Now Why Did They Do That?

If you really want to drive yourself crazy, just try to figure out the motives behind the actions of others. I was reminded of just how futile that can be while listening to many of the talking heads as they discussed the motives behind many of the tactical and strategic moves by different candidates. They get paid for it – and still they're wrong most of the time.

Very few things can create more issues and problems than trying to get at the motives for many of the decisions and actions of people at work. How often can you recall deciding someone did something for Reason A, only to find out someone else thought the very same action was taken for Reason B, and another thought it was for Reason C. Only later did you all find out that the real reason – Reason D – was so far from what you all had thought that you were astonished, or disappointed, or embarrassed.

Trying to determine motive is a habit of thought – a bad habit of thought. It wastes your time and energy in arriving at conclusions that are almost always wrong – and have little positive value. What a path to personal failure!

How do you avoid this trap that can have such a negative impact on your success? Work hard to stop trying, and take things as they are – deal with what is in front of you, and not with what you think someone’s motive might have been.

A story about staying in the moment:

A Buddhist monk being chased by a tiger. He came to a cliff and grabbed the one vine hanging over the cliff, and started to lower himself down the vine. Looking down he was terrified to see another tiger waiting for him at the bottom of the cliff. He was trapped. As he hung there, not sure what to do, he noticed two things: a mouse that was busily chewing on the vine that was his sole support It was just a matter of time before the mouse chewed through the vine and he would fall to his certain death.. He lacked the strength to reach the mouse. The other thing that he noticed was a small strawberry plant – growing out of the cliff. On it, and within easy reach, was one perfect, ripe strawberry. What do you think he did?

Answer: He ate the strawberry, and it was delicious! End of story.

I suggest you remember that story the next time you look beyond what is in front of you – remember to deal with what you can see and what has been given to you – and don’t waste time on conjecture. You will be more successful for taking that approach.

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: acox@coxconsultgroup.com; Website: www.coxconsultgroup.com; Blog: http://multiplysuccess.blogspot.com

Copyright 2007 All Rights Reserved

When Knowledge Becomes a Liability to Success

I never realized until recently just how much the quest for knowledge can get in the way of success.

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,

Copyright 2006. All Rights Reserved