Here is a great article. It's nominally on sales management, but I think it applies much more broadly.
"Sales Management is the Hardest Job in Sales" by Jeb Blount
http://www.peoplefollowyou.com/sales-management-the-hardest-job-in-sales/
The article starts out with a classic quote from Vince Lombardi, so you know the article is good! :)
"Leaders aren’t born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work. And that’s the price we’ll have to pay to achieve that goal, or any goal." – Vince Lombardi
The main thrust of the article is this: As a manager, you're not as important as you think.
"In sales leadership one principle stands above all: You need your people more than they need you. Another way of saying this is that you get paid for what your salespeople do, not for what you do."
"A basic understanding that you need your people more than they need you is the single most important leadership lesson you will ever learn. In our leadership seminars, we spend more time on this principle than any other concept. Why? Because until you get this—and I mean really make this principle part of your heart and soul—you cannot be a great sales manager. No exceptions."
I would add, as I said above, that this applies to other jobs besides sales. Consider the principal of a school. If he or she doesn't show up, life goes on. But if a teacher doesn't show up, that's a problem.
"One of the core traits of ineffective leaders and bad bosses is that they believe that they get paid for the things they do. These bosses range from the arrogantly self-centered to workaholics to micromanagers. They believe, at the core, that they are more important, smarter, and more competent than the people working for them."
"When you get your next paycheck, take a close look at it. The money that was deposited in your bank account was a direct result of the work your salespeople did. You were rewarded for their performance or nonperformance—not yours. To tell yourself anything different is an outright denial of the facts."
"As a sales leader, if your salesperson succeeds, you succeed. If your salesperson fails, you fail. So it follows that your job is to position your people to win. You must create an environment in which they can succeed, develop their skills, leverage their talents, and remove roadblocks so that they sell. You need them more than they need you. Anything that you do that impedes their success hurts you!"
"The single most important leadership principle is this: You get paid for what your people do, not what you do. You need your people more than they need you."
And the comments after the article are also very insightful.
From Scott Smith: "I believe as the leader of the sales team my job is not to be the boss, but to eliminate any and all problems the sales staff has so they can do their jobs more effectively, and to create a positive environment for them to work in."
Bill says: "The next time your manager calls you to 'check up on you' just ask him, 'What did you do today to help me make more money?' Most managers won’t have a clue how to answer and will be dumbfounded that you had the audacity to ask THEM that question(egomaniacs= most poor sales managers)."
From Guy Huttlin: "I was told a long time ago that a Sales Manager’s main job was to make heros not to be heros."
Greg Manjak says: "I had a former sales manager tell me years ago, that if you want to get to the top, then you must run interference for your sales team and give them a clear road to success. If you can do that, then your sales team will bring you to the top along with them!"
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Monday, November 14, 2011
Life is Short ... Again. Rest in Peace, Jason
Found out today that a co-worker died in a motorcycle accident over the weekend. He worked at our site in South Carolina, but I was just down there working closely with him on a major issue. He was a great guy to work with.
Jason was a Harley guy, not a sportbike guy like I guess I am (if I had to classify myself). But we got along great and had fun talking about motorcycles. I remember him talking about riding over the weekend when we last spoke on Friday.
I checked out Jason's Google+ page after he died. Sadly, and I know this is true for a lot of people I know, I think I know him a lot better now than when he was alive. Isn't that sad???
So here are a few highlights from his G+ page:
"Sometimes it takes a whole tankful of fuel before you can think straight."
Amen to that. I absolutely have been there. See the final link at the bottom of this post.
"Nothing good comes from hitting 'Reply All.'"
"I own a Harley, not just a fucking shirt."
"Don't let my motorcycle ride interfere with the safety of your phone call."
Once again, AMEN!
"When you die doing what you love to do what happens to your eternal soul? I make this commit knowing Dan Weldon died doing what he loved. So The question is if we die doing what we love are we eternally in heaven ?"
Sad, reading that one. He had a couple posts after Dan Weldon (IndyCar racer) died.
After posting a story about Hermain Cain:
"For the Record I like Herman Cain as a person , however I'm not sure he'll make it though the whole election process. I'm not convinced he is the best choice . Today as well as the last election I believe Ron Paul is what's needed for this nation to right the ship. I'm not sure America is ready for that kind of reform."
WHAT? Jason was a Ron Paul supporter? No wonder he and I got along so well!!!
"Warning don't read this if you get offended easily"
Biker Chick: Top 25 Things Biker Chicks Say....(That make Bikers love them!!)
Maybe a bit over the top, but who can argue with that? :)
As I said above, it is a SHAME that I didn't know him better while he was alive. We had a lot more in common than I realized. There's a lesson there, I think...
I will miss him on a personal and professional level. Rest in peace, Jason.
This is the second time I've had to make a post like this. Maybe this is another sign that I'm getting old. If so, I don't like it, not one bit.
Here is what I wrote back on October 13, 2010 when my friend Aaron died:
Life is short, enjoy It. Rest in peace, Aaron.
And one of my motorcycle posts was really all about my uncle, who died of ALS a few years ago:
Blue Ridge Parkway, GA, NC, VA, WV, TN - Trip Report
Friday, November 11, 2011
Love Songs from the 70s
Maybe I'm old, but I remember a lot of these songs! And the ones I didn't remember by name, I remembered once I heard the song.
From Nerve.com:
"The 25 Greatest Love Songs of the 1970s"
http://www.nerve.com/music/the-25-greatest-love-songs-of-the-1970s-0
There are some GREAT songs on this list.
To be fair, there are also some dogs. I don't really get "Somewhere" by Tom Waits. I don't get Donna Summer, either.
Patti Smith, "Because the Night," on the other hand, is a song I really like.
And I can't argue with their number one choice.
From Nerve.com:
"The 25 Greatest Love Songs of the 1970s"
http://www.nerve.com/music/the-25-greatest-love-songs-of-the-1970s-0
There are some GREAT songs on this list.
To be fair, there are also some dogs. I don't really get "Somewhere" by Tom Waits. I don't get Donna Summer, either.
Patti Smith, "Because the Night," on the other hand, is a song I really like.
And I can't argue with their number one choice.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Carolina Century, 2011
http://bl2u.com/events/carolina-century-2011/
Once again, I completed the 102 mile Carolina Century this past Saturday. The family did the 31 mile option on their bikes. I need to get my girls used to skating long distances...
Not much to say, the skate was drama-free. So I'll just give some initial impressions.
What a great skate! Just like last year, conditions were perfect. No special difficulty, just a great day to skate.
Four skaters this year: Blake, Elizabeth, Bob Harwell, and me. Bob and I left Blake and Elizabeth fairly early in the skate, around 5-7 miles in (?). In Blake's defense, it sounded like he was on his phone quite a bit still working out some issues with other event organizers and volunteers.
Weather was perfect. Started at about 40 degrees, I think, but that wasn't a problem. Hey, it was 35 degrees last year and that turned out fine. Rose to nearly 70 degrees by the end of the day (and most of the day was closer to 70 degrees than 40 once the sun came out). Perfectly clear day, not a hint of rain. Just a crisp, clear, mountain day.
As good as the weather was, and it was incredible, the roads were even better. Let me be clear: I have never skated a course with better roads and I don't expect to for the rest of my life. The roads were THAT GOOD. Many roads looked like they had been paved within the past week--perfect, smooth, black ice (including one stretch that had been chip sealed just before this skate 4 years ago, so the contrast with skating that same stretch on gravel was striking). In fact, they were still paving one portion of the course during our skate and they were still painting another recently-paved portion. They didn't quite get the whole course done in time for our skate, but they were trying! Amazing. Really emphasizes the need to paint the course as late as possible!
No missed turns this year. Two years ago I missed a turn marker in the driving rain. And last year we missed a turn that cost us 2-3 miles as we backtracked (not a big deal). But I know the course a lot better now, so I don't expect to miss turns in the future.
I skated with Bob for about 85 miles. Bob is fast but I had a bit more climbing ability on this day. We skipped every other rest stop, but when we did stop we took our time. I'm NOT complaining, just describing the day. Lord knows that when I've skated with Mark Sibert in the past I've slowed him down (judging by our A2A times).
I felt very good all day, except for the usual general fatigue towards the end. Much better than I felt at A2A. At A2A my heart rate was up in the 140+ range, even my average heart rate early in the skate. For whatever reason, I wasn't up to the job at A2A. But during this event my average heart rate on the day was only 128 bpm. And it was in the low 120s early in the skate. Yeah, the pace was a little slower this year, but I did feel better than I did at A2A.
I was a little surprised at how many people were out shooting this year. There were at least three groups of people shooting rifles along the course this year. Looked like they were shooting at targets, sighting in their guns. Not a bad thing, just surprising to hear a number of gunshots along the course. Two of the groups were rather close to the road (shooting away from the road, by the way!).
Only hit 42.7 mph on the steep downhill near "Mount Trashmore" this year. Bob was concerned with the slight turn that doesn't allow you to see the end of the downhill so he didn't want to go down in a pack. He said that next year he'll be comfortable taking it all-out.
The downhill into the "T" was tough, as always--gotta make sure we controlled our speed. And then the infamous 4-mile uphill (around Miles 74-78?) that follows it was as grueling as ever. Bob told me I could skate ahead if I wanted to, but I didn't want to part company yet so I hung with him. I stayed with him until "A2A Hill" around Mile 85 or 86. I call it "A2A Hill" because it just seems like a cruel injustice to have such a steep hill at that point. Your legs feel like you should be done around 87 miles, but no, you're right in the middle of a monster climb. At that point I climbed on without Bob.
Not much more to say. I had enough water to make the finish, and didn't feel like eating anymore, so I skipped the final few rest stops. Blake added a few more "surprise" stops to make sure that people struggling to finish would have a place to rest and to take on some more water. Much appreciated but not necessary for me on this day.
The uphill finish was tough, as usual, but I made it. After resting a bit, I wanted to make sure that Bob was doing okay. So I grabbed a ride back to where he was. Turns out he was still 4 or 5 miles from the finish. Since I had rested for a while, I was relatively fresh (as fresh as you can be after skating 102 miles, I guess) so I did what I could to lead him home.
Some stats, from my Garmin GPS:
Total distance: 101.83 miles (GPS drops out a bit, it was probably a bit longer)
Total time: 8:01:18.38 (this must be "moving" time)
Avg. speed: 12.7 mph (again, "moving" speed)
Avg. heart rate: 128 bpm
Total Ascent: 9477 ft (should be the same as descent, some error here)
Total Descent: 9186 ft (should be the same as ascent, some error here)
Note: Starting time was 7:30a and finish time was 4:28p, so that works out to an official time of 8:58. Slower than I've done with Mark Sibert in the past, but not bad for me. We did have more resting time at the stops and we weren't able to climb the hills as quickly as Mark and I did. Even though my time was slower than last year, I felt like I could have duplicated my time from last year if Mark had been there.
Blake didn't have a scale handy at the finish for his power challenge (if you weigh half as much you have to skate twice as fast!), but I estimated 245 lbs. (with skates and such) as my official weight.
Once again, I completed the 102 mile Carolina Century this past Saturday. The family did the 31 mile option on their bikes. I need to get my girls used to skating long distances...
Not much to say, the skate was drama-free. So I'll just give some initial impressions.
What a great skate! Just like last year, conditions were perfect. No special difficulty, just a great day to skate.
Four skaters this year: Blake, Elizabeth, Bob Harwell, and me. Bob and I left Blake and Elizabeth fairly early in the skate, around 5-7 miles in (?). In Blake's defense, it sounded like he was on his phone quite a bit still working out some issues with other event organizers and volunteers.
Weather was perfect. Started at about 40 degrees, I think, but that wasn't a problem. Hey, it was 35 degrees last year and that turned out fine. Rose to nearly 70 degrees by the end of the day (and most of the day was closer to 70 degrees than 40 once the sun came out). Perfectly clear day, not a hint of rain. Just a crisp, clear, mountain day.
As good as the weather was, and it was incredible, the roads were even better. Let me be clear: I have never skated a course with better roads and I don't expect to for the rest of my life. The roads were THAT GOOD. Many roads looked like they had been paved within the past week--perfect, smooth, black ice (including one stretch that had been chip sealed just before this skate 4 years ago, so the contrast with skating that same stretch on gravel was striking). In fact, they were still paving one portion of the course during our skate and they were still painting another recently-paved portion. They didn't quite get the whole course done in time for our skate, but they were trying! Amazing. Really emphasizes the need to paint the course as late as possible!
No missed turns this year. Two years ago I missed a turn marker in the driving rain. And last year we missed a turn that cost us 2-3 miles as we backtracked (not a big deal). But I know the course a lot better now, so I don't expect to miss turns in the future.
I skated with Bob for about 85 miles. Bob is fast but I had a bit more climbing ability on this day. We skipped every other rest stop, but when we did stop we took our time. I'm NOT complaining, just describing the day. Lord knows that when I've skated with Mark Sibert in the past I've slowed him down (judging by our A2A times).
I felt very good all day, except for the usual general fatigue towards the end. Much better than I felt at A2A. At A2A my heart rate was up in the 140+ range, even my average heart rate early in the skate. For whatever reason, I wasn't up to the job at A2A. But during this event my average heart rate on the day was only 128 bpm. And it was in the low 120s early in the skate. Yeah, the pace was a little slower this year, but I did feel better than I did at A2A.
I was a little surprised at how many people were out shooting this year. There were at least three groups of people shooting rifles along the course this year. Looked like they were shooting at targets, sighting in their guns. Not a bad thing, just surprising to hear a number of gunshots along the course. Two of the groups were rather close to the road (shooting away from the road, by the way!).
Only hit 42.7 mph on the steep downhill near "Mount Trashmore" this year. Bob was concerned with the slight turn that doesn't allow you to see the end of the downhill so he didn't want to go down in a pack. He said that next year he'll be comfortable taking it all-out.
The downhill into the "T" was tough, as always--gotta make sure we controlled our speed. And then the infamous 4-mile uphill (around Miles 74-78?) that follows it was as grueling as ever. Bob told me I could skate ahead if I wanted to, but I didn't want to part company yet so I hung with him. I stayed with him until "A2A Hill" around Mile 85 or 86. I call it "A2A Hill" because it just seems like a cruel injustice to have such a steep hill at that point. Your legs feel like you should be done around 87 miles, but no, you're right in the middle of a monster climb. At that point I climbed on without Bob.
Not much more to say. I had enough water to make the finish, and didn't feel like eating anymore, so I skipped the final few rest stops. Blake added a few more "surprise" stops to make sure that people struggling to finish would have a place to rest and to take on some more water. Much appreciated but not necessary for me on this day.
The uphill finish was tough, as usual, but I made it. After resting a bit, I wanted to make sure that Bob was doing okay. So I grabbed a ride back to where he was. Turns out he was still 4 or 5 miles from the finish. Since I had rested for a while, I was relatively fresh (as fresh as you can be after skating 102 miles, I guess) so I did what I could to lead him home.
Some stats, from my Garmin GPS:
Total distance: 101.83 miles (GPS drops out a bit, it was probably a bit longer)
Total time: 8:01:18.38 (this must be "moving" time)
Avg. speed: 12.7 mph (again, "moving" speed)
Avg. heart rate: 128 bpm
Total Ascent: 9477 ft (should be the same as descent, some error here)
Total Descent: 9186 ft (should be the same as ascent, some error here)
Note: Starting time was 7:30a and finish time was 4:28p, so that works out to an official time of 8:58. Slower than I've done with Mark Sibert in the past, but not bad for me. We did have more resting time at the stops and we weren't able to climb the hills as quickly as Mark and I did. Even though my time was slower than last year, I felt like I could have duplicated my time from last year if Mark had been there.
Blake didn't have a scale handy at the finish for his power challenge (if you weigh half as much you have to skate twice as fast!), but I estimated 245 lbs. (with skates and such) as my official weight.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Song of the Day: Marina and the Diamonds - Are You Satisfied?
This is my new favorite singer. And my new favorite song.
Marina and the Diamonds - Are You Satisfied?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oS2vMUIPeT4
"Are you satisfied with an average life?"
Here's another song by Marina and the Diamonds. This one took me a bit longer for me to appreciate. The more I listen to it, the more I like it. You might say I'm becoming obsessed it with it. :)
Marina and the Diamonds - Obsessions
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=np3QLrHJmRA&feature=BFa&list=FLLyMXzN-l82Cci8MT2bxwjw&index=8
Lyrics for both songs....
Are You Satisfied?
Artist Marina And The Diamonds
Album The Family Jewels (2010) , Track 1
Song lyrics
I was pulling out my hair
The day I got the deal
Chemically calm
Was I meant to feel happy
that my life was just about to change
One life pretending to be
The cow who got the cream
Oh, everybody said
"Marina is a dreamer"
People like to tell you
What you're gonna be
It's not my problem if you don't see what I see
And I do not give a damn if you don't believe
My problem its my problem
That I never am happy
It's my problem, it's my problem
On how fast I will succeed
Are you satisfied with an average life ?
Do I need to lie to make my way in life ?
High achiever don't you see
Baby, nothing comes for free
They say I'm a control freak
Driven a greed to succeed
Nobody can stop me
Cause it's my problem
If I want to pack up and run away
It's my business if I feel the need to
Smoke and drink and sway
It's my problem, it's my problem
If I feel the need to hide
And it's my problem if I have no friends
And feel I want to die
Are you satisfied with an average life ?
Do I need to lie to make my way in life ?
Are you satisfied with an average life ?
Do I need to lie to make my way in life ?
Are you satisfied with an easy ride ?
Once you cross the line
Will you be satisfied?
Sad inside ... in this life ... Unsatisfied, praying
Sad inside ... in this life ... Unsatisfied, waiting
Are you satisfied with an average life
Do I need to lie to make my way in life
Are you satisfied with an easy ride
Once you cross the line
Will you be satisfied?
Are you satisfied? (x8)
Artist: Marina And The Diamonds lyrics
Title: Obsessions
Lyrics to Obsessions:
Sunday, wake up, give me a cigarette.
Last night’s love affair is looking vulnerable in my bed
Silk sheet, blue dawn, Colgate, tongue warm
Won’t you quit your crying? I can’t sleep
One minute I’m a little sweetheart
And next minute you are an absolute creep
We’ve got obsessions
I want to wipe out all the sad ideas that come to me when I am holding you
We’ve got obsessions
All you ever think about are sick ideas involving me, involving you
Supermarket, what packet of crackers to pick?
They’re all the same, one brand, one name, but really they’re not
Look, look, just choose something quick
People are staring, time to come quick in (?)
Cheeks are on fire; just choose something, something, something
Pressure overwhelming
Next minute I am turning out of the door, facing one week without food
A day, a day when things are pretty bad
Don’t let it make you feel sad, the crackers were probably bad luck anyway
Can’t let your cold heart be free
When you act like you’ve got an OCD
We’ve got obsessions
I want to erase every nasty thought that bugs me every day of every week
We’ve got obsessions
You never tell me what it is that makes you strong and what it is that makes you weak.
We’ve got obsessions
I want to erase every nasty thought that bugs me every day of every week.
We’ve got obsessions
You never told me what it was that made you strong and what it was that made you weak
Makes you weak, makes you weak, make you weak, make you weak, make you weak
Make you…
Sunday, wake up, give me a cigarette
Last night’s love affair is looking vulnerable again
Monday, October 17, 2011
Hacked!
Do you have your e-mail account "in the cloud" as they say? It is convenient, but there are risks.
Check out this article, from The Atlantic:
"Hacked!" by James Fallows
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/11/hacked/8673/?single_page=true
As someone who uses GMail literally everyday, I was almost literally screaming at the screen as I read it. USE TWO-FACTOR AUTHENTICATION, YOU DOLT! How could you possibly write an article like this without mentioning it? Until, finally, about 80% of the way through the article, the author finally got around to the most important point. Even then, he calls it a "half step". He's wrong, of course, to think of it that way just because other e-mail services do such a poor job relative to Google. But at least he mentions it and recommends it:
"Here it is: if you use Gmail, please use Google’s new 'two-step verification' system. In practice this means that to log into your account from any place other than your own computer, you have to enter an additional code, from Google, shown on your mobile phone. On your own computer, you enter a code only once every 30 days. This is not an airtight solution, but it can thwart nearly all of the remote attacks that affect Gmail thousands of times a day. Even though the hacker in Lagos has your password, if he doesn’t have your cell phone, he can’t get in."
"In case you’ve missed the point: if you use Gmail, use this system. Also, make sure the recovery information for your account—a backup e-mail address or cell phone where you can receive password-reset information—is current. Google uses these to verify that you are the real owner."
That is all good advice. Follow it.
Want more information? Check out this G+ post from a Google Senior VP:
https://plus.google.com/100873628951632372330/posts/Fvr2rCPiPUu
"Just as a quick followup on yesterday's post, James has now posted a nice Q&A with the most frequently asked questions. The Gmail Help Center also has an excellent security checklist (https://mail.google.com/support/bin/static.py?hl=en&page=checklist.cs&tab=29495)."
"And just to add one more point: account hijacking is not a theoretical possibility. Every day we thwart tens of thousands of hijacking attempts where the hijacker has the correct account password. We've occasionally had attackers with hundreds of thousands of correct passwords (usually from users who use the same password and user name on other sites). Think about it--you could be one of them."
"Is using Gmail's 'two-factor' system a nuisance? Let me put it this way: is it a nuisance carrying around keys to your house, versus just leaving the door unlocked?"
Check out this article, from The Atlantic:
"Hacked!" by James Fallows
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/11/hacked/8673/?single_page=true
As someone who uses GMail literally everyday, I was almost literally screaming at the screen as I read it. USE TWO-FACTOR AUTHENTICATION, YOU DOLT! How could you possibly write an article like this without mentioning it? Until, finally, about 80% of the way through the article, the author finally got around to the most important point. Even then, he calls it a "half step". He's wrong, of course, to think of it that way just because other e-mail services do such a poor job relative to Google. But at least he mentions it and recommends it:
"Here it is: if you use Gmail, please use Google’s new 'two-step verification' system. In practice this means that to log into your account from any place other than your own computer, you have to enter an additional code, from Google, shown on your mobile phone. On your own computer, you enter a code only once every 30 days. This is not an airtight solution, but it can thwart nearly all of the remote attacks that affect Gmail thousands of times a day. Even though the hacker in Lagos has your password, if he doesn’t have your cell phone, he can’t get in."
"In case you’ve missed the point: if you use Gmail, use this system. Also, make sure the recovery information for your account—a backup e-mail address or cell phone where you can receive password-reset information—is current. Google uses these to verify that you are the real owner."
That is all good advice. Follow it.
Want more information? Check out this G+ post from a Google Senior VP:
https://plus.google.com/100873628951632372330/posts/Fvr2rCPiPUu
"Just as a quick followup on yesterday's post, James has now posted a nice Q&A with the most frequently asked questions. The Gmail Help Center also has an excellent security checklist (https://mail.google.com/support/bin/static.py?hl=en&page=checklist.cs&tab=29495)."
"And just to add one more point: account hijacking is not a theoretical possibility. Every day we thwart tens of thousands of hijacking attempts where the hijacker has the correct account password. We've occasionally had attackers with hundreds of thousands of correct passwords (usually from users who use the same password and user name on other sites). Think about it--you could be one of them."
"Is using Gmail's 'two-factor' system a nuisance? Let me put it this way: is it a nuisance carrying around keys to your house, versus just leaving the door unlocked?"
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Apple's Siri versus Google's Voice Search
By now you must have heard of "Siri," the voice recognition software on the new iPhone. Wonderful technology. Here's an interesting article comparing it with Google's Voice Search voice recognition feature on Android phones. More importantly, it discusses the future of this technology.
From Datamation:
"Why You'll Fire Siri and Hire Google" by Mike Elgan
http://www.datamation.com/mobile-wireless/why-youll-fire-siri-and-hire-google-1.html
I don't know what the future holds but it sure will be interesting. More steps toward artificial intelligence, perhaps? Lots of the stuff from science fiction shows is becoming reality!
From Datamation:
"Why You'll Fire Siri and Hire Google" by Mike Elgan
http://www.datamation.com/mobile-wireless/why-youll-fire-siri-and-hire-google-1.html
I don't know what the future holds but it sure will be interesting. More steps toward artificial intelligence, perhaps? Lots of the stuff from science fiction shows is becoming reality!
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