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Name of author Rick Baker, P.Eng.

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Strategic first, creative when necessary, and always specific

by Rick Baker
On Aug 19, 2010
My friend Terry De Witte says that. I mean, he says “strategic first, creative when necessary, and always specific”.
 
The last time he said it, I said I planned to write a blog about it.
 
Now, the challenge is – I didn’t ask Terry to explain what he means when he says “strategic first, creative when necessary, and always specific”.
 
I intentionally didn’t ask him to explain what he meant because some thoughts came to mind quickly and I wanted to test if the initial thoughts I received were similar to or different from the message he was trying to deliver.
 
So, Terry will have the right to veto everything to follow.
 
“Strategic first, creative when necessary, and always specific”
  1. Strategic first: This resonated because the first time I read them I borrowed Napoleon Hill’s words ‘Plan Your Work and Work Your Plan’. While the thoughts have more texture than a simple sequence that starts with planning and follows with working, the guidance of plan first then work later is solid. And strategic planning is the elite business function…it envelopes the other business functions. It is tough to argue with the wisdom of doing at least a little strategic planning ahead. It would be unwise to ignore advice such as this, which comes in so many forms [and I will spare you from those forms and clichés…except for mentioning ‘Measure twice and Cut once’]. 
  2. Creative when necessary: My immediate thoughts were ‘don’t make change for the sake of change’ and ‘don’t fear change’. Also, Seek Simple….Seeking Simple is one of my philosophies. Sometimes very simple solutions are unhidden yet unseen right before our eyes. We don’t see them because we are seeking the complex. Sometimes we are seeking the complex because we feel a need to create…we place a high value on creativity. And, sometimes the perception of that high value clouds our ability to Seek Simple. Putting it another way, often creativity is overkill. However, we better be creative when necessary. We must take a balanced approach to creativity.  
  3. and always specific: Again, my immediate thought was a lesson learned from Napoleon Hill. Napoleon Hill taught 11 Major Attributes of Leadership. Attribute 9 is “MASTERY OF DETAIL. Successful leadership calls for mastery of details of the leader’s position.” Carrying that to another level, most achievements of significance require mastery of details. We are more efficient and more effective when we master the specifics: examples include specifics of process, specifics about people, specifics of communication, and, of course, specificsabout ourselves.
OK Terry – how did I do?
 
References:
 
Napoleon Hill: www.naphill.org

Tags:

Entrepreneur Thinking | Seeking Simple!

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Sales Tweet #24

by Rick Baker
On Aug 19, 2010
Sales Tweet #24 Mars is just about aligned for a too-much-talking day. Ernest Seller is planning to bite his tongue.
 
The Thinking Behind the Sales Tweet:
Talking and listening are closely linked yet separate things. It is really difficult to do both at once. We all know that yet what we know and what we do are often conflicted. So, recognizing almost everyone thinks sales people should be better listeners it naturally follows that sales people should talk less. Ernest Seller talks way too much. He is the sort of person who needs graphic reminders to help him keep himself in line. So, to stop talking he bites his tongue...literally. He has found his slightly injured tongue doesn't talk much for about 30 minutes.

Tags:

Thought Tweets | Ernest Seller

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Stories & Questions

by Rick Baker
On Aug 18, 2010
People like to hear stories.
 
I bet this dates back to the early caveman-hunter days.
 
In those days they didn’t have iPads and I’m pretty sure they didn't even have books. So, some hairy fellow, all beaten up and scarred would arrive at his cave after a hard day chasing sabre-tooth tigers and other such creatures, beating them into submission, and dragging them home for the clan dinner.
 
And, of course, everyone wanted to hear the story behind the huge, charred racks of ribs. So, the proud hunter would share the story of the day. Everyone would get full and get entertained. Then they would fall asleep beside the safety of the fire. The next morning, they would wake up and tackle a new day…another day, another huge beast to cook.
 
At some point, cave folks didn’t completely follow the hunters’ stories. So, they started asking questions. That was a pivotal point in human pre-history. The story tellers learned how to delve into the details. Also, they noticed certain stories and certain details generated more interest and more excitement amongst the cave-crowd. They concentrated on these types of stories with a win-win attitude.
 
Every once in a while one of the cave people would ask a really bad question and the story teller would bonk him with a tree-branch club. This helped the cave community develop guidelines for fair and reasonable questions.
 
That's a prehistoric rendition of how storytelling and questioning began. Sure, there were stories before these exciting cave-hunter stories. There were cave-gatherer stories and questions and later cave-scavenger stories and questions. But, those stories lacked cave-pizzazz. No sizzle.
 
Like: "Blork... [I found some berries today.]" "Gluck... [where?]" "Mrunk... [over by the river.]"
 
Simply, not very exciting stuff.
 
But, when cave-living folks started telling hunting stories and asking hunting questions, well, that was magic.
 
That's when civilization took off.
 
As did evolution.
 
And, ever since those cave-days the hearts and imaginations of human beings have been captured by good stories and good questions.

Tags:

Beyond Business | Questions?: The Art of Asking Good Questions

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Sales Tweet #23

by Rick Baker
On Aug 18, 2010
Sales Tweet #23 It happens. If a Client is in a really bad mood...don't push. Volunteer to come back another day.
 
The Thinking Behind the Sales Tweet:
Here, we are talking about both listening and watching body language. If a Client is having a real tough day then it just might be better to end the visit and come back another day. One sales error I made taught me this lesson. I met for over an hour with a fellow who was in agony due to a recently-broken foot. All of us kept asking if he was OK and he kept saying Yes. The meeting was a waste of time for all of us. I could have saved all of us the time and the poor fellow the agony by cutting the meeting real short.

Tags:

Emotions & Feelings @ Work | Sales | Thought Tweets

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The Art of Recruiting - #1

by Rick Baker
On Aug 17, 2010
Recruiting is one of the purest forms of evangelism.
 
At least that’s what Guy Kawasaki says in his book, Reality Check.
 
Here’s a summary of some of Guy’s thoughts about – The Art of Recruiting
  • Ignore the irrelevant: don't be impressed by education that isn't of direct value 
  • Hire infected people: rather than limit tests to education and work experience...look for people who are infected with a love of your product 
  • Hire better than yourself: great people hire great people 
  • Double check your intuition: maybe do the first interview by phone so you are not unduly swayed by ‘gut feel’...ask all candidates the same questions and take copious notes so you have a base of objectivity 
  • Don't be afraid to issue a challenge: quality candidates will embrace challenges 
  • Check independent references: consider using LinkedIn, talk to former bosses, talk to former employees 
  • Apply the shopping centre test: if you saw this person in a shopping centre would you (1) go to him, (2) wait and see if you bump into him then talk, or (3) leave and go to a new shopping centre to make sure you don’t bump into him…if you didn’t choose (1) then don’t hire the person 
  • Use all your weapons to land the right candidate: people are motivated by more than money and share options 
  • Sell all the decision makers: spouses, etc 
  • Wait to compensate...use the offer letter as the last step, not an early step 
  • Don't assume your recruiting is done: you should not stop recruiting a person once the person is hired. 
Recruiting is one of the purest forms of evangelism.
 
More on the art of recruiting in future blogs…

Tags:

Leaders' Thoughts

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Sales Tweet #22

by Rick Baker
On Aug 17, 2010
Sales Tweet #22 Google the words "how to listen better". Millions of ideas! Just pick 2 or 3. Start trying them today.
 
The Thinking Behind the Sales Tweet:
When we asked the LinkedIn question 'What does it take to be a good sales person?' the #1 answer was - 'Be a good listener.' So, from time to time, our Sales Tweets will contain messages about How to Listen Better.

Tags:

Communication: Improving Communication | Thought Tweets

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