The following content was originally published on April 11, 2014, and although extreme, I think it aged well.
Inspired by the Johnny Depp movie, Transcendence. For me, we are on the Edge of the Singularity or Ultimate Convergence. The transition will be immediate - from "off" to "on", like bits, from "0" to "1". The singularity will occur in an instant. Sure there will be warnings, there have been for decades, but when it comes, it will be an institutional
This month marks the 25th anniversary of the addressing vehicle for the internet, the "World Wide Web". The internet, as it is defined, has been around 40 years, created in 1973. The thing is, I don't see the internet surviving another 40, let alone 10 years.
No really, I'm calling it, we are witnessing the very beginning of the Death of the Internet.
It’s an age-old argument. “Without Sales, the lights don’t come on,” says the selling professional. “Without Service, you don’t get a paycheck,” says the seasoned service technician. Who is correct?
I’d like to share ideas about something I haven’t heard anyone address: the relationship between sales reps and your service department — more specifically, how to work with people who service your customers almost every day.
Good friend and colleague, Art Post has a great interview over at ENX. I know the business model at ENX and if Art is getting space, he is worth the listen.
Here is a sample:
Based on your 40-plus years of experience, what do you think are the primary reasons you’ve been able to unseat incumbents and pull off net-new wins?
Post:
"For one, they don’t get enough training or support from their organization. A second thing is one of my biggest pet peeves: work ethic. They simply lack it. Ours is not a nine-to-five job; if you want to make nine-to-five money, go work for a fast food company. In my writing, I like to focus on the three Ds: desire, determination, and dedication. If you’re going to be successful in this business, you need to have the desire to succeed.
You need to be dedicated to continuously learning. And you have to have the determination not to fail. That determination to see something from start to finish and not give up, to not give in.
And I think that’s missing. It’s a reason a lot of good people fail. I believe you can’t teach desire; the desire to be the best is an innate trait salespeople must have in order to make money and succeed.0
It probably applies to the top 20% of salespeople; after all, they say 20% of the salespeople make 80% of the sales."
It was eerie. The Oce office was next to the runway at Ontario Airport, in the IE, SoCali. Our windows overlooked the 10; Southwest planes landing every 10 minutes or so...
Not today. No planes, no cars on the 10, the 91, 55, or 405. For the few of us who did venture out or in, few words.
Watching those planes go, the bodies tumbling, and the towers rumble down, was incredible, heartwrenching, and "...more than anyone of us can bear..."
In the Deep Silence of September 12, the inability to contemplate such an act gave way to anger, then guilt - what could we have done to allow this? How can somebody hate us so very much?
There may or may not have been "weapons of mass destruction" - We didn't care.
The nations states of Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan may not have officially condoned - We didn't care.
Allies shaking in their boots, predicting our massive reaction, positing restraint - We didn't care.
In the resolute absence, we wanted 'big holes in the ground' somewhere.
It started that day. The integration of all arms of the military and each intelligence agency. Army, Navy, and Airforce coordinated attacks together - sailors, marines, and soldiers coalesced. FBI deployed overseas, sharing data with the CIA, and military intelligence.
The Patriot Act. Metal detectors, long lines, in our airports, and disappearing receptionists - that's right up until September of 2001, salespeople were greeted(or shunned) by somebody at a desk in the lobby.
Not anymore. Bulletproof glass, cameras, employee phone listing, and a phone waited in front of a locked door.
The times changed.
For over two decades we've seen independence and freedoms eroded in the name of security, in the name of health.
The United States of America has been at war since its inception. Is it because we're inherently evil?
No.
The world has evil in it. The downing of the Towers didn't deliver Evil, it cast light on that forever present force, comfortable in our ignorance.
Today, 21 years later, the impact is felt in every facet of Life - you can almost smell charred remains; hear the distant crash of concrete, glass, and flesh.
For as long as I can remember, I've played this video on 9/11. Super Bowl 2002, months after the attack, our country was numb and jumpy.
Well before self-loathing Americans started calling our movements in the middle-east "invasion" and "occupation", patriotism was on every street corner.
I remember that night; I remember seeing it live. I can't tell you the football teams playing, but I can say it was one of the deepest, most moving TV moments, ever.
U2 - that Irish rock band, stood on the world stage, honoring the greatest country on earth and her fallen citizens. Names float to the sky, as the rousing "Where the Streets Have No Name" beats on. The song, the second of the half-time set, was written about a place without class stigma, where the distinction between religions and income is no more; a World Without Sin?
Bono ends the tune exposing the Stars and Stripes - Triumph.
Here we are, 15 years later - The Twin Towers, replaced by that defiant Freedom Tower, slip deeper into the fog with each passing 911. The threat remains the same, if not more pronounced.
Do you honestly feel safer now than you did that faithful day of empty skies, September 12, 2001?
Day of cogitation: What have we learned?
On this day of reflection, consider not only the ones who've helped you see who you are, but remember the hearts you've "imprinted"; sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, friends, lovers and ex-lovers, customers, and co-workers.
Be gratified knowing you've changed somebody's life for the better - we all have.
Take time to remember those on the 98th floor, at 8:47 AM, sipping a Starbucks, considering a sales forecast or the regret of not saying "I love you, I always will..." on that morning, years ago.
Somehow, working normal hours, fulfilling your responsibilities on a 9-5 schedule, or in the #WFA world is being demonized by corporate America.
To use a common vernacular, the #RTO movement has been weaponized.
If the goals of your job can only be achieved during non-paid, post-regular business hours, your employer is taking advantage of you. - you're not being paid to fall for the "after five is when the real work begins" dogman.
By now, if you have any presence on social media, you probably have heard the name Andrew Tate. To summarize, Tate sticks up for men.
He says being a man has been under attack for decades. He is a showman.
To me, he is part of the social commentary team of men; Jordan Peterson, Steve Harvey, and the like. His opinions and pontifications are not the issues I find interesting.
What I find most intriguing is how Tate has been removed from ALL social media channels.
ALL.
Imagine your organization and the different departments, agendas, opinions, views, and feelings around change. How often do all the decision makers align?
How easy is it to get everyone on the same page? It's like herding cats. But for some reason, Twitter, Instagram, FB, Google, on and on, all these separate companies act as a single brain.
They all banned one person.
"...in order to be able to think you have to risk being offensive..."
I've said it many times, "Nobody grows up wanting to be a copier salesperson...or in sales.' Your sons and daughters do not look up from that Tonka truck and say, "Daddy, someday I want to sell trucks."
Right?
So how did you get into the crazy world of static electricity, fire, and black powder? More importantly,
What can you learn and take with you to your next position?
I like big, loud, powerful American muscle cars - but - that war is lost. This administration has enticed or threatened American auto companies and old Springsteen songs into the historic abyss.
Every shift in technology has collateral damage; from the Luddites of the 19th century to paint booth operators of the 80s - when new tech evolves, labor shifts into other areas.
Railroads, looms, computers, typewriters, newspapers, department stores, shopping malls, Beanie Babies, Saturday Morning cartoons, - gone. Next, the V8, filling stations, and auto dealerships.
That's right, the American staple of automotive nirvana, that one place nobody likes to go, but everyone does, the car dealership follows the internal combustion engine into oblivion.
Dropping river levels in Europe are revealing historical artifacts while here in the States, Lake Mead gave up the remains of five folks 'sleeping with the fishes'.
"Perhaps the most ominous findings are the “hunger stones” etched along the banks of central Europe’s rivers. These inscriptions date back centuries, and generally offer the same message to future generations: “If the water is low enough for you to read this, prepare for pain.”
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