Recently, I was working with a group of sales training professionals and one of those participating in the on-line discussion was a very successful 35 year old business owner from Seattle.

If you have ever managed a professional sales staff, you know it can be a lot like herding cats! By nature, sales professional have to have a certain degree of street smarts as they need to adapt to their prospective clients. Street smarts basically means you must always begin with the end in mind ( the sale) but how you get there may reqiure a certain degree gamesmanship!  

I asked this very successful 35 year old how he keeps his sales staff from playing games with him, their sales manager. Here is what he said “It’s simple. They all know the game and that with me,there are no games played”!

I used that method myself just last week and let me just say that it led to some interesting discussions as well as some new understandings within the sales staff that I’m currently involved with.

Save the games for the Olympics- not for your sales manager!

Sandbox Rule #18: Don’t be playing your own games in the sandbox.

In his book titled, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Patrick Lencioni writes t “trust is the foundation of all relationships”. That statement goes for both professionally and personally! 

I have yet to work with a company that didn’t rate low when it came to their degree of trust. The sad thing is, I’ve found that the larger the company, the lower the degree of trust! But, size is not always the case.

One clients that I work with in their sandbox is one of the largest private employers in the State of Idaho while  another client consists of just two siblings who simply don’t trust each other.

Look at this economic formula of trust:

            High Trust = Low Costs            vs.        Low Trust = High Costs  

If your organization is not working as one or as efficiently or effectively as they could, there is most likely a issue of low trust at play in the organization.

Sandbox lesson #14:

To play well together in the sandbox- you must trust your playmates!    

If you need help increasing the trust within your organization, give me a call. For more than 25 years, I’ve owned and operated a success business with a very high level of trust.

 I looked him right in the eyes and said ”No- when I work with folks, most times there is a lot of pain involved.No pain-no gain! 

I don’t get asked to work with organization or individuals that are working well together. In fact, dysfunctional is one of my most common search words on the internet.

It’s not always pleasant when you have to say to a business owner, the one writing the check, ”I’ve found the problem in the business and it’s YOU! You’re a bully in your own sandbox”!

That’s painful to say and even worse to hear!

Mr. Webster says this about accountability: to be answerable.

Let me please share with you a great poem titled ”The Man in the Glass.” It does a wonderful job of stressing the importance of being answerable to just one person in your life—that one person who’s staring back at you in the mirror.

The Man in the Glass

When you get what you want in your struggle for life,

And the world makes you king for the day,

Just go to the mirror and see what that man has to say.

For it isn’t your father or mother or wife whose judgment you must pass.

The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life,

Is the one staring back from the glass.

You may be like Jack Horner and chisel a plum,

And think you’re a wonderful guy.

But the man in the glass says you’re only a bum,

If you can’t look him straight in the eye.

He’s the fellow to please—never mind all the rest,

For he’s with you clear to the end.

And you’ve passed your most dangerous,

Difficult test if the man in the glass is your friend.

You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years,

And get pats on the back as you pass,

But your final reward will be heartache and tears,

If you’ve cheated the man in the glass.

-Anonymous

So, before you concern yourself with other people’s actions and behaviors, first make sure that the person you’ll be with from the beginning, to the end, is accountable to himself.

Listen to Greg & Dan talk about accountability on the Closer Look at Business radio show: Personal Accountability

Inspired People. Innovative Solutions.

Members of great teams overcome the discomfort of having difficult conversations and are willing to enter into the “Danger Zone” with each other. In the book Crucial Conversations the author says, “The most successful people are those who can handle life’s most difficult and important conversations by being persuasive not abrasive.”

Peer pressure, as politically incorrect as it might sound, is the most effective and efficient means of accountability. Sometimes dominant leaders naturally create an “accountability vacuum” within the team, leaving themselves as the only source of discipline. This makes for long lines outside the boss’s office and keeps members from accomplishing important tasks.

If accountability is an issue in your world, I invite you to visit our website: www.sandboxgroup.com. Click on the 5 Dysfunctions link or click the Team Assessment link to take our free online assessment.

Listen to Greg Carlson talk about accountability on the radio: Peer To Peer Accountability

Inspired People. Innovative Solutions.

When: August 12th from 12:00 noon – 1:00pm.
What: Business Boot Camp – You or Your Business Building Retirement Wealth?
Where: Boise’s Better Business Bureau (1200 N. Curtis Rd., Boise, Idaho  83706)
Cost: $15.00 includes lunch
RSVP: To make your reservations and payment for the Small Business Boot Camp call 947-2105

http://snake-river.bbb.org/events-calendar/

1. Commitment with our lips
2. Commitment with our hearts

Many times people say they’re committed to a change, but the true heartfelt commitment does not exist.

To get team members to commit with their hearts, make sure that they have been given ample chance to express their opinion. People don’t always have to have it their way to buy-in and commit, but they do need to be able to give their input and opinion if you want them to commit with their hearts.

Getting buy-in and a heartfelt commitment begins with letting people have their say.

Listen to the radio clip from a Closer Look at Business: The Sandbox Group-Commitment-072010 (1)
Inspired People. Innovative Solutions.

The lack of conflict—productive conflict that is, may be a sign there’s a lack of trust in your organization. It could mean just the opposite of “everyone is getting along” and instead may mean team members are ignoring controversial topics that are critical to the team’s success.

Teams that are fully engaged and trust each other will often engage in lively debate aiming at extracting the best ideas from all team members. Thriving teams solve real problems by putting personal agendas aside and efficiently addressing critical issues without fear of political outcomes or offended team members.

In your organization, work to form a team that loves to debate and your meetings will take on a new and refreshing approach—and so will your business.
Inspired People. Innovative Solutions.

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