For those starting their career in sales, I would like to share an amazing learning I had while interacting with my friend, Rajesh Setty. Rajesh has been very innovative and different in his approach to sales.

If we don’t understand and qualify leads properly we might be stuck with possibilities. Though possibilities are enormous but then we need to focus on opportunities which are real. I realized and have witnessed so many sales people being lost with possibilities. They put enormous efforts but end up with no results. What makes sales personnel successful is their ability to identify and chase the right opportunities.

Let me illustrate it with a real life example - ‘Business Leads’ are like cobras. And one needs to catch the cobra by the neck. If you catch it elsewhere other than the neck it would bite you which is fatal. The same thing can be co-related to many sales people. They don’t know really where to catch the lead to really qualify it. And if they are working on it for a very long period they have lost not only precious time but also a chance to encash other opportunities.

It’s very important therefore to catch the leads by head, qualify them quickly and convert them into real business opportunities.

Happy qualifying and selling…

Even Eagles need a push; we have heard this famous story by David McNally. I can relate it better with my first podcast happened recently. Wayne Turmel contacted my good friend Rajesh Setty that he wanted to interview him for the popular show “The Cranky Middle Manager Show” about the topic “Managing in India”. Rajesh linked Wayne to me saying I might be suitable for the topic. Thus my podcast experience started and also associations with a wonderful host like Wayne.
This was validating some of my learning on:

• A good start needs support
• Stephen Covey’s saying “In this world there is no dependent and independent. This world is interdependent”.
• Powerful people link right people for right job

Thanks Rajesh for the push you gave me to a good start.

Ideas are born in beautiful and fertile minds. When this idea becomes a reality it gives immense satisfaction. But what gives lasting happiness and joy is when it creates an enormous difference in people’s lives and makes all happy. Many times these ideas never see the light of the day. It’s important to make these ideas a reality through a conscious effort. The objective should be to change the way people do their activities and make a change in the world, so that it’s a better place to live in.

Every single idea can be related to the birth of a baby.

After the conception, the parents wait eagerly for its birth. The birth of the baby then gives them lot of joy. They expect that the baby would grow up and earn lot of name, fame, prosperity and wealth in his/her life. People would remember fondly him/her for his/her constructive contribution to the world. And would serve the purpose of their life by creating a legacy that would be in the memories of people forever. When the entire world smiles even the parents are proud and happy. These are the attributes that every single parent aspires from their children.

Similarly after an idea is conceived in our mind, we feel very happy. The happiness is higher when it is incubated and it becomes a reality. This happiness multiplies and a great sense of satisfaction is experienced when the creation serves its purpose. The purposes to transform the way people lead their lives and give everyone something to smile about. The goodwill earned by the creation (product developed) should outlive even the life span of the product. Then we would be able to say proudly that it has achieved its purpose.

Therefore every creation starts with a conception in our mind. The parent (individual) should incubate it carefully and make it a reality, which ultimately should serve its purpose.

In the last post I talked about Pareto’s 80/20 principle and how it can be applied in many spheres of our life. To illustrate this let me narrate an experience of my graduation days. I was an active sportsperson and specially loved the long jump. It was something that always caught my imagination. I loved the feeling of the leap and being airborne. In the initial years, during a practice session I observed many of my friends taking a count of the steps, measuring their run up. I imitated their actions, measured my steps and took the leap. I did fairly well. But was still at a loss to understand the need for measuring my steps. What was the need for it? I went to my coach and asked the rationale behind it. He smiled and asked “Naveen are you a right or left hander?” I was surprised for I could not see any logic behind my query and his counter question. Yet I said “I predominantly use my right hand”. He said “that means there is enormous unutilized energy in your left leg. The left leg is stronger than your right leg. You should therefore realize this and work on this advantage. It will do wonders. If you take a leap from your left leg you would be able to jump much better.” Hearing this, I realized the importance of calculating the count of steps. This calculation would ensure that I take a jump on my left leg from the ground. I worked hard on this new learning. And later this technique made all the difference, which then translated into my winning the gold in various tournaments. From this apparently simple lesson I learnt: - - The art of recognizing my strengths. - Any extra effort on one’s strength gives rich yields. - When one takes a right run-up and leap it translates into a win. I understood why it’s so important to play by and leverage on your strengths. When it was so much true in sports, I knew that it would do wonders if applied to life at large. It helps you in taking a big leap in ones life. And it certainly did to me. Play by our strengths, this is the mantra for growth. Leaders not only recognize their strength but also the strength of people around them. Leaders create opportunities around them and help them take the leap in their career through their efforts. They enable their people to take the appropriate run-up, which helps them take the best leap in their career and ultimately win the world. This is one of the biggest strength of a leader.

It’s so important to work on our strengths and Leaders get their people to work on their strengths.

One of the most widely respected and recognized worldwide is the Pareto’s principle – 80/20 rule. Way back in 1906, Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto created this mathematical formula to describe the unequal distribution of wealth in his country, observing that twenty percent of the people owned eighty percent of the wealth. Essentially the 80/20 Rule means that in anything a few (20 percent) are vital and many (80 percent) are trivial. The value of the Pareto Principle for a Leader is that it reminds you to focus on the 20 percent that matters. One could apply this rule to anything in life. For me I relate it to in terms of strength and weakness.

When anyone applies additional 20% of effort on their strengths they would get additional 80% results. On the same equation an additional 80% effort on your weakness would only give 20% more results. Therefore it’s so important for any individual to recognize one’s strengths, sharpen them by investing more effort in them and then leverage upon it more.

Leaders not only recognize their strengths but they also recognize the strengths of their people. They create opportunities around strengths of their people and motivate them to go that extra mile. That’s the strength of a leader.

Leadership is not so much about technique and methods as it is about opening of the heart. Leadership is about trust one inspires in others. Great leadership is about human experiences, not processes. Its not a formula or a program, it is a human activity that comes from the heart and considers the hearts of others. It is an attitude, not a routine.

Let me narrate another incident from my life, which demonstrated how leaders built trust in their employees. I used to work for a company called Questech India Ltd., six years back. I then reported to a gentle man called Mr. AV Bhaskar. A remarkable individual, professional and my mentor. I learnt many lessons and skills from him. Post surgery I got my vision back and resumed my work. During this period there was a phase where visibility was still a handicap. I used to use magnifying glass to read from the computer screen. It was very difficult and it shattered my confidence on my ability and productivity. I saw myself as a burden and a liability on the company. So one day I walked up to Bhaskar and said, ” I guess I should be resigning from the services of the organization. My contribution is inadequate. And any effort on my part is not worth.”Without even blinking for a second more Bhaskar replied, ” Naveen, you are not doing any such thing. You are going to work for this company. I have full trust in your ability and value your contribution. Never again you are going to doubt your ability and competence until and unless I feel that. Till I fire you from the services of this company, you are going to work “.

This statement from him not only helped me regain my confidence but also made me help built a deep-seated faith in him as a leader. I knew here is someone I can trust. Someone who could see the potential in me and not only trust my ability but also win my trust. To me this is what leaders are built of. And as I look back now I can’t help but marvel at his leadership abilities and the journey we both shared consequently. It was so rewarding.

Trust is the essence of leadership. Leadership is about behavior first, skills second. Good leaders are followed chiefly because people trust and respect them, rather than the skills they possess.

As leadership is born out of the understanding of the needs of those who would be affected by it, trust is automatically inbuilt into it.

Looking back at Vijay’s words I cant but help relate this story to my life. There were times when I was in the shoes of the little girl, where someone could build that trust in me to trust him. And that’s all about being a leader.

Due to an unfortunate incident I had lost sight from both my eyes. Both my retinas were torn. And I was blind. Dr. Rajashekar, a highly proficient eye surgeon and more importantly a very good, warm human being, performed the surgeries on my eyes. Mine was a very complex case and hence post surgery there were many complications. Doubts and qualms started to trickle in from relatives and friends who counseled and cautioned me that maybe this surgeon is not a competent person. But I was unperturbed and had absolute faith on my surgeon.

The way he had diagnosed and treated me had automatically built an intense trust in his ability. His actions spoke for his integrity and sincerity. He had the ability to make me have full trust in him. Without any fear I surrendered both my eyes to him for more surgeries. And now I stand as a living testimonial to that faith in him. His competence and my trust made me see the world with new eyes.

Leaders built trust. A much misunderstood word trust is often confused with belief.Belief by itself sounds positive but trust is at the next level.
Let me narrate a wonderful story, Vijay Reddy my friend shared this with me recently. It’s about an amazing trapeze artist. He could cycle on a tight rope. Once he claimed that he would cross the Great Niagara falls cycling on the tight rope. Hearing of this event many spectators from far and wide come to watch this spectacular feat. People were waiting with bated breath to watch him do this impossible feat. But somehow they had a belief that the trapeze artist would probably succeed. And there would be no casualty.

Then the trapeze artist not only skillfully crossed to the other side but also cycled his way back to glory. There was a thunderous applause celebrating the expertise and courage of the man.Then the artist to the surprise of everyone invited volunteer from the crowd to accompany him in his exploit again. He would carry the person in his cycle to-fro across the falls.

None came forward.

Until then everyone had so much of belief in his ability and that he would succeed, but now none dared to even contemplate the risk involved. Suddenly from nowhere a small girl makes her way out of the crowd and says, ” I will come with you.” The artist smiled. But there was a deathly silence and dagger looks in the eyes of the spectators. They said that the girl is insane and nothing less than crazy

When they saw that neither relented they cursed and abused the trapeze artist for his irresponsible behavior to risk someone else life. It was so ironical to witness that it was the same crowd that few moments back were praising the artist.

The trapeze artist along with the little girl started the great crossing. The crowd was too shocked and staggered to even voice out their displeasure. They were dead sure of the ghastly outcome of this adventure. But the trapeze artists along with his little enthusiast to everyone’s relief crossed over safely. The crowd though relieved criticized the trapeze artist.Then the child looked at the artist and said ” Papa lets go home.” The entire crowd was stunned.The child then said, ” I have full trust in my father’s ability and I knows that I am secure and safe in my papa’s arms.”

The story was over and the message was driven home and Vijay said to me ” Naveen, this is the difference between Belief and Trust. The people had belief in the artist but the little girl had trust.”

“If we have to lead, we need to learn” most of us know that our first lessons were learnt at home and mother is our first teacher. As we grew up, we started learning new things from different sources, we feel we have graduated from the initial classes and move on from our parents - our initial teachers. Unfortunately what we miss is the learning what we can gain from these initial teachers about leadership.

Is it not true that mother thinks from the heart and not from her brain when it comes to do anything whit the child? Is it not true that when she loves, it is unconditional?Good leaders are no different, even if they get ideas in their brain, when it comes to execution, which requires people; it is done through the heart.

I recall a wonderful quote - “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care”. We might be genius, but people don’t care and will not follow until they know we care for them.

The most important thing in good leadership is truly caring. The best leaders in any profession care about the people they lead, and the people who are being led know when the caring is genuine and when it’s faked or not there at all. When it comes to caring, who could be a better teacher than mother? By learning to care we learn to lead.

It is like searching for peace externally all around us and many of us even travel long distance in the quest and in reality it is so easy to find it if we travel few inches internally to our heart. Same way, we have the best teacher to teach leadership at home, let us start learning leadership from home.