Free Your Mind-A Message To Hiring Managers

Yesterday, I was sitting with a hiring manager who had just finished with a candidate and was reviewing his notes.  I looked at his list of dislikes and he had written, "previous position farmer".

Naturally I was inclined to ask, "Why is that a dislike for you?"

He answered, "Oh I had that job and it's not really a hunting mentality.  I don't like people from that background."

"So what you're saying is that you wouldn't hire yourself?"

"Wait.  Huh?  No that's not what I'm saying.  I'm saying he seems like a farmer and that job is all farmers."

"But you came from that background right?  I'm confused.  Can't people be both hunters and farmers? Does it have to be one or the other?"

"Well in that position it's all farmers.  So I don't think I'm going to hire him."

"I think you're limiting your scope, and remember you came from the same position. I'm not saying you're wrong.  I'm saying maybe you should not based your decision solely upon his previous job."

"I think he'd have a hard time adjusting to this position given his background."

"How well do you adjust to this position given you came from the same job."

"Well that's different.  He's not me. "

"Really?  Well what if someone had never given you a shot? Where would you be today?"

He sat that and thought about it for a while. "Maybe I'll have him interview with another manager just to see if he's a viable candidate.  You seem to be pushing me in that direction."

I laughed, "I'm not pushing, I'm advising, and a lot of times we get these preconceived notions of what we think will work in a job, and they might cloud our judgment. You could be right but it's best to confirm your decision."

"Okay, okay.  Dot our i's and cross our t's.  I get it."

"I just think we sometimes don't free our minds to the possibilities in a candidate.  We're too busy trying to find something wrong with them, rather than looking for something right.  One of the best sales people I ever hired was a substitute teacher. "

"No way.  Really?  You took a chance on a substitute teacher?  With no sales experience?"

"Yep.  No sales experience whatsoever, but I could see he had potential. And we trained him right.  Now he's a regional manager."

"Damn.  I guess I do need to free my mind."

"Just look for the potential and don't be detrimental."

SFTD 

Enough With The Machismo Stuff!

When I was a Service Manager at Cintas, and even when I was starting out as an Assistant Manager at Wells Fargo Financial, I was always told I had to be "tough".  That I had to make those hard decisions and fire people even when I thought it was wrong.  Why? I didn't understand why it was bad for me to disagree with my manager regarding hiring and firing.  I wasn't in the armed forces and I didn't need to obey direct orders.  I just didn't get it. Why couldn't I disagree with a decision about someone's future?  Maybe that's why I don't play well in the corporate environment.  There's too much machismo for my taste.

I'll give you an example.  Recently, I heard that a District Manager with a healthcare company for 35 years was being let go, just 2 years from retirement.  2 years from retirement!  WTF?!!!!  What type of message does that send to your people?  And is the person who made that decision really "tough"?

35 years in sales for the same company nowadays is unheard of, but to let a person go just 2 years from retirement is ridiculously stupid. And some of you members of the Jerkstore Management Team might actually defend the firing of a 35 year veteran:

"Same standards for everybody.  No one gets a pass."

My response, "You're a moron. If he's been performing for 35 years and has one bad year, he'll figure it out the next year.  He's been doing it for a long time, he knows the consequences. He's in sales."

The Jerkstore MT response, "We're paid for performance.  Not for tenure."

My response, "Absolutely, and he's been performing for 35 years so again, he'll figure it out."

What the Jerkstore MT doesn't understand is that this message tells all your up and coming young people that no matter how loyal you are, and no matter how hard you work, that the company doesn't give a damn.  I asked a friend who works at the company exactly who fired this 35 year veteran, and sure enough it was a Regional Manager with less than 2 years on the job.  Not only that, my friend told me she got the position because she was the BFF of the Vice President.  In addition, I was told that the VP said of this regional manager, "she's got bigger balls than most of the guys on my team.  No one else had the guts to fire him."

What a surprise...not.  Too often VP's promote someone who they think is exactly like them, and then they mold them to be little foot soldiers.  However, this only breeds monotony, stifles creativity and ensures resentment from those people who aren't in the "club".   Apparently it also creates a woman with big balls?  What does that even mean? 

Personally the only big balls I want to see are beach balls, and I definitely don't want to see big balls in the conference room.  Leave that machismo stuff out of the office.

-SFTD

Tracking Reps Activity Will Not Lead To More Sales

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First of all I would like to apologize for the overuse of capital letters in this post.

Yesterday, my friend called me to complain that her company was now asking her to log her calls at her accounts directly from inside the office she was visiting.  What?  Now keep in mind this is a rep who's above her quota, but they're making all the reps follow this plan.  ALL THE REPS! And guess what?  This is happening at a lot of company's in the medical field!  Company's are trying to use sabermetrics to improve performance.  Hello!  This isn't frigging baseball, you morons, it's sales.

"We need to keep track of reps and how they're managing their time!", said her confused CEO. And the marketing manager had the audacity to tell her that this is exactly what he said.

I'm sorry but this does not work.  All you get is a bunch of reps driving around to please management and the same people who don't perform will continue to under perform, and your peak performers will continue to do the same.  In fact, all the reps below quota, will probably become Uber or Lyft drivers to supplement their income. And why not make extra cash, if you're driving around all day to check a management box. They'll have to buy extra bottles of water at Costco and install air fresheners in their vehicle to please their new passengers. However the only difference is that management won't be able to judge performance based on their activities.  Because every rep's activity will look the same!

I understand that management is trying to control even the tiniest aspects of performance, but this isn't a physical sport.  It's sales!!!!  I studied econometrics and statistics while at university, but  activity does not lead to more sales.  For years, I thought the opposite.  At Cintas we tracked activity liked no other company in our industry.  But honestly, it didn't lead to better reps or more volume.  Instead reps simply lied on their reports.  Once, I figured this out, my focus was on training them to make the best use of that activity and not focus on the activity itself.  And I was very successful.

Here's a good analogy.  If you're playing any sport, and I mean any sport.  Basketball, football, soccer, or baseball.  There are some people who no matter how many reps they get, will just not get any better.  They can kick a soccer ball a hundred times at a goal but if they don't focus on improving their technique, or if they don't have the physical tools,  they'll never get better.  NEVER!

Shaq would take hundreds of free throws a day, but he never changed his shooting style, so no matter how much he practiced he still sucked at free throws.  Same theory here; you can track activity all day long, but if your reps technique is terrible, they'll never make quota. NEVER!

Think about what really matters...and if I have to explain it, you've got more problems than I do. 

SFTD

"Hey Boss! I'm Down Here!!!"

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As I've mentioned too many times, I have won a lot of awards as a sales rep, as a manager, and even as a general manager. And each time usually there is a phone call or interaction to thank me for my wonderful efforts.  The conversations are casually dotted with compliments.

"You're a wonderful asset to our team!  Thanks for your super human efforts."

"3 times in the last 4 years, you're a great utility man.", I still don't understand that one.

"You are the best employee I have working with me!  Thanks so much for all the time you dedicate to your job.  Your wife must hate you.", again really inspiring? WTF?

And the next year when my goals or quotas are so far out of reach that it would take a Herculean effort to achieve them, I would find myself at the bottom of the Key Performance Indicator list.  Would I ever get a call then?  Heck no!  And to be honest, that's when I would need a call the most.

A lot of sales reps get down right lucky.  I'll admit it.  My first year in medical sales, I got lucky.  I inherited a territory with a lot of promise and the previous rep was a complete buffoon, so it was easy for me to make President's Club.  All I had to do was show up everyday and work half as hard as I did as a manager.  It was pretty easy, I have to say.  I received all kinds of texts and phone calls, and the president of our division even rode with me, just to see what a great job I was doing.  I was honored with all kinds of awards; rookie of the year, best newcomer, President's Club Winner, Rep of the Year.

But the next year, they DOUBLED my quota.  I laughed when I got it, and told my boss.

"There's no way I'm going to hit that goal.", and naturally I tried but only got to 90% of goal. I was more proud of that achievement than all the others.  Why?  Because it was much harder to get to that 90% than the 160% from the previous year.  Do you think the division president called me?  Mmmm, actually she did.  To find out what I was doing wrong?  Why was I failing so miserably.  Thanks boss?

I needed a bit of encouragement more than the previous year, but it didn't happen.  Why not?  Because managers have a tendency to focus only on your successes and not your failures. And when you fail poor leaders don't try to help you, they just fire you.

As a leader, when I had a good employee, I strove hard to keep them when they were struggling, because I knew it would pay off in the long run. People at the bottom may in fact need more encouragement than people at the top.

When you're running a marathon and you know you're not going to win, if you see someone struggling, do you help them up?  Or do you push them off the course?  If you help them up then you'll both finish the race. 

SFTD

In A Funk?

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I am in a funk.  I am a bit sick of dealing with people, and it's funny because that's what I do for a living.  I literally just spent a week on vacation and I came back to the same old crap.  Customers who are complaining that their results are not what they expected, and people being overly critical of the language and scope of some of my presentations.  And I'm supposed to turn it around and provide them with some pearls of wisdom to motivate them, to get them back on track, when I know their problems are their own and not mine.  What I'd like to tell them is "piss off!"

But I can't do that, unless I want to go broke.

So what do we do when confronted with a funk?

I thought about this long and hard, because that's what you do when you're in funk, you think about how to get out of it, and then I realized it's my preconceived notions of how these interactions will turn out, that is getting in the way.  I need to take a big eraser and wipe clean this blackboard of inevitability that is written in my head.  And here's brief outline of exactly how you can do the same.

Visualize The Best Outcome(s): - A lot of people might think your setting yourself up for failure if you visualize the best, but what's the alternative.  Worrying about the worst possible outcome and curling up in a little ball on the floor?  What's going to inspire you to move forward?

Visualize The Worst Outcome(s) - Wait a second? What? That's right. You should know what you're getting yourself into, and understand what is the worst outcome for your situation.  Here's a tip; if the worst possible outcome involves death or prison...your choice should be pretty easy.  Don't do it!

Risks versus Rewards : If the rewards outweigh the risk then your decision is easy. Move forward.  If the risks outweigh the rewards than don't.  It's a pretty simple guide to getting out of a funk.

Note this simple example:  I had a client who was a pain in the ass. Therefore, I considered the risk in telling them they're a pain in the ass, and giving in to their often absurd requests.  Well, I weighed the options and the best possible outcome in keeping them on as a customer was that they would somehow stop being abusive to my staff and myself.  However, I could see by the level of Emotional Intelligence, or rather lack thereof, that this wasn't going to be a viable option for my team. Subsequently, I advised them to seek other avenues to train their staff.  I simply stated that we had other customers and I couldn't allocate my entire team to just their account.  It wasn't possible.  Naturally, they didn't understand, but it worked out much better for us in the long run. 

This is a short and sweet example but always consider the outcomes, the risks, and the rewards.  But the worst thing you can do is nothing.

SFTD

The One Employee I Will Always Remember

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As a manager, you have all different types of employees, from all different backgrounds.  Employees who come from wealth, and those whose background is less fortunate.  Working class people, and highly educated engineers, lawyers, and IT professionals.  People from various walks of life, can at one time. all have worked for you, or rather with you, in some capacity.

I've written about one of my best employees that I found running a food truck years ago.  And back then it was called a "break truck", because the truck would always show up at break time so employees could buy food or a drink.  Maybe it's still called a break truck, I have no idea.  But that employee was one of the best people I have ever worked with, and I still consider him a good friend today, even though we haven't seen each other in years.

Yet of all the employees I've worked with, I remember only a select few because of the personal impact they had on my life.  I'm sure that many people think that owners, or managers are soulless human beings who care only about the numbers, but if you manage in this way you'll never get the best out of yourself or your people.  You have to care, and sometimes when you care...it hurts.

I met Eddie when I was a young service manager, and he was looking for any type of work to help support himself.  He was a happy, overly gregarious guy, who was very likable right from the start. He was born in the US but he spoke with a broken English that was mixed with Spanish, and it seemed to work.  Eddie spoke so fast that it almost sounded like pidgin, and sometimes fellow employees would just look at me after he spoke with a confused expression.

"Is he speaking English?", they would ask, and my response would always be, "Yes but a higher form of English. Probably old English.", followed by a smile and a laugh.

He wasn't highly educated, but he did have his GED.  He had grown up in Pacoima, which if you live in Los Angeles, you understand it's in the San Fernando Valley and Pacoima is not well known for yacht clubs and dinner parties.  It's a tough neighborhood.  There are still plenty of gangs in the neighborhood and the average crime rate is 45% higher than the national average.

Eddie grew up with gangs his whole life, and he struggled to get away from that life.  Occasionally some questionable characters would show up at our offices and meet him out in the parking lot.  In one instance I had to call him aside and speak to him because it was making some of his fellow employees nervous.

"Eddie, you can't invite people to meet you in the parking lot.  Especially people who aren't your family or employees."

"I didn't invite them boss.  They just showed up."

"Why would they just show up? Do you owe them money or something?"

"No they're old friends from the neighborhood, wanting to see how I'm doing."

"Nothing personal Eddie, but please meet them outside of work, I know they're friends but they were making the other employees nervous. They look like gang members."

"That's because they are gang members boss. I can't really tell them where to go or what to do."

"Well if they show up again, I'll tell them."

"Boss, I know you think you're tough and shit, but you don't wanna mess with those dudes.", he said and he looked me straight in the eye, like he was telling me not to get involved.  I backed off.

"Alright Eddie, but you have to use your head. They can't be coming here.  Okay? And if they do next time we'll call the cops."

"They won't be back boss don't worry.  You do what you gotta do. I get it. Sorry about that, but like I said, they just showed up."

"Are you in trouble?"

"No, no. Nothing like that, they just wanted to see now that I was out, how I was doing, and if there was a chance for them to get on here."

"Out? Were you in prison? It didn't show up on your records."

"No boss.  Outta the gang life, that kinda shit. "

"You were in a gang? "

"Boss everybody in my neighborhood was in a gang.  It's how you got by. "

"Jesus! Okay well I didn't know that, but I'm glad your not doing that any more."

"Nah boss.  I got this job, now.  Gotta girl, it's all good.  I can't be doing that anymore."

"Okay good.  I'm glad to here it.  Just please tell your friends to meet you outside of work.  Please."

"You got it boss."

And that was it.  I never saw those guys on the lot again.

Eddie was a very hard worker.  If I asked him to do something, I knew it was going to get done.  It didn't matter how hard the job was either.  Washing trucks, moving product, or rolling mats, he was the person I went to when I knew something had to get done.  He was awesome! 

Naturally, I rewarded him for his efforts.  Slowly, he moved up the production chain, and eventually became a driver's assistant.  He would load the truck, help the driver with all of our biggest accounts, and basically work as a "grunt". It was very hard work. As he ran the route, he befriended everyone, and I mean everyone.  From the administrative assistant, to the CEO, to the CFO, to the janitor.  Everyone loved Eddie! And after 2 years of helping our best route driver, I called him into my office.

"Eddie, I've been talking to Ray, and he seems to think you're ready for a route. What do you think?"

"Oh shit.  What? Really? Oh shit? Really?" , he was so excited, it was the first time Eddie seemed speechless.  

" Well?  You think you're ready?"

" Hells to the yeah!  I'm ready boss.  For sure! Oh man this is so great! ", he looked at me and he was beaming.

"Congratulations Eddie.  We're starting a new route and it's a growth route so you're going to have to turn in sales leads, promote product and really sell the shit out of it out there."

" You can count on me boss!  Damn I'll sell to everybody.  I'll get guys at 7-11 to buy some stuff. You can  count on me boss.  For sure.  I won't let you down. I promise."  

" Hey dude.  You've earned it.  Don't worry about letting me down.  Don't let yourself down.  You've come way to far Eddie.  Just keep up the great work. "

I said this and I looked up at him and he had tears in his eyes, "Ah shit.  Look at me all blubbering like a big baby.  I'm sorry boss, but you're the only one who ever believed in me.  You're the only one who gave a damn.  I told my wife, I got something here.  I don't wanna blow it, and you wouldn't let me boss.  Ah damn.  I'm sorry."

I felt myself getting emotional but I pushed it down, "Eddie, thank you.", and I held out my hand.

He grabbed it and pulled me close to him and gave me a hug. "No thank you boss.  Thank you."

For a year, Eddie didn't let me down, he didn't let anyone down, but more importantly he didn't let himself down.  He worked hard, and when I was promoted there was no one happier for me.  I'd finally made it to a General Manager position, but unfortunately I had to transfer to a different facility.  The office had a big party for me on my last day, and when everyone in the office was leaving, Eddie came in to say his goodbyes.

"Thanks for everything boss.  I don't know what I would've done without you. Hell I don't know what I'm gonna do when you're gone."

"You'll be fine.  You're a great person, and a hard worker.  The only way for you is up Eddie.  Maybe supervisor next. "

"Hells yeah.  I already got my new uniform picked out!", he said and we both laughed.

"Take care of yourself and don't let yourself down Eddie.  Remember that. ", I said and held out my hand which he just shook this time. No hug, but very warm and professional.

"I won't boss.  Don't worry.  I won't. I'm done with all that."

Two years later, while I was running my new branch, I received a call from one of my former management trainees who was now doing my old job.  He was Eddie's service manager.

"Hey I don't know if you heard.... but Eddie's dead."

"What? Stop messing with me!  How could Eddie be dead.  Isn't he still running his route?"

"No.  He got busted selling drugs on the route two days ago.  Didn't Rob tell you?"

"No he didn't.  What the hell dude?!  How is he dead?  What the hell happened?"

"He got busted.  He was in prison for a day, and some gang killed him while he was in there.  I didn't want to tell you because I knew you thought a lot him.  Sorry."

"Jesus Christ!  Jesus Christ! This is so messed up. Okay, thanks for the call.  Thanks.", I said in complete shock. As I put the receiver down, I stood up, closed my door, sat down in my chair, and started to process what I had just heard.  I thought about how hard Eddie had worked, and all he had been through.  And then I just started to cry.  I don't cry very often, but I cried that day.

"You let yourself down Eddie.  You let yourself down.", I mumbled between the tears. 

SFTD

Integrity...It's Such A Lonely Word

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I have read the book "Integrity Selling", and if you haven't, you should check it out!  But I lived it before Ron Willingham even wrote a word. I have been selling for years and my integrity is honestly all I have to sell since there are so many wonderful "systems" in the sales training market.  It is a great book, and wonderfully written, but if you aren't selling with integrity already, you are not a good sales person... Do I really need to add a few more periods?

This week, I had a new CEO contact me regarding a new account which had just signed a service agreement. It was late in the evening but regardless of the time, he called me on my cell phone to break the bad news.

"We don't need your services.  We'll pay youbecause of the contract, but I think what you're selling is way off of what we are trying to do here.  I like the older training systems better. Your system is just too new for me and your company is not really a proven entity." 

And then he hung up the phone.  Didn't even give me a chance to reply. Now if I was a greedy bastard, I would have said,

"Okay fine.  Pay me...we have a contract." 

But all I have is my integrity and he was a bit insulting so I called him back immediately.

"I don't care if you pay us one way or the other, but I think you're missing the picture here.  Did anyone on your staff explain why they chose us? Or how simple our system is to use and how it's much easier to apply in the field?"

"They don't have to explain it.  I read your marketing materials.  Why would I let the reps take control of the selling process. That's a bit stupid.  It'll be anarchy."

Obviously he had not read any of the materials or the follow up process after the initial training.  I doubt he knew anything about our systems.

"Well, it may seem like that at first but why don't we meet. I can explain it and if you don't like what you hear, you can kick my ass out of your office." 

"Does that line actually work with someone in the C suite?"

"I don't know yet.  This is the first time I've tried it on a CEO."

I heard a muted laugh, "Okay, you can come and talk to me but on one condition..."

This time I chuckled a bit. "What's the condition?"

"If I don't like what I hear, we don't pay you."

I was quiet for a long time, "Okay.  That's not really fair, but I feel like you're questioning the integrity of our systems and I feel strongly about maintaining that integrity.  So I can agree to those terms." 

"Is your company's integrity worth that much money?"

"Believe it or not, yes it is.  Can we meet on Friday at 2 pm?"

"Oh you know I'll be in a good mood on Friday afternoon. I get it.  Sure I'll meet with you Friday. You better bring that integrity and your A game."

"Always. Thank you and I'll see you then."

And I hung up the phone. 

Currently it's Tuesday so I don't know if that was a stupid move, but I guess I'll find out.  Wish me luck!

-SFTD

" Hey Boss: Mean It, When You Say It! "

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In the corporate environment, I have been to the top of the sales mountain quite often.  In addition, I've been recognized as a top manager as well.  Yet I don't know how many times, I was forced to stand on a stage and take a picture with someone who could care less about who I was or why I was standing beside them.  There was no sincerity in their voice, and no genuine feelings in their handshake or their smile. Once the CEO even call me by a different name, than the one displayed on the prompter in front of him.  Every handshake and smile felt fake.  Now, that could be me being extra sensitive or perhaps them being very poor actors. As a leader, one thing I tried to avoid was sounding like a phony.  Everyone can see through that BS.

Once when I was sales rep of the year, or rookie of the year, or something like that, I took the stage and the VP turned, shook my hand and said to me, "Thank you for sharing this moment with us."

Naturally, I was a bit confused by his remark. I didn't ask them to bring me on stage. My response was:
"Uh okay. Sure. You're welcome?" And then I smiled and took the picture with him and the other suit on stage. I think it was the CEO or somebody important.

Afterward, my boss came up to me and said, "Hey Doug didn't like the way you dissed him on stage."
I responded both dazed and confused, "What do you mean...dissed him?"

"Well you didn't thank him after he said thank you for sharing this moment."

" I said you're welcome, but you're absolutely right I didn't thank him.  For what?  He didn't mean it.  All he had to do was say thank you, take the picture and that was it."

"Well it was rude.  What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I didn't think I was being rude.  I didn't know what to say. Besides he sounded fake and insincere.  I didn't call him out, it was just an odd thing for him to say. I didn't know what to say in response."

"Why is that odd?"

"He said thank you for SHARING this moment with us."

"Again, why is that odd. You three were sharing a moment?"

"First of all, that sounds like a scene from some bad romantic comedy, and secondly I never asked him to share the moment. I'm not sure I wanted to SHARE the moment or even have the moment. They should just recognize us and send us on my way. I don't want to stand their and take a picture that I'll never get a copy of."

"What? What romantic comedy? Wait, the picture on stage? I'm sure you'll get a copy of the picture I'm one hundred percent certain you'll get a copy of that picture."

" Really? I've been to President's Club 3 times and I've never seen a picture of me on stage.  Have you?"

He stood there and looked perplex, as if he was trying to recall some distant memory of when he was a rep and he had won an award.

"Now that I think about it.  I don't think I have. That's so weird."

"See what I mean?  What do they do with all those pictures? Where do they go?"

"Huh? Who cares about the pictures.  Just apologize for being rude. He wants you to come and talk to him later...At the after party."

"Oh that'll be good for my career.  I'll be drinking and I'm certain I will say something stupid."

"Well that's on you, not on him."

"No it's on him.  I won't be talking to him after he's also been drinking...that will just make things even more awkward and weird."

"Well he just wants you to explain yourself."

"I don't need to explain myself after he's had three Moscow Mules.  He'll barely be able to stand up. And then he'll try to put me in my place and the whole thing will be blown out of proportion."

"You'd better talk to him. He feels slighted."

"I'll talk to him tomorrow.  After all those drinks he won't even remember what happened. I'm going to celebrate with our team and then go to bed."

"I think that's a bad idea."

"Do you want to know what I think is a bad idea? Reprimanding me for something I said on stage that meant nothing when I just won President's Club for the 4th time. Shouldn't we be celebrating?"

"Oh yeah.  Congratulations.  Now enjoy it and don't forget to explain yourself."

" Gee thanks?", I said and then just started laughing.  It all seemed so silly that I was having to discuss something that happened on stage an hour ago, because the ego of the VP couldn't let it go.
My boss gave me a pat on the back of my suit coat.

"Don't be a dick. Make sure you apologize.", he said and then began to turn and walk off.

"Sure. Sure.  First chance I get.", I said, being just as insincere as the VP had been on stage.  Instead I went over to our team, had a drink with all of them and then headed back to my room.  I didn't want any drama so I thought it best to wait til the morning, and then speak to Doug.

When I woke up, I went down for breakfast and looked around for him, but he was no where to be found.  I checked each table, and after the break my boss came over to me. I assumed he wanted to check on whether or not I had spoken to Doug.

"Hey I couldn't find Doug last night so I didn't get a chance to speak to him.", I said.

"Oh yeah don't worry about it.  Doug got fired last night for groping more than a few of the female reps."

"What?  Are you freaking kidding me?"

"Nope! Apparently he was pretty drunk and grabbing asses all night.  Well he grabbed the wrong ass and it turned out to be the head of HR. "

I just started to laugh. "I feel bad for those reps, but I'm glad it wasn't my ass he was grabbing."

He laughed as well, "No kidding.  Some guys just think with the wrong head."

"That's true.  Well he got what he deserved if you ask me. You still want me to apologize to him?"

"F you!", he said, and I believed he was definitely being sincere.

-SFTD

"A" Personality Stands For....Aggressive, Achiever, or A##hole?

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I can remember vividly every time someone has told me "I am your proto-typical A type personality."

Instinctively I think, "Oh you're an asshole and you're letting me know you're an asshole." Which might be a bit harsh in judgment but when people tell me up front they're an A personality type, I tend to cringe...

I've worked with a lot of assholes.  In fact, I've probably worked with more assholes than a Costco size pack of toilet paper.  The problem is that these people don't know they are assholes.  I always felt it was my "duty" to point this out to them, which more often than not, led to frequent shouting matches, hurt feelings, and me ending up in a lot of trouble.  Once I learned how to be a little more diplomatic with my approach to "calling them out", I had much more success in making converts of them and turning them into mere asses instead of assholes.

One thing that I've noticed about these "A" type of people is that they have a slew of opinions.  Opinions about how people should dress, how people should act, how people should talk, and even how many kids their employees should have.  Yes I've had a manager tell me a woman had too many kids to perform her job to his standards. They have so many opinions it's hard for them to keep them straight.  I had a general manager who literally thought that anytime there was an attractive single woman on the staff they were sleeping with someone on the team.  Really?  As if they had to sleep with someone to spurn their career forward?  He was an idiot.  At one point he thought everyone on my team was sleeping with one of my reps and the reasoning behind his bias...was his own libido!

I remember an instance where his over active imagination got the best of him and me.  We were having our weekly one on one in the conference room and he started in on me about one of my female reps.

"Someone on your team has to be screwing that Natalie. If I wasn't married I'd bang her.", he said to me.

"Mark. No one is 'bangin' her.  She's engaged and she's made it very clear she's engaged.", was my response.

"You're saving her for yourself. Eh? You're bangin her.  I know you're bangin her.  I'd bang her."

"Can you please stop using the word bangin.  What are we ten years old?  I am not involved at all with her and you need to stop thinking all the reps are out to sleep with her.  She's made it very clear that she's here to do her job and nothing else. And please stop talking about her like she's not a person."

"Oh listen to Mr. Sensitive! You've got the hots for your rep.  Don't you?"

"Actually no I don't. And even if I did, I wouldn't share it with everyone. Which is kinda what you're doing right now." 

"There's nobody here but the two of us, and you're soft.  You won't tell anybody.  I know you, and I know you're hitting that." , and as he said this, the woman in question, Natalie,  walked by the conference room and we could see her through the large glass windows which allowed a full view of the office. She was wearing a short skirt, blouse, and modestly high heels. I could literally feel Mark's eyes popping out of his head.

"No I'm not.  Now can we please just focus on the numbers so I can get out of this awkward situation.", naturally he ignored what I had just said.

"I can't get over how hot she is.  Where did you find her?A modeling agency?"

"USC. Really?  Is this meeting going to be all about Natalie?"

"Is she hitting her quota?"

"Yep.  She's right there. 99% right now. She'll make it by the end of the year."

"Good.  Very good.  Oh I bet she's hitting it. Maybe I should have a one on one with her, just to let her know who's in charge around here."

"Uh. Why?  She know's you're the GM.  How many other reps have you had a one on one with?"

"Just Mike. Oh... and Todd. But they've both gone to President's Club a few times so I had to meet with them.  But I think I can make some time for Natalie."

"Dude, you're kind of being gross right now.  I think you need to put your libido in check. "

"I'm not doing anything except offering to help mentor your sales rep. Just trying to show her some aspects of our culture.  You got a problem with that?"

And as he said this he smiled and I could see it was kind of a veiled threat.  This is where the A type personality came crawling out.  To me it was simply a front for a little man with a lot of insecurities.

"Remember, I'm in charge here not you.  And really, I kind of inherited you, I didn't hire you, so don't think you're in any position to do anything at this point.  You're on your way up here, don't blow it over a silly one on one with your rep." He looked me straight in the eye as he said this, as if he wanted me to back down.

"I just want to make sure she stays on after your meeting."

"What is that supposed to mean?  I'm not going to do anything but mentor her.", and as he said this he had a creepy look in his eye and he gave me that odd smile.

"I would recommend you have the one on one right here in the conference room.  That would probably be best.  Show her that you hold all the cards.", I said, but I actually wanted to make sure their meeting was conducted in full view of everyone in the office.

"Good idea.  Show her who's in charge of her career.  Who has the power.", and as he said this he rubbed his hands together as if he was cold and seated by a camp fire.  It was odd.

"Yeah that's all about you buddy. You're in charge Mark.  We all know that."

"Are you making fun of me?"

"Nope. I'm just stating the obvious.  You're in charge.  I'll send her in after we finish here."

"You do that.  For sure.  Let's wrap this up quickly so I can prepare for my little one on one with Natalie."

"Okay." I said with no inflection in my voice at all, as if I were bored with the whole conversation. I had moved on to business.

For the next 30 minutes we reviewed our sales numbers, projections, and forecasts.  We had tracked each rep's progress over the last 6 months, and measured their activity.  I provided field reports and ride along reports and each time we touched on Natalie's progress, my boss would get this glassy look in his eyes.  He paid attention for a time, but every time Natalie would walk by the office or I would mention her name he would lose his focus.  Finally, our meeting ended and I had someone page Natalie to report to the conference room.

I thought long and hard about letting her take the meeting, but I also knew that it would be in full view of the rest of the people in the office.  As Natalie walked into the conference room she tousled her hair and smiled at both of us.  At that moment, I knew who was in charge and it wasn't Mark.  That tousle of hair left him with his tongue hanging out, and at that point she could have got him to do anything she wanted, but she wasn't that type of person.  She was driven and she was career oriented.  She was all about her career, and I certainly recognized that first time I recruited her at USC. She was focused.

I introduced her, "Mark you remember Natalie."

"I sure do!", and he tried to give her a hug but she stuck out her hand for him to shake, which he did so sheepishly.

"Natalie, a lot of what we do here is predicated on Mark's leadership...so he wanted to meet with you just to see how you're doing and to discuss your future." 

She simply smiled and nodded her head. "That would be great."

"Yeah and I just wanted to give you an idea of how you'll fit in and how I can help you with your career.", added Mark.

"Well I'll leave you two.", I said and started gathering my reports.

"I can take it from here.", Mark said  and pointed for Natalie to sit, as if it were her duty.  I watched as he pulled up a chair right next to her instead of across from here, which I immediately thought would be trouble...for both of them.  I waved a hand in the air and left.

As I was walking to my office, I wondered how long it would take for him to screw that situation up.  He was relatively new to the GM role, and his inexperience was obvious.  His "A" type personality was about to get him in trouble.  I got to my office, sat down, and turned on a timer that we had been using for presentations.  I set it for 35 minutes.  I was a bit nervous, and at 33 minutes our head of HR, Grace, came running into my office.  She looked a bit flustered, and I already knew what had happened.

"We have a situation.  Can you come to my office?"

"Yep. Let me guess Mark and Natalie? "

"Yes, how did you know?"

"I saw that kettle boiling for the last month.  What happened?"

"She kicked him in the balls."

"She what? Wait can you say balls?"

"What do you want me to say? Groin? She's in my office now."

"Did anyone see what happened?"

"We all saw what happened.  The conference room is in full view of the office. He kept putting his hand on her thigh.  3 girls in the office saw it all go down. "

"Did you call the Jim?"

"Yep.  He's on his way here now.  I guess we'll both be here all night."

"I told Mark to not be an idiot."

"Well that's the problem.  Mark's not an idiot, he's an asshole."

"That's true."

" He'll soon be an unemployed asshole if it's up to me. "

"That is also true."

"And you're an asshole for letting this happen."

"Why am I an asshole?  I didn't tell him to put his hand on her thigh."

"Well, we'll see if your responsible for any of this when we talk to Natalie. You'd better hope she's alright."

Fortunately for me, she was fine.  A bit flustered, but still not completely traumatized by the event.  She said it had happened before at different jobs and she knew how to handle someone like Mark. So after a suspension, and an investigation Mark was fired. It turns out he had tried this before, but people were afraid to come forward.  For my part, I was found culpable but not responsible.  I guess there are different forms of assholes, and I was just one of them.  Lesson learned...

SFTD