Hard Work? Just Lucky...or Just Networking?

 

Over the years I have befriended some fairly successful people and nearly every one of them throws the same old adage at me for their success.

"Hard work.  That's how I became successful.  I worked harder than everyone else. If you're competition is working 12 hours a day, you have to work 15!"

But that can't be the only reason.  Seriously?  We all work hard, but in order to be more successful than others, certain things need to happen.  Is it luck?  People resent the idea that luck played any part in their success.  Why?  

"It's insulting for you to say that I was lucky.  I wasn't lucky.  It was my hard work that led to success."

Really? I don't think so... it isn't all about just the hard work. Often it's about who you know and your contacts. And it also depends upon where you're born. I live in a very nice area of Los Angeles and I see my friends setting up their children to be successful by putting them in front of the right people.  It's what you do if you're looking out for your kids.  But how successful would these young people be in a different environment?  How well off would they be if they lived in Gardena, Huntington Park, or Fontana? Hard work or just born in the right area and lucky to have great parents? Maybe all three?

Our nation is oddly divided, but the majority of us are in the same boat.  We aren't ultra rich but many of us wished we were.  We all don't have a great job, but we wish we did.  Many of us are struggling just to survive in a corporate world that rewards those on the top and villifies those on the bottom.  Last year I was at a national training meeting and the president of corporate sales opened the conference with this line, "If you're not first you're last. Nobody cares who comes in second. If you're second then you're a loser...I love me some Ricky Bobby."  So do I, but it's a movie and it's a comedy. It's not reality!

So how do we get to be number one?  How do we climb the corporate ladder?  Is it really hard work?  Yes and no.  If you want to move up quickly start by working hard and finish by kissing some major ass with everybody at the corporate office.  From the people at the front desk to the people sweeping the floors, you need to speak to anyone and everyone that will listen to your story.  Here's five quick tips on how to move up.

•  Be Uber Positive - Corporate people love it when you give positive feedback.  In fact, one question I received during an interview for a management position was, "How do you implement a corporate directive that you don't agree with?"  Initially, I thought to say, "I don't. I call bullshit when I see it." But you can't do that if you want to move up.  If you're a corporate climber, tell the higher ups they're doing the right thing and try to find a silver lining amidst the messaging. 
• Ask For Mentorship - People who are in positions of power, lover to be admired. And if you show deference and ask for career guidance, they will love you for it!  The quickest way to get promoted is to become a "mini-me" of someone in a leadership position.  As long as you produce, you're bound to move up...even if you're a bit of a f#$% up.
• Promote Yourself - I have seen people who aren't very good at their jobs fall upwards because whenever they did do something right, they let everyone know about it.  Early in my career at Cintas, there was one service manager who always had great ideas, but never had great numbers.  So how did he get promoted to GM...self promotion.  Anytime he had an idea, he reached out to the area vice president, and suddenly we were all following his lead.  Even though his performance wasn't great, he was promoted to general manager long before people who were much more deserving.
• Become A Drinking Buddy - I am not a big drinker.  I enjoy beer and wine, but I cannot hang out with people all night and drink.  I have a tendency to fall asleep.  Consequently, I never buddied up to the bar with some of the senior leaders who could consume more alcohol than a hand sanitizer factory.  However, some of my friends discovered if they hung out with the corporate hierarchy, they could leverage those late nights into fast promotions.  Belly up to the bar, and you might be hungover but you can still climb over a few sober people to get that promotion!
• Suck Up, Suck Up, Move Up - In 6 years, I saw someone go from an intern to regional manager at a major healthcare company, and he hadn't yet turned 30.  How?  He basically sucked up to everyone in the corporate offices who could influence his career.  He only had one good year, just one, but because he was kissing everyone's butt, when a promotion came up, he was on the short list.  Keep in mind, he wasn't ready for a leadership role, but he got it because he networked with marketing, contracting, R&D, and anyone who would listen.  No one is going to promote you, if they don't know you, no matter how hard you work.

These tips are not a guarantee of success, but they'll help put you in a better position for that next step in your career.  

-SFTD

5 Signs Your Boss Should Not Be Trusted

Throughout my career, I have had many wonderful bosses.  People who mentored me, and showed me what it's like to be supportive and yet firm.  They motivated people, and help foster many careers.  However there have been a few times where I have had terrible bosses.  People who weren't ready to lead and who tried to control each aspect of your professional life.  Managers who were inexperienced but thought they could bullshit there way through every day and get promoted again in the process.  Most of them failed and inevitably got demoted or fired.  However in many instances they're still out there managing and screwing up people's lives. 

A recent study from the Harvard Kennedy School, outlines traits that make a good manager and being vocal, outspoken, and wanting to be in charge are not traits which are suited to the role.  In fact, the study emphasizes having good interpersonal skills and making people feel psychologically safe, while having analytical abilities as well are what makes a manager successful.  Often those two skills cannot be found in the same person, but you can develop into a good manager, through understanding and practice. 

I have had too many managers who self promoted themselves into a position which they were not ready for, and they "learned by doing", but in the process they destroyed careers and ruined lives.  These individuals launched PR campaigns within the organization and secured managerial roles which other people were much better suited to fulfill. 

It's sad but there is a lot of professional fallout from allowing people to "suck up and move up".  In one case, I saw a general manager burn through 16 of his managers before someone pointed out he might be the problem and subsequently he was fired.  And yet those managers the company let go were never invited to return to their old jobs. Essentially their careers with that corporation were derailed by one individual riding a public relations train straight into a sea of inefficiency. 

I trusted all of my managers to start, but as we worked together, little signs would crop up that would tell me some of them weren't to be trusted.  Invariably, they would reveal their true intentions and I would be forced to navigate through the miasma from a fetid work environment they created.  Be on the look out if your manager starts showing these signs, because not only do they stink as leaders, they "sit on a throne of lies."

5. They Can't Admit When They're Wrong - Working with different people over a 20 year career, my former bosses came in many different types. Whenever I work with someone who can't admit to making a mistake, I am immediately put on alert. Once, I was in a meeting and pointed out to my general manager he might have made an error in forecasting and following the meeting he called me into his office and said, "I don't make mistakes. Don't ever call me out again." If your boss can't admit they make mistakes chances are if they do make one, you're going to get blamed. Gaslighting takes on many forms in the corporate world.

4. They Trash Talk Your Fellow Employees - I began working with a new boss and she immediately asked me for my opinion about another employee.  Because I had management experience, she thought it was okay to open up and share. She asked, "well what would you do?"  I answered honestly, "I don't know exactly what's going on with this person, but maybe you should talk to her first?" She said, "The time for talk is over." In six months, that employee's career was over.  I started looking for a new gig shortly thereafter.

3. They Stir The Pot- I partnered with one manager who thought he was a college football coach.  He would tell us that he wanted to "stir the pot to make the environment more competitive." In meetings he would pit employees against each other, and in private he would make comments.  "Why can't you be more like Martha.  She's got my back.  Why don't you?"  I wanted to respond, "Because you're an idiot?"  But instead, I just transferred to another division in the company, working with a boss who had an IQ above 80.

2. "They Have Ulterior Motives" - Have you ever had a boss you worked for that you wondered why they were helping you?  Some bosses just do things so they can look good even though it seems like they're trying to help you.  They always have some type ulterior motive to what they do and it's mostly to make themselves look good.  For example, I had a boss who asked me to create a new way of processing our service sales people during check in and he told everyone what a great job I was doing. Yet after I had perfected the process and documented it, he took all the credit.  I thought I was going to be promoted, but instead I got shafted.    

1. "They Create A 'Game Of Thrones' Work Environment" - Once, I worked for a boss who was eerily similar to the character Littlefinger in "Game of Thrones".  He had spies everywhere and during our one on one meetings he would tell me what his little birds had discovered about me.  

"I understand you think I made a mistake in this year's projections?"

"I never said that."

"That's not what I heard."

"What did you hear exactly?'

"Benny told me during your service meeting that you said my projections were off."

"No. I said I wasn't here during the projection process so I can't say how they arrived at the numbers. And I also said we need to hit our goals regardless. They are set high for a reason."

"Well it came across to the team that you said I was wrong."

"By the team do you mean Benny?  Who already resents me for being in this position?"

"Yes he and Fred think you're undermining me."

" Well let's bring them in and settle this so we can move forward.  I don't want there to be a perception I am not supportive of everything we're trying to achieve. I have your back."

" Bring them in? Why? So you can yell at them? And twist things around?"

" When have I ever yelled at anybody? Twist things around?", I actually laughed. "I thought you brought me here because you said I'm direct, and I don't lie."

" I never said that. I don't know if I feel comfortable with you saying that."

" You're right and now I don't feel comfortable either.  Instead of listening to your little minions you might want to start listening to the rest of the staff.  Ask anyone out there besides those two individuals if I am undermining you and if they think I'm not a team player. If anyone else says so, I'll gladly transfer."

" I'll do that, and I'll hold you to that."

I already knew we were making progress as a team, and I loved the efforts of everyone, including the minions.  But we were not going to be successful in an environment where people were stabbing each other in the back.  My boss asked around and discovered that the rest of the team thought I was not only supportive of him, but that they were grateful I had come aboard. 

Unfortunately this made things worse because now he became extremely insecure.  The environment festered and was intolerable, so I left. 

All relationships start with trust and if you can't trust your boss than it's best to find one you can trust.

-SFTD

Remember...Family Always Comes First

Photo courtesy of 123rf

This post is for people who have a family, and by family it could be kids, uncles, pets, or anyone you consider to be part of your life in a familial way.

When you have a family, it is always difficult to achieve some sort of "work life balance".  By the way, I have no idea what that means, because work always tends to take away from family, so I'm not sure there's really any balance.  In fact, I would argue 95% of people working have an imbalance and those who don't probably aren't working.  Or at least not working in the conventional sense.  Regardless, there are always managers who want you to devote your entire life to the company...even in death.  Read on and you'll see what I mean.

My wife related a story to me about a horrible experience with a regional manager for a diabetes pump company, who appeared devoid of compassion or feelings with regards to business.  Keep in mind, there are considerable number of these managers out there, ruining the lives of their employees because they want to get ahead.  It's pretty pathetic, and tragic as well.

About 10 years ago, my wife's mother passed away and she had been grieving for about two weeks. Naturally, she was compelled to cancel all her speaking engagements, because she was depressed about losing her mom. She called the company's regional sales manager, who had set up the engagement, and was surprised by the reaction. I have paraphrased the phone conversation but it went something like this:

"Hello_______. Unfortunately,  I'm calling to let you know that I don't think I'll be able to make my speaking engagement at the end of this month.  I'm so sorry that I can't make it. My mother recently passed away and I feel I need to be home to help my family through this difficult time."

"Oh really?  I'm so sorry, when did she pass away?"

"Uh...About two weeks ago.  My family is still grieving. And I think I need to be here for my father and the rest of the family.  I'm sure you understand."

"Two weeks ago?  The conference is in 3 weeks.  You don't think you'll be over it by then? You see we don't have a back up speaker for this conference."

My wife almost dropped the phone, "Excuse me.  I must not have heard you correctly.  Did you say, don't you think you'll be over it? Over it?  You do realize my mother died.  You're not serious?"

"Oh right, right. I'm just concerned we don't have a speaker to replace you, and this puts us in a bind. Can you recommend anyone?"

"I have to say, I'm still a bit shocked by your lack of compassion.  Have you ever lost a parent?"

"No. No I haven't. But I did lose my grandmother last year, and I understand it takes a bit of time. But that'll be five weeks, are you sure you can't make it?  I'm in a bit of a bind here."

At this point my wife lost her composure. "I can't believe what I'm hearing!  I did say my mother died.  Did you hear that part? And no, I don't think I'll be able to MAKE  IT! And I won't be recommending anyone or speaking for your company ever again.  Unbelievable! Goodbye."

"Wait I didn't...."

My wife hung up the phone and threw it into the couch cushions.  It immediately started ringing again, she picked it up, looked at it.  Dropped it and began sobbing.  Through her tears she mumbled.

"Family always comes first...always. How could she not know that? How could she not care?"

My response, "Some people are selfish."

Her response, "Some people are assholes."

Touche...


SFTD

Are You Authentic?

Recently, I sat through a national Sales Meeting and watched as a sales leader claimed to be authentic on more than 4 occasions during the opening remarks of the meeting.  I received a text from someone else who was auditing the call, and she shared this thought, "If you say your authentic 4 times during your portion of the opening remarks, you sound like you're trying to convince YOURSELF that you're authentic. And by the way, you're probably not authentic."

As the meeting continued virtually, I monitored the chat because this is really where you get feedback on the true nature of how people are feeling about the experience.  I saw the word "authentic" appear through the feed 25 times.  25 times!  And I'm sure the leader thought that their message got through to the team, but in reality, I think that most of those posts to the chat were meant to be sarcastic or funny.  How did I know?  

"Hey I'm authentic?"

"I'm authentic too?"

"Authentic...that's new?"

"We're all authentic."

"Authentic. Hey that's great..."

If you're a leader than lead by example, don't characterize yourself, just be authentic.  Whenever I have led a team, I believed it was more important to be there to support my employees, rather than tell my employees how I will support them.  Don't say you're authentic, just be authentic. Otherwise, you're just full of shit.     

"I Love Me Some Me"

I start with that infamous or famous quote from Terrell Owens because it reminded me of an interview I conducted years ago while working at Cintas. We were on campus recruiting for a management trainee position and we found a lot of great candidates.  However, one candidate stood out to me in particular.  He didn't go to one of the Ivy League schools or have the best grades.  He had worked all through college and put himself through by paying along the way and he had little to no debt.  He could barely make the interview time we set because of a work scheduling issue, and he wasn't wearing a fancy suit or an expensive watch.  I liked him best out of all the candidates.

We sat down to discuss which trainees we'd like the most and which would possibly "bleed blue". Which is what we would call devoted Cintas employees. Trainees had to work long hours and were on salary which was tough, but if they made it through the training, they were well on their way to earning a Cintas MBA.  Simply put, you learned as you earned how to run a business. 

"I know why you like this guy.", one of the Sales Manager piped in.  "He's you!"

"No he's not." , I responded a bit embarrassed.

"Yes he is!  Well spoken but not terribly well dressed or polished.  Working class back ground but seems pretty smart.  This guy is just like you.", she added and then looked down at my shoes which needed a polish.  She snickered. 

"He's nothing like me, and that's not why I like him.  He worked all the way through college and he paid for it himself.  No help from any one else.  He seems to know the value of a dollar."

"Yeah, just like you did." my boss added his two cents. "You like him because he's similar to you.  But that doesn't mean he's going to turn out like you."

"Why not?", I asked.

"When you interview candidates don't fall in love with yourself, because you're going to manage a lot of different personalities and not everyone is the same.  It's almost better if you don't hire some one just like you, because then you have some diversity of thought.", my boss added.  He was a pretty smart dude.

"Fine. But we can at least put him through to the next round of interviews and see if makes it through.", I said, secretly hoping my clone would make it as a trainee.

"Can we all agree to passing him along?", my boss asked, and the rest of the managers agreed.

Two weeks later our regional recruiter let us know that my candidate had not made it through the next round of interviews.  I asked why.

"Everyone agreed that he was like the 2.0 version of you, but he argued with nearly everyone who interviewed him.  We all agreed he would be a handful to try and manage and he would get frustrated as a trainee." 

"But I didn't argue with everyone, and I made it through the trainee program?"

"Exactly.  YOU made it through.  But he ISN'T you. That's why we passed."

As a manager it's best to look for the most qualified candidate and not a mini version of yourself.  You may "love me some me", but it might also come back to haunt you in the future. 

SFTD

The Two Californias : The Covid Crisis Is Different For The Working Class

Copyright: <a href='https://www.123rf.com/profile_ilexx'>Tatiana Shepeleva</a>

During this COVID crisis, many people have suffered financially.  No one more than bar and restaurant owners with a few exceptions.  It seems that national companies seem to be hanging in there but local owners are either struggling to stay afloat or sadly closing their doors.  There seems to be talk of layoffs all across America and over 20 million people have filed for unemployment, and the economic crisis seems to be impacting everyone, but no one more so than the working class.

California is a state which exhibits the glaring disparity between the working class or blue collar workers and the white collar workers who are able to work remotely from home.  I am one of those people who is fortunate enough to stay home for the most part and work via Zoom, phone, and email.  But I remember when I grew up working in warehouses, and as a driver when I wasn't able to stay home.  If I was out there in the middle of the COVID maelstrom, I most certainly would have been exposed to the virus.  I don't think enough of us appreciate our position and even worse we don't help out those who are really making a difference for us, the essential workers.  

I will give you a perfect example of how this has impacted me directly.  I have an old acquaintance who was working in the music industry for years as a stage hand and set designer.  He had a great career working in this field but when all the music venues stopped conducting shows he was out of a job.  No more Coachella, no more Stage Coach, and no more work.  He went back to work as a foreman in construction, because believe it or not, people apparently still need luxury homes built during this crisis.  It's important to have priorities...right? 

He was thankful for the work, but many of his fellow workers were not following the company protocol regarding COVID on the job.  Some would remove their masks, some would show up to work sick, because they needed the money, and low and behold there was a break out on the job sight.  My former friend contracted COVID and after a month in the hospital he died. A terrible tragedy, especially since it could have been avoided if he hadn't needed to work.  There are so many people who contact the disease because they work out of necessity and many of them get sick and unfortunately some of them have passed away.  

Everyone sees California as a land of fruits and nuts, but really this state was founded on the backs of the working class and it still is run by those types of people.  The rest of the country sees a bunch of rich Silicon Valley billionaires and think that people here don't work, but I'm here to tell you that is simply not true.  Most of the people living, working, and dying are hard working Californians who must leave home out of necessity to provide for their families.  That is the real California, and they support the rest of us.

In contrast, where I live, you wouldn't think that the COVID crisis has affected anyone.  It's seriously a bunch of wealthy assholes and fortunately or unfortunately I am in the middle of them.  I guess that makes me an asshole too.  However this crisis has really brought the difference in the two Californias home to me.  My neighbor, while being very nice and sweet to my family, is more concerned that she hasn't been able to shop or get her nails done, or a massage once a week,  When my wife told me that's what she's upset about, her lack of amenities, I nearly lost it and went over to berate her about what really matters.  But I stopped myself because she was my wife's friend, but also because I felt like my tirade would fall on deaf ears.  People do not want to hear about other people's problems.  They are more concerned about their own.  I get it...but then again I don't.  

I asked my wife, "Why doesn't she take that money for massages and donate to a relief fund for people out of work?"  

My wife, taking the lead, did ask her that exact question, and the response she received, "Well that money would just be wasted on some homeless bum or something."

"As opposed to a massage which is putting it to good use?" was my wife's response.

"Touche honey, touche!", I thought. 

Two different economic states within one state.  The real California. 

10 Sales Tips During The Pandemic

Photo courtesy of 123rf.com

 

All of us are running around our houses trying to sell remotely and it's difficult. Zoom calls, Microsoft Teams calls, and conference calls. Our kids are in our faces daily asking for help with school work, or needing help with wi-fi connections. How the hell are we supposed to sell? Remote selling?  Virtual Sales? Selling PPE out of our garage? 

It's all very confusing, and now it seems that all of us are on the phone or conducting meetings via a computer.  Suddenly we are a different breed of sales reps.  For many of you inside sales reps this is nothing new, but many of us are used to being directly in front of people.  And not being there is driving us crazy.  Here are a few tips on how to manage this ever changing world of sales, and guess what? It's really not that much different. 

1. Go Old School: "To Do" List - Since the pandemic started, I have been getting asked a lot about how to manage a sales team that's sitting at home.  People are so used to being out at appointments, or traveling to appointments, but that's completely changed for a great many people.  So what are reps supposed to do with their days? Start by making a list of things to do each morning, just like you would if you were going to conduct a day in the field.  A simple to do list will get you started at least and then you can plan your day around your list. Stay focused on a list that makes you money, not one that makes you eat, like a grocery list. 

2. Get Acquainted With Technology - I have many older friends who have no idea how to handle a Zoom meeting or can even conduct a FaceTime call.  They're what I call "technology deniers".  I speak to them about how they need to get more familiar with the new ways of communicating and I hear the same thing over and over. "I do best when I'm in front of a customer!"  Well that's not going to happen very often during this pandemic...UNLESS you learn how to use technology to get in front of your customers. The virus isn't going away for quite a while so we had all better learn to use the latest apps to communicate our message otherwise you won't be selling very much. 

3. Keep Your Pants On - If you're conducting online meetings, it's real easy to get comfortable, and forget to put on your clothes.  A lot of people conduct calls in their pajamas and for me this is a bit too informal, considering that your laptop camera could be working and you don't even know it.  Yes we're all dealing with kids, dogs, and daily chores but let's keep it at least a little bit professional.  Get dressed up like you're conducting a meeting in person. Besides, no one wants to see your underwear during a Teams meeting. . 

4. Buy A Camera - The first thing I did when I couldn't visit with customers was buy an HD camera for my laptop.  It was great for filming webinars and conducting calls because I could switch between my laptop camera to my HD pretty seamlessly.   If you have to do product demos this little tool is invaluable.  It helps bring clarity and professionalism to your presentations.  And it you have your pants on then you won't have to worry about switching to different camera angles. 

5. Learn Phone Techniques - If you're not comfortable on the phone, than you're not going to be successful during the pandemic.  And by comfortable, I don't mean you can multi-task using apps and texting, or that you're proficient at playing games on your mobile device.  You need to actually speak to people.  What?  You mean I have to talk to someone.  Yep! There are a number of free webinars on YouTube that talk about call reluctance and phone blocking.  Watch them and pick up some tips to improve your skills on the phone.

6. If Meeting In Person: Wear A Mask - I was recently at an appointment with 7 people in a conference room and everyone was wearing a mask.  However as the meeting wore on, one of the participants said he was going to take his off, so he could speak.  Oh boy was that a mistake! The person running the meeting nearly lost it.  She told him that if he wanted to take it off he should excuse himself from the meeting and think about the message it was sending to everyone else in the room.  He was another vendor so I didn't care if he left the meeting, or that he was reprimanded. He was sending more business my way! 

7. Keep Setting Appointments - It is very easy to get out of your routine during this pandemic.  Try your level best not to get sucked into watching television, the news is terrifying right now and it can be very depressing.  Modify your day but keep trying to set appointments.  It's difficult, but if you attempt to inject some normalcy into your day it will go a lot faster and you'll feel much better about yourself and your job. 

8. Try And Stay Sane - If you're a sales person staying in lock down is probably driving you nuts..  In fact, even if you're not a sales person it's probably driving you crazy.  It's difficult because most of us are social animals.  We want to be interacting with people on a regular basis, so being cooped up inside our houses is extremely taxing.  Do anything you can to try and stay sane.  I find myself reading a lot of books right now and the first thing I did when we went into lock down was reorganize my garage.  It took a while but it kept my minding off of the pandemic and kept me out of harms way.  Find anything and everything to keep your attitude positive and your outlook bright. 

9. Stay In Touch With Friends - The most difficult thing about this pandemic is that it has put many friendships at risk.  My family is very cautious about interacting with other people because many of them work in healthcare.  As a result, it is very difficult to interact, so it puts a strain on relationships.  We all want to be safe, so maybe FaceTime, or phone calls are better options to keep your friends in touch without actually touching them. 

10. Focus On Your Goals - I remember when all this started, a few partners immediately told me, "We're screwed!  We can't visit our customers so we're going to lose a lot business."  My first thoughts were the opposite.  I thought that our competitors were dealing with the same issues, so this was an opportunity to show our customers we could deliver our services even in the face of a pandemic.  We stayed focus on our sales goals for the year and it helped keep everyone on the right track.  Unfortunately, many people have lost their jobs and the lock down didn't help, but if you're still in business try to stay focused on your goals.

I know we are all going through a terrible time, but I hope that all of you are staying sane and staying safe. 

SFTD