I was talking with a salesperson today who was unhappy with his manager. He ‘complained’ that his manager was too quick to point out faults and place blame. Bottom line was that the salesperson felt that the manager did not respect the salesperson and treated him inappropriately. He felt unappreciated even though he was a team player. The more we talked, the more I realized that the salesperson was being very closely managed. He was also being told what his goals were rather than being motivated toward something that he wanted. I remembered and reflected on Dave’s post about Bob and George. Dave’s post was written from the manager’s point of view, but let’s look at my salesperson and Dave’s post from the salesperson’s point of view.

Who is today’s salesperson most like, Bob or George?

Why does George work well without supervision, not need to be managed, and do what needs to be done without being told?

Why does Bob need to be managed, directed and held accountable? Flip the question. Why does Bob’s manager feel that Bob needs to be managed, directed and held accountable? Why does today’s salesperson’s manager feel that he needs to be managed, directed and held accountable?

What’s the difference? Could it be that George has a goal of his own?

Bob and today’s salesperson can’t manage themselves because they don’t know why they show up at work until their manager tells them why. Their long term personal goal isn’t tied to TODAY’s behavior, so they leave it to their manager to remind them why they work. Both Bob and today’s salesperson need to commit to something. Not a behavior, but something important, something that they want MORE THAT ANYTHING ELSE. It’s easy to say, “New car”, “Awesome vacation” “$100,000 extra cash”, but it’s the ‘why’ that matters. If the why isn’t strong enough, pick another goal.

Said another way:

When Bob gets interviewed he asks, “What’s my quota gonna be and how much will I make if I make it.?

When George gets interviewed he asks, “Can I make $200,000 by year end because after taxes I’ll get $130K. I’ll need $80K net to live and I need the other $50K to buy the Escalade that I promised my wife for Christmas.

Get it? The Escalade is the ‘what’. His wife is the ‘why’. George won’t need to be managed.

“You’re either working on your dream or you’re part of somebody else’s dream.”