Greg's Right FIT #390

Quick notes to help you grow your business in less time with less effort. . . sometime next week. 

In this issue: 

- Thoughts on Officing
- Being Human
- Random Stuff

Thoughts on Officing

• If you are the new person in the office, it's best to sit back and get a lay of the land for a while before making friends. As any grade schooler can tell you, the people most excited to get you on their side have a reason, you just don't know it yet.
• We had an unscientific way of tracking how the employees in various divisions of the company were doing. We monitored the state of the bathroom. When the team was happy, the restroom was relatively clean. And the opposite. 
• Broadly, small companies are more concerned with things outside their walls, like customers. Large ones are more focused inside, like keeping employees happy. One's not better than the other. Both need to work on balance.
• If people are back in the office, but hiding behind earbuds and not interacting, turn to ritual. Donut Friday taste testing, a 4pm visiting to "Conference Room J," and the Monday Morning MeetUp are forced interactions. Baby steps. 

Being Human - Resources

"It never gets easier, you just go faster." – Greg LeMond

In any project there are three broad sets of resources: Money, People, and Time. The easiest one to manage is, of course, money. I've written and spoken a lot about why ROI projections fall short and the emphasis on money to the exclusion of people/time is a reason why we miss. 

I get it. Especially the people part. It's hard to factor in Jimmy in IT's effect on ROI when he doesn't let go of a process, causing a delay. It's much easier to focus on the dollars in and dollars out. 

Some of this can be mitigated but the place in the sales process where you can manage it is difficult to remember. It's been a while since I scribbled for you, but today's your lucky day! We often describe the sales process as a funnel because it's a great visual for focus. At the bottom of the funnel is the sale. The place to identify challenges in people and time is right there, just before delivery. 

If you imagine the sales process as two funnels attached at the tips, once the sale happens it is time for delivery. In that tiny space before the delivery of the project happens you can address people and time resources. There's a lot of language you can use at this time, but let's address why we jump right into delivery. 

The decision process leading to the sale is exhausting. 

Back in my bike riding days we'd climb the foothills. The ascent seemed to take hours. Near the top you would hit what felt like a level patch and your body would instantly relax. This was a mistake because false summit were common. You might be another mile or two from going downhill.

The completion of the sale is a false summit. Don't relax. Your success on this sale, and future sales, depend on getting our expectations around people and timeframes. Keep pedaling! 

Good stuff. 

Random Stuff

"The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status, or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we all believe that we are above-average drivers." – Dave Barry

Last week I broke out the bicycle for the first time this summer. Last year's knee injury has kept me from anything beyond walking, but I had an opportunity to ride a quick mile to a friend's house and jumped at the chance. It's true, once you learn to ride a bicycle, you never forget. 

There was a time in my youth when I spent an unnecessary number of hours on a bicycle. I'm not referring to my little kid bike riding days (those are necessary), but my late high school and college days. Did I tell you I worked at a bike shop? If you were driving your car to work at the bike shop you needed to come up with an excuse for the decision. No matter the weather, you were expected to ride. Hard core pedal pushers, they were. 

I thought about a couple of them last night on my way to the store. I go to pick up some caffeine and non-dairy whipped cream for fresh raspberries (bumper crop happening). The store is a mile and half away. Last fall I bought myself a fancy bike pack for such errands, right before injuring myself. The tags are still on it. I imagined future Greg riding to the store for coffee, soda, and whipped cream, stuffing them in my pack. Last night, I had a chance to deliver on the promise to future me. I passed. 

It's still on my mind because as I backed out of my parking space I am nearly clipped by a maniac hurtling through the parking lot. They almost hit cars and pedestrians before screeching into the street. Then, having narrowly averted disaster, I pull out in front of another car speeding to the exit. She is not happy with me. As we wait for traffic she pulls up next to me, rolls down her window, and screams some obscenities. My lip-reading isn't great, but I think she finishes with something about kicking my ass.

I can't get to my window control in time, but I shrug, showing my hands, and try to mouth, "I wanted to ride my bike!"