Why People Quit Their Jobs

Last month, I was on my way back to the office after facilitating a training program. I stopped for coffee and overheard the man behind me talking on his cellphone. 

“We need to be stricter with our hiring practices.” he said. “We want to keep them past a year.” 

I could not help myself. I turned around and introduced myself. I told him “I certainly recommend that you take a close look at your hiring practices. But remember, even if you hire the best people, the reason people leave is primarily because of a bad boss. So take an even closer look at the boss." 

But did you know this? 

The Gallup organization polled more 1 million employed U.S. workers and found that the No. 1 reason employees voluntarily leave their jobs is not the company, not the work, but is because of a bad boss. 
Plain and simple: People join good companies, but leave a bad boss. Turnover is less about selection and more about leading effectively. 

In fact, this points to a fundamental question: Are you a Leader or a Boss? 

While both may be “in charge”, a leader guides, teaches by example, and supports people. A boss, on the other hand, likes people working for rather than with and actively reminds them who is at the helm. 

Leaders use “we” when a boss uses “I” and “Let’s do this” as opposed to “Do this.” They inspire by acting with humility rather than ordering, criticizing, or humiliating. 

I love this quote: “If you think you are leading and no one is following, then you’re just taking a walk.” Sometimes a picture tells a better story, so here’s a great graphic that caught my attention making the rounds on social media recently. It sums this idea up so nicely… 

Do people who exercise make better leaders?

Medical experts have been stressing for decades the health benefits that exercise provides. Recent studies have also been conducted into how exercise can play a part in performance in the workplace – particularly for those in leadership positions. 

While you may be skeptical, it seems there may be a strong case for the argument that people who exercise make better leaders. 

 Here are some of the reasons why: 

Less sick days - Those who are physically fit are less likely to pick up the dreaded office bug that goes around. Absenteeism costs companies millions of dollars every year. While it is reasonable to expect anyone to fall ill from time to time, when a leader takes unplanned time off work it not only impact their own work, but also the team’s work. 

Increased energy - Are you ever surprised at how much energy you have right after exercising? That’s because regular exercise gives you increased and sustained energy levels throughout the day. This is particularly important for leaders who need to remain focused and pro-active all day. 

Higher Confidence - The fitter you are, the more self-confidence you’re going to have. You look better, feel better and feel that you can accomplish the goals that you have set for yourself. As a leader, confidence is vital. If you don’t believe in yourself, how is your team going to? 

Effective Stress Management - Anyone in a leadership position will be familiar with stress. Strict deadlines, difficult people, budget issues, and long hours are extremely demanding. Some leaders seem to take this all in stride. Chances are that they are the ones who regularly hit the gym or find ways of keeping themselves active. Exercise releases the physical and emotional tensions that are experienced on a daily basis, which means that fit leaders have lower stress levels. 

Taking care of yourself physically is a critical element in effective leadership. You can't do great things at work if you don't feel good. The best leaders eat well, exercise, and take care of themselves.

Believe it or not, it’s mid-year...

In 6 months, we will be thinking about New Year’s 2014! You may not think twice about your New Year’s resolutions at this point in the year. Yet, just 6 months ago, everything seemed possible! 

Losing 10 pounds, quitting smoking, finding a new job, and taking a new class were achievable goals. For many people, once they accomplished their goals they quickly set new ones. For others, however, demanding lives, frustration at the lack of immediate success, and the passage of time may have pushed those goals to the “back burner.” 

However, many motivational psychologists say revisiting resolutions at the midyear point and taking even small steps to reinvigorate them can boost our determination, making them achievable before the year is over. From this “second chance” perspective, the opportunity exists to refine those original goals that may have been too big or overwhelming. 

Whatever your original New Year’s resolutions, revisiting them will re-engage and energize you. Owning them again with whatever “tweaks” you need to apply can give you the drive to see them through this time. With unexpected benefits along the way, a feeling of even great satisfaction may follow in January 2014 when, because you’ve achieved your goals, new resolutions will be in order!

Hire slow, fire fast…

What do college football coaches spend up to 70% of their time doing? 

Watching game film? 
Coaching players? 
Preparing game plans? 

No. College football coaches spend up to 70% of their time recruiting talent to play on their team. 

Does that surprise you? If you hire like most companies do, then it probably did. Most companies hire the wrong way. They hire quickly and hold on to poor performers too long. 

 The best thing a great leader can do is always be recruiting and have a constant flow of talent to evaluate and hire. Your goal should be to hire slowly – after a structured and careful assessment and evaluation process – and then don’t hesitate to let people go who have not shown performance. 

 The key here is that if you have a steady flow of talent and candidates to choose from, then you’ll be much less likely to make quick and ill-advised hiring decisions. Plus, you’ll be less likely to hold on to poor performers who are likely to never make it in your environment.

Advice to new graduates: Work In Sales!

There’s a persistent perception that sales is a “last resort” job. I don’t know where it comes from, but I get angry when I hear people say, “I’m just a sales rep.” When you choose a sales career, you are not settling for a second-rate job. 

Selling is challenging and you should be proud of your job. What you may not have thought of, however, is that sales experience is vitally important if you ever hope to have an executive level job. Surprised? When I work with professionals near the top of their non-sales careers and eager to move to the C-Suite, they often lack sales experience. 

You may think: 

“What does selling have to do with being a COO or Division Vice President?” 

“Why would the head of finance or a business unit need sales experience?” 

It does not matter what role you have. If you are an executive, you are going to have customer-facing responsibilities, and there’s no better place than sales to learn how to interact effectively with customers. You may be called on to help resolve customer satisfaction issues or to participate in important sales calls. You may need to speak at customer events. Yes, even COOs. 

As a key representative of your company, you’ll be expected to interface with your counterparts at other companies, where you’ll need to be conversant in your company’s offerings and why people need them. 

Again, sales is the best place to develop this knowledge, because you hear directly from customers why they like what you sell. Even if you didn’t need customer-facing skills, you’d still need a thorough understanding of sales. Why? 

Because sales is the lifeblood of business – Any company exists to sell something. As a leader in your company, you need to be able to enter into discussions and decisions about top markets, top sellers, and sales strategies. If you do not understand what’s going on in your sales organization, you don’t understand what’s going on in your business. 

It’s that simple.

Burn the Ships!

The great NFL Hall of Fame coach, Vince Lombardi, had it right: "The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor." Most often, people fail to achieve their goals, not because they are lazy or lack self-motivation, but because they never "fully committed" to succeed! 

 In 1519, Hernando Cortes and a small army left Cuba and set out to conquer Central America. Cortes was going to accomplish his goals, no matter the consequences. The myth states that once Cortes' troops landed in what is now Mexico, he ordered the ships destroyed by fire. 

In burning his ships, Cortes took away all options to retreat and, I am sure, got the full buy-in from his troops to make it a successful campaign. They had no choice. Either drown in the sea or conquer this new world. 

Do you allow "what-if" scenarios to dominate your thinking? Do you find yourself questioning your job or other significant decisions or commitments? A lack of commitment not only creates apathy, but it is emotionally draining and erodes your creativity. Without a clear commitment, you will be defeated even before you start. 

It’s time to "Burn the Ships"… 

You cannot achieve success by timidly venturing forward. You have to take bold action and decisive steps to go after your dreams! Burn the Ship! 

Look at your life and really ask yourself: "Am I committed enough to my goals and dreams to put it all on the line?"

Optimism

The great Zig Ziglar put it well: “There are seldom, if ever, any hopeless situations, but there are many people who lose hope in the face of some situations.” Faced with the stream of confusing and contradictory economic news, it is easy to get caught up in thinking that nothing positive is happening. We start to believe that there is little that we can do; we withdraw, play it safe, feel concern, and fear the future. We become especially vigilant for further signs that we are at risk. So, if you are a leader feeling “glass half-empty”, here are two key points you need to help you lead through it: 

1. Develop Optimism: If you are not optimistic about the future, how can you expect your team to be? Whether it’s your employees, vendors, friends, or family, you’ve got to lead with true optimism. Sometimes it can be a lonely position to take, but it’s what your team needs and WANTS from you. While most others are focusing on complaining, whining, and multiple regrets, your job as the leader is to look for opportunities and possibilities. 

 2. Show Courage and Be Energetic. Do not be afraid of confronting problems or those that create them. And don’t be “that manager” hiding behind the office door, hoping the problems will just go away. Newsflash - They WON’T! Being optimistic takes courage and energy. As a leader YOU have to be fully committed to the long term. It takes an energetic leader to carry the torch. Get your rest, eat right, exercise, and lead your team with high energy. 

 One of my favorite other quotes from Zig Ziglar is: “I’m so optimistic I’d go after Moby Dick in a row boat and take the tartar sauce with me.” Optimism is a conscious choice that has a huge impact on your ability to succeed. Optimism will inspire the confidence of your team that is required to take full advantage of the opportunities that exist.

Hanging on to Marginal Performers

Why do we hold on to people that we know we shouldn’t keep in place? Here are a few reasons: 

• Kindness, Loyalty, and Being nice. Maybe we “like” them, they “like” us, or both. Perhaps their performance in the organization was, at one point, successful. Out of a desire to be a “nice person” or please people, and not to be the “bad guy.” Perhaps we worry about their family, livelihood, or future. 
• Confrontation. These conversations are difficult, and you simply don’t want to have it. This again can be tough when you really “like” the person. 
•  Being too optimistic about their ability to change. We often think: if I give it more time… or I'm not helping them enough… 

When someone on the team becomes a marginal performer, it hurts them, their colleagues, and you. Initially, it is the leader’s responsibility to support change by offering the resources to help marginal performers improve. After that, if the issue persists, you are not doing anyone any favors by keeping them in place. 

Certainly, this is not a recommendation to fire someone with a long and successful career who may be having a few bad months. Yet, if the problem persists, it’s time to help them find a better situation. 

If you are still holding on to a marginal performer, it’s time to look at the reason and make a change. Recognizing your own pattern of holding on too long, and helping all involved by making a positive, perhaps difficult, change is not only good for you and your organization, but also it is the right thing to do.

Waiting Too Long to Develop Leaders

Like any skill, leadership skill develops over time. The sooner organizations get started on leadership development, the better. Yet, according to a study posted at HBR.org, leadership development is not being encouraged by many organizations. 

This study found that people start supervising at around the age of 30, but get their first leadership training at the age of 42! The implications are that organizations have managers leading people for ten years before they get any leadership training! 

Think about it this way: would you go to a Doctor who practiced medicine for 10 years before going to Medical School? How about your Accountant? 

People need to be exposed to leadership training as soon as possible. Well before being placed in supervisory or management roles. Leadership is everyone’s responsibility and leadership training should start from the first day on the job. 

What is your organization doing to develop leadership at all levels? 

The Wrightone 360° Leadership Development Survey is one of the best ways for leaders to get effective feedback. 360° feedback is a powerful tool that gives leaders feedback from those who work with them - peers, managers, subordinates. If you would like additional information about our 360° Leadership Development Survey and a copy of our guide Focusing on Leadership Development, please contact us.

Patience

I am very impatient. When I describe this for people, here is how it comes out: Good impatience. It’s my sense of urgency. However, I have also learned that patience is the most important attribute necessary for effective leadership, and it is rarely talked about. 

Here is why Patience (at the right time) is the effective Leader’s best choice: 

1. Too much speed, speed, speed. People and teams, like athletes, cycle through periods of great productivity and periods of recovery. Good leaders understand that recovery time is essential for speed in the next “sprint”, and they manage the pace and rhythm of their teams accordingly. 

2. Developing people takes time, deliberate effort, (and yes) a great deal of patience. While you as the leader might see pure raw potential in a team member, people develop at their speed, not yours. Your encouragement is appreciated, but display impatience (even good impatience) and you risk derailing and demoralizing the individual. 

3. People process change at different rates of speed. Some are quick to dive into waters they don’t yet understand, however, many others prefer to process on and internalize the issues around change at their own pace. Fail to show patience with those who are in mid-process, and you risk losing them. 

Most leaders I know, like me, are impatient for action. They are excited about helping drive people towards a destination and they often see the gap between today’s situation and tomorrow’s idealized state. The most effective leaders however, understand that patience, for all of the list reasons, can help everyone get there faster.

Accountability

There are many aspects of effective leadership: at times you need to be a guardian, protector, and advocate. Other times you need to be a coach, developing and inspiring your team. However, one of the most important aspects of effective leadership is holding people accountable. 

In your role as a leader, you need to get people moving towards objectives. Yet some people don't want to move. And when you hold people accountable, some people will push back. 

Why? It’s because we really don’t like to be held accountable. But here is a secret: Most people need it, even want it, from their leaders. Most bosses don't even try to hold people accountable. I said "bosses" and not "leaders". Bosses micromanage. Leaders hold people accountable. There is a HUGE difference. 

Imagine lying in bed and trying to shut off your alarm, but it won't shut off. The alarm just keeps beeping and beeping and beeping. THAT'S micromanaging. Effective leadership makes a contract with you (sets the wake up time), monitors the progress of that contract every so often (checks the time), and goes about its other duties until the contract is complete (waits for the alarm to go off), then creates a new contract with you. 

Here is the lesson for leaders: make agreements with your people, and then trust them to get the work done. Check with them at your agreed-upon times. And, by all means, if they're not delivering, hold them accountable. The rest of the time, focus on what you need to do.

Fear: Not A Way to Live or A Way to Lead

Have you ever run into someone who is afraid they are going to lose their job? Or who is afraid of failure? Or who is just plain risk averse? Are they successful? In my experience, they are generally not successful or at least not as successful as they could be. 

Leaders must understand risk and be able to accept risk. While there are courses in risk management, the important thing to remember is that there is always risk. Everything we do comes with some risks. Driving to work in the morning has risk (Actually a very high risk). If leaders are unwilling to accept risk, they will be ineffective. 

Someone who is so afraid of losing their job that they refuse to take a risk, may lose their job because they are ineffective. Think about it. 

Leaders must be able to adapt to the situation and be willing to accept the risk of failure in order to be successful. Leaders who are unwilling to accept risk must be satisfied with mediocre performance from their teams, their organizations, and themselves.

Dealing with People Problems

People problems are inevitable on teams. One person, consistently acting inappropriately can destroy the fabric of a team. They can reduce productivity, destroy morale, and sabotage the working relationship between the leader and the team.
 
What is a leader to do when confronted with this situation?
 
1.    Don’t get so wrapped up in the problem that your relationship with other team members suffers. Continue to relate to everyone. They need to continue to see you and to have open communication with you. They also need confidence that you are actively working to enforce standards.
 
2.    Second, work one-on-one directly with the problem and the person. Nothing in the world is more demoralizing for a team than to have a leader send a blanket email stating the policy and trying to solve a problem involving only one person. Usually the person with the problem doesn't know it's meant for them (so they ignore it) and everyone else is insulted that the leader isn't dealing directly and personally with the issue. Hiding behind blanket emails sent to everyone about every transgression is a sign of weakness and insecurity. It sends a message to the team that you are unwilling to engage and you don't understand the dynamics of the team.
 
This is a time for the leader to be involved and engaged. Get to the bottom of the issue. There are established standards being violated. Leaders also need compassion. It is important to assume "noble intent" on the first meeting. Some people just don't see how what they are doing is divisive or contrary to the team.
 
Dealing directly with people shows the team that you are engaged and willing to take care of the "tough stuff" personally. It demonstrates that you have a good knowledge of the team dynamics and reinforces to the team that you care about each of them and understand their contributions.

Leaders must act when confronted with people problems. And they must act personally and directly to resolve the problem.

Hard Work Beats Talent, When Talent Doesn’t Work Hard!

On an athletic level, this is so clear. There are plenty of “gifted” athletes that never excel because they rely on their natural ability to pull them through. This lesson can also be seen in academics. Some students rely far too much on their natural ability and end up paying the price.
 
There is no simple secret to success. There are no silver bullets or short cuts. But nothing is more important than preparation and hard work. Yes, we can all point to examples of people who are successful “flying by the seat of their pants”.   There are always exceptions. 
 
In business, we compete every day.  We compete with other companies.  We compete with other employees.  We compete with other candidates during interviews.  Does the most naturally talented individual always win?  No.   Does the most naturally talented individual win most of the time?  I would argue “No”.  In my experience the most prepared individual wins.
 
The lesson is simple, “Hard Work Beats Talent, When Talent Doesn’t Work Hard”.  Don’t make excuses.  Simply work hard and be prepared.  You will win more often than you think.

Important things you won't learn in school

As I tell my students, you can learn a lot of things in the classroom. But there are some things you’ll never learn in the classroom. Hopefully, this will fill some of the gaps:
 
The Whole Truth Is An Illusion – You will almost never know the whole truth, so don’t pretend that you do or that you will.  Our perceptions of the world are clouded by our own subjectivity and by our interpretation of information.  But this shouldn’t stop you from making a decision. Analysis paralysis is a term used to describe the situation where the deeper you dig into a topic the more questions you have.  As a rule of thumb, don’t make decisions with only 10 percent of the available information – but don’t expect to have more than 75 percent before a timely decision is required.  Most importantly, be humble in your decisions and opinions because of this fact, but stand by them until proven wrong by more information.
 
Great Ideas Are Nothing Without Execution – Great ideas without good execution get slaughtered in the market by ‘good enough’ ideas with great execution.  There are plenty of examples of the same idea failing until properly executed such as Facebook when compared to earlier attempts such as Six Degrees and Friendster.
 
Intelligence Still Requires Experience – In school we compete against classmates that have generally the same level of experience. Thus, one’s intelligence plays a key role in academic performance.    In the real world brilliance alone, especially in competitive situations, simply isn’t enough. The Dunning-Kruger effect, sometimes termed Illusory Superiority, tells us that the less competent we are in any given area (competence is driven by experience), the more likely we will rate ourselves as “better than average” in competency.  This illusory superiority often drives bad decisions.
 
Not All Conflict Is Bad.  We grow up being told not to argue with our teammates or peers but both scholars and practitioners agree that there are good and bad forms of conflict.  The good conflict, known as cognitive conflict, is the healthy debate that teams participate in when determining what or why something should be done.  It involves a wide range of perspectives and experiences and can help generate strategic options for growth.
 
Leadership Is About EQ not IQ – Evidence suggests that the most successful leaders have some minimum IQ.  But IQ alone is not sufficient to be a successful leader.  The greatest leaders have high emotional quotients, often considered a combination of social intelligence and emotional intelligence.  Leadership is not about you. It’s about your teams.  As a leader you need to check your ego at the door and worry more about your team’s welfare, performance, and improvement.

Decisions

One of the easiest ways to take control of your actions is to take control of your decisions.  Decisions are what precede all of our actions. A truly committed decision is one where you release all the possibilities from your mind, except for the outcome that you are absolutely committed to.

The challenge is that most of us have weak decision making muscles mainly because we tend to say "I will give it a go and see if it works." A truly committed decision is like a laser beam that is so focused on its target that nothing can get in its way. In its Latin form the word "decide" means to "cut off" and that is what a truly committed decision calls us to do.

Cut off all other possibilities to the extent that you will not even consider any other result. Now this might sound easier said than done and I have to agree. BUT once you realize that making decisions is a skill and that the more you practice it the better you get at it, you will begin to powerfully direct and shape your life towards your ultimate destination.

Consider this: Start by taking a different look at problems and challenges. Commit yourself to seeing them as the necessary "weights" to build enough strength to reach your goals. Learn to welcome problems as opportunities to grow and soon you will habitually turn challenges into opportunity.

How Do You Treat Waiters?

The way you treat others offers a window into the type of person you are.  Your interaction with people, whose job is to serve you, reflects on your character and offers a glimpse into the way they will react to you.
 
When you behave in a condescending manner, you are sure to elicit a negative reaction.  Immediately, the person you are talking down to will be put off, even if they don’t show it.  You will squelch any inclination for the other person to go out of their way to help you.  At most, they will do no more than the bare minimum necessary to keep you mollified.
 
Many Managers like to observe how job candidates treat waiters.  How a prospective employee treats a waiter offers a clear picture of the type of person he/she is.  Someone who is polite to you but discourteous to a waiter does not have desirable interpersonal skills.  They tend to be abrasive, causing friction among coworkers and subordinates.
 
People, who are rude to waiters, erroneously believe they are displaying power and authority.  They mistakenly think their behavior will impress others.  Anyone who attempts to elevate their status by stepping on others will ultimately fall flat on their face.
 
People with integrity and character treat everyone with courtesy and respect, regardless of their occupation, financial, or social status.  They don’t view themselves as being above or below anyone else.
 
Treat everyone you encounter with dignity.  In so doing, your relationships with people, even strangers, will improve.  You will still find some individuals you just can’t deal with.  But they will be much more of an exception.  You can never go wrong by treating another person well.

Lessons from my first Triathlon

I always enjoyed exercising, but during the past summer I took on additional workouts as I prepared for the 23rd West Point Triathlon. Unlike an Ironman triathlon where the distances are extreme (swim 2.5 miles, bike 112 miles, and run 26.2 miles), this was comparatively “short”. The segments were an 800 meter (.49 mile) swim, 13 kilometer (13.7 mile) bike, and a 5k (3.1 mile) run.

While I was not concerned with winning the event, I did want to test myself. In fact, my first great realization was that I am not well-adjusted. At first, I thought it was about completion, not competition. That is what I told people. But as I started to get better during my training, I realized that I wanted to fight like hell out there. On race day, I was NOT allowing anyone to slow me down.

Many times I would think about the “life lessons” that are analogous to training or really hard work and dedication of any kind. So, here are my ”lessons learned” form my first triathlon:

You have to do the work (miles) yourself – some days during my training, it was rainy and miserable. Other mornings (I train very early), I just felt lazy. However, as with any worthwhile goal, I had to get out there and put in the hard work to get the desired results. If you are trying to make that sale or trying to run 3 miles for the first time, it’s not always easy or pleasant. By being persistent and doing the work or running when you don’t feel like it WILL payoff in the long term.

When it gets hard, put your head down and take it one step at a time –Most training days, I was either running or biking and I would always come across hills of varying magnitudes. There is one hill in particular on my route that begins with a tough grade and gets steeper and steeper over the course of a mile. Invariably, I put my head down and keep telling myself to just keep putting one foot in front of the other and before I knew it, I would be at the top. Have you hit any rough patches in life lately? Even though it is not always the solution sometimes you just have to put your head down, take what comes, and plow ahead one-step at a time.

Find YOUR sources of inspiration – I like to exercise and workout. But there were stages where I felt done. During those times, I would frequently read about people who really had it really tough. Most likely, whatever your goals, there are people out there who have overcome and triumphed in the face of adversity and have done what you would like to be doing. Learn from their stories and lessons when you are feeling overwhelmed.

There are countless other lessons to be taken away from extended periods of hard work, dedication, and commitment. Ultimately, if you are determined, have a clear, well defined goal, and a positive mindset, you can accomplish almost anything that you set your mind to do.

“Chance favors the prepared mind.” - Louis Pasteur

I don’t believe in “luck”. If you care to look closely, you will find that people who are “lucky” are those who are best prepared when opportunities arise. To increase your “luck factor”, there are two things you should do:

1. Prepare yourself for opportunities so that you can take advantage of them when they come.
2. Put yourself in a position that makes it easier for opportunities to come.

While both are important, the first is more important because it is what makes the difference. What’s the use of getting a lot of opportunities if you can’t take advantage of them?

At this point, most of the world knows that U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps broke the all-time record for most medals won by an Olympian. And, there is a very applicable lesson about preparation we can all learn from Phelps. You may recall that in Beijing in 2008, Phelps won one of his medals while swimming with his goggles full of water. He couldn’t see a thing and still won gold. After that race, Phelps said that while he had never competed before with water in his goggles, he had practiced that way. Bob Bowman, Phelps’ coach, made sure he had the water in the goggles experience to prepare for that scenario in Olympic competition.

When it happened in real time, Phelps’ preparation enabled him to stay calm and start counting his strokes. He knew how many strokes he needed to touch the wall and didn’t stop swimming full out until he did.

So, how can you prepare yourself for opportunities? Here are three ways to prepare yourself for future opportunities:

1. Be curious

Curiosity makes you eager to know more about the world out there. If you are curious, you won’t be satisfied with what you already know. You will want to know more. As a result, you will see more potential opportunities. It’s like being in a building with windows. The more windows the building has, the more you can see what’s out there.

2. Educate yourself

When you find something interesting, start educating yourself about it. Don’t worry if you can’t do anything about it right now. Remember, you are preparing for the future. Educate yourself in whatever it is that you find interesting. Read blogs, subscribe to magazines, watch videos, read books. Build a prepared mind that “luck” favors.

3. Build an “opportunity fund”

Warren Buffet makes sure that Berkshire Hathaway has at least $10 billion in cash in reserves. Why? So that when the opportunity comes for an attractive deal, Berkshire can immediately act on it. If they didn’t have the money, the opportunity could be gone forever. Similarly, you should prepare an “opportunity fund.” Prepare a certain amount of money that you can use to take advantage of the opportunities that come your way. Don’t let opportunities slip by just because you don’t have the cash to act on it.

So that’s how you prepare yourself for future opportunities. Don’t wait until it’s too late. Prepare yourself early and years from now people will be amazed at how “lucky” you are.

Everyone is in Sales

Reading this, you might be making some assumptions. You might be thinking, “Wait, I’m not in sales”. Salespeople make “cold calls” and “pound the pavement.” You might think ‘sales’ is a word in a salesperson’s title and believe that “they” are supposed to develop business for the organization.

You may also think that sales is not MY job because “I work in accounting or operations”. If I am even somewhat correct about any of these assumptions, then you might find this article relevant.

No matter what your job title might be,  Everyone Is In Sales! Success in sales is not defined by how much you talk but how well you listen. It’s not about sharing how great your company is but how many solutions you can bring to your customer’s business.

Selling is a part of the fundamental communications process that human beings do each day. Sales is not about gimmicks or shortcuts. It’s not about new techniques, fast talking, or misleading others. The foundation of sales is about honesty, trust, strong communications and building relationships. It is about caring for others.

If you are in accounting, you deal with people to collect money or close the books. YOU are in sales. 

If you are in operations and a problem develops, you must communicate what is going on. YOU are in sales. 

When you are talking to your boss during your review or talking to your child’s principal about their performance in school, you may be trying to communicate a certain message or ‘sell’ your point of view. YOU are in sales.

Follow where I am going with this? Once again, from the break room to the boardroom, everyone Is In Sales.