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.

Bourbon versus Scotch.

The following is the original and the re-write can be found by clicking here.

I "discovered" Bourbon about two years ago and have been developing my palate ever since; along with that I have carried the presumption that everyone sees it as the finest of all the whiskeys, has the same enthusiasm for the amber ambrosia, and wants to raise a glass whenever the opportunity arises.

You know where presumption takes you? 

More or less the same place as assumption... and that brings you face to face with that ol' adage. *

Recently I had the opportunity to join a number of old friends for a weekend out of the city; an agenda of good food, relaxation by the water and at my insistence, bourbon tasting (because I am still looking for my "signature taste") - I have very obliging friends as each arrived with a different bourbon in tow. 

The tasting started in earnest the first evening after dinner with plenty of amateur commentary about bourbon, the odd "blind taste test" bet, and many life stories. It was in the middle of this I noticed someone was operating on an empty glass so I "enthusiastically" convinced him to pour another bourbon and join in. My "enthusiasm" continued as it became apparent he was not drinking. With that he looked at me, offered a frank and appropriate perspective regarding my pushy enthusiasm, took a sip and said, "I don't really like bourbon, I prefer Scotch". **

"Me, me, me... me, it's all about me, think like me, me, me; be me, me, me... you should all be like me, think like me... me, me, me..." Am I ever exhausting! (As well as humbled and embarrassed.)

You would think after all my years in sales and marketing, launching products, involvement with a focus group or two, and being someone who has always said listen for the needs of the customer, that I would have been able to "read the room" much better than I did. As I dissect why this happened (not in a neurotic way but more for intellectual understanding), I have to say it simply comes down to my enthusiasm. It was like an emotional blindness had occurred, preventing me from seeing anything else but my view on bourbon; accompanied by the enthusiastic belief that everyone else also saw it my way.

This story of "Bourbon verses Scotch" has now been added to my collection of pity stories, fables and metaphors that have come in handy over the years as I meander through business and life. Its lessons still ringing in my ears:

• It may be the best Bourbon ever made but there are people who just don't like Bourbon.
• Just because you "really, really like it" does not make other people "really, really like it".
• Ask yourself, "Is emotional blindness impacting your ability to see something for what it really is?" And then ask others.
• Look in the mirror and ask, "Is this about me?"
• Don't forget to ask the simple question, "Do you like Bourbon?"
• When someone says they like Scotch, serve them Scotch. There are some battles you just won't win.

The next time I see Kevin I will buy him a Scotch, thank him for his patience, and for giving me this story. I will have Bourbon... I really don't like Scotch.

iamgpe

* They say when you "assume", you make an ASS of U and ME.

** Three weeks earlier a group of us caught up for drinks and Kevin had a Scotch when we all had Bourbon. It was an $18 Scotch so I think it's fair to assume (see above) he's quite sure about his whiskey of choice. Interesting how I knew he liked Scotch but was blind to it.