Herman School of Business
How Speaking Helps Me Learn...
People attend events to hear speakers hoping to gain insight and walk away learning something. They want to be entertained a little, maybe laugh a bit and then get some worthwhile information to work with to improve their business or personal situation.
Wednesday I gave a speech before the Baltimore-Washington Chapter of SALES MARKETING EXECUTIVES INTERNATIONAL, you can check them out at smei.org. The group meets monthly and I was fortunate to be asked to make a presentation on creative sales and marketing in this troubled economy. There is no doubt that the best two hours of my professional efforts this week were spent at this event. I love sharing with others because quite frankly…I learn a lot!
For me seeing people “get it” when you introduce a new idea, or explain something that helps them understand an old notion…well…that’s the best time for me. But in that process of sharing there is also feedback, invaluable feedback. There were several moments, as there always are, when I felt a real connection to the audience, but one lesson I learned today hit me right between the eyes like a brick.
People keep doing the same things but expect a different outcome.
Come on now, that is as old as the hills isn’t it? But in every company there is a routine that takes an extraordinary event to break. People want routine, they want stability, and they resist change, even the tiniest little change. But oh how they crave a different outcome from what is happening now. How do they expect to see a new result with the same old behavior?
OK, I responded to two specific questions about outcomes by suggesting what I am advising here…set up one or two hours a week where you meet with key staff…and just talk about the contacts from the prior week of activity with your customers. At one of my old companies we did a Sunday morning 7AM conference call and just went through the prior weeks’ activity so three brains could respond to just one persons’ “stuff.” We didn’t dwell on any one activity, we just went down the list…I called John Smith at X-company and will follow up soon, I talked with Jones Bank and left a message for blank….Next I had a meeting with Ajax Manufacturing and here is where it is….bam….bam…bam. The other two on the phone would simply interject a thought…not prolonged discussion. It worked wonders to stimulate future activity.
This action of reviewing with others what the day-to-day activities were forced a change in the next week’s activity…because three brains had “checked-in” on only one persons actions. And knowing you were going to be reporting your activities on the next Sunday morning call meant that you didn’t want to be on that call without a lot of actions to report.
- Posted: 12 March 2009
- Comments: 0
- Category: Business success
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