It’s not personal? Like hell it’s not!

Of course leadership in business requires the fundamentals, strategy, cash flow, execution, value, etc. Business 101. They’re all are critical to staying in business but won’t lead to breakout success. That requires passion from the leaders of the organization and enthusiasm throughout the layers of the company that customers can literally feel. It’s personal.

Whatever our market, there are competitors. To compete we have to innovate, and innovation takes passion and drive. Passion and drive are what great people and great companies are built on. It’s personal.

I want anyone working with me or for me to have the same drive that I do. I want people who love what they do, not robots that leave their emotions at the door. I want them to be creative and to innovate. I don’t just want to hire hands – I want their hearts and minds. I want their enthusiasm to literally ooze out into the marketplace. The great thing about enthusiasm is that it’s contagious – clients and customers catch it, as do partners and potential talent. Think Walt Disney.

I love to think outside the box, be creative, and to find solutions to “unsolvable” problems, and if I do say so myself, I am good at. When I come up with an idea that I know will work I’m like a kid on Christmas morning. The excitement is palpable. Whether it’s a small problem or a totally new strategy, when I solve a problem the company makes money and I gain personal satisfaction. We get paid when I’m right. I love being right and I take it very personally if I fail. I want people working with me who feel the same way. Everything we do should contribute to a passionate drive and a personal stake in the success of the business.

Not just within the company. I want customers to take it personally, too. I want them to love my company and my team. I want them to have the warm fuzzies every time they deal with us. Being successful in sales is about building relationships. Personal relationships. Think Walt Disney again.

I’m not saying we should all be milk toast, by any means. I’ve had to let people go, both as firings and lay-offs. I don’t like doing it, but its business and yes, it affects me as well as the person being let go. I don’t enjoy it. It sucks. I do it anyway. We have to make a profit. Period. 

We’re all in it for the money, but we also have to recognize that the human factor touches everything we do.