The Red Queen Effect: Differentiate or Die

In 1973, evolutionary biologist, Leigh Van Valen of the University of Chicago, devised the Red Queen Principle (also called the Red Queen Effect or Red Queen Hypothesis). This is based on the reflection from one of Lewis Carroll’s characters in Through the Looking Glass that “in this place it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place!”, The Red Queen is the character who runs hard but never gets anywhere.

With the competition in medical devices heating up, we have to run just to keep in place. To be able maintain our edge, we have to do more than the usual things. If we only do the usual things, we will only get the usual results. This is why:

1. We are always thinking out of the box - trying to do things differently
2. We are always willing to do the things that the competition is unwilling to do.
3. We are constantly sharpening our skills and improving our knowledge about the specialties we are targeting

So, just after finishing a recertification last November, we headed off for yet another intensive course in Bali last month. The irony of the situation did not escape me. You fly thousands of kilometers to a popular resort destination, book into a hotel a few meters away from the beach. And then you are locked up in a conference room, given a difficult subject to learn, given two minute bio breaks and lunch (half) hours. Then they tell you - to focus.

For me, the discipline learned in trying to focus in spite of all the pleasures beckoning to you gets you on the road to differentiation. If you can get to focus on what really matters (in this case, the course!) then you have already embarked on a journey to continuously improving and eventually, differentiating yourself.

What We Can Learn From The Philippine Women’s Everest Team

Tagaytay City, January 2008.
It’s that time of the year again when companies hold their kick-off meetings and national sales conferences. Beyond drinking the kool-aid, however, these events are excellent opportunities to realign your goals with those of the company’s. We recently invited the Philippine Women’s Everest Team as motivational speakers in our national conference. The comparison between mountain-climbing and achieving one’s goals is nothing new but the points highlighted by the team have never been clearer to me until now.

1. Train hard. Prepare yourself - physically, mentally, spiritually. Pursuing an ambitious goal means that you’ll be dealing with unfamiliar conditions. The Women’s Team were the first all female team from the ASEAN region. They were all from the tropics and yet were able to conquer icy terrain.
2. Put up your basecamp. Having the right support group is winning half of the battle. Surround yourself with people who will support you and motivate you to success.
3. Acclimatize yourself. Ascending without proper acclimatization may result in pulmonary edema. Your lungs fill with fluid and you literally drown. In the pursuit of your goal, watch your pace and take care not to burn yourself out.
4. Listen to your guide. Get help from someone who knows the terrain more than you do. They know the pitfalls and the dangers that lurk behind each of the terrain’s feature. Seek the help of a mentor.

It’s not the mountain that we conquer but ourselves
- Sir Edmund Hillary

5. Check your progress. Periodically check where you are in relation to the goals you set for yourself. Look for the flaws in your execution and adjust accordingly.
6. It’s not over yet even if you reach the top. Going down, according to mountaineers, is even harder. This is where accidents can happen because of mental lapses and the natural tendency to relax after one reaches the top. Use your success to further toughen yourself mentally and to fuel yourself to even more achievements.
7. Find a deeper reason. According to Noelle Wenceslao, one of the team members, conquering Everest is just climbing on top of a big rock. What gave value to the journey was the outpouring of support, the bonds they formed, the love they experienced and the national pride it gave them when they finally succeeded.

Here’s to a successful 2008 everyone!

Flash: You don’t need a college degree…

…to read this blog, that is.

If you can believe this tool, this particular blog is highly readable to someone who has reached junior high school. I’m taking this to mean that I write with clarity The same goes for my other blogs, ExitPlan and Tongki’s World. However, Marketplace 2.1’s readability was judged to be college level (postgrad). Hmmm. This, in spite of my efforts to demystify the subject. Oh well.

The Broken Windows Theory and Your Customers

The Broken Windows Theory was introduced by criminologists James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling in an article entitled Broken Windows: The Police and Neighborhood Safety, which appeared in Atlantic Monthly in March 1982.

The theory states that a broken window, by itself does not harm anyone. But left untended, this could send a signal to elements intent on committing crime. This broken window can be interpreted that nobody cares. If no one cares then no one is in charge. This can embolden offenders and encourage more crime and vandalism because it sends a message of apathy. Crime is the inevitable result of disorder.

Since reading the theory, I’ve been thinking about it in terms of conducting myself before my customers. Your seemingly small and inconsequential action (or inaction) can send a signal to the customer that you don’t care. Now this can turn into a problem. Example? Not returning calls or inquiries promptly can send the signal that you’re not interested in their business. Not confirming if a solution offered was helpful or not, may also be taken by the client as lack of interest in helping them. Failing to address these may result in the customer looking for a more responsive and helpful supplier.

Now, I’m always on the lookout for possible gaps or lapses in my account servicing. You can never be complacent when it comes to taking care of your clients’ needs. After all, they are the lifeblood of any business.

Happy holidays from The Call Card Chronicles!

From The Call Card Chronicles, here’s wishing you the best of the season. This time of the year we’re permitted to relax after working hard for twelve months.   After all that hard work we’re entitled to several days of much-deserved rest.

After getting your fill of restorative sleep, time with your loved ones and holiday food, you can also use this season to jump start your careers, launch your enterprise or to advance your personal brand. As a parting gift for Christmas here are a few tips:

1. Forget resolutions. Self-improvement is a direction. It’s a non-stop journey, so you can improve or change no matter what time of the year. You can use this season to make an inventory of things you want to change or make happen. The good thing is that you don’t have to wait for New Year’s Day. You can start now.

2. Launch your business. Do you have plans of putting up your own business? You can organize your thoughts and solidify your business plan during this time. Meet with your partners and decide on what you can really offer to prospective customers and formulate your action plans.

3. Network. You never know who you’re going to meet during those obligatory Christmas parties, so better come prepared. It’s the season to be jolly so get with it. Be gracious and start interacting in these events.

4. Clean up. De-clutter your office, your home and your life.

5. Give. Give away items which you can’t use anymore to those who are truly in need. You’ll never believe the amount of junk you have stored until you try to wade through them. Count your blessings and share these with others. It is truly more blessed to be in a position to give than to receive.

5. Write. Or blog. Surely, you have some unique experiences or you may have a few ideas that may benefit a few people. If your writings have helped even just one person then all the trouble you’ve gone through to update or start your blog has not been for nothing. Update your weblog or start one, or help a friend start his online journal.

6. Read. Catch up on your reading to add to your repository of business knowledge. Sharpen your insights and feed your mind by reading non-fiction.

7. Polish your resume. Add your latest accomplishments and make your credentials even more appealing to the headhunters and the prospective employers you’re hoping to attract.

8. Pray / reflect (I’ve saved the best for last). This is a time to thank the Lord for the blessings and even the trials that He has put us through this year. Blessings are meant to be shared. The challenges are meant to strengthen us and develop something, which can help us, in the future. It may not have made sense that time but if you go back now, things will seem different. Look back with thankfulness and look forward with hope.

By using the season both as your launch pad and recovery period, you can be more confident that you’ll hit the ground running and set yourself up for more success in 2008. Now THESE should make you feel relaxed.

 

 

Photo by lusi

 

 

 

 

Your Sales Career Can Lead To Better Things.

Sales ain’t what it used to be. Those tie-wearing, jeepney-riding caricatures of the stereotypical salesman may still be with us but sales nowadays has become sufficiently glamourized that the even the best and the brightest want to get in. Commissions aside, there are other benefits to being a member of this band of sellers. All those years in the field have their benefits, after all.

1. You get paid to study. Your territory is a business unit of one where you learn regulatory, finance, inventory, marketing, theater, technology, and CRM. In some companies they actually pay for your studies.  Next stop - your own company.

2. VIP access. You get an exclusive pass to pick the brains of your organization’s sales superstars. Know their best practices and what makes them tick.

3. Everyday is networking day.  You meet with potential clients AND employers.

4. You improve your people skills.  Patience, empathy, determination, guts.  These are all essential traits whether moving up on the ladder or putting up your own business.

5. You improve your persuasion technique.  Not manipulating them or fooling them. Not strong-arming them to submission but learning to see what’s good in what you have to offer and effectively communicating them.

Got anything to add?

The Blogger or the Blog?

Hey. I know you wrote your blog. You’re the content provider and the media producer. You always had an opinion about everything. You believe in certain causes and would like to reach out to other like-minded people. You want to write your thoughts, promote your advocacy, and share the lessons you’ve learned. You want to publish them but couldn’t.

Thanks to blogging platforms, you’re now a citizen journalist. And you have a duty to your readers. You have to make sure that you communicate clearly and effectively. If you can’t understand what you wrote, how can anyone? You need to watch what you post because anything you upload now can come back to haunt you someday.

You also learned to look for what’s positive in every situation so you have something new to share to your readers.

It’s more than just polishing you writing style. You also had to learn to tweak your site. You learned to play with graphics, to understand code and to work with widgets. And after all these, you still had to keep abreast of what’s being said in the blogosphere — Who’s who? Who has something new to say? What’s the latest trend?

Sure, you formulated the production feel of your web log and you mapped out its editorial direction of its contents before even applying for your domain name. But as you went through these steps, something inside your brain clicked. Looking at your posts and the feel of your page, everything just became clearer. Somehow the act of planning your content, also clarified your personal vision. You now have a better sense of who you are and what you stand for. From there you have a better understanding of where to go. And along the way you managed to pick up some skills.

You made your blog but your blog also made you.

5 Tips to Help You Survive Cut-off Week

 

 

It’s that time of the month again!

In the medical device and pharmaceutical industries, the fourth week of the month-long cycle is known as cut-off week. For the sales reps, this is their last chance to make their quota. The outcome of an entire cycle determines if you hit your numbers. Will you fall from the rankings or will your cred shoot up? After the cut-off, there are no appeals, no resetting of your plan.

Miracles, disappointments and drama have been known to happen during this time.

You can just imagine the stress levels.

Below are some tips to help you maintain your poise so you can handle this all-important date. These can also be helpful to anyone who’s hounded by deadlines, whether you’re office-based or a freelancer.

1. Plan well - Start early and anticipate as many activities (such as conventions, meetings, presentations and training) as possible, and incorporate these into your calendar. For me, a great deal of stress is avoided because my time is budgeted well.

2. Choose redundancy, not just efficiency. In his book, Lasting Contribution, Tad Waddington makes the distinction between efficiency and redundancy. Efficiency is a linear chain with vital links performing their own unique functions. But if a link gets taken out (for ex., an account contact with the authority to approve orders becomes sick), your chain is broken. Building alternatives (redundancies) into your system can help reduce this risk. Instead of a single chain (or alternative), use more than one. Better yet, use cables, ropes, twine (all the back-up that you can get).

3. Get as much information as possible - your decisions will be more prudent, and will make sense with more guidance

4. Expect the unexpected - If I know that a particular item is bound to be out of stock because of shipping delays, I will try to convince the customer to order an alternative or substitute stock.

5. If you have exhausted all possible means, report the situation as early as possible - If I had done everything in my capacity to ensure that the situation is managed well, I report the matter to my superior as early as possible. This is just being fair and considerate to your boss, because it gives them a chance to devise alternatives.

5 Reasons Why Face to Face Meetings Are Still Important

 

After a 2-day workshop in Bangkok, I wondered why, in this age of videoconferences and social networks, we still subject ourselves to the hassles of traveling including security checks, tourist traps and time away from our families.

At the end of those 2 days, I got my answer.

1. Benchmarking. Travel allows us to gauge our country’s (and our company’s) performance against others. We can see what they are doing right, what we can improve on and what we should avoid. These things are sometimes evident as soon as we arrive at our destination’s airport. If we’re truly serious about improving our situation then we can use travel as an additional opportunity for reflecting and as a springboard for action.

2. Personal connections. There’s nothing like being face to face with your friends and colleagues from other countries. Seeing the look of genuine delight on their faces upon seeing you again can make the trip worth it. You can’t fax a smile or email a handshake.

3. Best experienced live. There are some things which are best experienced live, like watching a cultural performance, seeing an artist work his magic right before your eyes or listening to a brilliant lecturer. One of our guest speakers, Dr. Anil Tendulkar from Mumbai, was simply a joy to listen to. His topic was cardiovascular surgery (tough topic) but throughout the presentation, he kept his audience’s interest and clarified a lot of things for me. As he was concluding his talk I was actually sorry to see him go.

4. Instant feedback. If you have questions, for example about your foreign counterparts’ key to success, now’s the time to ask them right there, right now.

5. Cultural enrichment. This is an opportunity to learn about other cultures. Our differences may be apparent from the beginning. But we may also be surprised to learn about our similarities. This will make you better equipped during your next visit.   As Renato Echivarre of Educated Minds would say, “True freedom begins with an educated mind.”.

Technology may be a great enabler and we now use it in ways that we may not have imagined possible before but it still can’t replace good old personal time. Not yet anyway.

6 Unconventional Ways To Conquer An Overwhelming Task

Some people put off doing a major task because it can seem too complex and overwhelming. Major tasks are not always pleasant but are often necessary, and can have a significant impact in our lives. If the reward which comes in accomplishing these tasks, is not enough to spur you into action, here are some unusual but effective tips to get you going:

 

1. Begin Badly. That’s right. Botch it up. Mess up. Forget perfection. Cross the bridge when you get there. Then make adjustments when you encounter the problem. But just…begin.

2. The Swiss Cheese Method. Poke holes into that task by getting involved in it, at any point of the job. This creates gradual involvement. Before you know it, the complex isn’t so complex anymore. You may even find yourself close to finishing the job at hand before you realize it.

3. Plan for Someone Else. Imagine that the responsibility for a job is taken off your shoulders. All you have to do now is make the plan for someone else to follow. Next, think of what you can recommend to this person to help him carry out his duties. Maybe there are some tasks at which you’re particularly good at. You can do that for him, while he’s not around, can’t you? Now you’re involved!

4. Do a Related Task. Step closer towards your goal by doing a light but related chore. For example, if you plan to read a book, buying a copy of that book can sometimes be the push that you need to get started. By getting a copy, you are closer to reading that book than if you didn’t.

5. Make A Commitment. Make yourself accountable by making a commitment to your boss, your colleague, your loved ones or your customers to remind yourself that accomplishing an assignment is not just for your own benefit, but theirs as well.

6. Take Advantage of the Moment. Sometimes there are times when we feel so fired up and motivated that we feel that we are up to any task. Take advantage of this mood by performing errands related to any major responsibility you’ve been keeping in the back burner.