In high school, I earned my spending money working at a small town, neighborhood grocery store called Ed’s Market. Ed was the owner – he was an excellent merchant – and built himself a nice business. In an expansion move, Ed decided to install a deli counter to sell fresh sandwich meats and salads. At first it was slow going; and as a result, the ends of the deli meats had a tendency to dry out.

In order to keep the meat fresh, Ed decided to start selling hoagies (Central Pennsylvania term for submarine sandwiches). Within several months, Ed’s hoagies were selling like mad and the deli counter was the most profitable part of the store. I recently read that the store is still in operation by the couple who bought the store from Ed – Tom and Peachie O’Connor – and they are celebrating 26 years of continuous operation and are known for having the best sandwiches in town. Peachie was a customer and her husband, Tom, was Ed’s accountant. Apparently, they knew a good thing when they saw it.

Ed never set out to own and operate a sandwich store. He was a food merchant that understood excellent customer service, inventory turns, and cash management. His fame as a sandwich purveyor was an unintended consequence of his basic business philosophy and listening to his customers.

I think most businesses evolve like this. It is very rare that companies become successful doing what they started out to do. BlackBerry maker Research In Motion started as a digital signage company; software maker Microsoft started developing programming languages; and fashion company Levi Strauss began as a purveyor of supplies to gold rush miners.

This was brought home to me while having dinner with an old friend who is a VP of sales for a MAJOR medical device manufacturer. He asked me to detail the history of Prolifiq so he could understand how we got to our Life Sciences focus. I finished the nostalgic walk, asking him: “…why do you ask?” He enlightened me by stating: “I just wanted to understand how you completely zeroed in on the ONE THING that is PREVENTING me from making my numbers. These regulations, and trying to comply with them, are killing me.” We got to our Good Promotional Practices strategy by listening to our customers and applying our platform and our expertise to the problem.

Being: patient enough to listen, nimble enough to act, and humble enough to change direction are the keys to long-term success.

I was 9 years old July 20, 1969. It was a very hot and humid Pennsylvania night and my parents had us in bed early. They woke us up at 10:45 telling us we would witness history. We grudgingly got up and made our way down to the living room. I am forever grateful they had the foresight to get us up.

Along with over 500 million other people around the world, I watched Neil Armstrong bounce down from the final step on the lunar module’s ladder and the words “Armstrong on the Moon” appeared across the screen. My father captured the moment by taking a picture of the black and white TV with his Argus C3 camera – he needn’t have; the image is forever wired in my brain.

This was a defining moment for several American generations, and I love to hear the stories of where people where when it happened. This was the culmination of the effort of 400,000+ Americans, hundreds of billions of dollars, and our collective response to the competitive threat of space domination by the Soviet Union. When pushed, America responds.

Towards the end of his term as President, George H W Bush lamented that he had difficulty with “the vision thing”. He was at the helm when the Soviet Union collapsed and we all believed we had witnessed the end of the communism. Even Mikhail Gorbachev told Bush Sr., “…you, sir, must find a new enemy.” Is that all America can respond to, an enemy?

What is our National vision right now? To consume as much as we possibly can? To stop global- warming? To feed the world’s hungry? To eliminate fossil fuels? To extend life as long as possible? To be happy? To provide healthcare to everyone? To provide everyone an equal opportunity? To rescue our banks? There are so many “causes” I am not sure I know which to join, support, and lead.

In this hyper-fragmented media world it must be incredibly challenging to lead our nation. It seems it would be impossible to galvanize 300 million diverse souls to agree to ONE top priority and stick with it for more than 30 days, let alone 10 years like the Apollo mission. Neil Armstrong said it very humbly with the words “One small step” because it was a HUGE step.

I wish we as a nation could take another “small” step; I wish we knew what direction we were walking. I think it is incumbent on our leaders to define this “vision” for us, articulate it in terms we all can understand, to sell it to us, and most importantly to defend it when times get tough. This country has a limitless resource – the will of our people. Define this vision and we will certainly accomplish it.

I find Dictionary.com’s first definition of “know” to be the most important:
 
to perceive or understand as fact or truth; to apprehend clearly and with certainty: I know the situation fully.

In my last post (“I think…) I discussed the power of thinking. This got me to “thinking” about the power of knowing and what is the difference.

Notice the definition talks about accepting something “AS” fact or truth; not that something “IS” fact or truth.  So then, what is the difference between “thinking” and “knowing”? I suggest it is a matter of confidence. Confidence in the amount of data collected, confidence in the source of the data, or confidence in one’s ability to interpret the data.

As one explores a hypothesis, they begin to examine data – the data can be quantitative or qualitative. It seems the more data one looks at, the more confident one becomes in the conclusion they are drawing. But how much data is enough? I have met people who can “know” something from just one or two data points; others strive for vast quantities of data before they can move from “think” to “believe” – let alone to “know”.

So what explains the gap in confidence levels of people looking at the same data? This, I would argue, is a combination of several factors, including: how someone is wired (left versus right brained), experience (good or bad), and the esteem with which a person is held by their peers (do we believe them).

This last item is very important because it can give someone the confidence to draw conclusions; or, it can take it away, causing the person to continue to be “unsure”.

We make every effort to listen to our co-workers; and, I mean really listen. We ask what people think; we ask what they feel; we ask what they know – and we ask them to predict what will happen. We encourage speculation. These activities help tap into our subconscious and right brain processes that serve us so well. And, I KNOW this is very valuable to the company.

...Therefore I am." Descartes gave us a way to understand and be sure we exist. This unique quality we humans possess is immensely powerful and is what separates us from most other life forms. It is what allows us to develop tools and it allows us to explore, grow and change.

IBM has an internal program that, years ago, was captured in the paper sign hanging above its employees' desks -- the simple word: "THINK". It is now captured on a website. Is this a command; a request; a noun; a verb? Whatever it is, it is ultimately the cultural icon that for decades propelled IBM to be awarded more patents than any other company in the world.

The word is very powerful indeed. It causes us to explore. It causes us to consume vast quantities of food energy. It allows us to conjure completely abstract concepts, many of which are completely unreal.

Two of the most frequently spoken words at Prolifiq are: "I think". I cannot count how many times I hear them every day. They are spoken by every person in the company, and when spoken, others listen.

Irving, one of our Board members describes us all as "intellectually curious". We are constantly looking into new things; constantly listening to customers and prospects to understand their wants and needs; and, constantly trying things which have never been done before.

But, one thing the words implicitly recognize and state is doubt (or humility). This is because the words usually precede an opinion; and no matter how well reasoned, it is still an opinion.

So, what we also spend a fair amount of time working with is intuition. All humans possess this right-brained, second way of knowing. Much of our human existence has trained us to suppress this "sense". Some of us are more "in tune", or comfortable, with our intuition than others. Many times our "knowing" cannot be explained. For example, how can one explain "knowing" someone is looking at you, only to turn around and find someone staring at you? What drives this sense?

We believe that "knowing" is a subconscious form of logic. The human brain has the capacity to rapidly draw accurate conclusions from random events, disparate data elements. In the mind of a seasoned practitioner it is an incredibly powerful tool. We embrace it. So if you find us asking a lot of "random" questions; or, if we ask you how something "feels" -- we're curious; we're exploring. We're trying to tap your intuition. Please bear with us.

Next up -- to know.

I spend a lot of time thinking and writing about words (see: “Seven words” and “Poets, priests, and politicians”. So, three weeks ago, I read about the “one millionth word in the English language” with quite a bit of interest. Especially because of what the word is ─ it turns out the one millionth word is Web 2.0.

Yes, I am interested because I live and work in the space; but, what I am curious about is who is counting? And how can they be sure this was “the word”? First the math: assume for a moment it takes 5 minutes (on average) to identify, define and verify a “word”. This means the maximum number one person can identify in one year is 24,960 words (12 words/hour X 8 hours/day X 5 days/week X 52 weeks = 24,960). This means it would take 28 person-years to arrive at the conclusion that we’ve reached one million. Plus, at the accelerating rate our language assimilates words, by the time you counted to one million, the language would have moved far beyond the one millionth word.

Secondly, does it matter whether there are one million, or 500,000 or some other number? What really matters is: does the word have meaning ─ to the person speaking (or writing) and to the person listening (or reading)? In that light, the fewer words the better.

I used to work for a guy named Fred. Fred owned the company and his name was on the building. He was an English major in college; and as such, he believed it was his right to inspect any and all written communication that left the building that carried the company logo or was done on behalf of his company. And edit he did. I had more than my share of red-lined documents handed back to me. I felt like the two sons in “A river runs through it” whose father (a Presbyterian minister) constantly edits, and re-edits their papers. It was quite humbling.

Fred had a very simple precept – say it simply, say it clearly, and use very simple words. Make it so clear there could be no room for misinterpretation. Fred also believed in telling stories (long before Daniel Pink talked about storytelling being one of the new “six senses” in his book “A whole new mind”. Fred’s concept was that Christ spoke in parables because the listener would use them to draw pictures in their minds, and thus would better remember the lesson.

If you talk with any of my co-workers, they will tell you this is a lesson I’ve learned. Probably too well. But it works for me (I think). It is something I encourage all of my teammates to embrace in their communications as well; and, we look for it in all prospective co-workers. We want people who can tell a story, because that is ultimately what we do every day.

So, next up, I will be writing about a journey between two words: 1) think and 2) know. Stay tuned……

My friend Mike is surrounded by estrogen – he has a wife and three daughters and a working farm that has 68 animals – all but three of which are female. I once jokingly told Mike he could “borrow” my two boys in case he ever needed farm hands and a dose of testosterone. On Friday we got the call – Mike needed some help mucking the stalls of his barn and it was more than his girls were willing to do.

I have “loaned” the boys out to some other farm owners last summer, all in the effort to develop their work ethic. My boys are suburban animals: they rode their bikes in a cul-de-sac, they get driven to school, and the chances to cut neighbors’ lawns are limited. My wife and I want them to learn to like work. Our belief is to know what work you love, you need to know what work you hate.

The three times the boys have worked a farm, they spent their time mucking stalls. Yesterday it was in 90 degree heat. They described it as “ripe”. They moved almost 3,000 pounds of manure. During dinner they recounted their day with Ian proclaiming: “I could live and work there for ten days straight.”

What was it about this experience that made the difference and inspired the work ethic? It is pretty simple: Mike’s a great “straw boss”. He took the time to show the boys how to use the tools; he showed ways to work more efficiently; he fed and watered them throughout the day; and, at the end, they jumped in the pool and played. Most importantly, he only asked them to do things that he did – right alongside them.

This recession has reminded me that work is hard; but, it is also a pleasure and a privilege. Not everyone has the chance to work; and not everyone likes their work. For those of us who do, I’ll bet there was a boss like Mike in our background – one who took us under their wing, showed us the ropes, worked right alongside us, and when it was over, rejoiced with us.

We all need “Mike” in our lives.

My eldest son is on final approach as I write this; he is returning from his first “on his own” excursion to visit my eldest sister. She conducts a right-of-passage for all of her nieces and nephews – they come visit her on their own, and they get to do whatever they want.

At the top of the list for Ian was the “Wild Thing” a 207’ tall, 74 MPH roller coaster in Shakopee, MN. The reason for his obsession with riding this coaster was his need to confront and overcome his fears.

Four years ago, we visited my sister and went to the amusement park. I love coasters, so I talked the boys into going on the ride; my sister joined us. We waited in line for an hour, and when Ian and I got in the roller coaster car, he had a moment of panic and we walked right without going on the ride. Adrenaline junky Dylan stayed on and had a blast.

We did the mature thing and told Ian it was OK to have fears and that it doesn’t make him any less of a person. The whole family never brought up the subject. But, obviously, it has been in Ian’s mind and he wanted another chance. On Sunday, he conquered his fears and rode the ride. When I spoke with him Sunday night, responding as only a teenage boy does, he said: “It was OK. No big deal.”

Ian’s experience reminds me of a conversation we had with Bridgett when interviewing her for an Account Manager. During the interview, she said: “I am NOT a salesperson! I DO NOT like the idea of trying to convince someone to buy something from me.” We were OK with that as that is not the position we were hiring for.

Fast forward several years; and several coaching sessions later, she said to me: “You know, I’m really enjoying this sales thing. I really enjoy working with prospects to uncover their needs, and craft a solution for them. This is kinda fun.”

Selling is a lot like a roller coaster – there are ups and downs. There are adrenaline rushes; and there is disappointment when the ride ends. Then there is the wait to ride it again. But, at the end of the day it is one hell of ride. It is not for everyone; but, for many it is a fabulous way to make a living and it is a lot of fun.

So, Ian, I’m proud of you for confronting your fears and thankful for the reminder of why I love what I do.

On July 4th, we celebrate the 233rd anniversary of the founding of this country – arguably the best on the planet. Yes, we have our flaws: there is a significant gap between richest and poorest; our foreign policy is not always consistent with our stated values; and we often forget the true definition of freedom.

Three years ago, my family moved to the East Coast so my boys could attend a summer program in Baltimore, MD. During the trip, we experienced many things West Coasters don’t very easily. On July 4th, we watched the Independence Day fireworks from the stern of an 1812-era tall ship moored in Baltimore Harbor – we had a glimpse of what Francis Scott Key witnessed , inspiring him to write our national anthem. The next morning, my boys raised the flag over Fort McHenry. One week later, we got a private tour of the University of Virginia (thank you Dan!) and saw where Thomas Jefferson interviewed graduate candidates and learned the meaning of having ‘your back to the fire’. Later that day, we toured Jefferson’s estate, Monticello, and learned about what influenced him as he participated in our Continental Congress and ultimately drafted our Constitution. Then we went back to DC to actually see the document. The boys were awe-struck.

Jefferson was an amazing man; however flawed he was (how could he rationalize being a slave owner and writing the words: “…all men are created equal…”?), I believe he was divinely inspired. The words that created our nation have served us well for 233 years. As I listened to the tour guides, I was thinking: how many of us have the courage Jefferson and his contemporaries displayed in challenging the then greatest nation on earth (Britain) and put their lives, their families, and their fortune on the line for what they believed? How many of us have actually read the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution? How many of us know the meaning? How many of us REALLY embody the words: “A little revolution now and then is a good thing”?

America’s place in the world is changing – this is a natural progression of the evolution of the distribution of wealth, ideas and principals. Many of the changes feel uncomfortable to those of us who came of age in the ‘American Century’ and we fear the dilution of our hegemony as the value of our currency erodes (relative to other currencies), our military supremacy is challenged in ‘asymmetrical conflicts’, and we are forced to confront our own bigotry and intolerance. I work with many whose families arrived here within the last 30 years and who came here with the same hopes for freedom and opportunity that my ancestors sought 8 generations ago. This nation, and our individual lives, becomes richer with each person who takes the oath of citizenship.

We are becoming a less Euro-centric nation and the face of America is changing. This does not mean we have the right to abandon our principals to exclude newer members of our population; nor, does it mean we have the right to be openly hostile to those whose ideas differ from our own. Our founding fathers created institutions that allow for the evolution of our society to influence the evolution of our institutions – we need to have faith in our institutions and the principals upon which they were founded.

Jackson Browne’s anthem “I am a Patriot” sums it up quite nicely for me:

I am a patriot
And I love my county
Because my country is all I know
I want to be with my family
The people who understand me
I've got nowhere else to go
And I ain't no communist
And I ain't no capitalist
And I ain't no socialist
And I ain't no imperialist
And I ain't no democrat
And I ain't no republican

I only know one party
And it is freedom
I am, I am, I am
I am a patriot
And I love my country
Because my county is all I know

This July 4th, let us all remember what our Independence Day is truly about. Happy Birthday America!

My phone rings; I answer it. And today, I was on the receiving end of the worst cold call I have ever experienced. It also represents the complete antithesis of how we at Prolifiq feel about customer conversations.

This guy, a New York City based, penny-stock humping, boiler room pitchman ─ without ever asking if this was a good time to talk ─ launched into a spiel about how I could triple my money on this incredible “steal” of a stock buy. He went on to rant about how important it was for him to take my needs and interests into account when I am investing with him, and on and on and on and on and on. He never, ever took a breath.  Not when I told him “I’m not interested”. Not when I said “I already have an investment advisor.” Not when I said: “I don’t do business this way.” Not even when I said: “You haven’t taken one second to understand my decision process; I am hanging up the phone.” He talked right over me. He was still talking when I gave him a healthy dose of dial tone.

My teammates, who sit near me and overheard my end of the conversation, were dumbfounded by what they heard. I mean, I have heard of sellers who interrupt customers. It is pretty rare where a prospect has to repeatedly try to interrupt a seller ─ just to get a word in edge-wise.

What I don’t get is: what possesses this guy, or his management, to think this kind of approach works? Apparently it must; or, they are very slow learners. This guy helps give professional sellers an un-deserved, bad reputation. Do us all a favor and hang up on these guys whenever they call. Every time. We should have a zero tolerance policy for this type of sales call. No exceptions.

I assure you – YOU WILL NEVER, EVER be on the receiving end of a sales call like this from me or anyone I work with.