April 21st marks the 118th running of the Boston Marathon. Considering the tragedy that occurred last year, this particular marathon will be steeped in pride and emotion as a record number of runners participate to show their support for the event and the runners, along with their respect for those who died and were injured in last year's horror.
A fair amount of what we've done over these years is to consistently plan more strategically and for longer periods of time. Answering questions of "Where do we need to be 12 to 18 to 24 months from now?" "What do the communities expect from us in terms of safety?" . "How can we communicate better both internally and externally?" All easy questions; all complex answers, but each of them attacked, discuussed and tactically solved as a leadership team. With these and numerous other strategic questions, we've created detailed objectives that defined success in terms of their end points and then backfilled into those with tactical plans and detailed monthly metrics and milestones. Not very different from what all of us do in our corporate planning experiences. Except that at the BPD, the results are often real life and death situations and not just the fear of missing this month's sales quota.
A short period of time after the tragic events of last April, the team and I came together for a day of "lessons learned from the bombings". Certainly, the scenario of a bombing at the finish line had been previously mapped out and tactically trained for. What was different in this case was the actual timing of the explosions. As a result of our planning sessions, a series of discoveries were identified, additional tactical plans were put in place and multiple training programs were created and executed.
As a result of all of my involvement in all of this detailed planning, highly coordinated tactical execution, and most importantly, consistently repeated training, when I hear from some sales managers that they cannot plan or cannot forecast because of...
I always think about the management of the BPD and compare their sitution...
And yet, year after year, the officers of the BPD, reduce the crime rate even with lower budgets and the demands of complex political and cultural requirements from a diverse number of communities.
What's the secret other than the dedication of these individuals?
So, when we watch the Boston Marathon this year and cheer on all of the runners and give our financial support to the victims from last year's tragedy, think about the lessons that you can take away from the event itself and the BPD's planning and training processes and apply them to your own sales organization.
The reasons for thinking through this process should be the same since you want your sales and customer support people to be more highly trained, more focused on their customers and more supportive of the overall mission of your business.
I'm obviously passionate about the BPD and all of the great stories of their dedication and heroism. Perhaps, most importantly, I see how a highly organized and well-planned series of strategies, tactics and training programs works in a complex environment. As a result, I'm convinced that if we, as managers, were to consistently incorporate some of the same ideas, and especially their commitment to tactical training, into our own sales departments, the results for our companies would be huge...just as they have been for the BPD!
By the way, if you happen to be at the Marathon this year, just take a minute to thank the officers that you see there.
Each semester at Tufts, over a period of 13 weeks, I engage 30-35 students in a unique, hands-on, tools-based experience of preparing them for the real world of business in general and specifically the complexities of working in today's environment of Marketing and Sales. As a result, I...
Which leads me to look for 6 new companies each semester.
Right now, I'm taking applications for the upcoming fall, 2014 semester. If you're interested, please email me at jack@derbymanagement.com, and I will send you an overview of what's involved and instructions. Last November, I had 32 companies request information, and we accepted 6. Currently, I have two companies signed up, so I'm looking for four more.
A truly unique opportunity for both the companies and the students.
...which is the primary reason why I teach. The other reason is that the process of teaching a subject like Marketing, that changes dramatically every year, hopefully keeps me to remain on the competitive edge for both Marketing and the coming revolution in Sales. And finally, it's a lot of rewarding fun!
Please let me know if you're interested.