Page 80 - The Voice of Authority

at a breakeven point to “cover” him- or herself. I ended
with the total figure that we’d invested over the past three
years in bringing on new reps and the individual deficit
when reps did not meet quota.
When I finished with the financial picture, I paused for
feedback. The nonperforming sales rep commented with
all sincerity: “I feel really valued—that you’d invest this
much in us and that you believe in us this strongly.”
Verification can be vital. The point I thought I had made
so very clearly was not the conclusion the recipient drew
from the discussion. It’s not an uncommon problem. Talk-
ing with a vice president of another organization recently,
I heard a similar tale.

We have had six regional directors gathered around
the conference table every month for the last six
months looking at the same numbers. And every
month, we discuss the numbers, saying, “This num-
ber has to change.” The number in question was in
Weldon’s region. He would nod and agree, but he did
nothing. Next month, same thing. We’d all six sit
around the table and look at the reports and say, “This
number has to change.” Weldon would nod and
agree. Next month, same thing. Same number. I
didn’t think he was getting it. So I sent someone out
to talk to him one-on-one and deliver the message—
that he had to improve that number. Basically, it was
one single problem he had to take care of in his re-
gion. Six months later, he still hadn’t done anything
to correct the situation.
So come December, the last two weeks of the year,
when he should have been putting in an all-out effort
on the problem, he decided to take a two-week vaca-

68 The Voice of Authority