Building a Coaching Culture Part 4–Keeping it Alive

As you know, coaching cultures are not infomercial ovens that promises you can just “Set it and forget it!” Keeping your coaching culture alive requires time and effort. If you neglect it, it will slip right back to where it started–the back burner.

As a leader, it’s your responsibility to enforce and maintain your new culture, this becomes increasingly difficult until you reach a tipping point where your new coach culture takes on a life of its own. Until that point, your coaching culture is at the mercy of the individuals in your organization, for example, you’ll hire new reps. You’ll bring on or promote up new managers. Your sales team, if all goes well, will grow. All along the way, you have to be intentional about taking steps to keep the integrity of your coaching culture and informing/reinforcing the integrity of your new culture.

Here are a few things that we’ve discovered to make a coaching culture stick:

Focus On Who Your Bringing Into Your Organization

‘Culture fit’ is a checkbox in nearly all hiring processes. Take that box very seriously now that coaching has been embedded in your culture. New hires need to be coachable. Know how to spot candidates that are coachable, those who may need some coaxing to warm up to it, and the red flags that someone may be coaching-resistant.

Once you have made a hire, it’s important to make them aware of your coaching culture in a direct way. Make it known that the culture exists and what exactly that means for members of the organization.

This is even more important for those who are promoted into a your organization or into a management role. Misaligned management is one of the fastest ways to destroy your coaching culture. We suggest having regular manager training sessions to ensure that your managers are impacting and adding to your coaching culture instead of working against it. If you bring in a manager that doesn’t directly report to you, make sure that you empower them to own the coaching culture just as much as you do.

Define and Check-In on What ‘Good’ Looks Like

Misalignment on what ‘good’ looks like can happen to anyone, including managers and reps who work side-by-side every day. That’s why it’s critical to regularly check in and make sure everyone’s still on the same page.

For managers, check what they’re coaching reps on once or twice a quarter. Observe the terms and phrases they use and make sure managers are still ‘speaking the same language’. One or two outliers with individual reps might be okay, but if they’re coaching the team differently from the other managers, it’s going to require action.

With reps, making sure they know what a ‘good’ call looks like is a bit easier. Get the team together for monthly best practice sessions and go over what made those calls so good. You can spontaneously ask each rep to write down the different parts of a call. Review answers and see if anyone needs refresher training (and don’t be surprised when they do, 87% of sales training is forgotten within 30 days).

As your coaching culture develops you will begin to notice that everyone will begin adopting a similar vernacular or language that is unique to your sales organization. This is something you should encourage. You should also be aware that as your organization evolves, so will your sales coaching culture. It’s important to embrace that and when you see it happening take a moment to adjust expectations and even the definition of your coaching culture.

Coaching Should be Universally Accepted Regardless of Title

Even if you’re at the top of the ladder, there is still plenty to learn and improve on. It’s beneficial for everyone–you get a new perspective on your sales conversations your reps learn how to identify and gauge what ‘good’ sounds like in practice, and everyone has a stronger relationship because of it.

Blur the lines between coaches and those who get coached. No one should be ‘untouchable’ unless it’s for specific reasons like security. The only difference between coaching reps and coaching sales leaders should be the level of the discussion. For reps, you can put focus on specific skills within a call. Managers and sales leaders should take the discussion to the next level and look at the bigger picture i.e. how this call impacted the deal.

Remember that at the end of the day a sales coaching culture is built on two things, the desire to learn and transparency.

Pay Attention to the Metrics and Benchmark!

Remember those one or two things you wanted to get out of building a coaching culture? Track them. Measure the impact of coaching on your team’s performance. Look outside of the items you focused on — we suggest taking the time to benchmark the following metrics and check back on them quarterly:

• The average number of meetings set per month (as a whole and per rep)
• New hire ramp time
• Win rates
• Deal progression
• Team turn over

It may take time to begin to see the full ROI of a coaching culture which is why it’s so important to look at the metrics. The metrics will also tell you if you need to tweak something in the process, i.e. if a rep isn’t progressing, are they being coached too much? Too little? Enough, but it’s not sticking?

Celebrate Success

If you want coaching culture to stick, celebrate its success. Congratulate reps when you see them moving up the leaderboard. Praise managers when their team sees an overall lift in performance.

If you aren’t regularly giving praise to your team in a public manner, make sure you start. Use their individual success stories to motivate the rest of the team. When someone sees their hard work is paying off AND they get recognized for it, it’s going to make an impact.

Stay Consistent

Two of the biggest struggles every sale leader faces are holding everyone accountable and creating consistency. You can’t let off the gas as soon as performance is improving and coaching is happening on a regular basis.

It may seem a bit morbid, but have a succession plan in place for keeping coaching embedded in the culture if the people who built it aren’t there. How do you create new coaching champions? Who helps hold everyone accountable for their part of the coaching process? What do you do to create consistency as the company grows or the buying process changes?

If You Build It, They Will Coach

Building a coaching culture isn’t easy, but it’s highly rewarding and has an impact on nearly every area of sales.

Here are the other three posts in the series:

Building a Coaching Culture Part 1—Why Every Organization Needs One

Building a Coaching Culture Part 2—First Steps to Implementation

Building a Coaching Culture Part 3—Selling It To Your Reps

Good selling,

Peter C. Mclees, Sales Coach and Trainer
Smart Development
petercmclees@gmail.com
Mobile: 323-854-1713


We help sales reps and sales organizations accelerate their sales. 

Building a Coaching Culture Part 3: Selling it to Your Reps

This series will help you identify why you need a coaching culture and show you how to start, build, and maintain a culture that drives ROI.

A coaching culture doesn’t happen overnight. Once you have the green light to implement your new coaching process, do not call an all-hands meeting and announce there will be a cultural shift. That is a one-way ticket to a mutiny. Instead, spend time planning out how to announce it to all of your teams in a more personal way.

How to Broach the Subject of a Cultural Shift with the Front Line

We’ve all seen it before–management announces sweeping changes in the name of ‘sales force transformation’ only for it to fall flat and the changes not to stick. Members of the peanut gallery often moan and groan about how disconnected management is from the front line. That’s why introducing a shift to a coaching culture doesn’t need the same fanfare as your annual sales kickoff meeting.

There are a few ways to approach the announcement. You could hold an all-hands meeting or town hall to discuss why and how you’ll build a coaching culture as a team. You may also opt to lean on your managers to announce it to their respective teams. Since your managers have already established a foundation of trust with their reps, the message will resonate better.

To help reinforce that your coaching culture is about making your reps better, share the ground rules with them across multiple channels. Review the ground rules during the announcement meeting, send them via e-mail, Slack it, include them in calendar invites, send carrier pigeons - WHATEVER WORKS. 

WIIFM (What’s in it for Me?)

That’s what all of your reps will ask. A coaching culture cannot take root if your reps are resistant to it. Show your reps that coaching will help them succeed at their current roles and as they continue on in their careers. Find out what drives each rep and use that information to aid what you coach them on, and how you approach their 1:1 sessions.

Every team has influential reps who can make or break changes to workflow, processes, and overall culture. Use these reps to help build excitement around your new coaching process. If it makes sense to, roll out the program to them first and let them see how coaching improves their skills. For teams that will hold small and large group coaching sessions, ask these reps to volunteer their calls for the first few meetings. Once the team has seen that these sessions won’t turn into tearing their calls to shreds, they’ll be more open to the process.

In-role progression and long term goals provide additional coaching opportunities. Make sure managers know where their reps want to go in their current role, at the company, and in their career. Managers should understand how to coach reps to achieve their goals whether it’s to make more money, get promoted, or move into another role such as client success. Be transparent with reps and provide clear steps for in-role progressions and promotions.

Know What to Do With the Bad Apples

Some reps will never take to coaching, no matter how hard you try. And that’s okay. It’s what you do with these reps that reinforces or hurts your coaching culture.

During discussions about your coaching plan, establish guidelines for managing coaching-resistant reps. Determine what a resistant rep looks like whether it’s failure to improve over x amount of sessions, not sharing calls with managers, or ignoring feedback altogether. Identify how you’ll discern resistant reps from those who may do better with a different coach. Other items to consider include:

• Do you physically isolate vocally resistant reps from the rest of the team?
• When you opt to manage resistant reps out?

While it can be overwhelming to think about reps resisting coaching, the good news is that most reps will be excited about it. Coaching provides them an opportunity to refine their skills and work on professional development at a level they won’t find in most other industries.

As coaching cements into your sales culture, your teams will form stronger bonds. Reps will become inclined to sharing what’s working for them with their peers while offering feedback through peer-to-peer coaching. This adds another layer of coaching that will ultimately lead reps to self-identify what they can do better on calls, allowing managers to spend more time focusing on how reps can improve a particular skill.

In Part 4, you’ll learn how to maintain a coaching culture for the long haul. Coaching is not a set it and forget it process. It requires upkeep and reiteration as your sales teams and company evolve.

Good selling,

Peter C. Mclees, Sales Coach and Trainer
Smart Development
petercmclees@gmail.com
Mobile: 323-854-1713

We help sales reps and sales organizations accelerate their sales. 

Renewing Your Commitment to Being a Highly Engaged Leader (In 2019 and Beyond)

Seasoned leaders who’ve participated in Smart Development programs say all the time, “I’ve been managing the same people for some time now. I realize now that I’ve been too hands-off. Is it even possible to change my whole leadership approach after all this time? How can I get my employees to take me seriously? How can I avoid them thinking I’ve bought into some gimmicky ‘flavor of the month’?”

Let your employees think whatever they want in the beginning. You can live with anybody’s doubt but your own. Step one in convincing your employees will be your own belief in the change and your determination to stick with it. Over time, the doubts will recede and doubters will come along or else move along.  That’s why you cannot afford to make a half-hearted effort. But it takes more than a full heart to succeed.

Many full-hearted efforts fail due to a lack of preparation.  A well-meaning manager who decides to become a better leader can painfully underestimate the challenge of making a big change in management style, especially after a long period of under-management.

Seven Ways to Prepare Before You Reboot Your Leadership Approach

1. Prepare yourself psychologically. Are you ready, willing, and able to commit the time, energy, effort, and consistency that it will take to change? Your role at work is going to change. Your relationships at work are going to change. Your experience at work is going to change. You are going to be the person who is all about the work, who is setting people up for success every day, who is helping every person get what she needs. Make sure you are sure. Expunge your own doubt first.

2. Prepare yourself tactically. The biggest impact of committing to highly engaged leadership is that you are putting a big chuck (or a couple of medium-sized chunks) or highly structured time into your daily schedule. That is what makes the whole thing work. If that big chunk of structured time is something that is not currently part of your day, you are going to have to get into the habit. Start building the habit in advance: find the one hour a day that works best for you, and set it aside every day for two weeks before you actually plunge into managing employees in one-on-one sessions. During those weeks, use this one hour a day to continue with your preparations. 

3. Prepare yourself by gathering some information about your employees. What are all the things you really should have known all along? What are some things you’ll need to keep in mind going forward? Gather information and start tuning in informally to your employees and their work. Spend less time shooting the breeze at work and start talking with your employees about the work. Start asking more questions. And do a lot of listening. You will get some surprises early on, no doubt. Some people will be put off that you are even asking. That’s a good sign that you’ve been too hands-off until now. Some people will give vague answers. Others will tell you more than you would have guessed. You will start to learn who is doing what, where, why, when, and how.

4. Start keeping a people list. This is a running list of all the key people with whom you need to be engaged in a one-on-one dialogue right now. For each of your direct reports, take note:

• When and where was your last conversation with that person? Regarding what?
• What should you be talking about with this person?
• When and where are going to have your next conversation?
• What do you need to do to prepare in advance?

5.Research possible tracking systems to monitor, measure, and document each employee’s performance. While your People List is a very good tool for remaining thoughtful and purposeful about your interactions with your direct reports, it is probably not a sufficient system for proper tracking of employee performance. Check with your HR department to request tracking systems used by other teams or departments. You just need to be able to track, for each direct report, the expectations you are spelling out and how their concrete actions are lining up with those expectations, every step of the way. The most important thing about your tracking system is that you come up with a system that you will actually use—a system that works for you, that you can stick to. The sooner you figure that out, the better.

6.Start working on a preliminary schedule for your regular one-on-ones. When you are going to meet with each person and for how long? If you’ve been using one hour a day to prepare for this change in your management practices, then you are well on your way to making that hour-a-day management a habit. Now you need to decide how you are going to divide that time among your employees.

7.Prepare your “Good news!” message. You need to be prepared to discuss the impending management change with key people, including your boss. You don’t want to act as if you’ve been failing as a manager until now. Instead, adopt a simple message: “Good news! I’ve very committed to becoming a better manager, stronger and more highly engaged. Here’s what that’s going to look like. I’m going to build a regular, ongoing, structured one-on-one dialogue with every person who reports to me.” Remember, you are delivering good news! You are about to be spending a lot more time setting people up for success and helping them avoid unnecessary problems. You are going to provide more guidance and direction and support, helping your employees do better, work smarter and faster, and set them up for the next opportunity. That is good news! Make sure you feel that so it guides your tone every step of the way.

Once you’ve thoroughly prepared, it’s time to go public! The first person you should talk with is your boss. Most bosses will be delighted to hear that you want to work hard to become a better manager and will be happy to help you in your efforts. If your boss is going to be an obstacle, it’s better to find out immediately. Spell out for your boss exactly what you are trying to accomplish. Ask your boss if she supports your efforts. Explain that you will need to her help and guidance.

You don’t need permission from your boss to be strong and highly engaged. But you definitely need your boss’s support to be optimally successful. And it will be ideal if you have your boss’s help when it comes to holding employees accountable, imposing negative consequences on low performers and helping high performers earn opportunities. Do everything you can to keep your boss in the loop and highly supportive every step of the way in your journey to become a better and stronger manager.

After all the preparation and all those advance discussions, it is time to announce to your team. “I’m going to be a better manager, and here’s what that is going to look like.” Get everybody together, and in the full light of public disclosure make a commitment to yourself and your team: “Good news! I am going to be a better leader. Here’s what it means.”

Be prepared for your employees to be concerned, to ask lots of questions, to second-guess you, and to doubt that you will follow through. It will take them a while to get used to it.  A good way to end the team meeting is to schedule your initial one-on-one meeting with each person on the team.

Then, fully prepared, start doing your regular one-on-ones, one person at a time, one day at a time. In these, explain that you plan to revise and adjust your approach as you go forward. Let each person know that you understand this is a big change for them, too, and that you expect her to go through a learning process. Explain that you need their help in making the change work for both of you. Explain that you know you will get better and better at this new approach to your working relationship and so will she.

After you’ve talked about why you are making this big change, the most important thing to discuss is the parameters of the regular one-on-one dialogue you will have each person from now on:

• How often will you meet with this person?
• Exactly when and for how long?
• Where?

Make sure the person understands that you are 100 percent committed to this new approach, but that you are also flexible. The best way to end this initial meeting is to reiterate your plans for the next meeting: When? Where? How long? What will you ask about? Your schedule will take shape gradually as you start managing closely. Thereafter, you will probably negotiate times with each person on an ongoing basis. Over time, you and the people you manage will get better and better at using the meeting to get what you want from each other.

Check out three related posts that will help you elevate your impact as a leader in 2019.

How to Be A Better Leader in 9 Minutes

The Single Most Expensive Mistake A Leader Can Make

Three key Coaching Habits to Elevate Your Impact

To your greater success and fulfillment,

Peter Mclees, Leadership Coach, Trainer and Performance Consultant

SMART DEVELOPMENT

Take the Next Step... 

Interested in learning how leadership coaching and training can benefit your organization? We begin with a collaborative discovery process identifying your unique needs and business issues. To request an interview with Peter Mclees please contact: 

Email: petercmclees@gmail.com  or  Mobile:323-854-1713

Smart Development has an exceptional track record helping service providers, ports, sales teams, restaurants, stores, distribution centers, food production facilities, nonprofits, government agencies and other businesses create a strong culture, leadership bench strength, coaching skills and the teamwork necessary for growth. 

Having worked with several companies throughout their growth cycle, we have valuable insights and strategies that would help any late stage startup, small or medium sized company achieve sustained growth and prosperity.

 

How to be a better leader in 9 minutes

Want to be a better leader? Not just one that develops employees, but one that gets results as well? Leadership and motivation specialist James Robbins book, Nine Minutes on Monday,  is based on the theory that it's the little things -- done consistently -- that bring the biggest results. I agree based on 25 years of developing leaders.

The purpose of a leader is to lead a team to great results. This is not an innate skill and many people have experienced the pain of having a bad manager. Additionally, many people get thrown into a manager role without proper training and understanding of what they should be doing. Robbins has 9 questions you should ask yourself each Monday morning. They are:

1. Whom will I show a genuine interest in this week?
2. Whom will I give feedback to?
3. Whom will I recognize?
4. How will I connect purpose to pay for someone?
5. Whom will I help grow this week?
6. Whom will I help feel autonomous?
7. What can I do to foster team unity?
8. Where can I inject some fun?
9. What do I need to model for my team members?

Note how none of these are connected to the typical worries of managers -- productivity, budgets, project timelines and any of the other million problems that land on a manager's plate. Instead, they focus on the key purpose of managers -- getting their team to perform at a higher level. All of those other things are necessary, but they go better when you have good people.

Of course implementing these things take a lot more than 9 minutes, but not so much more that doing them will take away from the rest of your work time. After all, how long does it take to give feedback to one of your employees? Or recognize good performance?

All 9 are critical however, number 6 intrigues me the most.
Asking yourself, "Whom will I help feel autonomous?" flies in the face of so many managers who think they must control every aspect of their employees' performance. If they are managing the department, they must have their hand in every little thing.

But, this level of micro-management tends to destroy morale and results in your good employees leaving and your bad employees doing just enough to not get fired. This isn't successful for anyone. Robbins points out that we crave autonomy and the ability to make choices. Having flexibility to do it your way typically results in more engaged and more productive employees.

In today's day of tight budgets and small headcounts, leaders need every trick in the book to get the most out of their employees. Perhaps Robbins' strategy of these 9 steps each Monday will allow you take your team to the top.

To your greater success and fulfillment,

Peter Mclees, Leadership Coach, Trainer and Performance Consultant

SMART DEVELOPMENT

Take the Next Step... 

Interested in learning how leadership coaching and training can benefit your organization? We begin with a collaborative discovery process identifying your unique needs and business issues. To request an interview with Peter Mclees please contact: 

Email: petercmclees@gmail.com  or  Mobile:323-854-1713

Smart Development has an exceptional track record helping service providers, ports, sales teams, restaurants, stores, distribution centers, food production facilities, nonprofits, government agencies and other businesses create a strong culture, leadership bench strength, coaching skills and the teamwork necessary for growth. 

Having worked with several companies throughout their growth cycle, we have valuable insights and strategies that would help any late stage startup, small or medium sized company achieve sustained growth and prosperity.

 

40 Ideas for Elevating Holiday Spirits

Yuletide Greetings ~

It was about a week before Christmas last year when I was sitting in the my World Headquarters (My favorite chair) listening to that song “We Need A Little Christmas”. I was not in the Ho! Ho! Ho! holly jolly holiday mood. My outlook was more like Bah! Bah! Bah!...Humbug! "This too shall pass" (meaning the holidays). I didn't like my state of mind so I set out to change the way I was feeling. I made a list of things I've done in the past, could do again, as well as some new things and random thoughts to create laughter, perspective and a sense of well being for myself and those around me.  It's funny how just writing things down boosted my spirits. And when I actually did some of  them---WOW!

[I apologize for the for the long list but I was on a roll ]

1. Find a way to make a friend, a family member, a coworker or a stranger feel like a million bucks today. It is the best way to get rich quick because you instantly feel like a million bucks yourself when you do.
2. Why not listen to some commercial free (almost) Christmas music here http://accuradio.com/holidays
3. Commit to hearty laughter at least once a day. Once you do that, make sure you help others do the same! Methinks we are taking ourselves way too seriously! I know I do at times.
4. Forgive someone.
5. Be a kid again. We won’t tell anyone!


6. Understand that other than the “5 Golden Rings” in The 12 Days of Christmas, someone basically cleaned out their attic and was trying to unload junk. I mean what am I supposed to do with a bunch of Lords a leaping? Just put them over there next to the swans a swimming, Lloyd Christmas!
7. Sing along to a holiday song. Rinse and repeat!
8. Volunteer at the local shelter or senior home.

9. Take a coworker out to lunch or coffee . . . just because.
10. Between now and the end of the year include messages of hope and inspiration in your status updates.
11. Grab a hot chocolate or some spiked egg nog and look at some Christmas lights.
12. Give someone a few extra minutes of your time.
13. Take at least one opportunity to bite your tongue. (This one's tough for me)
14. Over tip someone who deserves it. (This one's easy)

15. Understand that laughing at the song “Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer” is sick. Would you really laugh if your Grandmother got run over by a reindeer? What’s next? Grandpa got burned to death roasting chestnuts over a raging fire.

16. Forgive your parents already. Like they didn’t forgive us for the stuff we pulled?
17. Evict negativity from your life. Seek out good. Its there! In the words of Dwitt Jones, "Celebrate What's Right with the World."

18. Give someone the gift of your undivided attention.
19. Tell a loved one how much they mean to you. Unfortunately, there’s an expiration date on this crazy thing we call life! And if by chance you lost that person . . . find a way to honor them!
20. Plan a family night.
21. Find something inspirational and then pass it to your network because quite frankly, we all need a shot in the arm from time to time.
22. Encourage someone. Its free.
23. Answer this question: What am I most grateful for? Take inventory and count the upside.

24. Stop striving for Norman Rockwell Christmas moments. Understand that the beauty of his art was in capturing the chaos and even celebrating it. Might be a lesson in that crazy thought.
25. Donate some food to the local food pantry. They get hit hard this time of year.



26. Change the words to one of your favorite holiday songs. Personally, I like singing “Walking in my winter wacky wear" (Like those embarrassing red sweat pants that only my dog Luke accepts me in) to the tune of “Walking in a winter wonderland”.

27. Commit to wearing your spirit on your sleeve! As William James remarked, "Act as if your cheerful and you'll eventually feel cheerful."
28. Listen to the lyrics of “We wish you a Merry Christmas” and then ask yourself, What’s the deal with that Figgy Pudding and who the heck do they think they are threatening us that “We won’t go until we get some” I wish the person who wrote that song would have stepped back to realize that people are willing to get indignant over a Baileys or a bowl of Hagen Daz Macadamia Nut crunch ice cream, but a figgy pudding? Don’t have any, but help yourself to those Lords a leapin over there instead skipper!

29. Sing a duet of “Baby its cold outside” and then realize that the cacophony that just occurred with your singing is precisely why you both need to keep working your day jobs.
30. Don't OD on the news. Take it in bite sized pieces. They make mega bucks with negativity . . . we don’t!
31. Find a way to create a memory and then visit that memory often! Someday we will refer to today as “The good old days” Make 'em count!
32. 101 Christmas Videos can be viewed online by clicking here
33. Go to a tree lighting, a children’s Christmas concert to get that hometown vibe going!
34. When you find yourself in an exceptionally good mood, don’t ever let anyone take your joy away from you.

35. Mend a fence. Lose the ego and repeat after me “I'm sorry” ( I know that phrase can stick in my craw sometimes). Try it and it will lighten your load.
36. Catch up with someone you lost touch with.
37. Let someone know they inspired you!
38. Let your spouse have the remote control for the entire night...or week. Yikes! I'm already getting the shakes just at the thought of it.

39. Go Elf yourself, your pet or a public figure.  http://www.elfyourself.com/

40. Watch It’s A Wonderful Life (again). Current events notwithstanding, we have have a pretty wonderful life!   This season reminds us what is really important -- the relationships we share.  It is those relationships that really make it a wonderful life.

I hope in some small way this list has brought a smile and kicked up the holiday vibe a notch.

Peace and Joy,

Peter 

PS Why not keep the good vibe going by doing some of these things in 2019?

Life and Leadership Lessons from the Film, It's a Wonderful Life

Most of us have seen the classic holiday movie “It’s a Wonderful Life.” A lot of us have seen the film many times (Full disclosure: I just saw it last night for the 30th time!) because it tells such a timeless and compelling story about how any one life can positively impact so many others. While the movie holds many life lessons, I feel it has a few leadership lessons as well.

For those who have not seen it,  “It’s a Wonderful Life” is the story of George Bailey—a man who serves and sacrifices for others. The Bailey Building and Loan lends money to poor people many of them would not own a home were it not for the BBL.  Mr. Potter, the arch villain in the film, is a greedy old man who thrives on exploiting people in Bedford Falls. He continually threatens the Bailey Building and Loan’s survival.

George Bailey is in conflict between his obligations and his dreams—He wants to get out of the small town of Bedford Falls (George remarked, “ I want to shake the dust off my feet of this shabby little town and see the world. I've got big ideas and big plans and I want to build big things.”) And as he said to his father at dinner one night—“I want to do something big and important.” His father replies: “In a small way we are doing something important—man has a fundamental urge to own a roof over his head.”

George’s ambitions are thwarted by old man Potter’s schemes. After his Father died George is on his way out of town. In a character defining moment George agrees to stay dashing his dreams of far-flung adventure—creating instead a more intimate adventure that has a far greater impact on his personal world.

The film shows that real influence comes not from title or rank (as George had no formal title in the town such as Mayor) but from attempting to connect and help the people around us.

The movie also shows us that as we make ourselves available to others with courage and caring our lives develop meaning and a legacy is created, not necessarily along the paths we intended but in small acts that make a difference. George Bailey shows that if we respond with generosity and compassion our lives would have meant something. But he didn't realize this fact until the end of the movie.

Scene: George, faced with financial and personal crisis and feeling that he never made it. He attempts suicide and Clarence his guardian angel (Read: life coach) gives him a privileged look at the impact of his life on the people in Bedford Falls

George Bailey only understands the dramatic difference he made when he sees what Bedford Falls became had he never lived.

Scene: George, in desperation and shock is walking along the snow-covered streets of what is now called Potterville—a town overrun by greed and selfishness. 

Clarence  says “Strange isn't it, each man’s life touches so many other lives and when his isn't around he leaves an awful hole.”

In one of the most famous (and emotional) scenes in movie history: When the townspeople all came to George's house to contribute to the BBL deficit, George finally understands how his life of service has created deep commitment to him from the town’s people (when he was in need) even though he didn't know it.

George has a wealth far beyond material goods or power. Frank Capra reminds us that there is no substitute for relationships of integrity, trust and caring. Relationships that are forged through consistent acts of service.

Whatever our position, if we influence the lives of those around us, we are engaged in the act of leadership. And if we are leaders in any sense, we are also creating a legacy as we live our daily lives. Our leadership legacy is the sum total of the difference we make in people's lives, directly and indirectly, formally and informally.

George Bailey had created an enduring legacy because of his acts of caring, compassion, and courage.

Cheers to a New Year and another chance to make a difference in people's lives.

Peter Mclees
Email: petercmclees@gmail.com
Mobile: 323-854-1713

What is the ONE thing YOU have to unlearn to sell more in 2019?

The new sales year starts in 16 days.


This is the obvious time to think about making changes to how you sell.


What can you learn to help you sell more next year?


What new skills do you need to acquire? What existing skills can you improve?


All good questions.


Add one equally important question to the mix.


What do you need to unlearn next year to help you grow (learn more, sell more, earn more)?


What are the beliefs, mindsets or processes that are holding you back?


Here are a few:

I’ve got plenty of time.
No, you don’t. Customers don’t want to spend a minute more than they have to to make a purchase decision. Either you help them achieve that or risk becoming irrelevant.

I’m happy with my win rate.
Compared to what? An industry benchmark? Your peers in your company? Are you satisfied with being average? You should always be unhappy with your win rate. I guarantee the top performers in your company are.

Relationships are not as important in sales as they used to be.
Don’t get sucked in by people who say this. That’s a belief for people who are going to be replaced by machines. In the age of AI people who have mastered the ability to connect with another human will more more valued in sales.

I shouldn't have to do my own prospecting.
That would be the utopian ideal for sales. Until then, what are you going to do to generate new business to make sure you hit your number? Are you going to stake your career on someone else doing that for you?



The customers are too busy to talk with me.
Research has shown that they’re not. They’re just waiting for you to say something relevant that has value.

I know all I need to about sales.
I know people who have been in sales for 40+ years and they're still learning something new about sales everyday. And,  they're not slow learners. As soon as you’re satisfied that you know what you’re doing your performance will start to slip. With everything rapidly changing all around you, standing still is the recipe for falling behind.

What is the ONE thing YOU have to unlearn in 2019?

Good selling,

Peter C. Mclees, Sales Coach and Trainer
Smart Development
petercmclees@gmail.com
Mobile: 323-854-1713

We help sales reps and sales organizations accelerate their sales. 

Life & Leadership Lessons from the Film, "It's a Wonderful Life"

Most of us have seen the classic holiday movie “It’s a Wonderful Life.” A lot of us have seen the film many times (Full disclosure: I just saw it last night for the 30th time!) because it tells such a timeless and compelling story about how any one life can positively impact so many others. While the movie holds many life lessons, I feel it has a few leadership lessons as well.

For those who have not seen it,  “It’s a Wonderful Life” is the story of George Bailey—a man who serves and sacrifices for others. The Bailey Building and Loan lends money to poor people many of them would not own a home were it not for the BBL.  Mr. Potter, the arch villain in the film, is a greedy old man who thrives on exploiting people in Bedford Falls. He continually threatens the Bailey Building and Loan’s survival.

George Bailey is in conflict between his obligations and his dreams—He wants to get out of the small town of Bedford Falls (George remarked, “ I want to shake the dust off my feet of this shabby little town and see the world. I've got big ideas and big plans and I want to build big things.”) And as he said to his father at dinner one night—“I want to do something big and important.” His father replies: “In a small way we are doing something important—man has a fundamental urge to own a roof over his head.”

George’s ambitions are thwarted by old man Potter’s schemes. After his Father died George is on his way out of town. In a character defining moment George agrees to stay dashing his dreams of far-flung adventure—creating instead a more intimate adventure that has a far greater impact on his personal world.

The film shows that real influence comes not from title or rank (as George had no formal title in the town such as Mayor) but from attempting to connect and help the people around us.

The movie also shows us that as we make ourselves available to others with courage and caring our lives develop meaning and a legacy is created, not necessarily along the paths we intended but in small acts that make a difference. George Bailey shows that if we respond with generosity and compassion our lives would have meant something. But he didn't realize this fact until the end of the movie.

Scene: George, faced with financial and personal crisis and feeling that he never made it. He attempts suicide and Clarence his guardian angel (Read: life coach) gives him a privileged look at the impact of his life on the people in Bedford Falls

George Bailey only understands the dramatic difference he made when he sees what Bedford Falls became had he never lived.

Scene: George, in desperation and shock is walking along the snow-covered streets of what is now called Potterville—a town overrun by greed and selfishness. 

Clarence  says “Strange isn't it, each man’s life touches so many other lives and when his isn't around he leaves an awful hole.”

In one of the most famous (and emotional) scenes in movie history: When the townspeople all came to George's house to contribute to the BBL deficit, George finally understands how his life of service has created deep commitment to him from the town’s people (when he was in need) even though he didn't know it.

George has a wealth far beyond material goods or power. Frank Capra reminds us that there is no substitute for relationships of integrity, trust and caring. Relationships that are forged through consistent acts of service.

Whatever our position, if we influence the lives of those around us, we are engaged in the act of leadership. And if we are leaders in any sense, we are also creating a legacy as we live our daily lives. Our leadership legacy is the sum total of the difference we make in people's lives, directly and indirectly, formally and informally.

George Bailey had created an enduring legacy because of his acts of caring, compassion, and courage.

Cheers to a New Year and another chance to make a difference in people's lives.

Peter Mclees
Email: petercmclees@gmail.com
Mobile: 323-854-1713