Patriots Dynasty/Super Bowl Leadership Lessons

During the past four NFL seasons, Bill Belichick has led the New England Patriots to an amazing three Super Bowl victories and a remarkable overall win-loss record of 57-16. His career postseason coaching record of 10-1 is the best in league history. Yet just 10 years ago, he was fired as coach of the Cleveland Browns and labeled Cleveland’s “worst coach ever” by the press. What lessons does Belichick’s remarkable turnaround offer for us all? (From Michael Felger of the Boston Herald.)

• Develop people skills. True or not, the perception of Belichick in Cleveland was that of a distant, humorless taskmaster. His resurgence is proof that people skills can be honed. The Patriot’s coach still isn’t the most charismatic guy around, but he gets along very well with his boss (team owner Robert Kraft).
• Foster a real TEAM. One of Belichick’s greatest strengths has been his ability to push the team concept. Big-ego players command too much of a team’s budget and often have star-sized attitudes. Belichick targets players whom he feels will fit his system.
• Embrace change. Most teams do whatever they can to hang onto their most recognizable players. Not the Patriots. Of New England’s 22 offensive and defensive starters in the 2002 Super Bowl, only six were still starting for the team in the 2005 Super Bowl.
• Expect the unexpected. While (unavoidable) injuries ruin some teams’ seasons, the Patriots have managed to keep right on winning – because Belichick treats backup players as an integral part of his plan… not as an afterthought.
• Don’t rely on a single strategy. Many football teams strive to have an identity, a single style that they can rely on each week regardless of the situation. Bill Belichick devises a unique game plan each week. That’s why he covets versatility in his players.
• Look for intelligence and character. The intelligence of the Patriot players is a big reason why Belichick can implement his very complicated strategies. Their character is a big part of the reason the team hasn’t been brought down by ego or complacency despite all of its success.
• Follow rules. Belichick has a rule that a player doesn’t start on Sunday if he missed practice time during the week. He believes that if you bend the rules in one situation, you’re likely to do it again and, eventually, the structure suffers. (This includes Richard Seymour, one of the Patriots’ best players, who missed practice to attend his grandfather’s funeral.)
• Focus on what you can control. Belichick doesn’t allow players to moan about the thin air when they play in Denver or the heat when they’re in Miami. There’s nothing they can do to change the conditions, so why waste energy worrying about them?

6 Killer Rainmaker Sales Questions

“How to Become a Rainmaker: The Rules for Getting and Keeping Customers and Clients” by Jeffrey Fox (author of “How to Become a CEO”). It’s a great, easy read. Here are Fox’s six “Killer Sales Questions:”

1. Do you have your Appointment calendar handy? It leads to obtaining an appointment over 90% of the time.
2. Will you look at the facts and decide for yourself if they make sense? This is almost rhetorical because the answer is so seemingly obvious. The customer is certainly going to decide for herself.
3. Ask the prospect what other companies they are considering and follow-up with, Would you be interested in our points of difference? The customer needs to see a difference, new information, so he can change his mind or change the minds of his colleagues.
4. Is there anything else prohibiting you from going ahead? The salesperson is either going to hear some unresolved customer issues, or get an agreement to an action that leads to a close.
5. Why don’t you give it a try? A super saleswoman sold a $1 million computer conversion that took 18 months to implement by asking the customer, “Well, why don’t you give it a try?” People don’t just “try” – they act. They do something.
6. What question should I be asking that I am not asking? “What am I not asking?” is asked by the most confident, most customer-concerned, most professional of professionals. And good customers want to be asked this fantastic leave-no-stone-unturned question.

Passed along from:
Randy Cyr
President
The Damase Group
P.O. Box 1833
Framingham, MA 01701
rcyr@damasegroup.com
508-879-2300 Office
508-740-7181 Cell

“Cautious optimism. A global survey of CEO’s in the Deloitte Technology Fast 500.”

Here is an overview :

• CEO’s are focusing less attention on cash flow, shifting priorities from customer retention to customer acquisition and stockpiling talent in key positions.
• Although preparing for growth, CEO’s continue to focus on profitability. That’s a big change from the late 1990’s when many business leaders pursued a growth strategy at any price.
• Last year, roughly 30% of respondents cited the economy as the biggest challenge to sustained revenue growth. This year, that number was cut in half – down to less than 15%.
• The top operational challenge this year is developing a strong marketing and sales strategy.
• Roughly 25% of the CEO’s surveyed cited recruiting and retention as their biggest operational challenge, second only to establishing a strong marketing and sales strategy.
  There is worldwide agreement that developing and bringing new products to market is the top marketing challenge. In North America, hiring the right salespeople is the second highest priority.
• CEO’s in Europe and Asia Pacific are very concerned about competition from China and India. Companies in North America are focused more on terrorism and the general economy.

Software Company Growth Opportunities - Adapt or Die.

According to the 2005 CEO Outlook study available at www.SandHill.com :

"Executives don’t expect 2005 to be another year of flat performance: 52 percent of those urveyed anticipate modest 5 to 9 percent revenue growth for the overall industry. Another 29 percent’s predictions were for growth of 10 percent or more."

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Source: Sand Hill Group


Despite the rosy outlook, there is no doubt that significant challenges remain.When asked to name the software industry’s greatest challenge, 35 percent of respondents pointed to stagnant corporate IT budgets. Small companies were most concerned about this continuing dynamic, while larger companies were slightly more likely to indicate “lack of growth.” Other concerns included lack of innovation and increasing consolidation.

“This is as challenging an environment to manage a business through as any I’ve seen in my 25 years in the business. The next two years will likely be ones of moderate growth, but I think it will take three to five years for sustainable business models and practices to return, around which startup, growth, niche and mature companies can be run and evaluated.”
CEO, midsize applications and infrastructure company

“Buyers are still very cautious and very thorough about purchasing. Unless there is a regulatory requirement, they are under no rush to buy.”
CEO, midsize Internet applications company


“We’re expecting a slight improvement over 2004. But we’re still not seeing a tidal wave of buyer momentum.”
CEO, midsize applications company


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Source: Sand Hill Group


“Software industry executive teams need to grow up and realize that the industry is not a fast-growth industry anymore and software companies need to be managed for profit and cash flow just like other traditional industries. Executives need training and knowledge
transfer on best practices for operational effectiveness in the software industry.”
CEO, midsize applications company

They key: Adapt new business models to the changing world around you - or not - either way you are deciding on a strategy.