Wish I'd created this....

On opportunity...

1. You have to know what you want
2. You have to recognise when the door is open
3. You have to walk through it

Julian Fellowes, Author

The 2 Most Important Days of Your Life

The day you were born

The day you find out why

What to do when you’re short of revenue and the year end’s looming…..

•  List your clients down column A
•  List your products and services row by row

 This creates a big spreadsheet showing who’s bought what from you.

But the great thing is that it shows really clearly who’s not bought what from you.

Go through it cell by cell: why haven’t they bought this ? would they ?

… always easier to sell to those who have bought from you before.

The 7 Steps to Turning Round a Failing Project

When you’re brought in to rescue a project….

1: Get everyone to agree there is a Problem. 

Unless you get this agreement, you’ll have limited ability to do what you must do next, which is...

2: Pause the project. This buys the time and space to think it through and create your new plan - because you definitely don’t want to be implementing someone else’s wrong and failed plan, do you ?

3: Reassess the facts and reasons for the project in the first place. Things change – there’s no point trying to fix a problem that isn't what it was.

4: Measure the potential RoI accurately. The project may be pointless now, because peoples’ opinion of what is important changes (often much more often than they'll admit).

5: Measure the time and effort needed to succeed. Forget previous time and cost estimates, do your own. Even small technology changes can make a massive difference.

6: Compare this project with the current workload. This project may have been at the top of the pile when it started, but are there more important things to achieve now ?

7: Rebrand: kick off your new project with a new name. It’s not the same project is it? It’s not a repeat of a past failure, is it ?

My Top 10 Time Thieves

1. Fire fighting
   Fire Fighting is defined as working on effects not causes. If all you do is react, fixing stuff that’s broken because it wasn’t done right in the first place, things will never change, will they ? Yes, you must react and respond, provide workable solutions. But this isn’t the real job of a manager or a leader: the real job is to change the way things are done, change the methods and techniques, and sometimes the people, so that the old problems go away. 
2.  Fighting the wrong battlesIn all ball sports, shot selection is critical: you need to play good shots. But just as important, often much more critical early on, are the shots you choose not to make – the balls you leave alone. In business, your success will be decided just as much by the battles you decide not to fight as those you do. Let some things stew for a bit; just as not every conversation is a battle to be won, not every issue is a war to be fought. 
3. DIY instead of delegatingOk, so you can probably do most things faster, and much better, than many. But in the long run, as long as it gets done, does it really matter it took a day longer and was only 80% as effective ? Thought not. So treat this as a coaching opportunity, where you can help someone else learn. And spend your time on doing the difficult stuff that really deserves your attention.
4. Forgetting about facts
   How long is spent in meetings and conversations drifting around opinions and assumptions ? If nothing is checkable, every lame half-baked idea is valid, and the lack of clarity and inevitable frustration ratchets up the emotional temperature. Break that cycle by asking: “What don’t we know ?” A few relevant facts move issues on rapidly.  Ask: “Can we test that assumption ?” At the very least it stops the whinging and gets people moving and directed. If there are no obvious pointers as to what to do next, then create a theory, and test it. It might be completely wrong, but the really good news is that you now know what not to do: only one step nearer wisdom, but it’s a massive leap from ignorant thrashing about.
5.  Thinking that all technology is goodTechnology isn't all good. There is a horrible paradigm amongst the generation that have grown up with Windows that Everything Is Miscellaneous. “Why tidy up my Inbox when I have Search ? Let the technology remember everything for me, I can look anything up whenever I need it, can’t I ?” The consequence of this is a life lived in a continuous present (just like Twitter, in fact), where the last thing to appear is the most important. This destroys any sense of perspective and context, and means irrelevances are given undeserved airtime, and everything needs to be learned afresh every day. Such childlike innocence is seen as invigorating, when in fact it is desperately dangerous, arresting peoples’ development, blinding them to wider truths, and gives them every excuse to drop solid, properly thought-through plans on a whim.
   
   So get the Inbox cleared out every day. Clear your desk. Review your Big Rocks. Write down your do list, with the Big Rocks in BLOCK CAPITALS. Turn off Twitter, Facebook, Yammer, Outlook and your phone. Go on, get on with it.
6. Buggering about working on the Little RocksA Zen master was asked how to make big changes happen in a busy world. The master began by putting large rocks in a pot. Only three would fit. He asked his pupils if it was full, and they said ‘Yes Master’. So he took some stones, and used them to fill in the space around the rocks. Again, he said: ‘Is the pot full ?’, and the answer came back ‘Yes Master’. So he poured some gravel into the pot. By this time the students hesitated when he asked if the pot was full, but still said ‘Yes’. So the Master piled sand onto the rocks, and shook the pot till the surface was completely level. ‘Is the pot full now?’ ‘Oh yes Master’ they said, but were amazed when he poured water into the pot and it took a surprisingly long time before it started spilling over the edge. ‘Students,’ said the Master, ‘the pot is now full. But what is the moral of my story ?’ One student replied ‘No day is so busy that we cannot achieve more.’ ‘Yes,’ said the Master ‘that is true, but not my real point. The really important point is that if you don’t put the big rocks in first, they will never go in at all.’
   To achieve major change, focus uninterrupted time on the big, different things you want to happen.
7.  Letting email and the phone interrupt youYou decide what you do with your time, nobody else. Pick up email and voicemails every few hours and then turn them off again.
8. Other peopleAre you a SNIOP ? Are you Susceptible to the Negative Influence of Other People ? If so, don’t despair, we all are to some extent. But now you know the concept, it won’t happen so readily, will it? Worse than negative people, are the poisonous ones: they’re maybe not doing it consciously, but they’re doing you no good whatsoever. The malicious ones are easy to spot (and luckily there aren't that many of them anyway). The hard ones are those who are doing you no favours through their own attributes: they may be incompetent, lazy, or just incompatible. Gently cut your ties with them.
9. Feeling less than positive about a situationYour attitude is your responsibility and no-one else’s. How you feel when you walk in the door in the morning has nothing to do with your Boss or the company. “No-one has the power to change my attitude without my permission” Eleanor RooseveltIf something’s not right then stop wallowing in self pity and do something about it. And if you can’t, and you really don’t like the job then stop whinging, get off your backside and find a better one. As Ted Turner said: “Lead, follow, or just get outta the damn way”.
10. Being a Wimp“Self-pity and resentment are amongst the most toxic of drugs.” John Gardner. Be gentle with other people, but mercilessly hard on yourself. As my brother used to say: "when you look back on your business career, you could always have been much braver than you actually were." What are you waiting for ? Get on with it.

Choosing a Co-Founder

Great article on choosing a co-founder from http://venturehacks.com/...

Picking a co-founder is your most important decision. It’s more important than your product, market, and investors.

The ideal founding team is two individuals, with a history of working together, of similar age and financial standing, with mutual respect. One is good at building products and the other is good at selling them.

The power of two

Two is the right number — avoid the three-body problem. Think Jobs and Wozniak, Allen and Gates, Ellison and Lane, Hewlett and Packard, Larry and Sergei, Yang and Filo, Omidyar and Skoll.

One founder companies can work, against the odds (hello, Mark Zuckerberg). So can three founder companies (hello, @biz, @ev, and @jack). In three founder companies, the politics can be tough — gang-up votes, jockeying for board seats, etc. — but it’s manageable. Four is an extremely unstable configuration and five is right out. When 4-5 founder companies work, it’s because two founders dominate.

Two founders works because unanimity is possible, there are no founder politics, interests can easily align, and founder stakes are high post-financing.

Someone you have history with

You wouldn’t marry someone you’d just met. Date first. Go through something difficult, like a Prisoner’s Dilemma or a Zero-Sum Game. If being ethical was lucrative, everyone would do it!

One builds, one sells

The best builders can prototype and perhaps even build the entire product, end-to-end. The best sellers can sell to customers, partners, investors, and employees. The seller doesn’t have to be a “salesman” or “business guy”. He can be technical, but he must be able to wield the tools of influence. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs aren’t salesmen, but they are sellers.

Aligned motives required

If one founder wants to build a cool product, another one wants to make money, and yet another wants to be famous, it won’t work. Pay close attention — true motivations are revealed, not declared.

Criteria: Intelligence, energy, and integrity

It’s not the kid you grew up next to. It’s not the person you like the most. It’s not the hacker most willing to work for free.  It’s someone of incredibly high intelligence, energy, and integrity. You’ll need all three yourself, and a shared history, to evaluate your co-founder.

Don’t settle

If it doesn’t feel right, keep looking. If you’re compromising, keep looking. A company’s DNA is set by the founders, and its culture is an extension of the founders’ personalities.

Pick “nice” guys

Avoid overly rational short-term thinkers. There are bounds to rationality. Partner with someone who is irrationally ethical, or a rational believer that nice guys finish first. Be especially careful with the “sales” guy here.

What you don’t know

Business founders who don’t code use bad proxies for picking technical co-founders (“10 years with Java!”). Technical founders who don’t sell also use bad proxies (“Harvard MBA!”). Learn enough of the other side to have an informed opinion. If you’re not seriously impressed, move on.

FAQs

What if the right guy already has his own startup? Convince him to work on yours part-time — he’ll drop his idea once yours gets traction.

Breakups are hard

If you’re going to fall out with your co-founder, do it early, recover the equity into the option pool to keep the company going, and recruit someone else great to fill the missing slot. Build in founder vesting (a.k.a. the “Pre-Nup”) to keep the breakup from getting messy. Building a great company without a partner is like raising kids without a…

Nearly everything I’ve written on this topic applies to dating and marriage. Coincidence?

Go forth and multiply.

Firing

Saw this on Chris Dixon's Blog...

Firing

Firing is awful. You can try to avoid it, but even the most selective founders make serious mistakes. Here are a few things I’ve observed about firing:

1) The good people bounce up, the bad ones bounce down. I was told this by my boss once when he was firing one of my friends. At the time, I thought this just made him feel better about himself. Over time, I’ve seen the wisdom in what he said. Some people who get fired react by fixing their weaknesses. Others spiral down.

2) Do it early. If you think you’re going to fire someone over the next six months, you probably will. Don’t wait too long. Too many founders do. It’s better for management and employees if it happens fast.

3) It’s awful. You’re in control of a situation that will meaningfully hurt someone. It’s an awful place to be. The fired person will go home and tell his/her family about how terrible it was. It was your fault. Perhaps your mismanagement caused it. Who knows. You’ll question it, and perhaps you are right to do so.

4) The other choice is firing everyone. You’re the founder of the company. If you run out of money, you’re forced to fire everyone. If you don’t fire the bad employees, you risk everyone else’s jobs. It’s an impossible situation.

5) The feeling is more likely to be mutual than you think. Most of the time, the person getting fired was already about to quit. The antipathy you feel is likely reciprocated. It’s surprising how often this happens and management doesn’t see it coming.

It would be great if startups were all about growth, hiring, and success. But the reality is that founding a company is a brutal job and lots of the pain gets passed down to employees. Creative destruction sounds nice in textbooks, but in the real world it means telling friends to go home, stop getting paid, and find new jobs.

The 3 Aspects of Fixing Support Calls

It's very easy in a busy support environment to just be happy that the call queues are manageable, and you're working within the target SLAs. That's the job right ? Not really - it's only the first step of three...

• Resolve the technical problem and complete documentation
• Ensure the customer believes the problem is resolved
• What is their level of satisfaction ?
• Do they have other issues that need looking into ?
• Research the cause of the problem, and fix the process, to prevent it happening again

The last is particularly important. Firefighting is defined as time wasted working on effects instead of causes, and it's only if you try and work backwards to prevent future calls can you say you're doing a proper support job.

How to run an Exhibition Stand

I've run more exhibition stands than I can remember: here's what I've learned...

DON'T

• waste money advertising the show or your presence at it: why spend your hard-earned marketing dollars inviting people to see competition ?
  
  
• waste money on branded pens, stress dolphins and all the other crap that only ends up i) in a waste bin outside or ii) in their kids' bedrooms
  
  
• do demos on the stand: by definition they're a waste of time to a time-waster, and would you ever dream of doing a demo to a properly qualified prospect in a train station concourse ? No.

DO:

• Make your presence strong, memorable, but above all your message must be SIMPLE and CRYSTAL CLEAR , just single words or phrases about what you do - they must be so big that they can easily be read from 20 metres away. Don't blow up your datasheets into posters. To bring your message to life, have pictures of customers, the company name readable from 10 metres away, and with short, punchy quotes (10 words max.) readable from 5 metres away. I once saw a great stand backdrop which was a parade of life size pictures of all the employees at the show, their name (2 words), job role (2 words), and what they do for customers (10 words) all cleary legible from the corridor. Very effective, and massively motivating for the staff, too, because...
  
  
• ...the most important thing is not to have the best, most expensive stand at the show, but to have THE MOST MOTIVATED, SMART PEOPLE WORKING THERE. Treat it like a military operation: no cosy huddles, staff chatting in defensive groups, blocking the stand from view. Identify and train two types of people...
  
  
• Greeters: friendly, attractive, likeable people. Have them stand in the corridors, in front of the other stands around, blocking the opposition, and your stand has clear sightlines from all angles. Greeters engage with everyone who walks by, asking engaging, chatty questions like "Hello...so, why have you come to this show ?". Their job is to pre-qualify, moving the tyre kickers along to waste everyone else's time, and guiding real suspects to the Meeters. Greeters have a big incentive scheme for the day and the whole show: spend the money you didn't spend on branded Rubix cubes on a prize weekend for two at a country hotel for the person who i) met with the most people ii) produced the highest number of well qualified suspects.
  
  
• Meeters don't work the corridors, the stay to one side of the stand, only talking to those the Greeters have pre-qualified, picking up the part completed clipboard form from the Greeter and completing it seamlessly. Meeters are those who can talk intelligently about what you do, but they MUST NOT get into 20 minute selling conversations: their job is to further qualify, and if this one's a prospect, make them feel special, and arrange a followup meeting, demo, whatever.

GENERAL:

Aim to have at least 3 or 4 times as many Greeters as Meeters - but some of the best shows I've run are where we've had Meeters at all: the Greeters were well prepared, and handled the whole conversation. This is only an exhibition, isn't it ? You're looking for qualified leads, aren't you ? Proper sales activity comes later.

Then make sure after the show you take everyone out, drink the local bar dry, hand out the best performer awards, and stop over in a local hotel: if you can avoid it, don't let them stop over the night before (curry and beer are nice but the worst show fuel). Shows run well are very, very hard work and need to be rewarded - but only afterwards.

The 10 interview questions you shouldn't ask

If you're interviewing, beware....according to the Which ? CV and Interview Handbook, you can't ask:

1. How old are you (unless you're interviewing for police or armed forces) ?
2. Are you married ?
3. Are you gay ?
4. Are you planning to start a family soon ?
5. What are your childcare arrangements ?
6. Are you a member of a trade union ?
7. What political party do you support ?
8. What is your religion ?
9. Where were you born ?
10. Do you have any disabilities that could affect you doing the job ?

...you have been warned !

The Seven Habits of Spectacularly Unsuccessful Executives

Sydney Finkelstein researched why 50 former high-flying companies failed, and defined the Seven Habits of Spectacularly Unsuccessful Executives (SUEs) . . .

Habit # 1: SUEs see themselves and their companies as dominating their environment
SUEs vastly overestimate their influence over events and vastly underestimate the role of chance and circumstance in their success. They believe that everyone else in the company is there to execute the SUE’s personal vision for the company.
Warning Sign for #1: A lack of respect

Habit #2: SUEs see no boundary between their personal interests and their corporation’s interests
SUEs use their companies as private empires, and act as if they are king of their own country, free to spend any amount they choose on themselves.
Warning Sign for #2: A question of character

Habit #3: SUEs think they have all the answers
All executives have to develop rapid decision making skills, handle many crises simultaneously, and quickly size up situations that have stumped everyone else for days. But SUEs only listen to their own words, shut out other points of view and are closed to learning anything new at all.
Warning Sign for #3: A leader without followers.

Habit #4: SUEs ruthlessly eliminate anyone who isn’t completely behind them
By eliminating all dissenting and contrasting viewpoints, SUEs cut themselves off from reality. And with only yes-men left, who’s there to warn them that the world’s not as they would like it to be ? Or come up with a new and different approach ?
Warning Sign for #4: Executive departures

Habit #5: SUEs are consummate spokespersons, obsessed with the company image
Beware high-profile executives, constantly in the public eye, with little time for operational details.
Warning Sign of #5: Blatant attention-seeking

Habit #6: SUEs underestimate obstacles
SUEs are afraid of appearing fallible, so they avoid admitting mistakes at all costs. They’ll especially avoid accepting that the obstacles they casually waved aside are more troublesome than anticipated.
Warning Sign of #6: Excessive hype

Habit #7: SUEs stubbornly rely on what worked for them in the past
Many SUEs owe their careers to a “defining moment”: the one thing they’re known for and what gets them all their subsequent jobs. This, combined with some or all of Habits 1-6, means they have only one point of reference, and don’t consider the wider range of options needed to address new circumstances.
Warning Sign of #7: Constantly referring to what worked in the past

Finkelstein’s bottom line: If you exhibit several of these traits, now is the time to stamp them out. If your boss or several senior executives at your company show them, start looking for a new job.

Three simple negotiation rules

I have a shelf full of books on negotiation, all promising to change my life. But sometimes you find a simple rule set that really helps.

Recently I came across Larry Brilliant’s 3 rules of How to Negotiate. Google him if you’ve never heard of him, but they’re dead simple, and dead right:

A) Have more points to discuss than the other side.
In wanting a conclusion, it’s only too easy to run out of big things to talk about, and then the other side can start pressuring you for a close. If you’ve lots of points important to you, you always have another reason to call, more concessions to offer (make them small !), and stay centre stage right to the end.

B) Have a mathematical formula.
Invent a calculation that justifies your desired outcome. It will of course be high: not too scary, but definitely ballsy. Of course it will be challenged, and you can discuss the assumptions, the multipliers, the variables, and any qualifying factors. But your initial, calculated (and hopefully daringly high) start point anchors a value in peoples' minds, and stops them replacing your value with theirs.

C) Have alternative outcomes.
If you don’t have walk away options, you will lose out. If you're selling a business, have other financing or exit options. If you're selling products and services, work as hard as you can to build a full pipeline.

Handling interruptions

To keep costs down, I asked our receptionists one time if they could answer customer queries and complete simple documentation. I was taken aback when they said "No, definitely not". They were adamant that the constant interruptions from phone calls and visitors would result in errors, and they weren't prepared to do a bad job for me. They said: "If you don't believe us, do it yourself."

So I did, and sat on reception. And they were right: it was impossible to concentrate, and in 4 hours I completed one task only, when normally I'd have flown through dozens. It reminded me of my early days programming: if you lost your thread of thought, it took ages to get it back, and sometimes you'd lost a good idea for ever.

A recent article in Forbes magazine brought this all flooding back, as it described how you could measure interruptions. The quoted studies showed each time flow state is disrupted it takes fifteen minutes to get back into it, and that programmers who work in the top quartile of proper (ie uninterrupted) work environments are several times more productive than those who don’t.

To measure the Flow State Percentage, you need to ask workers to track for a few days how many hours each day are they in flow, divided by the number of total hours they’re at the office. And then brainstorm ways the team can move this number up. For example: a sign at each person’s desk that says “Please don't interrupt me, I’m in flow.” Or maybe you have periods where one person fields all calls. Or agree that for half a day, everyone turns off Outlook.

The modern disease of low attention spans is only made worse by smartphones picking up email. So why not just turn it off, and pick up email every 3-4 hours ? You'll feel less pressure, and suddenly you'll have more time to get things done.

Go on, just try it. Turn off your email, I dare you...

Motivating management

Money is a hygiene factor: get it wrong, and your employees can never get it off their minds. But once their money's about right, it ceases to be a motivator...so what is ?

Feedback, feedback, feedback, all the time. Tell people when you're pleased, in very specific terms. It's even more important to let them know when things aren't the way you want them. Remember the magic structure of feedback:

• What's working for me right now is...
• What's not working for me right now is....
• What's missing for me right now is...

Coach rather than direct: use the GROW model:

• Goals: Help them define them with questions: "How will you know the problem's solved ?"
• Reality: "Where are we now ? Who, what, when, how - how can you measure it ?"
• Options: "What choices do you have ? What if constraints were removed ? How will you weight up the options and choose the right thing to do ?"
• Will: "What will you do, and when ? What could stop you ? How exactly will you know when you've succeeded ?"

Communicate on a very regular basis: Show everyone the numbers, share your strategy, let them know the issues you feel strongly about, ask them for input where you're less certain. Do this every quarter without fail, but update everyone at least every month. Make sure they see how their work contributes to the greater good, and how important it is they co-ordinate their work and continually communicate themselves. Tell the truth. Don't airbrush difficulty; share it - you'll be amazed how many of your team want things to be better too.

Enjoy yourself, and have fun. Company competitions, raffles, contests, Performer of the Quarter, Mistake of the Month, Best Quote of the Week awards all add to making things feel less like work.

I recently read an article where it recommended taking an employee to lunch once a week: not a bad shout, this. They get a hour or two of uninterrupted time with you, and you get chance to relax a little for an hour.

1. 
   

Today's selling hint

Today, when you’re tempted to say something in a meeting or phone call, bite your tongue.

Think: would it be better phrased as a question ?

So for example, rather than saying “this service achieves xyz benefit” you could say “given that this service typically delivers xyz benefit, what would that mean for your organisation ?”

Much more powerful behaviour: it means your prospect will be selling your services to themselves. And it means you talk less (....always a good thing :-) and you've earned the time to think about your next question, and move closer to close

You know it makes sense.

How to handle media interviews

It's been a while since I did live TV, but I still remember how surprised I was that they don't give you advance warning of the questions you'll be asked. If you have to deal with papers, radio or TV, it'll be the same: "30 seconds Mr. Sidwell....then 5-4-3-2-1 and you're live !"

So here are the rules of engagement.

1 Understand that journalists are focussed on the story: they don't care about you. It's taken you a lifetime to build up your reputation, and an unguarded public statement can destroy it in seconds.

2 Don't, whatever you do, answer the journalist's questions ! No, no, no. You're being interviewed, right ? So you decide what's said, don't you ? So before you start, think carefully of the 3 main points you want to make. Ideally they will be based on strong facts, benefits, good news, etc. The really good news. Write down the key words for the 3 points, and either sellotape them under the camera lens or write them on your cuff. Now, this is really important: whatever question you're asked, pick the point that most nearly answers it, and spin it as the answer. Then when question two comes, you have two answers to choose from. And yes, question three gets the final remaining message. If there are further questions, don't go off piste: choose the most appropriate of your three points, and repeat it, just changing the words slightly. Only give the answers you want to give.

3 Never, never, ever, say yes in an interview. If you say yes, you'll find the journalists take their ambiguous, multi-dimensional question, rephrased and reinterpreted as if you'd said it. In interviews, whatever the journalist says, even if you 100% agree with it, always say No. Even if you then say exactly the same thing in your own words.

4 Be very careful with your choice of words, particularly if you're handling a difficult situation. Issue, situation, position are all excellent words - even if they're quoted out of context they're not interesting enough to be news. You can acknowledge the seriousness of the situation, and fully understand people's concerns blah blah blah. But do not use words like problem, worry, concern, or broken: they make wonderfully attention grabbing headlines and invite only more questions.

5 It's best not to go off record.Yes, sometimes, it helps no end if you can explain something tricky off the record, before going on the record once the journo understands. But in reality, it's best not to do this: if it's juicy enough, they'll find some other way of corroborating your private explanation, and you're sunk just as surely as if you'd blurted it out in a bar.

6 At all times stay icy calm, and don't get into an argument. You can say: "No, that's not the way I see it and then explain your point of view (see point 2 above). But don't argue. Keep in mind the old advice warning of the dangers of arguing with a pig: you'll both get dirty, but the pig likes it.

7 If your back is really against the wall, be silent. Don't say No comment, or respond in any way. Shut the door, walk away, look down, show no emotion, be completely passive: don't give them anything to hang a story on.

Be careful out there.....

Seven Personality Traits of Top Salespeople

A recent article in the Harvard Business Review published the results of research into the personality differences between top and average performing salespeople. The top performers had the following personality attributes:.

1. Modesty. Contrary to conventional stereotype of salespeople as pushy and egotistical, 91% of top salespeople had medium to high scores of modesty and humility. Results suggested that ostentatious salespeople who are full of bravado alienate far more customers than they win over.

Selling Style Impact: Team Orientation. As opposed to establishing themselves as the focal point of the purchase decision, top salespeople position the team (presales technical engineers, consulting, and management) that will help them win the account as the centrepiece.

2. Conscientiousness. 85% of top salespeople had high levels of conscientiousness, responsibility and reliability, with a strong sense of duty. They take their jobs very seriously and feel deeply responsible for the results.

Selling Style Impact: Account Control. The worst position for salespeople to be in is to have relinquished account control and to be operating at the direction of the customer, or worse yet, a competitor. Conversely, top salespeople take command of the sales cycle process in order to control their own destiny.

3. Achievement Orientation. 84% of the top performers tested scored very high in achievement orientation. They are fixated on achieving goals and continuously measure their performance in comparison to their goals.

Selling Style Impact: Political Orientation. During sales cycles, top sales, performers seek to understand the politics of customer decision-making. Their goal orientation instinctively drives them to meet with key decision-makers. They focus on the people they are selling to, and how the products they're selling fit into the organization, rather than the functionality of the products themselves.

4. Curiosity. Curiosity can be described as a person's hunger for knowledge and information. 82% of top salespeople scored extremely high curiosity levels. Top salespeople are naturally more curious than their lesser performing counterparts.

Selling Style Impact: Inquisitiveness. They ask customers difficult and uncomfortable questions in order to close gaps in information. Top salespeople want to know if they can win the business, and they want to know the truth as soon as possible.

5. Lack of Gregariousness. Top performers scored 30% lower in gregariousness (preference for being with people and friendliness) than below average performers.

Selling Style Impact: Dominance. The results indicate that overly friendly salespeople are too close to their customers and have difficulty establishing dominance, and their recommendations and advice are not followed.

6. Lack of Discouragement. 90% of successful salespeople were rarely discouraged and only occasionally sad. Less than 10% of top salespeople were classified as having high levels of discouragement and being frequently overwhelmed with sadness.

Selling Style Impact: Competitiveness. Top performers are able to handle emotional disappointments, bounce back from losses, and mentally prepare themselves for the next opportunity to compete.

7. Lack of Self-Consciousness. Over 95% of top performers were not easily embarrassed: they weren’t bashful or inhibited in their behaviours.

Selling Style Impact: Aggressiveness. Top salespeople are comfortable fighting for their cause and are not afraid of rankling customers in the process. They are action-oriented and unafraid to call high in their accounts or courageously cold call new prospects.

How to find at least another hour every day

There’s nothing new in the world: Peter Drucker in 1967 recommended that you should “…reserve large blocks of time on your calendar, don’t answer the phone, and return calls in short bursts once or twice a day.”

I recently turned off remote email access on my iPhone. It's as if I have another hour every day. Why ?

1. Rather like not missing TV when you're on holiday, you just don't miss your email when it's not available. It means your attention is not fragmented, and you can focus 100% and be fully engaged with the moment.
2. Reading email on the phone was pointless: only very rarely did I reply to it remotely, but waited till I was in front of a proper keyboard...so why process messages twice ? And if anyone wants me urgently, then text or phone call is much, much better in all cases.
3. And above all this, I found I was becoming hooked on checking it, simply because I could. I am much happier now I've taken back control of my behaviour.

Go on, try it, what's the worst that could happen ? It won't hurt, I promise. You'll have more time, and be happier too. How many pieces of free advice can deliver that so easily ?

No-one is indispensable

There are plenty of indispensable people in the grave yard, even those who thought they were the most powerful.....

A farmer has an ox and a mule pulling his plough. The soil is stony, and life is hard. The ox is clearly the biggest and strongest animal, but is tired of shouldering more of the burden than the mule.

One winter's morning, it's dark and frosty outside, and the ox decides to throw a sickie. It lies in the hay, pretending to be ill. The farmer is full of concern, mixes up a bucket of warm oats, wraps him up in a blanket, and sets off with the mule to plough the fields. That evening when the mule returns, the ox says "Did the farmer say anything about me ?" The mule replied, "No, not a word. He helped me pull the plough, and it's late now but we got the work done."

Next morning, the ox was warm and comfortable in the hay, and decides to act ill again. The farmer wraps him up warm and leaves him hot oats, and spends the day with the mule in the fields. When the mule returns, tired out, the ox asks again: "Did the farmer say anything about me ?" The mule replied, "No, not a word. But he did have a long talk with the butcher on the way home."