If your not growing, you are on the way out.

That message seems clear almost everywhere.

If you are not growing business, you are shrinking.

If your not growing your knowledge, you are getting dumber by the minute.

If your not reaching out, you are reducing your reach.

If your not offering more value, you are losing value.

If your not making money, you are losing money.

If your not getting happier, you are getting grumpier.

If your not working towards your goals, they are getting further away.

If your not gaining weight... Darn it, that doesn't work...

The holiday power

So it is Thanksgiving week. Thursday, maybe Friday and the rest of the weekend is a great time to connect with family, relax and get refocused.

However remember you have to keep focused during work and not get comfortable. Just because the office is empty doesn't mean that work cannot get done. In fact I find that you can have some focus time where others will not be interrupting you.

In sales, (Unless you are in retail) you will find that there will be some down time to get caught up on organizing the CRM or to get some of those large proposals done. So leave these activities to these down times and set appointments during the other times.

Newspapers are done...

Statistics are not specific, however they are in the range that 60 to 70% of 12-25 year olds will NEVER read a newspaper. They also continue on to say that the newspapers will have stopped printing entirely by at latest 2040.

The other thing I found while reading on this was that people were "Very Worried" about the literacy of our youth because the do not read the newspaper. Wow, how can people assume such a wrong diagnosis off some related information. Reality is that young people just do not care to read papers due to the fact that they are too slow, that information they knew yesterday.

The sales message is that the products and solutions we sell today will be extinct soon. We must continue to grow our knowledge, identify new solutions and be looking forward. Or we will end up like an old newspaper.

Am I the only one confused?

So my dad bought a 1965 Corvette Stingray Convertible for $3,800 new in 65. (I think I am at least close on those facts). I am sure when he sold it, he sold it for less than he bought if for. However, if you had one today, you could sell it (In decent condition) for over $100k.

Now, compare that to the laptop in my basement. It is 5 years old. I spent over $1k for it and today it might be worth $200. The processors have tripled and same with HD and ram.

Also compare it to a digital camera. My first digital camera was $300 for 3 mega pixel. Now for 10 mega pixel you pay half that.

So this is where my confusion comes in. A new corvette is $50k plus. Sure, it has a lot of performance enhancements over that 65. Yet the price continues to go up. You would think that the improvements in robotics, electronics and production would reduce costs significantly. Take that a step further. The least expensive car you can buy new today would exceed $10k. Sure maybe you can find one in that range. I doubt it would provide what I would consider reasonable transportation. In other words in 50 plus years, they cannot reduce the costs, or deliver a low cost solution to the car?

Then there is supply and demand. The 84 corvette that sits in my garage with 50k original miles, new radio, paint, tires and such is worth less than $10k. Why the difference between the 65 and the 84? Sure age, however there were LOTS of 84's produced compared to the 65. Great even if I keep the car 30 years it will still be only valuable to me.

Not sure where this is going other than the value of things are subjective and many things can impact what people are willing to pay for them.

C-Level People

What are C Level people looking for. Just in case you have not visited this site much, C-Level people are the CFO (Chief Financial Officer, CEO Chief Executive Officer, CIO Chief Information Officer, CPO Chief Process Officer and there are more)

So when you are marketing and selling to C-Level people here is a short list of things I make sure I have

1. An agenda that is
a. Specific
b. Short
c. To the point
d. On task
e. No hidden agenda. They do not tolerate that well.
2. I show up on time or early
3. I have specific details, examples or statistics (And you must be able to prove it)
4. It must be full of C-Level information. Not lower level details. (Be able to provide them, just don't waste time with this)
5. Must have the financial impact
6. Must have Business impact
7. Should have a quick breakdown of what to do next and what to expect.
8. Do not BS around unknown areas. They will attack. If you have to, tell them you will find out and get back to them. If you BS you will end up at the bottom of the chain.
9. Bring your own C-Level people if possible. It helps to be able to speak at this level.
10. Bring examples of other C-Level people who have done the same thing. It is cool to do this. Many times they do not want to follow, they want to lead.

The last piece of advice is to engage in conversations that get you comfortable with this level of conversation. You have to be able to speak in the following terms

EBITA
COLA
COA
COGS
and more.

A little snow

We had just enough snow to barely cover the grass. It is mostly gone today.

I forget how quiet snow makes it outside. That little bit of snow absorbs all the small noises and chatter that is normal this time of year. Too bad it will not stick around for another good night sleep.

Snow, Gods version of noise cancelling.

GI Joe and Cisco?

If you have not seen the new GI Joe movie, you will see Cisco all over the movie. From the "Unbelievable" high tech communications tools to the basic handsets. Cisco's name is all over the movie.

It is working! Ask pretty much any IT guy and they will tell you the most high tech phone system is Cisco. They demand the highest dollar for their systems and the best quote I have heard about them is "Nobody gets fired for buying Cisco"

Good marketing message. Product placement works "Sometimes"