Your Boss Is A Psychopath

Derrick MoeNo Comments

Maybe, according to this article in Entrepreneur. Check out this statistic: …experts say there’s almost one psychopath for every 100 people, with rates shooting up in the workplace, especially in leadership, thanks to psychopaths’ ease with manipulation. Research finds that nearly 4 percent of corporate CEOs are psychopaths, and this rate is nearly doubled among middle managers. (Shockingly, the share of psychopaths among middle managers is nearly as high as the share of psychopaths in medium security prisons.) I have worked for many bosses with whom I would question their psychopathic tendencies.  I suppose that term deserves definition from within the article. A psychopath stands out, Woodward says, thanks to… Read More

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Collaboration Kills Commoditization

Derrick MoeNo Comments

There is a trend developing in the sales world that has caught my eye over the past couple years.  This Sales & Marketing Management article opens with a terrific summary of what I have experienced (emphasis mine): According to Harvard Business Review, “Traditional sales methods are increasingly unproductive. In fact, aggressive sales styles and product-focused selling are now so outdated that some customers are simply refusing to meet with salespeople using these techniques. In this situation, focusing on product features in the sales meeting is a waste of everyone’s time. In fact, there is plenty of evidence that high-performing sales people are those who listen and respond, who are flexible,… Read More

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The Singular Difference Between Introverts and Extroverts

Derrick Moe

Stereotypes abound around introverts and extroverts-most of them are simply untrue.  The stereotypes go too far in categorizing behaviors.  Part of the issue flows from the Myers-Briggs and its binary assignment of introversion/extroversion.  You are simply one or the other…completely, according to that tool (of which I am not a big fan). This article provides a succinct, accurate definition based on Jung’s work: Shyness and being outgoing don’t have anything to do with it; it’s more about where we get our energy from. In fact, the differences are pretty simple: Introverts get exhausted by social interaction and need solitude to recharge. Extroverts get anxious when left alone and get energy… Read More

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Do Not Trust Myers-Briggs

Derrick Moe

Well, that is my paraphrasing of this author’s post.  The Myers-Briggs test is common throughout many business-world assessments and it serves a purpose.  The difficulty I have always had with it is the binary aspect of the assessment.  You are either Extroverted or Introverted…there is no grey area.  I think the author explains it well: More problematic, though, is that it classifies personalities by a binary preference for a particular trait. In reality, however, most people exist on a spectrum between the two and can vary between them from week to week… Agreed.  People are the ultimate variable and far from binary.  I think the best use of the Myers-Briggs… Read More

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Of Authenticity

Derrick MoeNo Comments

I have encountered this issue of authenticity recently in a handful of situations and it has captured my attention.  Here’s why – Gen Y is all about authenticity.  As a Gen Xer, I would argue that it is high on our list also.  Yet, some Baby Boomers have a different approach to authenticity and it stems from one key approach – they believe they have to have the answer to every question. Now I’m not talking about aerospace-grade questions, but questions regarding their field of expertise.  Recently I witnessed 3 different situations where different Baby Boomer-aged experts encountered a difficult question.  The question was clearly beyond what they knew yet… Read More

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Introverts Make Great Salespeople

Derrick MoeNo Comments

You heard me right, that is an indirect quote from this Inc.com article.  This topic comes up often in our sales hiring activities as the conventional wisdom is that extroverts make better salespeople.  Not true.  Successful salespeople have a wide variety of abilities that go far beyond their communication style.  And that is the point here, introvert/extrovert is more of a communication style than anything else.  It is important to know a salesperson’s style, but it is not predictive of sales success. Here is some excellent advice from the article (emphasis mine): “When selling as an introvert, use your abilities as a good researcher to really know audience, know what… Read More

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Look, It Sounds Like It Hurts

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I’m not well-versed in the rapport-building technique (my phrase) known as Neuro-Linguistic Programming.  In fact, I’m not certain that is the correct definition of the acronym NLP.  But it is fascinating information.  Geoffrey James discusses this topic in his blog post Ten Seconds to Better Rapport: This method based upon the scientific observation that people have what are sometimes called “thought modalities” or, more colloquially, “have their brain wired different ways.” Research has shown that most people favor one of the three different modalities: Visual. The person values and responds to what he or she SEES. A visual person will tend to dress flashy, talk quickly, and use plenty of… Read More

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How To Run A Gen X Meeting

Derrick MoeNo Comments

As a Gen Xer, this article caught my attention on the Selling Power website.  Some of the points from the article: Do remember this group has an entrepreneurial spirit. “They are individualists,” says Fishman. “Treat them as independent agents. They like to be in charge of things. If you have 100 people at your sales meeting, you have 100 entrepreneurs there.” Don’t hire motivational speakers. “This is not a group that needs to be motivated,” says Fishman. “They don’t like spin, hype, or touchy-feely. They want something that they can take back to the office that will help them sell. Sharpen their skills; that’s what they’re there for. Give them… Read More

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Personality Assessments And Stereotypes

Derrick Moe3 Comments

Personality assessments, or “communication style” as I prefer, are highly valuable in the hiring process for one important aspect – communication.  How many office conflicts have you seen where poor communication was adding oxygen to the fire?  We see it in almost every office conflict. One way to diffuse these situations is to assess candidates before they join your team.  Doing so allows the manager to know the preferred communication style of the new employee.  This knowledge can also predict potential conflict areas between two employees before any conflict develops. However, there are still companies out there who harbor concerns about assessments.  One common concern is mentioned in this BusinessWeek.com… Read More

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