From Good, To Great To Extraordinary
It is perhaps more important now, than it has been at any time during the past 80 years, for front-line sales leaders to acquire the right coaching skills for teaching fundamentals and encouraging exceptional performance and loyalty from their teams. The ability to coach, as much as anything else, may be the largest single contributing factor to sales health in the next few years. In many cases, the success or failure of many companies may depend on it.
“Coaching” has become one of the buzzwords of the new millennium. Coaches have always been important in sports, but the idea of coaching has permeated everyday life, including business. For just about anything you can think of, you can find a coach. You can even find so-called Life Coaches who purportedly will coach you into better living habits!
Some of the better sales consulting firms advise sales managers to become effective coaches for their sales teams. While I absolutely agree with this advice, I think it's important to examine the practice of coaching and to understand what makes an effective coach in any discipline.
There are, in my opinion, three types of effective coaches. At the lowest level there is the good coach. The middle level is occupied by the great coach. Extraordinary coaches occupy the very top level of coaching.
All effective coaches share at least one admirable talent – the ability to teach. Teaching techniques for any discipline vary widely, but you cannot coach effectively unless you can teach. It's not so important how coaches teach as it is what they teach that distinguishes the three levels of coaching.
A good coach, for example, effectively teaches the fundamentals, whether it's the rudiments in drumming, the compulsory figures in figure skating, or the basics of the baseline and net game strokes in tennis. Good coaches don't have to be superstars in their fields. The ability to effectively teach fundamentals is the most important attribute of the good coach.
The great coach is not only adept at teaching the fundamentals, but also possesses the ability to extract superb performance from his or her students. The great coach sees in a student what others don't see and, many times, what the student doesn't see. Great coaches know intuitively how to motivate those students who have exceptional talent to give exceptional performances. Great coaches have the ability to coax superior performances from their students that the students themselves may not believe they are capable of delivering.
Then there is the extraordinary coach. There aren't many of these. These coaches are master teachers of the fundamentals who routinely coax the very best performances from their students. What sets the extraordinary coaches apart from all other coaches is their ability and willingness to show their students how what they learn can be applied for their benefit to the rest of their lives.
Next month we will examine the role of the sales manager as coach, and we will explore how sales managers might go from good, to great, to extraordinary coaches of their sales teams.
Tell us what you think
Peter Drucker's Advice For Managing In a Tough Economy
Tell us what you think
Published Articles and Webcasts
Interested readers can access additional, current Selling Up articles and webcasts on some notable websites, including CustomerThink.com and CustomerManagementIQ.com. These websites focus on customer management and offer compelling articles and commentary written for E-Suite executives.
“Coaching” has become one of the buzzwords of the new millennium. Coaches have always been important in sports, but the idea of coaching has permeated everyday life, including business. For just about anything you can think of, you can find a coach. You can even find so-called Life Coaches who purportedly will coach you into better living habits!
Some of the better sales consulting firms advise sales managers to become effective coaches for their sales teams. While I absolutely agree with this advice, I think it's important to examine the practice of coaching and to understand what makes an effective coach in any discipline.
There are, in my opinion, three types of effective coaches. At the lowest level there is the good coach. The middle level is occupied by the great coach. Extraordinary coaches occupy the very top level of coaching.
All effective coaches share at least one admirable talent – the ability to teach. Teaching techniques for any discipline vary widely, but you cannot coach effectively unless you can teach. It's not so important how coaches teach as it is what they teach that distinguishes the three levels of coaching.
A good coach, for example, effectively teaches the fundamentals, whether it's the rudiments in drumming, the compulsory figures in figure skating, or the basics of the baseline and net game strokes in tennis. Good coaches don't have to be superstars in their fields. The ability to effectively teach fundamentals is the most important attribute of the good coach.
The great coach is not only adept at teaching the fundamentals, but also possesses the ability to extract superb performance from his or her students. The great coach sees in a student what others don't see and, many times, what the student doesn't see. Great coaches know intuitively how to motivate those students who have exceptional talent to give exceptional performances. Great coaches have the ability to coax superior performances from their students that the students themselves may not believe they are capable of delivering.
Then there is the extraordinary coach. There aren't many of these. These coaches are master teachers of the fundamentals who routinely coax the very best performances from their students. What sets the extraordinary coaches apart from all other coaches is their ability and willingness to show their students how what they learn can be applied for their benefit to the rest of their lives.
Next month we will examine the role of the sales manager as coach, and we will explore how sales managers might go from good, to great, to extraordinary coaches of their sales teams.
Tell us what you think
Peter Drucker's Advice For Managing In a Tough Economy
I can almost see Professor Peter Drucker, widely acknowledged as the creator and inventor of modern management, gazing out his office window at
Claremont
Graduate
University
and pondering the widespread economic malaise that has affected nearly every industry and company worldwide.
For me, Peter Drucker’s genius was not only the original thinking he recorded in timeless writings, but his ability to remind managers of the obvious – those truths that stand directly in front of us and that we sometimes forget or fail to see in the rush of our busy daily lives.
In this time of unprecedented volatility and economic decline, Professor Drucker would undoubtedly counsel senior executives to get back to the basics of business management. Getting back to basics might include:
1) Answering the question, “What is our business?”
For me, Peter Drucker’s genius was not only the original thinking he recorded in timeless writings, but his ability to remind managers of the obvious – those truths that stand directly in front of us and that we sometimes forget or fail to see in the rush of our busy daily lives.
In this time of unprecedented volatility and economic decline, Professor Drucker would undoubtedly counsel senior executives to get back to the basics of business management. Getting back to basics might include:
1) Answering the question, “What is our business?”
2) Focusing intensely on the customer
3) Leading change instead of trying to manage change
4) Developing talent
What is our business?
One of the most difficult questions for senior managers to answer is “What is our business?” Getting the right answer to this question is not only crucial for the new business, it is equally critical for the business that hopes to continue operations over the long term.
Not long ago the CEO of a major media company said in an interview that his executives could not clearly articulate exactly what business their company was in. As strange as this sounded, he continued to explain that it is one of the most difficult questions executives must answer about their businesses.
A business may start with the right answer to this question, and can become a successful enterprise in executing a strategy that exploits a correct answer. Continually pondering the question, however, even in times of great success, can lead to even greater success and growth.
Take Apple Computer, for example. Steve Jobs, the company’s CEO, guided the development of a niche computer manufacturer that provided consistent profits to shareholders over many years. So why, just a short time ago, did he change the name of the company from Apple Computer to simply Apple?”
Steve Jobs knew that his customers sang the praises of Apple computers to anyone who would listen and were fiercely loyal to the company and its products. Apple manufactured and delivered computers, but the company’s customers bought much more than a box filled with semiconductor chips and circuit boards.
Apple’s CEO has known for a long time that the question, “What is our business?” must be asked not from his perspective, but from the perspective of the company’s customers.
Steve Jobs realized that Apple’s business was providing its customers with way-cool, simple, elegant and reliable devices that looked great, stood out from the crowd, and were acknowledged by everyone, including competitors, as leading-edge products in their respective categories.
Mr. Jobs also clearly understood what Professor Drucker meant when he said, “the product of a business is a satisfied customer.” Steve Jobs took this a step further and decided that if a satisfied customer was good, an evangelical, almost fanatical and loyal customer was even better!
Because he knew what his customers wanted from Apple today and tomorrow, he began introducing new products like the iPod and now the iPhone. Like the Mac, these new products are way-cool, simple, elegant and reliable devices that look great, stand out from the crowd, and are acknowledged by everyone, including competitors, as leading-edge products in their markets. Apple customers want all this and more – they want to be members of an exclusive club, aloof from the crowded PC user marketplace.
Apple continues to innovate, to provide its customers with what they want, at a price they are willing to pay, and that keeps them excited, loyal and anxious to march into the future with the company. Professor Drucker would be pleased to see that Steve Jobs can clearly articulate Apple’s answer to the difficult question, “What is our business?”
Focus Intensely On The Customer
The professor would remind us all that it is the customer that provides the foundation on which every business is built. Creating customers is the primary task of business. “To satisfy the customer,” advises Drucker “is the mission and purpose of every business.”
Drucker would advise senior executives to talk directly to customers, and to talk to them as often as practical. Instead of relying on the assessments of the marketing folks, Drucker would admonish senior leaders to leave the insulation and isolation of their offices and to visit regularly with customers.
He would advise executives to learn first-hand how customers view the company. What do they think of the company’s products and services? How well do the products or services satisfy customer wants, and what might be done to provide even greater satisfaction? What other products and services excite the company’s customers? What do customers want today and what might they want from the company tomorrow?
If the company CEO doesn’t ask these questions everyday, or doesn’t demand from his immediate subordinates answers to these questions each day, who in the organization will ask the questions?
Lead Change
Professor Drucker would also advise senior managers to stop attempting to manage change, and to lead change instead. This period of economic upheaval requires change leaders – executives who see change as an opportunity and who keep their organizations prepared for continual disruption in their markets.
He would suggest that executives emphasize situation analysis, the component of the strategic planning process that reveals changes in markets and customers, technological development, competition and relevant governmental policies. Situation analysis must become a high-priority agenda item at monthly board meetings.
Effective leaders today will prepare their organizations for constant change and keep the enterprise battle-ready for an uncertain future. They will lead their organizations with confidence, and they will encourage an entrepreneurial spirit that produces continuous innovation. Great leaders know that it is innovation that keeps a business alive and gives it a fighting chance for a future.
Develop Talent
Professor Drucker viewed people not as a business cost, but as assets. He clearly saw the development of people as one of the most important tasks of management, and he saw the growing importance of knowledge workers in the modern economy. “It is certain that the emergence of the knowledge worker,” he noted, “will bring about fundamental changes in the very structure and nature of the economic system.”
He encouraged managers to tell these workers that their contributions are valued. He further advised managers to encourage the participation of knowledge workers in decisions where their expertise is important. Finally, he exhorted managers to make the knowledge workers feel like owners.
Today, with operational efficiency at a premium, and fierce competition for knowledge workers expected to increase once the economy begins to improve, developing people and avoiding a talent drain should be strategic priorities for executives.
Back To Basics
Peter Drucker might well advise business leaders today to put aside their balance sheets, even for just a few moments, and to get back to the basics of managing the modern enterprise for turbulent times.
Based on his core teachings, he would suggest that now is the precise time for senior executives to ask what truly is their business - from the customer’s perspective - to focus intensely on their customers, to stop trying to manage change and to instead lead change, and to develop the company’s talent to survive today, and to prosper in a better tomorrow.
What is our business?
One of the most difficult questions for senior managers to answer is “What is our business?” Getting the right answer to this question is not only crucial for the new business, it is equally critical for the business that hopes to continue operations over the long term.
Not long ago the CEO of a major media company said in an interview that his executives could not clearly articulate exactly what business their company was in. As strange as this sounded, he continued to explain that it is one of the most difficult questions executives must answer about their businesses.
A business may start with the right answer to this question, and can become a successful enterprise in executing a strategy that exploits a correct answer. Continually pondering the question, however, even in times of great success, can lead to even greater success and growth.
Take Apple Computer, for example. Steve Jobs, the company’s CEO, guided the development of a niche computer manufacturer that provided consistent profits to shareholders over many years. So why, just a short time ago, did he change the name of the company from Apple Computer to simply Apple?”
Steve Jobs knew that his customers sang the praises of Apple computers to anyone who would listen and were fiercely loyal to the company and its products. Apple manufactured and delivered computers, but the company’s customers bought much more than a box filled with semiconductor chips and circuit boards.
Apple’s CEO has known for a long time that the question, “What is our business?” must be asked not from his perspective, but from the perspective of the company’s customers.
Steve Jobs realized that Apple’s business was providing its customers with way-cool, simple, elegant and reliable devices that looked great, stood out from the crowd, and were acknowledged by everyone, including competitors, as leading-edge products in their respective categories.
Mr. Jobs also clearly understood what Professor Drucker meant when he said, “the product of a business is a satisfied customer.” Steve Jobs took this a step further and decided that if a satisfied customer was good, an evangelical, almost fanatical and loyal customer was even better!
Because he knew what his customers wanted from Apple today and tomorrow, he began introducing new products like the iPod and now the iPhone. Like the Mac, these new products are way-cool, simple, elegant and reliable devices that look great, stand out from the crowd, and are acknowledged by everyone, including competitors, as leading-edge products in their markets. Apple customers want all this and more – they want to be members of an exclusive club, aloof from the crowded PC user marketplace.
Apple continues to innovate, to provide its customers with what they want, at a price they are willing to pay, and that keeps them excited, loyal and anxious to march into the future with the company. Professor Drucker would be pleased to see that Steve Jobs can clearly articulate Apple’s answer to the difficult question, “What is our business?”
Focus Intensely On The Customer
The professor would remind us all that it is the customer that provides the foundation on which every business is built. Creating customers is the primary task of business. “To satisfy the customer,” advises Drucker “is the mission and purpose of every business.”
Drucker would advise senior executives to talk directly to customers, and to talk to them as often as practical. Instead of relying on the assessments of the marketing folks, Drucker would admonish senior leaders to leave the insulation and isolation of their offices and to visit regularly with customers.
He would advise executives to learn first-hand how customers view the company. What do they think of the company’s products and services? How well do the products or services satisfy customer wants, and what might be done to provide even greater satisfaction? What other products and services excite the company’s customers? What do customers want today and what might they want from the company tomorrow?
If the company CEO doesn’t ask these questions everyday, or doesn’t demand from his immediate subordinates answers to these questions each day, who in the organization will ask the questions?
Lead Change
Professor Drucker would also advise senior managers to stop attempting to manage change, and to lead change instead. This period of economic upheaval requires change leaders – executives who see change as an opportunity and who keep their organizations prepared for continual disruption in their markets.
He would suggest that executives emphasize situation analysis, the component of the strategic planning process that reveals changes in markets and customers, technological development, competition and relevant governmental policies. Situation analysis must become a high-priority agenda item at monthly board meetings.
Effective leaders today will prepare their organizations for constant change and keep the enterprise battle-ready for an uncertain future. They will lead their organizations with confidence, and they will encourage an entrepreneurial spirit that produces continuous innovation. Great leaders know that it is innovation that keeps a business alive and gives it a fighting chance for a future.
Develop Talent
Professor Drucker viewed people not as a business cost, but as assets. He clearly saw the development of people as one of the most important tasks of management, and he saw the growing importance of knowledge workers in the modern economy. “It is certain that the emergence of the knowledge worker,” he noted, “will bring about fundamental changes in the very structure and nature of the economic system.”
He encouraged managers to tell these workers that their contributions are valued. He further advised managers to encourage the participation of knowledge workers in decisions where their expertise is important. Finally, he exhorted managers to make the knowledge workers feel like owners.
Today, with operational efficiency at a premium, and fierce competition for knowledge workers expected to increase once the economy begins to improve, developing people and avoiding a talent drain should be strategic priorities for executives.
Back To Basics
Peter Drucker might well advise business leaders today to put aside their balance sheets, even for just a few moments, and to get back to the basics of managing the modern enterprise for turbulent times.
Based on his core teachings, he would suggest that now is the precise time for senior executives to ask what truly is their business - from the customer’s perspective - to focus intensely on their customers, to stop trying to manage change and to instead lead change, and to develop the company’s talent to survive today, and to prosper in a better tomorrow.
Tell us what you think
Published Articles and Webcasts
Interested readers can access additional, current Selling Up articles and webcasts on some notable websites, including CustomerThink.com and CustomerManagementIQ.com. These websites focus on customer management and offer compelling articles and commentary written for E-Suite executives.
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