I am motivated to workout every time I notice I’m getting a little flabby in the midsection. Of course, being motivated isn’t enough to do much about it. I dont get off the scale and go for a run immediately. Usually, I do little things like eat smaller meals for a few days or extend the walk the dogs and I take. Results are limited. I have taken corrective action but I haven’t been motivated enough to completely change my habits.

That is where the question of initiative comes in. What has to happen to take that next step. How do you go from telling yourself, “I really need to do something about X” to saying “This is what I am doing about X”?

I’ve wanted to take control of my career for years. I have been successful and I continue to grow. What I haven’t done is grab the bull by the horns and drive myself where I want to be. I have been very fortunate to work with people who saw my strengths and helped me find success in positions that would be mutually beneficial for myself and them. Could I have defined what those positions would be prior to having them? Absolutely not.

What does all of this mean? It means I am taking the first step. After years of doing what others thought I should be doing I am going out on my own. I am negotiating what is best for me and not what is best fo others.

The plan is not to be selfish but to be selfless as I move forward. I know quite a few people who have followed the same path I have for the last few years. I will work to help others. I will work to help people who have had the same realization I have take that first step.

It isn’t enough to be motivated to do something. It takes guts and determination to take initiative. Make it happen.

Think about it. When someone asks you, “What do you do?”, most people respond with their job title and what company they work for. This infers that your skills, capabilities and accomplishments are somehow only relevant when couched with the reputation of a company.

Don’t get me wrong, working for a highly successful company may be worth bragging about, but does that define who you are and what you are capable of? My experience indicates that employers seldom know or understand how to capitalize on the expertise of their people.

I’ve had 5 job titles throughout my career: Educational Technologist, Manager of Emerging Technologies, Associate Director of Emerging Technologies, Director of Business Development, and Business Analyst. You can infer a lot from those job titles. But what are you missing by making assumptions about me?

How are you representing yourself? Are you more than just a job title with a company branded to your forehead? What sets you apart from others? How are answering the question, “What do you do”?

The entire concept behind current DVR technology confuses me. Take for example DirecTV. I have their DVR service. For the most part, the signal I get from them is perfect. Occasionally, when the weather is horrendous, we lose signal. So I think to myself, “Hey! What a perfect opportunity to watch some of the stuff I have on DVR”. The only problem is, when I click play on that program I recorded and completely forgot about, it can’t play. For some reason, a file stored locally has to be able to talk back to central command before it can play back. Perfect.

So based off of that logic, when a really nasty storm comes through when I am recording something I really want to watch (Dr. Who for example) and knocks out my reception for an hour, the recording should be synced with central command and be fine. Right? Wrong! I have an hour long recording of the commercial the recording froze on when the weather front came through.

Why not simply set limitations to what I am able to “record”. Then, if I am within those parameters, just download the show to my DVR. That guarantees the entire program was captured. And if the system has to talk to central command during playback and for some reason can’t, store whatever crucial information is needed in a log file that uploads once connection is restored.

Apparently this is rocket science. Of course there are probably ancient FCC rules that limit new technologies ability to improve media consumption but this shouldn’t be so complicated.

It has taken a while to for me to become aware of these new challenges. But now that I am, I am becoming more adept at overcoming them. I can be productive in my home office but realize that I need a change of scenery and pace regularly. Going to the same coffee shop or in my case Panera isn’t an appropriate outlet. I need to get out to new places, meet new people, try new things. I need to accept this new beginning and become accustomed to the norms that accompany it.

So, it is time to change. Time to work toward a different schedule, a different mindset for being successful. The only person standing in my way is me. Such a simple phrase for such a difficult hurdle to overcome. Forcing one’s self to face the cold hard facts is not easy. No one wants to admit that they are struggling with something. No one wants to admit that they have been resisting what outwardly appear to be simple changes. The reality, most people ignore the tough choices. I have worked with organizations shifting the entire culture of a company, which is not an easy feet, but to date, I haven’t forced myself to make changes to my standard operating procedures.

I am accepting my reality. I am no longer fighting to maintain what I had considered “normal”. I am moving on. I am now a Minnesotan (though I will not swear allegiance to the Vikings). Change is good and now is the time to actually do it.

All of this change taught me many things. It helped me learn about myself, my family, my priorities and my life interests. I learned that my family is my number one priority above anything else (something I always assumed but has now been confirmed). Changes have tested our patients but never our relationship. We have two beautiful children who are the love of our lives. I couldn’t ask for anything more.

My job has presented a number of new challenges. Working in business development can be a thankless job. Nearly all calls go unanswered and emails are almost never responded to. That being said, the few who do connect, who answer the phone or respond to email, teach you so much about the world in which they work. Companies large and small face many of the same challenges. Regardless of the problem, the root cause is people. More on that later but suffice it to say, I have discovered a new appreciation for the people aspect of business. More on this later.

So here I am. Back! Regrouped, refreshed, renewed and focused. Time to execute.

Take for example a traditional sales approach. It starts by sending out a marketing blitz to hundreds if not thousands of people you do not know. Then, by tracking who has taken the bait, you open fire hitting a few of the slower targets while hopefully tagging a record breaker in the process.

While historically successful, this approach often leads to commodity pricing and an overall poor experience for both the buyer and the seller. What should occur is a systematic (not necessarily slow) calibration of both the buyers state of business and the sellers products and services to see if a partnership even makes sense.

Rather than taking a ready, fire ,aim approach, sales representatives should be honest and realistic about their ability to understand and work with a buyer. Providers driven by the speed of implementing a product or service don’t necessarily align with a company who’s culture is resistant to change. Yu mint be selling the best technology on the planet but if the end user doesn’t have access to a device to consume what your technology provides, it doesn’t really matter.

True hunting requires patients, understanding and knowing when to pull the trigger or stand down. Patients is required to find the right client. Don’t attack anything that walks through the crosshairs. Understanding the environment. What external and internal forces are at play. A slight miscalculation and the deal can walk away. And finally, being confident enough to know when the time is right to pull the trigger or walk away from the sale. Walking away can sometimes be the best possible outcome for both the buyer and seller.

I was raised and have always thought that hunting was an activity by which you tracked and killed game for food or recreation. Either way, there are limits to what you can, should and would be willing to take. Take deer hunting for example. Depending on the location, season and restrictions, many deer are off limits and there are restrictions to how many deer an individual can take. When hunting for food/survival, hunters are not greedy. They take what they need and only what they need. Even while hunting for recreation, hunters catch their keep and are done for the season. That means that many high potential game are left to grow and repopulate.

Now contrast that with the idea that sales representatives are hunters. That would imply that sales representatives are merely going to hunt enough to get by or that they will reach quota and stop. If that is not the case, if a sales representative takes more than he or she needs or exceeds quota, they are no longer hunting. They are poaching. They are engaging in an activity that could devastate future potential.

So if greed is a key characteristic to the hunter mentality, I think we need to rewrite history and gaming laws. That however, seems like an impossible task. Instead, find another power term to describe people who can’t get enough, hate losing and are determined to win against any competition/opposition.

The thing is, I believe that statement but I haven’t fully embraced it. I still find myself not exceeding my own potential. That is not to say I have been a complete slacker; I have accomplished great things over the last few years. I just think I can and should be doing more.

I work with a number of interesting people. One of them, Sam Smith, has a mantra that he lives his life by, R=R. It stands for Results equal Results. His believe (and its a good one) is that Effort does not equal Results, only Results equal Results. He uses it to continually assess his performance. He also holds others accountable to it. That is the approach I want to take with what I am considering my mantra. And it starts today.

I am committed to doing more than I think I can. I want to take on those difficult challenges head on and be relentless in achieving exceptional results. The only way to make R=R is to overcome the most difficult challenges.

The first challenge for me is taking a new position as a Business Developer for Kelley Executive Partners based out of Minnesota. Not only am I jumping into a new role but I am also moving, and starting a family. I have my work cut out for me but am looking forward to the challenge. It is time to break out of my comfort zone.

So what is the proper replacement? Is it over the top or down the back?

Of course, this is an analogy. Getting too literal at this point would make things uncomfortable. So how does this work out?

The answer is really simple. People who replace the roll down the back are those who do just enough. They get the job done but not always as good as it could be. They are satisfied with simply meeting expectations. People who replace the roll over the top are detail oriented. They are committed to not just doing the job but doing it right; every time. Over the top people strive to do the best work possible with the given time, budget and resources. They have a commitment to excellence.

So to cap off the analogy, I want to surround myself with over the top roll replacers. What is your over under?