My initial reactions:

- With so much focus on the importance of a clean and sustainable environment, why are people still so frivolously still littering?
- I hope she doesn’t work in an office with other people – since she was smoking in her car with the windows up, she is going to STINK! Could she lack that much social and self awareness?
- As I saw her in the car, she also had her cell phone to her ear – are you joking? Smoking and talking on the phone – without bluetooth? Could you disregard safety on the road any more obnoxiously?

Sorry if it sounds like I am griping, but it struck me as very odd – and then I thought – GAP. There is always a gap between strategy and execution. In business, in teams, in countries and individuals. My story in this case:

- the woman did not consciously decide to jeopardize her safety and that of others when she started her drive to work
- she did not make an intentional decision to bring noxious odors to those around her, as a result of her smoking in a car with the windows closed
- she did have intentions of having a productive, safe, healthy day, in which she had positive and meaningful interactions with others

So, if what I believe to be true is the case, what happened and how do we get better at closing the gap?

Too often, I hear sales leaders talking about managing sales representatives, how they prospect, how the present, how they overcome objections, how they spend their time. It is as if managing people is a non stop, all the time effort. I often wonder how some sales leaders actually find time for strategic thinking and action, let alone helping reps get more effective at selling.

One big gap lies in the traditional approach to sales ‘training’: while many organizations spend time on some type(s) of analysis to uncover key skills, competencies and attributes of top sales representatives (with the aim of emulating those things and hiring people who have the same traits), the key insights the organization lacked were the actual Major Accomplishments that top sales representatives actually produced.

The impacts of this lack of transparency?

- wasted time coaching without results
- wasted time pulling reps out of the field for misplaced and misdirected training interventions
- unnecessary extra processes and procedures designed to ‘manage’ reps to producing better results (without clarity of what ‘better should actually look like’

The point is this: If sales leaders desire a top performing sales force (not just the standard 20% of the sales team), leaders need to first understand what success looks like (Strategic Intent and Alignment), identify the critical Major Accomplishments that lead to the defined success, align Business Processes that provide clear and smooth pathways for the reps (and the organization) to execute the Major Accomplishments, and a People Readiness strategy that positively influences the sales reps’ ability to produce the Major Accomplishments with regularity and without unneeded friction.

Manage the Processes.
Enable the People.

Create a high performing sales team.

If you’ve not yet been to Alchemy in Hampden, Maryland, it is worth the trip, and then some.

What I love about it:

- Humble, yet enthuisastic and hospitable staff, from the host/hostess and service staff to the chefs and management
- Outstanding food!
- Cozy and hip atmosphere
- They are very clear on their purpose – why the owners opened the restaurant and what they stand for – and this is apparent everywhere – from the decor to the staff interactions with customers.

JoAnn and I had lunch there this weekend – and so here is what blew me away –

- After ordering our food, we decided that we wanted soup (by the way, their Carmelized Onion Soup, with grueyere cheese is the best I’ve ever had!). Our waitress slid back our entrees to get the soup in between the appetizers and main lunch course.

- Just as we finished the soup, she was there with our entrees (Chorizo Burgers, which were also great) and this statement……”I hope it is ok that I brought your burgers out – THEY COULDN’T WAIT TO MEET YOU!!”.

That was the most creative way I’ve ever heard a server say to a customer that your food is ready, I don’t want it to be past peak readiness, so let’s move the meal forward, people….

Such a small thing, but so welcoming, original and comfortable, all I could do was laugh out loud, compliment her and thank her….and the food was perfect.

If you haven’t been to Alchemy yet, I bet their food just can’t wait to meet you, either!

Purposeful Execution

I could not agree more with his sentiments. Strategy formulation is very important in charting the course and setting the vision of how a team or organization will achieve the mission. None of it really means anything, though, without intentional, diligent and purposeful execution.

As we move forward into the coming year, I encourage you (as I know our client would, as well), to reflect on what it will take for you to successfully transform your team, business unit, organization, community – how will you execute flawlessly to ensure the realization of the strategic intent (of whatever is being executed).

Studies show that 70% of initiatives fail to deliver the intended business results. I’m not ok with that. Are you?

Learn how you can beat the odds here

I typically have a soft spot for the brave souls who take to the streets to try to raise money for a given cause/sports team/trip. She had not actually approached anyone as she walked our way. We were seated on an outdoor terrace, and she made her way towards us – she approached and said “would you like to buy some candy?”

Had we not been in the middle of a quiet and romantic evening, my answer may have been different, but I replied “No thank you, and good luck with your sales tonight”.

Set aside the primary reason for my not buying. As I reflected upon this interaction, I began thinking:

- who prepared this young girl for her fundraising efforts?
- she appeared to be under 10 years of age – why was she walking the streets with no adult supervision (or coaching)?

In many ways, this is how I view the overall preparation we give to kids in school (and extra curricular activities), as well as some employees in the workplace. It felt like she was given a box (or boxes) of candy, and told – “go sell these”.

There are so many things that could have been done to increase her chances of success in raising the money she wanted/needed. Here is one critical place to start:

Share the mission/purpose for her efforts. In her sales effort, she will come across:

- people who really want to buy candy – and, because she has some, they will purchase from her (small population, I imagine)
- really like kids, and want to help – regardless of what she is selling (a slightly larger population, I would guess)

If she wants to increase the chances of success, should could say something like: “Excuse me, my school/team/I am on a mission to (win a traveling championship meet/get new equipment for our team/build a new library for our school), and, as part of the effort, I am asking members of the community to help. Would you consider buying (fill in the blank) to help me meet my part of the goal?

People do like buying from people, and they like buying from people they like even more. More than that, people like connecting with a mission and purpose – and when that is combined with a person they like, there is a great chance for success.

Equipping children with this type of understanding, at a young age, is critical, in my opinion, as this approach can/should be applied throughout a person’s life. Think about how many bad sales people, leaders, managers, daters (the list goes on) that you encounter on a daily basis who could benefit from this perspective.

It all starts with purpose.

What happens that when we have more access to information and education than ever, that health and wellness actually worsens??? Baffling, to say the least – or is it?

I see very much the same thing when it comes to business – organizations, leaders and front line performers have access to more data and information that could help them make sound business decisions than ever. Social networks offer easier access to customer input, insights and desires than ever before – and yet, consumer trust is down, overall levels of employee engagement (with the customer and the organization) continue declining, and, as opposed to thriving, business are limping along, struggling to keep their doors open and profits healthy (from the continued big pharma continued cutbacks to the small businesses who close their doors within the first year of operation).

The remedy? Here is one recipe for success:

- Start with culture, and align everything with the mission, values and goals. Whether we are talking about an organization aiming to prosper, or an individual seeking to improve her health, having a purpose that stands out like a beacon of light is a critical component. Being a part of something bigger than onesself brings immense power – one does not seek to get healthy and fit for the sake of being healthy and fit – there is a bigger purpose (legacy for children, as an example). By the same token, transformational organizations do not exist solely to make a profit. Profit is a by product of something greater. And when individuals feel connected to that mission, energy, engagement, and production will rise

- Apply the FID principle: Frequency, Intensity, Duration. Whether we are talking about exercise, sales, or overall business, these 3 components are critical to long term success:

- How frequently will you: exercise, rest, strategize, energize, direct, lead, plan

- With what intensity will you: exercise, strategize, plan, sell, lead – is it a ‘box checking’ activity, being performed solely to say the task was completed, or, is the passion of the mission and larger goals behind the activity? While this nuance is minor, the impact is massive

- How long will this session last to: burn the needed calories, get the team aligned, properly map an account plan, understand customer or market analytics to make more effective business decisions

This is a critical time and place – as individuals, businesses and communities. It is time to get FIT and Healthy – and not just because a new year is around the corner. Are you ready?

With all of the thought leadership, writing, speaking, watching and overall concentration on the topic of Employee Engagement, I think it is reasonable to expect that the level of individual and organizational performance would be better than what occurs on a daily basis.

After reflecting on this subject (quite often, actually), I’ve got two critical areas I believe contribute to poor performance:

- Lack of clarity: When organizations talk about higher levels of engagement, most of the time, the direction given is not outcome focused, which creates high degrees of variability in what people actually do. For example, ‘fostering more teamwork’ and ‘focusing on the customer’ are not defined outcomes, and so individuals will define what those terms mean to them. When this happens, there are multiple versions of the truth, confusion surfaces (for the employees and customers), and muted business impact results
- Lack of purpose: Too often, organizations drive what they want people to do (but, as I’ve shared above, not very clearly), but not how that ‘what’ connects to the overall purpose of the organization (this, by the way, can be applied to an individual, as well. Often, people focus on what they are doing, but not how that ‘what’ connects to their personal purpose). As Simon Sinek shares in his latest book, Start with Why, employees and customers engage much more actively, passionately, consistently and productively when there is clarity around the ‘Why’ – what I call the purpose

As humans, we are driven to achieve, make progress, and contribute to something greater than ourselves – yes, even those individuals who you think are infinitely lazy, unmotivated, and who ‘couldn’t care less’ – they share similar aspirations. While I have no scientific evidence to prove this, I wholeheartedly believe that people are not born predisposed to underachieve and live an uninspired life. In my opinion, they are not connected to their personal and/or organizational purpose

I subscribe to the thought that this is a ‘hard simple’ issue to address – simple in principle, but very challenging in the execution. As an individual, it starts with being your personal board of directors, and really coming to grips with the purpose behind your life – Why are you really here? When all is said and done, how will you know you have been successful? From an organizational perspective, the questions are very much the same. I realize that organizations do exist to make a profit, but really, that is a means to greater end (or, it should be, in my eyes).

What really is the purpose of the organization, and what will you do as a leader to create a nimble, customer (internal and external) focused, well aligned machine that exists solely to live into the vision of the purpose? Start here, and I am confident that you will be amazed at how much better you and your organization can, and will, perform

You can imagine that with me, this could be quite a long conversation. For the purpose of this post, I’ll try to keep it somewhat short and share with you what I think is most relevant to driving business forward:

Part of what makes me jump out of bed every day is that I have the privilege, on a daily basis, to immerse myself and my team in the critical challenges that face our customers, and have the good fortune to assist these clients in transforming their teams, business units, organizations and overall business results.

An example: When I met with a prospective client recently who expressed that he felt his team was quickly moving towards a ‘black hole’ and he was looking for our help in avoiding that destination, I was struck, once again, by the opportunity in front of us.
In this case, this client’s organization was spending a tremendous amount of time, energy, resources and money across multiple business initiatives – all of which were pointed at getting the organization highly competitive in today’s complex and quickly changing business environment. Over the recent number of years, his organization had undergone immense changes, shedding businesses, reorganizing, strategizing, and, all the while, trying to refocus on their core business – they had lost their way, so to speak, and significant market share, as a result.

What was leading them towards this black hole, in his opinion, was not that the organization was not willing or able to allocate funds and attention to remedy their challenges, but rather the opposite – they were allocating significant money, time and energy in various initiatives. The challenge in front of this client was that he (and his team, as well as senior leadership) had not transparency into which initiatives were on track to succeed, which ones were at risk of failure, which new initiatives to launch, which ones to stop, and how to gain insight into growing concerns, such as resource constraints, bottlenecks and where tensions may appear by launching or running too many initiatives.

We are in the process of working to assist our client (through leveraging the RWD Clarity Framework and our approach to Initiative Success – visit this link for more information) – in remedying this situation – not just for today, but in a sustainable way as his business progresses and thrives.

Not every black hole manifests itself in exactly the same way from business to business.
So, my questions for you to consider are these:

• What is your black hole?
• What are the sources of tension or challenges that are pushing/pulling your organization towards the black hole?
• What are the costs to your organization (today and in the future) of not changing course?

Upon the start of this reflection, my hope for you is that you begin to gain insight and clarity into how to transform your business and get rooted to what truly charges you up in what you do every day. Fired up, unstoppable and driven to succeed are conscious choices – what choice have you made?

What we often uncover during discussions with our customers, however, is that thier approach to launching and managing initiatives, is much like what you will see in this video. Specifically, what we see is a lack of transparency in what drives successful initiatives – what creates traction and drives business outcomes; how to understand the capacity that key employees do or do not have to drive the most important initiatives to successful completion. Instead, what is more common is allocating people and money towards major initiatives (new system implementations, mergers, acquisitions, new product launches), without clarity and alignment around what initiative success actually looks like, and specifically what needs to happen with regards to people, processes, leadership, organizational context (barriers and unintended consequences, for example).

As opposed to relying on the Force in gaining initiative success, click here for an alternate approach and perspective in achieving sustainable success with business initiatives.

May the Force be with you on your path to higher levels of business performance……

Of course, because I never turn off the business brain, this also makes me think about building a winning sales team and culture in an organization. I have a hard time thinking of a client or prospective client that I have spoken to recently who has not expressed a need to improve the effectiveness of her sales team. Here are some of the challenges clients verbalize:

- Too much variation in production across the sales rep population of the company
- Too much variation in production from region to region
- Sales people not spending enough time selling
- Retention is down
- It is harder and harder to get in front of qualified new prospects
- No predictability in sales forecasting

I could go on, but you get the point.

More often than not, here is what I hear clients expressing that they have done/are doing to remedy the issues listed above:

- Install new processes, policies and procedures aimed at better controlling the sales process (the thought is that control = better results in some organizations)
- More training – more training = better results, right?
- Move top reps into training and/or management roles – who better to teach new or underperforming reps than the most successful sales people, right?
- Change the compensation plan – sales people are coin operated, right? So, if you want to change behavior, change the pay plan
- Nothing – actually, many people I’ve spoken with are paralyzed into inaction – not sure what to change to shift performance, they stick with the devil they already know.

The reality (or, at least my reality) is that to make sustainable performance shifts, and to build a long term, high performing sales organization, it all starts with the definition of winning (Clear Intent). Organizations need to be explicit and aligned in the definition of the firm’s goals and objectives. You may think that is a no brainer, but I can’t tell you how many clients I’ve spoken with who assume there is clarity and alignment at the senior leadership level – and this assumption leads to unneeded friction, fractures throughout the organization, confusion, and ultimately, underperforming teams.

To give you a sense of what I am talking about, here is a video that discusses RWD’s approach to shifting performance in sales teams. I think you will find it both interesting and valuable. Please share your thoughts. Click here to view

In the meantime, good selling, and I wish you the best as you build your championship season.