Carson V. Heady's Blog, page 60
December 9, 2020
How Can 1 Person Impact Company Culture?
How can 1 person impact #company #culture?
We are but ONE person. 1 – The loneliest number, right?
But everyone you emulate and admire is as well.
First, be a role model. No matter your title, you can live admirably and professionally, provide feedback respectfully and tactfully, and gain consensus. Like Maximus says in Gladiator: “Win the crowd.”
Be the #change you want to see.
Seek out others with whom you either share beliefs or #influencers who are open to feedback.
Fuel #engagement. Proactively seek out opinions and empower others to provide perspective. Ensure people feel safe providing their opinion.
If you are an individual contributor, perhaps you start a “players only” type of rhythm. If you are a leader, form a betterment committee that can meet independently and provide you suggestions.
Whatever you do, align with either what the company mission statement is in a unique way, or build momentum through relationships and collective synergies as you forge your mark on culture.
#lifelonglearner #inclusiveworkplace #changemanagement #growthmindset #inclusive #diversity #inclusion #eq #influence #collaborate
What Makes a Great Leader?
The most important elements of #leadership are:
Knowing your #people. Understand their #motivating forces. Work proactively with them to get them where they want to be.
Ensure they have a voice and they are truly heard. Seek their #perspective and feedback. When they raise concerns, address them.
I have formed betterment committees to meet independently of me, and report feedback. This enables me to stay at the pulse of the business, and address every single item – even if I can only change 1 and show progress on some, it shows positive progress.
Don’t swiftly react, even if your mind is made up. You must understand all perspectives and ramifications. I used to hear disputes, and I had to ensure fairness was present AND perceived.
Maintain #consistency. Keep a steady hand on the wheel. During tough times or slumps, I got better results as a leader when I was positive and energetic than when expressing frustration.
PROMOTE YOUR PEOPLE via recognition, best practices sharing, and advancing their #career. This will make people want to work their best for you.
What did I miss?
Why Should You Have a Career in Sales?
A career in sales is one of the best things you can do.
Why should you have a #career in sales?
Simple: People. Experience. Money/job security.
The people that you can work with and collaborate with will inspire you throughout your journey. You’ll learn from them and be enriched because of them.
Connect meaningfully. Say yes to opportunities.
If you’re building a career, one of the great values that you bring is your experience. How did you handle certain situations? What did you learn, and how did you grow?
Also, sales careers provide food on the table and if you’re good, you can parlay your skills in a number of different arenas.
No matter what you do, you’ll always be selling something. Being in sales is rewarding in every way.
How can you still achieve maximum #motivation in an increasingly #virtual world?
**How can you still achieve maximum #motivation in an increasingly #virtual world?**
Not everyone has been infected, but everyone is affected by the state of 2020.
It can be challenging to get up for another day of work without the buzz of the office or the joy of meeting others in person to look forward to.
Make your daily list.
Celebrate even the “small” wins you are able to achieve and check off.
Create a “joy list” – a list of things that bring you joy that when the opportunity presents itself, you can do to put you in a positive mindset.
Exercise? Reading? Writing? Meaningfully connecting with others by phone or video? Nature? A drive?
Schedule time – to invest in yourself (lunches, breaks – anything!) and in meaningful connecting with others.
Slow it down. Control what you can control, moment by moment. We’re all in this together. Check on each other. Be good to each other… and to yourself!
Stay safe, and thanks for watching! #relationships #salespeople #collaborate #digitalselling #teams #eq #lifelonglearner #growthmindset #prioritization #selling #sales
Personal Touches in Sales Matter! – Matt Berra and Carson Heady
Personal touches in #sales, #career and in life matter! If you want your results in forming #relationships and creating #partnerships to exceed those of others, you have to stand out & do it differently.
Showing you genuinely care is a great way of doing that. 
How do you handle the “sales buddy” relationship?
https://www.linkedin.com/embed/feed/update/urn:li:ugcPost:6716535577904316416
We’ve all had them: the “sales buddy.”
The prospect or customer who is a blast to talk to, play golf with and tells you how great you are; but they won’t buy, can’t buy, or don’t have the juice to get the deal done.
So, how do you handle said scenario?
My recommendation: keep the #relationship. Ensure you manage your time wisely and do not let the great rapport distract you from (1) driving new relationships in the organization and (2) chasing other new logos.
The #sales buddy may be able to intro you to other players in their company or others. They may have valuable #information and #intel.
They may also go to another organization where their immediate value to you is realized.
As a #seller, you must tend the entire landscape as you hunt and farm. The crop will be unpredictable. A competing contract may eventually end, they may get promoted; the planets can align.
Don’t let the sales buddy take up all your time, but certainly do keep the conversation warm. Maybe just invite a couple of other prospects to fill out your foursome.
#relationships #prospecting #prioritization #selling #influencers #leadgeneration
Win the Crowd
Win the crowd.
Yes, the advice Maximus is given in “Gladiator” before he says, “I will win the crowd. I will give them something they’ve never seen before.”
That’s the mentality we have to take in life and career. We have to get others in the boat with us and build consensus.
Stand apart and be unique, whether working to gain favor in your personal life or business – with customers and colleagues alike.
There is a right way to “do the right thing” – even if a fight is worth fighting, do it respectfully of everyone it impacts. That’s the only way you’ll truly unify people around a message or idea.
Fight for your beliefs, but we are also evangelists of our brand and logo. Only by taking your leadership’s and your colleagues’ priorities in collectively will you truly impact change – it cannot be one-sided. Everyone has to win something.
It is not imperative that you agree with everyone you meet. Ideally, you’ll get to say your piece, but it’s also your job to execute edicts from above once final decisions are made.
Reach out, understand the needs of the many and how you can get the most people to a win. Acknowledge the contributions of others. You win the crowd by making them a part of the journey and helping others win.
How can you use your greatest losses?
How can you use your greatest losses?
I’ve lost my way, lost people, relationships, jobs, deals and confidence. But my greatest losses fuel me and teach me every day.
As a young leader and seller, I thought I had found some success. But my greatest successes were after my most substantial defeats – in my faith, my personal life and my career.
Don’t dwell, but reflect on what you’ve lost. Where could you have performed differently, communicated more effectively, earned trust better?
Sometimes, losses happen unexpectedly or unfairly – but these still give you lessons: enjoy and optimize each moment, each decision, each day. Give. Invest in meaningful relationships. Appreciate and love fully – from the people in your life to the work you get to do.
Utilize the teachings from your losses to course correct, to have the foresight to make better decisions. Don’t react, don’t lose your cool – analyze the road that led you here and take from it the knowledge and experience that will inform future actions.
My losses fuel me every day. If you choose to learn from yours, your best wins are ahead.
#success #leadership #salespeople #relationships #lifelonglearner #growthmindset #prioritization #growth #sales #selling
November 18, 2020
My Top 10 Post-Fleming James Bond Novels
I have now read every post-Fleming James Bond story, including the Young Bond and Moneypenny spinoffs. Here are my top 10 – the “MUST READ” selections from these works.
James Bond: The Authorised Biography – John Pearson – The premise: James Bond was a real man who knew Ian Fleming. The author, John Pearson, stumbles upon this fact and is eventually permitted to write a biography of Bond as follow-up to his Fleming biography. Bond is in his early fifties and weighing his next move: to resign from the Service or continue on. Not only do familiar faces pop up, but during the interviews of Bond for the book, 007 recounts his entire life story. It reads like a greatest hits with deleted scenes and very perfectly weaves the tapestry between the stories all the while adding brand new stories in-between. Bond’s early days, his relationship with his parents, his multiple meetings with Fleming, his first two kills, his first meeting with M, the friends, foes and females, and everything that happens in-between what we’ve read before is all included. The new stories Pearson has created display the capture and climax scenes and add even more depth to the character and his relationships with others. It progresses and ends perfectly.Final Fling (The Moneypenny Diaries) – Samantha Weinberg – From the vantage point of Moneypenny, senior members of MI6 including M, Tanner, Bond and Moneypenny grapple with the prospect of a mole who has caused the SIS a great deal of harm – it gives us stories from the mid-60’s, the late 80’s/early 90’s, and the 21st century involving our heroesGuardian Angel (The Moneypenny Diaries) – Samantha Weinberg – Moneypenny’s diaries posthumously arrive at the doorstep of her niece, who grapples with their publication while diving into her aunt’s retelling of the events after “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” (Fleming’s best), during “You Only Live Twice,” and afterward, leading up to the Cuban Missile CrisisHigh Time to Kill – Raymond Benson – Benson’s best features golf, a rival from Bond’s past and one of the greatest physical tests of 007: mountain climbing to 8,000 meters/ 30,000 feet. The plot has dire and important consequences for Britain. Our new M played by Dame Judi Dench is in full effect. The year is 1999 and yet we ignore the fact James Bond is 70+ years old; the ambiguity of his age is glorious, for Bond is timeless.Icebreaker – John Gardner – James Bond (the 00-program is no longer functional) finds himself called in to investigate a Nazi resurgence in 1983 alongside an American, Israeli and Russian. Nothing is as it seems, as no one is who one believes them to be, double-crossing and surprises occur right up until the final pages, and much of this novel feels genuine to the Fleming legacy.Nobody Lives Forever – John Gardner – Gardner tackles the seemingly obvious question – Why has no one ever just killed James Bond? He has annihilated countless threats. Even been the outright target of SMERSH in “From Russia With Love.” “Nobody Lives Forever” gamifies it. I will not get into spoilers, but suffice it to say that Bond is a specific target in this book and he weaves his away across the globe not only trying to avoid death, but keeping safe two people he cares for.Trigger Mortis – Anthony Horowitz – The direct sequel to “Goldfinger”- It begins with Bond fresh off the Fort Knox Goldfinger takedown, “hosting” Ms. Galore in his Chelsea flat. He’s quickly called back into duty; Ms. Galore gets a very interesting and fitting plotline here. Bond is also taken into the world of Grand Prix, which is exciting and important because it utilizes actual writing and dialogue penned by Ian Fleming for “Murder on Wheels” – a TV pilot.Forever and a Day – Anthony Horowitz – The direct prequel to “Casino Royale,” “Forever and a Day” picks up with the story of James Bond after his first kill – of a Japanese cipher clerk – and just prior to his second: the infamous one that garners his “Double-O” status. He is officially licenced to kill and promoted during the events of this story, has his first official meeting with M (Sir Miles Messervy) and receives orders that take him on a globetrotting mission to investigate a film magnate and a mob boss. On the way, he encounters a mysterious woman… and he ultimately picks up many of his signature tastes that will follow him in adventures to come: brand of cigarettes, penchant for a specific type of vodka martini, among others.SilverFin (Young Bond) – Charlie Higson – “SilverFin” is perfect in introducing us to the boy who would be 007; not only is it the teenage James Bond’s first steps into Eton and a “case” with some real implications, but it is rich in Bond lore from his parents, his aunt, cars, other supporting characters, and traits – physical and character – that we always attribute to Bond.By Royal Command (Young Bond) – Charlie Higson – We’ve always known Bond’s departure from Eton centered around an alleged problem with a boys’ maid, and this is that tale. Furthermore, his ski instructor (from the book “Octopussy” and film “SPECTRE”) Hannes Oberhauser makes an appearance. And James Bond comes into contact with a larger world where he will one day play a significant part. “By Royal Command” brilliantly weaves young James Bond through matters of extreme importance toward a destiny we all know he will have, blending in characters from Fleming’s stories and the earlier Young Bond stories alike.
