#1175 Life Long Learning
My first mentor in business communication was Joe Weiss. He owned the company I worked for, and together with an outstanding group of salespeople and another gifted leader, Jim Coler, we grew it from an acorn to a towering oak. Joe was an NLP master practitioner, and his influence led me to get certified in NLP.
Coler taught me to dig in. I was good on my feet, which carried me through my early career. But when I met Jimmy, that didn't fly. He was going deeper than that and expected the same from me. I couldn't surface skim anymore. This was DEFCON Five. I had to have the substance to back up my mouth, so I dug in and learned.
That period of learning was the most excellent time in my life because I learned that I still had a lot to learn and that learning, admitting to learning, and showing a willingness to learn increased rather than decreased my esteem in the eyes of my colleagues and myself. Knowing what I didn't know and openly trying to improve was more appealing to my colleagues than pretending I had all the answers.
I was insatiable with reading and listening to everything I could about sales, communications, and business excellence. This was before Podcasts, so I had to order courses on CDs. If Nightingale Conant had given frequent-flyer miles, I could have circled the globe.
That period tipped off a lifelong pursuit of learning, mainly in the communications and sales arenas, which brought me to my current career, speaking, consulting, and leading seminars, teaching all that I've curated over these past few decades.
While I have become (he said with all humility) a sales and communications expert, one of the best things I learned was that I was not good at many things and that that was OK. As Peter Cundhill said, "You can teach a donkey to climb a tree, but it's better to hire a squirrel."
I knew my attention to detail wasn't great, but I hired Christine, who could spot a grammatical error at fifty paces. I continued to improve in my planning and organizational efforts, but JC was the king of that, so when we partnered on projects, he held the plan, and I moved the people.
We pushed each other's strengths, covered each other's shortcomings, and continued learning from one another.
I was relentless in my pursuit of knowledge in my area, and Jimmy was the same in his, and we shared what we learned.
Today he would say he is not a sales guy but I know he is damn good when he needs to put on his sales hat. I will tell you I'm a piker compared to Jim in putting together a plan, but from all the time together and years of creating my own versions, I'm better than most sales-types at planning and execution.
The value of learning cannot be overstated. It's exciting and it keeps you fresh.
The moment you think you've learned everything in your chosen field, it's time to quit. Pablo Casales, arguably the greatest cellist ever, was interviewed at 90+ years old.
Interviewer: How long do you practice each day, Mr. Casales?
Pablo: A minimum of three hours
Interviewer. But why, sir? You're at the top of your profession.
Pablo: I believe I am seeing progress.
Own Your Sales Gene…