Notebook Or Pad?

I’m really low tech. I take notes when I talk with someone because I’m trying to figure out and remember what they mean. Also, I’ve noticed if I take notes, people lie less. I use paper, usually graph ruled, because the placement of the notes is an important part of the meaning.

I tried to use a laptop computer, but the customers thought I wasn’t listening to them, and objected.

I use a black and white composition book, center stitched heavy quadrille paper, in a leather or fabric cover. The inside covers have pockets for my name badge, some business cards and three by five cards.

Every month I print a single page calendar of this month with next month on the back, fold it, and put it in the notebook.

The center stitching allows me to put handouts in the book without breaking the binding, so it functions as a small portfolio.

When I get to the office, I type any notes I plan to share on a stationary template in Word or LibreOffice. The file name is the meeting name and the date. The time spent transcribing and reconstructing the notes allows me to check facts and addresses in Google to make sure I understand what happened, and then file by project in my computer.

Often I’ll send the finished notes to the other person in the meeting to make sure I got the facts right.

An investor once said that my notes were not what happened, but what should have happened.

I have recalled and used those notes two years after writing them. If the computer remembers, I don’t have to.

The composition book lasts about eighteen months, so I have all my recent notes with me in the field.

Sometimes I don’t want my notes with me, as when I am meeting with competing bidders, or dealing with a confidential subject or an issue that will end up in a personnel file. Then I use a Circa notebook, junior or letter size, and separate the notes from the notebook as soon as I get back to the office. The Circa also carries a standard load of name tag, business cards, and handouts.

I would really like to carry the Circa book all the time, but it’s not as good with long term information. Some jobs are project based and favor individual piece of paper, and some jobs favor carrying many months worth of data.

Finally, I carry a three by five quadrille notebook, with business cards and note cards, in my jacket. I staple a card inside the back cover, or staple to reinforce an existing back flap. That’s especially handy when I get a minute in a train, plane, coffee shop, or bookstore and get an idea I want to explore.

How do you stay organized?

A Salesman’s Integrity

A salesman’s integrity gets battered and worn...from use.

A salesman’s integrity becomes bright and shiny...from use.

Integrity is making and keeping promises. There are three stages to that.

The first stage is realizing that perfect integrity means making no promises. Most rest here.

The second stage of integrity is experiencing the joy of making a promise and making it come true.

Finally, the third stage is realizing that since life is a rodeo, integrity is making improbable promises and delivering. That realization takes you to a whole new level of play.

I find it easier to keep my promises when I can deliver by myself.

I make more important promises by working with others.

In the Direct Economy, the salesman is the customer sensor, which often makes me the change agent for the organization.

I try to exercise my integrity every day. I don’t want it getting tarnished and stiff in some trophy case. Or worse, used to measure against others.

How do you define your integrity?

Quit Presupposing And Just Do It!

As a leader we are expected to be decisive and to advance toward the envisioned goals.

So why do we find ourselves making excuses to postpone a meeting or delay an action? We sometimes rationalize deferring a task by convincing ourselves it would be better done later – based on perceived factors not directly related to achieving goals.

For example, we are introduced to a person Friday afternoon who will provide referrals of people who are prospective clients for our services. We suggest a follow-up meeting for mid-week, but know from experience that many people leave Monday morning open. Why not suggest getting together first thing on Monday and have 4 ½ days to use for prospecting instead of just 2 ½ days from a mid-week appointment?

As a CEO, my sales team spent considerable effort to persuade me against submitting a proposal for a project because the client was too tiny and the local organizations probably had a lock on the project. No sale - we submitted the proposal and won the project. The team was presupposing conditions that did not prove out.

In the War of Art, author Pressfield identifies how individuals create internal roadblocks to taking positive action to meet goals and offers advice about overcoming these barriers. The section on Resistance and Rationalization speaks to the seemingly rational argument for deferring action based on a presumed view of circumstances, as illustrated above. He suggests breaking the spell by relying on facts instead of opinions and suppositions about a situation.

Parkinson said Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion – strong support for building momentum and keeping it. Does going off track really provide anything positive – or simply grind down the velocity of the forward progress. Seems like the latter to me – additional time does not translate to productive time.

As a leader we are aware that the stakeholders are observing us to learn about the real culture of the organization. It is better to take action now rather than later - when possible, and to plan outcomes based on facts instead of presumptions.

Do it now. Finish it promptly. Ship often. Ignore Surface Thinkers.

Keep the conversation going – What are your thoughts?

Jim Hodges on Networking

I first met Jim Hodges at the event described. I’m big, but my wife says Jim makes me look puny. I have never seen a man have so much fun charging through life. He has shown me the humor in a couple of triumphs and even a few semi-triumphs. Any opportunity with Jim is an adventure. Here is his first blog:

Ethan and Jim Hodges

Let me tell you my story. When I was transitioning out of the Marine Corps in 1992--after about 10 worthless interviews--through NETWORKING I found a sales trainer with an incredibly large, professional network. I attended his month-long course. He suggested I attend a sales association's meeting which comprised saleswomen. He told me there were plenty of networking opportunities. So late on a hot afternoon, I drove to a Washington hotel; signed in [paid $10]; and mingled. I was approached by one of the members. She said that they needed more men in their group and asked if I would join. Like Ethan--my 3-year-old grandson--I answered: "Sure my can!" It was only $90. A guest speaker provided some interesting ideas about sales; then the evening concluded.

Afterwards as we were making small talk, a well-dressed businessman approached me. I recognized him by his nametag. He said, "Well, Marine, you have passed all the tests. You showed up; socialized; joined; stayed for the program. So I will give you one contact." He wrote a name and number on the back of one of his cards. He said, "Call Ron tomorrow and ask: 'How hard would I have to work in order for you to buy me a cup of coffee'?"

The next morning from my new office at my old section in the crossroads of the corps [Quantico] which means in the ancient, Native American dialect: “where fat colonels go to die,” I had moved out of my executive office into the "bullpen," I called Ron. “This is Ron," came the voice. I was startled. No secretary or admin chief or AA, just the CEO answering his own phone. I stumbled through the line Dick [my contact] had given me. 

Ron answered, "That sounds like Dick. What can I do for you?"

“I am completing my military career and am in the job hunt mode,” I answered. “Last night I was at a women’s sales association meeting. Dick suggested I call you. About 300 women were there and a handful of males.”

Ron: “How kinky! Why don't you come in tomorrow about this time and we can talk."

I had no idea what Ron's company did! I arrived the next day, in a hot, wool, expensive BLUE suit [in reality I was way overdressed]. The meeting was not going well until he asked where I was from. Being a smart-ass, I was going to respond: "Po' Hang or Da Nang or “Mulesbreath, Kansas," but common sense won out and I told him "Bloomington, Illinois." His eyes glazed over as he reminisced about chasing college girls in Bloomington when he attended Eureka College. I commented that's where President Reagan went. Ron seemed offended, and countered with, “I went there LONG AFTER the Gipper!”

A few days later I met Mrs. Ron [I called her June, Cleaver, in my mind] and their son Beaver. Beaver was fresh out as an Army captain helo pilot. When we met for lunch, Ron told me to wear golf attire since he knew I had at least one suit.

The restaurant had “Godfather” written all over it. The husky-voiced owner told me Jack Nicholson hangs out there when he’s in town.

Anyway, son Michael [Beaver] kept referring to me as "colonel" or "sir." Each time I would correct him. He later told me his military bearing was a test to see if I could handle being called "Jim” by underlings.

Then magic happened. In an effort to make small talk at the Cleaver's table, I asked about a basketball player I had seen play from their hometown--Waukegan, Illinois.

Ron dropped his fork; June and Beaver disappeared. I thought I had made the mother of all social fox paws. Ron blurted, "How did you know he is my best friend? We share box seat tickets at Bears' home games!"

"Touchdown, thank you Jesus!" I thought. I went from Pfc. Yum-Yum to Ron's heir apparent. A few days later I received a formal letter of offer and started selling for Ron a few weeks after that. I was on my way.

We provided communication services for associations' annual meetings: AV, automated reservation services, cell telephone rentals [1992], IMAG [image magnification], SI [simultaneous interpretation], etc. During my 18 months in the conventions' services industry, I sold and managed 16 major "shows."

From further networking a colonel-Tom Parker type[a retired Marine colonel] adopted me and we started a technical, staffing agency. After I found exiting mil types to be undertrained, inflexible, and mostly naïve, I expanded our candidate pool to include all comers. Then, we took off and rode the “IT” boom. I bought out Colonel Tom in 2000 and have been recruiting ever since.

Jim O'Fallon interviewed a retired colonel in 2005. The colonel told Jim that he knew the best headhunter in the DC area. So Jim called me and I was hooked up with Portal Dynamics [an anchor client for five years].

And that’s how I figured out Networking is the only way to get ahead.

Comments?

Get The Right Model

“It’s okay to talk to yourself. Just don’t tell yourself any lies.” Danny Evans, Carpenter

Reality is complex. To understand and predict reality we build models, simplified versions of reality.

Managers often confuse their model with reality. The model doesn’t care. When your model no longer works, build a new model.

Since New Year’s, I’ve been hearing several senior executives invoking the holy management pyramid to justify their contributions and absolve them of some ugly behavior.

Observing their organizations, I couldn’t find no stinkin’ pyramid. However, like phantom pain after a limb is amputated, these guys can still imagine their pyramids.

I rarely find a whole operation executed in one organization. That was where the pyramid came from. Now we have outsourcing, socioeconomic goals, and increasingly narrow areas of expertise.

It’s been years since a boss could fulfill their end of the pyramid bargain, “You do what I tell you to do, I’ll cover you,” hasn’t been true for a while now.

Last year one CEO told me, “I have a 60 day event horizon at best. My board would fire me in a heartbeat if they could find someone who could do my job.”

And they say two year old kids are crude irritable!

I have two other management models, which I think are more accurate.

Looking at my own organization, I see a hub and spoke model. I am currently involved in over ten projects, some I am leading, some I am supporting. For the past ten years, I have been building a network of trusted co-workers, people who are better than average at some set of work. That’s my first replacement for the pyramid.

The second is the Pony Express model.

You know how the Pony Express got the mail delivered so fast? They swapped out the horses when they tired. They had horses for the flats, horses for the hills, always with the emphasis on speed to finish.

A good model should help you predict reality. What are the management models you are seeing?

If you would like to learn more, come to the AITP 2012 Kickoff:

How You Can Benefit From The Strongest Economic Opportunity
In The History Of The World!

Association Of Information Technology Professionals (AITP)

Thursday, January 12, 6 – 9 pm

Alfio's La Trattoria,

4515 Willard Ave, Chevy Chase MD 20815