Perspectives That Serve # 28 - Whole Systems Thinking

The “Whole Systems” Perspective is the practice of stepping away from the single focus of the tree and looking at the entire forest. It is the discipline or framework for seeing wholes, patterns, and interrelationships. We usually focus on isolated parts of the system rather than looking at how the system connects and interacts. Domino Toppling is one metaphor to explain it. If it is staged properly, the push of a single domino can set off a chain reaction of other dominoes going down in multiple lines and directions. All businesses, economies, eco-systems, everything operates like this.

Many times the solution is miles away from where the problem presents itself. Case in point: Medically, if you want to protect your heart from heart disease, floss your teeth daily. Who would have thought that gingivitis resulting from poor dental hygiene would have anything to do with heart disease, but it does.

The systems thinking mental model recognizes that solving one problem often creates other problems. For example, years ago I committed myself to a lifetime of vigorous exercise that would help me solve the problem of weight gain and poor health. In the first few years this worked great...until I began to experience over use injuries. First it was rotator cuff problems in racquetball. I took up running and triathlon's which led to sciatica and lower back problems. This all has forced me to step back and consider a more holistic approach that involves a more measured exercise regimen using elliptical trainers, treadmills set at a mild incline to reduce pounding, and targeted strength training to develop the muscles around my shoulder and back.
In selling, the whole systems model helped me to step back and look at how what I did affected the other departments in the company. Just focusing on the isolated parts that I’ve been assigned responsibility for didn’t work very good. I learned to look at the whole company and the needs of each department. If you want to read a good primer on this, I recommend, The Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge. It is in my top ten of life changing books. It is deep reading, but I believe it can change your life too.

Perspectives That Serve # 27 - Self Starting

The perspective of the self-starter is, “I’m going to make something happen”. The self-starting perspective doesn’t look to others for motivation. They look within. This is fundamental to entrepreneurial endeavors and any kind of outside selling where you don’t have to report into a manager regularly.

This perspective was formed in me from day one. My dad and both grandfathers were self employed most of their adult lives. When my dad was 19 he owned a gas station. At 23, he build his first house and was off in the building game for 30 years. Then he purchased a temporary personnel franchise. My mom’s father bought 4 ranches and farmed them until the day he died. My dad’s father was a produce broker and then sold real estate toward the end of his life. I grew up in this wonderful atmosphere where everybody loved what they did and went to work in an environment of their choosing. My uncle’s owned their own businesses as well.
I started my first business when I was 18. When I went to work in sales, my managers were always hundreds of miles, sometimes thousands of miles away. No one ever had to tell me to get up. No one ever asked me to write this material. No one said, “get up early and write”. No one asked me to be writing this at 7:16 am on Saturday morning*. It comes from within.
If this doesn’t come natural, you need to start cultivating a shift in perspective immediately. Everyone can be a self-starter and work from that mental model daily. You can see yourself as self-employed no matter who signs your paycheck.

The self starting perspective must drive your Servant Selling Orientation as well. This must come from within. The Servant Heart that is required doesn't come from some manager following you around and holding you accountable. It must over flow from who you are at some deep level.

*I wrote this post on a Saturday even though it is being posted on a Friday. Most are written in advance and tweaked at the last minute.

Perspectives That Serve # 26 - Unlimited

Have you knowingly or unknowingly placed limitations on yourself? Some people have very low limits on what’s possible. Some sales people quit after they make their sale for the day or the week or what ever the quota is. Do whatever you have to do to remove those limitations and restrictions.

Sometimes “our limit” is imposed by others and sometimes it is self-imposed. Ultimately though, limits are all self-imposed because even when others place them on us, they only have impact to the extent that we buy in. In fishing, the limit is placed there to leave fish for others and maybe protect the eco system. When other people limit you, they may just be trying to protect you from disappointment. They may have a very positive intention. In other cases it may be driven by envy or jealousy. In other words they may be trying to protect themselves.
Identify the places in your life where you or others have placed limitations on you. Begin to push out and expand those limitations today!

Perspectives That Serve # 25 - Trust

To be successful in selling or anything else for that matter you have to trust other people. You even have to trust yourself. And I believe you have to trust God. In the case of trusting other people you have to do it in spite of the fact that some of them will let you down. Like Lucy’s running gag with Charlie Brown where she repeatedly pulls the football away, some will even intentionally mislead you.

Another way to say this, is that you have to be vulnerable. Vulnerability suggests that you risk being hurt, even that you will be hurt. But the reward of vulnerability is that you develop wonderful relationships in business and in life. Vulnerability is worth the risk.

I don’t think this means you have to trust everyone carte blanc. I think it makes sense to use judgment and discernment. When trust is violated, it must be earned again. Sometimes it means as Ronald Reagan said in negotiating with the former Soviet Union, “Trust But Verify”.

Former Dallas Cowboy quarterback Roger Stauback, has built a very substantial commercial real estate firm. They have a very unique guarantee in their industry. If a client is not 100% satisfied with their service, they will negotiate the commission down as low as zero. That takes a lot of trust. But when you trust other people like that you build trust. I have worked for Olan Mills, a national portrait company for about 15 years. One of the things I'm proudest of is our unconditional guarantee. We will retake, retouch, or refund an Olan Mills Portrait with no limitations on time. We do this in an industry that has a standard 30 day return policy. Over the long haul, trust is reciprocal.

Perspectives That Serve # 24 - Toughness

Robert Schuller says, “Tough Times Never Last… But Tough People Do.” Toughness is critical in many jobs. Some jobs require physical toughness. In outside selling you must cultivate mental and emotional toughness. The reason is that you will probably hear the words “no” or “not now” a lot more than you hear the word “yes”. Some of the “no’s” may even be particularly unfriendly. Others may be out and out rude. This can wear on you.

Mental and emotional toughness develop the same way physical toughness does… through repeated exposure to challenge. Calluses develop on your hands over time when you use a pick and shovel. I know this because I grew up working in a family construction business. Mental and emotional calluses grow similarly. Over time with repeated exposure to “no”, “not now”, and even “get out” you get tough.

From a Servant Selling perspective, the toughness you develop must be a humble toughness. You must cultivate the ability to absorb emotional hits without reacting to negative comments in kind, but rather to always with kindness. Part of your service is going out and talking with people about something that may be of great value to them even when they don’t always recognize that value. Some days this requires sacrificing your ego.

Perspectives That Serve # 23 - Self Confidence, Self Esteem, Self Image

Self Confidence is a kind of optimism turned inward. Like optimism, to be valuable it has to have some basis in reality. I don’t think it should be pervasive or necessarily generalize to every area of your life. Healthy self confidence should be rooted in your talent, your experience, your training, your skills. It is not egotism if you properly understand all of your talent and even the opportunity for training and experience are gifts of God.

Self Esteem is about how much you like yourself. Like self confidence, the people that appear to have it the most may actually have it the least. I was not born with a tremendous amount of self confidence or self esteem. Over time I have had to develop them. Learning that God not only loves me, He actually likes me is a first step. As Robert Schuller says, “I’m not what I think I am, I’m not what you think I am. I am what I think you think I am.” Read that over until you get it. It took me a while.

Self Image is about how you see yourself. When you imagine yourself performing a task, what do you see. It’s not just about the outcome, it’s about the process. I have a positive self image as a public speaker. Much of that goes back to a speech I made in 6th grade. I can still see it in my minds eye. Having a positive self image as a speaker increases my self confidence as a speaker. Self Confidence, Self Esteem, and Self Image are slightly different things but they all tie together and influence each other.

In selling, self confidence will help you make the big sales call, the tough sales call, and transfer to your customer. In other words, if you are confident in yourself, your potential customers will be more likely to have confidence in you and award you the business. Self esteem will help you feel worthy of career success and avoid self-sabotage.

Self Image will allow you to imagine successful calls and presentations in great detail, increasing the likelihood of positive outcomes. From a Servant Selling perspective it is critical that you develop the self image of a servant. You must see yourself as a representative that gives consistently high levels of customer service adding value to your clients. Again, see it in great detail with very specific behaviors. And check with your customers regularly to make sure your self image isn’t a hallucination. Some sales people are service legends, but only in their own mind.

Perspectives That Serve # 22 - Scoreboarding

A mind set for scoreboarding can help you. John Maxwell says, “What gets measured, gets done”. This is true for the individual and the organization. If you are serious about doing something or accomplishing something or fixing something, figure out a way to measure it and post the measurement. If it’s your weight you want to change, weigh yourself daily and keep a written chart.

You can put a number on anything. Use, let’s say –10 to +10 for any experience. Maybe you want to enjoy exercise or cold calling or expense reports more. Put a number from –10 to +10 on your usual experience with –10 being the worst experience you can imagine and +10 being the best experience you can imagine. Let’s say with exercise you are on average a +3. Sit down and make a list of what it would take to get you to a +5. When you get to a +5 sit down and think about what it would take to get you to a +7. I’m not saying you can get to +10 on every activity but you can move the number.

What do you need? Can you combine the activity with something? Maybe you need to add music. Maybe you need to add another person. What will make this experience better by 2 numbers? Keep working on it.

Sports is almost defined by numbers and statistics. Basketball, baseball, or football without a scoreboard would be almost pointless. I keep meticulous score when I golf that goes way beyond strokes per hole and total strokes. I keep a running tally of the number of fairways I hit, the puts per hole, and sand saves. When I was a kid collecting baseball cards I was obsessed with memorizing statistics on my favorite players. I had a baseball encyclopedia that had stats for every season for every player since they started keeping records. As a baseball player, even as an adult, I went home after every game and figured my stats for the game and my batting average for the season to date.

In selling, my sales improved when I started keeping meticulous records. The sales people I know who do very well in my industry all keep track of numbers. Numbers also allow for competition which almost always increases performance. The following is one of my favorite stories…

The great industrialist Charles Schwab was quite disappointed when the workers in his steel mill were not meeting their production quota. He asked the foreman what was wrong. "I don't know," he replied, "I've pushed then and threatened to fire them, but nothing works. They seen to have no incentive to produce."
Later, just before the night shift came on, Schwab went back to the plant and asked the supervisor how many heats his crew had processed that day. He was informed it was only six. Schwab took a piece of chalk and wrote a large figure "6" on the floor and walked away. When the other workers came in, they asked what it meant. "The big boss was here today," the manager said. "He asked how many heats were made and then chalked the number on the floor." The next morning the night shift rubbed out the "6" and replaced it with a big "7." When the day workers returned and saw the higher figure, one man exclaimed, "We can do better than that!" His fellow employees caught his enthusiasm, and when they quit that night, they chalked on the floor an enormous "10." It was a 66 percent increase in just 24 hours and all because of Schwab's creation of a make shift scoreboard!

Perspectives That Serve # 21 - Serving

From the blog name you can tell this is the signature perspective on this site. It is the view point that runs through everything else I talk about. It ties or binds all the other principles together. I also believe that if you internalize this perspective or attitude well, it will naturally lead you into all the others.

Zig Ziglar said it well, “You can get everything in life you want, if you help enough other people get what they want”. Reciprocity is built into the fabric of life. When we go out and try to take what we want without thinking of others, we always end up hurting ourselves. Some of us don’t believe this and end up paying the consequences of a terribly miserable life. Most of us sort of understand it, and pay lip service to the idea or live with this attitude part of the time. Then we go on to live very mediocre lives. A few of us get it, build our entire life and career around it, and go on to greatness.

Jesus taught that a heart for service was the path to greatness. A desire to genuinely help people is what will catapult your to the top of your profession whether that be sales or whatever. It will also weave maximum joy and fun into your life and work.

This doesn’t mean that we don’t take time off and restore. The need for appropriate self care and a day of restoration is also built into the fabric of life. To embrace serving others and ignore restoration and self care is a quick path to burn out. In my experience as a manager, women struggle with this more than men. They often work a full-time job during the day and then try to be a full-time stay at home mom at nights and on week ends. This just ends up sucking the life right out of them.

So the service perspective always must include time for genuine self-care and self-love. The other centered life focuses beyond yourself but it includes yourself. The Bible tells us to love our neighbor as ourself. Self love and serving others are complimentary concepts not conflicting concepts. On any given day, there may appear to be a conflict, but the perfect resolution always exists if we look for it. This doesn't mean that everyone will always be pleased with us. Often a life of service involes telling someone no or not now. Jesus himself didn't heal everyone, and in at least in one case he put it off until way it appeared to late. A man died and a family was disappointed. But Jesus timing was always perfect.

Perspectives That Serve # 20 - Responsiblity

“Well... they are multi-purpose pliers.” When the defense contractor spokesman for Pratt and Whitney was questioned about charging the Pentagon $999.00 for a pair of ordinary pliers, this was his response.

“Everybody kept their shoes there. The maids...everybody.” Imelda Marcos on why there were more than 3,000 pairs of shoes in her closets a Malacanang Palace.

I struggle with taking responsibility just like you do. I’m generally convinced the problem lays with every one else just like you are. We are probably both right. We are not the ones responsible. The problem is that that attitude or mind set leaves us in a negative emotional state feeling victimized and dis-empowered.

Brian Tracey says the short cut to positive emotions is to take responsibility. He recommends the regularly repeating the affirmation, “I am responsible”, “I am responsible” regularly throughout the day. Try it.

Another one of my favorite authors is John G. Miller. I recommend his short classic on the subject, QBQ! The Question Behind The Question. John eloquently describes how certain questions take us down the wrong path.

“When is management going to _______?”
“Why are we always so _________?”
“When are the customers going to _______?”
“Who is supposed to be _________?”
“Why do I always have to _________?”

He suggests replacing them with empowering questions like:

“What can I do to improve ________?”
“How can I do _______ better today?”
“How can I support _______?”
“How can I adapt to ________?”
“What can I do to increase _______?”

Early in my sales career, a manager from one of the other departments called me to let me know about a problem on one our projects. I immediately realized I had blown it and told him so. There was this long pause on the other end of the line. Finally he replied, "I don't think I've ever heard a marketing rep take responsibility for a problem before". Apparently he was all ready for a battle and to make his case. Quite unintentionally I took the wind out of his sales. From that day forward I always maintained a great relationship with that manager.

The perspective or additude of personal responsibility is critical if you want to be a servant salesperson. The buck must stop with you. This doesn't mean that you are to blame for everything that goes wrong. It does mean you see yourself as responsible in making sure your customers are delighted at the end of the day. If something does go wrong... and it will... it is your job to coordinate making it right. It is also your job to gain influence over time with in your company. It is your responsibility to work with peers, supervisors, and subordinates to insure systems and processes are constantly being improved.

Perspectives That Serve # 19 - Realism

Realism is the third leg of the triangle that goes with optimism and pessimism. Pessimism asks a very valuable question, “What could go wrong?”. Optimism asks a very valuable question, “How can I contribute toward a preferred future?” Realism asks the question, “What exactly is happening in this situation?” Getting good reality is critical to making good decisions in life and business.

Optimists, all too often, see a preferred future and hallucinate that it is happening. Reality is not what you wish to happen. Pessimists do just the opposite. All too often they see what could go wrong and hallucinate that it is happening. Reality is not what you fear is happening. Optimism and Pessimism are both valuable perspectives as I have already said in previous posts. But realism is critical. If you’re not seeing reality, your actions and responses will always be inappropriate in the marketplace.

Servant Selling begins with getting reality. Your ability to see clearly what is going on with your client/customer defines your ability to add value. And adding value is the bottom line in Servant Selling.

Perspectives That Serve # 18 - Pessimism

Okay...my Dad is gnashing his teeth and Norman Vincent Peale is turning over in his grave. But the truth is pessimism asks a very valuable question, “What could go wrong”. It has great value if it isn’t allowed to lead the ship. In Learned Optimism, cognitive therapy leader Martin Seligman says that pessimism is essential to some jobs and some tasks. Estimating for example, like in construction requires that a person think through all the things that can go wrong and build contingencies into the cost. My Dad who is a natural crack optimist, and who has worked as a top notch builder most of his life, struggles with turning off the optimism at estimating time. Even his contingencies are optimistic. He naturally sees everything going well. My mom has been a good balance for him on this. If only she had become the estimator, I would be laying on a beach somewhere in the Carribean right now.

Many marriages are shared by “gas pedal people” and “brake people”. I guess this is okay, but somehow I think it would work out better if everyone learned to use the gas pedal and the brake on their own. One person’s refusal to use the brake causes the other to over use it.

If you have an estimating part to your selling, like our company does, learn to flip the switch over to pessimism when performing that part of the sale. Of course you can overdo anything. And an essential optimism is critical to selling. Other wise you would never walk out the door and make the first call. When I sell, I ask "How would dad think?" When I estimate, I ask "How would mom think?"

Perspectives That Serve # 17 - Passion For Your Work

While writing this I am going through an extended rough patch at work. I think a lot about putting my resume together and finding something else. Almost daily I hallucinate how much better things could be if I was in charge along with a group of friends affectionately known as “the anarchists”. Something as simple as getting a good product sample is like pulling teeth. The problem has been raised for several years now.

The challenges are intense and most days I am bone tired at the end. But still I am passionate about what I do. I like most of the processes and tasks. I like the people I work with. I like that I get to travel. I like that I don’t have to go to the same place everyday. I like the variety. I like the product I represent and I like what it does for people and organizations. We are clearly the best in our industry.

On my worst days I wish I could push a button and get off. But for the most part I like what I do and truly feel sorry for all the others that have to work at the kind of jobs they do. One way or the other most of us get paid to solve some kind of problem. Sometimes those problems are brutal. Ultimately you have to ask yourself if over all you are well suited to the process. If you are, crank up the passion. Turn on the gas. Set yourself on fire. If not, tune up your resume. Don’t hang around being miserable and making everyone else miserable.

Perspectives That Serve # 16 - Owning Your Territory

When I hire sales people I look for people who I think will want to own their territory. I want people who want to exert domination over a competitor by offering superior products with superior attitude, attire, and service. I look for Sumo wrestlers who are driven to push there opponent off the mat. In other martial arts there is talk about owning the mat. That is taking control of your space.

This attitude leads to going out and talking to a lot of prospective customers and leaving information packets with a quick follow up strategy whenever no one is in the office. This attitude leads to making clear, concise, competitive sales presentations that clearly distinguish what sets you apart from the competition.

What owning your territory does not mean is just as important. It doesn’t mean slandering your competition. It doesn’t mean bad mouthing the other rep. A competitive spirit is a wonderful thing for a sales representative. But the urge to go negative must be channeled back into positive energy, hard work, and honestly communicating what is unique about you and your company. This serves the customer, the company, and the sales representative in the best possible way.

Perspectives That Serve #15 - Optimism...Continued

When I sell I tend to be an intentionally selective optimist. For example, I never thought it served me to walk into every door believing that I would walk out with a contract that day. Every fiber of my experience told me otherwise and I never saw the benefit of trying to conjure up a belief like this.

My optimism tends to run along the following lines:

I believe that if I make enough sales calls that I will eventually run into to someone who wants to buy.

I believe that when I prepare well, I will present well and 95% of the time win the business. I was usually shocked when I lost on a presentation.

I believe that God has gifted me with the creativity to do business with just about everyone in my territory... over time.

I believe that most of the time I can take a negative customer experience and turn it into a positive customer experience.

I believe that over time I can work with my peers in such a way that they will create positive customer experiences.

Perspectives That Serve # 15 - Optimism

Optimism is the mother of all positive perspectives, mindsets, view points, or attitudes in the world of selling. More is written about optimism than all the other perspectives combined. I think that is unfortunate which is why I list it as number 15 instead of number 1. But make no mistake, optimism is a critical perspective if you want to be successful. It's just not the only one.

Optimism asks the question, “What can I contribute toward a preferred future”. Optimists sell more than pessimists for one simple reason. You work harder to make the sale you think you have a good chance of making and hard work pays off. You prepare more and better for the sale you think you have a good chance at making. If you are convinced that you don’t stand a chance you won’t do what’s necessary to be successful. If you are optimistic that sales calls will eventually turn into contracts, you will make more sales calls.

Beyond that, in general people prefer to be around optimists. If you give people hope, if you give them a lift they will prefer working with you. In short it makes you more likeable. And people prefer to work with people they like. This isn’t mysticism over mind over matter.

What is optimism? There are several definitions I like. Zig Ziglar says optimism is going after Moby Dick in a row boat and taking the tarter sauce with you. It is the 65 year old man asking out the 25 year old women, buying a house in a neighborhood with a new elementary school. It is the man thrown out of the 10th story window who can be heard going by the 5th floor yelling, “So Far So Good”.

Cute ideas about optimism but my favorite definition is simpler and much more serious. Simply stated, optimism is the belief that you can make a difference, contributing toward a preferred future. It is the opposite of fatalism which is the belief that you can’t make a difference, that everything is already set in stone. In selling, it is the simple belief that you can influence your destiny by how many calls you make, who you call on, and how well you make those calls. Notice I didn’t say control your destiny, I said influence. I do believe there are other factors besides your behavior. But optimism leans toward the belief that your behavior is the most important factor.

For now I am leaving out the Spiritual Factors. Optimism has a very close cousin called Faith which the Bible describes as the confidence of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen. I absolutely believe in a God who does intervene regularly in the affairs of men and women, even sales people, but that is a related and different subject.

Perspectives That Serve # 14 - Learning

Learning is the naturally positive mindset of the scientist but we all can cultivate this for our benefit. It starts with curiosity and asking questions. Questions like “Why does this happen?” and ‘What’s really going on here?” You can even take negative emotional states like anger, depression, or anxiety; tear it apart, re-assemble it and learn how to avoid those negative states more often.

Let’s take depression for example: A great question to ask yourself is, “How do I do depression?” For me it might look something like this:

1. An event happens
2. I interpret the event as something that will likely lead to pain
3. I entertain other potentially painful consequences
4. I mentally rehearse or dwell on the interpretation
5. I discount the potential positive possibilities
6. I share all of the above with other people and reinforce it with my words
7. I look for those who will agree and argue with or avoid those who disagree
8. I adopt a physiology consistent with negative emotions
a. rate of speech
b, tone
c. posture
d. walking pace
e. expression
f. activity level
9. I tell myself it is only natural to feel this way
10. I look for others who will tell me it is natural.

What I have learned here is the way I do depression. I have also learned that I can interrupt this pattern at a couple of points and depression won’t set in. Now flip it over. How do I do Joy and Happiness? How can I reinforce the patterns involved?

Selling, and any profession for that matter is a virtual laboratory of learning opportunities. I encourage you to learn from other peoples experiences in the form of books and tapes. Learn from successful colleagues and peers. Learn from the best in your industry. Learn from the failures in your industry. But most of all learn from each sales call. Every sales call, every appointment, every presentation, every sale won, every sale lost is a class room in miniature. John Maxwell says, “Experience is not the best teacher. Evaluated experience is the best teacher.” He is absolutely right. For many people, experience is not a teacher at all. It’s the evaluation that makes the difference. You need to develop a systematic method of learning from your experiences. Maybe this means writing in a journal every night. Maybe you could start your own blog, write a book, or teach a class. At the very least, sit down with yourself on a regular basis and evaluate your experiences. Look for the learning everyday.

Perspectives That Serve # 13 - Innnovation

Creativity and innovation are for me what I call entry point or square one mind sets. That is, creativity is an easy perspective for me to access and it allows me to slide into the other powerful perspectives without a lot of effort. I talk more about this in a later post a few weeks down the road. You may have a completely different entry point perspective.

Creativity is the design or thinking part and Innovation also includes execution or implementation even in tests, trials, or pilots. I don’t know if the dictionary would exactly make that distinction, but I think of it that way. This is a core mind set or attitude. I’m convinced that everyone is incredibly creative in some niche or subject but many just don’t have the confidence necessary to activate it. God is the ultimate Creator and we are made in His Image. Therefore creativity is standard equipment.

One of the simplest ways I know of getting into a creative mindset is to write a challenge or outcome at the top of a sheet of paper and as fast as you can write down ten possible ways to meet the challenge or reach the outcome. The most important part of this strategy is that you have to temporarily remove the critique. You have to write as fast as you can disciplining yourself not to think about what idea is best or how difficult or impossible it might be to implement an idea. The phrase that kills… “I/We have to be realistic here.” No you don’t. You may eventually choose to be realistic but not in the early part of the exercise.

Try doing this once a day on any topic. This will build your creative muscle and almost always put you in a positive emotional state. From a Servant Selling standpoint, start out with a question like, "How Can I Personally Better Serve My Customers?" Then list 10 ways...

1. Return phone calls quicker
2. Increase the clarity of my presentations
3. Implement a customer survey

After you make your list of 10 items, you can then drill down. Take one like, "Return Phone Calls Quicker". Now try to list 10 things that would increase your response time.

This is the creative phase. Make sure you move quickly into the implementation phase where you try stuff and evaluate it. Do this with every part of your job and you will rapidly

Perspectives That Serve # 12 - Humor

I possess a dusty dry sense of humor that some people get and some don’t. I have the quintessential poker face that doesn’t express too much or tell you a lot about how I’m feeling. Some people say I am too serious, but that usually stops after they get to know me. I laugh pretty much daily at myself and the seemingly bizarre circumstances I find myself in. Comedies are my favorite shows and movies. I enjoy stand up comedy. I love observational comedy like Seinfeld and for me Johnny Carson will always be the late night king… but Letterman and Leno are good too. I choose friends more because they make me laugh or because we can laugh together at the same things. I choose churches because I think humor and laughter are Godly qualities. The Bible says a merry heart is like medicine. Animals especially make me laugh. Cats and dogs with their personalities crack me up. Zoo animals too, but I don’t get to the zoo as much as I should. You might guess that comic strips make me laugh. I am a newspaper fanatic who sometimes reads 3 or more a day, and I often turn to the comic section first. Children make me laugh especially when they do things that adults find particularly appalling. And I guess the adults being appalled is at least half of the laugh.

I’m learning to laugh at myself more. Not that there hasn’t always been plenty of material. I think I’m just now getting comfortable in my own skin and realizing it’s okay to laugh at my many imperfections, inconsistencies, contradictions and the like. I don’t tell jokes too well if they are more than 3 or 4 lines long. I get the story part messed up. In fact, usually by the time I’m done with a long story, the only thing that’s funny about it is how badly I screwed it up. One liners I’m good with. Recognizing my limitation is helpful.

I try to stay away from negative humor that has the potential to injure. After having said that I do have a pretty sharp needle and like to think I can dish it out and take it pretty well.

As you read this, you maybe thinking about your own humor style. We all need to laugh more. Humor is a critical mind set that we all need to cultivate daily.

Sales is a profession replete with opportunities to laugh everyday. The customers, the circumstances, and the company you work and I work for provide almost endless opportunities if we are open. I grant you, some of the humor may border on tragedy as well, but it’s funny if you choose to see it that way. Sometimes, it’s so bad, laughing is the only good option. My friend, Earl Estep may be the best I know at finding the humor in sales situations. I usually talk with him several times a week and he always has a funny spin on something.

Consider putting together a humor journal. Write down the happenings of your day. What could be funny if you chose to look at it that way? Even simple things like tripping, dropping papers in a puddle, and rejection on a cold call can be an opportunity to laugh. Human beings are proof positive God has a sense of humor.

If you are struggling to find humor this morning, YouTube has an almost unlimited supply of funny material. Here is something to get you started...

Perspectives That Serve # 11 - Gratitude

My grandmother (pictured above) who just turned 101 this year is my model for gratitude. I’m not sure she always had it naturally. Be she has it big time now. Somewhere along the line she cultivated it. It’s evwen a bit abnormal at this stage of life, maybe even supernatural. She has aches and pains. Her body doesn’t work all that well anymore. She is still sharp mentally for 100, but nevertheless declining as you might imagine. Still she maintains a discernable attitude of gratitude. She is grateful for the littlest things imaginable. A piece of candy, a visit, the smallest gift. She still enjoys, savors, and chooses to be grateful.

I have to admit I’m still cultivating this one. I have to work at it. When I do, the pay off is big emotionally. There is nothing worse than a whiney, crabby life. Whining always locks in negative emotions. You guarantee feeling bad. So why do we do it? Why do we whine and complain if gratitude gives us the positive payback of good feelings? I think the answer might lie in the word “delay”. I think there is a quick immediate relief that comes when we whine and complain. We also sometimes get a quick response of pity. Friends and family will play the violin over our sorrows for a time. In the short run this feels good… maybe addictive good. But like a drug that works and gives a short term payoff you start needing more to feel good and then you are hooked, wandering around looking for any pity pusher we can find.

The emotional payback of gratitude pays off slowly. Like any good nutrient for our body, it gets in our system and builds up over time. With repeated use, gratitude builds into a positive emotional fire that glows and spreads as we keep it stoked and replenished with fuel.

Think about your job in sales. What do you like about it? Do they pay you? Mark that down. Do you have any health insurance benefits? Mark that down. How about a retirement program? Mark that down. Do you have opportunity to earn more as your effectiveness grows? Mark that down. Do you have customers that appreciate the value you bring? Mark that down. Do you have freedom to make your schedule? Mark that down. What else could you be grateful for if you chose to? Even if you’re considering a change or looking for an even better opportunity, you can still be grateful that you have a financial foundation from which to look. Continue this line of thinking into the other areas of your life. What’s good about your faith, family, and friendships? Do you have generally good health? Consider the country you were born into. Few places on the planet offer more opportunity. Most of us have so much more to be grateful for than we imagine. But we have to cultivate the perspective.

And one more thing… Something magical seems to happen when you cultivate gratitude. You end up attracting even more things to be grateful for. It’s a virtuous cycle that spirals up. The more you are grateful, the more you have to be grateful for. Positive things begin coming into your life. The rate can even be exponential. Write me and let me know how this happens for you!

Perspectives That Serve # 10 - Future Orientation

A future focus or orientation is critical. You are going to spend your whole life there. My Dad has this in spades. He has always had a bent this way, but it is even more impressive at age 74 (when I’m writing this) during a phase of life where the tendency is to slough off and reminisce about the past. For Dad, life is still all about the future.

One of my favorite Bible verses is Philippians 3: 13-14. It starts out like this,
“ Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race…” Of course we can all learn and grow from each of our past life experiences. Productive reflection is critical if we want to optimize our future. They key is to squeeze all the learning out of an experience and then move on to the future.

Many people live a “whatever” life. There is no direction, destination, or preferred future that they care about. This certainly isn’t they way life is meant to be lived. To live fully we must have a series of “I can hardly wait” activities, events, goals, and plans lined up in front of us. These “I can hardly wait” things can be simple daily routines that get us out of bed in the morning as well as once in a lifetime peak experiences. In fact, I believe we all need a good healthy mix of both.

I have an extensive life list of big and small adventures that I am incorporating in my life...my own "Bucket List". I have bungee jumped, gone around a NASCAR Track at 165 MPH, gone hang gliding, bicycled to Death Valley, completed triathlons, biathlons, 1/2 marathons, and more. This coming weekend (as I write this) I am flying to Denver to go indoor sky diving with some friends. But I also look forward to reading the daily news paper, exercise, a trip to Starbucks, my breakfast fruit medley, my protein shake, writing, training, coaching, volunteering at church, a movie, a massage, an occasional TV show, and walking my dog. I most look forward to any activity with Susy... walks, meals, a movie, watching an episode of American Idol, working on a church project, just hanging out, a drive to the beach, dancing, sharing ideas about books we're reading... it's all wonderful.

I intentionally intersperse my days, weeks, months, and years with a whole potpourri of “I can hardly wait” activities. Your peak experiences, life list, and perfect day may look totally different than mine. But you can begin to shape and mold a life you can’t wait for.

This applies to your sales career at least three ways. First, there should be aspects and activities in your work that are intrinsically rewarding. There should be big chunks of work that you look forward to just because it is enjoyable. Second, there should be career goals and milestones you are reaching for. You should have something meaningful to accomplish. Hopefully this accomplishment ties into some mission that makes the world a little bit better. And thirdly, the income should provide opportunities to reach a preferred future in others areas of life as well. A good income can help you reach other faith, family, finance, and fitness futures that are important to you.

Perspectives That Serve # 9 - Forgiveness

It’s possible you may be asking yourself, “ What does forgiveness have to do with selling?” It has a lot to do with selling. This profession requires a focused mind and emotions that are freely and productively expressed. Bitterness interferes with that.

Clients disappoint. Bosses disappoint. Co-Workers disappoint. Employees disappoint. Forgiveness means walking emotionally free to give your best to your family and a career God has placed you in.

Un-forgiveness stifles life. It will shut you down and close you off almost faster than anything I can think of. Forgiveness isn’t really a gift you give another person, it is a gift you give yourself. And forgiveness isn’t forgetting. Forgiveness doesn’t mean foolishly giving unearned trust. My favorite definition of forgiveness I heard when I was only a teenager from a speaker/counselor named Bob Phillips. It goes like this…

Forgiveness means:

1. I won’t dwell on it.
2. I won’t talk about them behind their back.
3. I won’t use it against them.

This definition has really been helpful for me in learning to forgive. I have added two of my own more recently:

4. Pray that God would bless the person
5. I tell myself that if I had that persons experiences, upbringing,
and pressures I might do the same thing. If you don’t
forgive, it’s often because you don’t know enough of
someone’s story.

Forgiveness does not mean I have necessarily have positive emotions or feelings for this person although they may be developed over time. The feelings may never come.

What I love about those 5 things is that they are all choices. I can grab myself mentally by the back of the neck and make those 5 choices. When I do, the negative feelings and emotions that choke my life get neutralized and I can get on with my life.

Give it a try.

Perspectives That Serve # 8 - Fanatacism

Some of perspective terms have overlap. They are similar and have connection or things in common. But they have differences too. By using different but similar terms that describe the attitudes you want to cultivate in life, you get a full spectrum understanding.

Fanaticism or Fanatic is often shortened to “Fan”. Personally I think Fanatic has a stronger feel or connotation than the shorter Fan. If I say I am a football fan that still sounds tepid or weak to me. If I say I am a Football Fanatic or better yet a Full Fledged Football Fanatic that just sounds stronger, more like you mean it.

I encourage you to be a fanatic about something. Make it something sustainable and life giving. But be a fanatic. I think you can even be a fanatic about 2 or 3 things. Fanaticism has gotten a bad rap. Moderation and tepidness have become the order of the day. I think the Green Bay Packer fans that go shirtless at zero degrees and paint their bodies green and gold may be on to something.

Certainly it doesn’t have to involve sports either. What is it you truly love? Why not ‘kick it up a notch”? Get a little crazy about it. Dare to be wildly in love. Be a fanatic about your spouse or your job or your church. Refuse to live another day as a groveling, tepid, cowering soul.

Perspectives That Serve # 7 - Enthusiasm For Life

There is a focused enthusiasm and passion that is a critical mind set to develop. This one is more general or comprehensive. Like Dennis The Menace it’s great if we can just learn to love everything in life more. “Let’s go everywhere and do everything”. Some people have the ability to open their throat and pour liquid down without slowing up to swallow. I think the technical term is “guzzling”. Beer guzzling may be a stupid adolescent or fraternity game that sometimes leads to alcohol poisoning and tragic consequences, but life guzzling is smart.

After being intelligently discerning, open up the orifice a little bit. Try new things. Go to a new restaurant every week. Try something new off the menu. Go skydiving, hot air ballooning, and bungee jumping. Go buy a magazine on something that you know absolutely nothing about. Take up a knew hobby. Learn the Salsa.

Every once in a while we need to go “Full Throttle”. Put the gas pedal to the floor board. Open her up and see what she’ll do as the drag racer’s say.