Monday, June 30, 2014

I Don't Know

I don’t know. I’ll take this answer over the hundreds of disguised answers that mean the same thing. This is especially true at work.

We feel it better to default to some buzzword-laden response that means the same thing.

To be judged as ill-equipped, unqualified or incompetent- oh, hell..not that. Anything but that! Let me throw-up about 50 words that will indicate I’m knowledgeable and I belong where I am. It’s the system that has somehow failed us both! That’s why I can’t answer your question! I’ll straighten everything out- hold the line.

If you’re in my line of work, some grizzly veteran told you when you were just a pup there was a million dollar answer when this situation presented itself. You were told with incredible zeal and pride by the living, breathing caricature to answer: “You know what?..I don’t know…but I can find out for you!”. This advice was usually linked to some type of tie-down commitment request directed at the customer- meaning the legwork answer entitles them to ask for something in return.

[Example: I don’t know- but if I find out and the answer is suitable, then can we write up the order?]

I think all people put in this position should look at the salesperson and answer, deadpan: “I don’t know”. Of course, that answer will only get the “eager to close” salesperson ALL LATHERED UP.

Sigh. There’s so many things in the monstrously dated Classic Sales Training routine that are painful to read and even worse to experience. I’m a consumer too.

I don’t know. How refreshing.

The politician asks the scientist a question. The scientist answers: I don’t know.
The Wall Street analyst asks the business executive to somehow predict 2 years into the future: I don’t know.
The man sincerely asks his friend if his marriage going to be ok? I don’t know.
Is there really a heaven where I get to be with my loved ones and live in eternal bliss after I die? I don’t know. (That one could earn me the scorn of most of society..again, sigh).

I don’t know is not only an acceptable answer, it’s often the only answer. So when Steve-O The Sales Monster INSISTS on a *quid pro quo for retrieving that information for you, well, you know what to say.

*I’m sentenced to 20 lashes for this egregious Buzzword infraction.

Friday, May 30, 2014

Default Setting

Sales is a default career for millions.

Often for the extrovert who never learned how to do anything that people would pay them for in an open market. College campuses are littered with young people- often there on their parent’s dime- who have little trouble making friends but will leave school with zero marketable skills. They will be contacting you soon at your place of business with some amazing offer. As the adage goes, I personally didn’t dream of one day being a salesman.

Which brings me to this. Almost everything ever written on Selling- ESPECIALLY on the ultra-sleazy subject of closing techniques- is horse poop. What they’re really attempting to teach is manipulation techniques. This is the primary reason so many people loathe the image that is the salesman. Or they simply break into a full sprint at sight or sound of live one.

There are hundreds of things that successful people do in sales that don’t involve manipulation- covert or otherwise. Most of it is just doing the work. But the articles and the books keep talking about how to close people. A headline in the current Boston Business Journal prompted this post.

For you Liberal Arts Majors who haven’t the faintest idea on how you’ll earn your daily bread post college, please read and heed the following:

1.)If you choose to intentionally manipulate (or worse), just know your comeuppance is inevitable. And the misery will be unimaginable. Your trail of quarry will one day be surpassed by coming face-to-face with what you are and the pointlessness of your life's "work". (Strong enough?..I’m dead serious). The annals of history are full of these guys, business or otherwise.

2.)If you chose to do it honestly, pick a product or service there is a real market for. At times, you will be required to ask people for their business, but only after it is abundantly clear it’s logical and beneficial for them to do so. The prospective buyer is often nervous and they’ve worked themselves into a lather to where they've concluded that making NO DECISION is the safe thing to do. If they’re still unable or unwilling to decide, just move on. You'll save them and yourself from a shi#load of unnecessary agitation.

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Four Hours

Nobody enjoys being around others who ceaselessly complain and espouse pessimism. They’re BRUTAL. All future therapists will be required to tend bar for 2 years when I’m anointed King. Bartenders hear more misery in a single shift than you’ll hear in two months.

But how about people who are their opposite?

You say to them- out of social norms and politeness “How are you?” and they practically jump out of their britches with “fabulous!!”. I’m not speaking of the rare enlightened people who truly are at peace with the world. I speak of those who are committed to public unbridled optimism, regardless of how they might really feel. Oh, their true self will surface from time-to-time and it is a VOLCANO of hurt. You can usually find them an hour later in the self-help section at Barnes and Noble.

Though I RUN from people who insist on sharing their doom/gloom worldview, I also tend to walk briskly away from the chirpy turn that frown upside down minions. Because I think it’s not who they really are. I think it’s their way of coping but it comes off as super phony.

They’ll never be confused with those who radiate warmth and a very real inner-peace. These folks tend to be on the quiet side. They never offer unsolicited advice; they know you have to find your own way. If you vent in their direction, they typically offer a polite smile and agree- often without words- that life can be a real bear at times. You’ll never hear them offer how amazing everything is. They’re neither optimists, pessimists or realists. They have been through an awful lot and don’t pretend that things aren’t painful sometimes. They appreciate the hell out of things that the rest of us take for granted, including but not limited to:

• A comfortable and warm bed
• Not being in any type of physical pain
• A hot meal that tastes pretty good
• The everyday conveniences of the developed world
• A wide variety of entertainment choices
• The health and wellbeing of the people closest to them

You can’t make it a goal to be at peace- It does not work. Our goal-oriented culture has created much of this unhappiness in the first place- it has taught us the never being satisfied is a good thing. Big Pharma loves this mindset- it’s the gift that keeps on giving. In an era of unmatched prosperity and the comfort and conveniences that SHOULD go with it, the U.S. and the rest of the developed world ingests tens of billions of dollars’ worth of mood medications every year.

Why do you think that is?

Never Be Satisfied and- while you’re at it- ask your doctor about Paxil. Its side effects may include a sense of wellbeing that * may last up to four hours.

*Not to be confused with that other med that may give your four hours of awkwardness.

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Times are NOT a ‘Changin

Oh, Bob Dylan…you little rascal. You keep writing music and you don’t look a day older than your 104 years of age. You may remember-or read- that Bob wrote in the 1960’s that Times Were a ‘Changin. More on that in a bit.

I’m guilty of writing about The World As It Should Be as opposed to The World As It is.
Mostly I do it because I’m trying to be amusing but I’m also guilty of defaulting to talk instead of taking action. My wife could tell you a little about this.

Apparently, I can’t be bothered to altering the course of human history because important things have presented themselves- such as my inability to find the remote control or reading extensively about why uber gazillionaire Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan recently purchased an exo-solar planet. (Excellent Milky Way views, move-in ready!).

To my millions of readers- Jamie Dimon didn’t really buy a planet, though he has that type of cake.

So which world do you live in? The World As It Should Be or The World As It Is?

Many would say the former is the domain of the political Liberal and the latter the political Conservative.

Some incredibly special people throughout history have brought justice to glaring and various human-created inequalities. Whether Gandhi or Martin Luther King or dozens before and after them, their energy was mobilized and would not be silenced. The World As It Is was unacceptable and they had the courage of their convictions. More importantly, they walked the freakin’ talk which separates them from myself and the rest of the world. Virtually all of their modern-day brethren however just offer their opinion or write editorials..or whine to nobody in particular…that’s their contribution to righting what’s wrong. This describes about 99.999999% of today’s elected officials. They love, love, LOVE talking about change. And they are followed around by legions of IDIOTS who cheer them on and wear silly hats and launch confetti and say my guy will bring change!! Wheeeeeeee!!!

The overwhelming majority of people who live in The World As It Is have ZERO motivation to change it. Many were born into great wealth and privilege. Many were born into poverty and were determined to escape it- often by any means necessary. They see human nature as a constant and unchangeable. Are they wrong? I, for one, don’t know. I think this group of people tends to be slightly more at peace than the former. Slightly.

The 1960’s in The United States brought us many things. Including but not limited to: a bevy of new mind-altering contraband, marginal hygiene, frightening hairstyles and music so esoteric, eclectic (and loud) that only its creators knew for sure it was actually a form of music. But it also brought a significant amount of people who didn’t just talk about change but actually did something about it.

We could all use a use a little of that 60’s mojo nowadays- just remember running water, soap and shampoo is available.

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Let's cut the Horsebleep

Nothing about business, jobs or any of other stuff I typically blather on about.

Today I will lay waste to a couple of brutally overused platitudes and sacred cows- and I will enjoy it.

Ya never know.

Bullshit. You often know, you FRQUENTLY KNOW, you almost always know. When an outcome has overwhelming evidence on how it will turn out, people feel the need to fill the uncomfortable unease and silence. A suggestion: just say nothing. Let your facial expression communicate what you and others feel. We don't always get what we want and that's OK. Someone invariably will utter that magical pearl. Save it. Silence is OK.

Everything happens for a reason.

Says who??...the organized religion assigned to you? Probably but just as likely you feel the need to say something about the unpleasantness at hand. What would be the reason for the most unspeakable acts of human cruelty? Fact is, we don't know but I don't like the assertion that it happens for a reason- especially when the victim(s) suffer a fate beyond words and an unattached, unaffected observer reflexively offers this up. Zip it and feel your common humanity with this poor person. An exponentially greater service than empty words.

Now more than ever.

Advertisers LOVE this one. More than during The Great Depression? More than when the world was at war? More than when famine and disease ravaged huge sections of the world? Oh, you mean now that people are so consumed with their largely self-created life dramas and wouldn't know real hardship if it bit them in the ass? PURCAHSE THIS PRODUCT I'M
PITCHING BECAUSE NOW, MORE THAN EVER...Good grief.

This is what they would have wanted.

After someone's passing, this one is definitely coming. Let's be clear: This is what YOU WANTED. Whether or not the deceased wanted it is unknown, but this is clearly what YOU WANTED. Even if this person was your spouse of 50 years, you don't know (though, in this instance, you've more than earned the right to say whatever the hell you want).

Our thoughts and prayers go out to…

99% of the people who say or write this do neither and soon return to whatever important activity they were engaged in- such as refreshing their Facebook page to see if anyone commented on their heartfelt line about how they were apparently sending out prayers....or if anyone liked their 479th posted public picture of themselves.

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Need Not Apply

If I can properly tweak this flux capacitor- and get my hind quarters back to the year 1985- I have a useful message to deliver.

If you are unwilling or unable to be a technician or specialist of some kind, you’ll need a Plan B through Plan Z on how you will earn your daily bread. The days where salaried employees spend considerable chunks of time bored out of their skulls (while on the clock) are rapidly reaching the finish line. Government jobs will be protected from this until either: 1.) Politicians have the guts to tell their constituents the truth and take necessary action, or 2.) Wide ranging anarchy on a global scale and the dissolution of the current systems government, finance and all relevant institutions. (On a lighter note, Keeping up with The Kardashians may be renewed for another season)

The reason is incredibly simple.

The creation and the rise of the modern day corporation happened because it made economic sense. The Industrial Revolution, mass population migrations and various standardizations across a spectrum of industries meant groups of “employees” would be necessary to provide these new markets with what they needed. If this meant some employees had extended “down time” during their work day- so be it. The market could support this because it couldn’t wait when needs arised. Temporarily short-handed companies that couldn’t meet the markets demands went out of business so they needed a roster of full-time employees.

If you haven’t noticed, things have changed a bit. Information Technology obliterated almost the entire model.

A sizable and growing portion of the specialized labor necessary to support the demand of the market can be provided on an “as needed basis”. Unless your occupation requires your physical presence in congregation, you can hardly expect to be paid for 40 hours because you’re there 40 hours . This change has already been underway for several years and, like Arnie The Terminator, will not stop.

The reason there is a 100% chance this will continue is because of money. Money gives us the illusion of security and that is something we all desperately cling to. It’s more important to us than anything, this concept of security. I say “illusion” because there is an endless list of things that money is powerless to protect you from- but it does cover the rent, toothpaste, basic cable, $8,000 weddings and a handful of other needful things. And money will ensure that money isn’t spent on things that are not necessary (That means you Mr. $120,000 a year Marketing Manager who uses the word strategic all day..and millions of other jobs that sound just like that one).

Unless you are uniquely brilliant and ambitious, you might want to learn how to do something that people want or need. Getting a four year degree in “business” may be entirely useless unless you’re wildly charismatic AND ambitious OR you’re in the business of repairing flux capacitors or silencing Terminators.

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Squirrel Accessories

I fervently wish I had all the time back. All the time I wondered, silently or out loud, why do people do what they do

I'll do it again in this life though I'd be better served wondering why dogs continue to fall for the fake tennis ball throw.

In my line of work, people awaiting a job offer or at least a "what's next" communication lose their flippin' minds trying to understand why?. What are they doing? What haven't we covered? Why would they leave me in limbo? OnE could reasonably argue the people at the company are afraid to make a decision or, worse, the wrong decision. But that could be TOTALLY wrong, also. It could be any number of things. Meanwhile, you continue to torture yourself. Oy.

This is where being silicon-based as opposed to carbon would alleviate so much wasted energy. However, if you were silicon based, you would be a Cyborg possibly hundreds of years in the future and reading blogs would be like me engaging only in activities interesting to squirrels. This moment of lightness was brought to you by * Cyberdyne Systems, a developer of self-aware artificial intelligence and ** Woodland Industries- a manufacturer of Squirrel toys.

Emotion almost always crushes logic in situations such as these- we've all been there. If you can do one little thing every so often to make your life a wee bit more manageable- do this. Stop wondering why people do what they do. If you REALLY want to know, people do what they do to avoid discomfort and/or hopefully gaining some type of peace or pleasure. All decisions come from that- no exceptions.

And if individually or collectively the decision to hire you increases one of these and/or diminishes the other, you are powerless.

Someone is stalling in hiring you or someone can't decide whether to invest in your company or buy your product or The Girl Next Door can't make up her mind on you versus Vincenzo "Vinny Carwash" Bellatoni , logic says move on. Logic is your friend here, *** not like your Social Network "friends" who post publicly how melancholy they're feeling and hit the refresh button 147 consecutive times awaiting comforting words from people they really don't know.

* Sarah Connor
** Not Really
*** Why I don't do Social Networks, ESPECIALLY that FB one.