Excellence and Killing the Monkeys

To succeed in a competitive environment and difficult economy, it is important to hire and retain excellence. When a merger takes place, one inherits unknown talent and determining who has the characteristics needed to succeed takes time to assess. However, it is imperative to do so as quickly as possible making as few errors as possible. I met the new members of my sales team this week during our national sales meeting and I learned how difficult it is to make the assessment with regard to excellence. During the sales meeting I did not have time to interview the new members of the team. I could only watch and make judgments as to their level of attention, interaction, engagement and during the training activity, assess how much had been retained. I was pleased with everyone when measured against those things. Therefore, the task of creating a sales team that is excellent falls to me.

One of the Broadvox master agents, Technology Assessment Group or TAG, actively assists their members in hiring excellent people. They will even participate in the hiring process to further increase the chances of adding the right person to the company. However, I inherited this team. They have knowledge of Unified Communications and hosted cloud based applications that are not prevalent within Broadvox. To succeed I have to harness that knowledge and experience to expand sales and our market presence. Through example, process and learning tools, I have to create the level of excellence needed. The initial sales cultural change I want to take hold with our new members is a sense of urgency. Not because we are in trouble but because we should address each day with the desire and intent to complete a sale or accomplish a task. The entire team needs to recognize and own the responsibility of determining what must be done, when it must be completed and that they must be accountable for getting it finished. This attitude must exist everyday and when you can’t rise to the challenge than it may be time to take a short break or vacation. That is how I approach every day.

Years ago I was taught a management technique that I still follow. When presented with a problem determine if it is yours to solve. The problem is equated to a monkey. You can refuse the monkey when it is outside of your responsibility. If you accept the monkey, then do not feed or nurture it as it will only grow larger. Do not hand it to someone else as you did agree to take the monkey. Do not starve the monkey or problem as it will not go away. The only choice is to kill the monkey or resolve the problem as quickly as possible.

IP Communications is one of the fastest growing areas of communications, technology and the economy as a whole. How we address developing excellence will determine whether we will be among the leaders in a fast paced and growing space. My choice is to address each day with a deliberate sense of urgency killing as many monkeys as I can.

See you on Monday with a new recipe and thought on IP communications.

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