Deliver
what is needed.
Focus
on delivering value.
What's my advice for commission analysts and commission managers who are starting a new job?
In my
last post I talked about how to come up to speed by having a prepared process
for data gathering.
I also
talked about the importance of focusing on progress rather than perfection.
You have
to do what you can, with the resources you have, in the time you
have.
It will
help if you create checks and checklists for yourself, so you can meet the twin
goals every commissions analyst has to meet - accuracy and timeliness.
Yes I
know, accuracy is another word for perfection, and time and perfection are at
odds with each other, but if you arm yourself with tools such as checks and
checklists, and use time management skillfully, it won't be so overwhelming.
Errors,
including the "innocence errors" referred to in my last post, will be
reduced, even if you cannot avoid them completely.
Just keep
going and keep getting better.
Today I
would like to talk about a different topic.
It is one
that is close to my heart.
When you
change jobs, you can be so focused on snagging or landing a job or assignment with
better pay, or a better title, or a better environment, you may think about
making the switch, and nothing else.
This is a
mistake.
You
should only take up a new assignment or job in which you can be sure: "I
am wanted on this job and I am needed."
You
should also only take up an assignment or job in which you can be sure: "I
can do what is needed. I can deliver value."
You
should try to find out as much as you can about your new job or assignment
ahead of time.
You want
to be reasonably confident you can do a good job.
You also
want to be reasonably confident the job will work for you.
The
company that hires you has obviously concluded you are a good fit for them and
they are a good fit for you, and they believe you will be able to deliver value
to them.
But where
the disconnect arises, is between what they think is value and what you think
is value.
Your past
experience may lead you to believe that value is what you did at your last job
plus or minus a few things.
But even
in an area of work as well defined as commissions administration, value is
completely subjective.
My
experience confirms what Ron Baker and Ed Kless say about value in their Soul of Enterprise podcasts.
It means
different things to different people.
It also
means different things to different people in different contexts.
In each
of my assignments, value has meant a different thing.
And
because not everything is spelled out in an interview, I have to figure out
what value I need to bring to a customer, and how best to deliver it.
Since I
typically help companies who have a resource crunch - such as when a key
commissions talent leaves the company -
the first order of business is pretty straightforward.
The value
I have to deliver is to step in and do the work of the key talent, until the
position is backfilled.
At one
assignment, this meant I had to hop onto a plane to Irvine, Southern California
and meet with the talent to get all the information from her, before her notice
period ran out.
The key
facts of the scenario were as follows:
o The
talent was a seasoned professional who had been handling commissions for the
company for 17 years
o She was down to the last 3 days of her notice
period
o The
company was a 40 year old company and the commissions data resided in an
elaborate web of systems, and had to be verified through a number of cumbersome
processes.
For 3
days, my boss, myself and the talent holed ourselves up in a conference room well
past midnight on each day, so that we could come back to Norcal and keep the
commissions processes humming, without the talent, and with a minimum of
disruption.
When they
found a backfill for the talent, I then had to switch tracks and deliver a different
kind of value.
Now my
job was to go into training mode to get the new analyst up and running on
Xactly Incent.
Before
leaving the company, a new sales org (from a company merger) was set up in
Xactly.
I wrote
an Xactly Incent Operations guide for the commissions analyst who was handling
the commissions for that sales org, and I trained her on the Xactly processes specific to the sales org she was supporting.
What are
the key takeaways from my approach to this assignment?
I was
flexible, I went with the flow, and I delivered the value that was needed at
different points of time.
This is
what I advise you to do when you start a new job.
Whether
you are an employee or a consultant, be flexible, go with the flow, and deliver
what is needed.
I adapt
to the different role requirements of each assignment.
At one assignment,
I had to physically walk the payroll sheet for signatures to 3 different
managers - the Director of Sales Ops, the Revenue Director and the Controller.
I had to
also manually type up the exchange rates (starting, ending and average) from a
particular website for 17 currencies, and send this on to various people in
finance on a monthly basis.
These
were low level tasks which had to be performed as part of an incredibly large
number of low-level tasks and high level tasks which the Commissions Analyst had
been shouldering.
It was a
hard act to follow, but I did the best I could, focusing on progress, not
perfection for the 9 months I was there.
It is a
template I have followed again and again, with a few tweaks here and there.
On another
assignment, value meant understanding the Access and Excel model created by an
outgoing Commissions Analyst during his last week there, then UAT testing the
Varicent set-up against this model.
I then
wrote a step by step Varicent commissions process manual for the analyst to
use.
The Varicent
manual was not one of the requirements, but I realized it was essential, to the analyst being set up for success.
So I took it upon myself to create it, and then train her on the processes.
When you
start a new job or assignment, find out what value means to the people you are
working for, and think about how you can deliver it.
In my
last post, I told you about the Xactly Incent Operations Guide I was working on.
I
developed this guide in response to a coaching challenge.
Challenges
are opportunities in disguise.
Related
post:
Further,
I have been training myself to see all problems as puzzles.
Related
post:
So when
the coaching challenge came up, I saw it as an opportunity.
The only
thing I was worried about was having enough time to deliver the coaching.
I
scratched my head. I couldn't see how to get around the fact that time was a constraint.
I went
online to see if I could find some answers to tackling training challenges.
And guess
what - I hit pay dirt instantly.
I
stumbled on Harold D Stolovitch (author of Telling Aint Training) and Alan Fine
(the initial thinker behind the GROW concept of learning).
After
listening to Stolovitch explain the elements of effective training, and reading
articles explaining GROW (Goals, Realities, Options, Way Forward), I figured
out an answer as to how to solve the time constraint problem.
The
answer was to create a self-learning kit that did not require my time.
After
giving some thought to what the self-learning kit should contain, this is what
I came up with. It has 4 parts in all:
o The
Xactly Incent Operations Guide (which I told you about in my last post)
o A
GROW worksheet - for the Xactly learners to write up their earning goals,
current reality, options for learning, and way forward.
o A
progress and self-evaluation tracker - for the Xactly learners to mark their
progress from familiarity to comfort to competence to mastery
o And
finally, a quiz for the Xactly learners to test their Xactly knowledge.
I felt
confident this kit was the answer, and that any commissions analyst would be
able to pick up Xactly Incent using it.
Related
content:
So let’s
look at how this kit was born again.
I am presented with a coaching challenge.
I become aware of a need for Xactly Incent training.
The
problem is there are time constraints.
I am eager to deliver value in spite of these time constraints.
My
eagerness to deliver value and solve the problem leads me to do some online research.
By discovering Stolovitch and GROW online, I shift from a "teacher centered
mindset" to a "learner-centered mindset". I develop “learning
materials”, instead of “teaching materials”. My product is a complete self-learning Xactly Incent kit, with a goals, objectives and options worksheet, an instruction guide, a
self-evaluation tool, and a self-testing tool.
A week
ago, this kit did not exist.
But when
you are focused on delivering value, one thing leads to another.
Even if
there's not enough time on the job, your mind keeps working on solutions, and
solutions emerge, sometimes in the middle of the night.
Don't
think of your job as a job.
Think of
it as a vehicle for value-delivery.
Your path
to success should be paved with providing value.
Become
passionate about delivering value.
When you
are open to delivering value, you are open to going beyond what is
expected.
Someone says
to you, "Minoo, I want you to develop a Team Sharepoint
for us."
And you
go "Are you sure I can do it?"
And then
they say, "Yes, I think you can do it."
And you go "Ok, if you think I can do it, I will give it a shot."
And
before you know it, you have developed a Team Sharepoint.
You become
known for bringing above and beyond to the table, for doing what is most called
for, for doing what matters most to a manager or team member.
Do things
that make you uncomfortable.
Do things
that expand your knowledge base and your skills base.
Do things
that make you stretch, even if they mean an extra time commitment.
Keep
saying yes until it becomes automatic for you to say yes.
And don't
worry about failing.
Even if
you fail, it means you tried.
And you
will definitely learn some new things even when you fail.
When I
think back on my commissions administration career, I have always tried to make
a difference - I did it at Palm and I did it at Extreme Networks.
The
problem was it was a back-end difference, and so it was invisible.
Today, I
try to make a visible difference. I see
what can help a team, and I listen for what a manager says he or she wants.
And then
I think of ways of delivering it, even if it was not what I was originally hired
for.
Today,
when I end an assignment, I have typically contributed a few different things
of value to the team. A CDR and macros at Fortinet, macros at Rubrik, a Team
Sharepoint at Linkedin, and the Xactly Incent self-learning kit at my current
assignment.
None of
these things were part of what I was originally hired to do.
None of
them were requirements.
But I
delivered them, because I saw an opportunity to deliver value.
If you want to experience more job satisfaction, delivering
value can't be beat. And who doesn't want more job satisfaction?
So ask yourself - how can
you deliver more value?
What
requests can you step up to?
What unmet
needs can you put your mind to?
Change
your destiny and your level of job satisfaction by putting your mind to this today.
Acknowledgements:
Thanks for the
feedback, (comments, likes, shares) on Part 1 through 12 of my last series of How To Live A Good Life posts. I
appreciate the kudos from old friends, new friends, and relatives who have become
friends. You keep me going.
NEXT, Thanks to all
readers, current and future, for sharing my journey to wisdom, meaning, and a
better life. Like you, I am trying to find my way through this complex
maze we call life, and I am honored to have you share my journey, as I continue
to seek the wisdom hidden in plain sight.
FINALLY, A Happy Birthday
shout-out: to those with October birthdays. I hope you will use
your birthday month to mark a turning point in your career, and to start focusing
on delivering value. Remember, you will not be able to do that, if you are not
committed to it, and if you do not apply yourself consistently.
To all my readers, have a
blessed “doing good for yourself while doing good for others week, and see you
next week.
