Let’s get right to the business.
Here I have written a very brief post about the release date and general inability to assess it correctly. As a constant reader of the business literature, I thought how the same paragraph would look like if it were a part of a business book.
When you set a release date for a software product, you perfectly understand that the actual date will be at least six months from the declared. But you still want to declare it as soon as you reasonably can because there is a trick there. No matter what date you state, the release will always be six months away from it. This way postponing the declaration does not help with the more accurate projection while certainly delays the release.
The beginning of my professional career was the position of a team leader for a company doing best in breed solution for a pocket PC. Was this project a success?
Laziness pushes this world. No, honestly, what is it the majority of startups are built around? An effective way to do the things. What is “effective way” in a nutshell? Doing something with fewer moves, fewer keystrokes, less time. Ultimately less effort. So our laziness pushes us forward. Finally, the robots will do all the work and then laziness it will be. Does it mean the progress leads to regress? In a way.
Never thought I’ll be writing sales/marketing pitches’ rules as poems in English. Nevertheless here is the first “the earlier is the stage; the shorter the message!”
There is no need to blame an employee. Either praise or fire.
There are only three behavior scenarios that (solely or in combination) cover the complete diversity of situations in the office or life in general. One should lead, obey or cooperate. One should also know when and which course to take. Then it is pure execution matter.
I do not like it when employees are not asking me any questions. It is always a signal of something wrong happening there. The best-case scenario is when the person doesn’t ask anything because she knows everything. Period. It is impossible, though. Period. The worst-case scenario is when she just does not care. Well, the remedy is obvious then. In between lie these communication line problems. Either I, this person or both, we did not work hard enough to create this line of communication and these working relations. The person can be shy, and I didn’t help to overcome it. I could have been busy and several times rejected the meeting and then she lost the motivation. The very unhealthy reason could be that somebody stepped in between us. The kind of bad politics that always can happen in a company. Anyhow, the regular working process is impossible with broken communication. Period.
We have been going through the motivational sessions with our sales reps lately. Many things motivate a rep. Salary, commissions, atmosphere, career opportunities. The Funny thing is that all this stuff is external to the person. It is something the company can help with, or do for you.
Consulting sales are much like dating. You seldom want to talk about sex directly, but all your conversations are circling around this subject. At about fifth date, you will probably have it all.