Today on Wall Street, several hundred people who were at their high school prom 10 years ago will make more money today than you'll make in the next three months.
Meanwhile, an inner-city teacher will put in extra hours of their own time to help three bright kids whose mothers have a taste for crack the way you have a taste for Hazlenut. For the day, after taxes, that teacher will take home $126.91.
The market decides. I don't like the above example of the market at work but it beats the hell out of a planned economy in which a political ideology decides what you earn.
I'm a headhunter but I wasn't always. I worked for some recognized companies in the past and for that reason alone, headhunters would call me. Roughly 4 nanoseconds after my saying "hello", I was asked how much money I made last year. Before I could answer or decide if I wanted to answer, the uber-aggressive headhunter might ask about the last three years of W2's. It pissed me off but the guy was playing the odds and, quite frankly, doing his job. I'm a salesguy and he wants to know how good I am. If I made a ton of dough but wanted to change jobs, we might be able to help each other out
The market- unbeknownst to certain Tea Party nutjobs- sometimes doesn't always reflect value and rarely truth. There are millions of underpayed and overpaid people. The reasons for this are too many to list here but often it's because a person or hierarchy that makes such decisions puts the money somewhere else. If you think that's not fair- you're right- but you need to fix it if it really bothers you.
The world in infinitely unfair. Where and to whom you are born is where you're positioned at the starting gate of life. I was born and raised in New England. What if I was born and raised somewhere in Somalia? There's no bootstraps to pull yourself up there. If you're professionally and/or financially successful, be thankful. If you contribute meaningfully to society with your work- I thank you. If you feel the need to pat yourself on the back- go for it. If you get dealt a good hand at birth, it's up to you to find your own way.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Intel and The Snuggie
Neither fire, the wheel, the microprocessor nor The Snuggie has been invented yet in much of the marketing world.
This is why you still fend off inumerable unwanted marketing messages. Yes, part of it is low cost for delivery- like the lovable Web pop-up window, but for many marketing flatliners/flat-world minds, most of the onslaught is due to people with the IQ of cole slaw and the creative wherewithal of Open-Mic Night for Tax Attorneys.
The reason you (and I) loathe most salespeople is they are taught to "overcome objections". In the late 19th Century, this might have made sense. Now it only makes for antagonism. What part of "I'm not interested" do you not understand? The only thing created by this marketing mindset is the desire to flee from the "sales eagle!" to a place enveloped on four sides by kevlar.
As they continue to tinker with the wheel, these knuckle-draggers LOVE to hear you're "not in the market" for their products and services! Ya see, while they're hanging pictures on their cave walls, they'll explain that you acually have a "latent" need for your product. They read about it in a book entitled "You Can Sell Ice To Eskimos and swimming Titantic survivors while I'm Cashing Your $19.95 for this Book"
Very few business have the resources to build a large and effective marketing engine. Apple creates desires for products in which neither the desire nor product even existed 6 months ago. Your company is not Apple. You work for Fred's Widget and Snuggie Factory.
That means your company and its marketing efforts will need to seek new customers by initiating contact. That contact doesn't need to be wear a plaid jacket. That contact doesn't need to "overcome objections". It needs to be intelligently targeted, it needs to be concise, it needs to be smart and it needs to find people where timing and receptivity come together.
And if they tell you they're "all set" and their needs for widgets and/or Snuggies has been met for the next several decades, thank them and move on. There are people out there who want or need your stuff but are so swamped with work and life "to do's" that they've shelved action. They're listening.
This is why you still fend off inumerable unwanted marketing messages. Yes, part of it is low cost for delivery- like the lovable Web pop-up window, but for many marketing flatliners/flat-world minds, most of the onslaught is due to people with the IQ of cole slaw and the creative wherewithal of Open-Mic Night for Tax Attorneys.
The reason you (and I) loathe most salespeople is they are taught to "overcome objections". In the late 19th Century, this might have made sense. Now it only makes for antagonism. What part of "I'm not interested" do you not understand? The only thing created by this marketing mindset is the desire to flee from the "sales eagle!" to a place enveloped on four sides by kevlar.
As they continue to tinker with the wheel, these knuckle-draggers LOVE to hear you're "not in the market" for their products and services! Ya see, while they're hanging pictures on their cave walls, they'll explain that you acually have a "latent" need for your product. They read about it in a book entitled "You Can Sell Ice To Eskimos and swimming Titantic survivors while I'm Cashing Your $19.95 for this Book"
Very few business have the resources to build a large and effective marketing engine. Apple creates desires for products in which neither the desire nor product even existed 6 months ago. Your company is not Apple. You work for Fred's Widget and Snuggie Factory.
That means your company and its marketing efforts will need to seek new customers by initiating contact. That contact doesn't need to be wear a plaid jacket. That contact doesn't need to "overcome objections". It needs to be intelligently targeted, it needs to be concise, it needs to be smart and it needs to find people where timing and receptivity come together.
And if they tell you they're "all set" and their needs for widgets and/or Snuggies has been met for the next several decades, thank them and move on. There are people out there who want or need your stuff but are so swamped with work and life "to do's" that they've shelved action. They're listening.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Running Water and You
If some poor soul in the developing world can produce the same output and work you do… though they go home every night to a house that doesn’t even have running water- if the above is true for you- you have to find a new line of work.
It seems unfair but it’s the reality of Labor Market Darwinism, a term first coined by me roughly 45 seconds ago.
There isn’t a politician in the US with the cajones to say this, of course. They default to the patronizing we need to create good-paying jobs! line and everybody cheers. Hoo-ray! We are for good-paying jobs, too!!, they shout.
Lovely idea, it really is. Problem is it’s up to the people and not the politicians and these cheering people are being spoon-fed glee without any substance.
We hear about training and various other vague programs that, apparently, if you elect Candidate A…SHAZAM!..they will be able to create good-paying jobs with their copyright-protected program entitled Creating Good Paying Jobs Via Training And Various Other Vague Programs And Stuff Initiative (CGJVTAVOVPASI as it’s also known as in the world of make-believe).
There are a lot of good people, hard-working people who got blindsided by globalization and that stinks. No man is an island; I don’t care how talented or ambitious someone is. We’re an interdependent species. But let’s look at some of the generations that preceded us and faced hardship more significant than the current Great Recession. These people and these generations prevailed. They did so, amazingly, in a manner entirely different than the Occupy Wall Street movement. Instead, they did it all by busting their stones and managed to do it (brace yourself) without the advent of the iPhone, the standard-issue weapon of the Occupy Wall Street soldiers.
Hall of Fame baseball player Yogi Berra- who wasn’t quite as articulate as your average cocker spaniel- said it best: “..80% of this game is half mental!..”
He was talking about mental toughness. We all need to find it when things aren’t going well- and they will for EVERYBODY from time to time. Tune out the person running for office and tune it to what’s important to you.
And stop staring at your smartphone screen as you’re walking down the street.
It seems unfair but it’s the reality of Labor Market Darwinism, a term first coined by me roughly 45 seconds ago.
There isn’t a politician in the US with the cajones to say this, of course. They default to the patronizing we need to create good-paying jobs! line and everybody cheers. Hoo-ray! We are for good-paying jobs, too!!, they shout.
Lovely idea, it really is. Problem is it’s up to the people and not the politicians and these cheering people are being spoon-fed glee without any substance.
We hear about training and various other vague programs that, apparently, if you elect Candidate A…SHAZAM!..they will be able to create good-paying jobs with their copyright-protected program entitled Creating Good Paying Jobs Via Training And Various Other Vague Programs And Stuff Initiative (CGJVTAVOVPASI as it’s also known as in the world of make-believe).
There are a lot of good people, hard-working people who got blindsided by globalization and that stinks. No man is an island; I don’t care how talented or ambitious someone is. We’re an interdependent species. But let’s look at some of the generations that preceded us and faced hardship more significant than the current Great Recession. These people and these generations prevailed. They did so, amazingly, in a manner entirely different than the Occupy Wall Street movement. Instead, they did it all by busting their stones and managed to do it (brace yourself) without the advent of the iPhone, the standard-issue weapon of the Occupy Wall Street soldiers.
Hall of Fame baseball player Yogi Berra- who wasn’t quite as articulate as your average cocker spaniel- said it best: “..80% of this game is half mental!..”
He was talking about mental toughness. We all need to find it when things aren’t going well- and they will for EVERYBODY from time to time. Tune out the person running for office and tune it to what’s important to you.
And stop staring at your smartphone screen as you’re walking down the street.
Monday, September 3, 2012
1,168
That is the number of pages in the book Atlas Shrugged. You may curse Ayn Rand's name that many times if you choose to soldier your way through this book that weighs slightly less than a small sedan.
Love/hate is not strong enough language to describe my relationship with this book. It is, however, on a VERY short list of books that forced me to re-examine some of my own beliefs. For that reason alone, I view it as nothing short of a masterpiece.
The list of people wildy successful in their work who list it as a major influence in their life is endless. But it has also been read by an alarming number of scientists, bookworms, hardcore capitalists, hardcore Marxists, CEO's, hippies, social workers and every academic who ever walked the planet. Aspiring Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan said the book shook him at his core and changed his life forever.
(I'm aware that 50% of US citizens who know who their elected officials are like Paul Ryan very much; the other 50%, not so much).
Ayn Rand lived the first leg of her life under totalitarianism in the former USSR. Though she left barely a twenty year old to come to the United States, she witnessed plenty of what can go horribly wrong in what would be a political system doomed worldwide.
This book of dystopian fiction and most of her other works (fiction and non-fiction) chronicles the virtue of the profit motive fueled by each individuals maximum creative and innovative output, (i.e. their work). For people born without such innate talents, she professed it was their job to assist in the efforts of those who were to build a just and efficient society.
I agree with much if not most of what she writes. I think the book would have been equally effective at 584 pages. She also is a bit of a zealot. That understatement is analogous to saying "Paris Hilton is a bit of a no-talent".
Rand said many times subsequent to the book being published she realizes that very few people on Earth could ever actually live up to the ideals the books protagonists exhibited and lived. Rand's critics, past and present, paint her to be a heartless industrialist who would send all of the world's weak to the ovens.
Glad I read it, believe all people who consider themselves critical thinkers should read it and feel sorry for people I see on the train reading it who are ONLY on page 584.
Love/hate is not strong enough language to describe my relationship with this book. It is, however, on a VERY short list of books that forced me to re-examine some of my own beliefs. For that reason alone, I view it as nothing short of a masterpiece.
The list of people wildy successful in their work who list it as a major influence in their life is endless. But it has also been read by an alarming number of scientists, bookworms, hardcore capitalists, hardcore Marxists, CEO's, hippies, social workers and every academic who ever walked the planet. Aspiring Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan said the book shook him at his core and changed his life forever.
(I'm aware that 50% of US citizens who know who their elected officials are like Paul Ryan very much; the other 50%, not so much).
Ayn Rand lived the first leg of her life under totalitarianism in the former USSR. Though she left barely a twenty year old to come to the United States, she witnessed plenty of what can go horribly wrong in what would be a political system doomed worldwide.
This book of dystopian fiction and most of her other works (fiction and non-fiction) chronicles the virtue of the profit motive fueled by each individuals maximum creative and innovative output, (i.e. their work). For people born without such innate talents, she professed it was their job to assist in the efforts of those who were to build a just and efficient society.
I agree with much if not most of what she writes. I think the book would have been equally effective at 584 pages. She also is a bit of a zealot. That understatement is analogous to saying "Paris Hilton is a bit of a no-talent".
Rand said many times subsequent to the book being published she realizes that very few people on Earth could ever actually live up to the ideals the books protagonists exhibited and lived. Rand's critics, past and present, paint her to be a heartless industrialist who would send all of the world's weak to the ovens.
Glad I read it, believe all people who consider themselves critical thinkers should read it and feel sorry for people I see on the train reading it who are ONLY on page 584.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
300-500 words
Been awhile since I plucked away at the keyboard.
Could use the standard "been busy" but that's horsebleep. If you want something done, assign it to a busy person I was told many moons ago.
I haven't wrote because it's not urgent that I do so and pounding out 300-500 words is hard work. I've been paid to write before; it was no less easy then.
People waste absurd amounts of energy wondering why people do what they do. I've always felt the same way on this subject. We are who we are- that's why. That's why one person builds a suspension bridge while another is draining a case of beer and wondering why life is so "unfair".
Of course it's unfair except don't ask the guy who's tripping over his "empties". Ask the mother in Somalia who's seen more hunger and horror in a week than you'll ever know in five lifetimes. Ask her about it. She's likely to tell you things are bound to get better while Drunky the Clown will blame bankers and politicians.
If a guy who repeatedly takes shortcuts in his work tells you how hard "he used to work", he's about as credible as a late-night infomercial selling no-money-down real estate investing. (Speaking of bankers...go tell a retail banker about your plans for investment properties without using a dime of your money. He'll think you're a funny guy. Then two armed security people will help you find your way out).
Hard work will set you free. Unfortunatley, it was Karl Marx who coined that phrase but it's the ultimate truism. I wish it was Lincoln who said it but it doesn't matter because, according to some other famous deceased person- well done is better than well said.
For the record, the last word on this post was word #299. I need to get on the stick...no shortcuts.
Could use the standard "been busy" but that's horsebleep. If you want something done, assign it to a busy person I was told many moons ago.
I haven't wrote because it's not urgent that I do so and pounding out 300-500 words is hard work. I've been paid to write before; it was no less easy then.
People waste absurd amounts of energy wondering why people do what they do. I've always felt the same way on this subject. We are who we are- that's why. That's why one person builds a suspension bridge while another is draining a case of beer and wondering why life is so "unfair".
Of course it's unfair except don't ask the guy who's tripping over his "empties". Ask the mother in Somalia who's seen more hunger and horror in a week than you'll ever know in five lifetimes. Ask her about it. She's likely to tell you things are bound to get better while Drunky the Clown will blame bankers and politicians.
If a guy who repeatedly takes shortcuts in his work tells you how hard "he used to work", he's about as credible as a late-night infomercial selling no-money-down real estate investing. (Speaking of bankers...go tell a retail banker about your plans for investment properties without using a dime of your money. He'll think you're a funny guy. Then two armed security people will help you find your way out).
Hard work will set you free. Unfortunatley, it was Karl Marx who coined that phrase but it's the ultimate truism. I wish it was Lincoln who said it but it doesn't matter because, according to some other famous deceased person- well done is better than well said.
For the record, the last word on this post was word #299. I need to get on the stick...no shortcuts.
Friday, May 4, 2012
Let Me Ask My Engineer
It's been a long time since folks relied on salespeople for information. Some say that died with the internet but I believe it's been longer than that. The so-called Information Age didn't begin with the internet..though it got a helluva boost.
It's true, for decades, businesses and people relied to a degree on salespeople to learn about what's out there. The overwhelming majority of salespeople would tell them "what's out there" all right. What's "out there" is actually in the bag I'm toting around! In fairness, that was their job. This practice still goes on today in certain industries(e.g. pharmaceuticals).
It wasn't long before U.S. corporations decided they liked the moniker "Sales Consultant" more than the many variations of Sales Rep. I always found the title Sales Consultant hilarious. Ask your Acme Widget Sales Consultant which other widgets- aside from Acme's- they recommend. A professional consultant is an expert who gets paid for their non-compromised advice. To earn a decent living as a consultant, you need to really know your stuff. And when it comes time to advise your client on what products or services to buy, a commission is a kickback. Fine, I guess, as long as you reveal it to your client. It's actually a common practice in professional consulting but I'm not so sure how often the customer knows the consultant is getting a spiff. If the consultant recommends something they don't believe in or are entirely ignorant on, they best keep their eyes peeled for the Karmic Train heading their way.
Today's salespeople whose sole responsibility is to manage existing accounts are required to promote upsells. That's really the only thing they're measured on. If sales are flat (or worse) with an account, Hell is on the way and hell is bringing their manager with them. What's called a "sense of urgency" internally with the vendor is really the panic button being pushed repeatedley. Instead of getting creative companies get aggressive first followed by desperate.
As an Account Manager, your job really involves just two things. You need to be an EXPERT on your customer's business, especially in relation to how your offerings facilitates their business needs. Secondly, in the age of insanely piss-poor customer service, you need to offer world-class customer service. That's a HUGE value to your customer. Constantly trying to upsell them is not. Lastly, you need to be an expert on any product/service your company offers that your customer may be interested in. Just having information about your products is useless, it's a mouse-click away. If you represent technical wares, "let me reach out to my engineer" can NOT be your default response to every question. You will be eminently expendible to both your customer and your company if you can't solve basic technical customer problems. Some products/services are EXTREMELY technical and the sales engineers are constantly being trained so common sense prevails here but the account manager, at minimum, should be able to handle technical questions that are frequently asked.
It's true, for decades, businesses and people relied to a degree on salespeople to learn about what's out there. The overwhelming majority of salespeople would tell them "what's out there" all right. What's "out there" is actually in the bag I'm toting around! In fairness, that was their job. This practice still goes on today in certain industries(e.g. pharmaceuticals).
It wasn't long before U.S. corporations decided they liked the moniker "Sales Consultant" more than the many variations of Sales Rep. I always found the title Sales Consultant hilarious. Ask your Acme Widget Sales Consultant which other widgets- aside from Acme's- they recommend. A professional consultant is an expert who gets paid for their non-compromised advice. To earn a decent living as a consultant, you need to really know your stuff. And when it comes time to advise your client on what products or services to buy, a commission is a kickback. Fine, I guess, as long as you reveal it to your client. It's actually a common practice in professional consulting but I'm not so sure how often the customer knows the consultant is getting a spiff. If the consultant recommends something they don't believe in or are entirely ignorant on, they best keep their eyes peeled for the Karmic Train heading their way.
Today's salespeople whose sole responsibility is to manage existing accounts are required to promote upsells. That's really the only thing they're measured on. If sales are flat (or worse) with an account, Hell is on the way and hell is bringing their manager with them. What's called a "sense of urgency" internally with the vendor is really the panic button being pushed repeatedley. Instead of getting creative companies get aggressive first followed by desperate.
As an Account Manager, your job really involves just two things. You need to be an EXPERT on your customer's business, especially in relation to how your offerings facilitates their business needs. Secondly, in the age of insanely piss-poor customer service, you need to offer world-class customer service. That's a HUGE value to your customer. Constantly trying to upsell them is not. Lastly, you need to be an expert on any product/service your company offers that your customer may be interested in. Just having information about your products is useless, it's a mouse-click away. If you represent technical wares, "let me reach out to my engineer" can NOT be your default response to every question. You will be eminently expendible to both your customer and your company if you can't solve basic technical customer problems. Some products/services are EXTREMELY technical and the sales engineers are constantly being trained so common sense prevails here but the account manager, at minimum, should be able to handle technical questions that are frequently asked.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Villagers with Torches
So let me get this straight.
We're going to tax the richest Americans at a considerably higher rate and let government employees decide where that money is best spent?
Haven't we seen this movie before?
That Turnip Truck that just accidentally dislodged a human occupant...that wasn't me. I'm well aware this fine nation has untold numbers of idiot sons and daughters who were born on third base but are convinced they hit a triple. A fortuitious birth is the only reason they have great material wealth. Then there's the other group of very high income earners who's only real achievement was, as Woody Allen once advised, just showing up. It's hard for anybody-not just the poor- to look at them and not feel that life is inherently unfair. The bad news is life is unfair but the vast majority of America's poor would be considered rich in the developing world.
Less than 20 years ago, two esteemed scholars named Thomas Stanley and William Danko did the most comprehensive study on wealth ever conducted in US history. Their findings stunned everybody. More than half of Americans with a high net worth didn't inheret a nickel and are COMPLETELY self-made. They are almost all small business owners, they are job creators and, yes, many earn enough money to where they would get walloped by tax increases on "the wealthy".
These people do not keep their money under their mattress. They put their money to work, often investing in enterprise and endeavors that create jobs. They're pretty smart with their money considering they started with zilch-o and now have plenty.
So we're going to take their money and let government employees decide where it should go?
How about other high-income earners whose immense efforts increase the quality of life for everybody. The skilled physician, the astute engineer, the brilliant chemist or the job creating entrepreneur..just to name a few. So were going to take away the money they've earned and give it to the government so, in the words of our Commander in Chief, we "can spread the wealth around?".
What has history taught us about Socialism? Capitalism is hardly perfect but Socialism has miserably failed the human race because we are hard-wired in a way that decrees it to failure.
Back to the Turnup Truck: A reasonably intelligent Golden Retriever..umm...ah, ah..I mean politician...a reasonably intelligent politician who desperately wants to retain their power..umm...ah, I mean position and plays the populist game would read this and say this is not the group we're going to subject to higher taxes. We're after the Fatcats only, they'll tell you. That's horsebleep! The politician will tell you they're after the Commodities Trader and the Financier who makes millions and pays the same percentage in taxes as Warren Buffet's secretary.
People who make millions simply because they have millions or by gambling (e.g. stock and commodities speculation)...it's easy to vilify them. As much as you may hate them, the majority busted their behinds in their studies and later in their work. Most are unmitigated workaholics. A great deal of the money they spend or invest fuels the economy EXPOTENTIALLY more effectively than money acquired via taxing and spent by the government. I do belive this particular group should pay more but lets lose the "villagers-with-torches mentality". It's illogical groupthink that has no basis in reality.
We're going to tax the richest Americans at a considerably higher rate and let government employees decide where that money is best spent?
Haven't we seen this movie before?
That Turnip Truck that just accidentally dislodged a human occupant...that wasn't me. I'm well aware this fine nation has untold numbers of idiot sons and daughters who were born on third base but are convinced they hit a triple. A fortuitious birth is the only reason they have great material wealth. Then there's the other group of very high income earners who's only real achievement was, as Woody Allen once advised, just showing up. It's hard for anybody-not just the poor- to look at them and not feel that life is inherently unfair. The bad news is life is unfair but the vast majority of America's poor would be considered rich in the developing world.
Less than 20 years ago, two esteemed scholars named Thomas Stanley and William Danko did the most comprehensive study on wealth ever conducted in US history. Their findings stunned everybody. More than half of Americans with a high net worth didn't inheret a nickel and are COMPLETELY self-made. They are almost all small business owners, they are job creators and, yes, many earn enough money to where they would get walloped by tax increases on "the wealthy".
These people do not keep their money under their mattress. They put their money to work, often investing in enterprise and endeavors that create jobs. They're pretty smart with their money considering they started with zilch-o and now have plenty.
So we're going to take their money and let government employees decide where it should go?
How about other high-income earners whose immense efforts increase the quality of life for everybody. The skilled physician, the astute engineer, the brilliant chemist or the job creating entrepreneur..just to name a few. So were going to take away the money they've earned and give it to the government so, in the words of our Commander in Chief, we "can spread the wealth around?".
What has history taught us about Socialism? Capitalism is hardly perfect but Socialism has miserably failed the human race because we are hard-wired in a way that decrees it to failure.
Back to the Turnup Truck: A reasonably intelligent Golden Retriever..umm...ah, ah..I mean politician...a reasonably intelligent politician who desperately wants to retain their power..umm...ah, I mean position and plays the populist game would read this and say this is not the group we're going to subject to higher taxes. We're after the Fatcats only, they'll tell you. That's horsebleep! The politician will tell you they're after the Commodities Trader and the Financier who makes millions and pays the same percentage in taxes as Warren Buffet's secretary.
People who make millions simply because they have millions or by gambling (e.g. stock and commodities speculation)...it's easy to vilify them. As much as you may hate them, the majority busted their behinds in their studies and later in their work. Most are unmitigated workaholics. A great deal of the money they spend or invest fuels the economy EXPOTENTIALLY more effectively than money acquired via taxing and spent by the government. I do belive this particular group should pay more but lets lose the "villagers-with-torches mentality". It's illogical groupthink that has no basis in reality.
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