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4/1/1: 4 Random Thoughts from me, 1 tools to help Sales Engineers, 1 quote for motivation
4/1/1 Good Fit, Bad Fit, Weird Fit. What To Do?
By Bini Kanungo
4/1/1 Weekly
4 Random Thoughts, 1 Tool, and 1 Quote
In case you were not aware, I love sports. I used to watch them all the time. Every once in a while, there would be one athlete who is really struggling for one team, they get traded, and all of a sudden they are a leader on the new team with the best stats line. This just shows that the athlete wasn’t bad at their sport, but they were just a bad fit. Jimmy Butler of the Miami Heat comes to mind.
Christelle, my latest guest, although her situation was not extreme, and she was seen as a great resource by her leaders, felt that she was a bad fit. She worked in making herself fit better, but at one point, she had to move on.
The more skills someone has, and the more confidence they have in the way they do things, the more they can move things around to make a bad fit better. You can also start combining skills together in order to improve as a Sales Engineer. In the latest video, I discuss the 4 Quadrants of Sales Engineering, and how someone can combine human and technical skills to be a great SE
Now.. to 4/1/1mobile (say it in the old batman voice)
4 Random Thoughts From Me:
1- Being a bad fit is not a reflection on you. There are things that you can learn from it, you probably do have a hand in being a bad fit, but it doesn’t mean that someone is a bad SE or employee
2- It’s important to understand what value we bring to a company, good fit or bad. That will help us understand what we need to improve on, or at a minimum allow us to be aware of our weaknesses.
3- A common mistake I see is that people try to improve in multiple areas all the same time. It’s the shiny object’s syndrome. I find it much more efficient to focus on one area, improve there, and when we’re at a level acceptable to us, we work on another.
4- Many organizations drop an SE in, don’t provide goals or structure, and then a few months later are told they are not hitting the previously not given goals. Take ownership of this and make sure to work with the management team to set clear expectations. That usually helps make something a good fit.
1 Tool:
The Intention Journal + Rocketbook (both are affiliate links)
On the podcast with Cristelle, she asked me about my calendar, and I showed her a piece of paper with my schedule on it. This paper is based on the intention Journal from Brandon Turner. It helps me keep me on track with my goal, and has pretty much eliminated procrastination. Since I don’t want to buy a new one every 90 days, I actually use my Rocketbook and write on that. If you’re interested, I can provide a better update in a few months.
1 Quote:
“The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.” – Phil Jackson
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