Category Archives: Musings

Why Do We Say “Happy” on Memorial Day?

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Despite all the problems we have here in the U.S.A. Its remains the greatest country to live in. The multiple freedoms that we enjoy came at a heavy cost, the lives of those who chose to fight for our country.

To all the Marines, Army, Navy, Air Force members who paid the ultimate price I owe a debt of gratitude that I will never be able to re-pay. To the 58,000 plus who gave their life in Vietnam for a war that we had no business being involved in, thank you. Thank you for going even though you were treated like an alien  upon your return to an ungrateful country.

Today you can see the enormity of all those lives by visiting the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington D.C. It’s a humbling experience.

Iraq and Afghanistan have added thousands more to that toll with most of them in the 18 – 24 years old range. That’s too many lost sons & daughters, brothers & sisters, fathers & mothers, nieces & nephews, & grand children in the prime of their life.

I live near Camp Pendleton, the busiest military base in America and I see these kids everyday ready to pay that price. Kids from small towns to large cities, who would rather be hanging with their friends back in Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, New York, California & any other state in the U.S. but made the decision to keep us free another day, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Don’t think they’re not afraid, they are, but they also believe in keeping a commitment they made to their friends, family & country.

I don’t have an answer for the Happy Memorial Day greeting but I do believe that it shouldn’t be “Happy” when we honoring those who have lost their life.

So instead of getting wasted on Memorial Day do something for these kids.

 Even if it’s a simple “thank you for your service.”

SEMPER FI

Merry Xmas To Those Who Mean The Most

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TOM KIZER

As I’m writing this blog this morning listening to different renditions of  “Oh Holy Night,” sung by Celine Dion, Christina Aguilera, & the master of the aria Andrea Bocelli, images of three people keep popping into my head very vividly and a mixture of joy, happiness, and elation are combined with a tremendous amount of sadness.

As many people know I lost my life long best friend, my brother Tom Kizer this past April to Stage 4 Non-Hodgkin’s Leukemia. It’s hard when you lose someone very close to you and in your heart you know that you’ll never get another chance to spend a Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year’s Eve with them ever again. I’ll never get to laugh, cry or just hanging out with Tom and that fills me with great sorrow.  His passing has left a tremendous hole in my heart and a day doesn’t go by that I don’t think about him.

So to you Tom, wherever you may be, Merry Christmas and I hope to see you again someday.

TRENT & TREVOR KIZER

My sons, Trent and Trevor bring me incredible happiness and joy. I’m not sure what I did right in life to deserve to be their father but I thank my God each and every day for those two gifts.  It may sound a bit sappy but every time one of them wraps their little arms around me and says “I Love You” I feel complete by that one statement, that one show of affection.  They’re both very bright, loving children who love spending time with me and I couldn’t even begin to count the blessings that are called Trent and Trevor Kizer.

I won’t pretend that I knew what the phrase unconditional love meant prior to being a parent. I had some ideas of what I thought it meant but, boy was I ever wrong. I’ll never forget the first time that I held 1 day old Trevor for an extended period and I started singing “You Are My Sunshine” to him and the tears flowed. That was the exact moment that I learned what the definition of unconditional love means to me.

Incidentally Trevor will be 11 on the 7th of this month and I continue to be amazed by both my sons.

These are the three people whom I think about the most; the loss of one, and the growth of the other two.

The holidays are about family. Mine got smaller by one but the two that are left will make my Christmas a joyous one. I hope that yours will be filled with those who mean the most to you.

Resolutions

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Welcome to the last few days of 2010. This time of year is always interesting. It’s a time of reflection upon another year of goals met and the ones that we just missed. Of course it’s also a time to look forward and make resolutions that we know we’re not going to keep. I think that making resolutions is just a way of making ourselves temporarily feel better about ourselves only to be followed by feelings of failure and shame because we didn’t reach our goals.

Know what month gyms sell the most new memberships? Right, it’s January. Know what month those gyms empty out of the resolution makers? Right again, it’s January, usually around the end of the month. By now the gym has you on a 1 year airtight contract that you’re left paying for without any results. So not only are you still miserably out of shape, you’re out several hundred dollars and you spit on the ground everytime you  hear the word “gym.”

I was at dinner tonight with some friends and the topic of New Year’s Resolutions came up. It was a clear consensus that no one at the table was going to make any resolutions for 2011 for the simple fact they had always failed and one person at the table put it in a way that even I could understand. She said that too many people made resolutions that they had no interest in, i.e., joining a gym rather than doing some they liked such as walking along the beach.

So what resolutions is Bill going to make for the New Year? None, absolutely zero.

Happy New Year!!!

Life’s Crossroads

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Have you ever come to a crossroads in your life and not known which branch to take? They all seemed about the same at the time but in retrospect they were about the same as night and day.

So, what to do, you ask? Beats the heck out of me, I can’t answer for anyone else but myself. Making wise decisions was never my forte when I was younger and I’ve only got smarter as a result of repeatedly taking the wrong road. Taking short cuts seemed to be the easier, softer way, and they were fun. But life has a way of turning shortcuts into valuable life lessons.  Fast forward a few years to 2001. I had a small business and my partner ran off with our remaining $91,000, left the country and me with few options.

See where this is going? Crossroads? Decisions? I was at a crossroads and I was willing to listen to others. I received a call from a friend who had been selling Oracle software for a few years. He had made the switch from Oracle to Sage and was the Sales Manager at Sage’s largest partner.

He asked if I wanted to come to work for him selling software. I told him “sure” but I’d never sold software. He told me not to worry, he’d teach me everything that I needed to learn. Thus, my career in the world of software began. He left the company shortly after hiring me but I wanted to stay because I was really enjoying what I was doing.

The owner of that company became my first software mentor and even though I left his company I still consider him a friend today. Occasionally we get together for lunch (almost always sushi) and we catch up with each other.

When I left his company I was at a crossroads, I thought that it was time to take what I had learned out “into the world.” It wasn’t my best decision. The difference in this decision and the ones that I made when I was younger; was that I was making this decision to take better care of my family.

Since then I’ve had to make a lot of crucial  decisions, but that’s part of life, making decisions each and every day and the one thing that I keep in mind when I’m making those decisions is this, how is this going to affect my family?

One of the hardest decisions that I’ve had to make in the past year was my relationship with my son’s mother and how we both knew it was time for me to get my own place. I remember leaving the house that night and I was filled with a feeling of  ”failing.” I sat in my car that night for a long time wondering how things had gotten to this. Since that night to right now I’ve grown more and as a result of that growth I have become a better person. I make sure that my wife has plenty of whatever she needs to continue to give the boys what they need and I treat her with the up most respect because no matter what she’ll always be their mother and I’ll always be their father and I’ll always be the father I never had. I don’t talk bad to the boys about their mother Why do I do this? Because it’s the right thing to do.  As a result of doing the right thing I get to spend quality time with them and that’s extremely important to me.

I was at a crossroads when I left the house and I had two roads to take, the first would have been the selfish one and my sons would have had to pay for that. The second and the most rewarding road is the one when I do things for other people because it’s the right thing.

I’m Not Your Peer

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(All photographs are from the 1957 Film Classic 12 Angry Men)

Here I sit in the jury lounge with approx 100 other people, none who want to be there all hoping not to have to sit through the voir doire phase of picking a jury.

I’ve used all kinds of excuses to get out of going, but I think I’m on to something with this one. How about a narcoleptic with tourettes? You’re either snoring or cursing. The prosecutor and
defendant’s attorney couldn’t get you out of that courtroom fast enough.

The real reason that I dislike jury duty so much and don’t believe in it is simple. Defendants are given the right to have a jury of their peers determine their fate.

Follow me on this; I’ve never robbed a business or another person. I’ve never shot another person, I’ve never stole a car, nor have I been involved in a high speed chase attempting to elude arrest. Using that as comparison criterion I’m not one of the defendants peers therefore making me ineligible to be on a jury of their peers.

So if I’ve never been involved in the various array of criminal activities that most defendants are how can I be a peer? Shouldn’t their peers be like minded individuals who participate in the same behaviors that the defendant does?

The 6th Amendment guarantees the accused the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury. Speedy and public? You bet. Impartial? No way. There is no way on this Earth that I could be impartial to a drunk driver crashing into another car and taking lives as a result of his/her drunk fest. Who is so cold that they could sit through an entire trial listening and learning that the victim was a vibrant person in the peak of their lives and not be impartial? Not me. Hang him/her, take their lives just like the one they took out. Compassionate? Yes. Impartial, sorry I’m not your guy.

They are under the misconception that Moms, Dads, working people, students, etc.can make one of the important decisions for someone else basing those decisions on a singular incident in the defendants life on a very small amount of information that has been choreographed by the respective attorneys to win a case for their client.

Remember that as a good defense attorney the one question that is never asked of their paying client/defendant is “Did you do it?” Neither the prosecutor or defense attorney ask a question that they don’t already know the answer to. I think those two items are taught on the very first day of law school.

There is no way that I could sit through a trial as a juror, listen to all the evidence without falling asleep, not let my mind wander. The truth is most course cases are boring events.

Personally I’d rather leave my fate up to the experience of the man sitting on the bench. At least he understands the law and should know how to interpret the evidence.

By the way, we just heard the announcement that all 4 trials that were trailing (whatever that means) have been settled and none of the potential jurors are going to be needed and you’ve never seen 100 people exit a building faster than those that were in that room. That qualifies me as a citizen in good standing for attempting to fufill my civic duty.

Safe for another year.

Working More, Enjoying It Less?

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Weren’t we told that computers were going to make our lives easier? Allow us to spend more time with our families? Play more golf? Take that long overdue family vacation? That was the concept, but it just hasn’t turned out that way, has it?

Those of us who are natural-born workaholics now have VPNs and other methods of connectivity that keep us tied to our laptops, iPads, iPhones, Black Berry’s. I spent a solid hour at Verizon playing with the new Droid Incredible a few weeks ago and found a new tool that will keep me “more in touch.” With over 150,000 apps there isn’t too much that you can’t do on an iPhone, iPad or even the iPod touch.

While these innovations are really cool, they keep us closely tethered to the office 24/7. We can run, but we can’t hide.

More than 10 years ago, when the work day was over, it was over. You simply got into your car, went home and didn’t give work another thought. And even if you did think of something, there wasn’t anything you could do until you arrived on the job the next day. It could wait.

Are we more productive?
But the question is this: Are we being more productive as a result of all this technology?

According to Kelly Services, “Global Workforce Index (via eMarketer) shows that no less than 78% of workers in the U.S. & Canada – across all generations – believed that technology, such as laptops and mobile phones have effectively increased their productivity. Over half of the respondents even said they felt ‘much more’ productive, and only 2% said made them worse workers.” (Slackers)

Other key findings: More than 7 in 10 workers from across the globe considered the ability to work outside of the office a ‘positive’ development, and a whoppping 87% agreed that telecommuting was an attractive benefit to any job.

In addition, 30% in North America, 33% in Europe and 41% in the Asia-Pacific region agreed that they were working longer hours because of mobile communications.

Okay, so we’re working more hours, are more productive, BUT are we making more money? Are we enjoying it more? The jury’s still out. It’s a yes and no answer, here.

While some of us may be making more money, it’s likely the U.S. government is taking more in taxes. Add additional state taxes into that equation and the disposable income level falls about 40% less than the gross amount earned.  And we have less time to enoy the extra money because we’re working longer hours!

Or as educator and author of Overcoming Time Poverty, Bill Quain puts it, “Many people are playing a work game that robs them of quality time.” Quain explains that most employees trade their time for dollars on a job. If they need more money, then they have to ’sell’ more of their time. “Soon, they spend so much time working for money they have too little time for everything else,” says Quain.

One thing is clear: The definition of work-day is growing up.  Are you growing along with it, or you fighting it?

So You’re Going To Your 1st Network Event

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 If you’re heading to a networking event, make sure you know why you’re going. I believe in having objectives. What’s yours? Are you looking for a job? Are you looking for contacts or a mentor to provide guidance or are you “just going” because your employer wants you to?  

You’ve arrived at the event. Now what do I do, you ask yourself. Do you head for the buffet table & stuff your face or do you head straight for the bar & get blitzed? No, remember you have an objective, now’s not the time to get distracted by food or drink.  

Here’s some tips that may help you get through your very first networking event. 

  1. 1. Dress & act professionally. Shake hands firmly, make eye contact & show respect. A networking event can be a dress rehearsal for a job interview. 

  2.  2. Men & women remember only those who stand out from the crowd. Be assertive, not obnoxious, you want to project self assurance.  
  3. Bring cards. There’s nothing worse than establishing a good relationship with someone, not having any cards & having to scratch contact information on a cocktail napkin. Spend a few dollars for professional looking cards on quality stock & please remember this tip; even though your friends may know you as “Too Hot To Trot,” stick to a serious email address for business.  
  4. Don’t monopolize people’s time. People want to mingle at networking events. Understand the person you’re speaking with has a life that extends beyond you. 
  5. If someone says, “Sorry, we don’t have anything right now,” ask follow-up questions: “What’s the outlook for future possibilities? Do you know anyone else in the industry who might have something? Any thoughts on what my next step should be?” Persistence shows true interest on your part & may help the person you’re networking with come up with ideas he might otherwise overlook.   
  6. Send a follow-up email within 24 hours expressing your thanks for getting the opportunity to me them & spend a few minutes getting to know more about them & their business. Also, ask for the permission to call them from time to time. If your budget allows, ask them for lunch.  
  7. Don’t Lie. It’s tempting to say, “Bob gave me your name & told me to call.” It might get you a meeting, eventually Bill will learn that Bob didn’t tell you to call. You’ll have burned not 1, but 2 bridges. 
  8. Have a good time, enjoy yourself & remember not to take yourself too seriously.

New Technology vs. Long Term Relationship

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Just in case you haven’t noticed, there is a new normal in doing business, however, the basis of sales is still asking questions & actively listening, your client or prospect will tell you what they want or don’t want.

I was talking to a partner recently & he was bragging about new technologies he was employing within his practice. But, his core business had not improved & so I suggested to him that he should be asking himself  “Have I adapted my new technologies to better fit my clients?” He replied, “Technology adapted strategically by small and mid size businesses can really make the difference.” 

Frankly I don’t care if my employer has developed any new technologies. (That’s if I had an employer)

Do I disagree with him? You bet I do.

People don’t business with technology, they do business with people, so you can have all of the new technology, solutions & resources at your finger tips, but if you can’t build long term relationships with your prospects & customers all your technology will just gather dust.

Here’s a good example of this: 3-4 years ago a company thought they needed MAS500. They were absolutely convinced by a VAR  that nothing less robust than MAS500 was going to fit their long term needs.

We did our MAS500 product presentation, but at the end of the day I knew that they didn’t need MAS500 & I wasn’t comfortable with trying to jam MAS500 down their throats just because

a) We needed the sale

b) Our MAS500 consultant needed the work

c) We needed the sale to maintain our tier.

Lest I forget, they didn’t have the budget for MAS500.

Notice that I said that we opened up with a product presentation because we let a customer dictate our sales methodology. I don’t let this happen but I was brought into the process after it started and I was squirming through the entire presentation. They hadn’t been asked any hard hitting qualification questions other than the budget  question, so the VAR that I was with ran with what he thought they were willing to pay.

A couple of weeks later I took the controller out to lunch and told him that after spending some time with him and completing a Needs Analysis that the product he should be looking was MAS200. The difference in cost was about $75K with all the bells & whistles. 

Later that week the CFO got fired & the project went cold. Now fast forward a few years, he’s the CFO at another company, we have lunch at least once a month & because we’re both baseball fans; we have gone to a San Diego Padres game & plan on going to more this season. He has sent me pictures of his 7 month old baby & keeps me up to date with what’s happening at his company.

See a trend developing? It’s called building a relationship. 

About 2-3 weeks ago he called to let me know that they now have a firm purchase date for a Sage product & guess who is going to get the sale? That’s right me.

As the controller told me once, that they had 4 VARs come in initially and I was the only one who had bothered to stay in touch. I haven’t stayed in touch with him because I thought there was an imminent sale on the horizon, When they finally purchase a solution this May it will have been 4-5 years since our initial meeting. I do it because I enjoy his company & we have similar interests like baseball.

Did we dazzle them with technology? Not even. I simply asked questions and then actively listened to what he had to say. I was just doing what was he & I together felt was best for him and the future of his company. 

More importantly I have never tried to peddle software. I’ve been there when he’s had questions.  

Try it, I guarantee you that not only will your pipeline be full of quality prospects, but you’ll have happier clients because they know that you have their interest in mind and that you will be there no matter what. 

Happy 2010

What Differentiates You?

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What skills do you have that make you different? Is product knowledge enough to keep a client or attract new prospects? What is IT about you that makes people want to do business with YOU?  

Is product knowledge enough? I don’t think so. Anyone can learn  just enough about a product to make themselves dangerous, yet appear competent, trustworthy & deserving of the prospects business. But what happens when the s%*t hits the fan? If all you’ve learned is project knowledge then it won’t take long for your customer to figure out your competency level.   

What about passion for work? First let’s define the word passion. My definition is simple, “it’s having a deep affection or love for something or someone. Can you have a love for the work that you do? Absolutely. Unfortunately we most often hear about people who are dispassionate about their job. The ones who love their job just go about their business quietly & normally exceed the expectations that their job requires. Webster’s definition;” ardent affection: a strong liking or desire for or devotion to some activity, object, or concept. 

So is passion enough to differentiate you from your competition? While it will make you more pleasant to be around just having passion isn’t enough. Pure passion can lead to making emotional decisions in stressful situations when  a more business rationale  is in order for some situations.  

It’s my opinion that while product knowledge & passion are important pieces to the differentiator question it’s integrity that completes the equation. Wikipedia defines integrity as “a consistency of actions, values, measures, principles, expectations & outcome,” 

You want to be better than your competition?  

  1. Know more about your product than he does.
  2. Research his business & learn his industry.
  3. Have a deep seeded passion for what you do.
  4. Be consistent in your methodologies & you’ll become consistent in your outcomes.

Good Selling!

Diversifying Your Job Search

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Albert Einstein said, “Insanity is to keep doing the same thing over and over expecting different results.”

You saw an ad for an upcoming job fair. You pre-register convinced that the companies listed in the ad are going to be there with real jobs. You make extra copies of your resume, put on your best suit & off you go, ready to conquer the world.

But a funny thing happens when you get two blocks from the venue. The street is packed with cars, but being the opportunist that you are pull into the parking lot only to all the parking stalls are full. You park 3 blocks away, turn the corner to the entrance & “oh my” there’s a line of people just like you that snakes around the building.

It’s then that you realize you would have better spent your time re-arranging your sock drawer.

How many Job Fairs have you attended expecting to find the ideal career position with the ideal company only to find the venue & parking lot packed with the unemployed all hoping that this is going to be their day; only to be disappointed because there weren’t any. If you’ve gone to enough job fairs you will find the same companies attend job fairs with no real jobs in their arsenal.

I think that most candidates fall into 3 categories.

1.      The recent starry eyed college graduate.

2.      The candidate who’s collecting unemployment & attending to fulfill their unemployment requirements.

3.      The candidate who’s attending just to get his/hers spouse off their back.

Continue reading →

Is It SaaS Or Is It Not?

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So the big question seems to be is it SaaS or isn’t it? Back in 2007 SAP answered “Yes.” The code name was A1S & went public with Business ByDesign. SAP hit the road running. There were some factors that could steer it off course but SAP was determined to learn everything it could about this new environment. Continue reading →

Best Practices

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What is your definition of Best Practices? Does your company employ them? Would you be surprised if the majority of your sales team didn’t have a clear understanding of what best practices are all about?

Here’s my definition. Best practices assumes that there is a technique, process or methodology that is more effective at delivering a particular outcome than any other process, methodology or technique.

While it is true that with a proper methodology, process or technique in place (and being used) your deliverables can be received by your customers with fewer problems & unforeseen complications. Continue reading →

The Joys Of Job Hunting

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 Great post. I think that this or any other Job Hunting Guide should be required reading. http://therichardsonreport.wordpress.com/

                                                    

Being the Owner of this group (LinkedIn) has it’s own issues similar to some of those you mentioned, i.e. people think that I know everyone in the industry (I don’t) so it stands to reason that I should know about the available jobs in the industry (Again, I don’t. If I did I would have found a job for me a long time ago)

So, two items I would strongly suggest if you’re looking for work & you’re a member of this group. Continue reading →

What Can You Do For Me On The Price?

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A standard question when you’re buying. An inevitable inquiry when you’re selling.
How would you respond at this moment?
Many people will respond to the question by immediately giving or implying the possibility of a discounted price. Again – great when you’re buying, a margin killer when you’re selling.
Here are the hard-dollar points to better negotiating… Continue reading →