Don't drop the bike!

We'd just completed the classroom session and were on the motorcycle obstacle course.  With only the final slalom session left, we were told, "drive very slowly, don't put your foot down, and don't drop the motorcycle!"

The instructor had explained to us what "target fixation" is.  If you focus on what you don't want to occur, it certainly will.  

Example; Thinking DON'T HIT THE CONE = smashed orange plastic.

As my friend completed the last slalom, he suddenly dropped the motorcycle!  It was horrid - as was the language and angst that ensued.

I asked him later what was going through his mind.

"All I could think of was, Don't drop the bike! Don't drop the bike!" he said.

You get it.  When you fixate on a target - even if it is a negative of your goal - you will inevitably hit it.  (Golfers shooting over that pond know exactly what I mean.)  

If you hear the word "don't" you are already off.

Today, visualize on what success looks like instead - and let it live through you.  When you hear something negative today, reply with "Don't drop the bike!" Explain. Then re-frame.

Triangulate the moment you begin speaking

When I took the stage at Sherman High School, I knew the teens would heckle and jeer. Because, when you are "that guy" who is hired to speak to teens about risk avoidance (read: don't have sex, get drunk, or do drugs) and it's the week of prom or spring break...the audience is stacked against you.

And I loved it.

For some reason, I really enjoyed the heckling. Maybe that's because I knew how to manage the energy - or maybe it was because, if I was in their chair I'd do the same.

So what is the key to disarming a hostile or resistant audience, board room, or client group?  Triangulation.

Any time a speaker stands before an audience, there's a direct two-way relationship. By design of the logistics alone, it implies "I'm saying something important, so be quiet and listen," where a seated audience implies "we're listening, so you'd better say something important." And if you have attitude in the audience it may say, "I'll give you only one minute to impress me."


Triangulation instead, directs the audience to a 3rd party or something that both the speaker and audience pay attention to. This can be a story told by the presenter, a video, an object, or anything that positions the audience and speaker as peers.  Shoulder-to-shoulder you look together at the issue.

This triangulation will diffuse the tension. Presenters need to humbly address the topic and allow their wisdom to continue growing the respect from the audience.

An easy way to remember this is how I speak to my daughters versus how I speak to my sons. My girls like my full attention ... face-to-face and fully engaged. That freaks my sons out. So for them, we talked while playing games, fishing, or working in the garage; shoulder-to-shoulder.  It is triangulation. And it cuts the tension so you can communicate better.

This week, take the stage or stand before the room - and find your triangle.

Here's 3 Ways Companies Commit Revecide

I know.  It seems insane that companies would want to kill their revenue (my wordsmith of "revecide").  But they do.

There are three easy strokes companies can - and do - take to kill the revenue from a company with sales professionals.

1. Hire only people who have a "book of business." Because it's too hard to develop quality people...so buying business is the quick fix.
2. Constrain the commission and compensation programs. Because if the sales team brings in large revenue, companies feel uncomfortable paying for that work in relation to other company employees' pay.
3. Don't recognize or reward the sales team publicly. Because others in operations don't get recognition so it seems unfair to award those in sales.

 And the result?  Well, let's follow these 3 strokes with their results.

• "Book of Business" reps leave to sell their book" to another company. Think about it; the "book" only has value if updated and moves from company to company.
• Capped commissions or restricted comp programs will cause you to hire less experienced reps, requiring you to invest in your sales team...but they will leave you for better paying companies once they become top-tier reps.  Yup...you just trained your competitor.
• Sales professionals are wired to be social. It's what makes them different and good! And to not reward or recognize is a stomach-punch. De-motivation will result and their drive is gone.

Want to kill your revenue?  Buy business, constrain your sales force, and treat sales like everyone else.