Guest Ted Bauer - Complexity in Work and The Challenges We Create - 140

Complexity in Work and the Challenges We Create for Ourselves Ted Bauer joins me on the Catalyst Sale Podcast this week.  We discuss a number of different topics including universal evils in work, why they persist, manager/employee relationships, onboarding, and interviewing. Ted turns the table at the end of the discussion, and asks Mike a couple of questions as well, which was an awesome surprise. I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did. Questions Addressed What is the catalyst for the questions Ted asks on Twitter? What are some topics that tend to get the most activity? Why do universal evils continue in the workplace? Why do we overcomplicate this stuff? What are some things that I can keep in mind as a manager of a team, and how we will impact the business? What can I do as an employee to help my manager be better? What are some of the challenges with onboarding today? Ted's Questions Why do companies struggle with retaining revenue? Do you think that short term focus is inherently a bad thing in sales? Key Takeaways Ted uses social media to initiate discussions. Most engagement from Ted's perspective comes from universal experiences/evils and emotional events/personal narratives. Everyone has their own set of struggles. We are trained not to discuss these things. You would think that the universal evils would evolve out, unfortunately, this is not the case. Bad processes are similar to viruses within organizations. Control and relevance are important in a work setting Define success around some parameter. Some of the negative stuff does not cycle out because of these biases. We want to make an impact. Risk, and our interest in mitigating risk, can lead to reinforced complexity. There are psychological components that impact this in work. Mary Barra - commencement - Stanford Business School Do not make it painful to get the simple things done. Manager Understand how the company makes money, and communicate this to your team. Day/Day, Week/Week, start with "What is harder than it should be, what is taking more time than it should be?" - How can I get rid of these things? Know your team, know how they like to be recognized - Adapt and Execute. Employee Know the business Communicate Know where you make an impact Volunteer Own your own development Onboarding - Things to do differently Design the onboarding experience Onboarding should be more transformative, not transactional Document success An interview process is not a one-way street.  You are interviewing the customer as well. Customer revenue retention in organizations - why do companies struggle? #1 - we deliver something into the organization to solve a problem, and we actually can't solve the problem.  #2 - we set the wrong expectations #3 - we failed on the customer success side of things, we failed to ask if "did we do what we said we would do" Is short-termism a bad thing in sales? Take a long-term oriented focus. Treat people like people Don't make your problems your customer's problems. Look at things through the lens of the customer. Show Links Ted Bauer on LinkedIn Ted on Twitter Ted's Blog - The Context of Things Call To Action How are you changing your workplace for the better? Let us know via twitter, facebook or LinkedIn. Thank You  Thank you for rating and reviewing the podcast via iTunes, Google Play, or your favorite podcast platform.  Ratings & reviews help others discover the podcast - thank you for helping us get our message out to the community. Please send listener questions and feedback to [email protected] or contact us directly on twitter, facebook or LinkedIn. Catalyst Sale Service Offerings Growth Acceleration - Plateau Breakthrough Product Market Fit ---------------------- Subscribe to the Catalyst Sale Podcast Subscribe via iTunes Subscribe via Google Play Catalyst Sale In every business, in every opportunity, there is someone who can help you navigate the internal challenges and close the deal.  There is a Catalyst.  We integrate process (Catalyst Sale Process), technology and people, with the purpose of accelerating revenue. Our thoughtful approach minimizes false starts that are common in emerging markets and high-growth environments. We continue to evolve our practice based on customer needs and emerging technology. We care about a thinking process that enables results versus a process that tells people what to do.  Sales is a Thinking Process.