Doug Davidoff
I’m reading a fascinating book right now, Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter (affil link).
One chapter addresses how great leaders (called Multipliers) make decisions. Specifically, Multipliers act as “debate makers,” while less effective leaders (called Diminishers) act as “the decider.”
Of course, one of the most famous “deciders” of all-time is President George W. Bush. The authors referenced an interview Bush conducted with author Bob Woodward where he said:
I’m a gut player. I play by instincts. I don’t play by the book.
Woodward, who wrote four books on Bush’s presidency and conducted more than 11 hours of interviews with him, had this to say about Bush:
I think [Bush] is impatient. My summation: He doesn’t like homework. And homework means reading or getting briefed or having a debate. A part of the presidency, part of governing, particularly in this area is homework, homework, homework.
Now please understand this post has nothing to do with Bush, Woodward or politics. The point is that Woodward’s description of Bush is smack-on to the description of the vast majority of salespeople.I’ve often wondered why intelligent people don’t do the things that they know will help them get better results. Reading this passage lit a bulb for me. The reason is simple:
LOTS OF PEOPLE DON’T LIKE HOMEWORK
Unfortunately, the truth of our times today is that if you want to be successful selling, homework (often lots of it) is necessary. It’s a lot like the signs I saw when I first brought my son to workout at his baseball facility. They read:- Mediocrity not accepted here
- Champions do what others don’t, when others don’t want to do it
The same is true of successful salepeople.