Even Positive Tweets (& EVERYTHING ELSE) Are Scrutinized!

I learned a valuable lesson yesterday. My office, or branch, had the pleasure of hosting Fred, one of our company’s Executive Vice Presidents yesterday. We are a major, national company and it was a very unusual occurrence for him to come visit our little ol’ branch.

As we wrapped up the morning’s discussion, we were stretching and discussing where to go for lunch and Fred said, “So, when we get to lunch I want to talk with you about your tweets.”

Huh?! All the blood rushed from my head and my jaw hit the floor. Now please understand that I’m a “positive kind o’ guy.” I’ve intentionally used my real name, instead of a cute online handle, and my company was intentionally listed in my bio’s and online profiles. (Notice the “was”?) I’ve gone out of my way to keep company and customer specifics out of any tweet about the operational aspects of my days, so as not to compromise anything confidential. The only times I recall mentioning the company name were in response to complaints people tweeted that I tried to solve and trying to promote a national sale or sales campaign.

We spent most of lunch talking – and laughing – about social networking and all our experiences – and mishaps – with them. While I knew our corporate office had an “online awareness” and my mentions of the company would probably pop up on somebody’s radar screen, I had not considered that even if I am always positive and trying to be “helpful,” what I say would be questioned and analyzed.

My take-away from that lunch? Lots of laughs…and a new appreciation for how closely AND how easily ANYBODY can track what you say! Remember that you can never pull something back once you’ve let it out on the Information Highway. Pictures, posts, comments, tweets, statuses, everything is out of your control once you push it onto the Internet.

How To Drive a Sales Person CRAZY

The question was asked of sales professionals, "What does your company or boss do that drives you crazy?" The following are a few of my observations, related to companies I've work for and around. I hope it gives you something to ponder.

Motivational FAIL!
Many companies place operations people over their sales organizations. Not surprisingly, they try to run it like an operations department. <> Sales people are different, maybe even a little weird (from an operations perspective).

Operationally, tell a CSR or a Field Tech what to do, the standards and expectations, then hold them accountable. With a modicum of leadership, the goals and objectives will likely be accomplished.

You want to drive a salesperson crazy? Manage him like a service person! Salespeople are never motivated by another memo to read, another report to complete, another meeting to attend, or another butt-chewing to endure! While all of these things may be necessary from time to time, none of them motivate a real sales professional. All of them will drive him crazy! (If they don’t, he’s probably the wrong person for the role.)

You want to build a successful, effective sales organization? Find out how to LEAD and MOTIVATE your sales team! Hint: Money, Recognition, and Emotion. Incentivize behavior you want. If you want this policy, service, or widget sold, make it lucrative for them. A reward or award for doing what you want will go farther than hours of yelling and belittling for doing the opposite.

Micromanaging.
This is a continuation of the above thought. Successful salespeople are typically Type-A and internally motivated. If a salesperson is effective and successful, quit trying to fix him!

Pointless or Unproductive Meetings

Pointless Reports

Assuming "Successful Salesperson" = "Successful Sales Manager"
Just because someone is a good salesperson does not mean they can duplicate their success. Many organizations shoot themselves in the foot twice with one bullet. First, they take their most successful, revenue-generating salesperson out of production. Then they set him up to fail by assuming he’s got magic techniques and pixie dust that he’ll somehow use to replicate himself.

Subterranean Termites That Aren’t

A Pest Control Professional from Bombay, India, posted the following questions on LinkedIn. I don’t know if it will benefit anybody here, but this page is about the things on my mind, so I’m posting it. I hope someone will find something useful in it. I would welcome any opportunity to help any reader with a pest related problem.

Q: Have you experienced secondary and tertiary termite colony attacks on sites, which do not have noticeable ground connection?

A: Yes, but I have worked in the Pest Control Industry only in South Central US (OK, AR, TN, and MS) Most of my experience has been with Eastern Subs (reticulitermes flavipes). The common factor on each of the occurrences has been a moisture source (and food) above ground.

With what species are you dealing? Identification is key to diagnosis and treatment.

While visiting the Entomology Dept of the University of AR this week, I inspected a display case housing working termites. Dr. Allen Szalanski had collected workers off of a piece of wood several years (I believe he said 5-7) earlier. He confirmed that neither a queen nor reproductives had been collected; yet the little colony thrives today. Inspection of the case reveals immature termites. It seemed clear that they'd created a queen from among themselves. How ever they did it, they had managed to survive in his care/case for several years - clearly cut off from the ground.

Q: What are your views on managing such a problem, particularly in concrete/rcc structures?

A: (Again, I’ll emphasize that identification is key!) Moisture elimination would probably be my first objective, having been unsuccessful with basic chemical treatment.

I’m not an entomologist and I’m sorry that my experience may be too narrow to help you. Assuming this is not a hypothetical situation, please update us as your case progresses.

Traveling With Laptops

My dad forwarded the following article from the Tulsa World. I'm not a frequent traveler, but thought I'd post this for the sake of any who are.

Feds have the last say on air traveler laptops
by: PHIL MULKINS World Action Line Editor, Friday, February 27, 2009

Dear Action Line: Under what circumstance could airport security confiscate a laptop from a business traveler? --- M.H., Tulsa.

Last April, a federal appeals court issued a decision "giving customs officials the unfettered authority to examine, copy and seize travelers' laptops --- without reasonable suspicion."

Two days later, the Association of Corporate Travel Executives warned its members worldwide to "limit proprietary information on laptop computers when crossing U.S. borders." It also recommended eliminating personal data, photographs, finances and e-mail they would not want examined by border protection authorities.

The association filed an amicus brief contending that a traveler's laptop is "essentially intellectual property and not luggage nor freight," Susan Gurley, global executive director of the group, said in an e-mail. "The court has disagreed, and this decision will have significant impact on business travelers who have no idea their data is subject to search and seizure."

Beginning Aug. 16, the Transportation Security Administration began allowing laptops to remain in bags meeting its "checkpoint friendly" guidelines. Its Web site notes that not all laptop bags are checkpoint friendly and suggested reviewing TSA's "Laptop bags: industry process guidelines" at tulsaworld.com/TSAlaptop and "TSA ready for 'checkpoint friendly' laptop bags" at tulsaworld.com/TSAfriendlylaps.

To streamline the security process and better protect laptops, TSA encourages manufacturers to design bags that will produce a clear and unobstructed image of the laptop when undergoing X-ray screening. "A design that meets this objective will enable TSA to allow laptops to remain in bags for screening," the TSA says. "TSA screens laptops to see if the electronics have been tampered with. Our officers know what the inside of a computer should look like, and they can recognize irregularities. This is why they need an unobstructed view as the item moves through the X-ray machine."

Purchasing one of these bags will not guarantee you can leave a laptop in your bag for screening. If a security officer determines that the bag does not present "a clear and distinct image" of the laptop separate from the rest of the bag, the laptop must be screened separately.

The association argued before the court that there were "no published guidelines as to what might trigger a secondary inspection or the seizure of data or possibly the entire computer."

Gurley said the expectation of privacy at the border is considerably less than in one's own home or office.

The association reports that a survey it performed last year showed that 81 percent of responding travel managers were unaware that laptops and other electronics seized by TSA could be held indefinitely, and 65 percent said their companies have instituted policies restricting the amount of sensitive or proprietary data their employees can carry in laptops. That number is expected to rise.

See the association's "Traveler security and data privacy" at tulsaworld.com/ACTElaptop.

What Were You Thinking?

This has been an interesting, though amusing, week. I’m not talking about politics, but customers and prospective employees with whom I’ve interacted. Get a load of these people! Are you dealing with them, too?

I sent two certified letters this week. One was to a customer whose home has covered damage and we want to fix it. We’ve been calling to come to make the repairs. And calling. And calling… Another was pleading with the customer to let us come perform the service for which she’s already paid! We’ve made countless calls and sent “uncertified” notes asking her to let us come out. You’ve paid us to do these things! What were you thinking?

Still another customer called, scheduled a specific time for my technician to inspect his existing home and tell him how much it would cost to treat a proposed addition. My inspector arrived at the given time, but the customer was nowhere to be found. My man inspected the covered structure, but with no information on the new part, he left his report and our phone number to call and reschedule.

Instead of calling us back out, the customer called another company, paying them to treat the addition. The other company doesn’t want to cover “our” section (the original) without being paid to treat it to their standards. We won’t cover “their” section (the addition) without being paid to treat it to our standards. (It’s against state regs for either company just to cover “their” portion on residences.) The customer is mad at me because he’s going to have to pay one of us more money. Duh! What were you thinking?

On a totally different vein, I’m trying to hire some people. One opening is to replace a service technician. Having reviewed applications, select applicants – the “cream of the crop,” so to speak – have been called to schedule interviews. I’ve had quite a few scheduled the last couple of weeks.

Understand, these are people that came to my office to complete the application or faxed me a résumé because of an ad telling who we are and what we’re looking for. I don’t try to “trick” someone into scheduling an interview! With daily news stories about climbing unemployment, why do so many of these interview times pass with no appearance of – or call from – the applicant? What were you thinking?

One Outside Sales applicant that did show up has caused me to wonder “What were you thinking?” a number of times. First, he unexpectedly showed up at the office late last Saturday morning to fill out an application, expecting to interview with me (it wasn’t my Saturday), “do” the drug screening, and be offered a job. What were you thinking? He was invited to complete the application and told I’d be “in touch.” He explained that he thought he’d be there a lot longer and the person that dropped him off wouldn’t be back for a while. (He’s applying for a role that requires dependable transportation!) What were you thinking? He sat in our lobby, waiting for the ride, instead of calling them/anybody or just leaving. But it gets better! As closing time arrived and his ride didn’t, he asked the manager if he could give him a ride. What were you thinking? Mark took him to the Waffle House, where he asked to be let out.

Midmorning Monday, I received a call from WaffleHouse asking if we could meet. Okay, that’s a good sign for a sales applicant, so I agreed. We met Tuesday morning and talked. I explained the need for transportation, and asked about Saturday’s events. He explained that his vehicle was in the dealership for some warranty work and that transportation wasn’t a problem, once he got it back. As we talked, he said he was referred by one of my most trusted employees – who was out of the country at the time – so, against gut feelings, I agreed for him to join one of our longtime salespeople in the field the next morning. (“Ride-alongs” are a way for people to see what “they’re getting into” and are a regular part of our interview process.)

The next morning he arrived and the salesperson took him on several field calls. They ended by meeting another of our salesmen for lunch. Debriefing our two salespeople, they both independently commented on smelling alcohol on the applicant’s person. What were you thinking? Guess how he got home that afternoon! “Could you just drop me off at the Waffle House?” What were you thinking?

Thursday he called me, ready to get things going! Out of curiosity, I asked about the car situation. “Oh, yeah! I’m picking it up this evening.” “Okay, so you can’t come to the office today? Fine, I’ll see you Friday morning.”

Friday morning, the GM and I were up front in his office watching for WaffleHouse’s arrival and discussing the chain of events. Though no one had driven up, a CSR buzzed that he was waiting in the lobby. What? I came out to get him and he was gone again. The ladies thought he’d gone back to the restroom, so I waited for him. When he didn’t return for quite a while, I went searching. I found him drinking a cup of coffee, reading the newspaper in the breakroom! What were you thinking?

I invited WaffleHouse to come to the GM’s office and discuss his future. Once up there, both of us could smell a faint alcohol aroma emanating from WaffleHouse – but not his breath as much as him. What were you thinking? We literally asked, “Where’d you come from?” (Both of us thinking something different, but explained that we hadn’t seen him drive up and just wondered how he’d made it in without being seen.)

WaffleHouse said he’d come in the back way (which would be against posted “One Way” signage!) We proceeded asking various questions, walking carefully through the legal minefield of HR, but definitely wanting this candidate’s interview process to conclude quickly. After only a couple a minutes he slipped a remark about “being dropped at the side.” We pressed him on the point and asked if he was still without a vehicle. WaffleHouse stammered through a quick series of illogical explanations. What were you thinking? He’d clearly shown enough stupidity and lack of character that the GM chose to shift gears in the conversation. No more tippy-toe. “Thanks for coming in. I hope you get the car thing ironed out. We won’t be able to offer you anything at this point.” He stood up and the conversation with WaffleHouse was over…finally.

Yes. It’s been an amusing week. I hope, if you’re still reading, that you’ve gotten a chuckle out of my week’s encounters. More importantly, I hope the next time you find yourself wondering “What were you thinking?” as you deal with some dolt, you’ll smile and think of me. If nothing else, the smile will make them worry! Have a great week!

Re: You guys on twitter?

My little sister just emailed asking if I was on Twitter and what difference I see between Twitter and Facebook.

Our society is becoming so "connected" and our world so small! But are we actually better connected? How can people connect with me?

• Walk into my office and start a conversation. While that's disturbingly low-tech, my door's almost always open if I'm there; or
• Put a stamp on a letter and mail it to my office or my home; or
• Send me a fax; or
• Call me on my office phone, cell phone, or home phone (though nobody ever answers that one); or
• Send me an email... to my Terminix address, my ServiceMaster address, my Gmail address, my Yahoo! address, or my AT&T address; or
• Send me a text message; or
  
• Reach me on Facebook; or
  
• Reach me on LinkedIn; or
  
• Reach me on Twitter.

How come, with all those ways to interact, I don't know the names of my neighbors two doors down or diagonally across the street? How connected are we?

Back to TB's original question: what differences do I see between the social networks in which I participate? Maybe analogies would show my philosophies:

• Facebook is like a big party, a "come-n-go" party of my friends and acquaintances.
• I know everybody I let in, some better than others.
• Not all my friends know each other, but they all know me to an extent and have been gracious enough to stop by the party. Honestly, I have Facebook "friends" that I probably haven't poked, messaged, or whatever since finding and befriending them. People like old high school or college friends with whom I now find almost nothing in common, or students from Youth who either sent me an invite or I met and invited but left it there.
• Eventually, I'll see a remark about OU or UoA (Hogs) sports to which I respond, or a status that tickles me and I "have to" comment on it.
• If I returned from a vacation with family pic, I couldn't wait for my friends to see them. If I found a video on YouTube I found hysterical, I'd want to share it with the friends at my party. My friends would laugh with me (or at me) and we'd have a good time until one of us had to leave...for a while.
• LinkedIn is, for me, a business/professional alternative to the Facebook party. Perhaps it's like a "Business Afterhours" mixer with the Chamber of Commerce.
• Clearly different people have different objective for their LinkedIn membership.
• Some LinkedIn members are looking for jobs, trying to find or improve on their career path/position.
• Their counterpart is the mass of recruiters and placement companies spanning the horizon.
• Some see it as another marketing/prospecting avenue. They're trying to get their message out or connect with people that will pay for their services. The web-oriented entrepreneurs and Realtors are two of those types.
• Others use it as a web-based networking group, like a BNI group. They network to solve theirs and their network's problems and challenges, They try to help their acquaintances find business, answers, connections, and jobs. My own LinkedIn philosophy aligns more with the BNI group.
• I'm sure there are other objectives I've not even contemplated.
• Somewhere spanning all of those are the LIONs - LinkedIn Open Networkers - who are clamoring to connect with as many people as possible. I see how this would benefit some, like the recruiters, but it's not for me.
• Back to the "Business Afterhours" analogy,
• Everybody's cleaned up and appears professional. They're in business casual attire (or better) and – for the most part – don't stink or look like they just mowed the yard.
• You wouldn't walk up to a group of Chamber acquaintances and whip out vacation pics or tell them about the "coolest thing last night at Youth."
• You make your way through the room, interacting with individuals and small conversation groups. If you don't care for a topic of conversation, move on. No one's going to be offended.
• Your name tag tells who you are and what you do; so does theirs. Casual conversations, like "Oh wow! Do you know...?" or "How long have you been with...?" may open doors or may fall flat. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
• You may be invited to join a group of industry professionals, a networking group, or something else.
• I'm not saying everyone on LinkedIn is sucking on lemons and is strictly business. If you came upon a buddy at Business Afterhours, you may know he's interested in your vacation or that he's as interested in your youth as you are. You may whip the pics out, but you're always mindful of decorum.
• Twitter is like being at a mall. (Does anybody physically go to malls anymore?) Anyway, that's what I think it's like.
• Like the mall, pretty much anyone can come to Twitter: liberals and conservatives, Christians and Muslims, retired mechanics and the Former Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor to President George W. Bush. Anyone! Wandering around the mall, you'll find some people who desperately need a shower, others may need a quart less cologne in the morning, and everything in between!
• As at the mall, the assortment of people on Twitter are there for a variety of reasons.
• At either place, you're apt to hear/overhear things that interest you, don't interest you, offend you, and embarrass you.
• You could just roam around the mall/Twitter, eavesdropping on everyone. Or you could find someone saying something that really interests you or with whom you really agree. You might follow that person, listening to their take on life, and even offer your 2¢ worth. Of course, if they're not similarly interested in you, they may ignore you. Such is the nature of the mall.

More random thoughts about Twitter:

• IMHO, I am not going to be interesting to everyone that interests me.
• Many on Twitter promote the philosophy of "follower reciprocity." You can tell from some of their posts that it offends them for someone not to follow them back.
• I disagree. Frankly, I'm boring and can't imagine why Karl Rove or some guy apparently in Brazil would choose to follow me. I followed Rove, out of obvious conservative curiosity, but have no interest in following the guy from Brazil who's posting in <I assume> Portuguese.
• In keeping with the mall analogy, follow me if my posts interest you. Don't be offended if yours don't interest me. Along those lines, I really liked this article: http://mashable.com/2009/01/06/twitter-follow-fail/
• The Mashable page is a wealth of information, including "social networking." You might look at the articles linked on this page: http://bit.ly/4iQX
• The eclectic collection of people I'm following includes conservative bloggers, politicans, a few "normal" people, local and national media, Christian leaders, OU fans, and a few friends. I guess there are a few in there that I really can't classify anywhere. I've found them by reading comments made by others I was already following.
• You "must" check out www.topconservativesontwitter.org
• Watch for #TCOT (above), #SGP (Smart Girl Politics), and #RNC or #RNCCHAIR hashtags in messages. You can also search for them.
• I don't know how familiar you are with Mark Driscoll or Mars Hill Church, but here's a tweet from Dec 18: From @gtb "For those of you on Twitter who like Mark Driscoll, Mars HIll Church, Acts 29, and the Resurgence, follow @theResurgence @Acts29 @PastorMark"
• Other than that, keep your eyes open. Read tweets, look at past tweets and bio's, click-through to people's websites.
• What tweets do my followers hear? Mostly what I'm doing or where I'm going. Occasionally, I'll comment on something political or newsworthy that I've read. I may pose a question about a business situation or political issue, but it's seldom acknowledged unless directed at a specific person. Since I'm not a "fulltime blogger," I'm not typically trying to point people to a blog.
• That leads me to a minor turnoff – using Twitter as a perpetual advertisement! The premise of Twitter is literally "micro-blogging," communicating your idea in 140 characters or less. Many in the twitterverse have lost sight of the simple question at the top of the page: "What are you doing?" That's what it should be about.
• Don't simply put out an endless string of "Contact me to learn how to…" or "Let us show you…" tweets.
• Less annoying is the blogger – I'm not talking about media types, like Hugh Hewitt, Mike Huckabee, or Matt Lewis – who uses Twitter as a "Headline News" to point followers to their ongoing blogs. While I don't begrudge them that use, it's nice on occasion to hear from them as people, too.

Well, aren't you glad you asked. True to form, you asked what time it was and I told you how to build a clock. Am I my Dad's son or what?!

Love you,

Me