Use What You Know Best To Excel In Business
' Use What You Know Best To Excel In Business'
-You may need to hear the following first -
I was once an account manager at a major corporation. I was responsible for several accounts (individuals or businesses) and making sure that all the ways in which the company or the clients made money were covered. I was also responsible for making sure that the clients didn't lose money or end up with bad debts.
As you can imagine, this is a stressful job.
You are managing people who are not (understandably) happy to work with a corporate-type atmosphere. People want to avoid rules and the work that might accompany them. You have to make sure that things occur that may be difficult for the people you are managing to let happen.
I was recently promoted (a year ago) to a new position as head of 2 Department Heads of 2 other Departments that also worked with making clients money. This meant I managed a lot of people who's main responsibility focused on making money. The two departments I was leading were on opposite sides of the company.
While I was normally very proud of the work I did and the progress I made, this made me feel a little uneasy. I was now responsible for financial gains in 2 of the biggest departments in the whole of our company. I know that most people would be happy to take on these type of positions, but I was well aware that it could lead to things not going so well.
What I had to concern myself with now was nothing else but the success of my new department. I felt a little nervous about it, as the position had big expectations. Faced with the big responsibility the new position brought, I decided to never to make any decisions without also asking myself 'would I do the same if this was my department?'
But I also knew that I would make mistakes, and I knew at times I would have to ask my bosses to put their money where their mouth was. I would not be able to make any decisions on my own.
As a result, the department started with a number of disagreements, arguments and tensions that culminated in a very bitter battle for the future of the department. These positions were different and unique. I felt that these conflicts would only serve to weaken the department and bring it down. I decided to keep these problems to myself and see what could be done. I wasn't sure I knew what to do to solve this issue.
The answer slowly materialized, and I saw it clearly one day. I knew at that time who were the people that were really good at their jobs. I knew that they were very intelligent, and had good business and social skills.
I was also aware that more than anything, it was the people that I needed to keep happy. They were the people, who if I did not do so well, would do much of the required work and bring the department down from the inside.
I started by asking myself that if I was good at my job, and am valued by the company, then let the company make more money from my account. It makes sense, the company makes its money when I make money for my clients. I made a point of telling each of my clients this, asking them what issues they face, and what I could do to help them. My job was to help them make money, and that is what I had to do. I made sure that I got them an appointment with the right person for the job.
Not only did this give me great feedback, but it also gave me the answers I needed. I started asking what they needed, and what they thought about my department. After a while, I gained their trust, and they started giving me their opinions and let me know how they were doing.
This obviously had the added benefit that they weren't 'alerting our competitors to our security holes' while they were sending ideas to me on how they were doing.
My clients are not just my 'clients', they are friends to me. Because of this, I was able to maintain close relationships with them, and they trusted me. Now that they trusted me, they were much more open with me. One day, one of the clients I was working with met with one of my co-workers, and told him that they could help him a lot with his sales, if he had more support. However, they didn't feel comfortable coming to him with their issues. They felt that he wouldn't listen to them.
After hearing this I decided to tell the boss about it the following day. I had the idea that if we placed one of my guys with my client, it would give the client much more assistance, as well as allow my guy to gain a lot of experience.
My boss asked me why I hadn't mentioned this to him. He told me that 'if I had told him, he would've shot it down,' pointing to the fact that we didn't have the resources needed to make this possible.
Conclusion:
With this story, the author leaves us with a simple advice, use what you know best. In this case what we know best are our clients.
6. Tips from #AltDevBlogADay
Lucas Blair of Innervation Software blogged about game asset preparation and it's a great read for anyone who either wants to get into game development or is an established developer. Personally, I've had some of these issues, so I know how hard it is.