Machiavelli Was Wrong (About Sales)


In his book “The Prince”Machiavelli states that leaders “must assume that all men are wicked and will act wickedly whenever they have the chance to do so.” To tell you the truth, I have not found this to be the case. In fact I have normally found the exact opposite to be the case. In most of the organizations that I have been in, I have found the team members to be ready and willing to do the correct and proper activities when they are given the chance.

 

The key here is to enable the team to do the right things. Make sure your sales team has the product training and competitive knowledge to successfully compete in the marketplace. If they don’t know what their product can do or what their competition is capable of, then the chance of their misstating your product or corporate capabilities increases. They will take some of the blame for not having the information, but you should take some of the blame for not making sure it was provided.

 

The sales team has the unenviable job of trying to please two masters; the customer who buys their product, and the management of the team that supplies the product. The sales team wants to tell the customer the truth and set expectations appropriately (as well as get the order) so that the customer will not have issues regarding the product performance and the perceived value it brings. The sales team also wants to meet the goals and expectations of their management in order to receive their rewards and maintain their positions.

 

 In business and sales there will always be issues. By providing the right information, capabilities and incentives to the business and sales team, they will be enabled to do those activities that they need to do right, and to continue to prove Machiavelli wrong

When the Going Gets Tough – Communicate


There will always be tough times in business. It is the cycle of things. As leaders we should be working to minimize and avoid them, but sometimes they can’t be avoided. When things get tough, our natural tendency is to keep quiet, keep our head down and work harder. That is not the right response for the business leader facing tough times.

 

When times get tough the business leader needs to go on the communications offensive. You must communicate your issues and your plans to improve the situation, and the progress against those plans to the senior leadership team. It is best not to wait for them to ask. If there are issues and you wait for management to ask you, or worse yet tell you what to do, it will compromise your ability to lead your team.

 

On the other side of things, your team will also recognize when there are issues with the business. You will need to communicate openly and often with them to make sure that they are aware of all aspects of the situation and what their respective roles in it will be going forward. If your team is left with a blank page (no information) the story that they will write will not be the one you want.

 

While open and significant communication may not correct the issues that are driving the hard times, it will significantly contribute to making sure that they do not get worse. People can and will understand that tough times occur. Knowing what is happening and what their roles in it going forward are key aspects of creating and implementing the solution to tough times.

Fear and Change in the New Assignment


Every time I have been taken a new assignment in a new organization, the first question that was asked of me was “What are you going to do first?” My answer was invariably the same one. I would reply “I am first going to learn”. I would give this answer to both the people I reported to, as well as the people that reported to me.

 

It is good to come into a new role with a rough idea about what may or may not need to be done. This helps you create the first action plan. What normally happens then is that both your preconceived ideas and your plan rarely survive the first encounter with the actual business realities of the assignment intact. It is then that you learn why the situation is in the state it is in.

 

Machiavelli noted that the two principle ways to govern a new organization were to either go live amidst the existing leadership structure, or to destroy the existing structure and replace it with your own. I have been in corporate cultures where both approaches have been the norm. The team replacement culture usually breeds a business culture of fear, whereas the more inclusive approach will create a more constructive environment for the business.

 

I have found that my personal preference is to go and locate amidst the existing structure. In this way you can facilitate and speed up your learning process regarding the business. The existing team will always have some stake hold in the existing structures and processes of the business, but in general they will also know that a leadership change has been made for a reason. That reason is to usually change the direction of the business. This is usually easier to do with a team that is familiar with you instead of one that is afraid.

Sometimes You Check Your Ego at the Door


Ego is a powerful force in business. It drives us to work harder, to succeed, and to do our best. It is a key element in the makeup of a successful sales and business leader. Without it, losing the sale or missing the numbers would be much more tolerable. Good enough would in fact be good enough.

 

However no one is infallible and no one has the market for good ideas and decisions cornered. It is a good manager that will make a decision and move forward, but it is a good leader that will recognize when a better solution than their own has been provided, and adopt it.

 

Our egos will make it hard for us to accept that we are either wrong, or that someone else may have thought of a better way of doing things. Always be prepared to defend your decisions and directions. However it is equally possible that those that are questioning you are not correct, but do not dismiss them out of hand.

 

A review and discussion of different points of view will serve several functions. People want to feel that their input is valued and heard. Different points of view make the overall business stronger by removing blind spots associated with too many similar points of view. If they are not correct, they have had their say and will be stronger supporters of the current directions.

 

If they are right, you have to check your ego at the door and acknowledge it, and then make the changes that are for the betterment of the business.

Quit Complaining


Many times in business you will see foolishness occur, even in your own enterprise. Opportunities that are clearly visible will be missed. Improper directions will be issued. Bad courses and strategies will be followed. It is your responsibility to bring them to management’s attention when you see them. When you do this, remember two things: Bring a good alternative or corrective action, and don’t complain.

 

Bringing solutions to topics and issues that you raise is seen as good leadership. Everyone can see a problem. A leader will take the initiative to bring the accompanying solution.

 

Complaining on the other hand is a pastime that almost everyone participates in at one time or another. However, complaining about topics, issues or directives, without proposing an accompanying solution to your complaint will make you appear ineffective as a leader. Complaining is a non-action oriented event, and a good business leader is action oriented.

 

If you can not find a suitable alternative or solution to an action that you find disagreeable, then say nothing. There probably wasn’t one to be found prior to the action being taken. Any other comments will be seen as complaining, and few people like a complainer.

Robert McNamara Was Right


Robert McNamara was a former president of Ford motor company, A Secretary of Defense under presidents Kennedy and Johnson, and was generally known as one of the first “whiz kids”.  He was involved in returning Ford to profitability in the 1950’s and such global events as the Vietnam War, the Cuban missile crisis and the USS Pueblo controversy.Through out those events he maintained a directive that stood him and the country in good stead. He always said to get the information first, and then check it again.

 

We have all looked at a report, spreadsheet, balance sheet or P&L and after glancing at it said that everything looked in order. With the shear number of documents and emails that we have to look at in one day, we find ourselves falling more and more into this habit. We get to feeling that if things look right, then they must be right, right?

 

To be truthful, in many instances the simple answer is usually the correct one. Your instincts and a scanning of the documents will do. Things will be as they seem.

 

However there will always be the exception to the rule. You can not allow a bad habit to lead to a bad result. You will need to get into the good habit of double checking and triangulating your information. You need to understand where the information you are working on has come from. There are very few events that call for such an immediate response that you cannot re-look at the data before acting.

 

A good manager will look at the information and if it looks right, they will take action. A business leader will look at the information and if it looks right, will look at it again to make sure that it is right, before taking an action. That’s how you make sure you are acting on a studied decision instead of reacting to an external stimulus. Sometimes it might appear right, but sometimes appearances can be deceiving. Checking the data again seemed to work well for Robert McNamara.

Activity and Progress

Lulls happen in business. It is very rare that there is a prolonged period of non-stop functional engagement. Holidays, vacations, general economic and market changes occur so that sometimes there is just not as much business to conduct as there is at other times.




It is normally at times like these that management comes by to see what you are up to. We’ll talk about this in another article.




What we will talk about here is the difference between doing something and making progress. Remember how your mom would always think of something for you to do if she found you relaxing or watching TV. That was activity. The management equivalent can be the number of reports, plans and strategies that you will be asked for as a result of any changes to the general business, market or economic conditions that may arise.




Progress for your mom was you moving from elementary, to middle, to high school and beyond. Sure there were report cards every quarter, or semester, but the overall progress toward the goal and objective of graduation had a significantly different and longer time line. The current management equivalent for progress is not so easily quantified. We seem to be in a quarter (3 month) over quarter cycle where year to year changes have lost their importance.




The key is to realize that progress takes time. Activity can be immediate, but can the advancements it generates be sustained? Perhaps, but we seem to have become very focused on immediate responses and gratifications. We need to understand that activity is immediate and short term, and to also understand that there may be quarters where the activity may not put us at the levels that we want. We need to keep our focus on the longer term goals and objectives if we are going to really make progress.

Office “Rumours”


Back in the 1980’s one of the biggest musical bands of the time was a group called Fleetwood Mac. They were great. One of their biggest albums of the time was an album called Rumours. It was a great album. However, from a business point of view “rumours”are no good.

 

Rumors are what occur when you do not communicate regularly with your team. They will invariably be worse than just about anything that reality can offer. If people are presented with a blank page, the story they write will be worse than the one you will tell them.

 

Once started rumors take on a life of their own. You only lend credence to them even when you deny or rebut them. It almost seems that people would prefer to believe the worst hearsay instead of the actual information – if they hear the rumor first.

 

The key is to get ahead of the curve. Regular team or all hands meetings enable everyone to hear what you have to say, and to get questions and concerns out of the way. It is more difficult for rumors to get started if everyone has the same level of information, and all heard it at the same time.

 

Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours wasgreat to listen to. All other rumors in the office shouldn’t be heard.

No Peanut Butter

You’re running your business. You’re paying attention to the big issues and the details. You’re on your targets, making your numbers and living within your budgets. Life is pretty good. Then at one of your boss’s staff meetings you are told that there is a headcount reduction scheduled and you are told what your participation in this activity will be. It turns out that other functions are not performing as well to their targets as you are, and now all are going to have to participate in the unpleasant task at hand.


 


It is the dreaded “peanut butter” effect.


 


The peanut butter effect occurs when it is easier to take an overall general action than it is to take a focused and specific targeted action. It can be 10% reduction across the board instead of a greater number in the offending groups, or a travel or a hiring freeze for all instead of just for those declining functions. I think we have all seen it.


 


Peanut butter provides a disincentive to good business performance. If a function that is performing must participate in a down side activity to the same level that a non-performing function does, you are mitigating the cost of poor performance to the underperforming function.


 


Fast forward to now, and you are now the leader. If your business is not performing to its overall requirements, and you are looking to take actions early on to try and bring its bottom line back on track, make the effort to understand where both your good performance and your problems lie. Take specific, focused business actions based on the businesses performance. Don’t spread peanut butter.

Management Style

We have all worked for managers who were very assured in the manager – subordinate relationship. If they wanted to talk to you, they called you into their office. If they wanted you to do something, they told you what it was they wanted you to do, probably when to do it, and possibly how to get it done. They were very much into reaffirming both with you and with themselves that they were the boss.


 


That type of situation and management practice will have a tendency to reduce the interaction, and flow of information upwards to the manager. Since subordinates opinions will seem to carry less value, they will eventually stop being offered. This type of management structure will be successful only if the manager is never wrong. I think it has been a long time since the last infallible person was on the planet.


 


Leaders must remember that they are part of the team. Everyone in the organization will know that they are the manager. There are normally all sorts of announcements and group meetings to introduce and reinforce this fact. The leader should however make sure not to set themselves so far apart from, or position themselves to be the superior to the rest of the team.


 


A good leader needs to adapt themselves to interpersonal requirements of the situation, but still be able to be the leader. Being able to deal with and talk to the team on a peer basis will be key. Inviting, respecting and acting on opinions other that your own will assure that you will continue to get good advice from the team. Phrasing requirements in the form of a request and using please will probably get more things done quicker than shorter, direct orders.


 


At least that is what I have found to work well, with the possible exception of anything I ask my kids to do.