I'm in the process of preparing for two finalist meetings. Very different proposals, very different organizations. There's a lot to do, and a lot that needs to come together very quickly. And, frankly, there's a lot riding on it. Wins are hard to come by right now.
I've been asked how I handle the pressure of a sales role, with its dramatic ups and downs.
To me, sales is essentially about trust. You can make promises, but the client has to decide if they trust you, your team, your organization, to deliver those promises. That trust is built in every interaction you have. In my field, that could be years. And it can fall apart with one statement, or one misunderstood email.
You also have to have the right product. I could promise to deliver you the best VHS recorder ever made, but somehow I doubt you'll buy it.
The product is an organizational thing. Trust is a personal one. And I have more control over one than the other.
That, to me, is the biggest challenge with sales. The fact that so much of what I make is based on the product, and yet I have so little control over it.
But as I look at the rest of my life, I can see that this is always true. I'd like to think that what I make, how I do in the world is in some sense related to merit, to things that I have control over. That if I work hard I will make money and have success in the traditional way of measuring those things. And over time, I guess that's been true.
But for me and for many of my friends, so much seems like luck, good or bad. Maybe you land the big account and get paid handsomely for it. Maybe you lose a client, or maybe you even lose your job. So much of the time, events seem unrelated to effort or skill or even trust. (And in the purest sense, many of the talents and other qualities that we are born with our without are the biggest example of pure luck that I can think of.)
I'm left with doing my best, because that's really the only thing I have any control over. Whether I'm in sales or not.
Jeff
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Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Monday, May 9, 2011
A Belated Happy Mother's Day
I want to wish Happy Mother's Day to my wife, to my mother, and to all the mothers in my life.
In my lifetime, I've seen the meaning of the word mother shift dramatically. In just one generation, the typical mother has gone from someone who stayed at home and handled all of the skinned knees, sports practices, dance recitals, homework, and other school and household stuff to someone who handles all of that and often works 40 to 50 hours a week on top of it. I know consultants, lawyers and doctors who do this. Even mothers who don't work outside the home face many more challenges and options for their kids than our own mothers did. For every mother, it seems, there's a constant fear of failure.
In my view, mothers are heroic in our culture. There are simply not enough hours in the day, and yet mothers do their two or more jobs, without complaint, and in many ways form the backbone of our society. I sometimes wonder if what I write, talking about the possibility of happiness in each moment of work and life, can seem at all possible to today's mother. I think in some small way it can. That it might even be essential.
I've talked with moms who in the midst of the chaos think that they can't get it done, that it's simply not possible, that it's a thankless job. And yet time and time again they come through. Are they perfect? No. But is the job of parent about perfection? No.
Parenting is about the small moments, the moments of presence, of connection. And I think moms should find solace that they can succeed even if they missed the game or the recital, even if they were occasionally late for the pickup. If they regularly have that felt connection with their children, if their children understand that mom and dad hear them and are on their side, then parents have done everything that anyone can possible expect of them and more.
That possibility of connection is right here, in this moment, in each moment we have with our children. It only takes a few of these moments to provide a lifetime of learning and bonding. Even if those moments happen when we're late to meet the bus. Parenting, like everything else, is about accepting what is. Thinking we should be better at it only adds to our suffering.
I want to thank and honor mothers everywhere for being perfect, just as they are, in everything they do.
Jeff
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In my lifetime, I've seen the meaning of the word mother shift dramatically. In just one generation, the typical mother has gone from someone who stayed at home and handled all of the skinned knees, sports practices, dance recitals, homework, and other school and household stuff to someone who handles all of that and often works 40 to 50 hours a week on top of it. I know consultants, lawyers and doctors who do this. Even mothers who don't work outside the home face many more challenges and options for their kids than our own mothers did. For every mother, it seems, there's a constant fear of failure.
In my view, mothers are heroic in our culture. There are simply not enough hours in the day, and yet mothers do their two or more jobs, without complaint, and in many ways form the backbone of our society. I sometimes wonder if what I write, talking about the possibility of happiness in each moment of work and life, can seem at all possible to today's mother. I think in some small way it can. That it might even be essential.
I've talked with moms who in the midst of the chaos think that they can't get it done, that it's simply not possible, that it's a thankless job. And yet time and time again they come through. Are they perfect? No. But is the job of parent about perfection? No.
Parenting is about the small moments, the moments of presence, of connection. And I think moms should find solace that they can succeed even if they missed the game or the recital, even if they were occasionally late for the pickup. If they regularly have that felt connection with their children, if their children understand that mom and dad hear them and are on their side, then parents have done everything that anyone can possible expect of them and more.
That possibility of connection is right here, in this moment, in each moment we have with our children. It only takes a few of these moments to provide a lifetime of learning and bonding. Even if those moments happen when we're late to meet the bus. Parenting, like everything else, is about accepting what is. Thinking we should be better at it only adds to our suffering.
I want to thank and honor mothers everywhere for being perfect, just as they are, in everything they do.
Jeff
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Friday, May 6, 2011
The Coming Revolution
I was just talking with a coworker and good friend, and we see the world crumbling around us. The old guard, the old values are rapidly being replaced with a completely new one.
Osama bin Laden is just one example of this. Why do you need terrorists when, with a webcam and an internet connection, you can start your own revolution? When a few thousand unarmed people can overthrow a country, why do you need suicide bombers? Sure, there will always be angry wackos who want to hurt people. But terrorism as a method for regime change no longer seems necessary, or even relevant.
The same thing is happening in the corporate world. Most don't see it yet, because they're trying too hard to hold onto the old order. If the model worked ten years ago, can't we just dust it off and maybe put up a Facebook page? Tweet a little and tell people how great it is?
Nope. The old order, the one driven by research and advertising, where I know what's best for you so therefore you'll do it, is already dead. In the old model you needed scale to do anything. In the new model everyone already has access to everything and the only limitation is finding the right idea.
I can't just build and tell anymore. If the customer doesn't feel heard, there is no sale. The new model is about collaboration, whether that means overthrowing a despot or designing new software. In the new model, the customer designs the solution, the supplier or seller listens instead of telling. The new model isn't even one model. It's unlimited models. It's about putting stuff out there and seeing what happens, about not knowing what's going to happen but trusting that it will be something great.
And those who are best at trusting collaboration are going to be the revolutionaries who succeed.
I'm a big fan of Seth Godin and his book Linchpin, which just came out in paperback. Buy it. But if you want a compelling example of how he thinks, and you have an hour or so, follow this link to a four part presentation. If you have fifteen minutes and just want the big finish, go straight to part four.
The password is iboughtthebook. And again, please do if you haven't already.
Jeff
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Osama bin Laden is just one example of this. Why do you need terrorists when, with a webcam and an internet connection, you can start your own revolution? When a few thousand unarmed people can overthrow a country, why do you need suicide bombers? Sure, there will always be angry wackos who want to hurt people. But terrorism as a method for regime change no longer seems necessary, or even relevant.
The same thing is happening in the corporate world. Most don't see it yet, because they're trying too hard to hold onto the old order. If the model worked ten years ago, can't we just dust it off and maybe put up a Facebook page? Tweet a little and tell people how great it is?
Nope. The old order, the one driven by research and advertising, where I know what's best for you so therefore you'll do it, is already dead. In the old model you needed scale to do anything. In the new model everyone already has access to everything and the only limitation is finding the right idea.
I can't just build and tell anymore. If the customer doesn't feel heard, there is no sale. The new model is about collaboration, whether that means overthrowing a despot or designing new software. In the new model, the customer designs the solution, the supplier or seller listens instead of telling. The new model isn't even one model. It's unlimited models. It's about putting stuff out there and seeing what happens, about not knowing what's going to happen but trusting that it will be something great.
And those who are best at trusting collaboration are going to be the revolutionaries who succeed.
I'm a big fan of Seth Godin and his book Linchpin, which just came out in paperback. Buy it. But if you want a compelling example of how he thinks, and you have an hour or so, follow this link to a four part presentation. If you have fifteen minutes and just want the big finish, go straight to part four.
The password is iboughtthebook. And again, please do if you haven't already.
Jeff
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Thursday, May 5, 2011
Knowing What's Next
According to coach Michael Neill, most of the time, when we think about what's next, we think in terms of what we have now plus ten percent. Twenty percent if we're really thinking big.
When I buy a new computer, for example, I might think about the capabilities of my current machine, but more of them. More disk space, more RAM, a faster processor.
When I think about a new job, I might think about the same industry, but more responsibility and more money.
This is left-brained thinking. It assumes that tomorrow is basically just like today, only a little bit more (or maybe a little bit less).
Though I desperately want to believe that's true, every market correction, every natural disaster, every corporate purchase or merger or restructuring shows me this isn't the case. Life comes in fits and starts. It isn't linear.
And non-linear is the province of the right brain.
What's next? I don't know. But I do know that it's much more likely to be revealed to me through gut feel, through intuition, through synchronicity, than it is thorough assuming the upward-sloping line on the revenue chart is going to continue.
Jeff
(True footnote. As I was writing this, my wife discovered her wallet had been stolen, and we spent the better part of the evening calling our credit cards and bank accounts. We never know what's next. Ever.)
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When I buy a new computer, for example, I might think about the capabilities of my current machine, but more of them. More disk space, more RAM, a faster processor.
When I think about a new job, I might think about the same industry, but more responsibility and more money.
This is left-brained thinking. It assumes that tomorrow is basically just like today, only a little bit more (or maybe a little bit less).
Though I desperately want to believe that's true, every market correction, every natural disaster, every corporate purchase or merger or restructuring shows me this isn't the case. Life comes in fits and starts. It isn't linear.
And non-linear is the province of the right brain.
What's next? I don't know. But I do know that it's much more likely to be revealed to me through gut feel, through intuition, through synchronicity, than it is thorough assuming the upward-sloping line on the revenue chart is going to continue.
Jeff
(True footnote. As I was writing this, my wife discovered her wallet had been stolen, and we spent the better part of the evening calling our credit cards and bank accounts. We never know what's next. Ever.)
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Wednesday, May 4, 2011
A Day of Mourning
My employer is going through some big changes right now, and a lot of people I know are being impacted.
Times like this can bring panic, anger, frustration--all the emotions that come up when we feel the sands shifting under us, when we don't know what the future might bring.
There is so much going on in work and life that it can be easy to get lost in our stories, in our deepest fears of what might happen next.
Today is not about advice. Today is about being willing to stay with what is happening. Today is about not being afraid to be afraid, about feeling whatever we are feeling, and about knowing that this, too, will pass.
Jeff
Times like this can bring panic, anger, frustration--all the emotions that come up when we feel the sands shifting under us, when we don't know what the future might bring.
There is so much going on in work and life that it can be easy to get lost in our stories, in our deepest fears of what might happen next.
Today is not about advice. Today is about being willing to stay with what is happening. Today is about not being afraid to be afraid, about feeling whatever we are feeling, and about knowing that this, too, will pass.
Jeff
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
A New Way to Begin Meetings
If you're like me, your work meetings aren't models of efficiency or focus. The invitees rush in, often late, chattering about the latest gossip or the pressures of their various deadlines. If people are on the phone, it's often with the tacit understanding that they will be working on other things during the call.
After beginning late, things seem to go downhill from there. Content is rushed through or missed, decisions are delayed, more meetings are scheduled, seemingly without end.
I think meetings like these get off track at the very beginning.
What if the next meeting you walked into began differently? If you read this blog, you know the value of the reset button, of simply being present for a moment or two. What if we tried this at work?
"Thank you for coming today. We have a lot to do and I want to make sure we are as focused as possible. So let's start with a five minute reset."
Imagine a company where everyone knew that meant to sit quietly, to focus on their breath, to settle into the moment, without thinking about what they were going to say or who they had to impress. And what if every meeting began with that reset?
What do you think that would mean to our productivity? To our creativity? To the connections that we feel with each other? Even to our health?
Could this actually happen? Or is it only a naive dream?
Jeff
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After beginning late, things seem to go downhill from there. Content is rushed through or missed, decisions are delayed, more meetings are scheduled, seemingly without end.
I think meetings like these get off track at the very beginning.
What if the next meeting you walked into began differently? If you read this blog, you know the value of the reset button, of simply being present for a moment or two. What if we tried this at work?
"Thank you for coming today. We have a lot to do and I want to make sure we are as focused as possible. So let's start with a five minute reset."
Imagine a company where everyone knew that meant to sit quietly, to focus on their breath, to settle into the moment, without thinking about what they were going to say or who they had to impress. And what if every meeting began with that reset?
What do you think that would mean to our productivity? To our creativity? To the connections that we feel with each other? Even to our health?
Could this actually happen? Or is it only a naive dream?
Jeff
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Monday, May 2, 2011
No God Required
[Jeff is on vacation today. This post originally appeared on January 27, 2011.]
The core of much of my writing is based on nondual philosophy, which is also behind wisdom traditions such as zen, dzogchen, and advaita vedanta.
The core of much of my writing is based on nondual philosophy, which is also behind wisdom traditions such as zen, dzogchen, and advaita vedanta.
Over the years, when people of all traditions have started down these nondual paths, they have been on a quest for God, whether as an inner divine spirit (the typical eastern approach) or as a separate "ghost in the machine" that created the visible universe and to some extent still oversees it.
But the realization of the nondual path is to see that there never was any separation between that which you would call God and that which is not God. Either everything is God or nothing is, and the nondual doesn't have an opinion on the matter.
Simply put, the nondual is "what is," without a story. What is with God is a story. What is without God is also a story.
But this what is can also be what is at work, or what is in relationship, or what is in addiction and recovery. Everyone brings their own circumstances and beliefs and stories to this work, and they all can be fuel for seeing through. For dropping our constructed world and seeing what is in all its ordinary simplicity.
We start down a path thinking there is an end, and find not only that there is no end, but that there never was a path.
We don't find the answer; we lose the question.
Jeff
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