Creating Reality

I was sitting in a meeting listening to a social scientist creating a reality with his mouth. He was flashing his eyes, pointing his fingers, threatening doom.

I noticed he didn’t have any experimental data or observation, he had a string of slogans and epithets, which having lost their original data and observation didn’t make sense to me, having done some actual research and gained certifications using the tools in his area of opinion.

He was long on threat, short on facts.

I couldn’t get up and leave without disrupting the meeting, so I started to ponder. If I wanted to create a reality with something other than my mouth, what would I use?

Ears?

Had I seen people create a reality with their ears?

Suddenly, I knew I was on to something as ALL the people I respected for creating reality had listened until they knew what they were talking about. This was an important point.

The guy at the front of the room was getting louder, more excited, more threatening, more finger slashing, as he sensed he wasn’t making much progress. Then I recognized his weaker magic.

150,000 years ago, when shamans first started negotiating and explaining the unknowable, they all had mouth sounds, threatening gestures, and sudden moves. But the more powerful explainers also gained the ability to leverage their power by slamming sticks into the ground, while whirling and shouting.

And I am a golfer.

Tips 4 The Big Chair – Up your magic!

Word Inflation

A while back, I collaborated on a project to produce a document suitable for public dissemination.

I noticed that when collaborators sent back edits and improvements to the draft's author, each received a comment like: 'Awesome Changes!', or 'This will really make our document Awesome!', or 'The new formatting is Totally Awesome!'.

In reality, the changes did make the document incrementally better, but this exchange made me think about the non-communication that has developed from the over use of laudatory remarks for non-laudatory work.

This feedback to the originator is analogous to giving a trophy to everyone on the team, regardless of their contribution or skill level – it's a cheap 'feelgood' for showing up but does nothing to help the player (collaborator) improve their output. If a slap-dash revision is greeted with the same accolade as a masterwork improvement, what does the collaborator learn about their contribution?

Valid feedback is a precious gift from the giver because it shares an engaged point of view. The remark 'thanks, that clarified the point' provides value, as does 'thanks for the edit, but I did not see much improvement over the original wording'. How does Awesome convey either message? Any message?

I certainly hope you feel this post was Awesome, and will comment appropriately.

All Around the Town - Sales Lab Presentations

Learn...And Share

I spend a lot of time reading on the internet, while that little voice in my brain is haunting, “Is this a good use of your time?”

Suw Charman, one of my first favorite bloggers told of one of her editors asking, “Why do you read so much? Just write something.”

I have written about the best ways to generate useful knowledge on a reliable basis.

We need to learn more, including better context for what we already know. When I am reading, I am first looking for solutions to my current projects. Then solutions for my coming projects.

Because I don’t work alone, I also find things that will help the people who help me. Many things I read I send to people I am working with.

That has a nonobvious advantage of over time giving us a common base of reference for what we are doing.

When I am starting a new project, I read up on it. I’ll even crack open a Gmail and write the terms I’m researching, and then follow the ads that appear.

Once, when I was selling a company, the owner told me there was one industry analyst firm for that vertical. Using the Gmail ad research approach, I discovered that there were three, and we were using the one who had a 12% market share. That was a useful six minutes.

A twenty year client is switching from selling financial products to publicizing early human origins. We’re both reading a lot of new books. I’m getting a lot of valuable information on successful organizations, some of them 200,000 years old.

He complimented me on my discipline sharing things I was learning that helped him, which was how I started thinking about this post.

Peter Drucker said that in the manufacturing age, power came from hoarding information. In the information age, power comes from giving it away.

The first time I read that I liked it. Now I’m starting to understand it.

What is your learning regimen?

Sales Lab Resources Hidden Treasure

Lennie’s Market

“God sells all things at the price of labor”

Leonardo da Vinci

Way before open source!

The Ego Stack

Last Friday, I had the opportunity to sit down with His Excellency, George Washington, to learn about leadership. As a surveyor, planter, rancher, scientist, distiller, builder, warrior, and dancer, he placed a high value on direct expertise, which allowed him get successful results from subordinates, and quickly correct situations that weren’t going to work.

When he was directed to re-employ the recently captured and released General Lee with due regard for his “seniority,” Washington complied. And when the strategic brilliance of releasing General Lee became apparent as he outran his men, retreating in a rout, Washington’s attitude was more fearsome than the men’s fear of death. They rallied, and followed Washington back on the field, taking advantage that the enemy was out of position and out of energy having chased the Americans to what looked like a sure victory.

When I like or respect somebody, it is usually because they are demonstrating useful skills.

Two years ago, I met a young man who wanted to start a different kind of organization. He couldn’t do it all, so Jack and I added what we could do. Others added what they could, because they saw so many doing good work. His organization flourished. 

As he has adopted a grander business style, his successes have dropped.

I have seen that first level commitment to demonstrated excellence drive several of the more successful organizations I have helped.

But what’s next?

The first level of the Ego Stack is doing what needs to be done. After listening to George Washington, I wonder if there is a second step.

Twenty years ago, our government wanted contractors who had both federal and commercial credentials. It was an internal theoretical wet dream, but we were happy to comply. My client was a NAVY contractor, and had a looming succession/liquidation issue.

In a couple of years, we built a blue chip list of raving commercial clients, so our company was bought by a much larger contractor. As a consultant, I was off the hook.

Then they called back and wanted to hire me at my 20 hour/month rate for 40 hours/ week, to create their Y2K practice.

I already knew my team, so I studied up on this Y2K, and put in their first four projects. Big times! We were saved!

I got called up to my president’s president, a retired admiral, who had brought a cast of flunkies to his secretariat, which was in a building that had no other company employees. He told me that while my record was acceptable, he needed me to stop selling our existing customers and start selling many more people who didn’t know us in order for me to make his planned numbers.

I said, “Let me get this straight, Admiral. You want me to sell a solution we don’t yet know how to provide to people who don’t know us? Let me get back to you with a business plan.” He thought that was a capital idea.

I went back to my division president customer, related the fantasy, and said, “I better leave before you get fired.” He reluctantly agreed. So pasha lifestyle doesn’t work in the ego stack. Beyond first level execution, I haven’t seen much work.

I serve on a couple of boards, where I get to observe higher level ego stack. I also read about some.

I am particular entertained by the delegator. His whole role is to get somebody else to step up and do something. It’s usually the assignment from hell, since the delegator has no idea how it should be done. The typical response is, “OK, whatever...” And then nothing occurs.

Then there is the moosher. If we have two solutions and choice has to be made, the moosher says, “Let me take the best parts of each proposal and then EVERYONE is happy.”

As explained by Richard Nixon and then mocked by The Stones and others showed, compromise solution is neither.

As Don Rumsfeld wrote, When you are capable of making a decision, make it.

I observe the more grandiose layers of the ego stack occur in organizations that see themselves as impervious, waddling toward their future. And anyway, the stuff I’m doing won’t come due until after I’m retired.

The other point of view is Art Money’s ego stack puncturing mantra. “Well, what have you done for the fleet TODAY?”

Keep it simple, Stephanie.

Catch A Meme And You’re Sittin’ On Top Of The World