Hi Friends, Here is your end-of-the-week insight into what I see going on in the business world,...
Hi Friends,
Here is your end-of-the-week insight into what I see going on in the business world, what I’m thinking about, and what I’m learning about. Forward anything that you feel inspired to share. If this was forwarded to you and you found value, subscribe here for a weekly edition!
What I’m Hearing From Sales Leaders/Professionals
This past week, I had three separate conversations where I was asked for my opinion on a “big strategic business decision.” The reality was that, of the three big strategic business decisions, only one of them was not reversible.
The other two?
Well, those were important decisions that had followed a typical pattern of getting drawn out—lots and lots of discussion…and emotion. As I sat and listened to my clients and their teams, I realized that their conversations had been overtaken by self-interest, politicking, and undertones and contexts that were not conducive to decision-making.
This is not unique. I see it happen all the time with well-intentioned teams. It starts slowly. Then, as the decision-making becomes more protracted, the players think there is more at stake for the company and for themselves. As I said last week, people are people. And often, people cannot help themselves.
In these situations, I always ask one question to reset the conversation: “What are we solving for?” I continue to ask this question until I am satisfied that we have washed away the politics and the emotion. Yes, I said, “until I am satisfied.”
Why me? What makes me the arbiter? The contract that my clients signed! Ha!
No, seriously, the reality is that I don’t have a dog in the fight, and I only care about the right solution, not whose feelings may or may not be hurt.
So, the next time you get yourself caught in a spin cycle of decision-making, hit pause and ask, “What are we solving for?”
If you want someone who doesn’t care to sit and listen to you, you know where to find me. That’s a lie, I do care, but you know what I mean.
What Made Me Laugh
Does anyone have a hack to get a teenager to respond to text messages? I imagine that if my son had a phone when he was one (he is now 13), I would be getting the following message from him:
This Week’s 40/20
For every 40 hours of work, I believe you should spend 20 (additional) hours mastering your craft. This is how I spent some of my 20 hours this week.
My mom was known to mix up her idioms. She used to tell me, “There is no sense in that deadbeat horse.” Well, it looks like mixing up idioms is a long-standing tradition. So much so that many of the incorrect versions have been adopted in our language. For example, “You have another thing coming,” was originally, “You have another think coming.” Check out this link to see what other idioms are commonly misspoken.
Potpourri for 800
Potpourri (shoutout to Jeopardy!) is a category that covers a variety of topics.
For those of you who read my posts and comments on Linkedin, you know that one of my favorite companies out there is GoodShuffle Pro (GSP). I love its people, culture, and product. The other thing that is incredible at GSP is its culture of innovation. This holiday season, they dropped a children’s book on the ABCs of events. What a cool and innovative idea, especially given that a large swath of their ICP are event planners with young kids. Awesome job team!!!
Quote for My Son
Every day, I leave my son a note with a quote. This was my favorite from this past week:
I have never seen ordinary effort lead to extraordinary results. – Alexandr Wang
You can get weekly helpful information for sales professionals by following my company’s Maestro Mastery blog here.
Let me know what you think about this week’s edition of Fuentes Fridays. Which section was your favorite? How can I make this better? Shoot me a message on LinkedIn @willfuentes.
Until next week!
Thanks,
