Integrity and Aspirations
Monday, July 30, 2007
Are these two on a collision course?If not, how do they get blended? Since the Enron and MCI debacles of recent history ethics has been a required element of the continuing education we CPAs must engage in each year, so it was no surprise when the May 2007 edition of the Bisk Financial Accounting & Management Report carried a segment on continuous auditing and business ethics.In the interview, Dr. L. Murphy Smith, an accounting professor at Texas A&M, says that he asks his students "What's your highest aspiration?" Some of the more common answers are wealth, fame, popularity and integrity. Then Dr. Smith made a statement that hit me like the proverbial 2 by 4. He said, "If there is one thing I've learned is, if integrity is second in any of the alternatives (aspirations), then it is subject to sacrifiice in a situation where a choice must be made."Wow! I had never looked at integrity in that light before, but what Dr. Smith says makes perfect sense. The time when our integrity faces its greatest challenge is when that brass ring, that life-long dream, is within reach, but it requires us to sacrifice our integrity to reach it.
It's counter-intuitive, but making integrity our highest aspiration can help us avoid actions that threaten everything we value in life - our family, friends, livelihood and freedom.If there are topics you'd like me to address in The Invaluable Leader, please let me know. Send your requests to dale@furtwengler.com.
A Fatal Flaw
Monday, July 23, 2007
Good door openers aren't always good salespeople.What to look for when hiring salespeople.Recently, one of my clients hired a very personable young lady who had a knack for opening doors to new prospects. Her ability was soon overshadowed by her reluctance to demand fair compensation for my client's offerings. Why did this happen? More importantly, how do you avoid this problem? In sales, good door openers are often pleasers. They have a powerful need to feel the approval of others and, consequently, do whatever it takes to fulfill that need. Their ability to please is what allows them to be good door openers. It's also the reason why they find it difficult to ask for a fair deal. The financial consequences for a company who employs a door opener as a salesperson are horrendous. Not only does the door opener generate lots of unprofitable business, she makes it difficult to for any other salesperson to take over the account and make it profitable. When customers become accustomed to getting what they want all the time, they're less likely to want to negotiate in the future. It's human nature. It's counter-intuitive, but when you're hiring salespeople look for people who are a little demanding, who are willing to walk away if your job doesn't offer them what they feel they need to be successful. They are likely to take the same tact when selling on your behalf. Please share your counter-intuitive approaches to identifying effective salespeople. Email them to me at dale@furtwengler.com.
Lessons from iPhone
Monday, July 16, 2007
Should your marketing target pain or dreams?Which approach creates the greatest urgency to buy?Generally buyers are more pain averse than dream acquisitive. That's why targeting buyers' pain is likely to generate sales more quickly than targeting their dreams. Not so with the iPhone. What's the difference and how do we know when to use dreams instead of pain in our marketing?The key is history. The reason that iPhone could target their customers' dreams and be confident that it would generate sales quickly is the success of the iPod. It's the experience iPod owners had that allowed them to dream with such high expectations about the iPhone. Without the prior experience, their dreams of the iPhone's promises would have been fraught with doubt about it's ability to deliver on its promises. The doubt would have been great enough to seriously limit the dream-marketing approach Apple used.If you want to get the most of dream marketing, use it on the heels of tremendous success. It may be counter-intuitive, but that's one time that targeting dreams will produce higher sales than targeting pain.Our readers would like to hear your counter-intuitive insights on marketing. Please submit them as a comment or email them to me for future use in The Invaluable Leader Blog. I will, of course, recognize your contribution. Email me at dale @furtwengler.com.
Silence Is Golden
Monday, July 09, 2007
Do you want to make better hiring decisions?Strive for no response.I just finished reading Linda Henman's book, Magnetic Boss. A wonderfully easy read with great insights. Linda cites one of her favorite passages from Pierre Mornell's book, Hiring Smart. Mr. Mornell suggests that, when checking references, call references at what you assume will be their lunchtime. Your goal is to reach an assistant or voicemail. How's that for counter-intuitive? Whether you reach the assistant or voicemail, leave the following message emphazing the last sentence: "John (or Jane) Jones is a candidate for (the position) in our company. Your name has been given as a reference. Please call me back if the candidate was outstanding." If you don't hear back from the reference, their silence speaks volumes about the candidate. It's counter-intuitve, but striving for no response may tell you exactly what you need to know to make a smart hiring decision. If you have other counter-intuitive tips for recruiting, please email them to me at dale@furtwengler.com.
A Dr. Phil Perspective On Financial Information
Monday, July 02, 2007
How do you view financial information?How's that workin' for ya?Dr. Phil has become famous for his question "How's that workin' for ya?" Indeed, it's an excellent question. We can apply that same question to financial information. How do you view financial information? Many business people view financial statements as a measure of their success - it's their report card. All together now - "How's that workin' for ya?" I think most of us would say "Not very well." Whatever the financial result our natural inclination is to go down the path of coulda, woulda, shoulda. From that vantage point we're always critical of our performance, less so in good financial times, but we almost always say "We could have achieved... if only...." In other words, using the report card approach to financial information inevitably leads to self-criticism, self-doubt and, possibly, loss of self-confidence. What's the alternative? View your financial information as a learning tool. Based on the decisions we made, the actions we took and the results we got, what did we learn? Notice the absence of judgment about past decisions. The learning tool approach recognizes that the financial information we have today is dramatically different than the information available at the time we made the decision. It may be counter-intuitive, but the real value of financial information is its abiltiy to promote learning. Please let me know what topics you'd like addressed. Just email me at dale@furtwengler.com.
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