The more things change, the more they stay the same...

The following is the original and the rewrite can be found by clicking here.

I suspect with some certainty any Marketing Manager reading this will not think much of what I am about to say... with great certainty I know their inherent creativity will make for some wonderful refutation*. 

With that said, I was reminded the other day of something I experienced twenty years ago that reinforced the old adage:

"The more things change, the more they stay the same" 

And for that matter, this one as well,

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

And ultimately I was reminded of the diet soda TaB. 

Let me take you back a couple of decades in an attempt to weave this all together:

I found myself at the head office for a series of meetings that must have had something to do with marketing because that is what I was doing at the time. Although I can't tell you anything about those meetings, a meeting I was casually invited to as an after thought, is crystal clear.

I had been invited to a kick-off product development meeting that brought about ten people together (not including "onlookers between meetings") whose mandate was to develop products for a new market segment the company wanted to enter. The team lead had just finished introductions and strategic objectives when someone raised their hand and proposed the team should have a name. 

As if a flashpoint, I watched the room explode into debate, ideas regarding the name, and what the name should represent... most of the debate invoved how the name needed to represent the mandate of the team; the poor team lead struggled to control the room a couple of times as debate and opinion became intense. Forty-five minutes later, with the excuse of my next meeting, I bolted for the door. As the door shut behind me, the discussions raged with no team name in the foreseeable future.

I recall explaining my experience to a colleague and remember saying, "Who cares what the team name is... call it BOB for all it matters; just get on with things!" After that, we went into our own meeting ... I couldn't tell you if it was productive or not.

Fast forward, twenty years... 

I recently found myself talking to someone who was starting a new service company in a niche segment of an established market. The conversation quickly turned to naming the new company and the desire to have the company name "speak to what the company does".  All the obvious names or domain names had been taken, so an odd mashable exercise started to take hold as the "founder" was trying to put words together that were unique and represented what the company does (as well as make it sound viable) - The discussion went on, and on, and on.

                                 "The more things change, the more they stay the same" 

Ultimately I was asked what I thought and this is how I answered... 

• I didn't think it was that important to have a company name that reflected what the company did. It is much more important to have a company name that is easy to say and easy to remember.
• I mentioned not to overthink the name but overthink how you are going to make the name mean something.
• I went on to suggest the work spent on developing the company's unique value proposition and communication to the market was really important... this would give meaning to the company name and what it did. 

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

Ultimately I offered up the example of TaB**... probably the most "un-diet soda" name ever. Coca Cola took this simple, easy to say name and developed it to mean a "refreshing diet soda" to such a degree that TaB is still selling 50 years after it was first launched. 

In the end, the founder chose a three-word name for the company, registered it and is happy... not any closer to getting the name to mean anything but happy none the less. I don't even want to get into the discussion we had regarding the logo... let me just say we took the position "to agreed to disagree".

Let the refutations begin.

iamgpe

* Refutation is a new word for me so I just had to use it. It is defined as the action of proving a statement or theory to be wrong or false. 

** TaB's name it turns out was in part developed, by the IBM 1401 computer and  stylized from the "winning" name Taab. 

Surrender to the places that seduce you...

The following is the original and the rewrite can be found by clicking here.

Easily missed from the main street if you are not looking carefully; its only marker is a Carlsberg beer sign high over the alcove to the entrance. If not for the neon OPEN sign and THE HOLE IN THE WALL  embossed in gold on a window tucked back in the shadows, you would not know it is there. It may seem you should go down the stairs but don't - That is not the way in.

Inside, the space is narrow and long, with the bar along one wall. There is a rustic feel to the space with the wooden floor, the brickwork walls, and the back lit stained glass over the bar; all complimented by the eclectic style of the booths, the art on the wall, and the music in the background... there is a warmth that invites you to take a seat and sample the many craft beers, try the cocktails they can make or enjoy the food they offer - An oddly familiar sensation of being in a speakeasy takes hold; a bygone era that with a little imagination becomes real. 

The people come in waves, leaving the bar empty one moment and full the next. Standing room only on a Friday or Saturday night with live music filling the air, only ever escaping into the street when the door is opened.

It is a place I keep returning to (alone or with friends), as if being seduced by a forbidden lover. 

I would not go so far as to say I am a "regular" but there was one time my beer was poured and in front of me as I sat down; a brown ale called 10w30 from a local craft brewery. It is my beer of choice, Woodford Reserve is my bourbon of choice, and an incredible bacon cheeseburger is my default for food. 

It is curious how a place can seize you and create a connection never to be forgotten; The Village Kitchen and Pie Shoppe in California, the Ranstead Room in Philadelphia, the Hotel de la Montagne bar in Montreal*, and now The Hole In The Wall - I will carry them with me always. These places spur on the human condition I suppose... they give us a place to savour all of our senses, be a voyeur or an exhibitionist, remain solitary or be social, and allow for engagement in the conversations that bring us together. 

They whisper your name, forever calling you like a great love, "Come join me, I am waiting. We have much to talk about."

Surrender to the seduction, but don't pick just any place.

iamgpe

* I almost broke down and cried when I heard they demolished the Hotel de la Montagne. The bar in the lobby was truly one of a kind. 

A time capsule: Memories of developing successful sales teams.

The following is the original and the rewrite can be found by clicking here.

I was recently rummaging around my makeshift office* and came across a very neat stack of papers held together with a large paperclip; on further inspection I just started to smile. It was one of those smiles that come with grand memories, special moments, and one’s refection on personal growth.

This stack of paper span about five years and in its totality could be called a “Sales Team Development Program”; it represented the iterative events that started with a dramatic expansion of an Inside Sales Team, included the development of an inside sales training program, and finished with the creation of a development program that included the hiring, training and strategic deployment of outside sales representatives. It contained the original “pitch slide”, detailed sales reports, an overview of the development program, people metrics, insight into managing the Y Generation, performance dashboards, “hits & misses”, recommendation slides, and a picture of the original inside sales team.

It was the time capsule from a very exciting time.

As you would expect, there were ample revenue metrics... revenue to plan, revenue growth, revenue by person, etcetera (there are many ways to look at revenue data it seems), but what also struck me was the amount of information and thinking we had regarding people, their development, and culture - I have always believed “people are everything" but can't help wonder if my beliefs shaped the documents or vice versa... I suspect a little of both.

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Armed upfront with the competencies needed to be successful in the role, I would hire and on-board people who showed abilities to develop into those competencies, were effective communicators, would fit into the culture (team), and had the potential to be promoted (exported) into advanced roles. An effective hire was important.

As important as an effective hire was, development of that hire was imperative. 

Development is the socialization of behaviours and competencies that leads to a highly skilled team, higher productivity, low unwanted turnover and a culture of excellence. Each team member is taken through an iterative process of Assessment / Planning / Implementation and Rhythm to develop competency and behaviour; a positive impact would be seen as the momentum of competency success increased, not only with the individual but the overall team. I should point out when I say positive impact I'm specifically referring to revenue growth and over plan performance.

Some of the competencies evolved over the years, such as SPIN selling changing to PSS or calling out Revenue Plan Achievement in a clearer fashion (in the beginning it was part of Accelerating/Closing) but I never changed the framework for developing successful sales teams. It just seemed to work.

I get that people development is time consuming and can get in the way of "hitting the number" or the rigor of those weekly deep dive forecasting calls with finance, but as my time capsule has reminded me, a well developed team can make "hitting the number" much, much easier.

iamgpe.

* It seems my office is now wherever my laptop is but I still have a designated area for my printer and important files. As a note to myself, I should look through those files to see if they really are that important.