On Sunday, January 26, 2025, the Philadelphia Eagles played the Washington Commanders in the NFC Championship. This was the first time the Commanders had been in the NFC Championships since 1991. The Eagles beat the Washington Commanders  55 to 23. The Commanders turned the ball over four times, and the Eagles capitalized on those mistakes, scoring 21 points.   

A  critic of the Commanders in the Championship game would be able to point out... 

1. Dyami Brown fumbled on Washington's side of the field, leading to a Saquon Barkley touchdown.

2. Jeremy McNichols fumbled the ensuing kickoff, giving the Eagles excellent field position and leading to another touchdown.

3. Austin Ekeler fumbled near midfield, which the Eagles capitalized on with a touchdown.

4. Jayden Daniels threw an interception in the end zone to rookie Quinyon Mitchell.

In contrast to the critic, a good coach would analyze each turnover and identify patterns. This may require the coach to spend 5-10 hours reviewing the footage from a single game. The coach would then teach players correct techniques and decision-making processes, such as protecting the ball in traffic, making better reads, or securing catches.

A good coach will likely analyze many hours of game footage to implement specific drills and practice routines. While players need to be held accountable, they need positive reinforcement to develop the skills to eliminate turnovers. If the team is struggling, the coach might try simplifying the game and tailoring the strategy to the strengths of their players.  

Coaches could work with the team on mental techniques to improve focus and concentration, which are crucial for avoiding mental errors that lead to turnovers. Building confidence may also be necessary, as the players may be stinging from the loss.  

The above is a sports example, but lessons from comparing a critic to a coach can also be applied to business leadership.

The critic's voice will likely be heard louder than the coach's. Most people have an inner critic who says they aren’t talented, brave, skinny, or smart enough.  This may be why Gallup suggests a 5:1 ratio of positive feedback to criticism.

The critic tends to drain people's energy and is likely to leave them in a fixed mindset. Studies have shown that a fixed mindset limits human potential.

A critic can identify flaws and shortcomings. Critics often point out mistakes and weaknesses without necessarily offering solutions.  A critic may seem detached or adversarial.  A critic is likely to be seen as an observer or evaluator.  While their feedback may be objective, it may not be constructive or helpful.

In contrast, a coach acts as a mentor.   A coach may bring solutions or guide individuals, helping them develop their own solutions.   A coach helps the individual see the situation as temporary.   A coach offers feedback, guidance, and support.   

Great coaches are likely to make investments in relationships, which can increase trust and effectiveness. They are likely to evaluate shortcomings in the context of the individual's strengths, personal goals, and competing priorities. Their objective is to empower and motivate. Coaches are likely to be constructive, supportive, and collaborative. They help individuals or teams build confidence and achieve goals they never thought possible.  

NIST 800-88 outlines best practices, including classifying data before determining the best method of data sanitization. For end-of-life equipment, the prescribed options are to purge with certified software or destroy with a certified ITAD provider. In either case, federal government agencies and contractors must follow IT asset management best practices and obtain certificates of destruction.

The NIST guidelines recommend destruction as the approach for classified data, but based on our experience with several government agencies, data destruction could take months or even years due to delays in procurement and other bureaucratic challenges.

In a 2024 report, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) uncovered security weaknesses at an FBI-controlled facility during media destruction. The audit revealed that sensitive devices, such as internal hard drives and thumb drives, containing unclassified law enforcement and classified national security information, were stored on pallets without adequate protection.

According to Dan Mattack, Certified Secure Data Destruction Specialist at Securis, “The findings underscore the importance of robust physical security measures to safeguard classified and sensitive data, the need to follow best practices for IT Asset Management, as well as the importance of at least employing one method of data sanitization such as purging (hard drives and solid state) or degaussing (tapes) while classified systems await physical destruction.”

After a NIST 800-88 purge has been performed, the preferred data destruction method for electronics containing classified data is to disassemble the equipment and disintegrate data-bearing devices and circuit boards to the NSA standards of 2MM.   In most cases, this process requires two agency witnesses.  If the classification is top secret or above and equipment must be transported before it is destroyed, this typically must be performed by an armed courier.   

For smaller data sanitization projects at the secret classification level and below, a military grade storm case is a way to deliver equipment in locked and sealed containers.   These cases are military tough and designed to be safe and secure in the harshest conditions.  Classified information can be transported via storm cases from USPS or courier as long as protocols are followed.  

Special Access Programs (SAP) may require that electronic components are incarcerated after devices have been disassembled and data-bearing devices have been degaussed/shredded (HDD) or disintegrated (SSD) to the NSA-prescribed methods of 2MM.

When looking for a certified ITAD provider, agencies should consider security, costs, and sustainability. Too much focus on cost or sustainability alone could lead to a dangerous breach while focusing on security alone could lead to budgetary challenges or failure to meet sustainability directives.   

According to Jeremy Farber, CEO of Securis, “Who you choose in an IT Asset Disposal partner matters.   For example, we once received Top Secret diagrams for a key U.S. Government building mixed in with our electronics recycling pick-up items.  We regularly find data-bearing devices that customers miss.   This is common in copiers and modern electronic devices with SD cards or drives on the motherboards. We also find drives missed by customers in servers and storage arrays.   Separation of duties and our triple-check guarantee ensures timely and accurate inventories.   The right partner significantly reduces the chance of a data breach.”

ITAD providers that have R2v3 certifications and follow best practices will be able to meet GSA e-waste directives.   DLA Information Service certifications allow for the transport of military-critical technical data.   Certified Secure Data Destruction Specialists can consult on best practices for IT Asset Management and Disposition.   NAID AAA certifications require regular audits of security best practices. 

Following best practices for cybersecurity is critical to protecting our national security. We must stay vigilant. Adversaries are constantly looking for ways to exploit our cybersecurity weaknesses to steal our technology, gain an advantage, and threaten our way of life. 

When the seller approaches a customer as a skeptic this means the seller is honestly trying to understand and assist the potential buyer. Sales professionals should use diagnostic questions to determine if buyers fit their ideal customer profile or if the customer would be better served by someone else.   This approach is better than the seller assuming that buyers will buy if sellers just answer customer objections or push harder using aggressive behavior.   In other words, approaching buyers with healthy skepticism will assist the seller by correcting for their bias.  Sales reps are biased towards wanting the customer to buy and they may miss signals that the customer is not a great fit for their product or service.

Correcting for this bias allows the seller to practice better listening skills saving time for both the seller and potential buyers.   In addition, sellers that assist buyers with determining quickly whether or not their products are a good fit become better forecasters.   If your organization has many deals forecasted at the end of the quarter and those deal constantly slip, "happy ears" may be a problem in your organization.

Ian Altman, in his book Same Side Selling, teaches a methodology for salespeople to become better listeners.   He teaches salespeople to take notes in 4 quadrants.  Those quadrants are:

1. What is the issue?

2. What is the impact of not solving the issue?

3. What are the likely results of taking specific actions?

4. Who are the people who will be affected by this decision?

The Same Side methodology assists with getting sellers on the same side as buyers by understanding that buyers ask themselves three questions when making decisions.

1. What problem do you solve or why do I need this?

2. What is the likely outcome or result?

3. Why would I get the seller's help versus try to solve the problem without them?

Ian coaches sellers to help buyers using this methodology to determine if they are a F.I.T. and recommends quickly referring customers to someone else if they are not an ideal customer.

Brent Adamson, in his book the Challenger Sale, describes the three characteristics of the ideal salesperson.   They are to "Teach, Tailor and Take Control".   These characteristics can be misleading.   I believe that the research done by CEB proves the best salespeople understand customer problems, help customers evaluate potential solutions, and more quickly determine how to solve those problems.

Tom Freese in his book Secrets of Question Based Selling teaches how to use diagnostic questions to build creditability.    Questions should be designed to help both the buyer and seller better understand the buyer's problems.  Tom believes sellers should use questions with a negative or neutral disposition vs. a positive one to get better information. I have tried this and have validated his theory. For instance, the salesperson who asks, “Are we are track to get this done by the end of the month” is likely to get inaccurate information as compared to the seller who adds “or do you see some challenges that could get in the way.?”   This methodology is similar to Same Side Selling where the seller is not there to push a buyer into their product.

A similar approach also works well in marketing.  Marcus Sheridan, in his book You Ask, They Answer, approaches content marketing from a similar perspective.   For instance, he believes that marketers should spend time educating customers on who should "NOT" buy their product.   He also believes that marketers should educate buyers by providing honest comparisons of their product versus the competition.   While this approach will reduce the number of leads, most of the leads produced by content marketing using this approach will result in connecting with customers who are well qualified and thus will become happy customers.   Happy customers become great referral sources and cost less to service.

It is time to evaluate your organization honestly.   Can your sales organization benefit from a dose of healthy skepticism in order to serve your customers better? 

It is possible to start a Podcast for less than $10,000 per year.   A blog can cost less than $1,000 per year.   Starting a user group requires a budget of less than $5,000 per year.  While Podcasts and blogs are great to reach a national audience a user group is the best way to form deep relationships with a local audience.

 Below are the top 5 Reasons to Start a User Group

1. Brand yourself as an expert

2. Find new customers

3. Recruit Top Tech Talent

4. Build Industry Relationships

5. Make sure you continue to be an expert

For about two years I co-led the Reston SPUG (SharePoint User Group) with Dan Usher.   The group was started by Scott Hoag and Dan User but when Scott moved out of the area I saw an opportunity to help Dan lead the group and he graciously accepted.   He worked for Booz Allen Hamilton and I worked for Xgility.   We were friendly competitors.

The Reston SPUG met in the Microsoft Offices so we had a free meeting place.   Often we had vendor sponsors for lunch, but when we did not Booz Allen or Xgility paid for the Pizza.  The group met monthly and used Meetup.com to organize the event.   At first, the Meetup site was free, but organizers now have to pay a small fee.   Meetup helped us track attendance and was also a way for new members to find us (Google or Meetup Search) and stay in touch.

Leading this group helped me brand myself as a SharePoint and Microsoft consulting expert.   I prepared a technical topic several times, which forced me to go deep.   Just listening to all of the expert speakers every month kept me sharp.

Customers found my company through the user group.   Other customers used the user group as a way to judge my company's expertise.   I hired several consultants because of the relationships we built as the user group.   My company signed new partnerships because of the user group.   It has been about 8 years since I was involved in the SharePoint community but still consider Dan Usher and others I met through the user group to be friends.

There are very few people like my friend Captain Paul who will rescue a dirty, sunken boat and clean it up.   Most people are drawn to a clean boat.   This is especially true with first-time boat buyers.   As a seller, you could have a husband sold on your boat but when the wife shows up to see a dirty boat she will kill the deal.   On the other hand, wives are typically excited about clean boats even if the engines have 6,000 hours on it.

If you are not an expert on detailing a boat hire a professional to wash and polish.   You can wash it yourself much easier after a good compounding (if needed) and polish.   Yes, even the nonskid can be compounded if you have the right tools.

2. Replace the Clear Plastic Windows and Fix the Seats

A professional detailer will remove the mold from your vinyl seats.   If there are small tears in the seats repair them, and if they are large, I would recommend recovering the seats.   If you have Isinglass or plastic windows on your boat replace them if they are yellow or cracked.   You can save 50% or more if you take your canvas and seats to an upholstery shop vs. hiring a company that specializes in boat canvas.   I have saved thousands by using Sandy’s coverings in Edgewater, MD.   Some people have had luck with polish but I have not found that that will fix yellowed plastic.

3. Hire a great Broker and List your boat in Yacht World

While it is possible to sell your boat without a broker it is going to take longer.   Only a broker can get your boat listed in Yacht World. In the U.S listing in Yachtworld is like having your house in MLS.  Everybody looks there and you would be lucky to be found in other places.  Your broker should make a video and take professional pictures. Be careful of discount brokers as they may not pay a fee to selling brokers (co-brokerage) and this may limit your potential buyers.   Do your homework.   Don’t just hire the first broker.   Interview them like you were hiring them for your company.   Check references.

4. Price your boat similar to other boats

When you own a boat most people have a tendency to overprice their boat.   On the other hand, if it has been for sale for a while, you might be tempted to lower the price too far.  Your broker can get data on the actual listing and sales prices for boats similar to yours.   Pricing your boat too high or too low might make a buyer skip over your listing.

5. Store your boat in a location that is easy to see

Boats in remote places sell for a lot less than boats near major airports.  If it is difficult to haul the boat, get to the boat, or hire a good surveyor that smart buyer will look at other options first.  If you are in a remote location you may want to have a broker in a major boating town store the boat at their office. 

6. Keep Good MAINTENANCE Records

It does not matter whether you hire a good mechanic or do the work yourself.   A well-maintained boat should be worth a lot more to the experienced buyer.   If you do the work yourself save the receipts for parts to show what you did and when.   If you use a yacht yard print copies of all repairs and have them on your boat for your broker to show prospective buyers.   Not only will a well-maintained boat sell for more it will sell faster.

Captain Kurt is a Yacht Broker and Delivery Captain based in Annapolis, MD.

We discussed why so few enterprise sales reps make their quota in the first year.   I shared some of my best practices for hiring top sales reps.   I discussed how The Reference Selling Model will make reps more productive in their first year.   The idea is to quickly learn what made customers successful and help others do the same.

Referrals are the cheapest way to build sales pipeline.   Companies get referrals by selling to the right customers and making those customers successful.  Successful customers want to share their success with others.

We also discussed why building a big pipeline is so crucial.  If you don’t have a 3X pipeline, you can’t afford to make any mistakes or have bad luck.

I shared what I learned from some of my mentors, including Eric Mann and Tom Mendoza.   From Eric, I learned how to build trust and motivate enterprise sales reps.   From Tom, I learned how to build a culture of recognition.

I built a similar guide for an SDR on my team in order to create a roadmap that would prepare the SDR to be seriously considered for an opportunity when it opened. Following these steps is not a guarantee that the SDR would get the position.   The SDR would be involved in a competitive interviewing process with both inside and outside candidates.   The advantage of the internal candidate, in many cases, is that they have had longer to sell the hiring manager on why they are the right candidate.

The SDR that wants to be promoted should demonstrate they are committed to learning on their own time.  In the past I have recommended that salespeople read the books Same Side Selling (or online training), The Challenger Sale, and Question-based Selling.   There are also several podcasts available for no charge.

There are at least 6 skills I believe are important for AE s.   

1. Excellence in prospecting 

2. Excellence in qualifying 

3. Forecasting  accuracy

4. Emotional Intelligence 

5. Mentally prepare for the hard part of sales 

6. Negotiation and Closing

Demonstrate Excellence in Prospecting

A SDR should be able to easily demonstrate this by their performance.   For instance a good metric is that an SDR should be able to create an average of three meetings per week for their AE.  The SDR should ask their AE to rate those meetings as to whether or not they fit the company buying personas and ideal customer profile.   The SDR that wants to be promoted should share best practices with other AEs and SDRs in this area and make their performance known to the hiring manager.

Learn Qualifying Skills

SDRs should learn about problems in their industry and how to ask questions to determine whether or not their company is likely to solve those problems for the prospect.  The SDR should be regularly attending first meetings with the AE and discuss methods the AE is using to qualify the opportunity.   The SDR should also discuss what they are learning in books and podcasts on this subject.

Learn Forecasting Skills

Many companies have implemented a forecasting methodology like a MEDPICC.   These letters are an abbreviation for Metrics, Economic Buyer, Decision Process, Decision Criteria, Paper Process, Identified Pain, Coach, and Competition.   Understanding where a company stands with these elements will help with accurate forecasting.

SDRs looking to be promoted should learn about customer org charts and heat maps (popularized in power base selling).   SDRs should also understand customer best practices for project portfolio management.   SDRs should learn best practices for POCs and formal vendor evaluations.   In addition SDRs should learn about customers' budgeting process and business justification process.  

If SDRs are not part of company forecast calls they should request to join a few of them to learn best practices from sales management and AEs.

Demonstrate Emotional Intelligence

Developing emotional intelligence is all about understanding yourself and helping customers articulate what is going on and why in difficult situations.   This might include a customer ghosting the sales rep, how to react when there is a difficult technical support issue, how to understand where your company stands with the customer, or how to help a customer navigate their own complex organization. 

Mentally prepare for the hard parts of sales

Sales is a hard job which is why many people are afraid of it and change industries.   Mentally preparing will help the AE with how to react in common situations.

1. The amount of effort required is higher than many jobs.

2. Quotas go up every year

3. Territories change or are reduced

4. Getting creative when what has worked in the past does not work now.

5. Customers get angry

6. Deals get delayed or canceled due to (loss of budget, change of personnel etc.)

Negotiation and Closing

Closing should not be an event where a sales rep talks the prospect into buying.   Rather it should be a review of the business and technical benefits that both sides are confident will be achieved by implementing the solution.   Closing involves working backwards from the steps the customer and vendor need to take to realize those benefits which includes the evaluation process, implementation process, and purchasing process.

Closing for the next step should have been practiced at all stages of the sales cycle. For instance confirming that there is enough interest in solving a problem to involved their boss, seek funding, perform a vendor evaluation, involve the legal team, etc. At some point the budget will be approved, the legal terms will be worked out and the customer my bring in a professional negotiator with the title of procurement.

The best negotiators understand and can communicate what is important to both parties.  When there is a disagreement on the path forward, proposing multiple possible solutions is likely to result in the most favorable outcome for both parties.   Important terms in negotiations include anchors, counteroffers, and walk away terms. If there both sides believe there will be a significant return on investment, walking away is very unlikely.

Were you promoted from an SDR to an AE?   Drop me a note below with the steps you took to get promoted.

Two-thirds of all corporate breaches are from applications deployed outside of IT (Gartner).

One issue with applications typically deployed outside of IT is that they don’t support security standards like SAML or SCIM.  These standards are required to integrate corporate applications with single sign-on (SSO).  SSO automates these tasks so that security teams don’t need to trust that their employees are doing the right thing, they can verify.

On episode #155 of the Identity at the Center Podcast, I became aware of Jeff Stedman and Jim MacDonald's quest to solve the challenge of managing access to corporate social media accounts.  A listener named Andrew asks “Are social media accounts in the scope of IAM the caller said yes, but his management disagrees”?”  Jeff Steadman and Jim MacDonald say no if you are a small company and yes if you are a major brand.   I addition to company size cyber professionals should consider whether or not your organization uses paid advertising on social accounts.  In addition GRC teams should ask, how many people have access to social media and shared accounts, and does access include 3rd parties?   Jeff and Jim discussed why including social media in IAM programs is difficult and why many organizations don’t have social media integrated with single sign-on.

I joined Jeff and Jim on episode 173 of the Podcast to share my expertise in managing access to corporate social media accounts.   I talked about the value of corporate single sign-on and why security professionals need to make the secure thing the easy thing.   We discussed the two primary access methods for social media accounts.   We also cried about social media hacks at Disney and FastShop as well as at an unnamed company that suffered 100M in ad spend fraud.  For small companies, I recommended Matt Chiodi’s social media access checklist.   For large companies, I discussed how Cerby is creating APIs where they did not exist by using RPA (Robotic Process Automation).   This allows social media and other applications with shared passwords to be integrated with corporate single sign-on.  

Now the easy thing can be the secure thing!

In American society I believe that, in many cases, we have a cheap version of what love means.   It is not uncommon to hear someone say I love that car, I love that woman (physically) or I love you man on the sports field or in a bar.

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends.

Brian’s definition of love is that, “I desire what is good for you.”   Brian believes that he does not need to know his team deeply to desire their good.   In the podcast, he illustrated this but how we communicated to the team during the loss of their co-worker.   In the midst of the success or failure at work, people are going through real life, and Brian believes a leader needs to be vulnerable and also allow people to be human.   Brian believes, if you don’t allow people to be human, they are nothing more than a number.  He also said that “a leader should create a culture where people can thrive which includes setting a high bar and holding the team accountable.”

Also in the interview, Brian told the story (22:00) about when he went to quit his software sales job to become a missionary in Mexico.   His plan was to build houses for the less fortunate.   

Brian  told his VP America’s sales that we would be leaving.  The VPs response was “I had no idea you were so good at building houses.”   When Brian admitted that he had never built a house he said, “oh but you are really handy, right?”   His final question was, “Can I ask you a question.   Do you think you can build more houses with your commission check than with your hands?”   I believe this question changed Brian’s life as it helped him see that for profit work can have purpose and impact many people positively.

Below are 12 ways leaders can say and demonstrate “I love you” to their team at work.

1. Demonstrate that you care about what is important to your team including their family, their hobbies, and their future.

2. Remember that leaders are there to serve the organization not to be served.

3. Set a high bar of success and hold people accountable for the right behaviors.

4. Cut people temporarily slack when personal life gets in the way of work.

5. Don’t tolerate (even brilliant) jerks.

6. Demonstrate radical candor. 

7. Provide vision to the team (help them connect their work to their why).

8. Provide recognition (celebrate even small wins, especially when things are hard).

9. Identify and develop leaders.

10. Support the team when it is their time to do something different.

11. Be willing to leave a job when you can no longer be your authentic, best, and loving self.

12. Build relationships that will last even beyond this job.

How are you going to say, “I love you” to your team at work?

How can I succeed if my boss is evil?

Daniel and his friends (Hanniah, Mishael and Azariah) were taken from their family and forced to serve a foreign king.  Their names were even changed to Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  Despite the fact that they were in a hostile work environment they were found in verse 1:20 to be..“ In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.”

What can I do if I am disadvantaged by ethnic background, sex, or socioeconomic status?

Daniel and his friends were foreigners.   The food they were asked to eat was not honoring God. (Daniel 1:8).   They were expected to succeed in learning foreign literature.   While they did receive training for three years (Daniel 1:5), they would be measured against their peers (magicians and enchanters Daniel 1:20) many of whom were insiders in the land of Babylon.

How should I approach problems that appear to be unsolvable?

In Daniel Chapter 2 King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream and went to his wise men to ask them to interpret the dream.  The king's wise men said it is “too difficult” and “no one can reveal it to the king except the gods” (v11).   This made the king so angry that he ordered the execution of all wise men in Babylon.   Talk about being up against a wall because of an unreasonable and evil boss!

Daniel’s response was to humbly ask if he could help.   He explained what needed to be done and asks his three friends to join him to “plead for mercy from the God of heaven” (v 2:18)

How should I react when I achieve success?

God revealed the meaning of the dream to Daniel by a vision in the night.  His first reaction was to praise God.   He acknowledged that God has wisdom and power, he raises up kings, he gives knowledge and wisdom, and that God gave Daniel wisdom and power (Daniel 2:21:23)

Daniel was quick to give God the credit when he had an audience in front of the king.   In fact he said, “No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come. (Daniel 2:27-28)

How can we apply these lessons to our career?

I pray that the example of Daniel will give you faith to work with “all of your heart as for the Lord” as stated in Colossians 3:23-24.   Do not let yourself become discouraged in the face of adversity.   God will give you wisdom to do your job well, if you ask and obey him with all of your heart. Even if your employer does not reward you, have the promise of an inheritance from God (Colossians 3:24).

I am regular listener of the EntreLeadership Podcast.   The host, Ken Coleman interviews many great leaders and authors.  In an episode from 2016,   Ken shared his ideas on how to improve how you say it.   My summary of his podcast is below.

1. Work on enunciation

2. Vary your pace

3. Master the use the pause

4. Practice use of changes in intonation

5. Work on getting rid of fillers and crutch words

6. Demonstrate energy or passion

7. Combine two of the above such as change of pace followed by pause for even more emphasis

Early in my career I had to um, ah, practice not using filler words.   I also had to get comfortable using the pause.  If you did not have a chance to listen, I recommend you listen to the podcast starting at 36:39.

In his famous I Have a Dream speech, Martin Luther King created mental pictures using his words such as "all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, 'Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”  In addition, he used a technique called an anaphora which is repeating the same words over and over.   Example phrases repeated in the speech include:  "I have a dream, let freedom ring, and free at last."  The use of these two techniques are just some of the reasons that M.L.K.'s speech is one of the most memorable speeches in history.

In his book Talk like Ted, Carmine Gallo provides 9 public speaking secrets.   Carmine is a bestselling author and a communications coach.   He has broken down the success secrets of hundreds of Ted Talks.   He says that great talks should be "emotional, novel, and memorable".   Carmine's three steps to creating a killer presentation are: 1. Create a twitter friendly headline.   2. Support the headline with three key messages.   3. Reinforce the three messages with stories, statistics, examples, pictures, and videos.    Below are Carmine's 9 public speaking secrets.

1. Unleash the master within (find your passion)

2. Master the art of storytelling

3. Have a conversation (use body language, gestures, body language, to build rapport)

4. Teach me something new

5. Deliver jaw-dropping moments (brain remembers emotionally charged events)

6. Lighten up (the brain loves humor)

7. Stick to the 18-minute rule (listening for a long time takes effort)

8. Paint a mental picture (use multisensory experiences)

9. Stay in your lane (be authentic)

In 2019, I took a course by Jeff Ansel called Communicating with Confidence. He taught we two valuable techniques when it comes to enunciation. First, he suggests practicing a short speech with a pen in your teeth. I tried this and when I removed the pen, my enunciation improved tremendously. Second, Jeff recommended I practice elongating my vowels in order to slow down my speech to make sure the audience is able to follow what I am saying.

Another technique that has helped me, has been to record my presentations on my iPhone and listen to myself talk.  This has help me improve significantly.   I practice my presentations standing up and even in front of a mirror.   What do you do to improve how you say it?

A recent article in Inc Magazine does a great job of discussing the Google certificate program announcement.   A few things stood out to me about the certificate programs.   First, they take 6 months to complete.  Second, they cost $300 dollars ($49 per month) and are hosted on Coursera.   Third, they are for in-demand careers such as IT Support, UX Designer, Project Manager, and Data Analyst.  All of these careers pay over $50,000.   Fourth, they are from a recognized brand and Google already has several partnerships with Fortune 1000 companies looking for people with these certificates.  Finally, they have access to resources to help with their job search.

John Beckham feels that while a college degree is not needed for software developers it does provide some value.   In a LinkedIn post, he says, "My primary background is in Software Development. Did a 4-year degree help me learn to develop software? Not really. Did it teach me how to understand problem-solving and logic through all the mathematics and logic classes I had to take? I would say yes. So, it is a two-edged sword, but in today's world most new developers I have met don't have solid business acumen and therefore tend to overthink the plumbing during development."

I think it is a mistake for companies to require a four year degree in their job announcements for software developers.   I recommend that announcements could a state degree is preferred and that employers should consider paying those with a 4-year degree more.   In an article in The Washington Post, Tom Greiner of Accenture Federal servers says he is hiring people from Revature, a unique boot camp program offered by an employment agency. 

It may be time for Harvard to decrease the $49,700 annual price tag for an education that in the year 2020 is 100% remote.   At a minimum, I would like to see many of students who are getting loans for college rethink their plan.   One route could be to get a Google certificate first and earn the money for a University instead of going into debt. Recently I received good news from Nicolas Challain, Chief Software Officer of the U.S. Airforce, that president Trump is working to elevate skills over college degrees for federal hiring. An article in Inside Higher Education links to the recent Executive Order.

Some time ago my wife shared advice with me that I have since shared with several others.   She said, "When you don't know what to do, do the next right thing."   When we are overwhelmed by fear, we start to think about what might happen.   Some people go into contingency overdrive to the point they panic.   By taking a small step in the right direction, we regain control of a small area in our lives and begin to reduce our focus on the things out of our control.

“There is no fear in love.  But perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment.”   I John 4:18

The next right thing does not need to be a huge step.  It can be as small as calling a friend to admit your need for encouragement or spending time with family.   If you believe in God, you can pray, read your Bible, and thank God for what you do have.   I also am a big proponent of exercise especially when I can get outside and enjoy the sunshine. Another suggestion is to help the people that Pastor Brett Fuller has described as the helpless. These are the people that if you compare yourself to them, you need help less than they do.

Do you know somebody who has lost their business or been laid off?  Share this article with them or better yet, give them a call an encourage them to do the next right thing.

Cheryl and Wayne Baker created the co-created the Reciprocity Ring, a fun and dynamic group exercise that applies the “pay-it-forward” principle to a team or group while creating and cementing high-quality personal and professional connections.  The Reciprocity Ring is a one-time, face-to-face exercise that makes asking for and offering help easy.   This is an exercise that was developed at the University of Michigan is now supported by an online application called Givitas.

The idea of a reciprocity ring is not new to me but I do like the name.  I like the idea of having a formal exercise to help people become better at serving others.   Some people might not be givers because they don't care enough, but most are likely takers or strategic matchers because they don't have the skills or have not experienced the joy of giving.   

Today my friend Tim Dotterweich called me to thank me for introducing him to my friend S0ndra Schneider.   Tim is in the staffing and recruiting industry and specializing in CyberSecurity.   He is constantly looking to help those who are unemployed or underemployed.   I connected him with my friend with S0ndra.  She runs Security University and was able to provide advice on how to get free training for people who need to increase their job skills.   I feel great because I had the opportunity to help Tim, S0ndra, and people I will never meet. 

When I was at NetApp several members of my team including Adam Burton, Darren Nilsen, and Joe Dabrowski became very successful through formal and informal networking.   According to Brian Uzzi management professor at Northwestern University networks come with three major advantages.  1. private information 2. diverse skills, 3. power.   Jeff Cochran was part of their networking group and I later hired Jeff.   The best "networkworkers" give first.   "It seems counterintuitive but the more altruistic your attitude the more benefits you will gain from the relationship," says LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman.   He says, "If you set up to help others, you will rapidly reinforce your own reputation and expand your universe of possibilities."

In the book Give and Take Adam Grant shares the story of Adam Rifkin, a silicon valley venture capitalist, and organizer of the 106 Miles Meetup. Rifkin has become known as a giver.   For instance, as part of the research for give and take Adam Grant recorded that  Rifkin had written recommendations on LinkedIn for more than 265 people, while 49 people had written a recommendation for him.   While he has given more than 5x the number of recommendations he also has a large number of recommendations.   I checked and noted that I have given 28 recommendations and have received 8.   Is this proof that there is a correlation between how much you have given and how much you receive?  Rifkin believes you should be willing to do something that will take you five minutes or less for anybody.   

One way to practice the 5 minutes or less giving drill is to sign up to give free career advice on the LinkedIn Career Advice Hub

According to Grant, Rifkin believes in the strength of weak ties which is based on the study by Stanford sociologist Mark Granovetter.   In this study, Granovetter found that 17% of people got a job through a strong tie and 28% of people heard about a job through a weak tie.   In my opinion, great networkers stay in touch with dormant ties by consistently looking for ways to help.   Are you doing this?

Also in the book, Grant refers to the work by researcher Katie Liljenquist.   She has shown that asking advice is an effective way to exercise influence when we lack authority.  She tested her theory through exercises where parties were negotiating the sale of commercial property and found that asking for advice from the opposing party lead to better outcomes.  Ithai Stern and James Westphal studies executives and found that asking for advice after giving a compliment was a better way than just providing a compliment to solicit help in obtaining board of directors positions.   Adam Grant believes that research shows that people who regularly seek advice and help from knowledgeable colleagues are rated more favorably than those who never seek advice or help.

Adam shares stories of Author and former CEO John Huntsman Sr. He believes that giving has been key to his success.   In book Winners Never Cheat he says that "giving to others in need has been more satisfying than any deal he has ever closed.   He believes that the more one gives the better they feel about it and the easier it becomes to give."

As a result of reading Adam's book, I have been encouraged to continue to be a giver and to work to become even better.   I was also encouraged to be more willing to ask for help.   What can you do to build your own reciprocity ring?

Yesterday I had the opportunity to meet a great man with an incredible story.  Please don't stop reading! This is appropriate for LinkedIn as it is definitely a story about business.  It is also a story about perseverance, redemption, criminal justice reform, entrepreneurship, and why you should give someone a break. 
 
John Chapman A.K.A "Johnny Appleseed" was a successful technology sales rep. He was laid off.  Nine years ago he had planned to take his kids to Disney World, but after being laid off he needed to sell his tickets. When he tried to sell his tickets on Craigslist he was arrested and charged with six felony counts of obtaining money under false pretenses.
 
John went to jail.  He lost his kids.  He was naked in solitary confinement.  He was homeless. His van was taken and sold.  As a felon, he could not get a job. He had and still has PTSD.  Like so many who have been in prison, his life could have ended in tragedy.  
 
His turn around started when one of the other inmates introduced John to his lawyer.  This lawyer helped him pro-bono. A homeless shelter gave him bus tickets to Detroit in order to fight to get his kids back.  John went to the law library and built the case to get his kids back.  After getting his kids back he needed to get a job.
 
In a job interview, the owner of a pest control company asked him he bad he wanted a job.   John told his story and the man offered him a job.  John told the owner he was homeless and did not have money for gas to get to work on Monday.  The owner made him a manager, bought him a truck, gave him a company gas card.  Not only did the owner of the pest control company give him a job with a company truck, but he cosigned on his apartment because John was unable to get an apartment because of his background.  John succeeded in the job over the next two years.
 
There is a lot more to John's story and I encourage you to watch the video.  You must learn more about what John does now. He runs an accredited trade school to train electricians, orthodontics assistants, and plumbers.  In five weeks he can take people from hopeless to working a job with benefits and a future.  Programs exist where the training can be completed at no cost to the students.  John is a hero to me and so many others. 

Please share his story and get the word out about the JASA Trade School with locations in Manassas VA, Norfolk  VA, and soon to be in Detroit Michigan.

Before sharing some of my personal experiences with for sale by owner I wanted to provide 10 reasons you might want to consider hiring a broker.

1. In a large transaction having an expert reduces your risk of a potentially painful mistake.

2. A broker can ensure you are paying or offering a fair price, make sure a title search is completed and hold money in escrow.

3. A broker likely has key relationships with mechanics, contractors, and boat yards.

4. A broker should be an expert on the local market.

5. You might miss one of your options without the help of an agent.

6. A broker should help you make decisions based on logic and deal with the emotions of a stressful negotiation.

7. Post survey/inspection a broker can help you negotiate.

8. A broker understands the laws that relate to selling disclosures in your state.

9. The showings will most likely be done by the broker.

10. A broker can help you with best practices for staging.

While it is important to hire the right agent, there are a few other professionals that a more important than the agent.  When purchasing a home, the most important professional is the home inspector.  When purchasing a yacht your most important professional is the surveyor (another name for inspector).  Picking the right real estate attorney is also very important.  I recommend that you do your homework on these professionals.  Don’t just use the first person your agent recommends.  If you are buying a home in Maryland, I recommend you talk to Rick Marlow from A Game home inspections.  Check out his Facebook page to learn more about the things Rick does and others may not.

In May 2020 I sold my 2007 36 Silverton Convertible.  My best response was from my listing in the  Silverton Owners Club Web Site. This was because people that reached out were pretty sure they wanted to purchase a Silverton. I also made YouTube video.  If this had failed I would have listed my boat in the local Chesapeake Bay Paper the Salty Dog.  and in Boat Trader. 

If you want to sell your own boat, be prepared to put in the time and to be patient.  Selling a boat can take more than a year unless you are willing to sell it below market value.  If you don’t use a broker expect it will take longer and you will likely sell your boat for less.  To some people, it is worth not having to pay a broker 7-10% of the sales price.

In the case of my Silverton I listed the boat for $139,000 and sold it for $129,000. Similar boats had sold in the post two years from $120,000 to $150,000. After the survey I had four issues to fix. I was lucky that I had a good relationship with my mechanic and he fixed them quickly. I may have been able to sell the boat for more if I waited but it could have been a wash with the money I was spending to store the boat.

In 2013 I sold my 2006 Sea Ray 320 Sundancer without a broker.  The hardest part about for sale by owner is getting found by the right people.  Yachtworld is the best online search engine for boats.  The problem is that if you don’t use a broker then you can’t list your boat on Yachtworld.  The second problem is figuring out how to price your boat.  Listing prices for boats are all over the map.  When I sold my Sea Ray prices on the internet ranged from $99,000 to $140,000.  I received many low-ball offers.  I accepted an offer for $95,000 and ended up settling at $85,000 due to poor credit on the part of the buyer and his ability to qualify for the larger loan.

I also sold my Condo without an agent in 2000.  This was before the internet, so I put up signs, put an advertisement in the Washinton Post, and conducted an open house. The top bid was from a woman with an agent.  I agreed to pay the agent a reduced commission.  In 2000 the reason to have an agent was to list on MLS.  Today with Zillow this less important.  I also saw adds to have your house on MLS for $99.  Since the seller pays the commission, I recommend that the buyer (especially of a condo) have a great agent.  The seller should be willing to pay a commission to the buyer’s agent.

Have you had success selling your home or yacht without a broker?

Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care-Theodore Roosevelt.

I believe that leaders need to first show their employees that they care about them personally.   Second leaders need to model the behavior that they expect from the team.   It is only after leadership has done the first two that they will be effective in coaching.   Most people only want to be coached by someone they trust.   While being credible is important for trust, studies show that being vulnerable and showing you care is the fastest way to built trust.

Trust trumps everything. And everything flows from trust — learning, credibility, accountability, a sense of purpose, and a mission that makes ‘work’ bigger than oneself. — Deb Mills-Scofield

In the book, Radical Candor, Kim Scott says that leaders need to care deeply and then challenge directly.   To her, that is the definition of radical candor.   Following this model will help leaders avoid micromanagement or absentee management and move towards partnership with their team.

I believe that if you want to help your team adopt a growth mindset you need to care first and model the right behavior second.   Some performance management problems are about skillset but many are solved by changing mindset.  By caring first, you put your employees in the mindset to be willing to develop their skillset. Only then can you help your team change and grow.   Do you agree?

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to speak at Reston Tech Talks.   I spoke on the topic of the Value of Relationships.   I shared my personal story, reviewed 4 great books, and provided 10 tips to build and grow business relationships.   During the talk, I referred to what John Maxwell has called the learning lunch.   In the question and answer session, an audience member told me she had never heard of John Maxwell and wanted to know more about the learning lunch. 

Who is wise?  He who can learn from every man-Hebrew Proverb

For those of you that don’t know John, he is a keynote speaker on the topic of leadership and has written more than 30 books.   Two of my favorites books by John include 21 Laws of Leadership and How Successful People Think.

I have been practicing the topic of the learning lunch for more than twenty years.   This means I asked somebody to lunch or coffee with the primary purpose of learning from them.   While I have done this for a while, I did not have a process that was as structured as John Maxwell.   John has 7 questions he tries to ask everyone in a learning lunch.   They are:

1. What is the greatest lesson you have learned? By asking this question I seek their wisdom.

2. What are you learning now? This question allows me to benefit from their passion.

3. How has failure shaped your life? This question gives insight into their attitude.

4. Who do you know whom I should know? This allows me to engage with their network.

5. What have you read that I should read? This question directs my personal growth.

6. What have you done that I should do? This helps me seek new experiences.

7. How can I add value to you? This shows my gratitude and desire to add value to them.

The practice of the learning lunch has helped me build deeper relationships and given me many great ideas.   Besides podcasts, learning lunches has been a great way to identify the next book I will read.   In your next learning lunch, I recommend you bring John’s questions and a pen.

Note:  The picture shows Jennifer Low and myself practicing the learning coffee.  Jennifer taught me about the healthcare industry as well as shared valuable insights based on her journey as an entrepreneur and a mother of twin boys.

In the first half of my life, I did not like receiving negative feedback.   I will admit that I was downright afraid of receiving negative feedback.  I did what I could to avoid receiving negative feedback which included such behaviors as trying too hard to be right, becoming defensive, and pretending I did not care about my performance in my areas of weakness.  This was a huge mistake and an area in which I am still growing.   I am confident others want to grow in their ability to love negative feedback, so I wrote this article to provide help.

Ray Dalio, in his book called Principles, educates the reader about why radical transparency and radical truth are key to success in business.   In his financial services firm, Bridgewater Associates, employees are stack ranked and the results are displayed publicly.   Employees are also encouraged to speak their minds and to provide negative feedback to senior leaders, including the CEO.   Providing honest feedback ensures that important issues do not stay hidden and helps to maintain high standards.   Radical truth leads to better decisions and pushes individuals to be their best. 

People who can take feedback well are people who can learn and grow quickly-Sheryl Sandberg

Sheryl Sandberg encourages negative feedback so often that her team has told her that she asks for feedback too often.   Sheryl encourages negative feedback by openly sharing with her team the areas where she is working to improve.  She is also willing to provide feedback to her team when it is needed.   Kim Scott shares the story of when Sheryl Sandberg gave her feedback that there were too many filler words in her presentation.   When Kim Scott ignored the offer to pay for a public speaking coach Sheryl said, “You know, Kim, I can tell I'm not really getting through to you. I'm going to have to be clearer here. When you say 'um' every third word, it makes you sound stupid.’’  This interaction inspired Kim Scott to write the great book on giving great feedback entitled Radical Candor.

If you are exposed to feedback frequently you get better at receiving it, according to Adam Grant and Ray Dalio.  The U.S. Military practices this behavior by reviewing their post-mission performance as a team in a process they call ARR (After Action Review).  Ray Dalio has trained himself to receive the pleasure signal of I can get better right after the pain signal of I did not perform up to expectations.  Ray says “pain+reflection=progress”.   Adam Grant believes you need to rate yourself on how well you receive feedback as well as ask your team to rate your ability to receive feedback.   This reorients your focus from the pain and creates a mental game where you strive to become great at receiving feedback.  

Psychologist and author Adam Grant believes the best response to negative feedback is to say thank you.  I agree with Adam.  You should let the person providing the feedback know you are committed to personal growth and value their ideas.   Ask the person providing feedback ask to share more.  Follow this request by asking “and what else” two or more times.  This process helps you go several layers deep to understand the problem. Also, asking questions gives you time to get control of your emotions.   Resist the urge to become defensive, make excuses, or blame someone else. 

Grammarly is a online service and can also plug into popular browsers such as Microsoft Edge and Chrome. In addition, there is a plug-in Microsoft Word. The free version is good, but I would recommend the paid version for bloggers, writers, executives, and anybody who writes for large audiences.

This summer I left the company using the G Suite and went back to using Microsoft Word. That also meant I stopped using Grammarly. Recently I had the opportunity to put Grammarly to the test. I used portions of a blog article I had written called The Reference Selling Model as a writing sample for a job interview. I edited the blog article in Word (Version 1910 from Office 365) and also decided to cut and paste the final writing sample into Grammarly. I was shocked by the results! This was because my blog articles had been edited by either a paid editor or my wife.  

After fixing the mistakes found by Grammarly that were missed by my paid editors and Microsoft Word I decided to test another article. This article is entitled Hiring vs. Onboarding, Which is More Important?

Below is a screenshot from Grammarly.

Grammarly free showed that it found 11 errors. After careful inspection, I agreed that five errors needed to be corrected. First Grammarly found a duplicated word. Second, I incorrectly used the preposition "a" where I should have used "of". Third, there was a sentence that could have been shortened to improve clarity. Forth Grammarly pointed out where I needed a hyphen. Finally, Grammarly found a place I needed a comma.

I am now a huge proponent of Grammarly and plan to purchase the premium service.  

Compared with the cost of a paid editor, $140 per year for Grammarly premium seems like a fair price. The company also offers an enterprise version for companies. I was shocked to find out that Grammarly free was better in many respects than a paid editor. Grammarly premium found a few issues with punctuation in compound/complex sentences, several misuses of passive voice, hard to reach text, poor word choices and inappropriate use of colloquialism.