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www.HartfordBusiness.com June 8, 2015 • Hartford Business Journal 37 BIZ BOOKS Tips for building leadership qualities "C hess Not Checkers: Elevate Your Leadership Game" by Mark Miller (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, $22.95). In startups, the owner plays the business version of checkers (i.e. jumping from activ- ity to activity). As the business grows, the owner must think more strategically about where she/he can add value while leverag- ing employees' talents to get things done — that's chess. In Miller's business parable, you'll follow Blake Brown's rise to grandmas- ter CEO of a small, growing but troubled firm. Here are some highlights: The leader's job starts by figuring out, "How can we help this team grow?" Miller's answer: Make sure goals align with purpose. Focus on pro- viding information your staff needs to make decisions and solve problems. Develop leaders in the ranks by creating development plans for employees — if they're not growing, your business can't grow. Knowing employ- ees as individuals helps that development process because there's no one-size-fits-all method when it comes to understanding individual motivation and dreams. "Act as one." Two-way, no-spectators communication on what matters most fosters alignment — especially when plan- ning. Because processes must evolve as the firm grows, it also recognizes that individ- ual and team creativity can be a source of competitive advantage. Knowl- edge-sharing builds we-all-care buy-in and minimizes silos. "Win the heart" by mak- ing sure employees are in the right job. When given the opportunity to do what they do best, employees stay engaged and grow into their development plans. To that end, assigning outcomes (i.e. adding value) rather than tasks (i.e. extracting value) shows a leader's con- fidence and trust while the employ- ee learns responsibility and accountability. "Excel at execution." You have to measure what matters most by develop- ing an execution scorecard (i.e. define suc- cess). Miller believes that the score on goal achievement should be shared with the entire team. High scores build confidence because they show the team gets the job done. Low scores don't mean calling indi- viduals out; rather, they raise team aware- ness of execution gaps, and obtain team input on ways to attack the gaps. Great quote: "It looks to me like the business has been over-managed and under-led." • • • "Singletasking — Get More Done One Thing at a Time" by Devora Zack (Ber- rett-Koehler Publishers, $16.95). We all know the perils of distracted driv- ing (e.g. texting, not using hands-free devices, fiddling with navigation and entertainment knobs, etc.) because they take the driver's attention away from the most important task — driving. Yet, we persist in multitasking at work, which distracts us from our most impor- tant task — getting the job done. Task-switching more accu- rately describes what happens in our brains than multitasking. We develop Scattered Brain Syn- drome (SBS), which inhibits the ability to concentrate. SBS destroys productivity because it takes only a few tenths of a second to lose focus and at least 30 seconds to recapture it. It causes brain damage, too. Research shows it low- ers IQ and shrinks the area of the brain responsible for cognitive and emotional control. Zack advocates task immersion as the solution. It's all about choices. You can choose not to be interrupted. This doesn't mean that you follow each task to completion. It means that you allot uninterrupted time to a task before switching to another. The key to task immersion: Learn to say "no" to yourself and others. Send calls to voicemail; don't answer when emails ping. Instead, set aside specific times each day to deal with voicemail and email. These become task time-blocks. When it comes to others say, "I can't right now. I've got time …." Postponement actually helps you work with others. How? It allows you to give full attention to their topic. Block out some time to rest your brain, too. When you've completed a task time-block, a short walk will recharge your energy. Remember: "Your mind can't be in two places at once." Jim Pawlak is a nationally syndicated book reviewer. Jim Pawlak THE RAINMAKER Closing the contention gap between selling and buying By Ken Cook T he acts of selling and buying are interde- pendent, yet both manifest themselves in different ways, and somehow they usual- ly end up being contentious. The process of sell- ing often creates a back-and-forth scenario of points and counterpoints, with sellers extract- ing cautious agreements and buyers feeling as if they have to defend themselves from making bad decisions. This frequent conflict between sell- ing or buying is the tyranny of the word "or." When selling and buying are con- trasted with "or" it immediately creates a chasm between the two practices. There is the selling process. There is the buying process. Never the twain shall meet. Sales training programs are predominant- ly responsible for creating this chasm. For decades, the practice of selling has been defined as the process of overcoming objections and controlling the conversation. Many sales people are told to: • Control the steps from building rapport to closing. Establish up front with the prospect how the sales process should proceed. • Qualify early on that there is a good fit between what the prospect needs and what the product delivers. Early on, have the prospect share all that they are going through, so the salesperson can deter- mine alignment before they invest too much time or effort. • Ensure the prospect can afford my prod- uct and is ready to make a decision. Get commitments early on regarding budget and resources. • And finally, get signals early on that the prospect will buy. Check that the pros- pect agrees using the "if, then" scenario — "if I can solve your problem, then will you buy my product"? This approach is understandable. After all, fielding a sales force is an investment. The return on that investment ultimately determines the success or failure of a company. If sales are not where they need to be, the company closes its doors. Therefore, control the process in order to maximize the return. (Interestingly, the returns on this type of selling approach are not that great. Sales funnel conversions of prospects to customers are typically less than 10 percent.) Buying on the other hand, involves reach- ing a value-based decision on something in the context of needs, challenges, and/ or goals. The buyer's perspective has to do with the seller's approach. A buyer is only concerned about their situation, challenges, and needs. They frankly don't care what the seller's time frames are, nor do they care what process the seller wants to use. No one likes to be sold to, so buyers natu- rally put up defenses as soon as selling starts to take place. And the ultimate reality is that the buyer is in control regardless of what the seller wants or tries to do. Why? Because the buyer has the gold, and he who has the gold writes the rules. There is a better way. Eliminate the "or." Approach the exchange of goods and ser- vices for money as what it should be — an interdependent collaboration. A collabora- tion entails openness and honesty in commu- nication. It entails empathy and authenticity. Most importantly, it requires trust. Trust is the goal. Trust opens up oppor- tunities because both parties are aligned. Trust has nothing to do with selling or buy- ing. Trust is a judgment based on the strength of a relationship with someone else. When trust exists, one doesn't have to sell. Instead, there is conversation, discus- sion, and exploration. Salespeople don't have to convince prospects. Prospects con- vince themselves because they trust what has occurred. Close rates climb well above 10 percent. Throw away the outdated concept of sell- ing something to someone. Eliminate the idea of controlling a sales process, closing pros- pects along the way with artificial "if, then" agreements. Put the focus where it should be — on developing a relationship and trust. When that occurs both parties collaborate, working together to reach a conclusion that makes sense today and long term. n Ken Cook is the co-founder of How to Who and co-author of How to WHO: Selling Per- sonified, a book and program on building business through relationships. Ken Cook ▶ ▶ When given the opportunity to do what they do best, employees stay engaged and grow into their development plans. ▶ ▶ And the ultimate reality — the buyer is in control regardless of what the seller wants or tries to do. Why? Because the buyer has the gold, and he who has the gold writes the rules.