Let me explain. A client has a really bright, articulate, energetic, well schooled salesperson they are trying to develop. They hired this person out of a top school. She was right at the top of her class in a challenging engineering course of study. She has all the attributes of an "A" player - not just for her company, but for a lot of organizations. Problem is - she just doesn't get to the market in a timely way. She always seems to have one more "thing" she has to define, or look into, before having that critical conversation with a prospect. Her product is highly technical, and its potential applications do require study and preparation. But any number of sales have slipped through her fingers in the two years she has worked for my client. What's the problem?
It's a common problem for many people who have a high Theoretical Attitude as one of the main drivers of their Behavior. These are people who sincerely believe that knowledge is power - and, up to a point, they are right. They seek knowledge instinctively - their first resource is a book, or Wikipedia, or a white paper. Their findings, as they research a particular issue, require more and more research - they really begin to know what they don't know - and the acquisition of knowledge becomes an end in itself. They evaluate others on the basis of how well others have done their homework, particularly since that is how they evaluate themselves. The net effect is that they are slow to market, but when they get there they are fully prepared - by their standards. The problem is that money likes speed - fast to market wins - 90% of the time. So the high Theoretical may be competing for only 10% of the available opportunities. You can't meet and beat your organization's expectations that way.
Our client's potential A player became an A player - but in an engineering position that allowed the time to become a subject matter expert - a person valued for their in depth knowledge of their product's applications. She was called on to accompany sales people on calls - she provided a depth of knowledge that added enormous value to the sales process. Happy ending - the right person in the right job.
The moral of this story: Regardless of what you do for a living, knowledge, by itself, is not power. The application of knowledge through action creates power. The next time you catch yourself taking one more step on the information tree, ask yourself if this step has value in application, or is it just another way to learn more for your own sense of preparation. If it doesn't add value to application, stop. Take what you know and apply it - 95% of everything rewards speed in application. If you see others doing the "knowledge is power" behavior, send them this blog - maybe it can start them thinking about the application of power - and get them acting.
Written by Andy Cox, President
Cox Consulting Group LLC, 4049 E Vista Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85032; Ph: 602-795-4100; Fax 602-795-4800; E Mail: andycox@coxconsultgroup.com; Website: www.coxconsultgroup.com,
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