Danita Bye and Verne Harnish

Last month I attended a fast-paced workshop led by Mastering the Rockefeller Habits author Verne Harnish. As always, Verne delivers valuable insights for business leaders. Here are some idea that resonated with me:

• One great employee can outperform three good employees.
   
• To move faster, you need to pulse faster.
   
• It may not make a difference today, tomorrow, or this month, but it will make a difference 5, 10, and 15 years from now.
   

I couldn’t agree more. A small, high-performance sales team will beat a large, undisciplined team.

This concept underscores your need to hire salespeople who will sell in your unique selling environment and avoid those candidates who merely can sell. In the shrinking workforce of the future, the task of finding high-performance sales people will become increasingly difficult. In fact, it will be tougher to find good people than it will be to find good clients! Moreover, leaders will have to act aggressively to retain these gems by building a win/win relationship that forges synergy between their personal and professional goals. Understanding their motivations—their Value Driven Dreams—will be critical. Whereas Baby Boomers were satisfied to simply work for “the man,” the emerging workforce—soon to be dominated by Gen Xers and Yers—is working for their clan while striving for personal growth and satisfaction.

• Learn coaching strategies for developing and retaining high-performance salespeople.

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To move faster, you need to pulse faster.

Sounds like a slogan for an energy drink! But, this quip highlights the power that short meetings have to keep people focused on priorities, tracking with key goals, and fostering strong performance. This technique applies especially well to salespeople who, as a group, tend to have short attention spans. Condoleeza Rice, for example, holds 10-15 minute “huddles” twice a day, at 6 a.m. and again at 6 p.m. She uses the meetings to analyze events and establish the focus for the next 12 hours. Verne suggests that every employee, including sales people should be in a short “huddle” each day.

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It may not make a difference today, tomorrow, or this month, but it will make a difference 5, 10, and 15 years from now.

This is Verne’s way of warning us about deviating from a consistent approach to management. And those of you who have worked with me, you’re probably hearing the echo of “disciplined sales management.” For instance, what if you skip a week or a month in evaluating performance against the Expectation Metrics you’ve set? Would taking your eye off the ball this month have an impact next month? Could it have a domino effect on meeting annual goals? And what about hiring the first available candidate instead of hiring A players? How will one B or C performer influence the rest of your salespeople and impact your odds of building a successful organization for the long term?

• If Verne’s quips resonate with you, read more tips in my book review or pick up Mastering the Rockefeller Habits: What You Must Do to Increase the Value of Your Fast-Growth Firm at Amazon.com.

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