Know-How Exchange : Strategy

It's always about people. I tell you. It took me a long time to realize this, longer than it should have. There was once a sales rep for a client company. He was a young hard charger and he was brand new to the organization. We all had worked together for a very long time. This young fellow did not respect our experience. He had no misgivings about telling us where we were wrong and where he was right. So we gossiped about him -- what a jerk. Well, that strength of conviction also helped him get things done. He was extremely effective. And because he was unafraid to challenge, the organization put him into roles where a tough problem needed to be fixed. But we didn't help him, we gossiped. So one day he gets a new boss. HIs boss and I are in a group going to a baseball game, on a busload of people. Having a few beverages. So brilliant me, I beard this boss about how this young fellow is insulting every one and needs to be talked to. One of my colleagues is starting to bounce in his seat and glancing at me, but did I stop? No. On and on, this guy this, this guy that. Two weeks later, a colleague stops by my office. Did you talk about "Joe" with "Jim"? Well, yes. Well, Joe just called me. Jim stopped into his office and brought it up. Joe called to tell me that "he didn't really appreciate that." So of course we all moved on. Joe developed a little more diplomacy in dealing with people. Still cocky, but the edges shaved off. Ended up in a very important position. What could have been a very effective client relationship was spoiled. And I still feel badly that I dinged this young man who was so passionate about being successful. It's all about people, and being able to relate to different kinds of people. Lessons -- Let people grow. Avoid gossip. Be positive about people. Learn this very early. or you will cause and suffer from heartache.

I would like to believe that I have become better at accepting different kinds of personalities, and that I have become less inclined to engage in negativity. This is a painfully difficult question to answer, because I have also failed to live up to this on other occasions. I guess it takes several blows with the hammer to sink the nail.

His ability to move forward had nothing to do with me, and all to do with his personal effectiveness. Nor did it really affect my ability to move forward.

Fortunately, in my career, these situations are rare, and I have been able to get along with nearly everyone. But there sure are situations where personalities don't mix well. With good relationship skills, you can deal with those. It would have been better for me early on to have given greater recognition to the value of relationship skills, accepting people for who they are. Like the old cowboy says, "Experience is just another word for mistakes."

And in the earlier case I should have heeded another bit of good advice from the old cowboy: "Never miss a good chance to shut up."

But like he says: "Advice is free because that is what it is worth."

Thanks.

P.S. The results of your research will be very interesting to read about!

:)

In a previous life I worked as a sales person in a service industry, though the service product was sold through a distribution channel. Early in my career there(14years) I was handed a territory that was in steep decline. Botton line was that it grew 3-fold under my stressed watch. BUT, if you asked distributors and end users why they used our service they invariably said they could count on me to fix any issues or at least knew I would do all in my power. I remember one customer (end user) calling me to say he'd pay, what was almost 30% more, to use our product because he knew I was there.
Servicing the customer wasn't part of the job, but I made it so.

More: When I announced I was leaving and going to a competitor the current company was surprised but didn't kill themselves to keep me. I returned every last $10 and $2 coupon I had. They were shocked because most people left and kept them for friends.

At the competitor I did the same thing in terms of growth. When I left there, same deal. Every valuable item was returned weeks in advance of my departure. they even asked me to stay on an additional 2 weeks to help them find replacement. They didn't find one until I was gone almost 5 months and I continually heard that they weren't happy with that person's performance.

I still visit there periodically and the reception couldn't be warmer.

Bottom line, people know when you deal honestly with them...even if you can't help...and they know who is scamming the system. It may seem harder to go the extra 5 miles/km but nothing sticks to you when you're clean.

Michael

If they would be a better assistant manager, they should get the job. After 20 years in a highly competitive industry, I advanced past others and was overtaken by others. But what took me to the top of the company was a passion for doing the job well, ensuring to the best of my ability that we delivered value for clients, and that I gave honest, useful advice to my superiors. They knew that I cared about them as people and that, if asked (and sometimes without being asked) they would get my honest view of how to resolve a business problem or achieve a business opportunity. But along the way I also learned that there are other people who have different skills, better skills, for some situations, that they are (most of them) good people, and that over the life cycle of a company, the kinds of skills that are most important evolve.

One kind of situation I never figured out how to manage was the agressive, unethical person who would poison other people to move ahead. The bodies tend to pile up behind these people, but they do move ahead if they are competent in their jobs. You engage them and before you know it you have descended to their level. And since you are acting in an unnatural way, and are not as good at the back-stabbing as them, you look like an idiot.

As to the last set of questions, you focus on what goes right, you focus your creativity on the company mission, you contribute your ideas, and every now and then (not always) you make sure that your superiors know what your role was in a successful project. If the cut-off or impendence are structural, then that can be a subject for improvement. It's more challenging when it's a people problem. But if management has any brains at all, over time they will see the people who contribute and those who obstruct for their own agenda. Time solves a lot of these problems.