Secrets of Great Rainmakers

Secrets of Great Rainmakers,
By Jeffrey J. Fox.

Even if you don't like the idea, you are in sales and so am I.  We sell our ideas, ourselves, our services, and even our company's products or services, regardless of our role there.  This book is geared toward deal makers in the official sense of "sales," but there is certainly a lot of spill-over into other endeavors.

I enjoyed this book because each principle is packaged into a short segment that I could read, ponder, and act on without getting overwhelmed.  If my primary role were to close sales and if I worked on commission, I would have this book on my desk and I would work on one principle every week.  It's a solid little book!

My favorite skill discussion is found on page 104: "Silence is Golden."  A sales rep got a sore throat, can't talk hardly at all, and learned through his experience that speaking is less effective than listening when it  comes to a sales process.

The Oz Principle, by Roger Conners, et al

I have read The Oz Principle several times over the years.  It simply and effectively isolates personal accountability as the key factor in personal and organizational success.  The power of this book is the "stickiness" of the concepts.  The authors enhance an old idea of being "Above the Line" or "Below the Line".  Below the line we engage in the blame game.  We ignore the reality of issues and opportunities, we avoid them, we blame others for them, etc.  Above the Line, we "See It" - we see the situation and our real ability to influence or change either that situation or its impact on us.  We "Own It" - we own our opportunity to be an agent in changing the outcomes of the challenge - either how it plays out, or at least how we will respond to it.  We "Solve It" - we find solutions.  And finally, we "Do It" - we implement the solutions.

We are not bad, mean, or evil, if we go below the line, we are just unproductive.  The goal is to recognize when we are below the line more quickly, and then take the "Steps to Accountability" - we See It, Own It, Solve It, and Do It.

The "Results Pyramid" is also a powerful visual and simple to understand and communicate.  The Oz Principle is largely about the individual.  The next book by the authors, Change the Culture, Change the Game, deals with the power of this principle throughout an organization.  Their latest book, How Did That Happen? sorts through how to hold others accountable.  All three are powerful books that help us learn the art of accountability that does not include beating each other up when things go wrong.

All three are highly recommended reads!

The Anatomy of Peace, by the Arbinger Group

This can be a life-changing book!  It is a companion novel to Leadership and Self-Deception, and equally life-changing tome.  The story of the novel is easy to read and gently induces you to be extremely introspective about your perception of your virtue.

The bottom line: you can "do" things to improve situations or relationships, but if your heart is at war with others in the equation you are trying to improve, you will fail.  If your heart is at peace, your chances for success in working effectively with others is dramatically enhanced.  This is a very shallow description of a deeply impactful book that I STRONGLY recommend you read!