technology solve it for us.” Not the ideal solution.
Congress gave us the best reading example this year with: “let’s pass the bill first, and then we can read it.” That is really scary when we consider that it probably will never be read, and now its law. What kind of a top down statement is that sending to us and our kids? There must be a better approach.
Maybe there is a mysterious connection to reading, and it could be writing? Consider that when you read, it’s tempting to stop short, skim, skip and/or read ahead. But, when you write, you have to cover it all from top to bottom and not skip any steps.
When you write, you create, connect, edit, stylize, organize and on and on. You are interactive with your subject. You are connecting. You are communicating. You are growing. You are thinking (more about what you are reading).
Try this: “Read to the point of writing.”
Consider reading with a more critical attitude, maybe with the idea that you will need to respond to or summarize what you are processing. The product could be that you become a better reader simply by approaching this subject from the writer’s perspective (left brain/right brain).
One up-shot of today’s networking communication is that we have to think through our comments and statements, and condense them into a relatively few words (e.g. Twitter). But, the longer version of authoring a blog, website or commenting on other blogs or articles is a great place to start developing your craft. It could lead to newsletters, columns, hard books, e-books and any number of other opportunities. Write-Read…Read-Write…
Summary: Writing could potentially make us better readers.
Worked for me…you decide.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
A Model Decision
Practice Management
If you are a start up, new to the business (in business years), or you are still uncertain about the order and structure of your business…maybe a simple template could help?
We hate to repeatedly acknowledge that the Internet is rapidly becoming a tool for information overload. But, in many cases it’s true. That fact, added to all the other responsibilities a business owner maintains, can be overwhelming.
Point is, the bones of a basic business structure can get lost or shelved in the heat of battle. So, if that condition is real to you, consider the skeleton of this outline:
Your:
Mission: Maybe a verse about service (“Well done my good and faithful servant”)
Vision: A motivational statement (“Where there is no vision…people perish”)
Values: Develop a “Believability Quotient” (see last *ZDT post dated 12-06-10)
Goals: Short and long term (3-5 max…can’t spin too many dishes)
USP: Only you can make this claim (requires some research)
Meme: Your buy-in line of deliverables (funny name…but becoming a standard)
Expertise: Write articles, blogs and/or e-books (at the least…make comments)
Brand: Enduring, valuable, drivable and memorable (develops over years)
Worth considering?
Dollarize all of the above. Keep in your pocket.
* http://www.zilliondollarthinking.com/
If you are a start up, new to the business (in business years), or you are still uncertain about the order and structure of your business…maybe a simple template could help?
We hate to repeatedly acknowledge that the Internet is rapidly becoming a tool for information overload. But, in many cases it’s true. That fact, added to all the other responsibilities a business owner maintains, can be overwhelming.
Point is, the bones of a basic business structure can get lost or shelved in the heat of battle. So, if that condition is real to you, consider the skeleton of this outline:
Your:
Mission: Maybe a verse about service (“Well done my good and faithful servant”)
Vision: A motivational statement (“Where there is no vision…people perish”)
Values: Develop a “Believability Quotient” (see last *ZDT post dated 12-06-10)
Goals: Short and long term (3-5 max…can’t spin too many dishes)
USP: Only you can make this claim (requires some research)
Meme: Your buy-in line of deliverables (funny name…but becoming a standard)
Expertise: Write articles, blogs and/or e-books (at the least…make comments)
Brand: Enduring, valuable, drivable and memorable (develops over years)
Worth considering?
Dollarize all of the above. Keep in your pocket.
* http://www.zilliondollarthinking.com/
Monday, December 6, 2010
The Value of a Believability Quotient
If we are being presented to, we intuitively and rapidly calculate a believability category of the seller or presenter. Our buy-in response has much to do with that opinion, rather than the product or service. That can be good or bad.
Coming to a conclusion too quickly, or not quickly enough, can have unintended consequences. The dilemma is whether to rely on an immediate gut feeling or a more objective factual process. Time permitting, how about both?
Normally, the due diligence phase covers most of the sins of this stage. But, how many times has that step stopped short? The subtleties of urgency, feelings, motives, internal and external pressures, timing, and many other intangibles are seldom considered.
Point is, why not set up your own believability matrix? This single page idea could keep you, your friends and/or clients and their decisioning in a safe harbor mode in a variety of issues. Below is one example of a tangible chart:
Studying this example shows that using quadrants is a symbolic method to peg a credibility/believability level. In this graph, a “D4” rating immediately comes to mean that the subject is both objective and believable. If you are a manager, teacher or even a parent, could the efficiency and visualization of a single symbolic icon help you describe what the ideal person or solution should be?
As you consider adopting this methodology, see that this is simply a structure. You can re-design any quadrant according to what they represent to you as believability issues from your POV.
Question: Is this effort better than a pure gut feeling?
You decide.
Coming to a conclusion too quickly, or not quickly enough, can have unintended consequences. The dilemma is whether to rely on an immediate gut feeling or a more objective factual process. Time permitting, how about both?
Normally, the due diligence phase covers most of the sins of this stage. But, how many times has that step stopped short? The subtleties of urgency, feelings, motives, internal and external pressures, timing, and many other intangibles are seldom considered.
Point is, why not set up your own believability matrix? This single page idea could keep you, your friends and/or clients and their decisioning in a safe harbor mode in a variety of issues. Below is one example of a tangible chart:
As you consider adopting this methodology, see that this is simply a structure. You can re-design any quadrant according to what they represent to you as believability issues from your POV.
Question: Is this effort better than a pure gut feeling?
You decide.
We welcome any of your individual designs or comments.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
“Before we get started…May I ask you a question?”
The Seller begins by saying:
“We are likely to cover a lot of ground in our meeting today or in subsequent meetings, and at some point we will get to the place where a decision or decisions will need to be made.” Here’s the question:
Then the Buyer responds:
“Say what?”
As a seller...how many interviews have you initiated using this introduction? Based on market research, probably not many. But, considering the entire sales process, what could be more important than to have a decision track?
If the buyer has no basis or methodology for which they make a decision, how can the seller align their presentation and/or offering to gain an accurate decision? And, if the seller is not prepared with their own alternative model to introduce to the buyer, then maybe there is some homework to do.
By asking this question, the seller has plowed the fertile ground of decisioning with the buyer which should take the focus off of products and services and placing it squarely on the decision process.
There are scores of methods and techniques that anyone could snatch off the Internet. But, many are like the following:
Pareto Analysis
Paired Comparison
Analysis Grid PMI
Force Field Analysis
Six Thinking Hats
Starbursting
Stepladder Technique
Cost/Benefit Analysis
Decision Trees
These examples (and countless others) are obviously complicated and confusing simply by judging the titles. A more universal approach would be to adopt a model or system that most anyone could understand. That model could include (among others):
A tested and successfully proven system over several years
Works with both big and small issues and events...a universal system
Requires interactivity, agreement, effective and decisive communication
Ideally it would include a simple and transferable graphic element
It is logical, “easily and quickly” communicated and it develops trust
It is consultative rather than “hard selling” in delivery and presentation
It serves as a very early and continuing qualifier or eliminator
It works across most any industry market, product or service
It is a transferable model and can be understood at most ages
The added benefit of a model is that it will be much easier to track and break down any sales, presentation problem or issue by analyzing each step and their progressive requirements.
On the other hand, if by chance the buyer does have some form of methodology to guide them, you as the seller can get on the same page very quickly and both parties will realize that the entire sales process has been professionally elevated in that situation.
Even with the extra effort to execute and monitor this process, the goal in all of this should be more accurate and rewarding decisioning for both the buyer and the seller. That’s good for everyone.
“We are likely to cover a lot of ground in our meeting today or in subsequent meetings, and at some point we will get to the place where a decision or decisions will need to be made.” Here’s the question:
“When we come to that point, what system
or method will you use to help you make that decision?”
Then the Buyer responds:
“Say what?”
As a seller...how many interviews have you initiated using this introduction? Based on market research, probably not many. But, considering the entire sales process, what could be more important than to have a decision track?
If the buyer has no basis or methodology for which they make a decision, how can the seller align their presentation and/or offering to gain an accurate decision? And, if the seller is not prepared with their own alternative model to introduce to the buyer, then maybe there is some homework to do.
By asking this question, the seller has plowed the fertile ground of decisioning with the buyer which should take the focus off of products and services and placing it squarely on the decision process.
There are scores of methods and techniques that anyone could snatch off the Internet. But, many are like the following:
Pareto Analysis
Paired Comparison
Analysis Grid PMI
Force Field Analysis
Six Thinking Hats
Starbursting
Stepladder Technique
Cost/Benefit Analysis
Decision Trees
These examples (and countless others) are obviously complicated and confusing simply by judging the titles. A more universal approach would be to adopt a model or system that most anyone could understand. That model could include (among others):
A tested and successfully proven system over several years
Works with both big and small issues and events...a universal system
Requires interactivity, agreement, effective and decisive communication
Ideally it would include a simple and transferable graphic element
It is logical, “easily and quickly” communicated and it develops trust
It is consultative rather than “hard selling” in delivery and presentation
It serves as a very early and continuing qualifier or eliminator
It works across most any industry market, product or service
It is a transferable model and can be understood at most ages
The added benefit of a model is that it will be much easier to track and break down any sales, presentation problem or issue by analyzing each step and their progressive requirements.
On the other hand, if by chance the buyer does have some form of methodology to guide them, you as the seller can get on the same page very quickly and both parties will realize that the entire sales process has been professionally elevated in that situation.
Even with the extra effort to execute and monitor this process, the goal in all of this should be more accurate and rewarding decisioning for both the buyer and the seller. That’s good for everyone.
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