SETTING GOALS ::.... I love numbers!!!

Isn't that ^ the greatest quote?
It is definitely magical when you are humming along, clicking here, scrolling there, and something pops out at you!

A thought.
It can be a news story, something you heard at work?  Something you were reading in the past week.  It was bubbling in the background, for me anyhow.  I was writing and writing and channeling some vibe on my blogs.  

For every action there is a reaction or action
It all depends on how you keep focus on your goal.  What drives you?  What floats your boat?  Do you want more of that?  

SETTING GOALS
I have had my Guiding Principles to the right at the beginning of my blog.  As I was creating a vision on what I wanted to accomplish, I started to set goals, tagging an action in smaller, achievable steps.

except if you're TRUMP
ed = the man, his family, his circle of  extended friendships, his Advisers [which he pays attention to in varying degrees, ultimately falling back on his own opinion, perhaps just have a sphere of those who will continuously say or show he is the greatest of anything or anyone that ever was], his adversaries [ stand in line because there's a big crowd in here ].

I highly doubt that his first words were Mama or Dada, I'm sure it sounded more like "Me" or "My" or "Mine" or in that sequential order.   He probably was in Grade One [making mincemeat of Michael Keaton's boy genius in, shoot, what was that television sitcom of the 80s he made being a wonder boy charming and endearing ] SEE sidebar -> Trump would have told the teacher, in an instructional pattern not quite fully matured as he is accustomed to now, that he was going to be the GREATEST of anything or anyONE!  

You have to like numbers to set goals Because most goals can be carved into indices (index: singular).  I remember doing sales coaching to my most receptive students.  It doesn't matter if you are a former great football player, cum NFL team coach, you have a lot to offer.  That is very apparent when I watched the NFL Draft last night.  Maybe, just slightly, I've grasped that the game of football that is the razzle dazzle in entertainment, when knowing the stats is the steak.

If you like numbers, you will be receptive to setting goals. If you examine the highest echelon of the executive and CEO offices of the most sophisticated and successful corporations, regardless of location or country, they all have that in common.  They LOVE their numbers.

An aha moment of sorts.
I don't think that a non-numbers linear thinker, can relate to another person who is highly linear, as in focus on numbers.  In real life and as it is these days, I am not following a script per se I am reacting and picking up on what is being placed before me and scooping up the numbers.

That's how it works
If you are going to talk to an executive, especially a CEO, you had better know the numbers.  Depending on which company I've worked for in the past, I've paid attention to the CEO of the organization.  I've even been lucky enough to report directly mostly to a President, Vice President or CEO, or COO.  <- I'm going to intentionally leave that without parenthesis and if you share what it stands for under COMMENTS on this blog + tweet at me = a guest blog here.

I remember the only few who picked up
on my style of sales coaching.  I was so away from the norm (and some would say not normal either).  I was not focused on scripts at all.  Sales people are not parrots because the prospect or customers are not apes (as in attempt to mimic what you say or do).  If anything, that is not a bad idea::... train your sales people to be apes or great mirrors.

Here is an idea for a sales meeting after you have shared the teams numbers.  In fact, if you are any corporation or organization that relies on numbers to meet their obligation or goals, you have numbers and anyone you work with or works for you had better be really adept with numbers.

Data is millions of numbers
as in information and digits of letters.  I remember being at the cusp of the dilemma that companies are going to get bottle necked by:  numbers.  Everyone, every company, every executive is soaking and gulping up numbers by the millions, compounding into gazillions.

The technology to amass numbers like algorithms are generating a huge, massive, to the moon in numbers compiled from clicks, sites, words, or scroll, time in numbers, times formulas to attract those  multitude upon millions of more numbers.

Back in the late 1990s when digital printing
began, one of the coolest technologies that XEROX invented, to go along with the gear | box | equipment | device | photocopier | xerox machine > was the front end.  The technology that made the engine hum.  Nothing like the sound of a noisy clicky clacky sound of a duplicating machine overused beyond its intended capacity and ignoring suggestions that it could be improved upon.  The front end turned a really big machine into a humming mouse, constantly kept happy and fed as long as it was eating a lot of paper before regurgitating it out into advance copies of novels for publishers to review, possibly edit, and return for more.  It could be only a digest size [ next trick question if you want to try to respond for a chance for me to post your picture on my blog [ or keep your name anonymous, your choice }.  Under a hundred pages but more than 5 copies should be left for the copy room to produce in less time and have it delivered back.  Can you imagine?  Well, that's what those biggie machines were designed to do.  OH, plus being connected between geological reasons, different cities, nose-diving the shipping cost and eliminating the cafuffle that happens when there is a mistake _ where else? _ YES _ the NUMBERS!!

You will never see a big big company come to a complete standstill if there is no meeting the numbers.  You don't have to like them, but at a company, you HAVE TO MEET THEM.   Maybe if you hate numbers that much you can revisit your goals if you are in sales of any kind.  If you don't like numbers, you will never "GET IT" why some people can be average while a few catapult to REMARKABLE.  

The number lovers
instinctively know that the numbers have to work.  That's when great questioning skill is handy to jump in.  I had a great manager who happened to rise very fast into the big companies' executive ranks.  It really is no wonder, I'm fortunate of had that opportunity.  But, LET ME TELL YOU, MIKE loved his numbers.  If you were going to work and move along at his breakneck smart speed, you had to love numbers too to be able to keep pace with him.  If you did do that, then talking numbers was like a serenade of praise.

EXPECT AN INSERT -> 
I'll have to write about one of Mike's greatest motivational tactics and public recognition he did for me that really made the difference for me.  Unfortunately, timing wasn't always aligned because as Mike moved into a fast trajectory to executive place, I was really lucky to have had the chance to have spent along side him, while he nourished my love of numbers.

Gord will remember our first number of sessions [ or perhaps not because I wouldn't know now how those first conversations unfolded but I do].  Gord knew that I had newly been anointed his sales team leader [ same, if not more, exact responsibility as my male counterparts who were called "Sales Managers" or "Operations Managers" ].

Gord said:  "I'm not looking to invent the wheel.  You appear to get how to sell this digital printing based on your results and awards.  I am looking to learn so that I can get up to speed quicker."  Smart guy eh?  You won't improve and you won't get better if you aren't being a sponge.  It won't work if you think that throwing scalding hot water at your sponge [ subordinate who reports to you regardless of title ] will work, it will do the opposite.  I had an example today where I was talking numbers with someone who in 30 seconds (grammar rule:  use numerical symbol when 10 or higher, written out numbers when nine or less.  Except when you are coming numbers like 10, 30 or 300.) was able to zero in on an exact instance and instance figure precisely.  I came to a realization that my former training that developed into habit became very natural to me to pick out a bunch of numbers and attribute the big picture.

When Gord and I sat down that first day and he said that, I must have been giddy with excitement ... because he was asking me to show him how I got to the NUMBERS on the BOARD?  If you don't love numbers, you won't relate to this at all.  [ thank YOU if you still hang with me and pick up a few pointers along the way or at least until now so it becomes worth your while! ]  

I opened my file on my desk and showed him a printout of all of my clients and prospects and a bunch of columns that I had developed that probably was extrapolated or cross-referenced to CRM [ for a prize for one of my hand-painted one of a kind mask please comment with what that acronym stands for? ].

Then I probably talked and talked and talked about the numbers.  I likely rattled off numbers like my top 5 accounts, account for 15% of total annual sales; next to my proudest, consistent numbers:  what their sales at the same exact date of the former year.  That was my badge of honor and what I guarded like a hawk pouncing on its prey.  Year over year sales gains.  Almost euphoric in giddiness a real numbers sales or executive or CEO role will have.  That would also be readily supported by percentage of year over year gain:  the ones that would have dropped {heavenly gasp for who would EVER lose an account?} clearly colored in red.  Like a badge of shame.

If you could really get the psychology of numbers in sales or get into it, then you would become gloriously at the top of the chain.  If you can take numbers from just about anywhere, interpret them into unique meaning, then you got what it takes.  

Now, in reflection upon this blog, one may think that I must have thought I had it made since I've embraced, massaged, moved, summed, added, subtracted, divided numbers a lot.  With the help of a calculator a good 75% or more of the time (it is also perfectly acceptable to join 75 percent like that, often looks more intellectual than academic, use based on your audience).  I am just trying to show examples on how I love numbers.  I am also being evangelistic about numbers too.  

As to my earlier point:  as the world and everyone and every company and every government and every citizen and every person creates more and more numbers someone is going to have to read them, sort them, make some sort of sense out of them.  The technology is already around to generate patterns and predict habits from numbers or create algorithms to navigate or maneuver them, numbers are going to increase in importance.

Back in the early days of digital printing in the late 1990s, something like 1998, a very big organization gave me the chance to give my team a whirl at printing something for them:  It was a one page letter, but it was going to 20,000 differently, individually addressed correspondence to appeal for something.  You don't ask for anything that is associated with asking someone for money without it appearing as customized and handwritten as they have ever seen.  As a [ you got it! ] one of a kind!  Those special numbers.

I've scooted around and scattered some thoughts.  Recognized some insight that I hadn't examined for quite some time.  Does anyone remember "the QR CODE"?  [I will guest write a blog FOR YOU if you can comment with the answer for that]..  Maybe I can stay on this train of thought and go back into my sales roots to impart some wisdom, if there is any to be had.  You are the decider of that. 


 Thank you,
 Jeannette