December 2015 |
Turning Coal into Lemonade
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Turning Coal into Lemonade
Not everyone gets a new Lexus in his or her driveway for xmas. Not everyone gets a phat commission check at the end of the year. Not everyone this month will get a soft, hittable 2016 quota. Not everyone strolls regularly on Easy Street. (But sometimes it seems that way.)
Having witnessed the behaviors and attitudes of both sales executives and sales managers for a long while, I propose that “gravity” is one of the hardest things to accept and learn. Gravity applies as much in business as it does to falling apples. Not everything goes up: some years you produce less and make less money, some years your salary is not raised, some years your title doesn’t change. For young sales reps, this is a hard lesson because they see everyone around them buying more stuff. For sales managers, this is a hard lesson as they are the ones who have to have the hard conversations – that their rep won’t be getting a Lexus in the driveway for xmas. Gravity is hard to accept because our capitalistic society constantly pushes us for more, and therefore it’s ingrained that things always go up. And certainly for the early part of a career, they do. (Early on, a $10k raise in salary can be quite meaningful.) But then “things” level off and one learns about gravity. But here’s the key: gravity doesn’t have to only include earnings and buying more stuff. Gravity applies to what we learn and how we evolve and gain perspective (aka: “wisdom”). And that’s where we should focus: even if our commission check was lower than last year – or we are literally getting coal in our stocking – we can claim success for a year if we’re able to quantify how we learned and matured from all our experiences. In the non-material spirit of the holidays, here are quick tips on how to expand your thinking beyond December as the month of commission checks, bonuses, and title promotions.
Yes, those Lexus commercials look fantastic: happy, shiny people smiling broadly against the backdrop of sexy, architecturally modern homes. And of course, big red bows on the hoods of the spotless Lexus are great touches. It’s enough to make anyone drool. But let’s bring it back to reality and agree that our sense of worth needs to be measured in other ways. Keep learning. Keep growing! Happy holidays to you and yours. |
ArchivesNovember 2015
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